FanHouse Bernie Bickerstaff

Now that we've got some NBA playoff games under our belts, how about a few observations:

-- You've got to say, Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro has done a nice job in his first year. And it bears repeating: First year as a coach on any level.

If you watched the Bulls earlier this season, and caught Del Negro on the sidelines, you saw someone wound up on nearly every possession. There was a lot of throwing up of the hands and shaking of the head with him. It was easy to see his displeasure with the team at times.

Have the Bobcats quit on Sam Vincent? The possibility was first broached by the Charlotte Observer's Rick Bonnell late last month, and after the Bobcats played the Pistons on Sunday, it was brought up again by Detroit News beat writer Chris McCosky

If ever you wanted to know what a team looks like when it has bailed on its coach -- watch the Bobcats. They may never admit it publicly -- to do so would be occupational suicide -- but they have quit on Sam Vincent. That was one disinterested group of players we saw Sunday. They weren't boxing out on the boards, nor were they closing out on shooters. That's a deadly combination which led to the Pistons draining 12 three-pointers and enjoying a 23-8 edge in second-chance points. That lack of hustle and energy is not indicative of past Charlotte teams, who used to play their tails off for Bernie Bickerstaff, no matter how bad they were.

McCosky suggests that Vincent's lack of experience (he was an NBA assistant for just one year before getting the job) is responsible, and pins the ultimate responsibility on Michael Jordan for putting Vincent in a position to fail. For what it's worth, Vincent has already received the dreaded vote of confidence from owner Bob Johnson, though that probably has more to do with the fact that Johnson will be on the hook for paying Vincent for two more years after this one than anything else. Either way, Emeka Okafor has a big, big decision to make this summer.

If you believe the latest scuttlebutt being bandied about by reporters these days, Raptors coach Sam Mitchell will be in demand if the Raptors opt not to renew his contract at the end of the season. Many of these rumors suggest the Charlotte Bobcats will be first in line if he's available. From the Gaston Gazette:

The New York Post did so last Sunday and were followed the next day by a pair of Toronto newspapers, the Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star. It's a move that would be welcomed by Bobcats players, even as they wonder if Mitchell would be available or even interested. ...

Added guard Brevin Knight: "I think Sam is happy where he is. If Toronto didn't want to keep him, I'm sure a lot of teams would be interested. I think he's a good coach."

Four months ago, a player calling Mitchell "a good coach" and suggesting there would be competition for his services would be crazy talk. Mitchell posted a .366 winning percentage in his first two seasons in Toronto, but he's helped turn things around this year, with the Raps not just clinching a playoff spot but emerging as the far and away best team in the Atlantic Division and the current third seed in the East.