Orlando Magic 99, Charlotte Bobcats 90
by Evan Dunlap on Apr 27, 2010 1:40 AM EDT
in 2009/2010 Recaps
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PrintVince Carter broke out of his offensive funk and scored 14 of his 21 points in the decisive second half to lead the Orlando Magic to a 99-90 defeat of the Charlotte Bobcats, ending their season and helping the Magic advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals for the third straight season. Jameer Nelson missed 8 of his 12 shots, but still contributed 18 points thanks to 8-of-10 free throw shooting, and Rashard Lewis drained 4 more three-pointers for 17 points, as both players continued their strong play. Reserve small forward Mickael Pietrus drilled crucial three-pointers on consecutive fourth-quarter possessions to give Orlando a 7-point lead with 5:47 to play, and Nelson hit a deep three-pointer near the end of the shot clock on the very next possession to put the Magic squarely in the driver's seat, with a 10-point lead and 4:53 remaining. For the fourth straight game, Orlando held off the Bobcats without Dwight Howard contributing on offense; he missed 4 of his 6 shots from the floor for 6 points. He fouled out, giving him 22 fouls out of a maximum 24 in the series. He did manage to grab 13 boards and swat 2 shots, though. The Bobcats led by as many as 7 in the first half on the strength of their jump-shooting, and made 4 of their first 6 three-pointers. But once the jumpers dried up, the Bobcats had no way to score consistently, even with Howard on the bench. They went 8:19 without a field goal in the fourth quarter, with their season on the line, during which the Magic turned a 2-point deficit into a 9-point lead. Orlando awaits the winner of the Atlanta Hawks/Milwaukee Bucks series, which is knotted at two games apiece after Milwaukee's victory tonight. Second-round play won't begin until Sunday at the earliest, and the Magic will not practice again until Thursday. It's the first seven-game series sweep in Magic franchise history.
| Team | Pace | Efficiency | eFG% | FT Rate | OReb% | TO Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magic | 85 | 116.5 | 51.5% | 44.8 | 19.4 | 8.2 |
| Bobcats | 85 | 105.9 | 48.6% | 29.6 | 18.4 | 11.8 |
| Green denotes a stat better than the team's regular-season average; red denotes a stat worse than the team's regular-season average. | ||||||
Early on, it looked like the Magic's offense had it going to a degree that the Bobcats simply couldn't match. They made 3 three-pointers and jumped out to an 18-8 lead, looking to put Charlotte away early. But then their shots bounced out, the Bobcats' bounced in, and they surrendered a 15-2 run to close out the period, culminating with Raymond Felton's deep three-pointer at the horn to give the Bobcats a 25-23 lead, not to mention momentum.
But again, two-point jump shooting isn't sustainable, and the Bobcats found out the hard way again tonight. They took care of the ball, and moved it around fairly well for the first time in this series, scrambling the Magic's defense fairly regularly in the second half. The difference was that the shots stopped falling. I do credit Bobcats coach Larry Brown, though, for finally giving Tyrus Thomas some minutes at center. The trio of Theo Ratliff, Tyson Chandler, and a hobbled Nazr Mohammed just wasn't getting it done in the first three games, and Thomas can provide some offensive spark when he's engaged. He wound up scoring 21 points--his jumper is the only Charlotte one that stayed reliable, relaly--and moved into position away from the ball all night, making the Magic's centers pay for losing track of him. Had the Bobcats managed to get anything from go-to guy Stephen Jackson, this series would likely have come back to Orlando for a Game 5 this Wednesday. But he shot 2-of-11 from the field and committed 4 turnovers. He also received an inopportune technical foul for jawing with officials during the timeout following Pietrus' second clutch trey, presumably for arguing about a recent Howard rejection of a D.J. Augustin offering that may have been on its way down. Not at all what the Bobcats needed from their emotional leader at all, though Carter missed the ensuing free throw.
Coach Stan Van Gundy relied on Carter despite his cold shooting throughout the series; he'd shot just 13-of-40 from the floor and 0-of-12 from beyond the arc prior to tonight. In the second half, with the chance to finish the Bobcats' season and earn some rest, he called on Carter to initiate the offense. He answered that challenge by attacking the basket more aggressively and purposefully than he had at any other time in the series. And he got a few jumpers to drop as well. Carter's never one to doubt his shot, but I do think Van Gundy's move here made sense in the short-term (to win the game) and the long-term (to get Carter going for the next series).
