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Exactly How Bad Are The Bobcats?

Byron Mullens (right) can hardly bear to watch as the Bobcats suffer yet another loss. (AP)
Byron Mullens (right) can hardly bear to watch as the Bobcats suffer yet another loss. (AP)

This week, WFAE's Scott Graf has a story on the comically bad Charlotte Bobcats. The team is 4-28 entering this weekend’s All-Star Break, and is dead last in the NBA's overall standings. However, those numbers alone don't do justice for just how bad the Bobcats are this season.

That 4-28 record equates to a winning percentage of 12.5%. Prorated to a full 82-game schedule, that would give them 10.25 wins. Naturally, it would be impossible for a team to win a quarter of a game, but even if we were to round that number up to 11, it would tie them with the 1997-1998 Denver Nuggets and the 1992-1993 Dallas Mavericks for the 2nd-worst record in NBA history. Rounded down to 10 wins, they would be better than only the 1972-1973 Philadelphia 76ers, who went 9-73.

With their win over the Toronto Raptors last week, they broke a 16-game losing streak. Had they lost to Toronto, the resulting 17-game losing streak would have tied them for the 13th-longest in NBA history. If we tack on their two losses since the Toronto game, the 19-game losing streak would be tied for the 6th-longest in league history. The longest ever, 26 straight losses, was set by the Cleveland Cavaliers last season.

Entering Thursday’s games, the 4-28 Bobcats are 21.5 games behind the 26-7, first-place Miami Heat. If we prorate each of their records to an 82-game schedule, the Bobcats would finish 55 games out of first place. That number has been exceeded just once, by the 1972-1973 76ers, who finished 59 games behind the first-place Celtics (the 76ers in 1995-1996 and Celtics in 1996-1997 each finished 54 games behind the first-place Chicago Bulls).

But what if just losing isn't enough? For a team to be truly terrible, shouldn't they get blown out nearly every night? Well, this year's Bobcats certainly qualify. The Bobcats have an average scoring margin of negative 14.3. Seeing an average scoring margin worse than negative 10 is rare enough as it is - it hasn't happened since the 1999-2000 season. But a number like negative 14.3 is truly historic, only eclipsed by the aforementioned 1992-1993 Mavericks, who were outscored by an average of 15.2 points.

This program aired on February 23, 2012. The audio for this program is not available.

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