Bobcats Beat Suns in OT, 114-109
by David A. Arnott on Jan 26, 2010 11:59 PM EST
39 comments
The Charlotte Bobcats defeated the Phoenix Suns in overtime Tuesday night, 114-109. The Cats looked like the better team for much of the game, yet still trailed until the fourth quarter, as the Suns unleashed a barrage of three pointers, finishing the game 15-34 from deep. It was only the fourth road win of the season for Charlotte.
Stephen Jackson hit a monster clutch three with 19.7 seconds to go in the fourth quarter, tying the game. (Making. Love. To. Pressure.) The Bobcats played solid defense on the ensuing possession, forcing Steve Nash to give up the ball to Jared Dudley, who tossed up an awkward attempt, which bounced off the rim, sending the game to overtime. In the extra frame, the Cats' defense turned up a notch, and they were able to hold on with clutch plays from seemingly unlikely sources: a block from Boris Diaw and a dagger three from Ronald Murray.
This doesn't prove that top defense beats top offense, or that the Cats are ready for prime time, but it does imply a certain amount of resilience and heart to return to the floor and play so well, overcoming three and a half quarters of adversity, the night after a dispiriting road loss to a shorthanded Nuggets squad.
Highlights and lowlights after the jump.
GAME THREAD COMMENTS
Aisander D: I can see [Larry Brown] start to try rapping, only to bench the director of the ad and start singing show tunes.
Ft.Mill Bobcat: Dudley's talented, but reminds me of a cabbage patch doll.
WhatAboutBob_cats: I know [Nash is] canadian but his head isn’t split in half horizontally at the mouth.
Multiple: Just Ctrl-F the page for "nonchalant" and follow along.
BAD
-- Nazr Mohammed had a ludicrously frustrating night, ending up with only 4 points on 1-9 shooting from the field in 21 minutes. As well as he's played thus far, a little regression toward the mean should be expected.
-- Holy jump shots, Batman. The Suns scorched the Cats from beyond the three point line, shooting, as noted above, 15-34. I'm not sure if that's bad luck or bad defense, but I'll guess it's a little of both.
-- Somebody, somewhere, has the stat, but I don't know where to look... The Bobcats looked terrible most of the time the Suns played zone defense. I suspect we've seen zone looks much more often than other NBA teams because the Cats are so bad at shooting from distance, and as the season goes along with relatively poor shooting from our perimeter players, we'll see even more of it.
GOOD
-- Gerald Wallace again turned in an All Star performance, with 21 points on 13 attempts and 9 rebounds. Argue about his final two fouls all you want, but he did give Nash a shove on both of them, as shown by the slow motion replays. It sucks that he got called for them when, usually, those calls are let go, and we could have used him during the final minutes.
-- Diaw hit his ceiling, scoring 24 points on 17 attempts, grabbing 11 rebounds, and distributing 5 assists. Please sir, can I have some more?
-- The Bobcats' rebounding was in fine form, led by Wallace and Diaw, but supplemented by 6 from Mohammed and 9 from Jax. The Suns are not a good rebounding team, but the Cats still stepped up.
-- The Cats don't win if they don't go 25-30 from the line. Free throw shooting was at a premium, and they delivered, especially in the end game, when the Suns were fouling in their last ditch effort to stay afloat.
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This both a good game and a good in-game thread.
Blogging at Ridiculous Upside, where my terrible writing meets people's eyes.
I wholeheartedly concur. I literally clapped, gave an ovation, when I was done skimming the first 370 or so comments.
by David A. Arnott on Jan 27, 2010 12:04 AM EST up reply actions
We're trying
We’re becoming an online improv troupe. Eventually we’re gonna charge a $5 cover and a 2 drink minimum. We just have to come up with a name…
Cats Scratch Fever?
Seriously – the regular guys that “chat” during the games are a great bunch and I know we’re all excited at the idea of others joining in. The bigger the crowd, the bigger the laughs.
Mr. Mann, Ft Mill, Andrewlail, and the others are good for at least a few lol posts each per game.
by Ourdaywillcome on Jan 27, 2010 12:19 AM EST up reply actions
yeah, i agree
good game and fun game day thread
by Roger, Roger on Jan 27, 2010 1:14 AM EST up reply actions
I try to contribute my .02
but these west coast trips…I just can’t stay up that late…unless it is the weekend…
by andrewlail76 on Jan 27, 2010 12:50 PM EST up reply actions
Do you have any idea
how hard I had to bite my tongue to keep from quoting, “FAKE FANNNN!”
