Charlotte Bobcats vs Grizzlies, 1/9/10
Whew!
Gerald Wallace tipped in the game winner at the buzzer to give the Charlotte Bobcats an 89-87 win over the Memphis Grizzlies at the Cable Box on Saturday night. AP recap here, box score here.
After a roller-coaster fourth quarter that featured two huge Flip Murray threes, some inexcusable missed free throws by both teams, and an amazing Gerald Wallace block of an OJ Mayo layup, Mayo was able to hit a game-tying three with 8.8 seconds left, 87-87. Out of the timeout, the ball went to Raymond Felton.
Felton started his move on DeMarre Carroll with a few seconds left, but Carroll played tough D, pushing Raymond to his right and never allowing him into the lane. Felton had to throw up a wild runner that missed everything long, but Gerald Wallace was crashing the boards from the opposite side. Crash timed his jump perfectly, rose up over everybody, caught the miss cleanly and dumped it back into the basket before time expired for the win.
The Bobcats were frankly lucky to have the opportunity to win this one. Some old bugaboos came back into play: turnovers (18) and missed layups (at least 10) were aplenty. Stephen Jackson had a poor game statistically (6-20 FG, 0-3 3PT, 6 turnovers) and the bench (save Flip Murray) didn’t play all that well. The Cats were down by as much as 13 late in the second quarter; they chipped away during the third and finally evened things up halfway through the fourth.
The Grizzlies are one of the league’s pleasant surprises thus far and they showed why tonight. Even without starting PG Mike Conley (Marcus Williams got the start) they looked good. OJ Mayo, Rudy Gay and Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol looked like a cohesive bunch. Hasheem Thabeet even made himself useful with a couple of blocks and a perfect 2-2 FG/2-2 FT night. The bench is kinda bare, though.
Bullets
- The Cats improve to 13-4 at home, 16-19 overall; that’s good for 7th place in the Eastern Conference.
- Any Baseliners struggling with their weight might want to get up with Marc Gasol. Dude’s personal trainer/nutritionist/chef situation is on point, as he’s gone from Stanley Roberts-esque to Pau Gasol-esque since last year.
- Tweet of the night comes from Nazr Mohammed: “I’ve played on a couple of teams & with a few allstars. G Wallace is having that type of season. It would b a travesty if he doesn’t make it” Right on, Naz.
- Next game is Tuesday night, the Cats are hosting another pleasant surprise from the Western Conference, the Houston Rockets at 7PM ET.
Diaw led all +/- with +14, despite 3-11 from the field. More rebounds than Wallace, more assists than Felton, and only 1 turnover. No hesitation on open shots. I really hope this is a sign of a turnaround; it was great to see him playing with a pulse again.
Was Henderson's New Year's resolution to lead the league in DNP-CDs? Just wondering…
Its a shame me and my fellow south carolinians couldnt watch this game in our living rooms. It seemed like more people were at that game, so maybe the buzz is starting.
Gerald Wallace is in no way human.
Boris had a nice game. Maybe someone hurt his feelings.
We are pretty lucky to get this one though. Although Memphis is almost relevant now, we should have blown them out. Mike Conly was out. No excuses as to why this game was close.
Methinks we'll be at .500 by the end of this home-stand
A couple weeks ago, the Observer's Rick Bonnell posted an article about the "swagger" of Stephen Jackson and how he was a better late-game-pressure option than Raymond Felton or anyone else on the roster. Of course, Bonnell's comment board was pounded by Felton's fans about how Raymond was a super clutch player, leader, and an ex-Tarheel that could do no wrong.
From the looks of last night's game, neither Jackson nor Felton stepped forward to win the game. Actually, it seems that Felton did step up to miss two crucial free throws in the closing minutes and air ball a potential game winner. Still, I bet some folks will view his shot as the ultimately clutch-time assist.
While Stephen Jackson boasts that he will "… make love to pressure", I don't think pressure will even listen to Raymond Felton's voicemails.
Don’t worry Reggie, the game wasn’t televised locally. Actually, I think there are a few on this home stand that are non-televised. Perhaps, this was an intentional maneuver to promote the arena attendance.
I agree that Felton is playing solid ball right now and his contributions have been a big part of the 'Cats recent push. Still Raymond hasn't proven himself to be a clutch player. I've seen his failed desperation drives too many times to buy into that.
I did miss seeing the Grizzlies game, I only listened to the radio announcers. After looking at the play-by-play, it confirmed what I had heard during the last two minutes of the broadcast.
