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[tmansback]

The Cats were a pretty good team by seasons end last year. They finished the year with 33 wins and they had some pretty big problems last year. Mainly Okafor missed some games and Adam Morrison was horrible. I'm wondering though if Okafor plays 82 and Morrison improve could this team be under the radar.

1. They have 3 starters that could put up a PER over 20 next season. JRich was almost 20 his last full season. Okafor and Wallace both were over 20 last year. Usually teams with 3 guys with PER over 20 are pretty good. Not to mention there best players are also there best defenders which is usually another plus.

2. Really they could have 4 guys that could put up a PER of 20 if Sean May could stay healthy. When May actually plays he is extremely productive off the bench. I have a feeling that May is ready to play a healthy season.

3. There worst players are also there youngest players. Raymond Felton and Adam Morrison both were horrible last year and were among the league leaders in players losses. If these 2 improve the Cats should see significant improvement. I think Felton can be really good and at times does not look far behind Deron and Chris Paul. I still think Adam Morrison can atleast score at the NBA level.

4. Walter Hermann was great to finish the year. He averaged 20 points per game himself in the month of April and 12 points per game in March. Really the only 2 months he got playing time. He really the perfect kind of PF you want to play next to Gerald Wallace and Okafor. Oh yeah his PER was around 20 to finish the year.

On paper I think I like there roster better than the Bulls. I for one would rather have JRich, Wallace, and Okafor over Gordon, Deng, and Ben Wallace. I really think if the Cats can stay healthy and Morrison and Spencer can improve there the best team in the South East division and should be a 50 win team. Especially if Wade is out to start the season in Miami. Only thing that concerns me is I have no idea about there coaching. Does anyone also think the Cats are about to have a break out season.

[Philosopher]

"On paper I think I like there roster better than the Bulls."

You lost me there. The Bobcats are more interesting than they were last season, and I think they'll compete for the Eighth Seed, but that's about it.

[thref23]

Even after J-Rich, they've got almost 16 mil in cap room. They'll possibly have as much or more caproom next offseason, even after they resign Okafor. Hypothetically they could make a legit play at Gilbert Arenas I believe.

Their two fixtures are at PG and C - Okafor and Felton. I wouldn't make too much of Felton's player losses - his player losses per minute played weren't much worse than Brevin Knight's, and he played games where Knight and/or Okafor were out with injury. I would say he simply has to work on his shooting percentage. Meanwhile, J-Rich gives them an upper-caliber wingman and can serve as a SF/SG combo, and should be especially useful for them because their outside shooting last year sucked outside of Carroll and Hermann - two guys you don't want to become too dependant on. Gerald Wallace is a versatile, good defensive player with at least some offensive skill. He can serve as a PF/SF combo and should continue to improve his offensive game.

What I think they need:

Given Gerald Wallace's versatility, I feel they could use him best perhaps off the benchas a PF/SF 6th man type. They could use some good post offense alongside Okafor in the frontcourt IMO. Could that be Sean May? I'm not familiar enough with his game to say. His defensive/athletic limitations would seem to make him less than ideal, but he should improve and the Bobcats already have Okafor to take care of D in the front court.

They need a wing to start alongside J-Rich, unless one of their unkown young guys is capable of stepping up (perhaps Alan Anderson). Adam Morrison is a good scorer perhaps, but statistically it doesn't seem he plays much defense, at all. Thats good for scoring off the bench to help keep the team above float, but will hurt them too much in the starting lineup, especially since they won't need his offense so much. Pietrus would seem to be a good pick up but considering complaints about his bball IQ, and his statistically poor D last season, it might be smart to wait for something better to come along.

They don't have a backup for Felton either, if I'm not mistaken.

If they were trying to do big things this year, I'd imagine they would have kept Brevin Knight. I am guessing they are waiting til next season to make a big splash, and they may be very capable of doing so. This season I don't think they're aiming too high, and they have at least a hole or two, so I wouldn't expect a ton

[KD]

One lopsided trade, and they win 50.

