Bobcats beaten, battered by Hawks

Two things resonated about the Charlotte Bobcats on Thursday in a 92-75 loss to the Atlanta Hawks:

First, Corey Maggette is still capable of 20 points a night, and this team needs massive improvement in its rebounding.

Also, the Hawks have some fine rebounders. So do the Milwaukee Bucks, who the Bobcats host in their season-opener Monday at Time Warner Cable Arena. Ex-Buck Maggette sees real trouble if the Bobcats don't start focusing on boxing out.

"They have Andrew Bogut, who I think was a top-10 rebounder, and Drew Gooden," Maggette noted. "Those are powerhouse rebounders, guys we really need to worry about.

"We're small, that's the reality. But we've got to come up with some type of energy" to compensate for that.

By game's end, the Hawks had outrebounded the Bobcats 50-30. Worse still was second-chance points - points scored thanks to offensive rebounds: The Hawks had 23 of those, to 10 for the Bobcats.

That accounted for the Bobcats being outscored 43-29 in the second half of their second and last exhibition in this truncated preseason. The Bobcats edged the Hawks by two in Charlotte on Monday.

Maggette, acquired in a draft-night trade, was anointed this team's offensive go-to guy by coach Paul Silas. Despite missing about a week of practice with back spasms, Maggette was highly effective Thursday: 18 points off 10 shots from the field over 25-1/2 minutes. Maggette has a knack for getting to the foul line, and he earned 10 free throws Thursday.

Maggette had a clear mismatch against an aging Tracy McGrady for much of his playing time, and that was big in his productivity. Also, his back pain was relieved by an epidural injection Sunday.

Other highlights and lowlights from Thursday:

Rookie Bismack Biyombo played his first game as a Bobcat. As Silas predicted, the rookie was susceptible to fouls (three in 16 minutes) and turnovers (four). He was drafted seventh overall for his shot-blocking ability, and he made a spectacular stuff of former North Carolina star Marvin Williams on a baseline drive.

Fellow rookie Kemba Walker came back to earth after an 18-point debut Monday. He shot 4-of-11 for eight points, earning a single free throw attempt in 19 1/2 minutes.

Reserve center Gana Diop seemed to make progress. He had six rebounds in 14 minutes and played effective post defense on Hawks center Al Horford (3-of-9 from the field).