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Bobcats Lose to Jazz 110-102

The Bobcats lost to the Jazz 110-102 Saturday night. Coach Larry Brown pulled the starters with more than six minutes to go in the fourth quarter, save Gerald Wallace, probably figuring the game was headed for garbage time. However, the reserves mounted a comeback, led by D.J. Augustin, getting within six. There just weren't enough possessions, though, and Utah's crunch time lineup managed to hold on for the victory.

Highlights and lowlights after the jump.

Star-divide

BAD

-- There has to be a certain point after which we can't just disagree with the decision to play Stephen Graham, but try to do something concrete about it. LB played him about 10 minutes before garbage time. Graham has proven this season that he's completely useless to this team, and this game was no different. If he's just going to be filler on the wing while Stephen Jackson takes a breather, why can't Gerald Henderson do it, if only to put the NBA game and its speed in front of him? I've never said Henderson would certainly be a difference maker for the Bobcats, but I'd like to find out if he might be, yet we know hardly anything about what he can do because LB refuses to play him in favor of the proven mediocrity.

Henderson hit a three pointer and played unembarrassing defense in garbage time, which happened to be against the Jazz starters. He should get some of Stephen Graham's minutes. Derrick Brown got a DNP-CD. He should get some of Stephen Graham's minutes. Graham played the bulk of those early 10 minutes after Boris Diaw got his fourth foul in the third quarter, and LB went with a lineup of Felton, Jackson, Graham, Wallace, Chandler. That seems like the perfect situation to play either of the rookies, but apparently Stephen Graham is the coach's son, or something.

Graham in 2009: .154 3P% (2-13). 11.1 Pts/36. 5.0 Reb/36. 1.5 Ast/36.  8.7 PER. This is insane. That I'm highlighting this and we're already a quarter of the way through the season is insane. If I took over player personnel decisions, the first thing I'd do is cut Graham and bring back Dontell Jefferson or another D-League swingman. Make it stop. I beg you, Coach Brown.

-- I was happy to see Tyson Chandler spending most of his time on Carlos Boozer or Paul Millsap instead of Mehmet Okur, but Boozer and Millsap torched the Cats, and Chandler couldn't get anything going on offense. He didn't rebound, either, ending up with 2 points, both free throws, and only 5 rebounds in 32 minutes.

-- Boris Diaw scored 8 points in the first quarter, and then not at all the rest of the game. He did get 5 assists, but he also only managed 3 rebounds. I'm leaning more and more to the point of view that Jax makes Diaw's uniqueness less an advantage than a liability. We'd probably be better off on the first unit with an more traditional power forward than we are with Boris's reverse skill set. Here's an idea: when Augustin is in, he makes an ideal front court partner because they have similar skill sets, and that redundancy from those positions might be particularly difficult to address.

GOOD

-- Gerald Wallace played 45 minutes and was a game changer the entire time. Take your pick of highlights: 30 points on 16 attempts from the field (10-13 from the line), or 13 rebounds, or his ridiculous block on Ronnie Brewer's fast break layup attempt, or the ridiculous block he made on a Deron Williams shot that was ruled a goaltend (I wasn't sure from my upper deck angle). In all respects, Wallace looked like the best player on the floor, right there with Boozer and Williams, All Stars through and through.

-- D.J. Augustin was handed the keys to the offense in a low-stakes situation, and he made the most of it. In the first three quarters, most of his minutes were against Jazz backup point guard, Eric Maynor, but in the fourth, when Augustin did most of his damage, he played against Williams, a far bigger, stronger, guard. D.J. finished with 16 points on only 6 attempts from the field, thanks to a three pointer and going 9-10 from the line. He only got 1 assist, but that's who he is. He's a good scorer in the Damon Stoudemire mold, and when he's at his best, he's also got a little of Devin Harris in him, driving the lane to create contact. When he's allowed to be himself, this is the kind of game that can happen.

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"watch the defense. It’s one of the most consistent aspects of the team."

LOL. What’d Utah shoot again? Oh, and thanks, Felton, for your “passion.” The refs appreciated it as much as your UNC fanboys do.

Oh, and for the all-important +/- line of the night:
Felton: -20 (worst of the entire game)
Augustin: +13 (second best of the entire game, behind only Deron Williams, a PG who has actually lived up to being selected in the top five of his draft class.)