There are things to build on, for sure, but right now the Magic have to be happy that they swept a worthy opponent despite meager offensive contributions from Howard and infrequent ones from Carter.
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props to the bobcats!
good series – i know it was a sweep but they did their part and put a pretty good fight. dwights gotta keep his focus and try to put himself in a position where the refs may or may not call a foul – easier said than done though! go magic!
i was nervous before the series, relieved now. rest up, hope shards ankle is good, and everyone’s dings can go away. who should the magic start studying for, atlanta or the bucks?
either one
Dwight’s gonna have an easier time (relatively) against the Bucks, and the Hawks look woeful away from Atlanta.
Either one really I like our chances
This sweep is just what the Magic needed
Now they get a few extra days of rest so everyone’s healthy for the next series, and hopefully Dwight can use that extra time to break down his game and figure out how to avoid the fouls.
Watching the Bucks & Hawks, it looks like the Bobcats are a tougher team than both of them. The fact that we were able to sweep them despite Dwight being essentially relegated to role-player status is really encouraging.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nun5FZTZqis
The Magic's fourth quarter defense
For the second straight game, the Bobcats’ offense struggled mightily in the fourth quarter. After making 2 of their first 4 shots, they then missed 11 of their final 14 shots of the quarter. Seven of those misses came on jumpers, including 3 three pointers.
The final two games, the Bobcats shot a combined 11 of 39 (28.2%) from the field in the fourth quarter.
A few other random things…
In the fourth quarter, the Magic attempted 23 free throws, making 15; in the final three minutes, the Magic were 12 of 16 from the line. The Bobcats were 11 of 14 on free throws in the fourth.
The Magic outscored the Bobcats 39-15 from three point range, and 30-21 on free throws, to more than offset the Bobcats’ 54-30 advantage on two point field goals.
"2010 Orlando Magic Playoff Basketball... Enjoy the Ride."
"Chicago Blackhawks... One Goal... the Stanley Cup"
by Mike from Illinois on Apr 27, 2010 3:32 AM EDT reply actions
Good series and a learning experience
Even though it was a sweep, it showcased a couple of things that the Magic need to be aware of going forward
1) Teams are going to play aggressive scrappy defense and hassle Dwight. Detroit did it back in the day and Dwight still struggles with it. He needs to make the adjustments to stay in and be aware that now the teams have found a weakness to exploit. Dont think for one second Cleveland or Boston wont try this with better talent. Hell, Atlanta who isnt considered that kinda team or Miluakee would do the same.
2) That all said, its good to know the team still has a balanced firepower and is deep enough to withstand. Im not sure about all the threes because I still fear that they can get into a slump at any strech. But Vince Carter needs to step it up like he did today.
The rest is fine even if some people fear rust. I think Van Gundy works well with making adjustments especially with time and the team is looking at the ATL-Mil series to see how to counteract either team
"To my Hustlers, heres some motivation: He who has begun is half done, why you waiting?"-NaS
Certified Kristin Kreuk obsessive.
I agree
The blueprint is out on Dwight; you need play him physical and then flop as much as possible when he reacts.
Dwight is a hard guy to officiate, like Shaq, but Shaq gets the benefit of the doubt, Dwight doesn’t. I am sure glad we kept Gortat. I see no reason to trade him either. With Dwight’s aggressive play we need Gortat. IMO he is a top 10-12 C in the league.
FEED THE BEAST!!!
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I agree with what Wasabi said about Charlotte finding a way to frustrate Dwight repeatedly.
They set the tone from the first minute of the series until yesterday. Unfortunately, the Magic are too talented and the Bobcats aren’t good enough offensively to take advantage of Dwight’s absence. (Also, Gortat is reasonably better at defense than sometimes outside Orlando realize.)
3 things to take away from this series I think (even though I only saw the first 2 games):
1) Fear Jameer Nelson. Fear him a lot.
2) Fear Jameer Nelson some more.
3) Orlando is so good as a team, and in many ways people sleep on that, that even with Dwight’s somewhat limited contributions they swept.
I think the Magic are going to benefit with the extra time off for 2 reasons. One, it will give Dwight some space from this series to perhaps calm down and move on from the frustrations this series offered. Two, it will give a Rashard Lewis time to relax and get healthier.
Maybe I’m alone, but I watched some of the recap on ESPN with Bruce Bowen. He really sucks at analysis.
EvilCowtownInc: Screwin Suckaz over since 1985......
No mistakes in the tango, Donna. Not like life. Simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get all tangled up, you just tango on.....