But this is the kindler, gentler second-half of the season Rufus on Fire. In light of that let me just say, we understand bro. We’ll keep your seat warm for when the Cats come back to a part of the country that lives in a CIVILIZED time zone.
by Ourdaywillcome on Jan 27, 2010 3:39 PM EST up reply actions
I know
I just lie in bed and weep. I know my duty…but…so…tired
by andrewlail76 on Jan 28, 2010 8:22 PM EST up reply actions
Oh. My. God.
Sean May with 7 pts and 11 reb off the bench
Lemonade was a popular drink and it still is.
by WhatAboutBob_cats on Jan 27, 2010 12:28 AM EST reply actions
sayyy whaat?
first game he’s played in over a month. 2nd game he’s played in over two months. So I guess he’s got like two, maybe three games left this season? Something like that.
by Roger, Roger on Jan 27, 2010 1:17 AM EST up reply actions
We just won a road game!!!!!!!
It was ugly, it took an extra period but we won! If we can continue to play the way we have at home AND sneak a couple road games here or there, were in GREAT shape! If we can finsih this road trip 3-3 I’ll be happy. It won’t be easy, but the Cats can do it!
LETS GO CATS! LETS GO CATS!
PS: I’m going to the game Feb. 6th and I saw tonight the first 5000 fans get a free Gerald Wallace action figure!!! I’m sorry, but thats badass! lol!
Good luck.
I don’t care about the action figure as long as I’m the 4,999th person in the door.
My lovely bride and I plan to make it there for the game. Once I know for sure, maybe we can hook up for a halftime howdy and discuss when LB should sit his starters during the second half once we open up the 25 point lead.
by Ourdaywillcome on Jan 27, 2010 8:05 AM EST up reply actions
If ya got any extra tickets...
I’m your huckleberry
by andrewlail76 on Jan 27, 2010 12:51 PM EST up reply actions
Let me get back to ya on that.
No promises, and don’t hold your breath, but we’ll talk again.
by Ourdaywillcome on Jan 27, 2010 3:40 PM EST up reply actions
So much to like about this game
I love watching Derrick Brown. He tries to dunk on everyone. Every time he touches the ball I wait for him to try to throw down. Love it.
Does anybody defend Nash better than the Bobcats? Scores 23 points, but it’s on 7-22 shooting. 9 assists, but 6 turnovers. And if not for some defensive lapses that lead to wide open 3’s, his stat line wouldn’t look as good. At no point did it feel like he was controlling the game.
A couple days off before the G-Dubs game. What’s the over/under on Jax scoring output? 30? 35? 40? He’s gong to kill them, then yell at Don Nelson that nobody can guard him (by far the most underrated moment of this season was when he yelled that at the Houston bench).
It’s hard not to get over excited. 2 winnable games and we’re looking at going 3-3 at worst. Pull out the Portland game with all of their injuries and it’s 4-2. Good to have the swagger back. 5-8 spots are going to be a dog fight. We could end up at any of those spots.
I think I'm developing a bit of a man crush on the Derr-Devil
So fearless
I love the quality that he’s determined to dunk…on EVERYONE.
He just has to work on getting them all in…or selling the foul.
I think just being in the same hotel as Predator makes you want to dunk on everyone.
by andrewlail76 on Jan 27, 2010 12:52 PM EST up reply actions
I love to watch Derr-Devil
and I am NOT PLEASED with his absence from the rookie roster. I would have taken off Jerebko I think and put Brown in. I haven’t seen DeRozan play so I can’t argue for his inclusion
Lemonade was a popular drink and it still is.
by WhatAboutBob_cats on Jan 27, 2010 2:15 PM EST up reply actions
A travesty
to overlook an nba-ready rookie talent
by andrewlail76 on Jan 28, 2010 8:23 PM EST up reply actions
The sad truth is
Until Chandler needed to rest his tootsies (an injury I STILL think was caused by the floor vibrations of Wallace running by him) the Derr-devil wasn’t getting enough minutes to be seen by most of the league. The total lack of national tv coverage didn’t help the cause either. It’s a shame, but it is what it is. At least this way we get to keep him a secret for a while longer and when he takes the court players will still look at him and think, “who the hell is THIS dude?”
by Ourdaywillcome on Jan 28, 2010 9:37 PM EST up reply actions
There are some serious holes in his game
But he’s still a rook. He couldn’t find a much better mentor than LB and the more effort he shows, the more LB will work with him.
