The Kind Of Dudley Who Won't Get Molested By Gordon Jump's "Friendly" Bicycle Shop Owner In A Very Special Episode.

As somone who drafted Gerald Wallace in two separate leagues this year (ahhh, regrets), I've been following Bobcats boxscores eagerly this season. And, as someone who waxed enthusiastic over Walter Herrmann's fantasy potential b'fore the campaign tipped, I've been following Bobcats boxscores eagerly this season. But, mostly I've been wondering why Sam Vincent —who, as bad keeping-it-in-the-brotherhood Michael Jordan appointee flailing his way through a one-and-done season, is looking suspiciously like Leonard Hamilton reincarnate— has been giving so minutes to Primoz Brezec and Jeff McInnis, two guys it's hard to believe're still in the league.

Now, going into the year, Vincent was promising that his Big Orange Bobbies were to play some kind of uptempo ball. Given they're averaging a 25th-"best" 92.4 PPG (at 43.3% from the floor!), this is clearly not happening; and Vincent's decision to keep starting Brezec and keep publicly complaining about his lack of big bodies shows we're clearly not dealing with the second coming of Nellie, here.

Today's news that Charlotte has extended an offer-sheet to Anderson Varejão will, ultimately, have little impact on the Bobcats' season. Because anyone who knows hoops knows there's no way that Danny Ferry and the Cavaliers won't match the offer. Which means that the search for a productive fifth Bobcat is still on.

For whatever reason, Vincent has decided that Walter Herrmann isn't that guy. But, yesterday against Toronto, he may've finally settled on the fifth wheel: Jared Dudley. Given Dudley's productiveness (15.2 PPG and 11.4 RPG per 40), his tenacity, his court-awareness, and his incredible penchant for corralling offensive rebounds (he grabs one every 6.5 minutes, and is 39th in the league in ORPG (ahead of Udonis Haslem!) despite playing only 14 minutes a night), he's seemed like a likely candidate from day one. But it's somehow taken until Day 35 for Vincent to realise that Dudley probably needs more burn.

In his first start, Dudley responded with 16 points, 10 rebounds (5 offensive), and 3 steals in 37 minutes; his 14 FGA second-most on the squad. All of which are mighty impressive numbers. However, given that the 'Cats got hosed by a Toronto team missing half their guys —Dudley's +/- a less than sexy -15 (which wasn't quite Gerald Wallace's -27, but...)— many a fantasy owner may be wary that this newfound lineup change will be permanent. Especially given Vincent's hardly shown himself to be the sharpest tool in the coaching shed. But, given the scant depth at his disposal, and given that Anderson Varejão isn't walking through that door, and Sean May isn't walking through that door, there's actually a definite, definite chance that this Dudley move could stick. There're minutes to be had in the Queen City, and it's be no surprise if Dudley done doo right and scored them. Given he's likely available in nearly every fantasy league, Dudley's a minimum-risk guy who could possibly reap maximum rewards later in the season. Well, just as long as Vincent doesn't bring back Ye Olde Brezec Beanpole to the starting lineup.

Pop! Goes The Karma In Charlotte, The Karma In Charlotte Goes Pop!

So, mere hours after I suggest that fuzz-faced Bobcats bricklayer Adam Morrison could one day reclaim his status of diabetic-hero and slowly shake off the stigma of bust --I mean, no one calls Tony Battie "El Busto" anymore, right?-- he goes and does his knee and will now sit for the season. Joining fellow Big Orange baller Sean May in the stable. Whilst I'd never be so egotistical to suggest some sort of curse, maybe I'll have to watch whom I'm seeding the love on from hereon out.

In other news: that Walter-Herrmann-as-deluxe-sleeper column I penned after the Sean May injury now seems doubly poignant. The Bobcats're growing thinner by the day, meaning the Argentine Fabio'll definitely get some sort of gig in even the tightest of eight-man rotations. But, more importantly, Sam Vincent finally —finally!— went with the small lineup we've all been waiting for on Sunday; with former 'starter' Ryan Hollins getting only 9 minutes of tick from deep on the bench. Felton/Richardson/Wallace/Herrmann/Okafor ran most of the game together, and, whilst Charlotte's meagre 88-point return (against Phoenix, no less!) hardly validated the lineup change, our hursuite Herrmann answered the bell. Starting at the four, Amo El Walter! hauled in 14 rebounds. If he can clean the glass at such a rate, to go with his sweet three-ball stroke, Herrmann will earn some serious fantasy value.

