February 22, 2013; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Wizards center Nene (42) blocks the shot of Denver Nuggets point guard Ty Lawson (3) in the fourth quarter at Verizon Center. The Wizards won 119-113. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

One good thing from last night’s game, though, was that point guard Ty Lawson didn’t seem to be too bothered with his sore ankle. He scored 27 points and dished out 12 assists in the 119-113 loss last night. Wilson Chandler added 22 points off the bench for the Nuggets, also. The Nuggets are looking to get back on track after losing four of their last five games, all coming on the road. Denver has been particularly hot this season but it seems that they’ve been doused just a little bit.

A game against the struggling Bobcats may be just what the doctor ordered. They’ve beaten them the last three times the teams have met, winning by an average of 21.0 points.

The Bobcats are led by second-year point guard Kemba Walker, who’s averaging 25.0 points per game over the last three contests. The Bobcats are in the lower tiers of every major statistical category so far this season, thus giving them the league’s worst record. Walker has little help on the floor, but one bright spot might be Byron Mullens. Mullens is averaging 12.7 points and 8.0 rebounds per game this season. Last night against the Bulls, Walker scored 27 while Mullens scored just 2 on 1-12 shooting.

The key to the game for the Nuggets will be to bully the Bobcats in the low post. The Bobcats are ranked 21st in rebounding while the Nuggets are ranked 2nd.

Tip-off is set for 7:00 pm ET (5:00 pm MT) from the Time Warner Cable Arena in Charlotte.

June 20, 2012; Charlotte, NC, USA; Charlotte Bobcats new head coach Mike Dunlap addresses the media during his introduction press conference at Time Warner Cable Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-US PRESSWIRE

Mike Dunlap is not a household name, at least not at the NBA level.

However, Dunlap has had success wherever he coaches – especially in the college ranks.

He won a pair of NCAA titles while coaching at Metro State (2000 and 2002) and led the Roadrunners to nine NCAA tournaments.

Of course that was at the Division II level, which is much different than the NBA.

His lone experience at the professional level was two seasons (2006-08) as an assistant coach to George Karl and the Nuggets.  He went back to the college ranks after the 2008 season where he was an assistant with Arizona, Oregon and St. John’s University. Last season, he ended up stepping in as St. John’s interim head coach while Steve Lavin dealt with health issues. Dunlap coached a team full of freshman to a 13-18 record.

Any coach that has worked with Dunlap will attest to how hard of a worker he is and his basketball IQ. Just ask Karl, who tweeted Tuesday about Dunlap’s hiring,

Great hire by Bobcats! Mike Dunlap is one of the most creative defensive minds I’ve ever worked with. Welcome back to the NBA!

Elated about Mike Dunlap going to Charlotte! To hire a guy of knowledge and character more than spin and perception makes me feel great.

There was a preception among many in college ranks that Dunlap’s biggest goal was going back to the NBA, which kept him from getting a full-time college coaching job – even though he was considered for a number. Most recently were head-coaching jobs at Wyoming and CSU.

Of course the biggest challenge of coaching in the NBA is managing egos and getting talented athletes to listen to you. That was the challenge for former Nuggets’ coach Jeff Bzdelik, who spent two-in-half seasons on the sidelines in Denver. He showed he had the knowledge of Xs and Os, but struggled to get superstars like Kenyon Martin and Carmelo Anthony to respect him.

Dunlap may run into the same problem down the road, but not likely with this young Charlotte Bobcats squad which features a core group of Gerald Henderson (24 years old), Kemba Walker (22) and Bismack Biyombo (19) that is younger than 24 years old.

The next move that may be of interest to the Bobcats is trading their second pick for a package of picks later in the draft. Rebuilding a Bobcats franchise will be tough, but Dunlap is the right under the radar coach for the job.