| 2007-2008 Charlotte Bobcats Preview Authored by Danny Thompson - November 6, 2007 - 3:11 pm
| Current Featured Columns | | The First Three Weeks of 2008-09 Now that we’ve had a little time to watch free agency unfold, along with the usual accompaniment of trades, let’s look at some of the key moves and how they impact the teams involved.
Grading The Deal: W's Sign Maggette And TuriafThe Boom Dizzle era is over, and the Warriors quickly recovered by signing two nice pieces to complement their young core.
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During the NBA Draft, the Bobcats traded first round pick Brandan Wright to Golden State in exchange for Jason Richardson. Richardson finally gives the Bobcats a true scorer in those clutch situations in the fourth quarter, the team has never had on in the three previous years.
When October came around, the talk in Charlotte was playoffs, but three weeks later the team is struggling to keep enough bodies on the floor.
Season ending injuries to Sean May (he has only played in less than 70% of the games since his drafting two years ago) and Adam Morrison have taken away a lot of fire power that new coach Sam Vincent could have used to bring the Bobcats into that next realm of the playoff spectrum.
Point Guards: Raymond Felton and Jeff McInnis
Felton will finally have this position to himself all season after the Bobcats let Knight go in free agency to the Clippers. Felton who will love Vincent's up tempo style of play should be in for a career year. Felton is a good passer who protects the ball very well and doesn't have very many turnovers should raise his assist total by at least two more assists a game because of having Richardson on his wing catching those sweet alley-oops. But for all the good Felton does, his shot is very suspect and takes a lot of bad shots as the leader on the floor. If he can get that field goal percentage up by at least 3 percent over last season he could take that Deron Williams and Chris Paul leap that the team has been looking for. McInnis, a journeyman point guard, is a Charlotte native who came in last season and couldn't find much of a role but now he can come in and play and let Felton play the shooting guard role. McInnis is a good backup player but has concentration issues and has been a concern in locker rooms for a few years now.
Grade- C+
Shooting Guards: Jason Richardson, Matt Carroll and Derek Anderson
Bobcat fans can breathe easy knowing that we can finally say we have a go-to-scorer when we traded for Richardson in June. Last season, his numbers might have taken a dive compared to other years but he was a bit injured last a season and the finally he has that opportunity to be the number one option again in Charlotte. Richardson is a good shooter and we all know about his ability to make that slam dunk. He is an underrated defender and could have a possible All-Star year in Charlotte. Carroll got his pay raise after proving to management that he can improve his game for the last two seasons. Carroll is the team's best shooter and plays enough defense to get buy but will never win the defensive player of the year award. Carroll is a sixth man of the year sleeper pick and can score points off the bench. Anderson will be more a player-coach on the floor like he was last year. He can fill-in and play both guard positions but will be only used when needed.
Grade- B
Small Forwards: Gerald Wallace and Jared Dudley
Wallace put in a career year in 2006-07, he improved all of his numbers all-around and became the 4th player to complete the two block and two steal a game average. A player that gives his all on every play is become the team's leader and the heart and soul of this franchise and finally got rewarded for his hard work by getting a $57 million dollar contract in the off-season. There isn't one thing that he doesn't do very well and we could be in store a special 2007-08 season. Dudley, the rookie from Boston College is a hard-noised player that does the little things that you don't see in the stat sheet. But he is behind Wallace, so the minutes could come few and far between.
Grade: B-
Power Forwards: Emeka Okafor, Walter Herrmann, Othella Harrington and Jarmearo Davidson
Okafor entered the season without his new contract. At last check, Charlotte management is trying to have that deal done before July and Okafor hits the open market. He has gotten better and better each season and is at the point where he is a constant double-double on a nightly basis. A very good shot blocker and is working more on his offensive game to complement his defensive prow less. He needs to work on his free-throw percentage but no one's perfect. (Note to Charlotte Management, if your reading this article, PLEASE RE-SIGN OKAFOR, we don't need another Alonzo Mourning situation ever again.) Herrmann came on strong last season after injuries tore apart the front-line. An underrated defender who plays with a fire and passion and can get under people's skin. A good shooter who can stretch defensives with shooting. Harrington will be a banger and Davidson is a D-League candidate.
Grade: B
Centers: Primoz Brezec and Ryan Hollins
This section of the team is going to be short and sweet. In Vincent's situation neither one right now will play a lot minutes because of what they want to do on offense. Brezec does not rebound very well for his size and Hollins is still a project in the works. So Okafor will be playing this position a lot in 07-08
Grade: D-
Outlook: A season of promise took a bunch of hits with injuries in the preseason with May and Morrison being out for the season. What Vincent has to do is get a good rotation going and some nights have to out shoot his opposition due to the lack of size and rebounding that the team does not have this season. What we do know is that with Richardson, Wallace and Okafor we have the right building blocks in place. If Felton can keep the point under control we could be a dark house in the East. But rebounding issues and size makes Charlotte on year away from contending.
Prediction: 38-44 (4th in the Southeast and 10th in the Eastern Conference)
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