The potential alone is enough to quicken the pulse.
When you add in the fact that he seems to improve a little almost every week and it gets downright exciting.
by Ourdaywillcome on Jan 27, 2010 3:43 PM EST up reply actions
A solid win, but the inability to defend the 3pt line is troubling.
Against the Magic, the Nuggets and the Suns an inability to recognize shooters and give hard contests has led to some astronomical 3pt numbers for the opposition. Considering the Bobcats are currently tied for the 3rd best eFG% against at 49.3% (they were at 47.9% before these last three games), the 61% eFG% allowed over the past three games seems like an anomaly.
Had Charlotte played anything close to their average against the three point shot, all three of those games would’ve been easy victories it seems.
by Spider Jerusalem on Jan 27, 2010 4:50 AM EST reply actions
Teams seem to have found a hole in our D
I’m fairly concerned about it. Our perimeter defense has just plain disappeared. We’re not going to win many games against teams that have solid long-range shooters unless we can put a body on them without fouling our way to 4-point plays.
Chandler will come back sooner or later, but history indicates he won’t last long before he’s hurt again. He’s made a career our of being the NBA’s highest paid part-time employee. We’re better served learning how to defend the perimeter well without his presence. That way, when he does return, our defense will be all the more deadly.
Del Curry said it best last night. “You can’t win the game by matching baskets when you’re scoring twos and they’re scoring threes.”
It isn’t as noticable in our home conference, but there are a number of teams out West that carry long range sharpshooters by the benchfull. We’ve gotten exploited two games in a row and it isn’t going to stop until we shut some teams down out on the rim.
by Ourdaywillcome on Jan 27, 2010 8:16 AM EST up reply actions
I agree completely
Poor perimeter defense is why we can hold Dwight Howard in check scoring wise and still lose to the Magic. Their outside shooters just don’t miss.
Awww man.
Seems like I missed out on a good time here last night.
man.
staying up late to “yell” at my tv while fiance is sleeping in the other room is hard hahaha. You can’t go to sleep after such an awesome 4th quarter and OT. I was pretty dissapointed with the officiating and not giving us a lot of calls when we drive to the basket. Flip got murdered a few times as did jack and boris. The fifth foul on Gerald, yea that was a foul, but the second one…I really don’t think that was necessary. That’s just poor judgement on the part of the official. Can you imagine if that was Lebron James committing that foul for his 6th? David Stern would murder that ref for taking a star out of the game in clutch time. I know I know. We can’t dwell on it, but it really urked me. Here’s the thing about the 3’s teams are hitting. Yea, a lot of them are kinda open, but how are they knocking down EVERY clutch 3 possible? WE WON! I’m done complaining. I’m super happy we won and we DOMINATED the OT. I about tossed my coffee table in excitement haha.
"Smokey this isn't 'Nam this is bowling. There are rules!"
I am so lucky!
My lady love, although not QUITE as passionate about the team as I am sits right there beside me cursing every bad foul and cheering out loud every time one of the Cats lights it up.
I’m nervous about taking her to too many games though. I’m afraid she’s going to develop a serious thing for Wallace. Her first comment upon seeing the action figure in Martin’s coat pocket last night was, “I wonder if it vibrates?” (just kidding, couldn’t resist)
But what the hell am I supposed to do? How do you compete with a man that’s 6’ 7" and can put it in from anywhere?
(I accept no responsibility for coffee, soda, or any other substances being spit all over monitors.)
by Ourdaywillcome on Jan 27, 2010 8:22 AM EST up reply actions
hahahaha nice
Yea my girl likes the Bobcats too. I FINALLY got her into watching them. It was the Memphis game where The Predator won it with the tip in. I took her to that game and she finally experienced the joys of being a sports fan. She still isn’t that into watching them on tv, but that day will come.
"Smokey this isn't 'Nam this is bowling. There are rules!"
by HAWKEYESBABY on Jan 27, 2010 8:59 AM EST up reply actions
I hate that I missed the 4th quarter and OT
I woke up at 6 am to watch the highlights on NBA TV before I went to work. I am glad the Cats pulled it out. I would have been in somewhat of a bad mood at work if they blew another winnable game.