As is, they win 34-37.

[jorje29]

I think their rotation will be :

G - Felton / McInnis
G - Richardson / Carroll
F - Wallace / Dudley / Morrison
F - May / Hermann
C - Okafor / Brezec

Seldom used players will be : Ryan Hollins, Othella Harrington, Alan Anderson, Jermareo Davidson. Maybe, Anderson will have the most of the chances to be included in the rotation...

Some Notes :

- I expect Dudley to be in front of Morrison in the rotation, even if this is a surprise for some people. I really like Dudley, to be honest. BTW, I disagreed with Morrison draft choice....

- Gerald Wallace will start, for sure. Nobody invests 60 millions for a player off the bench. He'll log more minutes than anyone else...

- They are not better than Bulls, for sure. Bulls target to win the eastern conference and Bobcats will be more than happy to become a playoff team.

- Staying healthy and improve as a team and individually is #1 goal.

- Felton is not that bad. He passes the ball pretty well, he averages 7 ast / game. He collects some steals and he's very important for bobcats because McInnis can't be a full-time starter. If he improves his outside shot, he can be in the same level as Chris Paul and Deron Williams, although Deron proved in playoffs that he's the top young PG in the league.

- Regarding contracts situation, they have to extend Okafor and Hermann and sign a 1-2 quality free-agents for next season since they are well under the cap.

- I feel Bobcats can become a playoff team with another top 5 draft pick and by signing a high-class free-agent. They're lucky, they play in eastern conference...
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[davis21wylie2121]

[KeeneKaufmanWheeler]

I felt that Charlotte significantly underachieved for most of the season last year, primarily because they insisted on using Morrison so much. His play seemed to singlehandedly undermime the solid work of his teammates. The fact that Wallace just wasn't himself for a couple of months after falling on his head opening night played a part also.

Richardson is the type of player that PER loves but he was the centerpiece of a bunch of 30-win Golden State teams. I feel that he's overrated and actually pretty average (when given enough shots than any NBA 2-guard can put up big scoring numbers) but he's a huge upgrade over Morrison and allows Gerald Wallace to play SF full time. He fits in well here.

I'm not sold on Sean May or Herrmann -- they suffer from small sample size-itis. Neither of them has played enough minutes to really prove anything. There are still major questions about May's size, conditioning and athleticism and Herrmann is a long way from a dependable starter. Playing pretty well in half of a wasted season doesn't carry much weight.

Charlotte should use their remaining room this season to offer Anderson Varejao. They can afford to overpay him, and could offer him enough to make Cleveland pause over the luxury tax implications. If Cleveland bites the bullet and keeps Varejao, no loss to Charlotte since that's cap space they weren't going to use anyway.

I could see Charlotte challenging for a playoff spot if the frontcourt stays healthy (big if). They shouldn't be a laughingstock.

But I'd definitely rather have Deng over anyone Charlotte has.

[Ben F.]

I'll just offer some basic statistical analysis to help ground expectations...

The Bobcats last year won 33 games and were expected to win 29.6 according to Pythagorean win expectancy. B-R.com shows that they were 27th in the league on offense and 20th in the league on defense this past year.

So, how high do you think those rankings will jump? Even if, with the acquisition of JRich and the health of Sean May, their offense improves to a 106 ORTG (about where Sacramento was last year, 15th in the NBA) and with a new coach and a healthy Wallace, Okafor and May the whole year their defense improves to a 105.5 DRTG (about Indiana last year, good for 10th in the league) pythagorean win expectancy still only shows them winning around 42-43 games.

How much more of a leap do you think they can take? I think the predictions I just threw out are majorly pushing it, and that still has them only at 42-43 wins.
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[jkubatko]

[tmansback]

[THWilson]

[Ben F.]

[Flint]

Somewhat unloved on this board I know, but Dave Berri had a post on the Bobcats that was pretty interesting. He tentatively threw out a 41 win figure.

http://dberri.wordpress.com/2007/08/12/mj-makes-some-moves/

[tmansback]

[THWilson]