The Bobcats are well on their way

     Last year, the Charlotte Bobcats were miserable. Historically miserable. But they have had one of the best offseason makeovers in the league. This is not their year to make a title run. Neither is next year. But this team will not come close to embarrassing the city of Charlotte this year. This is not an overreaction to preseason wins (which I find irrelevant), but rather an assessment of the team's plan moving forward. This team still has some glaring weaknesses, but they have found other ways to compensate for them. For example, they still do not have a dominant big man. Brendan Haywood was a nice addition because of his leadership, but he is not exactly a force in the middle. Bismack Biyombo is a good defender and rebounder, but his offense is too inadequate for him to ever become a superstar. Personally, I believe Byron Mullins is on his way to being a very good player in this league. He is not imposing physically, but he has a passion for the game. Intensity is what this team needs. The dejection that this team experienced last year will raise the intensity of everyone.
     Revisiting the roster moves, adding Ben Gordon was a nice edition. And the best move might have been adding Ramon Sessions. Gordon is a shell of what we saw from him in Chicago, but he fills a huge need in terms of depth at the shooting guard. He is still an effective bench player who can hit shots when he needs to. Ramon Sessions seems to be a much better fit at point guard for this team than D.J. Augustin, who is now a Pacer. Sessions can slash and create his own shot. Augustin was more of a jumpshooting point guard, and this style did not allow the offense to gain any rhythm. Sessions flows to the hoop, and that makes the offense smoother. Kemba Walker is obviously an unbelievable talent, and had a legendary final season at UConn, but he does not have an NBA body. It's the sad truth. He is not the guy who can shoulder the burden of this team, but he is definitely someone that I want on my roster. Essentially, it seems that Michael Jordan is trying to assemble a lot of hungry players. I believe he handled the draft beautifully by selecting Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. He is basically Ben Wallace, but with the ability to score. Gerald Henderson is a very solid player as well. And Tyrus Thomas can do decent work for this team.
    Many thought the franchise botched the head coach hire, but that looks like it might have been smart. Many NBA teams hire NBA assistants who have knowledge, but basically hold a clipboard. Mike Dunlap was an assistant for St. John's University, who was a pretty scrappy team. A dose of Big East toughness is what this team needs. You don't need to have boatloads of talent when you have the will to win. Granted, they will still struggle. But they know what direction they are moving in. I can see a similar transformation to the Detroit Lions in football, or the Oakland Athletics in baseball. They will still have trouble getting over the hump, but watch out league because Charlotte is coming. Win or lose, expect the Cats to bring it night in and night out. Nice job MJ.