tpb2005-Bobcats

[condors]

using the 2.3 rosters (all the past seasons trades are in). I am quick simming the first season and then go from there.

I don't expect much from the guys first season 18 wins is my guess. Simply put we don't have the offense or defense to compete game in and game out. Add in a couple injuries and its downright ugly.

The good news is most of these guys aren't signed for next season so a cleaning house will occur.

I do have a player called expansion cap rules who will be making 12.5 million and has no talent(and is injured). Depending on the free agents available i will go from there. I will need a starting shooting guard, small forward, and center as well as backups at every postion except power forward. I usually go for a pg and c for my 11th and 12th men.

[condors]

the team wins a dismal 14 games won't be hard to improve on that

Emeka Okafor wins rookie of the year averaging 12 pts 8.9 rbs 1.6 bpg 0.9 spg

we end up with the 4th pick in the draft even though we had the worst record the lottery was not kind to us.

in the mock draft they have us taking the highest ranked center 6'11" 18 year old Danny Bean who averaged 31.3 pts and 15.6 rebounds. I don't think he will be there with the 4th pick but if he is i will take him.

DJ Lawernce is a 19 year old 6'7" small forward who looks to be the best prospect averaged 33.2 pts 10.1 apg 17.1 rpg 2.5 spg 1.4 bpg.

david dye 18 year old 6'3" shooting guard is probally the 2nd best pick (30.2 ppg 5.7 apg 14.3 rpg 3.7 spg 2.3 bpg)

if those 3 players are all gone then i am in a bad situation as i think its a 3 player draft. The next best player is probally power forward 23 year old 6'10 Lawernce Halloway. If the above are gone i will take him and probally play him at center.

portland with the first pick select pg Joe Tyler (the commantor thought he would go later and so did I but he is the best point guard in the draft and the mock draft did have him going 3rd)

Indiana select sg david dye with the 2nd pick in the draft

Well that was a nice surprise the guy i had rated #1 is still sitting there go i get "my" guy and he gets the contract of the 4th player instead of the 1st player.

c Danny Bean was taken 7th overall

in the 2nd round i select 23 year old 6'10" center Chris Jackson.

argh i get a look at Chris Jackson and i don't like what i see, we decide to not offer him a contract (i really should have done a better job scouting some 2nd round prospects)

DJ Lawence on the other hand is ready to play now and may very well be rookie of the year. Defense, rebounding, scoring, and steals this guy can bring it (not a shot blocker though). I am thrilled with how he looks.

We have pg Jason Heart the 27 year old with give us decent minutes running the point but is nothing special. Would be an ideal backup on a good team.

Backup power forward Melvin Ely 27 years old 6'10", to be honest he doesn't do much for me now, if he had reached his potienals he would be a solid role player. As he stands now he won't help us much. May very well be only playing due to injuries and i doubt will get extended past this year (unless he reaches those potienals)

[condors]

DJ Lawrence is the mvp of the summer league 25.3 ppg 5.3 apg 9.0 rpg 0.7 bpg and 0.9 spg (this kid looks to have a great future).

Our #1 target in free agency. Joe Johnson sg 24 years old 6'7" shooting guard. I am going to offer him a max contract for 6 seasons to try to pry him away from the Suns.

after a few days Joe Johnson is a Bobcat. That gives us studs at the 2,3 and 4 positions.

Theo Ratlif signs a 1 year 5 million dollar contract with the Bobcats and will be our starting center (has 10 block shots rating although his offensive is a little lacking).

we sign point guards earl watson and anthony carter to give us some depth (neither is all that but Earl could have an upside and will be the primary backup)

sg Raja Bell is a nice defensive shooting guard to backup Joe Johnson

sf-Adrian Griffin is a nice defensive small forward to give up some minutes off the bench.

pf-Keon Clark will be our backup power forward (he is 6'11" so some minutes at center will happen if injuries call a need for it)

c-6'11" 27 years old Dan Gadzuric (i like the name but he isn't anything special)

Our offensive is a little lacking Hart (4) Johnson (7) Lawrence (6) Okafor (5) and Ratliff (4) (there aren't any free agents with a 5 rating to get either) and we only have 3's and 4's coming off the bench.

our defense should be near the top in the league 7 of the 12 guys are rated at least a 7 in defense. Lawernce is currently a 4 (but should get better) Heart is only rated a 5 (could jump to 6) Johnson is a 7 Okafor is already an 8 and Ratliff is a 7. With Watson (7), Bell (8), Griffin (8), Clark (6) and Gadzuric (6) our 2nd team shouldn't get lit up.

Okafor, Clark and Ratliff will bring the blocks

Watson and Johnson can bring the steals

We may be a little light in the rebounds department Okafor has a 7 but the rest of the guys are 5's.

