My area team lost to the Washington area team

11/22/2007

By now, if you are a fan of the Bobcats, you are aware they lost last night, in overtime, to the Washington Wizards. The final score was 114 to 111, a single shot separating the two squads. Which is what I will focus on briefly herein:

A single basket was the difference between winning and losing last night - missing second overtime by a made 3...and missing a win in regulation by making one more shot, or allowing one less. When looking at the numbers, the Bobcats seem to have played solid defense, allowing only 44.8% shooting from the floor. However, they only forced 14 turnovers (even with the extra five minutes) and they sent the Wizards to the free-throw line 40 times - not a good combination. But none of those is the single basket I am thinking of (is the single basket of which I am thinking for the English majors).

That single basket that sent the Bobcats to overtime and kept them from victory - any of the 12 layups or dunks the Wizards scored on last night. Now, that may sound like a lot, but the Bobcats actually had 3 more, for a total of 15. For the Wizards, their easy baskets accounted for 30% of their made field goals, and the Bobcats, 37.5% - league average is 33%. So, the Bobcats forced the Wizards into some tougher shots (or at least made them earn the points at the free-throw line) - and the Bobcats failed to capitalize on those same "free" points. While Washington shot 80% from the free throw line, Charlotte only made 69% from the stripe on their 29 attempts. Had they shot 80%, they would have scored 23 points from the foul-line, instead of the 20 they wound up with (with which they wound up).

Sam, get the team on the free throw line - last night was just another game they lost thanks to their inefficiency from the stripe.
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