For those that know me, I’ve made no secret that I have a soft spot for the Bobcats. Can’t explain other than everytime I’ve seen them play, they put effort into their game and they genuinely look like they’ve been gutted when they lose. That said, they should weigh somewhere between 80-100lbs by now.
Continuing our TrueHoop check-in, we look at the Bobcats courtesy of Queen City Hoops. Last season we locked horns with Bosh helping us win the first match and the second match. Then we played them in a home & home and absolutely got beaten by lead pipes and chains, losing 112-86 in Charlotte and 102-89 at home. Be interesting to see how we match up this year. With that said:
Predicted starting 5:
-Raymond Felton
-Raja Bell
-Gerald Wallace
-Boris Diaw
-Tyson Chandler
Best offensive Player:
D.J. Augustin – He was the Bobcats most efficient guard last season, and that was while nursing an abdominal injury most of the year. Given the minutes this year, he could well be the Bobcats leading scorer.
Best defensive Player:
Whoever stays healthiest out of Tyson Chandler and Gerald Wallace.
Best new player:
Tyson Chandler – the Bobcats need for Tyson to live up to this due to the spot he is taking over for them. Should he fail to match the impact of Gerald Henderson and Flip Murray, the Bobcats will take a dramatic step backwards defensively.
Player that will be missed:
Emeka Okafor – The franchise’s first draft pick was dealt away this off-season in exchange for Tyson Chandler. The Bobcats went from a 6-10, 26 year old center to a 7-1, 26 year old center. However, Emeka was a solid contributor night in and night out, averaging a double-double each of his 5 years in Charlotte. While 14 and 11 may not seem like a lot to replace, it should be noted that after injury issues his first couple of years in the league, he has appeared in all 82 games each of the last 2 seasons. Solid production at both ends of the court, night in and night out – its a big hole to fill.
Weakest link in your top 8 rotation players:
Starters, D.J., Flip Murray and then…Vladimir Radmanovic? Gana Diop? Either way, the first big man off the bench is the de-facto 8th man in the rotation, but both of them have serious short comings. Vladimir was a shooter who couldn’t shoot for the Bobcats last season and his defense and rebounding leave something to be desired. Diop was a solid defensive backstop for the Bobcats, but his own non-existent offense may well offset his contributions at the other end of the court.
Greatest weakness as a team:
Post scoring. Tyson is a defensive minded center. Diop is a defensive minded center. Nazr Mohammed – well, tough to say what he has left after getting buried on the bench last year. And at the 4, Boris Diaw contributes all over the court and preferred the 3-point line to the post in his first season in CLT. Alexis Ajinca – wants to play like Dirk but hasn’t shown the touch from the perimeter yet.
Biggest question heading into the season:
The biggest question faces their offense: Can they score enough points to win? They should be good enough defensively to only need 85 or 90 points to win a decent number of games. But even that number may be out of their reach as they were 27th in offensive efficiency a season ago and their only post scorer is now in New Orleans.
If I was GM for a day, I would…
Package Raja Bell and Nazr Mohammed for a young backup power forward or a future draft pick or two. Two reasons – Bell is still a useful player with an expiring contract and there is interest in him. Nazr’s deal is not as good, but it is getting close to the end of it and I think he can still provide some minutes as a backup big for a team – but the Bobcats don’t need to pay him and Diop for the same thing. Give these guys a chance to contribute elsewhere…and force a youth movement with Larry Brown. Gerald Henderson is most likely sitting behind both Raja and Flip on LB’s depth chart at this point and for a team that is not winning a title this year, why? Same with Ajinca – the Bobcats gave up a pick for him, get him some minutes at the 4/5 and see what we have there.
My opinion of the Raptors:
Primary competition. I see the Bobcats and Raptors in that third tier of East Teams (1 – Boston, Cleveland, Orlando. 2- Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia, Miami. 3 – Everyone but New Jersey and New York) that are fighting for that final playoff spot. Colangelo has assembled a unique team in Toronto and it will come down to Bargnani’s continued development and whether Hedo can perform for an entire season like he did in the playoffs.
If I had to assign a "movie title" to my expectations of the season, it would be…
DodgeBall – between wayward shots and errant passes, I think Bobcats’ fans in the first few rows should be prepared for the ball at all times. The team was last in the league last season in turnover rate, and with Emeka gone, the players who remain are going to be called on to do even more.
W/L prediction for the Bobcats
38-44. I see the Bobcats being as bad offensively as they are good defensively, bottom 5 and top 5 in efficiency respectively, leading to a mediocre season that sees them coming up just short of the post-season.
Our thanks go to QCH for their input. Great recaps on their site of their Raptors massacres.
