Tonight is the first-ever game between the Bulls and the expansion Charlotte Bobcats. I hope the Bobcats have their beatdown shoes on, cause that's what they're gonna get. I mean....most likely.
The Bobcats are an interesting team to follow, since they did the smart thing this past offseason and not bloat their roster with overpaid marginal talents and instead taking a chance on some young players who may have slipped through the cracks on quality teams like Primoz Brezec(selected from the Pacers) and Gerald Wallace(Kings). Obviously not household names, but putting them alongside a safe, yet spectacular draftchoice in Emeka Okafor (cue SportsCenter highlight package intro! its a UConn reunion!) has allowed the Bobcats to try and use this season to identify at least a few players they want to keep while still holding cap space. But naturally, that mean's a lot of losses.
While that kind of strategy takes patience, the success enjoyed by the Bulls this season has people in Charlotte wondering if good things truly come to those who wait.
So as two of the league's youngest squads face off tonight, its a nice little coincidence that today's the day the NBA has announced the rosters for the rookie/sophomore game on All-Star weekend. The Bulls had the potential to send as many as 5, but have to settle for just Ben Gordon and Luol Deng on the Rookie team, with Kirk Hinrich joining the Sophomores. I suppose there is a chance Hinrich makes the big show, but John Hollinger doesn't see it happening.
Here's the rest of the rosters:
ROOKIE TEAM ROSTER
| Player | Team | Pos. | College/Country |
| Tony Allen | Boston | G | Oklahoma State |
| Luol Deng | Chicago | F | Duke |
| Ben Gordon | Chicago | G | Connecticut |
| Devin Harris | Dallas | G | Wisconsin |
| Dwight Howard | Orlando | F | SW Atlanta Christian Academy |
| Andre Iguodala | Philadelphia | F | Arizona |
| Emeka Okafor | Charlotte | F/C | Connecticut |
| Josh Smith | Atlanta | F | Oak Hill Academy |
| Beno Udrih | San Antonio | G | Slovenia |
SOPHOMORE TEAM ROSTER
| Player | Team | Pos. | College/Country |
| Carmelo Anthony | Denver | F | Syracuse |
| Chris Bosh | Toronto | F | Georgia Tech |
| Udonis Haslem | Miami | F | Florida |
| Kirk Hinrich | Chicago | G | Kansas |
| Josh Howard | Dallas | F | Wake Forest |
| LeBron James | Cleveland | F | St. Vincent-St. Mary HS |
| Kyle Korver | Philadelphia | F | Creighton |
| Luke Ridnour | Seattle | G | Oregon |
| Dwyane Wade | Miami | G | Marquette |
I dunno; despite what cranky old white men tell me, the NBA looks like it's in pretty good shape, don't it?