Sean Couch, one of the founders of Bounce Magazine and a third-round draft pick of the Indiana Pacers in 1987 (Columbia), is in Charlotte for the holiday weekend and went to the Bobcats/Celtics game Saturday night. Here’s his take on the near-upset…

Man, what a game! Charlotte vs. Boston. Ray Allen vs. Jason Richardson, Rondo vs. Ray “The Cookout” Felton, and Emeka vs. Garnett. (Personal matchups went: Richardson over Allen, Cookout over Rondo, and Garnett over Okafor.) Jared “No Fear” Dudley made his first start of the year for the injured Gerald Wallace, and did a great job against Paul Pierce. Dudley showed smart finishing skills around the rim and kept the ball alive for second-shot opportunities.

If I could give this game a title it would be: CLOSE OUT! Charlotte did everything right except close it out. To work as hard as they did only to lose the game on a night when Ray Allen shot 4-for-15 from the field is tough to accept. The end of game execution was wack and the inbound pass at the end of the game was a slow-motion horror film for every Bobcats fan.

FIRST HALF

One of the things I noticed was the amount of on-the-ball screens that were used in the second quarter by both teams. I counted nine consecutive times down the floor where each team went down and used a ball screen. Boston was most effective using the screen the screener action going towards the rim, but couldn’t hit a layup in the second quarter. Kendrick Perkins and Scot Pollard were the guilty parties for the most part, and Ray Allen was in-range but hitting nothing all night until the end.

Rondo has the look of an effective transition-type guard that could run a one-man fast break for the finish, but hasn’t shown that consistently yet. He also has a real bad habit of throwing one-handed passes. With 1:03 left in the game he threw one intended for Garnett that lead to a costly turnover and could have cost the team the game.

SECOND HALF

In the fourth quarter, all of that back-screening and ball-screening ended for Boston, as they went straight down low to the post. Charlotte remained with their ball-screens on the baseline for their shooters. Both coaches went to their strengths. It was a well-coached game.

MISC. HIGHLIGHTS

1) Jason Richardson shot the ball well all night. He was 3-for-3 from three-point range through three quarters, and put the team on his back with a corner three and a 20-footer off the backboard from the left elbow in crunch time. Unfortunately, after a big stop on Pierce, Richardson threw a bad inbound pass with 4 seconds left that was deflected by Eddie House and picked off by Pierce, who in one motion hit Ray Allen, who iced a three at the buzzer to win.

2) Ray Felton is deadly in transition. He is more effective with dribble-drive without the screen then with one. He went coast-to-coast with a real strong poundcake left, and then spun off his man (Rondo) and layed Big Kev quite nicely. Once he is in the paint, he is a problem for the defense. It’s obvious that Ray has a lot of pressure on him to handle the ball, especially with Richardson and Okafor only shooting 50 percent from the free throw line for the season. It showed at the end, where he over-penetrated on one possession and lost the ball trying to do to much.

3) Emeka Okafor is solid defensively and a double-double machine. He is still developing that go-to move, but his effectiveness down the stretch because of his free throw shooting is limited.

4) Jeff McInnis is a solid, solid backup guard. When he came in, the Celtics had some trouble matching up on the perimeter with three guards: J-Rich, Felton and McInnis.

5) Sam Vincent has put the ball Ray Felton’s hands. I think down the road that is going to be a great decision. However, I know Vincent probably wishes he put in another ballhandler and another player to alleviate the pressure he feels coaching down the stretch with two bad free throw shooters. While J-Rich is a vet, having a good passer inbounding trumps having your best free throw shooter trying to get the ball when you line up in that situation. Secure the ball.

6) James Smith from Keenan High School in Columbia, South Carolina, (Ray Allen’s high school coach) was in attendance with his family. Ray’s mother was also in the stands.