Overall i think the team may be able to compete, the offensive punch isn't there. We may keep the teams under 100 but losing 90-80 isn't going to win us anything. The team should improve as the season goes on and if we get lucky in the lottery we could be very dangerous next season.

Accourding to the power rankings we are ranked 29th out of 30 (i think we are better than that but not much better)

I will be keeping my eyes open for point guards or centers that could step into the starting lineup that go on the trading block.

I also used up all the cap room although most of the guys are only on 1 year deals besides Hart, Johnson, Lawrence and Okafor. I should have room for 1 more stud player if i can draft a center or point guard and get the other player in free agency i could make some serious noise next season.

Lets see what i can get out of these guys this season though

[condors]

our first game is against the wizards

pg-gilbert areans
sg-larry hughes
sf-antawn jamison
pf-kwane brown
c-etan thomas

this game is downright ugly as we turn the ball over 29 times led by Jason Hart with 8 (6 assists and 8 turnovers isn't what you want from your point guard)

we are killed 110-76 Ratliff and Lawernce were in foul trouble to play as much as they should have Okafor and Johnson combined for only 1 turnover. I was thinking of starting Watson but he had 4 turnovers in 15 minutes of action. I know i guy with 7 handling is good enough so i will give Hart time to play his way out of this (i don't have much of a choice though either as i am playing him because he has the best handle).

[condors]

our next game is against the 1-1 Heat

pg Dwayne wade
sg-eddie jones
sf-bo outlaw
pf-udonis haslem
c-shaquille o'neal

(we ought to get killed by these guys)

argh 2 minutes and 22 second into the first quater and Ratliff picks up his 2nd foul. (not good). 8:47 left in the first quater (less than 4 minutes into the game and our backup center Gadzuric picks up his 2nd personal foul)

Hart and Ratliff end up fouling out

overall we kept the game close 88-84 loss.

Okafor Johnson and Lawrence played pretty good. We still had 21 turnovers which we need to cut down on.

hopefully we can turn things around.

[condors]

argh we lose another close game to the Bucks 90-87

DJ Lawrence picked up a minor injury and didn't play

Okafor had his worst game of the season so far (4 points 6 rebounds season lows for both shooting 2-8)

the 0-3 Bobcats vs 4-0 Celtics and we of course win 92-79

we then play the 5-1 kings and lose 111-102 Adrian Griffin has back probems and will be limited for 9 days.

I have seen enough of the team and its what i thought from the get go. Not enough offense. Okafor and Lawrence aren't ready yet. Johnson is my only player i can count on for offense.

[condors]

as usual i thought my team was better than it actually was we will probally win about 20 games this year and probally we have the worst record in the league. This is a huge problem. There are guys who will demand to be traded if they aren't in the playoffs (happens every season with some players hopefully i don't have that problem)

[condors]

I am unable to work any trades as my 1st round pick seemed more valuable as the season went along and Miami wasn't trading Shaq and Wade for a couple lottery picks(and whatever it takes to make up the cap difference).

DJ Lawrence was on the all rookie first team but didn't win rookie of the year.
pg-Joe Tyler won that (guess he was a smart pick after all)

I pray to the ping pong ball gods for luck...record wise we should have the 6th pick in the draft...we get lucky and end up with the 2nd pick in the draft!

[condors]

i am less than thrilled with the choices i have i go with 6'11 power forward (who will probally get time at the center postion) 19 year old Tobiah Tarkanian(he doesn't look that good, can score and rebound but not good enough on defense and doesn't block shots to be the complete package).

My 2nd round pick is a nice role playing point guard (10 potential for steals) If he reaches his potentials he may be our starter one day but not sure how many minutes he is going to get as i am hoping Hart can be our backup this season and we can improve over him.

[condors]

we didn't land any of our targeted free agents and just get some role players.

We did land C-Steven Hunter a very good role player for the center postion (he will actually start until we find an upgrade) 6 years on the league min.

we win 24 games but we are in postion to make a move for some this offseason.

We draft 5th in the first round and 2nd in the 2nd round. With our 5th pick we take 6'4" point guard 22 year old Donnie Babcock who will step in and looks to be the long term starter here.

2nd round we get a 6'8" shooting guard Jameel Johnson to backup Joe Johnson he will give us more offense off the bench.

If we can land a big time center and a small forward with some scoring ability i think it could make a world of difference for the next season although this is Okafor's last year on his rookie deal and he will get big time money and we can't afford to lose him so i can't take a wait and see attitude for free agents as this is our last year with cap room.

[condors]

for free agency i am going after c-Chris Bosh 6 years max money, Toronto can offer him a 7 year 100+ million dollar deal and if they do to be honest the 2nd best center is Jamaal Maglorie (who isn't bad but is no star). I had to sweat it out a little while but Chris Bosh is the newest Bobcat!

We also land sf Chris Posey for 3 year 12 million dollar deal.

