Charlotte
Philip Maymin
Basketball News Services
When the leaves start turning and magic is in the air, it is time to battle with wizards. Harry Potter will be going back to Hogswarts and the Charlotte Bobcats will fight some dementors of their own. Our heroic team does battle with the Washington Wizards three times in three weeks, starting with their first exhibition game on October 14 and ending with their season opener on November 2.
The two bookend games are at home while the third game, stuck in the middle on October 24, is at Washington. This matchup will be key for the Bobcats because they will be facing their division rivals and one of the weaker teams in the conference. If they can't get it done against Washington, they probably won't be able to get it done against other teams. And given the potentially excessive amount of preparation, we will know that it was not a lack of planning that caused the losses.
The Bobcats need to win their first ever game to set a strong tone both for the season and the franchise. Unfortunately, not everyone can play the league's worst team on opening night, and the Wizards are nowhere near the bottom of the overall barrel, having gone through quite an upgrade in the offseason. Nevertheless, the Bobcats have young, hungry talent of their own and Emeka Okafor would like nothing better than to shrug off his Olympic performance or lack thereof with a dominating NBA victory.
The Wizards will probably run and push an up-tempo style of basketball, with the bulk of their points coming from the former Golden State trio of Larry Hughes, Gilbert Arenas, and Antawn Jamison. Charlotte will need to rely on all of its players to come together as a team and play tough-nosed defense. It will be a terrific test because of the versatility of their scoring, and the strength of their rebounding. It is not one player who can beat the Bobcats but it will be a team vs. team battle.
Charlotte will get a good look at what the season holds in store starting with their very first tipoff.
TEAM NOTES
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!
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Our own Robert Ducklo ofHoopsworld.comwrites: The one position where the Grizzlies had few worries last season was the small forward spot. Young veterans James Posey and Shane Battier ably manned the position and undrafted rookie Theron Smith (now with the Charlotte Bobcats) proved to be a surprise in relief with a nice outside shot and a knack for the ball.After last year, it may sound crazy to say that this season, the players at this position may be even better.
Paul Angilly ofThe Bristol Presswrites: Topps has an exclusive deal for jersey cards and autographs with No. 2 overall pick Okafor of the Charlotte Bobcats, along with non-exclusive autograph deals with seven of the other nine top 10 2004 draft picks.
Steve Lyttle ofThe Charlotte Observerwrites: The Carolina Bobcats have announced a partnership with four Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools with large percentages of at-risk students, in an effort to improve student performance.The joint venture was announced last week, when officials of the Bobcats, who begin their first NBA season later this fall, held rallies at Marie G. Davis Middle and Walter G. Byers Elementary schools, two of the schools involved in the partnership.