There’s no denying the Charlotte Bobcats are in a horrible slide right now. However, in that same breath, there’s also no denying the fact that they compete, are routinely in games, and had a much better start to the 2013-13 NBA season that most gave them a shot at.

A huge reason for any success they’ve found is Kemba Walker and a huge second-year leap.

His minutes are up by over eight per game, and the former UConn star hasn’t let them go to waste. He’s jumped his scoring average from 12.1 points per game as a rookie to 18.1 at the time of this article, while also averaging career highs in field goal percentage (42.8%), free throw percentage (81.1%), assists (6.1) and steals (2).

Walker still has a ways to go in becoming a true NBA point guard. He’s still not the best defender out there, turns the ball over a bit more than you’d like, and has yet to nail down the nuances of being a starting lead guard at the highest level.

But he’s getting there. We all knew he was a clutch performer and could lead. We knew he could shoot and score. That’s all there, and arguably then some. It’s the passing, decision-making and improved defense that make Walker an interesting candidate for Most Improved Player of the year.

The only question is, can he actually win it?

First I’ll admit, I was wrong. I knew we would be better than last season, of course, but in no way did I think we would come out of the gate like Seabiscuit aiming for the triple crown. I’m surprised, but in a good way and that’s always a good thing.

I agree that anyone in their right mind that watches sports would ask, how can the worst team in their sport one season, be seen as a playoff contender the very next? If that person is you, I am here to answer that very question.

First remember, last season is over and today is a new day. With a new Coach, that seems to have his players full attention and cooperation, we are surely heading in a new direction. Yes, we just had a season we all want to forget, but that’s part of the business. We drafted well, we also traded and signed good free agents during the off season, and now we have some new quality pieces to add to our rebuilding puzzle. (We are still trading players after the season has started and I can’t remember the last time that has happened.) Is the puzzle complete yet? No it’s not, but I don’t think we have as many key pieces missing as some of you might. If I had to give a #, I’d say we are only about 2 pieces away from being a team that could possibly make the playoffs and get out of the first round. Here’s some key reasons why…

I find the start to this season to be not just surprising but unfathomable.  Last month if you had told me that the Bobcats would start the season 4-3 with a three-game winning streak, I would have assumed it was a sick joke.  Incidentally, this also would have been my response if you’d told me they were remaking Red Dawn.  But both events are now happening, and given their improbability, I’m worried that it’s more than a coincidence.  What if our world and that of Red Dawn are now fusing?  I half expect to look out my office window and see parachuting Russian, Cuban, and Nicaraguan soldiers in vaguely racist dark skin paint hit the ground and gun down my boss while he’s giving me a lesson on Genghis Khan.  Fortunately, if this happens, I’ll know just what to do: load up my car full of Coke, get used to the taste of deer blood, and put the fate of the free world in the hands of Charlie Sheen.

On the other hand, I certainly don’t expect this to last, because circumstances have been hugely favorable to the Bobcats lately.  Starting with injuries: the Mavericks were without Dirk Nowitzki and Shawn Marion, the Wizards were without John Wall and Nene, and the Timberwolves…well, there have been healthier teams emerging from plane crashes.  Beyond the fortunate injury rashes, other strange stuff has been happening.  For the season, Charlotte is ranked 24^th in opponent 3-Pt %, but for the last 3 games they’ve been 4^th.  And I am here to tell you it is NOT because they’ve done a better job closing out the other teams’ shooters.  Troy Murphy and his mid-80s feathered haircut were so wide open that he could have built a time machine and transported himself back to the set of Bryan Adams’s video for “Run to You.”  Most Washington players, meanwhile, would rather pass a kidney stone than the ball, resulting in a 5-for-31 three-point chuck-fest.  As for Minnesota, I think all lines of any kind in that game were simply contaminated.  Both teams shot a combined 9-35 on 3’s and 29-51 on free throws.

