Season Preview: Charlotte Bobcats

Dhivy: The Bobcats strike me as a team who has a bunch of role players with no floor leaders. Someone might step up to assume the role, but everyone has question marks. Can Emeka Okafor and Gerald Wallace stay healthy enough to be consistent contributors? Can Raymond Felton make the jump to elite young point guard? Can Jared Dudley bring his winning mentality to the Bobcats without screaming every time he makes a basket? Can Matt Carroll continue to strive as the only white player in the league who wears a shooting sleeve?

The Bobcats face an uphill battle this season and not even “He-Man” Herrmann can save them. They eschewed the youth movement by bringing Jason Richardson on board, but his impact is not enough to get this team into the playoffs. The real enigma on the team is Adam Morrison. His offensive skill set is unbelievable, but you have to question the mental makeup of a diabetic man who smokes and chews tobacco. I’ll always hold a grudge against Morrison because of a game in the 2006 NCAA tournament. Gonzaga was favored by five over Xavier and some late free throws pushed the lead to six. Of course, when Xavier got the ball back, Morrison let his man walk by him into the paint and score at the buzzer to bust up my three-team parlay. I can’t support that level of apathy.

Assistant coach Lee Rose went to Transylvania University, which is appropriate because the Bobcats are going to suck.

Joe: This team gives me nightmares. They were that club last year that was guaranteed to embarrass a team if they didn’t come to play hard. This year, they will be legitimate contenders. The addition of Jason Richardson was a no-brainer considering they were already stacked with usable depth at Brandan Wright’s position. They effectively solved their problem at shooting guard where the one-dimensionality of Adam Morrison and Matt Carroll was often their Achilles heel. Their starting lineup is completely solid all the way down the line, with the only real question being Primoz Brezec who showed signs two seasons ago that he could be one of the East’s most consistent centers but regressed last year primarily due to injuries. The team is anchored defensively by Emeka Okafor who has emerged into a premier defensive center. The type of havoc he creates in the paint defensively will open up transition opportunities to one of the quickest PGs in the league in Ray Felton (who I thought was the best PG on the board on draft day 2005 over Chris Paul and Deron Williams) as well as everyone’s favorite fantasy sheet filler, Gerald Wallace. A quick note on Gerald Wallace, in January last year he was wearing a custom flak jacket beneath his jersey to protect a shoulder injury. Although this supposedly acts as a protective device, moral hazard was completely on display as it gave him even more reason to dive for loose balls and dart into the lane among bigger players like an absolute maniac without any fear of bodily injury. You can’t take this team lightly, especially in the weak Southeast Conference where they will feast on an un-athletic Heat team while at the same time trying to and at time succeeding in out-running the Wizards. Coach Sam Vincent has inherited a gold mine and is in prime position to get his coaching career off on the right foot.

One more thing I like about this team – President Michael Jordan. Jordan was seen at a Bobcats/Knicks game last year at Madison Square Garden wagering with Knick fans during a double overtime thriller (The David Lee “tip” play with .3 seconds left on the clock). Being the world renowned gambler and competitor that he is, I am almost certain he has arranged for those fans to join him again to wager on his newly improved team to avenge that loss.

Quang: the bobcats, along with the heat, hornets, magic, timberwolves, raptors and grizzlies, are among the seven expansion teams that have come about since i was born. this will be their 4th year in existence. in my 4th year in existence, my parents had to take me to the emergency room because i smashed into the corner of a wall and split my head open after slipping on the very blanket i was chasing around my house. i got seven stitches and whined about it for the next five years. hopefully for bobcats fans, their team's fourth year will be a little less clumsy and a little more relevant to the game of basketball. anyways, last year, charlotte surprisingly won 33 games. interestingly, of the seven most recent expansion teams, not only are the bobcats the only team to win as many as 33 games in one of their first three seasons, but they've also won the most total games through three seasons. what does this mean exactly? well besides the fact that emeka okafor is no bryant reeves, i'm not sure.

considering that the bobcats have improved their win total each season, the future seems bright in charlotte. assuming this trend continues, in 15 years the bobcats will win almost 146 games, walter herrmann will be 43 years old, and walter herrman's hair will be down to walter herrman's knees. but regarding the season at hand, this appears to be the most complete bobcats team so far. they traded for jason richardson, a proven scorer, and re-signed gerald wallace, who is as multi-talented a player can get without having a jumpshot. along with ray felton, who appears ready for his breakout season a year late, and emeka okafor, one of the few young throwback bigmen in the league, charlotte has a very competent core of players. beyond that the bobcats will rely on herrmann, argentinean for "master of the universe", matt carroll, an underrated scorer despite being the worst player in the league who wears a shooting sleeve, primoz brezec, pretty decent before last year's injury plagued campaign, and adam morrison, who by definition of the word "worst" will be better than he was in his rookie season. this may not be the best supporting cast, but it is definitely among the most white. which should count for something.

as it stands, i think the bobcats will challenge for one of the final playoff spots throughout the season. however, the one thing that could prevent them from improving for a fourth consecutive season is the injury bug. more than most other teams, bobcats' injuries are a significant concern. sean may is already missing the season due to microfracture and okafor, felton, and gerald wallace have not been particularly durable so far in their careers. i'm skeptical they have the depth to overcome any further injuries, maladies, or micro and macrofractures. but if they can stay relatively healthy, i don't see why the bobcats can't stay competitive throughout the year and have their cake and eat it too. well, other than morrison. he'll have insulin and eat it too.

Achilles heels

• Adam Morrison (d)
• Adam Morrison (j)
• Sean May (q)

Unsung heroes

• Matt Carroll (d)
• Ray Felton (j)
• Ryan Hollins (q)

Bold Predictions

• Unhappy after being traded from Golden State, Jason Richardson breaks an arm. Don Nelson’s arm. (d)
• Gerald Wallace beats Michael Jordan in H-O-R-S-E, gets waived. (j)
• bobcats players miss a total of 100 games due to injury. the bobcats lose three-quarters of those games and finish the season 60-122. (q)

Favorite Memory

• Losing in the playoffs of a fantasy league to a team featuring Herrmann. Oh wait, ‘favorite memory’? Not ‘memory that makes me sob uncontrollably’? Nevermind, then. (d)
• Michael Jordan's gambling exploits during a game in MSG. (j)
• against the knicks, okafor scores 20 points and blocks 10 shots. matt carroll collects the knicks' final miss of the game and okafor misses a triple-double by one rebound. after the game, emeka okafor destroys matt carroll's credit. (q)