Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-US PRESSWIRE

In 66 total games last season, the Charlotte Bobcats set a new benchmark for futility in the NBA by winning just seven of those contests, which equaled out to a .106 winning percentage.

Through the first seven games of the 2012/13 season, the Bobcats have a record of 4-3. They are just three victories away from tying their win total from all of last season.

Am I missing something here?

I’m not downplaying Charlotte’s early success at all. I didn’t see it coming.

None of you did either.

The team currently sits 10th in the league in scoring (98.5), 8th in rebounding (43.7), 10th in steals (9.0) and 4th in blocks (7.5). The defense is still of concern as the Bobcats allow the third most points in the league to their opposition (102.0) and the 9th highest shooting percentage (44.8%).

I’m sure all Bobcat fans out there (who are still around after last years “Gigli” of a season) are looking past some of those numbers and simply enjoying the fact that the team is above .500 and playing winning basketball.

It’s been a while since I’ve been able to incorporate the words “Bobcats” and “winning basketball” into the same sentence.

So what’s the magic formula? What exactly has changed from 2011/12 to now?

For one, starting point guard Kemba Walker has begun to channel his inner UConn Husky and is playing like the leader and winner Charlotte always wanted him to be. He’s averaging 19.0 points and 5.1 assists a game on 43% shooting from the field, which are all massive increases from his totals last season.

“Cardiac Kemba” also made an appearance in last nights game against Minnesota, hitting the game-winner with 0.7 seconds left on the clock.

The #2 overall pick in this summers draft Michael Kidd-Gilchrist has also shown signs that he won’t be Michael Jordan’s next “Adam Morrison”. I’m still not sold on him being a guy you can build your franchise around, but he’s still a significant piece in the rebuilding process for the Bobcats. Through seven games, MGK is putting up 11.1 points and 6.9 rebounds a night. As the season rolls on and he better adjusts to the NBA style of play and defending the much larger forwards around the league, I believe Kidd-Gilchrist could be a true sleeper for the Rookie of the Year award, especially if the Cats success continues.

I’m also liking what I’m seeing from Charlottes other offseason acquisitions. Ramon Sessions is currently second on the team in scoring at 16.3 points, Brandon Haywood is pulling down 8.2 rebounds a game and Ben Gordon has found his infamous shooting touch once again (42% from behind the arc, 46% from the field). It’s the little moves like those that can make a world of difference for a team looking to crawl its way out of the cellar so to speak.

I suppose the big question now is if we should all be buying the Charlotte Bobcats as a legitimate threat for that 8th seed in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

It’s reasonable to ask. If the playoffs begun today (again, this is extremely early), the Cats would be slotted in at spot #7.

They look good. They’re not a pushover anymore. I didn’t have them winning a single game until midway through November when I made my early season predictions for the Southeast Division.

They shut me up, plain and simple.

But…..

Whether it’s the Bobcats winning start, the Los Angeles Lakers tumultuous beginnings or the New York Knicks being undefeated, it’s still way to early to start buying or selling certain teams at the moment.

It won’t be until early January when we start seeing each NBA team for what they truly are and where they will be headed once  April comes.

Charlotte Bobcat fans can take solace in this fact; the team is no joke. You don’t start 4-3 after a 7 win season the prior year and not make huge strides both on and off the court.

There’s a lot to be excited about. The youth movement is already paying dividends and optimism is at an all-time high.

Again, I could be changing my tune if Charlotte finishes with just 20 wins on the year.

“Fingers crossed”.

