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Bobcats Team Report

Yahoo! Sports
3 hours, 35 minutes ago

Getting Inside

When Bobcats coach Larry Brown says “play the right way,” he means not playing as his team did Friday against the Orlando Magic. They were selfish, disorganized and impatient. Brown expects his teams to constantly probe the defense. Instead they constantly went one-one-one, which led to 38 percent shooting.

So Brown called out his team, particularly his point guards.

“We didn’t pass the ball. We wouldn’t pass the ball,” Brown said. “Our point guards took 29 shots. We had so many possessions with one pass and a shot. Or no pass and a shot. When you have more turnovers than assists (16 to 14) you’ve got no chance.”

Brown doesn’t often call out his team the way he did Friday, but it was understandable: He expects his teams to be smarter and more accountable than the competition. They were nothing like that versus the Magic.

Magic 92, Bobcats 80: Between the offensive disorganization and Emeka Okafor’s quick foul trouble (he committed his fourth 20 seconds into the second half), there was no way to keep up with a team that has already won 40 games. Raymond Felton led a feeble Bobcats attack with 16 points, but he took 18 shots, making six.

Notes, Quotes

• The Bobcats have an open roster spot and are looking for a big guard who can play both backcourt positions. But with everyone healthy, they’re not in a hurry to fill the spot.

• The Bobcats leave Saturday for a five-game Western Conference trip that could decide whether they stay in the playoff race. The trip includes winnable road games in Sacramento, Golden State and Los Angeles (Clippers).

Quote To Note: “We were more like a street-ball team.”—F Gerald Wallace on the selfish, disorganized way his team played versus the Magic.

Roster Report

Rotation: Starters—Point guard Raymond Felton, shooting guard Raja Bell, small forward Gerald Wallace, power forward Boris Diaw, center Emeka Okafor. Bench—Forward Vlade Radmanovic, guard D.J. Augustin, center Gana Diop, forward Cartier Martin, forward Juwan Howard.

Player Notes:

• C Emeka Okafor drew some criticism from coach Larry Brown for not setting screens as effectively as Magic center Dwight Howard.

• F Vlade Radmanovic’s development has bitten into the minutes for F Juwan Howard.

• F/C Alexis Ajinca has now gone three games without playing, but the Bobcats show no interest in sending him to the Development League.

• F Sean May has been inactive the past three games, and that doesn’t figure to change unless there are injuries.

Medical Watch:

• F Gerald Wallace suffered a bruised right heel versus the Magic, but doesn’t figure to miss playing time as a result.