Shawty had them Apple Bottom jeans, boots with the furrrr!!  What an opening night to the season!  The last time the Bobcats won an opening night game so thrillingly was last year, so this is clearly a sign of great things to come.  What can you say about this effort?  If you’re David West, you can say that the Bobcats “junked up” the game with their zone defense.  If you’re coach Mike Dunlap, you can say that you just slaughtered an elephant.  But if you’re just a simple fan, like me, you can say farewell to a losing streak that’s longer than Morgan Freeman’s IMDB profile.

Of course the big hero was Kemba Walker, who hit 10-of-21 from the field and 9-out-of-10 free throws.  He style of play wasn’t much different than what he did last year, and in fact he almost submarined the whole thing by tossing up a horrid, Nate Robinsonian 20-footer with 16 seconds to play.  But the big difference was that this time his attempts in the key were either on target or drew fouls—or, at the very least, didn’t lead to turnovers.  Full credit goes to him and his mentor, coach Dunlap.  I have to admit that I was not feeling encouraged about this relationship, especially when just last week, Dunlap called Walker “an unusual player who can do some things very special.”  It honestly sounded like a parent awkwardly describing a child with severe autism.  But perhaps there has been real improvement.

My original plan was to turn from previewing the forwards in the first column to the centers in this column.  But then I saw Gana Diop’s gargantuan landmass body and Louisiana Purchase-sized contract and realized I needed to turn away.  I’m sorry, but I just can’t talk about him yet; there are still too many demons.  Plus I just got through the Tyrus Thomas/Bismack Biyombo combo we’ve got going on at the 4-spot, and to go from there to the Brendon Haywood/Gana Diop platoon at center would be like having to review back-to-back screenings of Battleship and Sparkle.  So instead I’m going to pace myself by hitting the guards next.  I should have a hold of myself in time to talk to the centers later in the week.

As for the guards, to the extent that the Bobcats have a best unit, this is it.  I was thrilled that Charlotte didn’t re-sign DJ Augustin, who had regressed last year and started suffering chronic injuries.  For better or for worse, Rich Cho has shown that he’s not going to overpay anyone.  In the case of letting Augustin walk (or limp out on his cracked feet) and signing Ramon Sessions to a stunningly reasonable 2-year, $10M deal, it’s all for the better.  As the bigger player, Sessions is much more effective at getting to the rim than Augustin was and a more able rebounder and defender.  If you want to be as conservative as possible, you can just consider his time with Cleveland last year and ignore his time with the Lakers, in which all of his stats got turbo-boosted (and, needless to say, Cleveland’s team is a far better comparison to Charlotte than the Lakers).  With the Cavs, Sessions’ eFG% and passing rating were basically on par with Augustin’s, but he took more than twice as many foul shots and held opponents to a PER of 16.5—compared to Augustin’s 19.8.  These might seem like small potatoes, but consider that the Bobcats would have had to make a qualifying offer of $4.4M to Augustin to retain him, and for just $600K more they got a better all-around player who has also played in over 95% of his games since 2008.  The fact that I have had to justify this move more in accounting terms than in basketball terms is admittedly not very inspiring, but just remember all of this when we see Augustin sitting on the Indiana bench for a third of the season, nursing his cracked feet and tendinitis.

We’ve already analyzed the fantasy value of Charlotte Bobcats point guards Kemba Walker and Ramon Sessions. Now it’s time to dig a little deeper and come to a firm conclusion as to which of the two should be the team’s starting point guard.

Naturally, as the lead point guard, you’re expected to be a leader on the team. There is a hope that you’re vocal, can come up in clutch moments, and play a big hand in the outcome of the game. However, the actual importance of the said starting point guard can differ greatly when that role is semi-split down the middle with another point guard. It’s not as effective. It lacks consistency, and it can keep one or both of those players from realizing their maximum potential – in turn hampering their maximum impact for the team.

That’s why the Bobcats need to give the majority of the minutes to Kemba Walker.

I don’t dislike Ramon Sessions. On paper, he’s a better natural passer than Walker is. In fact, in just about every way (on paper, at least), Sessions looks and feels like the more consistent, polished player.