Overheard in press box, from local reporter: 'If this Moore kid was any good, they'd be up 31-0 right now.'
--Darin Gantt, on CAR@NE

by MichaelProcton on Dec 19, 2009 10:07 PM EST reply actions  

Finally you have a recent game to support your anti-UNC rantings

Well, at least you now admit your bias. And finally DJ, your only hope to oust Raymond, showed up. Forget that they lost… Sounds like time to celebrate!

Hey, if Augustin can put up a high FG% consistently, to compensate Wallace and Jack’s points… then I’ll be all for giving him more of Felton’s minutes… Even if he can barely muster up a measly assist.

on behalf of tha dirty south: soul food, carolina blue, southern hospitality, and tha queen city

by southtunnel on Dec 19, 2009 11:35 PM EST up reply actions  

Admit my bias?

Please. I’m just making fun of the fact that people (read: “UNC fanboys”) have loved him for little more than his grititude and hustle.

Overheard in press box, from local reporter: 'If this Moore kid was any good, they'd be up 31-0 right now.'
--Darin Gantt, on CAR@NE

by MichaelProcton on Dec 20, 2009 3:09 AM EST up reply actions  

SO return of “Bad Felton”?

by andrewlail76 on Dec 19, 2009 10:31 PM EST reply actions  

Not particularly. Too many turnovers, but that happens to PGs at times, simply by virtue of having the ball in their hands all the time. Bad Felton is characterized primarily by an unhealthy desire to be the main scorer when it’s uncalled for and secondarily by a flood of poor decisions in the half court. I don’t think either of those were evident tonight.

by David A. Arnott on Dec 19, 2009 10:40 PM EST up reply actions  

Hey so maybe you are not biased after all!

I agree with ya 100%

on behalf of tha dirty south: soul food, carolina blue, southern hospitality, and tha queen city

by southtunnel on Dec 19, 2009 11:37 PM EST up reply actions  

ummm...

you realize there’s a difference in David and Proc right?
Proc is the one you want to attack btw.

--(insert quote, lyric, or joke here)

by StudMuffin15 on Dec 20, 2009 1:01 AM EST up reply actions  

I realize that more now

But didn’t mean it as an attack

on behalf of tha dirty south: soul food, carolina blue, southern hospitality, and tha queen city

by southtunnel on Dec 20, 2009 10:43 AM EST via mobile up reply actions  

I’m very biased. So are you. So is everyone else. I like to think my biases are fairly clear, yet I try to get to the truth.

by David A. Arnott on Dec 20, 2009 10:22 AM EST up reply actions  

I'm biased towards winning

on behalf of tha dirty south: soul food, carolina blue, southern hospitality, and tha queen city

by southtunnel on Dec 20, 2009 10:42 AM EST via mobile up reply actions  

10-15.

Overheard in press box, from local reporter: 'If this Moore kid was any good, they'd be up 31-0 right now.'
--Darin Gantt, on CAR@NE

by MichaelProcton on Dec 20, 2009 1:29 PM EST up reply actions  

And they've always been shitty.

What’s your point?

Overheard in press box, from local reporter: 'If this Moore kid was any good, they'd be up 31-0 right now.'
--Darin Gantt, on CAR@NE

by MichaelProcton on Dec 20, 2009 9:20 PM EST up reply actions  

I just didn't see the game...

SO I wondered how it was.
DId Gerald Henderson earn the right to some more playing time for the next game.

by andrewlail76 on Dec 20, 2009 12:07 PM EST up reply actions  

I thought so

but Stephen Graham would have to pull some Benjamin Button crap to get less playing time if age and experience is the only thing keeping GH on the bench

Lemonade was a popular drink and it still is.

by WhatAboutBob_cats on Dec 20, 2009 12:27 PM EST up reply actions  

What if DJ can get more minutes and put up a solid, consistent FG% every night?

My logic tells me that since we lack shooters… we need someone who can score outside the paint. And since Wallace gets most his points in the paint, having a constant outside threat seems like it could really help loosen up defenses. Could DJ help us turn the corner in this way???

on behalf of tha dirty south: soul food, carolina blue, southern hospitality, and tha queen city

by southtunnel on Dec 19, 2009 11:44 PM EST reply actions  

Yes

There is no excuse… EVER that Flip Murray should enter the game before DJ Augustin.

