The Portland Trail Blazers look to get back to winning with a game against the Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday night (Feb. 1). This is the only time that Portland gets to play Charlotte this year, which is too bad, because the Bobcats are currently the worst team in the league. Charlotte comes into this game with a 3-19 record and a current nine-game losing streak.

Portland lost to the Utah Jazz on Monday night (Jan. 30) in a frustrating loss that brought an end to January. Now the month of February begins against Charlotte in a game that the team should have no problem winning. Add to it the fact that the Blazers get to play it at home and it almost seems like a cake walk for the team. That’s a good thing, because tough games against the Denver Nuggets (Feb. 4), Oklahoma City Thunder (Feb. 6) and Dallas Mavericks (Feb. 11) are coming up very quickly.

Kemba Walker seems to have become the new leader for the Bobcats, especially after injuries have taken down Corey Maggette, D.J. Augustin and now Gerald Henderson. Walker is a rookie out of Connecticut, who is averaging 12.2 points, 3.6 assists and 4.1 rebounds this year. He just recently made it into the starting lineup though, so his statistics have been getting better recently. This is a team that is just scoring 88.1 points per night though, so it shows that there isn’t much else to the roster.

Portland may have to play without Nicolas Batum in this game because he is suffering through a bone bruise to his knee that happened in the loss to Utah. It looked like an injury that could have sidelined Batum for a long time, so learning that it is just a bruise is definitely good news for the team. A few nights off won’t hurt him at all; especially against a terrible team like Charlotte when Portland shouldn’t even need him on the court.

There is nothing more to say than the fact that Portland has to get it done against the Bobcats. In fact, winning this fame by less than 10 points would probably disappoint the fans. Hopefully the players on the end of the bench get a lot of minutes in this game to allow LaMarcus Aldridge and Marcus Camby to get more rest that usual.

Game time against Charlotte is 7 p.m. PT

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*Ryan is a Northwest bred sports fan that has been a Portland Trail Blazers fan for years. He doesn’t miss a game, and has high hopes that the Blazers can improve their roster during the offseason and come back even better in the 2011-12 NBA season.

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When he was drafted with the 12^th overall pick back in 2009, the Charlotte Bobcats had high hopes that shooting guard Gerald Henderson would be an impact player for their basketball club. Three years later and Henderson has done more than enough to entice the Bobcats to keep him around for at least one more season.

The Bobcats have decided to exercise their team option for a fourth year on Henderson’s rookie contract. With that, the Bobcats have ensured that they will have their young guard around at least until the end of the 2012-2013 season.

Now that the Bobcats have exercised their option, Henderson will receive $3.1 million next year in his fourth season in the NBA. That also opens the door for further negotiations to keep Henderson in Charlotte for even longer.

“Gerald embodies the basketball culture we have created here of putting guys on the floor who work hard at their craft, have a passion for the game and are willing to take advantage of the resources afforded to them here in Charlotte,” Bobcats president of basketball operations Rod Higgins said of Henderson. “He deserves this and we look forward to watching him grow as a player.”

So far this season, Henderson has started all 18 games for the Bobcats and has emerged as one of the offensive leaders. During that time, he has averaged 15.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. In the last six games for the Bobcats, Henderson has reached double digits in scoring, including three games of 20-plus points.

Henderson’s career averages currently stand at 8.1 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game in 129 total games.

Despite his best efforts, the Bobcats have stumbled out of the gates this season and are off to a 3-15 start that has them sitting near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. If they hope to dig themselves out of that hole anytime soon, they’ll have to continue putting the ball in Henderson’s hands and making sure that he stays involved in the offensive game plan.

Gil Alcaraz IV is a life-long NBA fan who has followed the Bobcats since their inaugural 2004 season. For more, follow him on Twitter.

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The New York Knicks take on the Charlotte Bobcats Tuesday night (Jan. 24) in a game that has become a must-win for the struggling Knicks. Not just because Charlotte is one of the worst teams in the NBA at 3-14, but because the Knicks have got to end this atrocious six-game losing streak. January has not been kind to the Knicks and after a hot start the team has fallen all the way to 6-10.