Christopher Walder is a sports blogger and lead editor for Sir Charles in Charge. You may follow him on Twitter @WalderSports

Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-US PRESSWIRE

2011-12 Record: 7-59, Last in NBA (worst winning percentage in league history)

2012 NBA Draft: F Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (Kentucky, 2nd overall pick), F Jeffery Taylor (Vanderbilt, 31st overall)

Offseason Additions: G Ben Gordon (acquired from Detroit Pistons), G Ramon Sessions (2 years, $10 million), C Brandon Haywood (amnesty claim from Dallas Mavericks), Coach Mike Dunlap

Offseason Losses: G D.J Augustin (signed with Indiana Pacers), F Corey Maggette (traded to Detroit Pistons)

Resigned: N/A

Projected Starting Line-up: PG Ramon Sessions, SG Gerald Henderson, SF Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, PF Bismack Biyombo, C Brandon Haywood

OFFSEASON GRADE: C -

It can’t get any worse than last season.

It just can’t.

The Charlotte Bobcats finished with the fewest amount of wins (7) and the lowest winning percentage (.106) in the history of the league at the end of the 2011-12 regular season.

Improvement is inevitable. That’s probably giving the team more credit than they deserve, but fans of the Bobcats (they do exist apparently) can breath a sigh of relief knowing Charlotte’s year-end record will (hopefully “knock on wood”) hit the double-digit mark in 2013.

This team needed a bit of everything. Nothing was set in stone at any one position. How could it be? There are truly no positives on a 7-win team. Everyone was in fear of losing their spot on the roster.

It seemed like an absolute lock that the Charlotte Bobcats would win the NBA Draft Lottery and earn the right to draft Kentucky Wildcats standout Anthony Davis. Selecting Davis was going to be the first step in a long drawn out process of turning this franchise into a playoff contender once again. As fate would have it, Charlotte dropped one spot and ended up with the 2nd overall pick, selecting Anthony’s teammate Michael Kidd-Gilchrist instead. Michael is a tremendous athlete with an amazing upside at the small forward position. His tremendous attitude and his willingness to become a better player should spread to his new teammates in Charlotte and be a huge positive going forward. Gilchrist may not have the immediate impact of an Anthony Davis, but the Bobcats could have done a lot worse at pick #2. He has the potential to be the best player coming out of the 2012 draft looking 4-5 years down the road, if he can develop more of an offensive game to go along with his outstanding defensive prowess.

Bringing in coach Mike Dunlap (former Denver Nuggets assistant coach to George Karl) should go a long way in Kidd-Gilchrists development. The casual basketball fan may have never once heard the name “Mike Dunlap” before, but coaches around the league rave about how good a pickup this was for Charlotte. Dunlap is a very intense worker and constantly expects the absolute best out of his players. I have no doubt in my mind that he will push this team every single day, but expectations should certainly be tempered considering the talent (or lack there of) he has to work with.

Outside of selecting a new head coach and drafting their franchise player of the future, the Charlotte Bobcats kept it relatively simple this offseason. Signing Ramon Sessions to a 2-year deal and claiming center Brandon Haywood off of an amnesty claim are ho-hum pickups at best. Neither player is much of an upgrade over what Charlotte already had (which is actually saying quite a lot). With Charlotte management putting a lot of stock into young prospects Kemba Walker and Bismack Biyombo for the future, it simply remains to be seen as to whether the presence of Sessions and Haywood will stunt their growth for one more year.

Washed-up veteran Ben Gordon is also now a member of the Bobcats roster after coming over from the Pistons in a trade for Corey Maggette.

Meh.

With Gerald Henderson showing a lot of promise from last season at the 2 spot, Gordon will more than likely come off the bench and continue his string of negative, lousy, unproductive years ever since leaving the Chicago Bulls back in 08-09. He can still shoot the basketball at a high-rate, but other than that, he brings little else to this Bobcats team.

The Charlotte Bobcats won’t make the playoffs in 2012-13.

Duh.

Will they be a better, more competitive team than they were last year? Of course! They can only go up. A trio of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Kemba Walker and Bismack Biyombo should give the fan base in Charlotte some hope at least.

It may take a while (a lonnnnnng while), but it appears that this team may be heading back on the right track.

Talk about being optimistic…..

OTHER OFFSEASON RECAPS: Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets

Christopher Walder is a sports blogger and lead editor for Sir Charles in Charge. You may follow him on Twitter @WalderSports