Nobody hired Bruce Bowen for his analysis.
They hired him to foul the opposing networks’ analysts.
Let us recall Dean Smith and Mike Krzyzewski... but let us not forget that Charlotte is also the home of Ric Flair.
by 3.3seconds on Apr 27, 2010 7:10 AM EDT up reply actions 5 recs
This.
"One thing about knowing that you're dying is that it keeps reminding you you're alive so it's no time to pass up a party."
- Warren Zevon
by Wally Balls 407 on Apr 27, 2010 11:51 AM EDT up reply actions
I just watched the 4 minute segment of Bruce Bowen talking about the series.
He mentions the fact that Dwight has no post game…………………guess I can add another name to my list of idiot commentators to never listen to/watch/read again.
The fact that he wears a bow tie isn't not endearing either.
EvilCowtownInc: Screwin Suckaz over since 1985......
No mistakes in the tango, Donna. Not like life. Simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get all tangled up, you just tango on.....
it’s more bad ass than that. no team with a top 3 MVP who has ever been this limited would win a playoff series, let alone sweep one against a strong 7 seed.
most teams depend on their best player so much, our team a number 1 and four 1a’s lol
by thomaswhigham on Apr 27, 2010 11:44 AM EDT up reply actions
I don't know about 4 1a's exactly
But there is probably at least 2 or 3 certified 1a’s the Magic have.
EvilCowtownInc: Screwin Suckaz over since 1985......
No mistakes in the tango, Donna. Not like life. Simple. That's what makes the tango so great. If you make a mistake, and get all tangled up, you just tango on.....
I NEVER THOUGHT THE MAGIC WOULD SWEEP THE BOBCATS
for a lower seed opponent, i thought the bobcats were the toughest team to deal with. I guess now its the THUNDER
Spurs?
Given they’re just about locked in to take their series with Dallas.
by eltharion_doa on Apr 27, 2010 5:18 PM EDT up reply actions
Hm... maybe the Suns?
I’m just thinking in terms of offensive efficiency here… still.
Jameer Nelson is Jimmy Olsen.
Not sure about that
They would’ve frustrate Amare as well (albeit he can hit free throws). I don’t know how the Bobcats would’ve dealt with Nash though, but obviously the Suns don’t bring the same defensive intensity as the Magic do, so things on the offensive end would’ve been much easier for the Bobcats.
We scraped by in some of those wins.. which shows the team's determination and depth
Although playing up the negatives (if there are any)… the other playoff teams will take heart in seeing the Bobcats being able to contain Dwight. I fear that will be a real problem.
I suppose neither the Hawks and the Bucks have depth in the C position that it’ll be as problematic as the ’Cats. I kinda solved my own question there… but what do you guys thinks?
Not the depth at center
But they will come at him hard and often. In fact. any team that has a better offense in the playoffs than Charlotte will (All of them). That said, we should score more points here on out. Orlando over Atlanta in 5 games I predict. with Atlanta taking game 3.
Go Magic/Bucs/Gators/Rays!
He may not have had any monster games
But this is exactly why we ponied up to keep Gortat. Otis deserves a lot of props for that (as well as the DeVos family for flexibility).
Agreed - he needs to...
step up his game though, especially on the defensive boards.
Or maybe it was just a false impression… after all the Cats have
a really good rebounding squad,
I guess the Hawks series will be this year’s Moment of Truth for the
Hammer.
Feed the cutter!!!
by Piotr Szczesniak on Apr 27, 2010 11:32 AM EDT up reply actions
Im still just wondering about all the fouls on D12
Its very weird, to say the least. He had foul trouble early on in the season, but this is ridiculous. Almost all of the commentators commented on some of these fouls. How many times did they show dwight just standing straight up to be called for the foul? I realize he is getting a ‘reputation’ for fouling alot.. but you cant blow the whistle based on reputation. Dwight needs to keep his cool and not open his mouth – but you know its bad when even the commentators are questioning the legitimacy of the fouls.
top 3 MVPs shouldn’t get a reputation for anything but on court dominance
by thomaswhigham on Apr 27, 2010 11:45 AM EDT up reply actions
Is it possible
for the League to allow Dwight to sit down with an official and review his fouls on tape? I know he’s frustrated but it seems like he’s in denial. If he had some his fouls explained to him maybe he would be less hesitant to commit them. I don’t know…
"One thing about knowing that you're dying is that it keeps reminding you you're alive so it's no time to pass up a party."