It uses up are cap money and we didn't get the small forward we wanted(Andre Iguodala) but we did manage to greatly improve the team.

the 2007 Bobcats:

pg-Pete Austin 6'3" 24 years old can shoot the 3 and get steals nice role player off the bench for us (our 2nd round pick from 1 year ago)

pg-Donny Babcock 6'4" 22 years old starter much better scorer(7) and could lead the league in steals (10) not the best passer (4) has a decent enough handle (6).

pg-tyronn lue 6'0" 30 years old signed a 1 year deal league min will step in if there is an injury

sg-joe johnson 6'7" 26 years old signed for 4 more seasons Has been the best player on the team since he has gotten here. Averaged 21.1 points per game last season and with the help he has now we are thrilled to have gotten him.

sg-jameel johnson 6'8" 22 years old our 2nd round pick this season looks like he could be a steal. My only concern is him not being happy in a backup role. If he reaches his potential he won't be a backup his whole career.

sf-DJ Lawrence 6'7" 21 years old the kid is growing into his role and should be an all star this season 2 years left on rookie deal

sf-James Posey 6'8" 30 years old signed 3 year deal will give us solid minutes at the small forward his offense(5) combined with his defense (8) is a good combo for a backup small forward.

pf-emaka okafor 6'9" 25 years old last year of rookie deal. Hasn't broken into the all star game but should be there soon along with the all nba teams.

pf-tobiah tarkanian 6'11" 20 years old, last years #1 pick, he is more than a good enough backup power forward as long as he stays happy in that role he will be fine. currently only has 5 offense but has potenial for 7 that would be very nice off the bench.

c-chris bosh 6'10" 23 years old his 7 scoring and 7 defense is something we haven't had on this team. I am thrilled adding him to the team!

c-steven hunter 7'0" 26 years old 5 years left on deal only has 3 on offense (like most of our other centers but can rebound block shots and play defense is a perfect guy to come off the bench at the center postion)

c-Tony Battie 6'11" 31 years old 1 year league min deal will play durning injuries and foul trouble. can play defense (8) and ok on offense (3) doesn't rebound or block shots like hunter

I have to say for the first time i don't feel there are any glaring holes in the team except our point guard may not be ready for prime time. I would like it if he had 7 for handling and passing but he doesn't.

our offense is the best we ever had with babcock 6, johnson 7, lawrence 7, okafor 5, bosh 7 it really gives us scoring options that we haven't had before.

Throw in these guys aren't even in there prime yet. Johnson being the oldest at 26. This could be a good team for a long time. I think i have put the pieces in place but i have been wrong about my teams more than once.

[condors]

for the first time the Bobcats are in the post season. We managed to win 46 games (a little less than i would have liked). Everyone seems happy and healthy so hopefully we can turn some heads in the post season.

I extend Okafor's contract for 5 more seasons as he is a cornerstone of the franchise and losing him would send us back to the lottery.

Babcock has been a disapointment. His passing seems to have gotten worse. It is tough because i don't think we will be able to upgrade but i am not sure we can win a title with this guy starting(unless he gets much better).

In the first round we have the Heat. They won 42 games durning the regular season. Ron Mercer is out with a broken foot.

projected lineup:
pg-6'4" 25 year old Dwayne Wade-he is one of the best players in the league.
sg-Antonio Daniels 6'4" really a point guard nothing special but not bad either
sf-dorell wright 6'7" 22 years old 4th season 9 points 5 rebounds he isn't bad but isn't great
pf-robert jones-6'11" 20 year old rookie, he is a weakness 8 ppg 6 rpg 1 bpg .09 spg
c-shaq 7'1" 34 years old, still a stud averaged 21 ppg and 12 rpg

they can bring on eddie jones and bobby jackson for anotonio daniels but will miss Wade whenever he isn't on the floor.

Melvin Ely pf(he was on our team for a couple seasons) can come in and give them some minutes at the pf or c spot and won't kill them

if they have to bring in michael doleac or brad forney behind ely they are in trouble.

They have the two best players in the series but depth wise we have a big advantage. If Shaq or Wade get injured or suffer foul trouble they are in trouble. If Shaq and Wade can play 40+ minutes a game we are going to have our hands full.

[condors]

game 1 Bobcats 102 Heat 93

Shaq had 32 points and 16 rebounds Wade had 24 points and 11 assists, Wade played 41 minutes Shaq played 37. It wasn't enough.

Jameel Johnson gave us 18 points off the bench.

