Charlotte Bobcats Tickets

Charlotte Bobcats 2008/2009 Season Preview Another year, another season without the playoffs for the woefully bad Charlotte Bobcats.

While general manager Michael Jordan is busy trying get in two rounds of golf per day, his club has failed to make the playoffs one single time since the city was awarded an expansion team several years ago.

Jordan did make a move after the season, firing their head coach to bring in former Tar Heel Larry Brown. Brown might be able to mold the Bobcats into a playoff team in the next few years, but you know he will take off for greener pastures soon thereafter.

After drafting point guard Raymond Felton as their court leader a couple of years ago, it seems his disappointing play has led to a new direction. The team used their first round draft pick this year on point guard D.J. Augustin, a questionable pick because he is undersized and was manhandled against the bigger, stronger Memphis Tigers in the Elite 8.

Outside of guard Jason Richardson and forward Emeka Okafor, this roster is litered with role players and virtually unuseable parts. Players like Matt Carroll, Earl Boykins and Jared Dudley are nice complementary pieces, but they aren't seeing significant time for any playoff teams.

Speaking of Okafor, the team re-signed him to a long-term deal over the summer. The Bobcats gave him a six-year contract worth $72 million, which seems a bit much for me considering he averages just over 14 points per game. Okafor had previously felt unappreciated in Charlotte and had somewhat of a strained relationship with the organization, but I'm sure the new deal will make him quite content.

Forward Sean May is still overweight and has been bothered by injuries while forward Adam Morrison has been a complete bust thus far. He played very poorly his rookie season and then missed all of last year with a serious knee injury. I guess you could say the comparisons to Larry Bird were a little bit premature.

Some of Morrison's problems are correctable while others are not. He can certainly work to improve his outside shooting and his overall shooting percentage, but his lack of athleticism and quickness is an issue. He can't guard anyone and has trouble driving to the basket and creating his own shot, which can't really be taught.

Forward Gerald Wallace is a very solid player who really improved on the offensive end last season. He has always been a strong rebounder and a fantastic defensive player who can block shots. He dealt with some concussion issues last year but should be ready to go this season.

The Bobcats might show the slightest of improvements in 2008-2009, but they will not be nearly good enough to challenge for a playoff spot in the much-improved Eastern Conference.