NBA Season Preview: Charlotte Bobcats

Mark Rawden, and his associates over at Examiner.com (http://www.examiner.com), are running their own NBA Season Preview for each team in the NBA prior to the beginning of the regular season. Here's a look at the the 2009-10 Charlotte Bobcats, and a Q&A with Examiner David Sentendrey: (http://www.examiner.com/x-10630-Boston-Celtics-Examiner~y2009m9d29-NBA-Season-Preview-QA-with-Charlotte-Bobcats-Examiner-David-Sentendrey) What are your thoughts about the Bobcats as the season approaches? How do you feel about their playoff/title chances?David Sentendrey : The Bobcats were nearly a playoff caliber team last season after they made a trade to bring in Boris Diaw and Raja Bell over from Phoenix. In their first season under head coach Larry Brown, the Bobcats were the NBA's seventh-best defensive team, and that should improve with the addition of Tyson Chandler. Bobcats' ownership is in limbo with owner Bob Johnson attempting to sell, so financially, the Bobcats are hurting and they are trying to be conservative. The team has yet to re-sign point guard Raymond Felton, which is a must if they do not pursue other point guard option through free-agency, i.e. Allen Iverson. If Charlotte can address the point guard position and stay healthy, I see no reason why they can not contend for a back-end playoff seed. Do you feel that holes in the roster still need to be addressed, and if so, can they be addressed?DS: As said before, point guard is a must. D.J. Augustin had a great rookie season for Charlotte, but they need someone with more experience to start, whether it be Felton or Iverson. How do you feel that they compare with the Celtics, and the rest of the Eastern Conference?DS: Defensively, I would rate them behind 1. Cleveland, 2. Boston and 3. Orlando. Offensively, more help/experience is needed (27th ranked in NBA last season). Gerald Wallace is shaping into a star, but Charlotte did not have a single player average over 20 points per game last season. With Chandler, DeSagana Diop and Nazr Mohammed at center, there is no offensive threat in the post. Rookie Gerald Henderson, from Duke, should be a scoring threat off the bench, but I believe his style of play is very similar to Gerald Wallace in the sense that they both like getting to the basket. Charlotte has many holes to fill on offense, specifically in the post and behind the arc. If the Celtics and Bobcats meet in the playoffs, how would you think the Bobcats should attack Boston in a 7-game series?To read the rest of Mark's Q&A, click here. (http://www.examiner.com/x-10630-Boston-Celtics-Examiner~y2009m9d29-NBA-Season-Preview-QA-with-Charlotte-Bobcats-Examiner-David-Sentendrey)