- Warren Zevon
by Wally Balls 407 on Apr 27, 2010 10:21 AM EDT reply actions
That's oddly a fantastic idea as long as Dwight is receptive to the feedback
I wonder if the League would do that though. I seem to recall reading an article years ago that some teams will hire former referees for the start of training camp to teach players what refs are generally looking for in fouls.
Even though the Hippopotamus lacks a stinger for a tail, a truly wise man would rather be sat on by a bee. ~ Banacek
by funny80sguy on Apr 27, 2010 10:31 AM EDT up reply actions
It seems to me
that if Dwight goes to the source to diagnose the problem, he is much less likely to make the same mistakes. With the time off between series it doesn’t sound like a bad idea because the teammates and coaches just seem to tell him what he wants to hear and defend him no matter what. I know you’re supposed to support your best player and teammates no matter what but I think that Dwight needs some shock therapy so to speak (if this series wasn’t enough shock therapy) for him to stay on the floor and understand why he’s getting fouls called.
"One thing about knowing that you're dying is that it keeps reminding you you're alive so it's no time to pass up a party."
- Warren Zevon
by Wally Balls 407 on Apr 27, 2010 11:03 AM EDT up reply actions
You bring up good points
Never heard of this in the past though.
The problem with Dwight and the fouls.
On the one hand, he brings it on himself with the retaliation fouls on the offensive end. But those only account for 2-3 fouls at most a game. The rest are Dwight having his hand on a guy’s waist or having his hands straight up and not moving outside the restricted area. The problem with officials blowing whistles on those non-fouls, is that it only takes 3 to get him out of a game in the first half. So if Dwight knows that he’s going to get those 2-3 non-fouls called on him a game, then he has to do everything he can to make sure he doesn’t add his 2-3 stupid fouls that get him thrown out. It sucks that he is essentially only allowed 3 mistakes of his own doing per game, but that is what it has come to.
The intensity has to go up, up! Not down...UP! -Stan Van Gundy
dwight shoulda won the dunk contest. then he’d get more calls :)
by thomaswhigham on Apr 27, 2010 11:46 AM EDT up reply actions
The flopper Varejao is licking his chops watching this series.
I’m sure we’ll see Shaq taking dives as well. Dwight has to sort himself out. The foul that frustrated me the most was the touch foul on Nazr early in the game. Dwight blatantly pushes him in the belly as he goes up, and then acts like he never touched him. He needs to understand that 1 early foul costs his team so much more than 2 first quarter points from Nazr Mohammed.
I don't think that was a push at all. It looked like a fader and Dwight's hand just happened to be there.
The intensity has to go up, up! Not down...UP! -Stan Van Gundy
The worst by far
was in the third when Felton drove to the paint and initiated all the contact when Dwight stood straight up and down, outside the semi-circle, mind you. The ref even over accentuated the blocking foul with the body too when he made the call on D-12’s fifth. That one brought me out of his seat when I saw it live.
"One thing about knowing that you're dying is that it keeps reminding you you're alive so it's no time to pass up a party."
- Warren Zevon
by Wally Balls 407 on Apr 27, 2010 11:08 AM EDT up reply actions
That was bad
but I thought the worst one, and one I don’t think I’ve ever seen this, was when Augustin drove to the hoop and with one hand grabbed Dwight’s arm and MADE him foul. BS call on us, but I give Augustin props for doing such a veteran move.
"It's all part of the plan." Jeff Moorad and The Joker in the Dark Knight.
"Just because you went to the Finals last year, you can’t go out on the floor and expect teams to lay down. We got no heart. You can only make so many excuses. Everybody has to come and play hard, not just one or two guys."-Matt Barnes
Yeah, that one really surprised me
As an official, I can’t think of anyway you’d be able to call that on Augustin, but if you watch it closely, you see him grab Howard’s arm pull on it.
It just sucks how big men are called. It really hurts the sport, I think.
Slow motion doesn't tell the whole story, though.
If you pay close attention to the audio, you can hear Augustin saying to Dwight, “Stop fouling yourself! Stop fouling yourself!”
Jameer Nelson is Jimmy Olsen.
by 3.3seconds on Apr 27, 2010 3:26 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Yeah, I don't think it was much of a foul either
but we all saw where Dwight’s hand as when Nazr went up, and we saw Nazr fall back, and Dwight’s hand followed through and went with him (not to mention that Mohammed actually missed the shot from point blank range without Dwight going for the block). The refs saw the same thing, and to noone’s surprise (except for maybe Dwight’s) they blew the whistle. He needs to be cognizant of those situtations.
