Tonight’s game was brought to you by the Bobcats bench. Only one starter, Raymond Felton, played for as many as thirty minutes tonight as Coach Larry Brown got his starters some much needed rest before the play-offs. Seven ‘Cats players scored in double figures and three of those came in from the bench. Gerald Henderson, 14 points, Tyrus Thomas, 13 points, and DJ Augustine with 11 points made resting the starters a possibility for Coach Brown. Tyson Chandler, 7 points, and Stephen Graham, 5 points, rounded out the solid offensive output for the ‘Cats bench scoring. A night that sees any team’s bench put up 50 points is a good night. With the play-offs starting soon, this was the best kind of night for a strong bench performance giving starters with niggling injuries much needed rest. Gerald Henderson was the big story, scoring one point shy of his season high. Henderson also contributed 7 rebounds with his 14 points and accomplished this in just 20:38 minutes of playing time. The ‘Cats also know who their first round play-off opponent will be, the Orlando Magic, since the Miami Heat won tonight, clinching the Bobcats as the seventh place team in the Eastern Conference.

With four of the ‘Cats starters scoring in double figures coupled with the strong bench performance, the Magic can’t be excited to start the play-offs against these Bobcats. Usually a major weakness, free-throw shooting was a strength tonight for Charlotte, as they shot 94.1% (16-17) for the game. Stephen Jackson led all ‘Cats scorers with 17 points and also had the most boards for the ‘Cats with nine. Although the Bobcats allowed the Nets to catch-up and go ahead a few times, the ‘Cats refused to give the Nets enough traction to pull more than a point or two ahead of them. The ‘Cats looked strong for most of the game and seem to be peaking at the right time.

The Good:

The bench with G. Henderson, T. Thomas, and DJ Austine leading the way.

Seven players scored in double figures.

Free throw shooting (94.1%).

The Bad:

Lazy passing at times.

Defense allowed too many points in the paint (52).

The Ugly:

Nothing really.

Final season game for the Bobcats: Wednesday 4/14/10 8:00pm vs. the Chicago Bulls