NBA Season Preview: Charlotte Bobcats

Last year's record: 35-47
Head coach: Larry Brown
Projected Starters: Raymond Felton, D.J. Augustin, Gerald Wallace, Boris Diaw, Tyson Chandler

Overlook:

The Bobcats will look to escape the depths of mediocrity for the first time in the franchise’s existence. But that might be difficult with a roster headlined by Gerald Wallace. He’s good, and can fill up a box score, but he’s not good enough to lead the Bobcats out of the lottery.

X-Factor:

Jay – Boris Diaw. Remember when Diaw was a nightly monster, piling up points, boards, and assists? You don’t have to think back too far; he actually averaged 15 points, 6 boards and 5 assists per game for the Bobcats last year. When he’s aggressive, Diaw can make a lot of plays.

Tommy - Gerald Wallace is the heart and soul of this Charlotte team. And no offense to Wallace, because he is tough and athletic, but that gives your team a 45-win ceiling.

TJ - D.J Augustin has a chance to become an above-average point guard in this league. Playing under a Hall of Fame coach will most certainly benefit him. He has some weapons around him, but personally I don’t believe that they are ready to compete in the Eastern Conference just yet.

Biggest question mark:

Jay – Is this the most mediocre NBA team ever? They don’t have one player who stands out, but they have a ton of decent players. Gerald Wallace, Vlad Radmanovic, Tyson Chandler, Raymond Felton, Boris Diaw… the list goes on and on. All decent players, but nobody great.

Tommy - Who will go, Felton or Augustin? Both want to be starters, but they can't be paired together as the starting backcourt. Looks to me like Felton should be the one to go. But he's a Tar Heel like bosses Larry Brown and Michael Jordan.

TJ - Is the economy in the U.S so bad where a team in the NBA has to trade arguably its best player for someone that is talented but labeled as injury prone. The Okafor-Chandler trade made zero sense to me and because of that the Bobcats will fall farther away from that eighth seed that they were so close to last year.

Most compelling storyline:

Jay – Does Michael Jordan even know who’s on the team? Has there ever been a more disengaged team president? I would love to ask him who’s on the team. I can imagine him going on and on about the potential of Adam Morrison before I gently remind him that Morrison is long gone and that his “potential” never came close to translating to NBA success. For a guy hailed as the most competitive person ever, you’d think he’d give a better effort to make the Bobcats relevant.

Tommy - I'm sorry. Based on my definition of compelling, I'm finding it hard to come up with one.

TJ – Sorry Cats fans. I don’t see anything compelling about your team. Honestly, if I did not have to I would not be writing about your team. Or even thinking about them. I see you as a lottery team once again and nothing more; my advice to you would be to lose all 82 games and make a run at John Wall or Derrick Favors.

Player to watch:

Jay – I’ll go with Tyson Chandler here. Of all the decent talent on the Bobcats, he’s the newest addition. If he’s healthy and back to the player he was two years ago, the Bobcats will have a lockdown defender and terrific rebounder.

Tommy - Gerald Henderson; He'll realize he should have stayed one more year with Coach K.

TJ - Now that the best ever is in the Hall of Fame, will he stay out of the gym and in the front office? Yes I am talking about Michael Jordan. I could see him coming back to play in a few games this season, seeing that his team only has an outside chance to make the playoffs. Please do it Mike. Just come back to at least one game. If you came back when the Cavs are in town, the Lebron-Michael matchup could help the U.S. out of its recession. Every T.V. in America would have that game on.

Projected Record:

Jay – 33-49

Tommy – 40-42

TJ – 20-62