In the coming weeks, I'm going to try (emphasis on try) and analyze our competitors in the Southeast Division and take a look at what makes them dangerous in the coming season, and what helps us sleep easier at night.  I say the coming weeks, since this will probably be my last post for a week or so, because I'll be moving so you basically get a taste of what the series is going to be like, and then a whole lot of nothing.  Then again, there's only 4 other teams in the division, so by the time you're done reading this, you're already one-fourth through!

What scares me about the Bobcats:

• Emeka Okafor.  He doesn't blow you away offensively, but there aren't a lot of big men out there that can say that they give you more than 14 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 blocks a night.
• No team boasts a better two-man dunk combination that Charlotte with Jason Richardson and Gerald Wallace.  That might not count for a lot in the grand scheme of things, but you can't underestimate the psychological damage of a good posterization.
• In all honesty, I don't see Larry Brown making a huge impact on the Bobcats, but if he can get everyone to buy in, you never know what could happen.  He can't be any worse than Sam Vincent.
• Let's not forget that Sean May out all of last season after undergoing knee surgery.  If he can return to his pre-surgery form, he'll give the team a major boost.
• A rookie that didn't get enough respect last season was Jared Dudley.  He's a great rebounder for his position, a solid passer, and a solid defender to boot.  Not a guy that will help you win a fantasy championship, but he'll be a guy that will contribute to some good teams in the future, whether it's in Charlotte, or somewhere else.

What doesn't scare me about the Bobcats:

• Could we look back on selection of D.J. Augustin five years from now as the move that lit a fire in Raymond Felton to go out and prove that he's in the same class as the PGs that went ahead of him in the '05 Draft?  I wouldn't be shocked, but it would leave them with the issue of what to do with Augustin..  Could it also be the move that leads to a rift on the team that can only be solved by a trade that leaves the team with less talent than they had before?  Absolutely.
• Gerald Wallace is bandwagoner.  (Yes, that's a valid reason!)
• Adam Morrison.

• Michael Jordan is still running the show.

I don't see the Bobcats making the playoffs this season, but I think they're moving in the right direction.  If they can handle the Felton-Augustin situation well, and if Larry Brown can manage to not alienate everyone on the team, than they might be a lot closer to making the playoffs than we all think.

A lot of the focus from Gilbert's radio appearance has been on his talk of possibly doing a reality TV Show.  But since that's probably a bad idea anyway, instead let's focus on this exchange about their opinions of the team's uniforms.  Since they obviously got the idea to ask the question from us...or something like that.

In case you can't listen, here are the highlights:

• Gilbert likes the gold uniforms much, much more than the blue ones.
• He'd like to see the team go to a red, white, and blue color scheme if not re-adopt the Bullets package altogether.
• He says that "the girls" (the Mystics) want to go red, white, and blue as well, even though they've never had those colors in their team history.
• He says that the team is going to wearing Zephyrs throwbacks next season, so get used to seeing this next season:

Of course, the shorts will be longer, but you get the idea of what they'll look like.  If anyone has some more pictures of the Chicago Zephyr uniforms, please leave a comment or e-mail us.  For now, let's just hope that Gilbert can use the $16 million that he passed up as leverage to get the team to go back to the red, white, and blue in the not-so-distant future.

With 35% of the vote, Andre Iguodala gets the nod as the player that would be taken had the Jamison trade fallen through in 2004.  Personally, I would've taken Deng and the upside, but you really can't go wrong either way.

Now, for this week's question we take a look at something that was talked about a lot, a few years back with opinions on the matter as wide and varied as anything you'll see come this November.  I'm talking, of course, about our alternate gold uniforms.

(via the always awesome www.sportslogos.net)

In the days and weeks after the uniforms were unveiled, some called the new threads the best in the NBA.  Others said that they were unequivocably the worst uniforms in the league.  And then there were those that thought the uniforms were part of a secret marketing campaign. 

Now that we've had a few years to get used to the new uniforms and what it's like watching them worn on TV and in person, I want to bring up the issue once more.

Continue reading this post »

Remember how inexplicably awful Nick was in Vegas last month during the summer league?  Well, it looks like we may have just found out why he looked so out of sync.

Ben from Blazers Edge was in Vegas for the SL and recently wrote up a little report on his experiences for Hardwood Paroxysm, and in his report there's a little tidbit that helps clear up why Nick Young was so out of sorts that week:

On the court there is no harmony. There are players who have spots assured. They loaf. There are players who need their names on the back of their jerseys, othewise no one would know who they are. They grind. There is a young men, OJ Mayo, looking to make a highlight film; there is another, Nick Young, looking at the fly honeys. There is a mountain man, Steven Hill, whose beard inspires more cheers than his play; there is a play the game the right way plodder, Josh Davis, who has every white scout over 60 years old wishing him the best. Of course, the same scouts are hesitant to encourage their management to sign Davis, lest they be laughed out of the room.

But hey, look at the bright side, Andray was in Vegas too and he performed quite well.  Maybe next year we can petition the NBA to have the Summer League moved to Philadelphia.