Flashback Shaq: C’s 99, Bobcats 94 (Full Recap)
Posted by Brian Robb on Jan 15, 2011
ESPN Box Score • Queen City Hoops• Rufus on Fire
Truthfully, I wasn’t sure if Shaq had another one of these games in him, unless he had a complete supporting cast in place. The 38-year-old proved me wrong with a game high 23 points during a season high 35 minutes as the C’s pulled away in the fourth quarter for a five point win, a final margin that made the game closer than it really was.
So what was the prescription last night for the outburst? To start, Shaq got involved early and was actually able to stay on the floor and out of foul trouble. Despite his recent struggles with staying on the floor, the guy was still shooting a stellar percentage from the floor. And with Rajon Rondo hitting him in the 1st quarter for a couple big time throwdowns, the ball got rolling early and it gained momentum against the undersized front line of Kwame Brown and Nazr Mohammed.
All in all, the Big Diesel hit 10 of his 12 shots in a variety of ways, as well as drilling 3 of 4 foul shots. Postgame, Doc admitted that he didn’t want to play him that much, but it wasn’t a big deal for just one game. And that’s the great thing about having a guy like Shaq this year that is capable of these kinds of spurts. It’s a fun insurance policy that doesn’t put too much of the offensive onus on Paul Pierce or Ray Allen every single night. A reliable post offense against teams that lack big bodies to defend the inside is a nice option for Rivers, and it paid off last night.
Getting back to this game though, despite Shaq’s outburst and outstanding balance from the starting lineup, this game wasn’t really over until midway through the fourth quarter. The first half was a nip and tuck affair that featured foul trouble for Paul Pierce and some of the worst basketball we’ve seen this year from Semih Erden who was battling a groin pull.
The Turkish rookie complied three fouls in just five minutes of action, and five overall in his nine overall minutes. He was a step slow (or several) defensively which enabled Charlotte to get into the penalty early in the second and third quarters, piling up the foul shots to keep them in the game despite mediocre shooting from the field.
Erden’s effort was a microcosm of the bench’s overall lackluster performance, providing just nine points the entire night, including 0 in the first 24 minutes as Boston went into halftime tied at 42. There’s really not a lot to get upset about individually with these guys. Marquis Daniels performed well 28 plus minutes in place of Pierce, but with Ray, Shaq, and Rondo shooting well, he wasn’t very aggressive in looking for his shot.
Meanwhile old friend Nate Robinson is still struggling with his shot (1-of-6) after what appeared to be a bounceback effort during the win Thursday night. Von Wafer wasn’t giving enough leash to do anything in just eight minutes of action…and well look was just Luke bricking a couple jumpers while grabbing a couple boards in his 15 minutes of action. I wonder at this point if Luke will be able to hit an outside jumper consistently after being so hit and miss through the year, given when he misses he misses badly. Make no mistake though; he’s busting his ass when he’s out there.
The good news despite the production from the backups is that it wasn’t needed, especially in the second half. Rivers had a lot of well warranted praise for Rondo’s quarterbacking effort in the final 24 minutes, saying he paced the game well as Boston scored 57 points on 62.7 percent shooting, including 66% in the fourth. All of this came with Pierce just managing 24 minutes because of foul trouble, though he still put up a very efficient 19 points.
However, it was Rondo and Ray that were the difference down the stretch, as the C’s broke up a two-point game with a 11-0 run to give themselves enough separation for the win.
Before the run, It was frustrating for me to watch the offense in the early part of the fourth as Allen wasn’t utilized as he played with four bench players, having taken just five shots through the first 40 minutes of this contest.
The guy is shooting 69 percent from downtown this month, 63 percent overall from the field, and he took just seven shots last night. That’s not enough in my book, not when your down Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce is saddled on the bench for most of the game. I gripped about this in my post from yesterday and stand by my thoughts on it. You’ve got a shooter having a career year, use him.
Luckily, the team did coming out of a timeout with eight minutes left in the fourth, with Rondo finding him for two open looks from downtown, before hitting one of his own to put the C’s up 87-74, a deficit the Bobcats never seriously threatened from again.
Another encouraging part of this closing effort is the return of Rondo’s aggressive, who posted another double-double, his 14th of the year in just 28 games with 18 points and 13 assists. Rondo wreaked havoc on the Bobcats’ interior defense all night long, getting to the hole and kicking the ball out to create open looks and mismatches on the perimeter for his teammates. We haven’t seen that out of him in awhile, and may be a sign he’s getting fully back from that ankle sprain bothering him.
A few quick bullets to close this one out:
-      Charlotte, a very good rebounding team, dominated the glass in this contest 42-29, including 13-3 on the offensive glass. Expected at this point given Boston’s front line, but nice for them to overcome it.
-      Just 10 shots for Glen Davis. One or two too many jumpers, but it’s progress. He looked inside more to take advantage of a mismatch with Boris Diaw and that paid off considerably. Let’s hope for more of the same moving forward.
-      More surprising number of Shaq’s night? The 35 minutes, (the most he’s played since 2009 in Phoenix) or his 5 blocks? I’d almost say the blocks.
-      Terrific job by C’s on containing Stephen Jacksomn (4/16) from gaining any kind of rhythm all night.
-      Shaq’s top rope splash on Kwame Brown was fun. Surprised to see him get up from that.
-      Re: Charlotte under Paul Silas. They are 6-3 thus far since Larry Brown got canned but looked like a re-energized bunch under him, with a more efficient offense and cutting down tremendously as the worst turnover team in the league (just 9 last night). They have the talent to sneak into the playoffs as a 7/8 seed, but that’s about it. Still, it’s better than nothing.
That’s all for now. More on the way this weekend.
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