To paraphrase the immortal Lou Brown, first the Bobcats beat the Heat, then they beat the Cavaliers, now they've beaten the Chicago Bulls, 113-108. (BOX SCORE) That's called a winning streak. It has happened before.
This not being on TV thing is killing me, especially since (shame of shames) my laptop is too weak to reasonably stream YouTube videos, let alone League Pass. But enough about me. How did the Cats manage to win despite giving up 51% shooting from the field and 44% from three? Highlights and lowlights after the jump.
BAD-- Two of the Bulls' guards, Derrick Rose and John Salmons, led the way and weren't really contained. It's a bit concerning that a quick point guard would torch the Cats this way, seeing as Rose is of a type off the dribble, like Brandon Jennings and Rajon Rondo, all on teams that could either stand in the Bobcats' path to the playoffs or that could meet the Cats in the postseason. (Maybe Will Bynum has simply scarred me.) As for Salmons, he's normally a jump shooter, so it appears that the threes were simply falling for him, and there likely wasn't anything our guys could really do about it.
-- Gerald Henderson is getting railroaded. There's no other way to put it. If he were on any other team, he'd be playing, getting valuable NBA game experience, and absolutely not at the expense of his team's present-day goals. It's a shame we have to watch it unfold in real time.
GOOD
-- Gerald Wallace will not be denied. In 44 minutes, he scored 32 on 16 attempts from the field, and he grabbed 9 rebounds. He was also 11-12 from the line!
-- Boris Diaw had 5 blocks and 6 assists. Maybe he only scored 5 points. Maybe he turned it over 3 times. Maybe he had only 4 rebounds. And maybe a lot of that was stacked toward the start of the game and he was mostly Same Old Boris the rest of the time. But at least it appears he's concentrating on the parts of the game that make him unique and valuable. When he plays solid defense and commits to creating for others on offense, he's at his most useful.
-- Ronald Murray, ladies and gentlemen! Do we have to put a moratorium on referring to Flip as "streaky"? I mean, he is, but it's still kind of understatement. How else do you explain this guy going off for 25 points on 12 attempts from the field?