Feb 09, 2013; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Charlotte Bobcats guard Ramon Sessions (7) during the fourth quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center. The Sixers defeated the Bobcats 87-76. Mandatory Credit: Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Ramon Sessions is worth every penny to the Charlotte Bobcats.

The South Carolina native signed a two-year, $10 million contract with Charlotte after leaving the Los Angeles Lakers in the offseason. Sessions started 19 games for the Lakers after being traded by the Cleveland Cavaliers last season. No stranger to coming off the bench, Sessions has brought leadership, poise, and consistency to the Bobcats backcourt.

Before being sidelined with a knee sprain Sessions was having a stellar season. He’s averaging 14.4 points, 3.8 assists and 5.7 free throw attempts in 27.1 minutes. Since coming into the league in 2007 only nine guards average more free throw attempts per 36 than Sessions. He has the second-highest player efficiency rating of his career at 17.8, which is better than quality veteran backups like Jarrett Jack and Andre Miller.

The offseason acquisitions of Sessions and Ben Gordon combined with the scoring jumps made by Kemba Walker and Gerald Henderson are responsible for the Bobcats league-leading backcourt scoring at 50.9. Not many teams can play a veteran as good as Sessions behind one of the best up and coming point guards in Walker.

Sessions is one of the most underrated combo-guards in the league. Different from most combo guards, Sessions functions well as a pure point guard. He’s got good court vision, a tight handle, and doesn’t turn the ball over at a high rate. Because of their ballhandling and playmaking ability, Mike Dunlap . Though they lack in size, the Sessions-Walker combination is very capable on both sides of the ball. Guard play is a core part of the league. More teams are starting to emphasize offensive spacing with three-guard lineups and three-point shooting. The Bobcats have tried this all season, with little success, but with better coaching and organization, it can be a dangerous weapon.

Whether it’s as a core piece going forward, or as a trade asset, Sessions is important to the Bobcats going forward. In the past the Bobcats have tried to rely on athletic ability and potential, without having a lot of basketball players around. Rich Cho and Rod Higgins need more of the latter and a signing like Sessions is encouraging to what the Bobcats can potentially do in free agency. Even if they don’t land the top free agents, getting players who have a high chance of living up to their market deals while playing basketball the right way is essential. Ramon Sessions is the first of hopefully many more signings like that.

Nov 28, 2012; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks center Al Horford (15) drives to the basket against Charlotte Bobcats center Byron Mullens (22) during the second half at Philips Arena. The Hawks won 94-91. Mandatory Credit: Paul Abell-US PRESSWIRE

Byron Mullens had a chance to tie it in the final seconds, but he could not convert the 3 point attempt. The Bobcats lost 94-91 on Wednesday night to the Atlanta Hawks.

Ben Gordon played spectacularly coming off the bench, but his 26 point effort was not enough. Gordon was unconscious from three shooting 7-10 from three point land.

Ramon Sessions added 18 points and eight assists off the bench.

However, Byron Mullens and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist were not the offensive forces the Bobcats need in order to win against quality teams. Mullens only had 10 points on 3 of 9 shooting, while Kidd-Gilchrist only had 6 points.

The Hawks won by having a balanced scoring attack, including three players with 17 points. Al Horford and Josh Smith both had double-doubles, and Horford’s two free throws put the Hawks up by three in the final seconds.

Lue Williams put in a nice nights work by adding 17 points and five assists off the bench.

The real difference in the game was the turnover battle which the Bobcats lost by committing 17 turnovers to the Hawks nine.

This loss hurts and drops the Bobcats to 7-7 on the season. The Bobcats resume play Friday against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Nov 14, 2012; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Charlotte Bobcats point guard Kemba Walker (15) is congratulated by teammates during the fourth quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center. Bobcats won 89-87. Mandatory Credit: Greg Smith-US PRESSWIRE

The Toronto Raptors have struggled so far this season, and the Charlotte Bobcats are trying to prove that they can be a playoff contender. These are the games the Bobcats must learn to win if they have any playoff aspirations.

The Bobcats are playing well, and need to keep the early season momentum going by finding a way to beat the Raptors.

The Raptors will be coming off a Tuesday night game against the 76ers. This should help the Bobcats, as the Raptors will have to play a back-to-back.

Besides that the two teams statistically are nearly identical as they both average scoring around 96 ppg. Both teams also allow their opponent to score around 99 ppg. When its all said and done the winner of this game will most likely be the team that turns it over the least.

The key for the Bobcats will be slowing down Demar Derozan, and keeping Kemba Walker hot. Byron Mullens and Ramon Session playing well are two other ingredients that contribute to a winning formula for the Bobcats.

Sessions had a huge game against the Bucks, and is proving to be quite the acquisition. Sessions had 23 points against the Bucks including some clutch buckets down the stretch. If Sessions plays like that against the Raptors it will go a long way towards a Bobcats win.

