Insider article kind-of on the Bobcats

[Sapper]

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insider/columns/story?columnist=hollinger_john&page=PERDiem-100208

For those that don't have insider, here is the last 3 paragraphs of the article:

The other sub-.500 Eastern hopeful is Charlotte, but its losing record is likely a temporary occurrence as a result of a recent Western trip. The Bobcats have a solid scoring margin (plus-0.9 per game) and a favorable remaining schedule (unlike the massively road-tilted slates of recent yore), and they've played much better since acquiring Stephen Jackson. The Cats project to finish with 44 wins and easily claim the franchise's first playoff berth.

If it plays out that way, we'll have a lot less interconference angst than we'd anticipated. It would be unfortunate if Houston missed the playoffs with 43 wins while Milwaukee and Miami made it with 42, as Monday's projections indicate. However, that's a far cry from the howling we'd have heard had a 46-win Western team missed while a 38-win team in the East advanced; a few weeks ago, that's where we seemed headed.

As always, the playoff landscape is subject to change, and for all we know, it may shift dramatically back to the way things were for the first half of the season. On the other hand, the East's top nine could make an even stronger case over the final two months by taking advantage of their favorable schedules. Either way, the sands have shifted mightily in the past couple of weeks, and the playoff races seem headed for a much more equitable conclusion than we'd imagined.

PM me if you want me to send you the whole thing...it's a great read.