Charlotte Bobcats vs Bulls, 4/14/10
The Charlotte Bobcats wrapped up their regular season by losing to the Bulls 98-89 on Wednesday night at the Cable Box. Derrick Rose led all scorers with 27 points.
AP recap here | Box score here
Pretty simple analysis for this one, folks. This game was completely meaningless for the Bobcats, but the Bulls desperately needed the win to secure the 8th playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls entered the night a game up on Toronto; had they lost and the Raptors won (which they did), the Raptors held the tiebreaker and would have snuck into the 8th spot.
Larry Brown paid some lip service to “playing the right way” and upholding the integrity of the league by not sitting any of his starters; however, it should be noted that they played limited minutes (no starter over 24 minutes) and never really came close to matching the Bulls intensity.
Tidbits
- Perhaps the most noteworthy item to come out of this game was that Tyson Chandler was injured in the second quarter. Chandler was intercepting a pass (after a successful Bobcats trap in the backcourt) but got tangled up with a Bulls player and landed hard on his side. His hip and elbow took the brunt of the fall and he didn’t return to the game; however, it doesn’t sound as if the injury will hamper him in the playoffs.
- Neither Nazr Mohammed (back) nor Tyrus Thomas (thumb) looked good. Nazr looks very rusty, and Tyrus seems to be bothered by his bad thumb.
- Is Taj Gibson the most unheralded, under-the-radar rookie in the league this year? Dude had 13 rebounds, 7 offensive and caused problems for the Cats all night. Mostly just useful in that role (energy, hitting the glass) for now, but if he continues to develop his mid-range game, I see a little David West in him.
- Sorry for the lack of coverage on the Larry Brown kerfluffle yesterday. Peter Vescey essentially regurgitated Michael Jordan’s comment from several weeks ago regarding the possibility of letting Larry Brown out of his contract early if his family situation (wife and kids are in Philadelphia) demanded it — and combined it with the rumor that Brown had sent feelers out to both the 76ers and Clippers regarding their pending coaching openings. I hope Larry is around to coach the Bobcats next year, but I won’t be shocked if he isn’t. I liked Scott Fowler’s take on the issue.
- Per Rick Bonnell, here is the schedule for the Bobcats first-round matchup with the Orlando Magic. Games 1 and 2 in Orlando on Sunday and Wednesday, then games 3 and 4 in Charlotte Saturday and Monday. I always forget how long they stretch out the first round.
- Stay tuned as we prepare for the playoffs — make sure you’re following me and ASChin on Twitter as well.
Tyrus seemed to be forcing the issue, taking a lot of shots that I'm not sure are within his normal repertoire. Still, he was really active on the boards, and had 2 steals and 2 blocks to go along with a token assist, so I thought he did well out there considering his thumb injury.
Something tells me he's going to have a huge role in guarding Howard with weakside defensive help.
i heard that in exchange for the win, the Bulls were giving us either a first round pick or the Jordan statue outside their stadium.
i want the statue.