If you'd like to vent or speculate about Tyrus Thomas's torn meniscus, here's the thread for that.
Yet again, the Bobcats didn't play a great game, but they defeated a team that's right at their level in the standings, and thus, at least in national perception, right about their talent level, in the 76ers. Game thread comment, lowlights, and highlights after the jump.
GAME THREAD COMMENT
passthedamnchipsdavidson -- How does everybody feel about drafting DJ instead of Lopez right now?
BAD
-- Gerald Wallace had a game to forget, scoring 6 points on 7 attempts, grabbing only 3 rebounds, and getting lit up by whoever he tried to guard. Andre Iguodala and Thaddeus Young led the Sixers in points, and were efficient doing it, shooting 16-25 combined.
-- Stephen Jackson also didn't help, shooting 5-16 for 14 points. He did give up only 1 turnover, though, just like Wallace.
-- I was in the presence of children, so I managed to suppress my rage (barely) when Eduardo Najera entered the game at the start of the fourth quarter. First, why is he entering the game at that precise time? Second, why should he get those minutes instead of Derrick Brown? Even if Paul Silas believes Brown can't play defense well and can't rebound well... neither can Najera! Oh, I forgot. Najera looks like he's trying hard and expending effort at all times, whereas Brown makes his game look effortless.
GOOD
-- D.J. Augustin smoked Jrue Holiday, Louis Williams, and the Sixers in the first half, scoring 25 points on 10-11 shooting from the field. He only ended up with 31 points, since the Sixers were more aggressive with him in the final two quarters, and D.J. appeared to resist taking shots just because "he had a hot hand", instead continuing to find open men. That's the kind of offensive maturity that impresses me with Augustin. Think about it: how many NBA players take 6 shots in the second half of a game in which they had 25 points at half? I'm sure he had 50 points in sight, but he still made the right play time after time.
Also, check it out: Augustin is still third in the NBA, among qualifiers, in Assist-to-Turnover Ratio, behind Chris Paul and a rejuvenated Jose Calderon. Here's the thing. You have to go down to #12 on the list, Keyon Dooling, to find anyone with as few raw turnovers per game as Augustin, and then down to #17 and #18, Mike Bibby and Derek Fisher, to find starting point guards with as few raw turnovers per game as Augustin. And only Bibby and Beno Udrih are point guards with as few turnovers as Augustin while playing 30+ minutes per game, and neither of those guys has close to as many assists as D.J.
-- Nazr Mohammed came off the bench to have an excellent game, scoring 15 points on 12 attempts, and grabbing 7 boards, all in only 20 minutes.
-- Gerald Henderson needs to play more. He scored 11 points on 8 attempts, grabbed 4 rebounds, and had 2 assists, in 18 1/2 minutes.