Pete Austin our backup point guard gets injured and will be out for 5 days. Tyronn Lue will get the splinters out of his butt and hopefully showcase his talents for a contract next year (probally won't be with us)

I think they need to rethink there guard rotation as Jones/Jackson got eaten alive by our Johnson and Johnson combo at the 2 spot. Joe put in 21 and Jameel 18 for 39 points (neither played any other postion). Bobby Jackson and Antonio Daniels (combined for 14 points and Jackson also subbed for Wade while Eddie Jones played in the 3 spot off the bench but has the height and defense to slow us down although he did a good job on Lawrence holding him to 11 points on 5 of 12 shooting)

[condors]

game 2-Bobcats 98 Heat 94

this win was costly as Okafor hurts his hand and will be limited for 4 days

Jameel Johnson had a bad game shooting 2 for 16 with 8 points off the bench

Oneal had 29 points 7 rebounds and was the player of the game.

i am now very worried without Okafor we lose alot of defense, rebouding and blocked shots down low.

[condors]

game 3 Heat 97 Bobcats 85

I play Okafor and he is horrible going 1 for 6 for 2 points and 2 rebounds in 29 minutes. He is definatly not himself out there.

We will have to go with Tarkanian and Battie and hope for the best.

Jameel Johnson did get 11 points off the bench so our shooting guards did well but Wade put on a show at the point. Bobcock was in foul trouble the whole game and played 15 minutes with 0 points. and Lue only managed 4 assists in 34 minutes. 5 assists combined from our 2 point guards isn't good enough.

I have a feeling this series is going to be evened up next game as We are still without Austin and Okafor.

[condors]

I think i should have played Austin and Okafor

Heat 115 Bobcats 73

Shaq was dominat 9 of 13 from the field and 15 of 21 from the line for 33 points throw in 14 rebounds.

We were down by 8 points and the end of the first quater and 18 at the half. We never even made a run to get it to single digits the rest of the way.

Joe Johnson is the only play that didn't suck for us going 7-17 with 16 points.

I hope these guys are embarassed as much as me.

Austin and Okafor are returning for the next game, hopefully we can get mo back on our side.

[condors]

game 5:

Bobcats 96 Heat 81

Steven Hunter came off the bench and blocked 6 shots although he did play 28 minutes due to Chris Bosh in foul trouble.

Shaq had his first "human" game of the series going 5 of 19 for 16 points and 8 rebounds

For the first time one of our players was player of the game. Joe Johnson got 21 points for us.

Okafor shots 6 of 7 for 12 points and 7 rebounds. very nice to have him back.

Tarkanian (13 points) was our spark off the bench along with Hunter (9 points 13 rebounds 6 blocks). Jameel Johnson had a terrible game our usual spark off the bench shot 0 for 4 for 0 points but did have 3 assists and 0 turnovers.

most importantly nobody is hurt so we may be able to wrap up the series next game and go into the next round healthy which would be a huge plus for us.

[condors]

game 6:

Bobcats 89 Heat 84

Bosh and Hunter continue to give Shaq shooting problems he goes 7 of 18 for 16 points. 16 points and 15 rebounds is good from any other play but Shaq needed better to beat us tonight.

Jameel Johnson and Steven Hunter gave us double digits (10 each) off the bench. Okafor lead the team with 16 points Joe Johnson had 13 and Lawrence had 12.

very glad to win our first postseason series ever.

[condors]

our 2nd round oppenent is the Pacers

pg-Branden Henry (he really is a 6'5" small forward with a good handle 6 but bad passing 3) his defense 7 and his steals 9 also a decent scorer 6. overall a nice player hopefully his low passing can haunt them.
sg-david dye 6'3" 20 year old 2nd pick in the draft a couple years back. he can score 7 and get steals 9 but his 3 defense will be problematic against johnson and johnson.
sf-ron artest 6'7" 28 years old can score 7, play defense 10, get steals 7, rebounds 4, blocks 4. He is a star in the league
pf-jermaine o'neal 6'11" 29 years old, stud 7 offense 7 defense, 7 rebound, 8 blocking shots, this guy is another star player.
c-theo ratliff 34 years old 6'10" scoring 3 defense 6 block shots 10 rebounds 5 i like theo as a good backup center but as a starter he lacks a bit.

Jamal Tinslay and Stepehen Jackson actually get about same amount of minutes as Henry and Dye none of the 4 are stand out players but they are all solid pros that could start for some teams.
nick collison is a backup bigman 6'9" guy does nothing for me 3 scoring 5 defense 5 rebounds 2 blocks.
ronald dupree 6'7" small forward 5 scoring 5 defense 3 rebounds 4 steals, he doesn't do much for me
david harrison 7'0" 25 years old 3 scoring 6 defense 5 rebounds 4 blocks 5 steals i like him better than Collison but he is further down on the depth chart.

Overall i think this is going to be a tough series. With Artest and O'Neal we will have to bring our A game every night. I am more worried with Artest as Lawrence isnt the defender Okafor is.

[condors]

game 1: Pacers 96 Bobcats 71

argh James Posey gets hurt and Ron Artest is player of the game.

it was a bad game Okafor fouled out and only played 16 minutes

Joe Johnson only shot 7 times and Jameel Johnson only shot once they need more shots.

