I had the Bobcats pegged as a potential first-round spoiler because of the way they play defense and how good they are on their home floor, but the Magic represent some fairly significant matchup problems for them on both offense and defense.
When the Lakers have the ball in their upcoming series with the Oklahoma City Thunder, the matchup to watch will be the battle on the perimeter between Kobe Bryant and Thabo Sefolosha.
Last season, one of the reasons the Rockets were able to take the eventual champion Lakers to a seventh game was the defense Shane Battier played on Kobe Bryant.
The Bobcats’ gritty defense and 31-9 home record have propelled them into the playoffs, and they may prove themselves to be a tough out in the first round.
In April of 2006, Scary Movie 4 was the top movie at the box office, “Bad Day” by Daniel Powter was atop the Billboard charts, the Pistons were on their way to a 64-win season, and eight-year old Eric Matecun began wearing Pistons jerseys.
Duke graduate, face-guarding aficionado, and all-around nice guy Shane Battier sat down with Jason Friedman of Rockets.com yesterday with a bunch of ideas regarding how the NBA could be improved.
The Bobcats are one of the few teams in the league who have already clinched their playoff spot, but Larry Brown isn’t letting his foot off the gas pedal.
Would you like to see video of a Karaoke benefit hosted by Shane Battier that includes Battier, Chase Budinger singing Bon Jovi, and Luis Scola singing “Total Eclipse of the Heart.”
