5 notes from Bobcats' regular-season finale

A few notes from Charlotte's regular-season ender -- a 98-89 loss to Chicago that was meaningless to the Bobcats but assured the Bulls of the No.8 playoff seed (Here's my column from after the game, focusing mostly on Orlando and the Bobcats' upcoming playoff series).

1) Charlotte never led -- not for the entire game. You could tell who wanted and needed this one more from the outset.

2) The Bobcats were fortunate Tyson Chandler didn't get hurt in this one. Larry Brown played his key players about two quarters each, and Chandler went after a loose ball during one stretch and then fell like a tree. He said he was OK afterward, though -- the Bobcats will need him badly (and his six fouls) against Orlando and Dwight Howard in the playoff series that begins Sunday at 5:30 p.m. in Orlando (TNT).

3) Nice to see golfer Fred Couples in the crowd of 17,439. And Charles Oakley, one of Michael Jordan's longtime cronies, took the seat next to MJ courtside.

4) Man, it's fun to watch Derrick Rose play (27 points Wednesday). The Bulls don't have enough to seriously compete with Cleveland in that first-round playoff series, but Rose will give LeBron a few runs for his money before that one is over.

5) Interesting trivia question asked and answered at the Bobcats' game Wednesday: Who is the one player on the current roster who was a consensus collegiate All-American?

Give up?

D.J. Augustin, at Texas.