Posey's 8 defense will be missed on Artest. May move Okafor on Artest for some minutes and play Battie at power forward.

[condors]

game 2 Pacers 85 Bobcats 73

we were down by 10 at the end of the first quater and it was the difference the rest of the way.

terrible game for Jameel Johnson going 1 for 8
Dj Lawrence went 4 for 16 from the field and 2 for 7 from the line that hurts! although he pulled down 16 rebounds.

digging out of a 0-2 hole is going to be tough.

[condors]

game 3 Pacers 104 Bobcats 97

the game was very close going back and forth until the 4th quater. Artest and Dye hit a few threes and put the game out of reach.

Joe Johnson couldn't find his shot tonight going 3 of 15.

hopefully we can get the next game to at least avoid a sweep.

[condors]

game 4 Pacers 94 Bobcats 92

Bosh and Okafor get injured so even if we managed a win here no way we would beat them without those guys in addition to Posey.

well we know we need to get better.

I don't think Indiana is that much better than us. Losing Posey really hurt us. I think we will be even better next season.

The offseason will be spent trying to improve at the point guard not sure we will be able to but we will try. We have a 1st round pick(although not a lottery pick) and our min exception. We will also need a 5th big body down low. Doesn't matter that much on the big body our top 4 are pretty much set.

[condors]

we draft 22 year old 7'0" Adriel Michaels center. Eh he doesn't do much for me but luckily he won't be asked to do much but sit on the end of the bench.

In the 2nd round we draft a point guard but he isn't worth a contract offer.

Michaels is going to have to exced expectations if he is going to even be offered his rookie option.

After getting players in the 1st and 2nd rounds the past couple drafts this draft is terrible we added nothing to the team.

Free Agency goes much better as we sign pg Carlos Arroyo 29 years old 6'2" his 5 scoring and 7 defense his 7 handling and 5 passing will improve our point guard situation. 2nd year point guard Donny Babcock led the summer league in scoring.

[MizzouRah]

Nice little run in the playoffs, this young team could get it together this year.


Todd

[condors]

Originally Posted by MizzouRah

Nice little run in the playoffs, this young team could get it together this year.


Todd

thanks for reading Todd

I thought we were ready to make alot of noise

instead we go 37-45. I want to stay well so and so was injured and blah blah blah, but honestly we aren't good enough plain and simple.

we are 16th in offense and 15th in defense 13th in turnovers 10th in rebounds
8th in fg% and 11th in fg% allowed.

Basically we are pretty close to being a good team but we are not there yet.

Hopefully this is a wake up call to team management that status quo isn't good enough.

Of course i am sitting here hoping to get very lucky in the lottery

[condors]

I dance a jig as we get the #2 overall pick in the draft.

I am also think a change in the head coach could do us some good so i bring on Mike Fratello who is an excellant stradegist(sp), and good at evaluating defense, offense, potential and developing players.

I am thrilled with the choices at point guard, I see a 25 year old player from China 6'3". He looks to be the most ready now player in the draft and we want to win it all next season. Hopefully he can help us do just that.

I resign pg Pete Austin 6'3" 26 years old to a 7 year deal at league min
I resign Dj Lawrence 23 year old 6'7" small forward to a 7 year league max deal.(i am way over the cap and i can't afford to lose this guy)

I am happy with our new point guard but I honestly am not sure where the holes where last season. Our team as a whole improved with age. Hopefully that is enough to get us to the next level.

[CraigSca]

Good luck with the draft pick! Are you going to force the point guard to learn English or the rest of the team to learn Chinese when he calls the plays at halfcourt?

[MizzouRah]

The cost of winning a title these days.


Todd

[condors]

thanks for reading!

I am at a total loss here. I was expecting a 50+ win season. We ended with a 33. This season we did have injuries.

Jameel Johnson is showing signs of unhappies. He is also out of contract. James Posey is also out of contract.

I am going to have to see what is out there for my draft pick and go from there.

[condors]

we get the top rated small forward in the draft. 6'9" 18 year old Nolan Barrett. I wish he was more ready now but hopefully he won't kill us coming off the bench. His 3 rating in current defense is a worry.

I also decide to go with sg Kevin Martin 6'7" 27 years old is not the scorer Jameel is but is a defensive stopper which i feel we have enough offensive minded players (Barrett, Tarkanian have 8 and 7 scoring potential but have only 4 defense potential. Babcock is a 7 scoring 5 defense so Kevin with the 4 scoring and 8 defense to go with Steven Hunter 3 scoring 7 defense gives us 2 guys off the bench who can play defense.

After looking over the roster i feel i need to make some changes.

