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Star
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Bethesda, MD
Age: 24
Posts: 2,700
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03/08/08 :: Bobcats @ Wizards :: 7:00 PM
Quote:
The Charlotte Bobcats have done everything right during their franchise-tying winning streak.
If they plan on making history, though, they’ll have to overcome their struggles against the Washington Wizards.
The Bobcats seek their club-record fifth straight victory and first win against the Wizards in 2007-08 when the teams meet on Saturday at the Verizon Center.
After dropping 12 of 13 from Jan. 30-Feb. 29, Charlotte (23-39) has won four straight, including a 108-93 home victory over slumping Atlanta on Friday. Raymond Felton had a team-high 23 points and 11 assists, while Matt Carroll scored a season-best 21 for the Bobcats, who last won four straight from Feb. 14-23, 2007.
“This team is in a nice groove right now,” Carroll told the Bobcats’ official Web site. “We’re playing hard and we’re playing together. We’re doing all the little things - we’re getting offensive rebounds and we’re getting loose balls. We’re doing all the little things that we weren’t doing before.”
Against Atlanta, Charlotte shot 51.2 percent (42-for-82) from the field - considerably higher than its 44.6 percent average this season. The Bobcats are averaging 111.3 points and outscoring opponents by an average of 14.0 during the streak.
“Everybody is just playing unselfish and stepping up,” said Carroll, who started again in place of Gerald Wallace (concussion). “I feel like everyone just knows their roles right now and are playing confident, too.”
The Bobcats, who are 13th in the Eastern Conference, hope that confidence continues against the division rival Wizards (30-31), who have won all three meetings this season and are 12-3 in the all-time series.
The Wizards came away with a 110-95 victory in Charlotte in the most recent matchup on Feb. 23.
Charlotte opens a season-high six-game road trip with this game, and plays 10 of its next 11 away from home. The Bobcats, though, have lost nine of their last 10 as visitors, and their five road victories are tied with Miami for third-fewest in the NBA.
Charlotte is 1-6 in Washington, which begins a five-game homestand following a 110-106 overtime victory at Toronto on Friday.
Antawn Jamison had 25 points and 16 rebounds, while reserve Roger Mason scored 18 for the Wizards, who have won five of their last seven games despite missing Gilbert Arenas (knee) and Caron Butler (hip).
“We’ve been playing some good basketball of late,” said Jamison, whose team is sixth in the East. “The most important thing is to not slip any further than sixth. If we’re able to catch some people, that’s great. If not, we don’t want to slip past sixth.”
Washington, a distant second to Orlando in the Southeast, will need to rediscover its strong play at home—where it’s 17-12—as it looks to make its fourth straight playoff appearance. The Wizards have won just two of their last seven at the Verizon Center, with one of those victories coming against Charlotte.
Jamison, who leads the team with 21.2 points, is averaging 19.9 over his last seven appearances, but he is shooting just 39.5 percent from the field in that stretch. The forward, though, has hardly struggled against the Bobcats, averaging 25.0 points on 47.3 percent shooting this season.
Meanwhile, Felton, who is averaging 19.0 points and 8.8 assists during the Bobcats’ winning streak, had one of his best games this season against Washington, scoring 27 in a Nov. 27 loss.
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http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/preview;...gid=2008030827
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03/08/08 :: Bobcats @ Wizards :: 7:00 PM
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