Community projection: Gerald Wallace

During the 9 months Gerald’s mother was pregnant with him, she averaged a double-double.

-- Gerald Wallace Facts

Gets me every time.

Gerald Wallace is the Bobcats' first All-Star, and the team's best player now and for the foreseeable future. If you're one of those people who looks at points, rebounds, and assists only, then yes, you'll think Crash is pretty solid, but the key to appreciating him fully lies in appreciating defense -- oh, that otherworldly defense of both highlight reel and mundane kinds -- and appreciating restraint mixed with moments of tornadic glory.

In the end, that may be Larry Brown's greatest accomplishment with the Cats: getting Crash to be less Crash-ish in the negative aspects of his game while keeping many of the best parts of his game, turning him from merely pretty good into an All-Star caliber player. 

Here's hoping Gerald plays all 82 games at the same level he did last year, only with fewer minutes per game, because I want him around for years to come.

Prediction...

70 games, 37 min/game, 16.8 points/40, 9.0 reb/40, .310 3P%, 26 mouth guard dangles per game