27 Raps
AltRaps, these posts are really cool because we get a fresh perspective not only on our next competition but an assessment of our own team, too. Great idea and look forward to hearing from all of the TrueHoop community.
Really surprised to hear an assessment of us in the third tier in the East, but maybe that’s because I’ve got a huge favorable bias towards the Raps.
I would like to point out that it appears that Raptors Republic has a much more involved fanbase/readership than the one for Charlotte. Yes, pat on the back to us, Raptors Republic diehards. :)
(Plus we just have better writers!)
Thanks Carbon, I appreciate the support. Kudos to our fellow bloggers for taking the time.
Sometimes even those of us that are perceived to be negative wear rose coloured glasses. I’d sure as heck hope we were mentioned in the same breath as Philly and Chicago, but if we falter out of the gate, we will have a lot of road to make up.
They’ve gotta give the reigns to D.J. Augustin. Kid can play. He’s far better than Ray Felton right now. The reports that they offered Felton a multi-year deal scared the crap out of me. Fortunately for them, he thinks he’s going to make more money next summer. Ha!
Agreed. D.J was great last year, he reminds me a lot of Tim Hardaway with those lulling crossovers and hesitations. The 3-point shot isn’t there but 48% shooting for a rookie PG is sick.
My opinion of the Raptors:
Primary competition. I see the Bobcats and Raptors in that third tier of East Teams (1 – Boston, Cleveland, Orlando. 2- Atlanta, Chicago, Philadelphia, Miami. 3 – Everyone but New Jersey and New York) that are fighting for that final playoff spot. Colangelo has assembled a unique team in Toronto and it will come down to Bargnani’s continued development and whether Hedo can perform for an entire season like he did in the playoffs.”
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AltRaps … you forgot to mention that the Raptors are an unproven team led by an unproven coaching staff … unless you believe 1 + 1 = 3 (when it’s really only 1.5).
You ignore the fact that even JT admits he doesn’t know how all the new players will perform under regular season competition … but you seem to be ready to assume they will merge into a functional, NBA-ready team when the rubber hits the road later this month.
Or are you now hedging your bets based on how Bargs and Hedo perform … while ignoring the realistic possibility that the 9 new players will not gel into a team.. and the coaching staff will have no answer for the disaster that is about to unfold ….??!!!
Positive is for tribal honking fans … realistic is for those who know …
And reading is for those that went to school. Those are answers to my questions, not my opinion.
You continue to amaze me, but not in a good way. Kind of in a balloon boy way.
Okay, AltRaps … is this what you meant???
My opinion of the Raptors: (Those are answers to my questions, not my opinion.)
“Primary competition. I see the Bobcats and Raptors in that third tier of East Teams …. etc.”
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Ah, yes .. that makes sense now … sorry … poof
Douche….that was what he asked of the Bobcats writer…ie the Bobcats writers opinion…and if you are talking about in the comments…he was obviously quoting what the bobcats writer had to say….
You can always count on kindergarten level comprehension from an apparent pre-pubescent man-child only interested in honking his own horn. Congratulations for showing us all the intellect behind each and every one of your nags — obviously, not one of the smarter kids in the class.
HAHAHAHAHA….LOVING THE BALLOON BOY REFERENCE….TOOO SOON??? NAHHHHHHHH!!!!
FAQ, I think its implied. You keep saying the same thing, reminding us that these guys are new additions. We know that already, we are aware of the chalanges.
You are like the Don Cherry of this board, always stating the obvious and acting like you are the only one that sees it.
Optimism, is not such a bad thing.
However, I agree with you. As a long time fan, I find it hard at times to be optimistic. It drains you, seeing the same mistakes year after year.
That said, it can be like hanging around a bunch of guys that keep bringing up “women have done them wrong” stories… after a while you just want to throw the silver bullet at them to stop whinning. I like originality, and you keep bringing out the same old act.
Yes … I provide frequently asked questions … because the delusions and fantacizing on this fine forum are flooding it with craziness … so obvious.
Maybe AltRaps could beseech khandor (and Fluxland too) to return so as to bring a ray of realism to what is becoming RealGM2 …
That is quite the calling in life FAQ.
Are you sure u meant to put a q at the end of ur name cause i really think u meant to put G
FAQ I used to appreciate your view on bball but now your opinion is worthless. You’ve surpassed your “realism” chums as the Tribal Honking leader of the piss and vinegar naysayers whose only real fandom is their own desire to seek attention. You know very well, like we all do, that this team could go either way when it comes to chemistry and cohesive bball but you choose to honk your repetitive horn in only the direction that gathers a crowd…even if you end up being right, your simply white noise at this point. Sad.
