Bobcats can't keep up with Heat, lose 109-97
by David A. Arnott on Feb 4, 2011 9:36 PM EST
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PrintFor the majority of the game, the Bobcats were within reach of the Heat, but in the end could't quite keep up with Miami's high-powered offense, losing 109-97.
LeBron James had an exceptional all-around game -- doesn't he always? -- scoring 19 points on 13 attempts, grabbing 8 rebounds, and passing out 9 assists. Dwyane Wade was a rebounding and passing demon, too, but he couldn't quite get going offensively, scoring 22 points on 20 attempts, to go with his 12 boards and 10 assists. For the Cats, Gerald Wallace and Stephen Jackson faced the challenge and acquitted themselves beautifully, scoring 25 points, each.
What's probably most amazing about the game was that the Cats' often-sluggish offense was absolutely killer against the Heat's often-stellar defense. Despite going a little cold in the fourth quarter, Charlotte ended up shooting 47% from the field and 45% from three. They played about as well as could be expected on offense, but, unfortunately, Miami hit the gas and shot 55% from the field and 47% from three, themselves.
If there was any regrettable aspect of the game, it's that Tyrus Thomas was unable to play. Though Gerald Henderson did a solid job guarding Wade in crunch time, playing TT big minutes against Chris Bosh probably would have made the Cats a little more competitive.
Game thread comment, lowlights, and highlights after the jump.
GAME THREAD COMMENT
griffter10 -- Methinks Wallace doesn't like James. He always brings his A-game when he plays him.
BAD
-- With D.J. Augustin shooting only 1-6, it would have been nice if Shaun Livingston could have contributed more. Since the Heat play with a point forward a good deal of the time, it's less and less important for the Cats to have a "true" point on the floor, since they can also roll with Stephen Jackson or Boris Diaw initiating the offense. However, Liv only played 3 1/2 minutes, didn't take a shot, and had 1 assist.
GOOD
-- At several points throughout the game, Wallace was clearly outplaying LeBron, and ended up with 25 points on 19 attempts, and 10 rebounds.
-- Jax harassed LeBron in crunch time, and showed some monster swag in an attempt to stand up to LeBron's affected indifference. Jackson ended with 25 points on 17 attempts, 5 assists, 2 steals, and only 2 turnovers.
-- Henderson looked like he belonged tonight, frustrating Wade after Jax switched to covering LeBron, and hitting 6-10 field goal attempts for 14 points. Even though he probably won't ever be entrusted with initiating offense, and it's unlikely he'll ever have a reliable three-point shot even when wide open, if he plays good defense and runs the wing like he's done the past few weeks, he'll have a real career in the NBA.
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so Lebron gets three fouls
time for the refs to choke on their whistles
Wow...
So you make absolutely NO REFERENCE, to the poor calls by the Refs?
Scared Stern will fine you David, or did you not watch the game?
Bobcats were in it up until the crage call was made on Hendo, then not called on Lebron twice…
Both teams played great ball for 3-1/2 quarters, then the refs controlled the last 6 minutes…giving the game to the Heat.
Bobcats Basketball is my only pro sports passion...
by andrewlail76 on Feb 4, 2011 9:41 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
I thought DJ was a good shooter?
Are maybe his true streaky colors shining through?
on behalf of tha dirty south: soul food, carolina blue, southern hospitality, and tha queen city
by southtunnel on Feb 4, 2011 9:47 PM EST via mobile reply actions
well he's certainly not a good defender!
I hope Livingston is ok because we really needed him tonight and will need him going into the future
DJ is fine
He’s not perfect and has his plus & minuses. Every player has a bad game now and then. DJ can shoot better than Eddie House, just not last night.
by Ft.Mill Bobcat on Feb 5, 2011 10:53 AM EST up reply actions
Now you get to See the two postions we suffer in the playoffs if We make it. The scouting reports have caught up w dj. Hes not played lites out as of late for a number of reasons . At least hes making assists but his scoring is down. Hes also facing tougher pt gds.
The other is center position. We will be better when tt comes back and we go small he plays center,crash at pf w jax at sf.
Still you cant let a team score 109 and expect to win. A wide open house killed us w three threes in the fourth.