Back on Jan. 4, the Knicks got beat up by the Bobcats in a game that saw Charlotte score 118 points. Boris Diaw led the way with 27 points, Gerald Henderson had 24 and Charlotte shot 55.3 percent from the field. The Knicks could do nothing right on defense, the defensive rotation was non-existent and the team simply showed no toughness. Sure, the Knicks scored 110 points on offense, but at some point the defense has to make stops if the wins are going to add up.

The team did bounce back on Jan. 9 in a second game against the Bobcats, winning it 91-87 by finally playing some good defense. Now the two teams will meet up for the third time this month, with bragging rights on the line to the winner.

Just in time for a game against the Knicks, Kemba Walker is going to take over as the starting point guard for Charlotte. D.J. Augustin will miss a few games due to a problem with his right big toe, giving Walker the chance to show what he can do in the starting lineup. It should present a very interesting match-up between Walker and Iman Shumpert, two point guards that often look for a shot more than getting the rest of the team into the flow of the offense.

The Knicks are without Josh Harrellson in this game, as he fractured his wrist against the Denver Nuggets back on Saturday (Jan. 21). I wrote about how Baron Davis is practicing with the team now, but he won’t take the court in real games just yet. That could leave the Knicks short-handed against Charlotte on Tuesday (Jan. 24), forcing the starters to put in even more minutes than usual. Maybe that will give Amare Stoudemire the chance to re-establish himself as the leader of this team and take some of the pressure off of Carmelo Anthony to do all of the scoring.

For the Bobcats, a new starting lineup will take the court in this game. Walker will start at point guard, with Gerald Henderson sliding over to shooting guard and Derrick Brown likely to start at small forward. That leaves Tyrus Thomas at power forward, Bryon Mullens at center and the duo of Boris Diaw and DJ White eating up minutes off of the bench. Charlotte is hurting for depth, but that will simply level the playing field against the Knicks.

It’s time for the Knicks to step up and get a win on the road before heading to play the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night (Jan. 25). Tuesday’s game against Charlotte begins at 7 p.m. ET.

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*Ryan Christopher DeVault is a fan of the New York Knicks that has followed the team since the days John Starks, Charles Oakley, and Anthony Mason instilled their defensive will on the rest of the league.

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

The league-leading Chicago Bulls will look to extend their home court winning streak when they host the Charlotte Bobcats tonight at the Madhouse on Madison. Here’s a quick look at the game.

Game time: 8 p.m. EST.

TV: Local coverage in the Charlotte and Chicago areas (check your local listings), NBA League Pass (subscription required).

The Bobcats (3-12; 34-48, missed playoffs/10th place in East): Michael Jordan’s Bobcats are in full-on rebuilding mode, which is never pretty at the beginning. Gone are Stephen Jackson, Gerald Wallace and Kwame Brown; in are top 10 draft picks Kemba Walker and Bismack Biyombo, along with Corey Maggette, Reggie Williams (out with a torn meniscus) and Derrick Brown. It’s going to be a long, long season for the ‘Cats, who are totally focused on developing their young talent.

Last Season vs. Bulls: Believe it or not, the Bobcats were one of the league’s most successful teams against the Bulls last season – they split four games with Chicago, and even managed to get a win at the UC.

Statistics

PPG: Bobcats 91.1 (24); Bulls 96.2 (11).

FG%: Bobcats 43.4 (17); Bulls 45.8 (7).

Assists: Bobcats 20.9 (16); Bulls 22.3 (4).

PPG Allowed: Bobcats 101.7 (30); Bulls 85.1 (1).

FG% Allowed: Bobcats 45 (16); Bulls 42 (5).

Rebounds/offensive – Bobcats 41.9 (t16) / 10.9 (t17); Bulls 46 (1)/13.3 (2).

Key statistic: The Bulls are first in PPG allowed, the ‘Cats are dead last.

Probable starters

PG – D.J. Augustine (15.3 ppg, 7.2 apg, PER 17.7) vs. C.J. Watson (10.8 ppg, 4 apg, PER 23.5).

PG – Kemba Walker (11.5 ppg, 3.3 apg, PER 16.1) vs. Rip Hamilton (12.3 ppg, 3.4 apg, PER 14.8).

G – Gerald Henderson (15.5 ppg, 4.7 rpg, PER 13.9) vs. Luol Deng (15.6 ppg, 7.5 rpg, PER 15.9).