I don't want to wait for these guys to get good enough. I cut SF-Barrett, PF-Tarkanian, pg-Pete Austin and C-Adriel Michaels

I sign pg Earl Watson 31 years old 6 handing and passing 3 scoring 7 defense
sf-Darius Miles 29 years old 6'9" 5 scoring 7 defense
pf-Joe Smith 35 years old 6'10" 4 scoring and 7 defense
c-Ken Johnson 32 years old 6'11" 3 scoring 7 defense

Now pg Babock has a 5 defense off the bench and DJ Lawrence with a 6 the rest of the team has at least 7 defense. I am not sure i will score enough but at least teams will now have to earn their points against me.

[condors]

"That makes about as much sense as wiping before you poop" Larry the cable guy

I released higher rated guys to pick up defense guys off the bench and the team is 24th in the league in offense but #1 in defense. We won 50 games with what looks to be less talented than the teams that couldn't win 40. Go figure. Defensive rating is not enough a part of the overall rating imho.

[condors]

the playoffs go great until the eastern conference finals where we lose to the Pacers who lose to the Rockets in the finals.

Draft goes pretty well i get a nice small forward who fits the new team image 5 potential offense and 10 potential defense. In the second round we draft a very crappy shooting guard who will not be offered a contract.

Free agency 30 year old Joe Johnson he wants a 6 year max deal. Well i know i don't want to be paying a 36 year old 30 million dollars but i don't want to lose him as he has been our most steady player. We come to terms on a 6 year 36 million dollar deal. I don't think he is happy but its the best deal he was able to get.

I also bring in pf Tyson Chandler on our mid level exception. He is a force on both ends of the court.

i am looking forward to the season

[condors]

the 2011 Bobcats

pg 6'3" 27 years old Shang-de Gao 5 scoring 9 defense 10 stealing 6 handling and 6 passing he is a very nice point guard and still has a little more upside if he reaches it. Will be running the show. has 2 more years on his contract.

pg 6'1" 31 years old Earl Watson 3 scoring 7 defense 6 steals 6 handing and 6 passing he can give us minutes off the bench.

pg-6'4" 22 year old Travis White 4 scoring 6 defense 5 steals 6 handling and 5 passing. 2nd round pick of the Hornets a couple seasons ago. I believe he has more upside than Watson and could be the long term backup.

sg-6'7" 30 year old Joe Johnson 7 scoring and 7 defense 6 steals gives us a very nice 2 way player.

sg-Kevin Martin 6'7" 28 years old 4 scoring and 8 defense 7 steals he is a nice role player for us off the bench

sf-Dj Lawrence 6'7" 25 years old 8 scoring 6 defense very nice player for us add in 6 rebounds and 6 steals the only place he lacks is blocking shots 2.

sf- 6'7" 22 years old Richard Turner this years first round pick current rated 4 for scoring and 8 for defense but scouts say he can increase them to 6 and 10. He isn't a rebounder, shot blocker, and isn't going to get a ton of steals which is why he probally lasted to the 25th overall pick in the draft. I am thrilled with him though.

pf-Emeka Okafor 6'9" 29 years old 5 scoring 8 defense 7 rebound 7 shot blocking 5 steals, he is key in our ability to win games.

pf-Tyson Chandler 7'1" 29 years old 5 scoring 6 defense 7 rebound 6 blocks He is a solid guy to have coming off the bench

c-Chris Bosh 6'10" 27 years old 7 scoring 8 defense 7 rebounds 5 blocks he is one of the top centers in the league plays both ends of the court.

c-Steven Hunter 7'0" 30 years old 3 scoring 7 defense 7 rebound 9 blocking good defensive pressence off the bench

c-Primoz Brezec 7'1" 32 years old was our starting center my first season here brought back to sit on the bench 4 scoring 6 defense 5 rebounds 4 blocks. He can play and not kill us but he won't stand out either.

I am not sure how good the team is. I think its pretty close.

[condors]

Finally the Bobcats put together a regular season that validates what i had been believing all along. Even with Okafor missing 24 games with injury we are able to put together a 58 win season.

Our top ranked defense only allows 85.2 points per game as well as .408 field goal percentage which is also the best.

our offense is 21st with 94.6 points per game and 9th in percentage with .467

7th in rebounds, 11th in blocks and 10th in steals. Nothing is special outside our team defense.

Can our defense bring us a title? I believe we can get out of the East but there are a couple teams in the West that could give us a run for the money. I honestly believe if we stay healthy throughout the playoffs we can win our first championship.

[condors]

our first round oppenets are the Heat

pg-Dwayne Wade 6'4" 29 years old 9 scoring and 7 defense 6 handling 7 passing 6 steals. This guy is a star and we will have a hard time keeping him under wraps.

sg-Jeremy Williams 6'7" 25 years old 3 scoring 3 defense 5 rebounds 4 blocks 3 steals, this guy is their starting two guard he is a liability to have guarding Joe Johnson.

sf-Marquis Daniels 6'6" 30 years old 5 scoring 6 defense 3 rebounds 2 blocks 6 steals , not a bad player but i like Dj Lawrence over him.

pf-Robert Jones 6'11" 24 years old 6 scoring 4 defense 4 rebounds 5 blocks 4 steals. He can get better but right now i would prefer to have a guy who is better on defense than him.

c-Shaq 7'1" 38 years old 6 scoring 6 defense 5 rebounds 5 blocks at 38 Shaq is no longer the single most dominat player in the league but he still isn't a bad player.

