Charlotte Bobcats @ Spurs, 12/11/09

More Road Shenanigans…

The Charlotte Bobcats dropped to 1-9 on the road this year after losing 104-85 to the San Antonio Spurs Friday night.  AP story here, box score here.  After a promising third quarter, the Spurs dropped the hammer in the fourth, outscoring the Cats 32-14 in the decisive period.

The first half was a nightmare for the Cats.  Both Tyson Chandler and Boris Diaw got into foul trouble; Gerald Wallace couldn’t get anything going and Nazr was uncharacteristically ineffective.  The Cats appeared to be in danger of being run out of the building when Richard Jefferson opened the third quarter with a three to put the Spurs up 20.  But the Cats would go on to outscore the Spurs 29-10 the rest of the quarter behind strong play from Gerald Wallace, Stephen Jackson and rookie Derrick Brown to cut the lead to one.

The Cats actually appeared to take the lead on a Raymond Felton layup at the end of the third, but a questionable charge call wiped out the basket and proved to be a harbinger of the fourth quarter.

Bullets

• Crash ended up with 18 points on 6-9 FG, but was largely kept off the boards and finished with just 6 rebs.
• Tyson Chandler was resoundingly awful.  Like usual, he got into early foul trouble and couldn’t stay on the floor (only 22 minutes); in those limited minutes he turned the ball over 8 times.  8 times!
• The Cats were a lousy 3-12 from 3PT and 18-29 from FT — can’t win on the road like that.
• Despite the third quarter, the Spurs shot 39-66 for 59% from the field.
• Next game is tomorrow night in Dallas (8:30 ET) as the Cats will get another crack at the Mavs, who they’ve still never beaten.
• Reminder, follow me on Twitter — sometime this weekend I’ll be giving away two tickets to the 12/19 Jazz game.

Bonus Basketball Blogosphere Links

• Let’s help Rufus On Fire help Gerald Wallace get to the All-Star Game with some Chuck Norris-style facts.  My favorite: “During the 9 months Gerald’s mother was pregnant with him, she averaged a double-double.”  My contribution: “After Gerald Wallace suffered a collapsed lung last year, he shrugged off the doctor’s treatment recommendations.  Instead, he rebuilt his collapsed lung… himself… from scratch.”
• ESPN/Marc Stein’s Weekend Dime is usually a must-read.  This weekend is no exception, as Stein details some soon-to-be-trade-eligible players who might be on the block.  Brandon Bass, anyone?
• CBSsports’ Ken Berger with an awesome look at the some hard attendance/money numbers from around the league.
• The guys from The Basketball Jones have a solution for complaints that they don’t show your team enough “love”.

-Dr. E