Charlotte
Philip Maymin
Basketball News Services
Apparently people around the league are thinking about the Bobcats next season what they thought about the Jazz last season: that they have a chance to set a new league record for worst team ever. Will the Bobcats surprise? If so, who could they reasonably be expected to beat, at least on paper?
Let's run down every team in the Eastern Conference today and see how many wins they could pull together:
2-2 Atlanta Hawks: Charlotte's strength in the center is Atlanta's weakness. Emeka Okafor would have to dominate and Jason Kapono shoot lights out but they could arguably beat the Hawks.
1-3 Boston Celtics: Both teams have new coaches, lots of rookies, and a new system. If they play early enough, whoever's more ready would have an advantage.
3-1 Chicago Bulls: Unless the Bulls have improved significantly in the offseason, the Bobcats should beat them just because they're hungrier.
1-3 Cleveland Cavaliers: Cleveland has more talent on paper but on the other hand it's Cleveland: they have a disturbing tendency to drop games once in a while. It's the Cavs' game to lose.
0-10 Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat: Not a chance
1-3 Milwaukee Bucks: It's up to Michael Redd to win or lose this matchup.
1-4 New York Knicks: As the Nets showed in the playoffs last year, if you put a guard with long arms on Stephon Marbury, it suffocates the entire Knicks offense.
1-4 New Jersey Nets: If they play early enough, before Jason Kidd is back to 100%, this should be a close matchup.
1-4 Orlando Magic: Despite losing Tracy McGrady, they are quite a stacked team in terms of talent, though if Emeka is everything he's cracked up to be, he could go wild on them.
0-3 Philadelphia 76ers: Ai will go crazy on the Bobcats and there's probably nothing they can do about it. The only hope is that new head coach Jim O'Brien's strategy of launching threes has an off night.
1-3 Toronto Raptors: Could explode into a Vince Carter vs. Gerald Wallace dunkathon. Slight edge to Toronto overall, but chemistry is on Charlotte's side.
0-4 Washington Wizards: The Wizards seem to be just too stacked for the Bobcats to compete with them.
That's a total of 12 wins already, not counting competition such as the Golden State Warriors and the LA Clippers or anyone else from the West. The worst record in history is nine wins by Philadelphia back in 1972-1973. The Bobcats should be able to break that win total just in the Eastern Conference.
Worst team ever? Not likely. Worst team this season? Quite likely.
TEAM NOTES
Rally/Concert for the Charlotte Bobcats and Johnson & Wales University: This rally has been rescheduled for September 23 at 9:30pm, and will be held on the main stage of the Culinary Arts Experience at the Gateway Village Promenade. The event is still free and open to the public.
Vote Emeka Okafor in 2004. Check out Charlotte's new webpage at okaforin04.com: Join the Okafor in '04 campaign today and watch this champion and patriot lead his franchise forward. He's a born leader A tireless worker. And he is the people's choice!
Sign up herefor the free, official email newsletter of the Bobcats.
Chuck Nunn ofThe Spectrumwrites: I'm glad to see the NBA returning to the Tarheel State. However, expectations for the Bobcats can't be set too high, as they are an expansion team. Still, given their impressive 5-2 record at the Reebok Rocky Mountain Review this summer, things may not be entirely bleak for Charlotte this season.Shooting guard Jason Kapono will most likely be relied upon for the major thrust of Charlotte's offense, but center Primoz Brezec also impressed at the Review. Both players should thrive with seeing more minutes, and if they can survive some lean expansion years, they could provide a good nucleus for Charlotte to build their franchise on. Also look for rookie forward Emeka Okafor, the No. 2 pick overall in the 2004 NBA Draft, to be a big part of that nucleus. Okafor, like Kapono and Brezec, is going to have a big load to carry, but he's a rookie who is definitely ready for the NBA, and he might be the brightest spot for the Bobcats this season.
Tim Povtak ofThe Orlando Sentinelwrites: There is a growing sentiment around the NBA that the expansion Charlotte Bobcats this season, with their current set of players, easily could challenge the 1972-73 Philadelphia 76ers (9-73) as the worst team in league history."You look at their roster and you just say, "How can they win any games?' " said one NBA coach recently. And he wasn't the only one who has been thinking that.
The Charlotte Observerwrites: South Tryon Street will close Thursday from 1 to 11 p.m. between Second and Third streets as the city celebrates the arrival of the Charlotte Bobcats and Johnson & Wales University.