The Bobcats will have a nice bench this season. The first man off of it will be Matt Carroll who was rewarded with a nice contract in the off-season. Carroll can handle both the shooting guard and the small forward spots. He played in 72 games (47 starts) last season for the Bobcats and he averaged 26.1 minutes, 12.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. He also has excellent shooting range as he nailed 41.6% of his three point attempts. Walter Herrmann will also get some quality playing time after he excelled when getting a chance to play late last season. He played in 48 games (12 starts) as a rookie last season for the Bobcats and he averaged 19.5 minutes, 9.2 points, 2.9 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. Herrmann is also an excellent shooter from anywhere on the basketball court as he hit 52.7% from the floor, 46.1% from three point range and 77.4% from the free throw line. The Bobcats also made a shrewd move in re-signing guard Derek Anderson to come off the bench. He brings instant energy off of the bench and he likely will again this season. Anderson played in 50 games (32 starts) last season for the Bobcats and he averaged 23.8 minutes, 8.0 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Jeff McInnis was also re-signed to backup Raymond Felton. McInnis will probably only play 8-10 minutes per game this season as the Bobcats ride Felton in his third season. McInnis played in 38 games for the Bobcats last season (3 starts) and he averaged 18.5 minutes, 4.3 points, 1.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. Ryan Hollins will back up at center and he should get more minutes this season than he got last year. He played in 27 games (0 starts) for the Bobcats last season and he averaged 6.9 minutes, 2.4 points and 1.1 rebounds per game.

The Bobcats let Brevin Knight walk in the off season so Raymond Felton will be given the fulltime gig at point guard for the Bobcats this season. Felton needs to improve his shooting this season as he only hit 38.4% from the floor, 33% from the three point line and 79.7% from the free throw line. Felton played in 78 games last season (75 starts) and he averaged 36.3 minutes, 14.0 points, 3.4 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Look for Felton to be more of a pass-first player this season as the Bobcats have a lot of explosive players that can get to the rim. One of those players, Jason Richardson, was acquired from the Warriors in a Draft Day trade. He gives the Bobcats an explosive player who can help spread the court with Gerald Wallace on the other side. Richardson played in 51 games (49 starts) last season for the Warriors and he averaged 32.8 minutes, 16.0 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Look for those numbers to improve if Richardson can stay healthy this season. The Bobcats made a big statement about their future when they re-signed small forward Gerald Wallace who is the heart and soul of the team. He plays all out on both sides of the court which leads to some spectacular fast breaks. Wallace played in 72 games (71 starts) last season for the Bobcats and he averaged 36.7 minutes, 18.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.0 block per game. Look for Wallace to continue to fill up the stat sheet this season. Emeka Okafor will start at power forward and he’s the key to the Bobcats season as he’s an enforcer in the paint. He played in 67 games (65 starts) last season for the Bobcats and he averaged 34.8 minutes, 14.4 points, 11.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 2.6 blocks per game. He does need to work on his free throw shooting (59.3%) as he gets there often. Primoz Brezec has his name penciled in as the starter at center but he must stay healthy and play better than he did last season if he wants to keep the job. Brezec played in 58 games (40 starts) last season for the Bobcats and he averaged 14.4 minutes, 5.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game.

Adam Morrison tore his left ACL in a pre-season game and he will miss the entire 2007-2008 season. Morrison didn’t shoot well as a rookie and the Bobcats expected much more than he gave them last season when he averaged 11.8 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. His injury will open up extended minutes for both Matt Carroll and Walter Herrmann who both outplayed Morrison last season. Carroll averaged 12.9 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists last season and the Bobcats gave him a nice new contract in the off-season. Walter Herrmann was outstanding as a rookie last season as he averaged 9.2 points, 2.9 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game despite not getting a lot of playing time until late in the season. Look for him to improve on last season’s numbers this year with added minutes.