Charlotte Bobcats @ Boston 3/3/10
The Bobcats played like the Delta Force in January. Now they look more like the Disorderlies.
Boston goes up big early and then outscores Charlotte 28-16 in the third quarter as they go on to win 104-80 over the Bobcats.
AP recap here | Box score here
Around the Horn
Congrats to NBA International League Pass Broadband for stealing my money this evening. In the meantime allow me to metacritic.com the hell out of this recap.
From Bobcats.com:
“I don’t think anybody could have played in that environment,” said Bobcats Head Coach Larry Brown. “They played great, they made shots, they executed great – we played hard, but there were too many obstacles. They were great. At one time I think they were 10-for-12 from three, they shot 60 percent in the first half and shared the ball. Their bench was great – if we would have played our best, I don’t know if that would have been good enough.”
Our friend David at RufusOnFire.com writes:
The Celtics play ugly. Every opponent should know that going in. Yet, the JordanCats again lost their poise and looked like they wanted to be anywhere other than on the court tonight. As noted in the preview, the Cs should be a good matchup for the Cats, but Charlotte’s lost to them by 33 in the season opener, then by 18 in December, and now by 24. When Boris Diaw is your only effective shooter from the field, you don’t deserve to win.
From CelticsBlog.com:
“I thought the key was the third quarter,” said coach Doc Rivers. “We came out and extended the lead. That’s when you take away games- when you’re up ten at halftime and you get it to twenty or you’re up ten at halftime and they cut it to one or two.”
Asked about his minor altercation with Stephen Jackson which resulted in a double technical foul, (Paul) Pierce downplayed the event but did note that clashing with opposing players and showing that extra fire and attitude on the court is something that they could use more of.
From Rick Bonnell’s Charlotte.com recap:
…It’s about body language and tattered communication and selfishness. It’s about no longer recognizing that Bobcats squad that won nine of 10 in January.”That was a team,” Wallace said of the Bobcats’ former incarnation, following a 104-80 loss. “This one is just guys out on their own as individuals. Not talking, not communicating on defense.”And the implications?
“Very worried,” Wallace said of the playoff prospects. “Even if we manage to figure this out and some other team slips up, I don’t know what kind of game we’d play. I’m worried if we do (make the playoffs), we’ll get swept.”
Bonnell elaborates in his blog:
…Now they don’t set good screens, don’t work together well enough to limit the other team’s dribble-penetration. I’m just glad Gerald has the courage to call them out about this. Not that I’m surprised. He’s earned that right because he’s the last original Bobcat left and because there’s nothing about him to suggest he cares more about “me” than “we.”
Bottom Line
Time is running out if the ‘Cats want to get serious about the Playoffs. They’re a game behind Miami (easiest remaining schedule amongst bottom half contenders) and now two and half games behind Milwaukee and Chicago. Charlotte will have to go on a bit of a tear late this month and through April to have any chance of sneaking in.
Enjoy the Loss, Bobcats Fans…
Awful loss, looks like they are quitting. And Larry Brown's derisive comments about how we look like a "jayvee" or "AAU" squad are childish and uncalled for. Leave that stuff to sports radio and man up.
How much change is going to occur within the Bobcats now that MJ is the owner? Do you think the guys think that MJ isn't the man for the job, and are kinda going through the motions? Just a thought.
How much solace should I take in Martin's comments from last night's broadcast? He said that after playing the Lakers, Charlotte has the 3rd easiest schedule down the stretch.
When he mentioned it, I started digging into our schedule…and we have played a *lot* of top tier teams already. Utah, Phoenix, Cleveland, Boston, Portland, Denver, Orlando, San Antonio…not that we ran the table against these higher seeded teams, but the point is that those games are behind us.
Now we'll have a steady stream of lower rung Eastern teams around the corner. We only play 5 more Western teams the rest of the way, including the Clippers and the Timberwolves. I know 'm reaching, but we need any kind of break we can get at this point. The rest of the schedule looks *fairly* easy to navigate through, granted Wallace doesn't continue to lead the league at 42.5 minute a game.
I think the defining period will be a 5 game home stretch later on this month against: Washington (twice), Minnesota, Toronto, Philly, & Milwaukee. If we're not over .500 after that run, the Super Mario Bros. music will speed up.
Our playoff magic number remains at 16, with 23 games left to play…
Good breakdown Newsinz. The problem, as ASChin mentioned above, is that Miami's schedule the rest of the way is similarly "easy", maybe even more so. So the schedule is not going to save us.
Jody, I doubt the ownership news is affecting the team, but hey, you never know.
The only positive thing from last night is that we're one step closer to Jack vs. Pierce in Hell in the Cell. "Ohmahgawd, King, Stephen Jackson is a man possessed in the cell, someone has to get Pierce out of there."
"What the…someone's crawling out from under the ring…my GAWD, it's Garnett, and he's got a steel chair! How the hell did that damn Kevin Garnett get in there?! Somebody's got to stop this!"
Heh…couldn't resist.
This team is finished. They've lost their heart. It's sad cause they were actually playing decent for a bit, then it seems they collectively said "Screw it". When coaches and players start talking to the media about how bad things are it spells trouble. Congrats MJ on buying an inferior NBA team with mediocre players at best. Oh and I want to give a shout out to Mike Giminski, you the man Mike. Your Hornets days are not forgotten.
Pessimism abounds!
Seriously, I think the 'Cats still have a great chance of making the Playoffs. They'll just need to regroup and get healthy.
The AP is reporting that Chandler and Mohammed should be back for the Lakers game. Diop is close as well. This should at least give the team some of the interior presence (Mohammed with the O, Chandler/Diop with the D) that they've lacked since early Feb.
The biggest issues remain minutes played for JAX/Wallace and Augustin's total collapse as an NBA player. I wouldn't be surprised to see D.J.'s team option passed on for '11-'12 during the summer.
ASCHIN, just being honest. I mean at this point would it make a difference if the Bobcats limped into the playoffs or just quit. I mean reading the "around the horn" above, you can't be really too optimistic. Bonnells quote from Wallace says it all, the most consistent player on the team has lost faith, no good comes from that. When was the last time any of you guys heard of a team play half ass basketball all season, stumble into the playoffs, then win a championship? I can wait…….