FIO Preview: Charlotte Bobcats

2008-2009 Charlotte Bobcats season preview and fantasy impact, courtesy of Fantasy Insider Online. Read the team preview here in the Yard, and then visit the FIO link for the rest. - Zach Harper Last Season Recap: The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly For a team that seemed ready to take the next step as an organization, it sure looked like they didn't go anywhere. This was the plight of the Charlotte Bobcats last season. They added talent in the offseason and yet were unable to capitalize on their previous franchise record of 33 wins as they sputtered to just 32 victories. This was a team that couldn't dominate at home (21-20) and could barely win on the road (11-30). They enjoyed a full season from Emeka Okafor and could only get 62 games from Gerald Wallace. They had a rookie head coach, Sam Vincent, who couldn't keep the attention of his players for more than about two months. Every time this team looked like it had just taken a step forward, it ended up backing up to the starting line. This was a season stuck in neutral with no one to push the car forward. Emeka Okafor gave the Bobcats a full season of 82 games for the first time in his career. The previous two seasons, he missed 71 games because of various injuries. When he was able to establish himself in the post and be a nice scoring option, the Bobcats usually won. Jason Richardson, who played in his first season with Charlotte after a draft night trade, joined Okafor. Richardson also played in a full 82 games, which hadn't happened in five seasons. J-Rich led the NBA in three-point field goals made and scored the most points in a season for his career. An early season trade of Walter Herrmann and Primoz Brezec to Detroit for center Nazr Mohammed turned out to be a pleasant surprise. Nazr flourished playing alongside Okafor and provided the Bobcats with a decent presence at the center position that Brezec could never give them. What went wrong for the Charlotte Bobcats ended up being injuries and the month of February. Before the regular season even started, the Bobcats lost two of their young, rotation players in Sean May and Adam Morrison. Both players missed the entire season with injuries. Then the month of February came along and the Bobcats destroyed any chance of making the playoffs in the weak Eastern Conference. Gerald Wallace sprained his right ankle early on in the month. The Bobcats responded by losing 11 of their 12 games in February. Wallace had been enjoying a very good season, in which he added some three-point range to his offensive game, and was averaging 19.4 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 2.1 steals per game. Once he went down, the Bobcats simply could not do what was necessary to compete, and the players tuned on rookie head coach, Sam Vincent in the process. They finished fourth in their division for the fourth straight year. 2008 Draft Impact (Above Average) The Bobcats selected D.J. Augustin from Texas with the ninth selection in this summer's draft because he was arguably the best point guard available and the Bobcats management were discouraged with the lack of improvement that Raymond Felton showed last season. Augustin is an undersized, lightning-quick point guard who can score from anywhere on the floor and does a fairly good job of setting his teammates up. His strengths are his quickness and his ability to beat people off the dribble. What he can do for the Bobcats is give them an insurance policy with the Felton situation. Felton is due for a contract extension, and if he doesn't get that then he will be a restricted free agent next summer. The Bobcats are willing to pay him if he improves like they expect, but if he doesn't then they have Augustin waiting in the wings to take over a franchise that is dying to find a winning formula. They also selected a project big man with the 20th pick in the draft in Alexis Ajinca. Ajinca is a big man from France who has a lot of skill for a player with so little experience. However, the problem with him is that he lacks enough toughness and doesn't like to get physical in the paint. He can be pushed around and easily taken out of his game. Ajinca will take a couple of years to develop before he is ready to contribute to this team. He probably will spend most of the season in the D-League unless the Bobcats get desperate or are completely out of the playoff hunt by March. Off-Season Impact Moves There were two significant moves this offseason for the Charlotte Bobcats. Last offseason, the Bobcats committed $84 million to keep Gerald Wallace and Matt Carroll on the roster. This offseason, they committed $72 million just to keep Emeka Okafor in the orange paint. Okafor has been their franchise guy since the team's inception four years ago. The key to this signing being worth the money is Okafor's ability to stay healthy. He has battled injury problems for years, and if he cannot be the defensive and rebounding force on the court that they need for 82 games, then it's hard to justify that kind of money to a player who cannot be reliable in the scoring department. It is, in fact, a good signing because he can be their anchor defensively, but Charolette will need to develop his scoring ability or find someone who can do it instead. However, the biggest offseason move was firing Sam Vincent and then hiring Larry Brown to steer the Bobcats into the postseason. I'm one of the last 150 people on this planet who believe that Larry Brown is still one of the best coaches in this league. Brown is a proven winner wherever he goes. You may retort with his experiences coaching the Knicks debacle and Team USA in 2004, but you have to realize the circumstances he was dealing with. Those were teams haphazardly thrown together without any rhyme or reason. With a young Bobcats team, Brown can teach the two young point guards how to properly run a team, while bringing his experience and know-how to guide this franchise into the playoffs for the first time. This was a brilliant move by Michael Jordan, and even if it only lasts for two or three years, Brown will make a positive difference for Charlotte. Preview for the 2008-2009 Season Team MVP: Emeka Okafor, PF/C - Okafor is the straw that stirs the drink. Not one other player on this roster can match his presence in the middle. Okafor has to remain healthy and become a reliable scorer in the paint for this team to succeed. A lot of that will come with Larry Brown's ability to teach the point guards how to properly set Okafor up when he receives the ball. If they can get an 18-point, 12-rebound season from the big man with at least 75 games played, this team will have a great chance at making the playoffs. Breakout Player: Jared Dudley, SF - Jared Dudley was one of the quiet steals of the end of the first round during the 2007 draft. He struggled during the first three months of the season as he fought for playing time, but over the last three months of the season, Dudley averaged 7.7 points and 5.1 rebounds during 26.5 minutes of play. He even showed capabilities of dominating play during a 10-point, 18-rebound performance in early March. Dudley has the ability to do anything on the floor and could be this team's Shane Battier. He's the type of player Larry Brown loves to utilize. Bust Player: Gerald Wallace, SF - It's not that I think Gerald Wallace won't have a good season. He's matured into a pretty good NBA player who can wreak havoc on defense and be a weapon on offense. It's just that his playing 82 games with his reckless style seems like an impossible feat. Wallace thrives on the court because he goes at full speed for every second he's out there. Unfortunately, his body just doesn't seem able to overcome the punishment it takes. If he plays 65 games this season, I will be shocked. Playoff Contender or Pretender? This team is by no means a contender for a title or even a Top 4 seed in the East, but they are definitely a contender for making the playoffs with Larry Brown leading the charge. The Bobcats are on the cusp of being a team to be reckoned with, and considering the amount of talent they have been stockpiling recently, Charlotte just needs some leadership to make things work consistently. Larry Brown isn't exactly known for his undying loyalty, but this is a guy who led the Clippers into back-to-back playoff appearances. The key to this team breaking through is getting a home court advantage. Their fans have really done a poor job of getting behind the team and it's probably because they don't have much to root for. The Bobcats only sold out 77.4% of their seats last season, which was the fifth worst in the league. Charlotte has never won 21 games at home in a season and they are going to have to get that total up to 30 next season. They need to have some sort of advantage and it's the only way to get the fans involved.