Tonight’s game solidified that fact.

Furthermore, according to 82games.com it’s better for the team when Augustin plays. The Bobcat’s win 66.6% of games when Augustin plays over 10 minutes.

Cat Scratch Reader's resident optimist.

by James The Aussie on Dec 19, 2009 11:57 PM EST up reply actions  

i was at the game...

right behind the basket Gerald “goaltended” on. certain was NOT a goaltend. he took the ball to the board and it was in no way possible coming down or above the rim.
so the officials screwed that one up.

this game was lost because of the bench. outside of DJ, nobody else really produced enough to make a difference. you could argue that Grahm produced, but he made some very poor basketball decisions in the game that seemed to kill momentum (for example, saving the ball when it clearly would have been out on Utah. gotta let it go)
Naz was very efficient in his 10 minuets. certainly more so than Tyson

the way Gerald plays is just incredible. he hustled, got back, and scrapped for anything that would have been penciled in on a box-score. get this: Gerald had the same number of rebounds as the 4 other starters combined (13).

i wonder why Brown didnt decide to either:
(a) put the starters back in at that 5 min mark when the game got back down to 10
or (b) go with a lineup of DJ, Henderson, Jax, Crash, Naz. that way, we get a real player (not Diop) playing low post D and we can spread Jax around to produce more with DJ providing “off” offense.

speaking of DJ, he played extremely well tonight. as did Raymond—but the TOs could have been less. hopefully, this is just a window to the rest of DJs season.

--(insert quote, lyric, or joke here)

by StudMuffin15 on Dec 20, 2009 1:09 AM EST reply actions  

not to mention...

startin to want to run Chandler out of town…

dude gets paid millions for being tall. so use your height. Jackson has a better post game than him. hes nowhere near as strong as Okafor and his offensive game never will be.
did you see him miss a dunk???? thats unacceptable for a man as big as he.
its terrible that Gerald out-rebounds him night in and night out.

--(insert quote, lyric, or joke here)

by StudMuffin15 on Dec 20, 2009 1:13 AM EST up reply actions  

My thoughts

I was glad to be back at the Cable box to root on the Bobcats and heckle the opposing team (I was a heckling machine tonight). Gerald was his usual beastly self and it was an interesting game to say the least. When it seemed over, LB put in the reserves (Diop, Henderson, etc) with the exception of G-Force. Oddly enough, we turned it around and almost came back.

Bad Spots

  • Graham: nuff’ said
  • Tyson Chandler’s hands: I’ll let the one handed near slam-jam-thank-you-ma’am slide, but missing the other dunk and grasping air instead of the ball on a pass to him is unacceptable.
  • Refs: It’s hard to argue this point. We actually attempted more free throws than the Jazz, but I still think there was some poor officiating. Bavetta and his caretakers, I mean fellow referees made a string of highly questionable (read: bull crap) calls with led to the extension of the Jazz lead. Had these calls been made correctly, the game would have been more in reach for the cats to make some kind of a comeback. Because of such a huge lead, many fans left with 5 or more min left and missed the bobcats cut the lead.

Quandaries

  • SERIOUSLY STEPHEN GRAHAM? 16 min?
  • Where are you, Derrick Brown? I know Gerald is the bee’s knees, but playing him 45 min tonight and 40 mpg does not equal sustainable health.

Good spots (to leave on a good note)

  • Gerald Wallace: Boom
  • DJ: he’s back to playing well? I hope so. Glad that MJ supposedly overruled the trade.
  • Gerald Henderson: Although in limited minutes, he played well and helped bring the team back into contention late. He deserves more playing time! * Sighs deeply, knowing all too well the likely outcome *

Lemonade was a popular drink and it still is.

by WhatAboutBob_cats on Dec 20, 2009 1:50 AM EST reply actions  

was at the game

Officiating and Tyson Chandler put the brakes on ALL of the Bobcats significant scoring drives. Tyson Chandler. Is. Terrible.

"ANOTHER Iowa running back down!"-any sports caster

by HAWKEYESBABY on Dec 20, 2009 8:45 PM EST reply actions  

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