Depth is not there friend. SG Delonte West 5 scoring and 5 defense is the best they have C Derrick Zimmerman 3 scoring 7 defense is also ok. After those two its ugly. Jessie Palmer pf 5 scoring 2 defense. small forward Kyle Avery 4 scoring 4 defense. Point guard emilano cantero 3 scoring 4 defense. That is there 10 best players but if i was them i would be trying like crazy in the offseason to get some guys who can play some defense.

I am expecting a quick 4 or 5 game series here. Wade simply doesn't have enough help.

[condors]

game 1 Bobcats 129 Heat 79

Chris Bosh had foul trouble but Steven Hunter gave us 19 points in 22 minutes off the bench. Okafor was player of the game with 25 points 8 rebounds 3 assists 3 steals and 1 block. They allowed us to shot 62% from the field while they shot 38% a 50 point loss is never pretty.

game 2 Bobcats 90 Heat 85

Chris Bosh get injured, only 4 days so i can make due. We only shot 42% from the field so the game was alot closer. Wade was player of the game with 24 points 13 rebounds 4 assits 2 steals and 3 blocks

game 3 Bobcats 93 Heat 91

Dwayne Wade again is the best player on the court but doesn't get enough help.

game 4 Bobcats 103 Heat 78

Wade gets 31 points 8 rebounds 4 assists but none of his teamates did anything. The Benches tell the story they had 9 points off the bench we had 35.

[condors]

The next round is the Bulls

pg-Kirk Hinrich 6'3" 30 years old 6 scoring 7 defense 6 handling 8 passing 6 steals, a very nice point guard

sg-Mike Miller 6'8" 31 years old 6 scoring 5 defense 4 rebounds 2 blocks 4 steals, he is ok but nothing special

sf-Adonis London 6'9" 24 years old 5 scoring 4 defense 6 rebounds 2 blocks 2 steals, he isn't good enough on defense for me.

pf-Lawrence Halloway 6'10" 29 years old 7 scoring 8 defense 8 rebounds 3 blocks 5 steals, very good player

c-Lawrence Adams 7'5" 21 years old 7 scoring 4 defense 6 rebounds 8 blocks another good player but the defense is a little low.

sf andres nocioni is their 6th man with 5 scoring 5 defense
pf andre perry is their 7th man with 4 scoring and 4 defense
pg stacy jordan 4 scoring 3 defense
c michael olowokandi 3 scoring 5 defense
sg-odell marshack 3 scoring 4 defense

the bench doesn't do much for me. Henrich, Holloway and Adams can put up alot of points Bosh Okafor and Gao i believe are up to the challenge though.

Injuries is the only way i see we lose this series.

[condors]

game 1 Bobcats 94 Bulls 79

our defense keeps them to 36% from the field. Its hard to win that way

game 2 Bobcats 106 Bulls 100

they shot 44% from the field but we are still a little better. They almost didn't use thier bench much at all playing 3 of their starters over 40 minutes each.

game 3 Bobcats 94 Bulls 90

we were up by 19 points and they started running as fast as they could and almost came back. scoring 57 points in the 2nd half but its not enough. An alarming number off fast break dunks for them has me worried that we may see alot more of that in the future.

game 4 Bulls 103 Bobcats 95

they got 40 fast break points i think a weakness has been exposed.

game 5 Bulls 94 Bobcats 75

we couldn't hit a shot shoting 37% from the field. This series has gone on long enough we need to end it now.

game 6 Bulls 86 Bobcats 83

tied at 3 games apiece and Tyson Chandler is now injured for us.

game 7 Bobcats 88 Bulls 81

i am glad we got past them but we were up 3-0 and let them back in the series. That i am not happy about.

[MizzouRah]

Whew!

[condors]

our next oppenent is the Pacers in the Eastern Conferance Finals.

This is not a team i am looking forward to playing.

they have 9 guys with at least a 6 for their scoring rating. Thier overall talent rating is above ours. 5 of those 9 guys have a defensive rating of at least 6.

to compare we have DJ Lawrence with 8 scoring Joe Johnson and Chris Bosh with 7 then a bunch of 5's 3 4's and 3 3's.

our 5 starters add up to 32 scoring theirs add up to 34, defense us 38 thiers 31 but their bench has a ton of firepower on it one of our former players in Tobiah Tarkanian. Jermaine O'Neal and Ron Artest still lead the way for these guys. If we make them earn thier points we will beat them. If they get a bunch of transition baskets we will be in big trouble.

