11/17/2009 - 12:17
Tyson Stifles Howard in Loss
by Devon Jeffreys

Tuesday night, Tyson Chandler had one of the most unenviable tasks in the NBA.

But in the second showdown between Ty and Orlando's Dwight Howard in a week, Tyson did his job in being the Kryptonite to Howard's Superman.

Tyson goes for the block on Orlando's Dwight Howard (Getty Images).

No. 6 held Howard to just 14 points, including six at the free throw line, and Ty's Charlotte Bobcats narrowly missed pulling off an upset, falling in Orlando, 97-91. TC finished with two points and four rebounds, but expended plenty of energy taking care of Howard.

"It takes a lot because you have to be in tune to him throughout the entire game," TC said. "He kind of takes you off the glass because you concentrate on keeping him off the glass as well as keeping a body on him and riding him out."

Howard had only eight points through the first three quarters and was in foul trouble all night thanks to the aggressive play of Ty, Bobcats teammates Nazr Mohammed, Boris Diaw and Gerald Wallace. Knowing Howard's free throw shooting weakness, the Cats also sent the big man to the line repeatedly where he went 6-14.

"You don't make anything easy for him," Ty said. "Make him work. Every time I face him, I want him to walk away feeling like he had to work and it was a tough game."

TYSON LOOKS TO MAKE HIS WAY
Charlotte was in the game throughout and held a 62-60 lead in the third quarter.

Orlando surged ahead by 12 to start the fourth but the Bobcats clawed back to within three when Tyson tipped in a Stephen Jackson miss for two points.

Charlotte stayed that close for most of the final quarter until Vince Carter buried a three with less than a minute to go to put Orlando up by six. The Bobcats never recovered.

Charlotte missed eight free throws on 16 attempts in the final quarter and lost by six. Ty noted that because of how close the game ended up, the missed free throws made a big difference.

"We played great defense," he said. "Had we made free throws and cut down on a few late turnovers that we had, that's a win. Unfortunately we missed a bunch of free throws and that's why they were able to come out with a win."

No. 6 wasn't pleased with his own performance, as he struggled to put up points in the paint, but he was assertive late to get to the Jackson miss and jumped over Howard to force it in. He believes that forcefulness has been missing in his game:

"I have to be more aggressive," TC said. "I'm trying to find my way, but I have to stop trying to find my way and just make my way. I need to turn it up."

While Tyson wasn't about to declare a moral victory for he and his Charlotte teammates on Tuesday night, he does believe the Bobcats are on the right track and continuing to improve.

"No loss is a moral victory, but you can walk away feeling like we played good basketball, Tyson said. "We're getting better with games like tonight. If we play the way we played tonight, we're going to win our fair share of games. Early in the season we weren't playing this way. We didn't understand necessarily how to play with each other."

NO LONGER THE NEW GUY
Before yesterday's game the Bobcats made a trade to add a much needed scorer to their midst.

Charlotte sent guard Raja Bell and forward Vladimir Radmonovic to the Golden State Warriors for guards Stephen Jackson and Acie Law. Tyson was a big fan of the move:

"Stephen Jackson brings some toughness to the table. Acie Law brings some scoring, which we've been having trouble with. Both of them bring scoring," No. 6 said. "The addition of Stephen is really going to help us with the things that he can do. Things you want a basketball player to be able to do, dribble, pass and shoot. He's capable of making plays, which is really going to help our offense."

Tyson noted that it might be easier for Jackson and Law to transition in because the Bobcats are still looking for their identity.

"It's a matter of us, I can't say getting them to fit in, because so far we haven't fit so well together offensively. But we have to have them come in and we have to find our identity, which we were doing anyway."

The Bobcats return to action on Wednesday night when they travel to Philadelphia to take on the 76ers from the Wachovia Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. EST and the game can be seen on FSCR.