The Morrison/May injuries have thinned the ranks to the point where all of the Bobcats' five projected starters must be considered to have solid to extremely-high fantasy value. J-Rich, in particular, is starting to warm up as we get close to the season; his 23/4/4 with 5/11 threes versus Phoenix an elite, top-30 type line. Both he and Wallace could probably be worth bumping up a few spots on your draft-board now that there's very little depth behind them.

On May Day, May Day, listen for the sound, of the ambulances singing rounds.

The Elvis Perkins-inspired news, today, that Sean May’ll miss the entire upcoming slate was big for two reasons. Firstly, you can pull the big Bobcat from your draft-board. As someone who’s selected May the past two seasons, I know the promise that the cuddly son-of-a-gun holds. If he was actually healthy and actually played 40 minutes per game, May would be some sort of Al-Jefferson-esque young super-stud; his two-year career producing per-40 averages of 19.5 PPG, 11.0 RPG, 2.8 APG, 1.2 SPG, 1.2 BPG. Those numbers, of course, are a stat-crunching pipedream. May has, in fact, never played 40 minutes in any single NBA game. And has played 30 minutes only six times. He’s only played 58 games, total, in two years; and his longest consecutive stretch of games has been 23. AC Green he ain’t. Given that former coach Bernie Bickerstaff implied, last season, that May was seemingly unwilling, or unable, to play through pain, the likelihood of him coming back strong from this surgery seems, well, unlikely; his far-in-the-future returns more likely to be a few more years dogged by injuries, then a mid-20s retirement. This May Day may mark the day that May’s career was over before it ever really begun; he going the way of his father, Scott, whose career was curtailed by degenerative knees.

Yet, even before May was completely ruled out for the season, I had already warmed to the following idea: the Bobcats were going to start Walter Herrmann and Gerald Wallace at forwards. Wallace, the Marion-esque specimen he is, actually excels as an undersized four, and Herrmann, like his countryman Andres Nocioni, is more than capable of mixing it up with bigger, burlier players. As interchangeable forwards, they could switch defensive assignments to suit; Wallace able, for example, to chase the quicker perimeter wings, Herrmann to bang with the larger fours. Where the Argentine Fabio really seems a lineup necessity, though, is in his shooting ability. If you signed off early on last season, either as Fantasy GM or NBA viewer, too tired of teams shelving their star players in the chase for lottery balls, you may’ve missed the amazing statistical explosion that happened down in Charlotte. Not only that the team played .500 ball for the final four months of the year —including a 22-18 record the last 40 games both Gerald Wallace and Emeka Okafor were in the lineup together— but that a big part of that late surge was Herrmann. The Argentine’d spent the first half of his rookie year in warm-ups, gazing on; he appearing in just 8 of the Bobcats’ first 37 contests, every appearance reeking of eau de garbage. It was mid-March before the human ponytail entered the rotation in any permanent capacity, yet in his final 18 games, Herrmann’s first go-round was infinitely more successful than lottery-pick teammate Adam Morrison, whose name has become but a punchline. Because, in that stretch —in which the ever-improving ’Cats went 10-8— Herrmann averaged 17.9 PPG and 5.3 RPG, all whilst shooting a ridiculous 40/83 from three-point range (48.1%!). That late-season splurge was actually just a match of Herrmann’s productivity; his per-40 minute averages 18.9 PPG, 5.9 RPG and 2.26 3PTM. Herrmann wasn’t simply a guy putting up more numbers in more minutes; he’d been that efficient all year long. By the time the season ended, his statistical prowess wasn’t just theoretical; his 46.1% clip from range (53/115) ranking second in the entire NBA, behind Jason Kapono. With Kapono on the move from Miami to Toronto, you could easily make the case that Herrmann could be going into the year as the league’s most reliable deep-ball threat. And that’s the very reason that the Bobcats need Herrmann on the floor, and the reason I believed he was bound to be a starter even before Sean May’s year was lost to the surgeon’s scalpel. Three of the Bobcats’ starters —Raymond Felton, Gerald Wallace, Emeka Okafor— aren’t shooters; even if Crash did cash in 120 three-pointers last year (at, we note, a career-‘high’ 32.5%). To make Sam Vincent’s hoped-for up-tempo offence really work, the Bobcats need as many shooters as possible on the floor. With May out, and Charlotte’s frontcourt depth suddenly looking scant, Herrmann should be a natural for major minutes. And, as any Fantasy GM knows, major minutes are the key to any player’s statistical productivity.