The Bobcats vs. the Wizards 3/23/10

It is difficult to say how far into the play-offs, if indeed they make the play-offs, this Bobcat team can go shooting this badly. Usually, when your field-goal shooting is 39.6%, your free-throw shooting is 64.7%, and your three-point shooting is 11.1%, you lose the game. The Bobcats dodged that with clutch defense, forcing the Wizards into 18 turn-overs, and a much needed thirty-second double-double from Gerald Wallace (17 points and 19 rebounds). Wallace played with energy throughout the game. All five of the ‘Cats starters scored in double figures, and as a team, they needed eight more shots than the Wizards to accomplish this. It was a woeful shooting night as both teams shot under 40% from the field. Which brings us back to “how far can this team go in the play-offs” shooting like this? I doubt very far – considering the struggle they had with the Wizards who own the fourth worst league record (21-48). I’ve been a long time advocate that there are “no bad wins” but this one certainly was ugly!

The Wizards forced the ‘Cats into over-time (the second over-time game out of the last three games played by the Bobcats) by simply not playing any better than the Bobcats. They shot better from the free-throw line and from the three-point arc. But the Bobcats dominated the Wizards in points in the paint, 56-26, and had a significant edge in rebounds, 61-42. Coach Larry Brown has to hope that the dreadful offensive display from the ‘Cats ends soon since the team only has another dozen games before it is play-off season. The Bobcats have the seventh-best record in the East, a half-game ahead of the eighth place Raptors. The ‘Cats return home for a game tomorrow night against the Minnesota Timberwolves, which is the first game of a five game home-stand.

Editors Note: It appears that during the course of the game, Andray Blatche had a Scottie Pippen moment and refused to go back into the game. His teammates spoke about it:


The Good:

Gerald Wallace with his 32nd double-double of the season.

Team rebounding.

Team defense.

The Bad:

Offense.

Poor ball distribution.

The Ugly:

Field-goal shooting (39.6)

Free-throw shooting (64.7%).

Three-point shooting (11.1%).

Next game for the Bobcats: Wednesday 3/24/10 7:00pm vs. Minnesota Timberwolves