Fragile Interior Will Be Bobcats Demise

The Charlotte Bobcats have high hopes entering their fifth season in the NBA.  They have a proven winner at head coach in Larry Brown and the team returns some key players that were injured for all of last season.

Although hopes are high, the lack of talent underneath the basket will ultimately doom this Bobcats team.

Brown's forte is back court play especially at the point guard position and the biggest beneficiaries should be fourth year point guard Raymond Felton and rookie D.J. Augustin.  Felton started 79 games last season for the Bobcats but was constantly shuffled between the point and shooting guard positions by the now defunct Sam Vincent. 

Felton will have the first crack at the job, but if he struggles Brown will undoubtedly make the switch to Augustin.  It was Brown who decided to pick Augustin in the June draft over Stanford center Brook Lopez. 

Jason Richardson is the Bobcats most explosive offensive player.  He has the ability to drop 40 or barely crack 10 points per contest.  Matt Carroll provides adequate depth for Richardson off the bench.

The front court of the Bobcats is this team's biggest question mark.  Emeka Okafor anchors the front court.  He averaged a double-double last season, with 13.8 point and 10.7 rebounds per game, but he does not have the ability offensively to drop 20 points per game, which is what this team desperately needs.  Okafor has trouble matching up defensively against the more athletic big men in the league.

Gerald Wallace returns as the small forward.  He missed 20 games last season due to a concussion that he suffered in a collision.  Wallace is the team's best defender and most athletic player.  He averaged better than two steals a game last season and will guard the other team's best offensive player on any given night. 

Wallace averaged 19.4 points per game last season but will take questionable shots from the three-point line early in the shot clock. 

The biggest question mark on this team will be at power forward.  Sean May returns from micro fracture surgery and will have the first chance to start.  It remains to be seen if May can stay healthy for even half of a season. 

Third year player Adam Morrison will provide depth off of the bench at small forward or at shooting guard.  Morrison missed all of last season due to a torn ACL.  He has been the subject of many trade rumors and he has been a disappointment as the third pick of the draft a few years ago. 

Second year player Jared Dudley and grizzled veteran Nazr Mohammed will provide the most minutes off of the bench.  While limited athletically, Dudley is a smart player that Brown will find plenty of minutes for. 

The Bobcats have one pet project and that will be the seven-foot rookie Alexis Ajinca from France.  Brown has been quoted as saying that he might not be able to play until February. 

Larry Brown's backcourt will be the unquestioned strength of this team while the front court will be it's undoing.  The Bobcats simply do not have enough talent offensively or defensively to guard teams that have athletic big men.  The Bobcats will finish last in the Southeast Division but will show some improvement.