04/22/2010 - 11:59
Tyson Earns Praise, but Charlotte Falls
by Devon Jeffreys

Tyson Chandler turned in limited minutes during the Charlotte Bobcats' Game 2 loss to the Orlando Magic on Wednedsay, but he still did enough to garner positive attention from coach Larry Borwn.

No. 6 scored six points on 3-4 from the field, and pulled down a pair of rebounds in 13:23 on the floor, but the Cats dropped their second straight to Orlando, 92-77. Orlando now leads the best-of-seven opening round series, 2-0.

"I thought Tyson played great," Brown said. "I think Tyson, if we get him in the right situations, can get to the rim. We have to do a better job in that regard…but our centers didn't lose this game. We have to take care of the ball and get to the free throw line."

Tyson has logged some strong minutes against Superman (Getty Images).

The Bobcats once again were undone by sloppy possessions ending in turnovers. As a team, Charlotte turned the ball over 21 times and though the Magic scored only 16 points off turnovers, losing possession that many times didn't help the Bobcats put points on the board.

"I think the difference is that we're turning the ball over so much, especially tonight," Tyson said. "We turned the ball over and a lot of times we didn't even get a look. Our defense kept us in the game. Had we gotten some good looks and we took care of the ball, we would have been all right."

Tyson had one turnover, but was an active offensive participant in his action. All of Tyson's six points were scored at the rim as a result of ball movement. He threw down a pair of vicious dunks and also got to the bucket for a layup off a good read by Raymond Felton.

"We have to continue to attack. Move the ball and attack. That's the only way we're going to have a chance in this series," TC said. "When I go out there, I'm just trying to be active. Whatever minutes coach asks of me out there right now, I want to change the game in a positive way. I just felt like I was active out there and doing the things I normally do."

The Bobcats were on the wrong end of the attack early as they fell behind 13-3 in the first eight minutes of the game. But Charlotte finished the quarter on an 11-5 run to close within four. Still the Bobcats could never quite close the gap and they trailed by 11 at halftime. At that point, Tyson says, they began trying to force things.

"We have to play unselfish. If we start putting our heads down and trying to do it all individually, we can't. We're not that type of team," he said. "We're giving ourselves a shot because of our defense. That's the only reason why we're in the game. But offensively we're turning the ball over…that's what's keeping us out of the game. If we ever do both, we have a shot to win. If we play defense, share the ball and take open shots rather than forcing them."

Charlotte dug a 20-point hole by the end of the third and though a strong surge brought them within eight with just under four minutes to go, Orlando denied the comeback to win by 15.

RAISING MORALE
One thing Tyson has been known for this season is that even when he's not in the game, he's helping his team along with encouragement.

After every timeout, on Wednesday, Ty was the first one off the bench to meet his teammates and talk them up as they headed to the huddle. TC said he just wants all of his teammates to keep their heads up.

"It's playoff basketball so we have to stay positive, regardless of the situation," No. 6 said. "We're on the road, we're up against the whole arena. So the one thing we have to do is stick together. We can't expect to win if we divide. We have to stick together in hostile crowds anywhere. In the playoffs you have to really come together."

Tyson continues to be encouraged by the defensive play of the team as a whole. They held Orlando to just 92 points on Wednesday, a feat in itself. Now they just need the offense to come around, even just a little bit.

"We don't feel like we're out of it," Ty said. "We are playing great basketball on the defensive end. On the offensive end, we're playing horrible. If we can just play decent on the offensive end, we have a chance to win the game."

SOLVING SUPERMAN
While the Bobcats sit in an 0-2 hole after Wednesday's loss, they can take pride in the fact that they’ve been able to slow one of the most dominant forces in the game: Dwight Howard.

Howard had 15 points and seven rebounds on Wednesday to put his series averages at 10 points per game and seven rebounds per game after a 5-point, 7-rebound night on Sunday. Howard has also picked up nine fouls over the first two games.

"He's an aggressive player," Tyson said. "A lot of times he swings off and a lot of times he's initiating the contact, that's why he's getting those calls and the refs did a good job of seeing that tonight."

He believes the team is doing a good job on Howard, who is 6-16 from the free throw line in the series, but they could stand to send him to the line more often, rather than letting him dunk.

"We just have to use our fouls more wisely," TC said. "We're getting fouls when he's ducking in and he's not having to shoot free throws, it's just keeping us in foul trouble and then we're in foul trouble so we can't foul him when he's going up. We have to use our fouls a little more wisely as bigs."

Offensively, Tyson also has a plan against Howard.

"Dwight is always going to come over and try to block shots, so the thing I have to do is put myself in the situation to score. Tonight, I was available, unfortunately I kept picking up little ticky-tack fouls and getting out of the game. It’s taking us out of a good rhythm."

NEXT UP
Tyson and the Bobcats will seek to take Game 3 from Orlando on Saturday when they return to Charlotte for the city's first playoff game since 2002, after which the Hornets move to New Orleans.

Tip-off of Saturday's game is scheduled for 2 p.m. EST and the game can be seen on TNT.