Bobcats win in Orlando, 6th straight overall
Posted by Brett on 03/14/2010Boxscore
Score: 96-89 Charlotte
Charlotte Bobcats record: 34-31
Offensive Efficiency: 109.1
Defensive Efficiency: 102.3
Meritorious Player: Stephen Jackson with 28 points on 20 attempts, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 steal, and 0 turnovers.
With Gerald Wallace out with a rolled ankle, the Bobcats surprised by winning their 6th straight game, matching the franchise mark set earlier this season. That the game was in Orlando against a team that had won the first 3 of the season series further compounded the unexpectedness of the outcome. But it was no fluke - the Bobcats played their usual strong defense and managed enough on the offensive win to get the win. With Theo Ratliff and Tyson Chandler available to matchup with Dwight Howard, the Bobcats had the size in the post (and defensive acumen) to go one on one with Dwight - and he responded by hitting just about everything he put up, missing just one of his 13 2-point attempts and a 3/4 court heave, putting him at 27 points on 12 of 14 from the floor - but just 3 of 10 from the charity stripe. Now, the two previous statements seem to contradict - Dwight had a big night but the Bobcats played good defense on him? It is true - Dwight made several hooks, with each hand and showed a strong offensive game. But because the Bobcats were largely playing him one on one, the Magic were not able to get on-track from deep, going just 11-32 from long range.
The other surprising development? Dwight Howard grabbed 16 rebounds - yet the Bobcats out-rebounded the Magic 46-34 for the game. Theo Ratliff and Tyrus Thomas both had 9 for Charlotte, and then the Stephens (Graham and Jackson) followed them with 6 a piece. The Bobcats were making a concerted effort to attack the glass (and to surround Howard to limit his rebounding opportunities) and it paid off with a 12 to 9 offensive rebounding advantage. The Bobcats winning the rebounding battle without Crash has to be almost as improbable as the win - if not more so.
Look the boxscore over - the team got contributions up and down the roster. The addition of Tyrus and Theo is paying dividends and the additional minutes Gerald Henderson is starting to see following the trades can only help the Bobcats as they head towards the playoffs. And this looked like a solid playoff team tonight.
Click here to comment/view comments for this post.
| etothet Says: | I think Raymond Felton's performance was worth mentioning. He had a superb performance scoring 16 points and dishing out 7 assists. | ||
| Sun Mar 14, 2010 11:55 pm |
