I admit it - I've got Celtics fever. I've been circling Wednesday's game on my calendar since the schedule was released, and with the way the first game went in Boston this season, my anticipation has only heightened.

However, there is this one annoying thing we have to do before we get there, and that's play the Charlotte Bobcats tonight. As Steve Holman said on the podcast last week, we can't forget about Charlotte. If we lose to the Bobcats and beat the Celtics, we are the same 1-1 as we would be if we beat Charlotte but lost to Boston. So tonight's game is important (and not just because we get free breakfast around the office for the third straight win).

The key to beating Charlotte will be to stop the penetration of its guards, and with DJ Augustin getting more and more minutes, it now means they have two quick PGs to throw at us. Make no mistake - even on a six-game losing streak, the Bobcats can be hazardous to our health. We cannot take this game for granted. Hawks assistant coach Jim Todd spoke to Charlotte's determination in our Breaking Down The Bobcats segment today, and as we all know, we've still yet to take a season series from these guys (last year we pushed at 2-2 on the year, the best results to date).

The Hawks appear to have rebounded of late from the funk they went through in Texas, both literally and figuratively. Who knows what caused the slide - I asked Josh Smith about the ups and downs after shootaround this morning, and he just talked about the team getting refocused. Either way, getting a win tonight will give the team some nice momentum going into Wednesday's showdown with Boston.

Let's get one tonight, and then we'll turn our attention to the Mean Green.