I’m writing a paper and need a synonym for mindful and cognizant is that word. True story. Thanks Brad
"One thing about knowing that you're dying is that it keeps reminding you you're alive so it's no time to pass up a party."
- Warren Zevon
by Wally Balls 407 on Apr 27, 2010 11:42 AM EDT up reply actions
Hey no problem
I’m wondering if you could return the favor. I’m looking for a synonym for ‘thesaurus’.
Ohh, you slay me
Hey everyone! Watch out for this guy! Smart ass.
"One thing about knowing that you're dying is that it keeps reminding you you're alive so it's no time to pass up a party."
- Warren Zevon
by Wally Balls 407 on Apr 27, 2010 12:05 PM EDT up reply actions
Isn't it funny
When you can tell someone is using a thesaurus? Like, thesauruses are made where the top word in the list is the “most relevant” word. So you’ll find people who obviously use the 8th word on the list because it’s the “smartest sounding,” and by that point they’ve changed their meaning entirely.
Shaq can't take dives.
They’d have to postpone the series for at least a day while they got him upright again.
Jameer Nelson is Jimmy Olsen.
Lol, sorry for the hostility
"One thing about knowing that you're dying is that it keeps reminding you you're alive so it's no time to pass up a party."
- Warren Zevon
by Wally Balls 407 on Apr 27, 2010 12:07 PM EDT up reply actions
it wasn't one
of those ‘try google’, look it up type of deals, its just an absurd joke, stolen from one of my favorite comedians Steven Wright.
Right on,
it was so witty and sarcastic that I took it the wrong way. Might have something to do with me being up since 8:00am Monday. Gotta love final exams week.
MAGIC>college graduation
"One thing about knowing that you're dying is that it keeps reminding you you're alive so it's no time to pass up a party."
- Warren Zevon
by Wally Balls 407 on Apr 27, 2010 12:19 PM EDT up reply actions
Vince is alive!
Great game by Vince. We definitely needed him in the 3rd and beginning of the 4th. Now we wait. Few other things:
-Who were those guys talking to Jameer the whole series? I saw him go over and give them hugs after the game, but he was shooting free throws and talking to those guys. Never seen Jameer like that. Either way, he was the best player this series.
-Air France is shooting 50% on 3s in April. Just sayin.
-I enjoyed watching G.Wallace. What an awesome player to watch play ball.
-SJax really, really needs to just shut up and play.
-Rashard was huge this series. Loved his aggresive drives to the basket. Hopefully, he continues to do so.
"It's all part of the plan." Jeff Moorad and The Joker in the Dark Knight.
"Just because you went to the Finals last year, you can’t go out on the floor and expect teams to lay down. We got no heart. You can only make so many excuses. Everybody has to come and play hard, not just one or two guys."-Matt Barnes
It's still so unfortunate we can't rely on Vince when we need to in a playoff game.
Shucks.
I hate Varejao.
Again, he doesn't have that swagger anymore
He usually does bring the swagger at the end of the games, but in the beginning he’s looking like a old, uninterested, lazy player. And acts accordingly.
I'm guessing you don't watch defense.
Uninterested? Yeah, I’m sure he doesn’t care who wins or loses. The guy is working. Don’t hold your breath for any 360 windmills.
Yeah he did put on effort on defense, but usually on on-ball defense.
I’m always watching Vince when he’s on the court – what he’s doing off ball. He still has that mentality of “whatever” or “here, you take the ball”. He doesn’t care about stats at all by the way, which is not necessarily a good thing. Not a bad thing either.
Still, I liked the way he defended on Wallace. Too bad the stupid refs kept on calling fouls on Vince when Wallace was posting him up. Whenever the refs didn’t call a foul Wallace was out of ideas and usually passed the ball.
Eh.
I don’t think he’s any different than he’s been all season. He had bad luck shooting the first game, but since then he’s been 16-37, which is 43.2%. Not great, but solid. And that’s with horrible luck on threes.
(No, I don’t think his three-point shooting has been anything but a case of bad luck. I hope I’m right. We’ll see.)
Jameer Nelson is Jimmy Olsen.
Possible schedule for game 1 of round 2:
If the Atlanta-Milwaukee series, which is currently tied 2-2, finishes in six games, Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals will be on Sunday, May 2nd at 1 pm EST. That potential game would be carried by ABC.
NBA Championship or bust in '09-10!!!! GO MAGIC!!!!
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