Alright FAQ, I’m gonna level with you here. I gotta say I’m not your biggest fan. I do believe, however, that you have some good insight to some things. But when you get on a rant, and feel like your views are threatened after you read a post, you seem to just explode and trash the Raps. This site is dedicated to people who ADORE the Raptors (myself included), so when you start trashing our team, regardless of the validity of the point you’re making, you are gonna take some heat. So please be reasonable when you post the same questions/statements you always do, and don’t trash the entire RapsRepublic fan base when you call us “Tribal Honking Fans”. I just ask that you be reasonable when you try to make your point and keep your idea of realism in check.
Nice read. Just wanted to comment on what a tremendous job arsenalist and altraps are doing so far this preseason.
If you guys yourselves are gearing up for the season then I would have to say you’re 6-0 in the preseason with the coverage and I can’t wait to see what kind of information/insight/humour us readers are instore for.
Keep it up y’all!
Thanks. We have some great writers here and some more coming aboard. Different views bring out the best in a site, in my opinion.
Appreciate the vote of confidence.
I would say that:
First Tier teams are: Cleveland, Boston and Orlando (50+ win teams)
Second tier teams are (is) – Atlanta (45+ win team)
Third tier teams are – Everyone else not including The Bucks, The Knicks and The Nets who will be fighting for the four remaining playoff spots (potential 40+ win teams).
Also I think the Bobcats took a step back when they traded Okafor for Chandler.
In the last two seasons the Raptors had a difficulty with the Bobcats at times because the Bobcats were always a more stronger physical team and not having an adequate SF that could guard G. Wallace hurt the Raptors during the game. I think the Raptors off season acquesitions have addressed those problems when dealing with the Bobcats, however dealing with the Celtics is a whole other story.
That pic of Jordan is amazing.
Are we gonna have a RR fantasy challenge this year guys???
I always enjoy the Bobcats broadcasts because they are the only other NBA team that Matt Devlin knows anything about. He’s able to give you precious tidbits about the team, such as the slowness of G. Wallace’s “gait.” This Raptor team will win this year and it will lose…but through it all, there’s always going to be Matt D. calling the game.
http://www.nba.com/bulls/news/smith_091012.html
Belinelli made the list, so it’s not just Colangelo that thinks highly of him.
The best thing about this post is the fact that FAQ has been exposed for the complete moron that he really is.
Man, the Bobcats are getting stronger while we are still the same old Raptors. I remember that back-to-back game last season against Bobcats and we got raped so bad! It was so horrible. I think the Bobcats are quite the same playing level with the Sixers and it’s so coincidence that we also got raped by the Sixers during this pre-season’s back-to-back game! ha!
I think it has something to do with the MLSE why the team sucks. They are not willing to spend over the tax for some reason — maybe they don’t need to spend over the tax because they can have a sell-out crowd every home games even though we get raped every night at ACC. But do they have to wait until the attendance will get low so that they can spend over the tax? Look at the Celtics, Danny Ainge made the Celtics become a contender just in two months! I think Colangelo or MLSE should wake-up that we can’t let opportunity to knock on our door but we should chase the opportunity inorder to be an NBA Champion!
It is really a shame that we always get involved with blockbuster trades but we end in disappointment — From Vince Carter trade to Jermaine O’Neal acquisition.
Losing to the Sixers back-to-back is the forshadowing that we will have an another worst season! I tell ya people, we won’t get to the second round!
We do not need to spend into tax threshold.
The key to getting the most bang for the buck, is to hold on and acquire draft picks. The way the CBA is structured rookies are the most cost effective additions to a team. Not only do they have limits as to what they can make, they hold the most trade value.
The problem is that we traded away a lot of those draft picks during Bryan’s tenure to solve the Ford situation, JO aquastion, JO’s dispersal for the privilege of a Marion rental that eventually allowed us to reward Hedo with a lucrative contract.
This was not ideal for a franchise that had already passed on Iggy and Granger. (These were two players that were wanted by a majority of the fan base, I am not going to mention players that were not on anyones radar).
Retrospect, is an easy game to play and I fully admit that. However, when you add all those opportunities up and come away with nothing… it is going to catch up to you.
Money and tax is not always the answer, Knick fans know that all too well.
Disagree. Money and tax is the answer. The top contending teams have out spent everyone.
The Knicks don’t prove that wrong. It just proves some teams with lots of money are complete
dummies. In fact I don’t understand people making statements like you do. Do you look at what
each team spends on salaries? In the East Boston, Cleveland, and Orlando are outspending
every other team by $13,000,000 to $27,000,000. The exception is the Knicks.
In the West it’s a similiar story. The Lakers spend the most. Even the Spurs are over the tax.
This is why the NBA lacks real competition. Make it a hard salary cap so every team has a
chance to win the title.