Time to preview the 2010-11 Charlotte Bobcats
Music to listen to: Charlene by Anthony Hamilton
Last season/offseason changes: The Bobcats finished last year with a record of 44-38 to make the playoffs for the first time in the franchiseโs history. Charlotte proceeded to get swept by Orlando in the first round but making the postseason was a necessary step for the team.
The Bobcats are going to replace Raymond Felton, Tyson Chandler and Raja Bell with Shaun Livingston, Kwame Brown and Matt Carroll. You can argue that all three of those are downgrades.
Strength: Charlotte had the top defensive unit in the NBA. The Bobcats may not be able to repeat this again this year with the departure of Felton and Chandler, but its not inconceivable for them to have a top-five unit.
The Bobcats do have two good scorers in Stephen Jackson and Gerald Wallace.
Weakness: The offense last season was one of the least efficient in the NBA, mainly because of the missed shot by Jackson and Wallace. Furthermore, with the departure of Felton, the point guard duties will now go to DJ Augustine, who has been underwhelming at times in his career.
The wild card in this situation is Tyrus Thomas, the power forward that has teased fans for years with his physical attributes but still lacks fundamental basketball skills to be an effective pro. If he can finally get his game together, this will allow the Bobcats to not be as reliant on the perimeter for offense, therefore making it more efficient.
Most important player: Charlotte already struggles on offense so its imperative for Jackson to make better decisions on that end of the court.
Celebrity crush from the city: Iโm going to take Jessica Stroup in a major upset over Brooklyn Decker. I know, an actress from a CW tv show has no business beating an Sports Illustrated and Victoriaโs Secret model but I like brunettes and I like Stroupโs talent more than Brooklynโs.
Coaching: Larry Brown is the true definition of a rolling stone coach but he seems content by his standards in Charlotte. He went to college in the area, the pressure is low and he gets to have full control of his system via working under another former North Carolina Tar Heel, Michael Jordan, who runs the basketball operations for the Bobcats.
Brown has found a way to get a team that lacks overall talent to be one of the best defensive teams in the NBA and become a difficult team to defeat.
This isnโt his best coaching job ever with depleted talent (taking the Clippers to the playoffs will probably always be tops), but Brown has shown once again that heโs one of the best teachers of basketball ever.
First memory of team: I remember Charlotte for being the home city for the Hornets with Mugsey, Larry Johnson and Alonzo Mourning. Those were some fun squads, especially Johnson. People forget but this guy was one of the premier power forwards for several seasons in the NBA. Enjoy the highlights below:
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Best case: Return to the playoffs
Worst case: Offensive woes cause the Bobcats to miss the playoffs
Uniform grade: The unis arenโt anything to complain about or compliment. Grade: C
Overall outlook: There are six teams in the East, Miami, Orlando, Boston, Chicago, Milwaukee and Atlanta, that are clearly better than Charlotte.
The New York Knicks have made upgrades as well and it can be argued are currently better than the Bobcats.
The reality is that Charlotte may sneak into the playoffs but it would be another first-round loss to a conference power. You have to wonder about the overall direction of the franchise because if the goal is to win championships, than the Bobcats arenโt succeeding.
Those are my thoughts, what about yours?
2010 Backdoor Cut Previews:
Atlantic Division
Central Division
Southeast
The Sports Inquirer 
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