In a game somewhat atypical of both the Bobcats and Bulls, Chicago outgunned Charlotte en route to a 106-94 victory. Going into the game, these teams were #1 and #14 in DRtg, and #19 and #25 in ORtg, so that kind of offensive output was unexpected.
For the Cats, Gerald Henderson and Shaun Livingston both had strong games off the bench, while Dominic McGuire also contributed solid minutes. Unfortunately, Keith Bogans's shots were falling early, and Kyle Korver couldn't miss. It may have seemed to be merely an annoyance at the time, but those role players won the game for Chicago as much as the core guys who played 30+ minutes.
Game thread comment, lowlights, and highlights after the jump.
GAME THREAD COMMENT
Julius Coxswain -- Livingston's fadeaway against shorter PGs is almost impossible to stop when he is deep in the post.
BAD
-- The centers, Kwame Brown and Nazr Mohammed, combined to shoot 3-5 for 6 points, and grabbed only 5 rebounds in 39 total minutes. Yikes.
-- D.J. Augustin may have been gutting out this game because he knows he's got a week off thanks to the All Star break, but getting healthy should be the most important concern for him right now. In the present, his backup, Livingston, is at least as good as he is, but even if Livingston also proves to have more future value, that hasn't happened yet, and Augustin has to make sure he's ready to play at full strength for the stretch run.
GOOD
-- Henderson's lack of range beyond 18 feet seems to hardly make a difference, since defenders respect that 18-footer and he has such a quick first step off the dribble. He scored 22 points on 9 attempts because he got to the line to shoot 10-12. Sure, without running the stats, I'd guess he's a black hole, not passing the ball much, but the defense looks like it's there, already, and he has the physical tools to be excellent on offense, even without three-point range.
-- Livingston was uninspiring, but that doesn't mean he wasn't solid, scoring 13 points on 10 attempts. At 6-7, he's a matchup nightmare, since he's so willing to post up his opposite number, but quick enough that he can defend speedy point guards.
-- Stephen Jackson played pretty well, scoring 20 points on 16 attempts, pulling down 4 rebounds, and dishing 6assists.