Bobcats Are One Star Away From The Playoffs
Gerald Wallace, Dime #39
Looking at the Charlotte Bobcats’ roster is like looking at the cast of the Fresh Prince of Bel Air and not having Will Smith. The Bobcats have several solid supporting players, but are missing the one thing every team must have: a star.
By this I mean someone whose job is to get buckets night in and night out. Someone who can get his shot off at anytime and you can rely on to take the last shot. Someone who has star power and can attract media coverage, fan interest and NBA free agents. While the Bobcats made some noise last year and competed for the 8th seed, I seriously doubt they can build on their season without a prolific scorer.
Charlotte thought they had that franchise player when they drafted Emeka Okafor second overall in 2004. Though he was good for a double-double every night, he never developed his offensive game. In the offseason, the team unloaded Okafur and his big contract to the Hornets in exchange for Tyson Chandler.
Without Emeka, a lot of people will look at Gerald Wallace to be the go-to guy on this team. While Wallace is one of the more versatile players in the league, he is not capable of being a team’s primary option and is better suited in the Scottie Pippen, sidekick-type role. Boris Diaw is another multi-skilled complimentary player but is too passive aggressive to be the man in Charlotte. And even if they resign Felton, I don’t see him putting up 20 points per game.
I do admit, I kind of like how Larry Brown has instilled a team concept within this squad. Last year, six guys on the team averaged double digits and Wallace was the leading scorer at just 16.6 ppg. But the team lost seven of their last 10 games and broke 100 points in only three of those games, so the need for a consistent scoring threat is huge. Until they can fill this hole, don’t expect them to make the playoffs this season.
Earlier this month, the Bobcats were in talks with Allen Iverson. That move would have been good on so many levels. Just his presence alone would be huge for the city, which hasn’t had a marketable star since the days of the Hornets. Even as his skills are on the decline, I bet you he can still lead this team in points and get you 18 a night. AI is reportedly close to signing with the Grizzlies, but until his John Hancock is on the contract, he is still a free agent.
Right now the Bobcats’ payroll is hovering around the salary cap. Unless management wants to pay the luxury tax, they don’t have too much financial flexibility to chase a high-profile free agent until the summer of 2011. So getting somebody like Iverson to fill in for the short term makes perfect sense.
Can the Bobcats make the playoffs this season without having a major scoring threat?
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September 8th, 2009 at 2:47 pm
knock@hotmail.com says:
An article all about the bobcats needing a superstar, particularly allen iverson. Bad writing, horrible article. Pretty sure every team could use a prolific scorer or all star. -
September 8th, 2009 at 2:51 pm
Kobeef says:
Just a hunch, but I think Larry Brown doesn’t give an ish about having a star player on his roster.
Larry is building a core of solid guys who “play the right way” intead of trying to ride a superstar’s back to the championship. It worked for LB in Detroit and it looks like he believes in the system.
That said, Larry could really use a good SG. G-Wallace for Kevin Martin?
September 8th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
A-Lid says:
i think it’s time for Felton to move on, go overseas, anyways Augistin is due for the reigns of the Bobcats offence. Right now they are looking at a starting lineup of Augistin, Bell, Wallace, Diaw, & Chandler, with a youth core of Augistin, Henderson, Diaw and Ajinca. That is pretty awful. Look at the nets they got a youth core of Harris, Lee, Williams, Lopez, Yi & Douglas-Roberts. The bobcats have to shake up there roster. Maybe go after Carlos Boozer and move Diaw to the three, or trade augistin to NY for Nate Robinson. They gotta do something outrageous, or take some fatass contract to be relevent
September 8th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
J Nice says:
Knock@hotmail your a DB.. 4real.. I liked the article.. Charlotte need all the media attention we can get.. They wont even show Bobcat highlights on SC..
September 8th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
Arrogant says:
in the east right now? i think they will make the playoffs this year…. 7th or 8th seed
September 8th, 2009 at 3:20 pm
dagwaller says:
I agree with you Gerald, but I don’t know if AI is the answer here. On a team-first team, it’s difficult to bring in a me-first player, and AI is the symbol of such a player.
September 8th, 2009 at 3:25 pm
Lucas says:
I’m afraid it will have to take a fall of one of the top teams in the East and seriously improved players from last year for the Cats to make the playoffs.
However, should Chandler and Wallace stay healthy, I think they are capable of being leaders, especially since they are defensive minded players. Playoffs is not out of the question for this team, they just need to work hard.
September 8th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
flavur says:
They definitely have a chance to make the eight seed in the playoffs but their defense has to be on point and I do agree that D.J. should be a large focus of the teams offense cus he can score and get his own shot I mean he’s probably the only player on that team than is capapble of getting their own shot off.