[condors]

Game 1: Bobcats 97 Pacers 77

Tyson Chandler is still injured and Chris Bosh is done for the series and most likely the playoffs. That is a huge blow. We are missing half of our low post rotation. I liked having Okafor/Chandler and Bosh/Hunter now we will have Okafor/Hunter/Brezec combo for the 4 and 5 postions If we get another injury or foul trouble we will have to go small (which we may do a little next game as an experiment)

game 2: Bobcats 86 Pacers 84

it wasn't pretty but Hunter gave us 14 points and 12 rebounds. We are lucky to be up 2-0. Can we win on the road?

Game 3: Pacers 117 Bobcats 87

Killed by the fastbreak. Tyson Chandler makes his return but they took an 11 point lead into halftime and it only got worse from there.

Game 4: Pacers 105 Bobcats 74

just like that it is tied. More transition dunks and a game that wasn't contested after 16 halftime lead.

game 5: Bobcats 96 Pacers 64

Held them to 32% shooting and limited there fast break chances. Ron Artest led them with 10 points. Now we have to go back to thier building where they have had thier way with us.

game 6 Pacers 87 Bobcats 58

Down goes Johnson! argh losing Bosh hurts. Losing Joe Johnson on top of that may be more than we can overcome. Even if we manage a game 7 win i doubt our chances in the next series.

Game 7: Bobcats 80 Pacers 73

Our defense held them to 35% shooting and allowed us to win in 7 games.
If we can stay in the series until game 4 we should have Bosh and Johnson back then.

[condors]

We have the Rockets in the NBA Finals.

Yao Ming and Tracey McGraddy are studs who are named to the all nba teams year after year and are on top of their games.

Unlike the other teams we played they have 10 guys who have at least a 5 rating for defense. Which means our less than average offense is going to have to work for baskets. Mcgrady has a 10 scoring and Ming has an 8. With Johnson and Bosh we are going to have our hands full. Hopefully we can take care of things on our home court.

[condors]

ARGH!

my writeup got eaten by the internet.

Bascailly without Bosh and Johnson we got swept in 4 games that weren't really close.

Ming and McGrady are studs and deserve the title. If we can get back here next year healthy i would like to see what happens.

[condors]

We pick up a shooting guard in the draft 6'4" 19 years old Daniel Graham. He has work ethic and good personality if he reaches his potential he may be our starter one day.

We resign Steven Hunter for 2 more seasons and sign C Ken Johnson for one season. Ken Johnson is not in the rotation.

I thought we may be about the same or a little weaker with our backup shooting guard losing reliable Kevin Martin.

We go on to win 72 games! Our league leading defense held oppenents to 82.6 points per game while we scored 96.2 points per game.

can this finally be our year?

[MizzouRah]

Originally Posted by condors

We pick up a shooting guard in the draft 6'4" 19 years old Daniel Graham. He has work ethic and good personality if he reaches his potential he may be our starter one day.

We resign Steven Hunter for 2 more seasons and sign C Ken Johnson for one season. Ken Johnson is not in the rotation.

I thought we may be about the same or a little weaker with our backup shooting guard losing reliable Kevin Martin.

We go on to win 72 games! Our league leading defense held oppenents to 82.6 points per game while we scored 96.2 points per game.

can this finally be our year?

Go Bobcats!!

[Balldog]

Is that the Ken Johnson from Ohio State?

[condors]

I know he isn't a game created player but i don't know who he really is. If i remember correctly he isn't signed with any team at the start of the game. So if its a guy who has played a 10 day contract or in the developmental league than he is probally the same guy.

[Balldog]

Probably him then, he was a great shot blocker at Ohio State. Other than that he couldn't do much.

[condors]

Originally Posted by Balldog

Probably him then, he was a great shot blocker at Ohio State. Other than that he couldn't do much.

i just looked at him and yes he is from Ohio State.

In the first round of the playoffs we have the Nets

I am not sure how they even made the playoffs as the 8 seed. The have sg Vince Carter and SF Richard Jefferson their next best players are sg Jiri Welsch and PF Shareef Abdur Rahim. Their center postion is the worst i ever saw on a playoff team 2 guys with 1 scoring and 4 for defense (thier first and 2nd round picks this year) but the starter is 6'11" 27 years old John Campbell with 3 scoring and 3 defense who they decieded was worth the mid level expection this offseason. (he does nothing for me 5 rebounds 3 blocks)

They have a coupel backup point guards with 5 scoring and 5 and 4 defense but one of them has to start . The backup small forward is a 2 scoring 4 defense guy, the backup power forward is a 4 offense 4 defense guy but at least has a 7 rating for rebounds.

I am not sure how it happened but it took us 5 games to get past these guys. Tyson Chanlder tore his achillies and will be out the rest of the playoffs and most of next season. C-Ken Johnson may get some minutes now at the backup power forward spot.