Charlotte Bobcats

Majority Owner Michael Jordan

2009-2010 Record: 44-38

Owner: Michael Jordan

General Manager: Rod Higgins

Head Coach Larry Brown

Projected Starting Lineup

PG: DJ Augustin

SG: Stephen Jackson

SF: Gerald Wallace

PF: Boris Diaw

C: Nazr Mohammed

To an outsider, the Charlotte Bobcats figure to be a team on the rise.  The franchise had its first All Star in Small Forward Gerald Wallace and earned its first post-season berth.  The Bobcats have seen an influx of new sponsors and the team is one of the largest gainers in the league in terms of new season ticket subscribers.  Add in the fact that Michael Jordan bought majority ownership in the team that the team’s fortunes figure to be on the upswing.  Charlotte’s appearance in the playoffs was short lived as the Orlando Magic swept them away in the first round.  However, the question is whether the team has actually reached its peak or is about to plateau in mediocrity.

The Bobcats were arguably one of the losers this offseason.  Point Guard Raymond Felton left via free agency to New York after not being offered a long term contract.  Part of it is Felton’s fault.  Felton reportedly declined a 6 year 42 million dollar extension prior to last season and received less from the Knicks.  Add in the fact that Felton got torched in Charlotte’s first round matchup by Jameer Nelson that surely left a bitter taste in the mouth of Michael Jordan.  Charlotte then made the curious decision to trade away Tyson Chandler for Eric Dampier’s contract (who was later released).  What is perplexing is that in order to do that deal, the Bobcats also had to take back the contracts of bench players in Matt Carroll and Eduardo Najera. 

The Bobcats did avert a disastrous off season and did resign Tyrus Thomas.  Resigning Thomas was imperative since the Bobcats traded away a future first round pick to acquire Thomas for the playoff push last year.

Jackson and Wallace

For the Bobcats to have any success this year, the health of Stephen Jackson and Wallace are imperative.  This indispensible duo gives Charlotte two lockdown defenders defensively and is the biggest weapons in the team’s offensive arsenal.  The acquisition of Jackson (for the injured Raja Bell and Vladimir Radmanovic) propelled Charlotte to the playoffs and help Wallace focus on what he does best.  Wallace is best at crashing the boards, hustling, picking off passes, slashing to the basket and getting points off of rebounds.  With Jackson in the fold, Wallace no longer had to be the team’s number one option offensively which Wallace doesn’t have the game that is suitable.

Augusin, Jackson, and Wallace

Replacing Felton is D.J Augustin.  Augustin had a sophomore slump after an impressive rookie campaign.  Confidence was Augustin’s main issue and he struggled to please Coach Brown who is notoriously hard on point guards.  Augustin did rebound late in the season and he does offer something that Felton didn’t.  Augustin is a much better shooter than Felton and has the ability to spread the floor to give Jackson and Wallace more room to slash to the basket.  What Augustin lacks is size and the defensive ability that Felton brought to the position.

Thomas and Boris Diaw will split time at Power Forward.  The enigmatic Diaw will likely start since he is arguably the team’s best playmaker.  What annoys Bobcats fans is that Diaw is too unselfish since he often passes up open shots to try and thread the needle to covered teammates and the lack of rebounding he provides for the position.  Thomas gives Charlotte an athletic big who blocks shots, rebounds and can score a little.

The Center position is the biggest question regarding the Bobcats.  Chandler seems like a big loss but Charlotte actually played its best ball in the month of January when Chandler was hurt and Nazr Mohammed was starting.  Mohammed will be the starter and gives Charlotte a viable scorer in the middle.  He is not the prototypical Larry Brown center who is long, and blocks shots but he is adequate.  The problem is that Mohammed at this stage of his career can’t play starters minutes unless the team wants to wear him down come March and April (which is precisely what happened last year).  Ideally Mohammed would contribute best by playing 20-25 minutes a game.  Another issue is that backups Kwame Brown and DeSagana Diop don’t inspire much confidence either.

Nazr Mohammed

Charlotte’s bench isn’t particularly deep which will lead to the team relying on big minutes on Jackson, Wallace, Thomas, Diaw, Augustin and Mohammed.  Shaun Livingston could be okay as Augustin’s backup but he is never healthy.  Dominic McGuire and Najera are energy guys who probably wouldn’t suit up on other teams.  The only bench players with any sort of upside are Derrick Brown and Gerald Henderson.  Brown impressed in his limited minutes last season and does everything slightly above average.  He has the makings of a rotation player in the near future.  Henderson is an athletic two guard who can defend but can’t shoot.

Look for the Bobcats to be coached very well and to over achieve their talent level.  Charlotte’s crunch time lineup will likely include Jackson, Wallace, Diaw and Thomas. These four can guard pretty much every position on the floor and will allow Brown to switch easily on Defense.  Augustin will also be on the floor to again spread to court with his long distance shooting.  As it stands right now, the Bobcats will be a 38 win team that will be fighting for the one of the final playoff spots in the conference.  What makes this prediction difficult is that Charlotte has made a blockbuster trade early in the season the last two years.  Many believe that a similar deal is coming to bring in a center which will likely cost Diaw.