September 8th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
ARHE Network says:
Totally agree Gerald. I live in the Charlotte market and have seen everything from the demise of the Hornets to the inconsistency of front office moves of the Bobcats. Larry Brown has put his stamp on this team by getting rid of marginal possibilities and bringing in role players who can be coached and understand purpose. The one hole they have yet to fill is the scorer and closer. The team somewhat resembles that of Sixers Finals squad under Larry and has the chance to make a statement with a guy who can put the ball in the basket. Iverson would be a nice fit in my opinion. Until Gerald Henderson is seasoned and ready to step into this spot A.I. could help bridge the gap. The city is almost ready to write the Cats off and is in need of a spark. Bob Johnson’s hard push to sell this team is the reason the A.I. situation is the way that it is. Great thought, bad timing. I hope this turns out right somehow.
September 8th, 2009 at 4:22 pm
Benoit Benjamin says:
Dude, when MJ was gone, Pip was leading the Bulls in 8 different stat categories, including points per game and shots taken. Pippen would have been the primary option and the star of any team without MJ in his prime. Gerald Wallace is good but he doesn’t have that type of profile. Good point on the rest though.
September 8th, 2009 at 5:09 pm
James Anderson says:
Does anyone not realize that the Bobcats have chosen Gerald Henderson to be their leader. He was improving in every category in college and went pretty much untapped. Larry Brown realized that when he drafted him. Gerald Henderson is being groomed to be the Bobcats’ star player. He will be a bench player for a year or two, but not too long from now, he will be the star of the team. He was a leader for a bad Duke team and he will be the leader for a bad Charlotte team.
September 8th, 2009 at 6:25 pm
DrichardsonQC says:
Check the article on down about the Bobcats bringing on Rashad McCants. McCants is a scorer who wasn’t given the change to reach his potential at Minn. Get him under Larry Brown and he will become a dominant scorer for the Bobcats.
September 8th, 2009 at 8:57 pm
Juan R aka RickyRubio9 aka Rocketfan2503 says:
Why don’t we just rename this Article, “A.I is needed in Charlotte” ? He is the perfect fit obviously
September 8th, 2009 at 11:32 pm
dial- up says:
The ‘Cats drafted henderson because he’s supossidly defensive minded sg with some potential. Larry browns type. but Henderson also led Duke nowhere and never got far in March. He had trouble in college gettin a shot off, his height will kill him in the league.
September 9th, 2009 at 2:24 am
chief youngblood says:
I certainly they make the playoffs , due to a shut down run against my friends with the bobcats on live 09′ , i became a little over confident about the squad and placed a bet on them to make the playoffs. This was before the draft , before the off season moves around the league. So needless to say i’m a little worried , not to mention the strange effect of the Okafor trade on my ideals for the bobcats ( see the hornets are my market team , so i both want the hornets to succeed and i don’t want to chandler to out perform okafor so i don’t feel cheated , but i do want the bobcats to make the playoffs) .
in conclusion I think I have the stranger relationship with the bobcats than any other team in the league .
i hope they make it . chandler is a broke ass those trust me, we loved him here but he’s broke ( not as much as peja however ) .
I think the sixers can fall out of the playoff picture , but I also think the raptors are more likley to enter than the bobcats .
and wizards are a lock .
September 9th, 2009 at 2:33 am
sh!tfaced says:
EVERY NBA team is one star away from something… Denver is one star away from a certain championship, so is Orlando (Vince?)… Miami is one star away from being true contenders, so is Portland… etc, etc…
September 9th, 2009 at 3:20 am
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September 9th, 2009 at 6:37 am
dagwaller says:
Benoit Benjamin’s post makes me think that Dime needs to do an article on how underrated Pippen was/is. There’re always people saying, “_____ is the Pippen to _____’s Jordan” - if you follow basketball, that’s almost a dictionary level phrase. Yet Pippen is one of the top 50 players of all time. Especially in the year of Jordan’s induction to the HoF - not to mention another top 50 player whose shine was sometimes taken by his top 50 teammate, John Stockton (Karl Malone) - some attention should be paid to Pippen.
September 9th, 2009 at 10:18 am
doc says:
Ai avrage 18?Yeah okay,he gonna average 25 on 39 shots.
September 17th, 2009 at 10:35 pm
bugjackblue says:
Unfortunately, the problem is they won’t be getting any stars any time in the near future unless one of their draft picks miraculously becomes the Next Big Thing. Free agents want nothing to do with Charlotte and they’ll never be quite bad enough to get a top pick.
However I think they’re probably going about this the right way given those limitations– keep acquiring solid workmanlike characters and meanwhile troll the Euroleagues. There are more big stars to come from over there and what they’ve gotta do is find the nugget. Add a Dirk and they’re an instant championship contender. Of course that’s much easier said than done but apparently that’s what they’re after…