TRI-AMI
Went to the game. DJ was empty tonight and disappointing. Raymond would have done better. Jack ran out of gas in the 4th when we needed him (brick,brick,brick). Wallace was great and motivated. Diaw had moments but doesn’t he always. Kwame was stupid and did not bring his brain to the game (Silas and Oakley were pissed at him). Hendo showed moments of glory and shot bricks when we needed buckets from him. Livingston must be hurt or ate lunch with Najera. D Brown looks like another failed draft pick (can’t shoot). Nazi had nothing. No Thomas, Livingston and Najera hurt us as the awful Zebras put us in early foul trouble and had “Stern” orders to create calls for the Heat. :-(
by chris in union county on Feb 4, 2011 11:29 PM EST reply actions
Failed draft pick is a bit strong
He needs to work on his jumper and his defensive awareness, but he has contributed to this team. He isn’t ready for consistent minutes yet, but you cannot expect a lot from a 2nd round pick.
"I could never be a thug, they don't dress this well." - Malice
by Julius Coxswain on Feb 4, 2011 11:33 PM EST up reply actions
Also, a 2nd round pick can't be a "failed pick"
What do you expect?
-every game since silas took over-
“Dj is AMAZING, oh my god, he’s so much better than Raymond ever was!”
Dj has a couple of bad games(compared to Raymond’s slump of like a month and a half)
“Dude’s a failed draft pick. Obviously can’t play. Raymond would have done better. We should trade him for Ramon Sessions.”
lollercoaster indeed.
Fact: All you care about is points.
Blindly Optimistic follower of The Iowa Hawkeyes, San Francisco 49ers, Carolina Hurricanes, and the Charlotte Bobcats.
by HAWKEYESBABY on Feb 4, 2011 11:44 PM EST up reply actions
didn't mean that to be a reply.
just a general statement.
Fact: All you care about is points.
Blindly Optimistic follower of The Iowa Hawkeyes, San Francisco 49ers, Carolina Hurricanes, and the Charlotte Bobcats.
by HAWKEYESBABY on Feb 4, 2011 11:45 PM EST up reply actions
I know it's fun to take every opportunity to crack on Felton
But at least don’t ignore the reality. The league is showing DJ more attention than he’s ever seen before. He was rarely open yesterday and even doubled often. He’s not big enough to shoot over anybody, so what is he suppose to do now? We very well may not see anymore high scoring affairs from him until teams have a reason to roll coverage to someone else.
So Felton had the advantage of posting up smaller guards and playing defense, DJ doesn’t.
It’s looking like DJ and Felton have similar floors offensively, and are both streaky. However DJ has a higher ceiling offensively, whereas Felton is a much superior defender.
So which helps your team more? I know you’d never say Felton, that’s blasphemy! The truth is we’ll have to wait and see what DJ does the rest of the season. But If he can’t find consistent offense then I’m afraid your argument will be pretty shallow.
on behalf of tha dirty south: soul food, carolina blue, southern hospitality, and tha queen city
by southtunnel on Feb 5, 2011 9:03 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
DJ v. Felton is irrelevant
The decision the Bobcats had to make was whether to bring back Felton or Ty Thomas, and the decision was mostly made when Charlotte traded a future 1st for TT. DJ was the PG the Bobcats could afford, not necessarily the one they preferred.
Who says they ever preferred Felton?
Bobcats Basketball is my only pro sports passion...
by andrewlail76 on Feb 7, 2011 12:29 PM EST up reply actions
Obviously LB did...and southtunnel...
Just wish discussion could move forward…Instead of pointing fingers…let’s work with what we got…
Makes for a boring blog when the same stuff comes up over and over and over….
Bobcats Basketball is my only pro sports passion...
by andrewlail76 on Feb 7, 2011 12:30 PM EST up reply actions
you mean like TRADE EVERYONE!!!!!
Fact: All you care about is points.
Blindly Optimistic follower of The Iowa Hawkeyes, San Francisco 49ers, Carolina Hurricanes, and the Charlotte Bobcats.
I completely agree with you
My point wasn’t that Charlotte preferred or didn’t prefer Felton (i.e. “not necessarily the one they preferred”) but that the well beaten dead horse of the Felton v. DJ debate is now irrelevant. DJ is the PG now, and the reasons for that are more than just a comparison of stats and scouting reports.
So, is it DJ's turn to be the main attraction in rosterbation threads?
I’m just trying to get a good gauge of what to expect on RoF during the next couple of days, or until he gets his shooting touch back. Personally, I am much more concerned about his five turnovers than I am about his four points. I think he’ll clean up both areas in time to squeak past the trade deadline, though.
