Division Preview: Charlotte Bobcats, Southeast Division – Eastern Conference

In the final days leading up to regular season action, SCH will be posting divisional previews of the top teams in all six NBA divisions. Come back early and often for updates.

Michael Jordan on the bench with Stephan Jackson. Jordan bought the Charlotte Bobcats in 2010.

Who to watch

Boris Diaw

He will be interesting for Jazz fans to watch, solely because of the Melo trade rumors that proposed bringing Boris Diaw to Salt Lake City. The Jazz should pay close attention to Diaw to see if in fact he is the better player, and whether or not we should be sad that the trade was merely hearsay.

Gerald Wallace

Last year, Wallace scored 57 points in two meetings with the Jazz, accounting for more than a quarter of the points scored by Charlotte. He is a threat at both ends of the court. If the Jazz can keep him contained, and keep him from putting up double digit points every game, they should be able to win both meetings.

I can't tell if this picture is awesome or stupid. But, G Wall versus D Will? That's cool.

High Notes | Low Notes

Expect to see some great basketball being played in North Carolina- if they stay healthy. Already this year, Charlotte has several player with injuries- Dominic McGuire has a stress fracture in his shin, Shaun Livingston is still milking a bad knee, Kwame Brown has a left ankle sprain and Eduardo Najera has a hernia. Things aren’t looking up when you’ve got 4 injuries in the preseason. However, they were able to beat Miami last week despite LeBron scoring 33 points. I think Charlotte will be an exciting team to watch this year.

History

The Jazz are 7-5 all time against the Bobcats and look to be perfectly capable of increasing that to 9-5 this season. However, Charlotte has gone from an 18 win team to a playoff contender in just 6 years. Last year the Bobcats made their first playoff appearance but were promptly swept by the Magic. This year, they hope to improve even farther into the postseason. Maybe even get a win or two.

The Bobcats play in the most competitive division in the country, having to play the Magic, Heat and Hawks- all perennial playoff contenders. Last year half of the teams in the Eastern Conference Playoffs were from the Southeast division. (Coincidentally, half of the teams in the Western Conference playoffs were from the Northwest Division.)

Since becoming a team in 2004-5, the Bobcats are 188-304.

Outlook

The Jazz will have their first stab at the Bobcats on November 13 in Charlotte. The Jazz historically struggle on road games, so there is a chance that this could go 1-1.