The Charlotte Bobcats are in a precarious position. They are in a vestibule stuck between making the playoffs and drafting a top pick. Last season’s record of 35-47 left them 4 wins short of the 8th playoff position in the Eastern Conference. It looks like the 8th spot will require more wins this season and it will be a stretch for this year’s team to match last season’s win total.
The most obvious change is the trade of Emeka Okafor for New Orleans’ Tyson Chandler. Chandler brings more excitement and energy but is injured, often. I would call this trade a wash but I can’t. The backup centers are DeSagana Diop and Nazr Mohammed, both overpaid and are such a drop off from Chandler that you have to discount the fact the Chandler will be out 40% of the season. Okafor played a complete season last year.
The draft choices of Gerald Henderson and Alexis Ajinca are another push for the Bobcats. Henderson is a typical defensive minded athletic player who will not make the offensive difference needed. Ajinca, a project from France needs to spend the season in the gym and live on protein shakes. He is 30 lbs short of where he should be in the NBA. He is so thin that he makes Stephen Curry look like Alonzo Mourning.
Last season’s acquisition of Boris Diaw and Raja Bell from Phoenix paid dividends and was a bright spot until Bell tore a ligament in his left hand this preseason. Bell has decided to forgo surgery and to play through the pain. As Clubber Lang said in Rocky III “Prediction: Pain”.
If the Raymond Felton/DJ Augustine completion keeps the both of them at their best and Vladimir Radmanovic can continue to contribute the way he did since coming to the Bobcats from the Lakers, Charlotte can win games that they should win.
The challenge is how Larry Brown gets the most out of his team as a unit. How do his 25 years and 1000+ wins transfer over to this fledgling team? How does the greatest NBA player of all time (I think you know who I’m talking about) motivate vs. intimidate his players who admire him as a former player and not necessarily as Managing Partner of Basketball Operations? How does Majority Owner Bob Johnson instill confidence since placing the team up for sale after promising the Charlotte Community that Bobcats are here to stay?
If all goes well they will again win 35 games. If something magical happens then 40 wins and a playoff berth. This would be the key to the franchise’s fiscal survival. Attendance depends on it, sponsors depend on it, and television coverage depends on it. There are no National Games on the TNT schedule. Hopefully ESPN will pick up one or two. Lastly they have improved the uniforms dramatically. But of course that won’t help.
Prediction 35-47.
