Orlando Magic dispatch Charlotte Bobcats 92-77; Magic lead series 2-0

Anything to take the sting off this miserable playoff series.

Turnovers, Larry Hughes, and intimidation.

no. thats not the name of a basketball book. thats the reasons why we lost.

Turnovers. cant say enough about them. you commit them, and you will lose. there is no “probably”—it is a definitely WILL. the Cats just had way too many. now, if this was because of good defense or a bad offense, i’ll leave it up to you.

Larry Hughes. seriously? i think he’s been hanging out with Allen Iverson, because he totally thinks that he still has it. i really wish LB would take any thought/play that included Hughes and throw it in the fires of hell, because thats where they belong. Hughes coughed up the ball, jacked up poor shots, and never once solidified himself as an option to actually get possession of the ball.
if we thought Sam Vincent was bad, then we must be spoiled. Hughes is worse.

Intimidation. yes, i know Dwight Howard is huge. i know that. but that doesnt mean that you have to JACK UP SHOTS. i truly believe that if the Cats drove the ball more, we would have won this game due to free-throws and faster foul trouble. it was frustrating to see the Cats NOT put the ball on the floor and instead launch the ball from wherever they were.
not to mention, it seemed like nobody was aware of the 24second clock. nobody made an effort to throw the ball in the general direction of the basket when it got down to 2. there were even PASSES when it got down to 2 seconds.

overall, a very frustrating game for both teams, but more so for us Cats fans. i know we’re capable of better play, but i really hope that it’s because of some jitters.

i also forgot to give props to Predator. he played like the defensive player of the year tonight. nice monster blocks.

At least Gerald is impressive. But guys, please don’t give up hope. It’s likely we’ll lose the series, but it’s not over just yet. I may be down, but I’m not out.

Ps. Magic fans, props. Your team was obviously better tonight. They played tight d, had the shots falling, Vince Carter took few outside jumpers; in short, Orlando looked good. I can be man enough to admit it.

This is nothing new. The Bobcats struggle when they let their rim-oriented offense be changed by shotblocking. They didn’t attack early, and dug themselves in a hole.

Gotta go win two now.

The Cats just need to come home to Charlotte and win these next two homes games. If they can steady the ship and get the series back to 2-2 then there is still ample opportunity to advance.

It should be a totally different game back at the Cable Box.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e04SjNGlfUo

Was hard to watch. I hope they don’t talk about this game much on espn.

Vince Carter scored 19 1points on only 10 attempts

Damn Vince 191 points on only 10 attempts! Haha I’m just messin’ with ya David. We all make mistakes

Take care of business at home. Good luck Bobcats!

I still want to see D.J. shoot a LOT more. He’s our best scoring option off the bench, and scoring has been anemic in this series, so…yeah. He nailed the the only 2 threes that he took, and he looked comfortable out there (not that his facial expression ever changes), which is more than I can say for a lot of his teammates.

12 turnovers between 2 starters will kill us every time.

Theo had 3 fouls and 2 points/rebounds/blocks/assists/steals COMBINED. I know Nazr disappears on defense sometimes, but not on BOTH ends of the floor. As this point, I’m almost ready to put Theo in the same boat with Hughes. Almost, but…

2nd quarter play-by-play
6:31 Larry Hughes personal foul (J.J. Redick draws the foul)
6:31 J.J. Redick makes free throw 1 of 2
6:31 J.J. Redick makes free throw 2 of 2
6:22 Larry Hughes misses 25-foot three point jumper
6:20 Tyrus Thomas offensive rebound 18-29
6:11 Larry Hughes misses 24-foot three point jumper

Way to come out of your shell, Hughes! You’ll prove me wrong yet!

We took 2 more shots than Orlando did, shot 42% from 3s, matched their rebound totals…it really boils down to turnovers. During the closing moments of the 2nd quarter, I half-expected McHale to start whistling the Harlem Globetrotters theme.

And where has our Raymond gone? C’mon, Ray, it’s your contract year, remember?

Oh…this was supposed to be a optimistic post. Umm…two home games coming up (yay?). Jack was 50% from the field. Henderson cleans up really well. And most importantly, we have YET to see our “A” game this postseason. It’s not like we’re getting crushed while putting our best foot forward. Hopefully the Cable Box will bring it out the best in the Cats.

and winds up in front of a bank of microphones saying, “we thought we could.”

My biggest disappointment last night was not that the Bobcats lost the game. That in itself should say something about just how much the biggest letdown broke my heart.