PF – Tyrus Thomas (6.9 ppg. 3.8 rpg, PER 7.3) vs. Carlos Boozer (14.8 ppg, 8.4 rpg, PER 20.7).

C – Byron Mullens (12.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg, PER 18.1) vs. Joakim Noah (7.2 ppg, 8.3 rpg, PER 14.2).

Key Match-ups: Kemba Walker vs. Rip Hamilton. The former UConn star has averaged 17.3 ppg and 5 apg as a starter the past three games. Look for Luol Deng, who creates a real match-up problem for the ‘Cats, to have a good game.

The Write-Up: First off, Derrick Rose is listed as day to day, but is likely to miss his fourth straight game with a turf toe injury. Moving on, the Bobcats have lost their last four road games, averaging just 83.5 points on 40.5 shooting during the skid. That doesn’t bode well for a team traveling to the United Center, where the Bulls have racked up a perfect 6-0 record while holding opponents to just 71.8 points per game. Backup point guard C.J. Watson has stepped up big in Rose’s absence, averaging 18.3 ppg in three games since returning from an elbow injury. It’ll be interesting to see how the Bulls defend the Bobcats’ three-guard lineup.

Prediction: This is, on paper, a game the Bulls should easily win, so I’ll go with the Bulls, 95-73.

Notes: Taj Gibson was in a walking boot after spraining an ankle in Friday’s resounding win over the Cavs; his status for tonight’s game is unknown….. The Bulls have played more games (17) and more road games (11), and have more double digit victories (10), than any other team.

Sources: Sources: Chicago Bulls team page, Yahoo! Sports; Chicago Bulls Clubhouse, ESPN; Charlotte Bobcats team page, Yahoo! Sports; Charlotte Bobcats clubhouse, ESPN; NBA team statistics page, NBA.com; 2011-12 Charlotte Bobcats Preview, Fox News; NBA Season Preview: Charlotte Bobcats, Pro Basketball Talk/NBC Sports; 2011-2012 Charlotte Bobcats Season Preview, HoopsWorld.com.

YCN featured sports contributor Steve Merritt is – for better or worse – a lifelong Chicago Bulls, Bears and Cubs fan. He’s followed the Bulls since 1969, when he tuned in after bedtime on a cheap dime store radio tucked under his pillow.

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The New York Knicks avenged a loss to the Charlotte Bobcats last week by beating them on Monday night (Jan. 9). It wasn’t exactly a clean effort, but winning in a messy game like this one actually shows a lot of growth for the franchise.

The 91-87 victory took place at the foul line, as the Knicks went 30-for-40 in free throws for the night. It certainly made up for the 38 percent that the Knicks shot from the field and the single three-pointer that the team had to its credit. Carmelo Anthony was 9-for-13 from the line, Amare Stoudemire was 11-for-13 and Tyson Chandler was 6-for-8. All three finished with at least 20 points and it was because the trio was willing to take the hits on drives to the basket, the Knicks walked away with the win.

Some of the statistics were ugly from this game though, like Stoudemire shooting 7-for-25 from the field and Anthony going just 6-for-18. The bench had just 3 points on 1-for-9 shooting and the Knicks allowed the Bobcats to stay in the game far too long. It was great to see what Iman Shumpert could continue to do as the starting point guard though; as he went 7-for-13 with 16 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals for the night. That’s an impressive stat line for a veteran, let alone a rookie still trying to find his way in the league.

There are a lot of areas where “experts” might point to in this game where New York simply didn’t look like a good team, but the reality is that the team played hard defense, did what it took on offense, and walked away with a nice win at home. That’s really all that matters from this game, and the Knicks pushed the winning streak to three games. It puts the Knicks right back in the race within the Atlantic division, which is important with how well the Philadelphia 76ers have been playing lately.

Next up the schedule for the Knicks is, you guessed it, a game against Philadelphia on Wednesday (Jan. 11). That game is an important measurement of where the team stands, and if this winning streak can continue against a good team. Tipoff is at 7:30 p.m. ET at Madison Square Garden.

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*Ryan Christopher DeVault is a fan of the New York Knicks that has followed the team since the days John Starks, Charles Oakley, and Anthony Mason instilled their defensive will on the rest of the league.

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