"I could never be a thug, they don't dress this well." - Malice
by Julius Coxswain on Jan 27, 2010 9:27 AM EST reply actions
Would have been better with you there.
We could have used a little Coxswainage.
Blogging at Ridiculous Upside, where my terrible writing meets people's eyes.
Good win for the Bobbies
The song remains the same though, when Boris plays well we win… when he doesn’t we don’t.
I really hope Boris can keep up a high level of play now. Now that it seems the Bobcats will make the playoffs I’m looking forward to what they need to do to win their first series, and consistency comes up again as the primary factor; Boris is the center of this.
Cat Scratch Reader's resident optimist.
by James The Aussie on Jan 27, 2010 9:43 AM EST reply actions
Its so much easier when your lady is a fan!
Anytime she can, my woman will sit right there beside me and yell and scream and get just as into with me! James knows what I’m talkin about! haha!
She’ll be at the game with me. I’ll be the one wearing a jersey, hat, wrist bands, and yes, Bobcat shoes. She’ll be rocking a jersey and custom made Bobcat Earrings. Yeah…were THOSE kind of fans! Haha!
The perimiter D is a little weak, I’m with you on that, but I think thats mostly because we don’t have a big guy in the paint. Let me explain this theory.
With out a “true” bigman, sometimes the biggest guys we got out on the court are Brown and/or Diaw. Both, for arguments sake, under sized PF’s. So, sometimes, Brown and Diaw have to try REALLY hard to contain guys like, last night for example, Amare Stoudamire. During the Nuggets game, Nene, and the Magic game, Howard. We can’t defend the 3 when we collapse with 2 or 3 guys on the other team’s big man because Mohammed can’t play but so many minutes, Diop is a walking personal foul and no Chandler.
I never thought I’d say this…and its very hard to type…but I’ll be happy when Chandler comes back. There. I said it. I don’t think hes gonna make a HUGE impact or anything crazy like that, but having another 7 foot body in the paint will help.
Either way, the Cats are playing great with or without a true force in the paint. Small ball has been good to the Cats so far.
Ray continues to play solid
Raymond shot 7 of 8 from the field and added 17 points, 4 boards, 4 assist, and 2 steals. Didn’t like the 4 turnovers but only 1 or 2 were careless. He played lock down defense in the second half and overtime. He hit 2 pressure free throws that had he missed would have allowed the Suns to possibly come down and hit a three and tie the game.
I'll be stoked
if Chandler comes back and we never pass him the ball unless he’s completely unguarded. Our offensive formula is working, and our D will be more solid with Tyson there, so in theory that would make us….ugh…better. Nah BobcatsLuke is totally right and on top of that he’s a better shot blocker than Nazr for sure.
"Smokey this isn't 'Nam this is bowling. There are rules!"
I believe
Chandler is the weakest link in our starting 5. He’s an offensive cypher. He plays some mighty good defense, I’ll give him that. We soared when he first got injured and I don’t believe it was coincidental. But he’s been gone long enough now that teams have figured out the way to exploit our weakness inside is by firing away from the outside. If Wallace or Diaw defend the ball outside of the key, it leaves them in terrible position for rebounds and we get slaughtered on second chance points as well. We do need Tyson back.
But I’m also hoping that the coaching staff used his absence to figure out ways to keep him on the court. He has hands almost as soft as the average anvil. He’s the only player in the league that can pick up a pair of fouls during the pre-game shootaround. About a month and a half ago I suggested that we adjust for this by starting Nazr for the first 6 minutes of the game. This helps on several levels. First, Chandler isn’t benched for the remainder of the half because of picking up a pair of quick fouls. We have him for the second quarter. In addition, the starters will be getting ready to come out and be somewhat winded. This will make them a bit easier to defend. When the subs come oncourt, Chandler will still be fresh. Nazr’s best minutes are his first dozen each night. By making this one adjustment we get the best of both worlds. Chandler plays more minutes, and we get Nazr’s highest quality play when we need to get a quick start. Tyson’s defense becomes even stronger because he’ll be on the court against slower substitutes that he’ll be less likely to foul.