I really don’t like complaining about refs. It makes me feel and/or sound like a sore loser (side note: I AM), as if I can’t accept the fact that we simply lost to a better team who needed a triple double from Wade, almost another triple double from James, and brilliant bench performances by Eddie House and Mike Miller (who did not miss a single shot) in order to beat us. Well, let me just say that a lot of the close calls blatantly favored Miami Thrice, and I for one would have given Captain Jack a one man standing ovation just for avoiding a technical if I were at the Cable Box.
Silas has to try to get more out of his bench. Three of the starters approached Larry Brown minutes (Jackson only had THREE minutes of rest), and Hendo was the only reserve player with significant burn. This is typically what you don’t want to see on the first half of a back-to-back, although I do acknowledge that the game was well within reach until midway in the fourth (96-89 at one point). I’m sure we’ll see more from our bench against Dallas when we go for 1-13.
I should also mention how awesome it is to see our co-captains back on their grind, even in a losing effort. I hope to see much more of this, moving forward.
Hopelessly scouring the internet for a free copy of Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "Brujo." and "Hurricane Coming" by CCS.
The curious part about our co-captains is...
If Wallace could do this tonight, against a good defense, then why can’t he get 20+ every night. After the game Silas pretty much said it wasn’t injury, he just came out with more energy. That really pisses me off if he can turn it on whenever he wants and doesn’t.
That being said I take a bit of consolation in the fact that if our co-captains continue to play at this level, few teams will be able to beat us… Miami just happens to be one of them.
on behalf of tha dirty south: soul food, carolina blue, southern hospitality, and tha queen city
by southtunnel on Feb 5, 2011 8:31 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
I was gonna make a sarcastic fan post
about how we should trade DJ now since he’s in a “slump”, but decided against it
Regarding restraint vs. Technical Fouls
I am sure those at the game with me noticed the restraint that the refs used when the Heat players and coach went after them about calls they did not like. The coach go one T, but needed to be thrown out earlier. LeBron clearly needed after charging the ref with an animated display.
At the end of the 4th Gerald Wallace started in to do the same thing about a bad call and quickly changed course. This usually results in a T, but I suppose the refs had set a precedent by putting up with LeBron and coach earlier in the night.
Jackson did show restraint and did not deserve any T’s last night. However, you could tell how pissed he was with the refs changing the course of the game with the Hendo charging call and JAX/LeBron no-calls.
by Ft.Mill Bobcat on Feb 5, 2011 11:07 AM EST up reply actions
Bobcats need to make a move
After sitting and watching the refs making some bad calls the bobcats need to make some kind of trade are pickup someone to come in and play center behind K. Brown? Some of the Bobcats were trying to rebound and should have been covering the guy they were guarding? worrying about rebounds I guess.
Ha ha! Is this a joke???
Or have you missed all the complaints about crazy trades after bad games?
on behalf of tha dirty south: soul food, carolina blue, southern hospitality, and tha queen city
by southtunnel on Feb 5, 2011 8:33 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
Questionable Coaching
While many good observations are being made, here is another regarding the Heat game.
Why do we yet again abandon playing a Center in the 4th quarter? At a certain point in the 4th we were lacking rebounding and interior defense. Kwame would have been the perfect solution. Most every game we forget we have a Center on the bench.
Why did Sherron Collins start the 4th quarter? If we are trying to get him minutes to see what he has got, why not play him in the 2nd quarter? He completely disrupted the flow of the game in the 4th and gave Miami easy points. He tried to redeem himself by making a 3 pointer, but the damage was done.
because DJ wasn't hitting anything
why not give Collins a shot?
Had no problem with Sherron being in the game as long as Livingston was hurt or something.
Was Livingston hurt?
Unless Liv was hurt, no way Sherron should have seen the court for the first time in the 4th.
by Ft.Mill Bobcat on Feb 5, 2011 11:12 AM EST up reply actions
no one ever said anything about it
and i’ve not heard anything about it either
I initially thought Silas was resting him, so that we could have some fresh legs tonight
But that doesn’t make sense with all the starters playing so many minutes. Livingston can’t carry the team.
on behalf of tha dirty south: soul food, carolina blue, southern hospitality, and tha queen city
I want centers to play in the fourth
Sherron played because Livingston wouldn’t shoot(Silas said postgame). House shot 3 3s over Sherron. DJ wasn’t aggressive in addition to not making shots. For these reasons, why go small in the fourth?
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