By Kyle Soppe
When the Bobcats win, it deserves to be noticed, as it doesn’t happen more than once a week. Charlotte took down the Hornets in an ugly affair, by a final score of 73-71.
Let’s get some ugly game stats out of the way first. There was a two way tie for the games high scorer, with a mere 15 points. Last night alone, there was an average of nearly six players per game that scored at least 15 points in other action. The teams combined for 11 points from the free throw line, less than half of the Suns total against the Timberwolves.
The Bobcats scored 26 total points in the first and fourth quarters, but managed to hold on for the victory. The Pistons scored more than 26 points in a single quarter twice last night, and found a way to lose.
The Bobcats didn’t make a single three pointer, as they misfired on all 12 attempts.
Point guard D.J. Augustine continued to set up his teammates at a solid rate, tallying at least five assists for the seventh time in eight games. It is a good thing he can find open teammates, as he is shooting only 34.7% over that stretch.
Bismack Biyombo went 6/7 for 12 points, but the solid production was very predictable. Since the beginning of February, Biyombo is averaging 9.5 points on 62.5% shooting every other game. In the other games, he is shooting a pedestrian 38.5% and scoring 3.6 points per game. In addition to this odd trend, in the games in which he averages 9.5 points, he has seen his production increase by exactly one point over the last five games. Biyombo is a lock to struggle tomorrow night against the Rockets, and score 13 points against the Mavs the following night.
Chris Kaman (he is part of a blind resume trivia question, tweet me @unSOPable23 if you know which player he is) is the top producing for the Eric Gordon-less Hornets, and continued to produce at a high level against Charlotte, totaling 12 points and 16 rebounds. Oddly enough, despite his physical style in the paint, he has not attempted a free throw over his last 98 minutes. He hauled down 37.2% of his teams total rebounds, the greatest percentage by a single player among the seven NBA games last night.
The Hornets didn’t score much, but when they did, it was due to team work. They assisted on 76.7% of their buckets, a promising stat if they would score more often.
The surprisingly efficient back court tandem of Jarrett Jack and Greivis Vasquez shot 60% from the field, while the rest of the team made one of every three shots.
New Orleans didn’t score more than 20 points in a single quarter, making it hard to win any professional basketball game. For reference, in the Spurs/Wizards, Timberwolves/Suns, and Bulls/Knicks there wasn’t a single quarter with fewer than 21 points scored.
When adding up plus/minus ratios for each teams bench, the Bobcats had a 54 point advantage.
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