Which brings me to on final thing. I think we need to take just a moment (since today’s Observer indicates Chandler will be back as soon as next week) to acknowledge that both Mohammed and Diop have done an amazing job under very bad circumstances while Chandler’s been out. At the beginning of the season our bench was considered by the pundits and experts to be one of the weakest in the NBA. But we’ve put together the best half-season in the team’s history setting home win streak records, playing above .500 ball and won 3 of our 4 road games without our starting center. Of late, Murray has played some crucial clutch minutes and Derrick Brown has grown into one of the best 2nd round picks I’ve seen in some time. Even DJ – our highest expectation off the bench when the season started – has broken out of his nightmarish slump somewhat and begun to show some confidence and skills. The Bobcats bench has performed above all expectations and we owe as much of our January success to our backup centers as we do to our "stars. Nothing has been said about injury to Jax, but both the Predator and RayRay are playing hobbled and we’ve stayed viable both at home and on the road. When Chandler comes back, the bench will fade into the background again. It’s what they do. But when we’re battling our way past the first round of the playoffs we should all remember how hard our “scrubs” worked to get us there.
by Ourdaywillcome on Jan 27, 2010 12:06 PM EST up reply actions
It's interesting about Chandler.
He a much more limited offensive player than Nazr (yeah, that’s weird to say), but if he can rebound (particularly offensively) like a healthy Chandler, then he’ll be useful. Nazr is having a pretty fantastic seasons so far, though (last night notwithstanding), and is clocking in at 6th in the NBA in PER among centers, so I’d say keeping Nazr in his current role (as long as he stays this productive) is in the team’s best interest.
I’m fine with Chandler taking Diop’s minutes, and some of Boris’ minutes at center, but no more than that, really.
by Spider Jerusalem on Jan 27, 2010 2:53 PM EST up reply actions
I agree on Chandler and have been saying the same
Another point to be made with starting Nazr and having him play the first six minutes, is that Chandler will have some bench perspective and the refs will settle into the game. This should also help with Chandler fouls. The only thing we lose by starting Nazr is the opening tip-off. Chandler is great at getting the tap. Not that big a deal, but the home crowd likes to win the opening jump ball.
I am concerned that when he comes back from the injury he may be a step slow. Diop has played very well, but Chandler is definitely an upgrade. Chandler can’t catch a pass, but when he grabs the offensive board he can get the ball in the hoop. He can also hit foul shots.
Since we are talking centers, it is exciting to see Ajinca beefing up and playing so well in the D-League. He now appears to be a stronger on offense than Diop and maybe Chandler. He is also rebounding well and plays good defense at least at times. However when he returns to the Bobcats, I don’t see Larry Brown giving him much playing time. We have a good thing going. Unless we have more center injuries, the much improve Ajinca will spend most of his time on the bench.
by Ft.Mill Bobcat on Jan 28, 2010 10:09 PM EST up reply actions
Ajinca's minutes
I kind of agree with you that Ajinca won’t see many minutes at the 5.
But if he shows any indication upon his return that he knows how to handle the extra beef and muscle he’s added, I think he’ll see some pt each game. We still have that hole at the 4 despite Derrick Brown showing steady improvements. It wouldn’t surprise me to see LB put together a large lineup using Ajinca here and there at the 4. I also expect he’ll rather quickly bump Diop back onto the 12th seat in the bench.
by Ourdaywillcome on Jan 29, 2010 1:44 AM EST up reply actions
Luke well said! Tyson will help our D. We will give up less wide open 3s when we have any kind of Post D. Less double teams means better team Defense. Any time you can play 5 on 5 rather than 4 on 5 youll give up far less. I know Nash did not have a great game but he made Lopez, Frye, and Dudley look like stars. These guys are bench players, Role players at best but Nash is making them look like Players. I dont know of anyone better at making teamates better. the Peyton Manning of the NBA if you will. That said I thought Raymond did a great Job deffending Nash in the second half and OT. Raymond’s D is very underated. With hand check rules as they are keeping guards out of the paint is the most important part of good D. Having a guy who can keep PGs from penetrating and keep them off the foul line, this is a big part of our success on the Deffensive end. In the 4th quarter we have shown great ability to lock down deffensivly because of Ray and Jax great Individual D and Geralds awesome team D.
tyson chandler can't even defend is spot on the bench let alone NBA post players
--Gerald Wallace is the best player the Bobcats will have..... EVER
--Someone should slap Larry Brown and bring him back to reality..
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