1) What did you think this season would be like before it started? How did the end result compare to your initial thoughts?
Ben: I did not expect the season to go as well as it did. You can see our predictions here. They weren't so rosy. The first couple months were much more in line with my original 29-win prediction but even then, I was probably still underestimating them. They ended up winning 29 games from January on, losing 21 in that time. I'm not sure anyone predicted Al Jefferson being a defensive centerpiece in addition to an offensive one. I'm overstating that, but the reputation he had coming into this season was rather poor, and for good reason. But reputations can be broken. Jefferson, for those who watched the Bobcats, was clearly no longer the defensive sieve or offensive black hole he was made out to be in Utah and Minnesota. Paired with Steve Clifford's defensive schemes, Jefferson made up a dynamic duo that transformed Charlotte from bottom-dweller to the upstart squad we saw in the last couple months.
Chris: Before the season started I thought the Bobcats were going to be that bad team that if you didn't prepare for they could definitely beat you. The team would be competitive on most nights and get something around 28-30 wins.
The end result far exceeded any of my expectations. I never thought this team was going to go from a bottom 5 defense to a top 8 defense. There was no expectation that the offense was going to improve on a month to month basis. Even during the season I wasn't predicting that. Then of course there was the playoffs. While the team appeared to be on the right track towards them, the general idea was that it would be later rather than sooner. Finishing over. 500 and making the playoffs exceeded the expectations of just about everybody. This team blew any and all expectations out of the water.
David: I did not think the Bobcats would be as good as they turned out to be. I did not think Al Jefferson would be as dominant as he turned out to be. I did not think Steve Clifford would be as impressive a coach as he turned out to be so quickly. In short, this season was not what I expected it to be. I thought the Bobcats would be improved, but only slightly. The real difference was Clifford's ability to get the team to play consistently hard every night dedicated to his beliefs on defense. No one could have seen Jefferson being as important a factor in Clifford's defense as he was. Certainly Jefferson was a huge reason the Bobcats were successful, but 20 and 10 was pretty much what I expected of him. I thought he would, or at least could, make the All-Star team and had he been healthy from the start I think he would have. But the bigger picture was the team this group actually came together to form something more than the individual parts. The chemistry and the ability to be in every game, because of the every night attitude, was not something we've ever seen from a Bobcats team. Clifford surpassed all expectations and cemented himself as this team's coach moving forward.
Derek: I thought they would be improved, but they certainly exceeded even my most optimistic of expectations. I was thinking they would push thirty wins, but the additions of Steve Clifford and Al Jefferson put them over the top.
Tucker: I was optimistic going into the season. I had long been a fan of Al Jefferson's game, and I was encouraged by the potential improvement of the team's prospects going into the season. However, I did not expect a season over .500, or ... anything close to it. I would've predicted more wins than most others heading into the season, but I think my estimate was around 35 wins. This was much better than I had hoped.