No, my biggest disappointment last night was that the worst of the team I love was on display. All season long we died in here on the nights that the Bobcats played rec-league ball. Usually it was just a day after all the pieces came together and the team kicked the living snot out of the Cavs or some other member of the “elite.” I had quietly dreaded the game where the hapless Bobcats would show up on national television. I knew they’d have one in them at some point. They started off game one that way but recovered well enough to sustain credibility. No such luck last night. With few exceptions, it was the Charlotte Embarrassment that was on the court. Turnovers, empty possessions, almost all the usual suspects were present. The notable absence was poor free throw shooting and the only thing that spared us from it was the fact that the refs decided to do us a favor and limit our trips to the stripe. On the plus side, we got the bad one out of our system on a road court. A performance like last night on home court is a season ender.

As always seems to be the case, Jackson poured in the points and any time he launched the ball toward the hole he did it with all the confidence of a 70% shooter. He also handed the ball over far too many times. Wallace played as if his only real goal was to make people run out of ways to say “incredible.” National viewers are starting to realize what we’ve known all along – with Gerald Wallace the “that’s the play of the year” comment is only good for a day or so because he’s gonna top it the next time he puts on his sneaks. The rest of the team? A mixed bag at best.

Last night ROF could have been called KillLarryHughes.com
He was on the court for less than ten seconds before he made his impact felt. It was amazing to watch and he was an indispensable asset to the team. The problem there was, the team was Orlando. Any semblance of an offense was forgotten and his brief stint on the court seemed to last forever for Bobcats fans. When a player is able to cause the fans to think, “God, I miss Acie Law,” something is deeply, deeply wrong.

So the Magic go up 2-0 as many expected they would. But after the game I bet they were quietly grateful that they didn’t have to work very hard to earn the win. I’m not degrading the Magic here either. They’re a tough team. But last night the Nets and the Timberwolves could have beaten the Bobcats. Orlando didn’t require a big game from their beasts because the Bobcats just rolled over for them. All the Magic needed to do was focus on Wallace and Jackson and they had it made.

A note to Magic fans. I expect y’all are lurking even if you haven’t had much to say since the game. First, thank you for that. Bobcats fans are hurting a bit today for reasons you understand, but also for reasons you couldn’t possibly know about unless you’ve spent the entire season living and dying by the Bobcats’ fortunes. You expected to win this series but on some level I suspect you’re wondering why it hasn’t been more competitive. It’s coming. Our team has come back to Charlotte after a ridiculous loss a number of times this year. If you take a look at our home record you’ll see that the Cable Center does something to the Bobcats. They walk in the door battered and defeated, walk on the court, and become almost unstoppable. The fans have come to depend on it and if you’ve been wondering when the Bobcats are actually going to show up for this series you will likely get your answer on Saturday afternoon.

It’s a good thing to have more talent than you need and for the first two games your team has been in that lucky position. But if things go the way they have all season for the Cats, your guys are going to get tested this weekend. They’ll need all their skills and a side of fries.

At least I hope so – and it isn’t just a matter of hometown pride.

Yeah, pride is a factor. The critics have crapped on this town and this team all season long and those of us that have been fans from the start have even taken a lot of smack from our own friends and family. We’ve raved about our Bobcats for half a decade while everyone looked at us as deluded. This is our first chance to be right about our team and for us respect is like an oasis in a very big and dry desert. We’re all thirsty as hell. But it’s more than that. If you read the recent archive of this blog you will see that most of us were realistic enough to expect the Magic to prevail. But we wanted to give you guys a fight. When your squad moved on to the next round we want them to feel like their next opponents were easier to beat than the Charlotte team they just finished up with. We wanted your team to be bloody and challenged. We wanted them to be carrying hard-won momentum. Most of all, we wanted a rematch next season that made your Magic look at us with some apprehension.

I’ll be at the game on Saturday and of course I’ll be hoping for a Charlotte win. But in some ways I’m hoping that win or lose, the team I love represents itself in a way that displays all the things that made me fall in love with them in the first place – heart, drive, skill, and the absolute refusal to accept defeat regardless of the odds. It really is something to see. It’s enough to make a man that can’t even walk to his mailbox anymore drive 70 miles each way and endure the stares of pity as he negotiates his wheelchair through 17 thousand other believers in the cult of the Cats.

I guess I was referring to the fact that most people in the media aren’t giving them a chance, and some are saying they’ll be swept. I’m trying to be courteous by saying that I think they have the talent and effort to win a game or two.