Felton came into the game and hit a big jumper at just under 2 minutes, then took it upon himself to initiate failed opportunities – a horrible pass, broken up by Mayo (and followed by Wallace's monster block), missing two crucial free throws (the definition of choke), and a complete miss of any of the equipment with 2 seconds left.
There have certainly been a few times (over the past 4 years) when I've seen Felton make big buckets in the closing minutes. But, I've seen his over-confidence end miserably much more often. He's playing like a solid point guard these days, but he shouldn't concern himself with taking on the "clutch" role.
Mike or Bitter Dukie fan Did you even watch this game? Felton had 19 points on over.500 shooting. If you look at carrers Felton has made more clutch buckets and game winners that Gerald. Without Felton the Cats would not have been in the game. I hope Gerald continues to play big when it matter, hes our best player he should show up in the 4th.
i head that they were going to replace the term "BAMF" with "Gerald Wallace"
We all know the Bobcats need to address their backup PF need, regardless of what they say out loud. I’m sure something is cooking. ESPN reports that the Bobcats could send Diaw, Gerald Henderson and a future pick to Utah for Carlos Boozer. I would love that to happen, but I’m not sure how real that might be, since I’m not sure we can compete to resign Boozer next season unless he agrees to a contract of 2-4 Years at 10-12M per season ($3M more than Diaw). Even if he agrees, I’m not sure if the Bobcats will be that team and if they will have the money (Maybe replacing Diaw’s $9M and Henderson’s $2M with Boozer’s $11M may do it). If this trade happens we might have some options next year to resign Boozer (If he wants to and if it’s in that $10-12M/Year range), and stay just slightly over the cap, however, we might trade Mohamed next season (expiring contract) and our team will be significantly better.
That being said, in the meantime, Sean Williams was waived by the Nets, he is 6-10, 240 pounds, strong, athletic and average defender; plus he is cheap. Do you think the Bobcats should go after a guy like him in the near future? We need a backup PF even if the Boozer trade happens (which I doubt).
Next year, I know Jackson’s extensions kicks in which increases his salary by $2M, but Acie Law is out and his salary is $2M.
Felton = $7.5M (Would this be a good guess?)
Augustine = $2.5M
Murray = $2.2M
Jackson = $9.0M
Graham = $1.0M
Wallace = $9.0M
Brown = $0.7M
Boozer = $12.0M (Acquired for Diaw $9M & Henderson $2M)
Williams = $1.5M (Claimed from waivers)
Ajinca = $1.5M
Tyson = $11.7M (Trading chip at the end of the season Expiring Contract)
Mohammed = $6.5M (Trading chip at the end of the season Expiring Contract)
Diop = $6.2M
That would put the Bobcats at $70.8 (about $3.M above next years Tax) with a significantly more competitive team. With a starting lineup of: Felton, Jackson, Wallace, Boozer & Chandler we can aim for home court advantage in the East. Bobcats can also look to trade Mohammed’s (or Tyson’s) expiring contract on Draft night and they still have two open roster spots to allow some flexibility. Yes I know way too many things need to occur in order for this to happen, but it’s OK to dream.
Also, Wallace better be an All-Star this season or the NBA should be even more embarrased about this All-Star joke. McGrady a starter, please that is ridiculos. And the people who actually voted for him over Nash or Paul are a bunch of ignorants (sorry if I ofended someone here but its true).
Also, on Bonnels comments about Felton and Jackson in clutch time, Bonnell was right (this doesn't happen to often). He never said Felton is a bad player, he said Jackson is more suited for this situation than Felton. You don't have to be a genious to know this is correct, anybody can make a lucky shot every so often (law of probability) but just few people can do that with some consistency and not letting a miss impact his confidence. Jackson can do that better than Felton, and has done it many times in his career (hence the "I make love to preassuere phrase). Felton has done it too, the problem is that aside from this season, Felton misses are way to many. Oh and yes, Jackson is human and he migh also have an off night.
Again, I'm not bashing on Felton. I think he is a great, solid player, extremely important for the Bobcats sucess and one of the Top 20 PG's in the league. But if it comes to choosing, I rather give the ball to Jackson in clutch time than Felton. Another analogy for this is Rondo and Allen. Rondo is a fantastci PG and has had his share of great clutch plays, however, I rather have Allen with the ball in clutch time than Rondo. The good thing is that between Jackson, Murray and Felton we have options and that make it easier for each of them, since you can not concentrate in only one guy.
Pardon my spelling…I was in a hurry!
good sharing !!!
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bashing on Felton. I think he is a great, solid player, extremely important for the Bobcats sucess and one of the Top 20 PG’s in the league. But if it comes to choosing, I rather give the ball to Jackson in clutch time than Felton. Anothe