ESPN.com Analyzes Charlotte Bobcats' 2013-14 Season

Earlier this month, ESPN.com began its 2013-14 NBA Preview, including providing a "5-On-5" outlook on teams from a group of sports analysts. The website has published previews on a pair of teams each day, beginning with the two teams that met in last season's NBA Championship, the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs. Today, it's time for the Charlotte Bobcats to be placed under the microscope.

The 5-On-5 coverage on the Bobcats--5 sports experts answering 5 questions--is provided by ESPN Insiders Larry Coon and Tom Haberstroh, D.J. Foster of ClipperBlog, Danny Nowell of TrueHoop Network, and Spencer Percy of Queen City Hoops blog. They grade the Bobcats' offseason moves (average grade given is a C), give their suggestions for the biggest question facing the team this season, pick the most intriguing player, make a bold prediction, and predict how far they think the team will go during the 2013-14 season.

The preview provides some pretty good critiquing of the Bobcats. There's plenty of scrutiny--pros and cons--of MJ and company's decision to sign free agent Al Jefferson to a three-year $40.5 million contract over the summer. Jefferson, a 28-year-old, 6'10" power forward/center, averaged 17.8 points and 9.2 rebounds last season for the Utah Jazz. If you're a Bobcats fan, you won't be happy that none of the analysts expect Charlotte's team to come close to making the playoffs this season (do you?). But they offer a little optimism for what could lie ahead in the 2014 NBA Draft, which is expected to be one of the best draft classes in years and is when the Bobcats could potentially have three first-round picks. Click here to read the Bobcats preview.

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Kemba's Kicks

Now that the NBA lockout is over, the Charlotte Bobcats are getting back to the business of basketball. The team signed their top draft pick, guard Kemba Walker, over the weekend and I'm sure the former UConn star is happy and relieved that some NBA checks are on the way. I know it had to have been tight for rookies like Kemba who haven't been able to get paid by the teams that drafted them in June. But I'm sure a lottery pick like him didn't have to resort to Ramen noodles, thanks largely to the endorsement deal he signed with Under Armour in July.

Credit: facebook.com/uabasketball

It's an interesting fact that our city's top two rookies--Kemba from the Bobcats and quarterback Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers--both have endorsement deals with Under Armour. It would be great if UA put up a billboard in Uptown Charlotte of the two of them. Who knows, that probably would've happened by now had the NBA lockout ended sooner and not have caused any loss of games the way the NFL lockout was able to be resolved before preseason.

Because of the NBA lockout's long duration, it has sort of stifled a promotion Under Armour had planned for Kemba. The sportswear and apparel company was planning to commemorate the Bronx, New York native's homecoming, the scheduled December 10 game between the Bobcats and New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden, by releasing a special color of his sneakers. A limited edition of the PE "Homecoming" UA Micro G Jukes were produced in white/silver/orange. But all is not lost, Under Armour is going to hold the promotion to coincide with Kemba and the Bobcats' January 4 visit to the Garden.

Under Armour released a previously shot promo video over the weekend, though it still refers to the original December 10 game.

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