| 26 April 2010
(Photo by Brian A. Westerholt/Getty Images)
Orlando Magic 99, Charlotte Bobcats 90
Charlotte came into this series with a very specific goal in mind: Take Dwight Howard out of the game and force the other Magic players to beat them. This strategy was apparent in everything they did on both ends of the court, and in a sense they were very successful in fulfilling it. However, it did not save them from being swept in the first round.
A lot was made over the course of the series about how Charlotte’s field goal percentage actually decreased when Dwight was on the bench. However, much of this was caused by the mentality of Charlotte’s offense rather than an improvement in Orlando’s defense without Dwight on the floor. With Dwight patrolling the middle, the Bobcats had a very specific target in mind. They drove at him at every opportunity, resulting in a good deal of blocked shots, but also leading to the center constantly being in foul trouble. Because of this, Dwight Howard averaged only 28 minutes in the first three games of the series and logged only 23 tonight. On the other end of the ball, the Bobcats doubled Howard at every opportunity and had the three-headed monster of Ratliff, Chandler, and Mohammed play as physical as they could with them. Of course, this resulted in those three racking up fouls like nobody’s business (Ratliff had 5 fouls in less than 8 minutes tonight), but also led to a lot of turnovers, offensive fouls, and missed free throws (2-7 tonight) from Howard over the course of the series.
Unlike the previous three games in this series, this game was pretty tight until the very end, with the Bobcats leading until partway through the third quarter. This was mostly fueled by Charlotte’s continued persistence in attacking the basket even when Dwight was on the bench. In games 1-3, once Dwight sat down with foul trouble, it seemed like the Bobcats felt as if they had achieved what they set out to do, and started settling into what seems to be their more natural tendency of shooting long jump shots. Today, on the other hand, they knew what they had to do, and kept driving in for lay-ups until they built up a small lead. Recognizing this, midway through the second quarter, Orlando started packing the paint every time it looked like a Bobcat might be starting to drive in, forcing them to kick it back out. From there, the Magic basically dared them to shoot over the defense, and though Stephen Jackson, Raymond Felton, Gerald Wallace, Larry Hughes et al. can certainly get hot from behind the arc, none are particularly known for being particularly efficient shooters. Today was no different as the Bobcats combined to shoot a paltry 5-19 from behind the arc.
On the other hand, Orlando was having issues of its own on the offensive end. Dwight was forced to sit all but about 30 seconds of the second quarter with foul trouble, and Vince Carter was having trouble buying a basket. So, as he did in games 1 and 3, Jameer Nelson was forced to shoulder much of the scoring load in the first half, and he did just that. In the last few minutes of the second quarter, Nelson seemed to rediscover his ability to punish the Bobcats’ two undersized point guards, Felton and Augustin, by driving right past them or simply shooting over them. But they say that for every team, you have to pick one person whom you can live with going off, and Charlotte could live with this kind of production from Nelson, especially when heading into the locker rooms at the half with a lead for the second game in a row.
There were two events that seemed to fuel the Magic in the second half. First, Vince Carter hit his first (and only) three-pointer of the series. This gave him the confidence to take more jump shots and also forced the Bobcats to stay a little more honest on his shots, whereas before they were giving him a lot of room. Second, Vince Carter, imbued with his new sense of self-confidence, drove hard to the basket and was met by a flagrant foul by Tyson Chandler that had both teams up in arms and Stan Van Gundy sprinting in from the bench. From that point on, it was clear that the Magic meant to put the game away.
The game stayed close until a final key stretch with about 5 minutes left in the fourth quarter. Mickael Pietrus hit a huge three on one end of the court, and then when Augustin rushed back and tried to counter with a quick, baseline floater, but Dwight Howard just laughed and snatched the attempt right out of the air (replays showed that this was actually probably a goaltend). Back on offense, the ball found itself back in Pietrus’s hands who shook off his defender with a quick crossover and then drained a deadly step-back three-pointer. Onions. Just like that, the Bobcats went from being within one point to being in a 7-point hole, and after a couple more missed shots and free throws, were down 11 before they knew it. After that, they were just going through the motions, as it became ever clearer that Orlando was going to close out the series.
Why the Magic Won This Game
Orlando showed that they are one of the deepest teams in the NBA yet again tonight, with any number of players able to beat you at any point. The Magic won this game with a balanced attack, which more than made up for the total absence of Dwight Howard. Jameer Nelson, Vince Carter and Mickael Pietrus all had their moments carrying this offense, while Rashard Lewis poured in a solid game from start to finish. It is a very special team that can score 99 points while their leading scorer is limited to 6 points in 23 minutes.
Why the Bobcats Lost This Game
I feel bad because the Bobcats played so well for so much of this game, and then seemed to run out of gas in the last 6 minutes. As previously mentioned, they tried to relentlessly force the ball inside, which is why they dominated in points in the paint and were able to post their highest field goal percentage of the series. They were incredibly successful in limiting Dwight Howard’s impact on the game by constantly keeping him in foul trouble, leaving him either on the bench or hesitant in challenging shots. In the end, though, they were simply overmatched, and sometimes there’s nothing you can do about that.
Final thoughts on the series
You don’t usually say this about a sweep, but this was a very good effort for the Bobcats in their first ever playoff appearance in franchise history. They showed a lot of growth over the course of the series and even within the series, increasing their ability to focus and play within themselves without sacrificing intensity. Their trademark defense truly showed itself throughout the series and should stay there as long as the team is anchored by Gerald Wallace and Captain Jack. I was also very impressed by the volume in TWC Arena, despite the fact that the loudest boos came every time JJ Redick checked in or touched the ball. Overall, it was a huge step for the Bobcats.
This was pretty much an overwhelming success for the Magic, but there are still things they need to work on. Dwight Howard needs to learn how to stay out of foul trouble, and, as Anthony Johnson said, not always try to prove he is the strongest guy on the court. Vince Carter probably needs to shoot better if they want to make it out of the Eastern Conference, but even that is not essential as they have so many options they can go to. In this series, the Magic relied heavily on the three, averaging about 30 attempts per game. That’s their style of play as they like to play 4-out, 1-in around Dwight Howard, and that’s fine, but they need to make sure they have a back-up plan in case the shots stop falling.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