Brenden Haywood will need to keep Andrea Bargnani in check, as Bargnani has the ability to step out and make jump shots. However, Haywood should have the advantage on the glass, which should help the Bobcats.

The game is Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Time Warner Cable Arena, and the Bobcats will be looking to improve to 6-4.

Oct 26, 2012; Dallas, Tx, USA; Charlotte Bobcats shooting guard Ben Gordon (8) loses the ball as Dallas Mavericks shooting guard Jared Cunningham (1) defends during the first quarter at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-US PRESSWIRE

The Charlotte Bobcats finished up the preseason on Friday night with a 99-82 loss to the Dallas Mavericks. The Bobcats won their first preseason game before reeling off seven straight losses to close out the preseason.

The Bobcats were led in scoring this preseason by Byron Mullens with 15.0 ppg.  Mullens also averaged 7.8 rpg during the preseason.  Mullens will be a big part of the offense this year along with Gerald Henderson and Kemba Walker.

Ben Gordon and Ramon Sessions were second and third on the team in scoring during the preseason. The Bobcats will need Gordon and Sessions to provide a substantial scoring punch off the bench this season. Sessions scored 16 points against the Mavericks on Friday in a solid performance. This is the kind of game the Bobcats will need from both Gordon and Sessions on a consistent basis during the season.

One good thing that came out of Friday’s game was the Bobcats showed resiliency, and they managed to cut a 20 point deficit to only three late in the second half. However, the Bobcats failed to close late as the Mavericks went on a 14-0 run to end the game.

Another side note Tyrus Thomas missed his second straight game with a heel injury.  Also, four other players including Matt Carroll and DeSagana Diop did not play in Friday’s game.

Looking forward to the season now, Coach Dunlap and his staff know this young team has a lot to learn. Dunlap realizes the first couple of months of the season will be a learning experience because this team is so young.  They realize their will probably be lots of inconsistent play due to the lack of experience.

If the Bobcats can improve on closing out games, not turning the ball over, and getting to the free throw line this team could surprise some people, and win more games than most of the experts are predicting.

Oct 7, 2012; Charlotte, NC, USA; Charlotte Bobcats guard Ramon Sessions (7) drives on Washington Wizards guard A.J. Price (12) during the first half at Time Warner Cable Arena. Mandatory Credit: Curtis Wilson-US PRESSWIRE

So far during preseason, Mike Dunlap has been experimenting with a lot of different lineups. Most reports say Dunlap wants to get a feel for his personel and feels this will be the most efficient way to do so. Theoretically each spot in the Bobcats starting lineup is fair game for competition. I’d wager that Michael Kidd-Gilchrist might actually have the safest starting job right now at small forward.

But one storyline that could develop this season is at point guard. Kemba Walker is likely the starting point guard on opening night for the team. He was a high draft pick last year and the team believes he has tremendous upside as a scoring point guard. However, Ramon Sessions could bring a different and more preferrable element, and that’s a great thing for Kemba, and the team.

Since being drafted 56th overall in 2007, Sessions has been a respectable NBA rotation player. He has a 16.7 career PER, with averages of 11ppg, 5ast, and 3reb. The catch though is Sessions has never been a starting point guard until last season in LA after the trade deadline. Sessions played well with the Lakers in the regular season, but struggled in the playoffs. The Lakers though didn’t want to commit long-term to him and preferred Steve Nash to help them win a championship this upcoming season.

On paper, the Bobcats signing Sessions to a two-year, $10M deal in the offseason was a good move. Sessions provides value to the Bobcats on the court by being able to ease the pressure off Kemba, as well as help him mature in his ability to run a team. He’s an above-average facilitator and his jumpshot has improved in the past couple of seasons. It’s realistic to believe he’ll see time in both backcourt spots this year. Off the court, Sessions is a short-term contract that any team looking for point guard help will be drawn to, especially contenders.

But the most important thing is how much Sessions can challenge Kemba and be a critical part of his development. Kemba looked rattled a lot last season playing on a disorganized team, where games often were over in the first three minutes of the game. Having Sessions behind Kemba is going to be a lot different than having an Cory Higgins back there, or the shell of what D.J. Augustin used to be. Sessions provides reliability, a positive veteran presence, and a productive facilitator that could help Mike Dunlap and his new up-tempo offense. This is the appeal he brought to the Lakers at last year’s trade deadline.

Whether Sessions starts over Walker at any point in the season doesn’t matter. I could understand why that would ruffle some feathers among Bobcats fans though. But all that matters is Kemba is challenged by Sessions in some sort of way. Not all young point guards had, or needed experienced point guards to help them develop, but it’s never a bad thing.

May 19, 2012; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook (0) guards Los Angeles Lakers point guard Ramon Sessions (7) in the second half of game four in the Western Conference semi finals of the 2012 NBA Playoffs at the Staples Center. Thunder won 103-100. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

It’s weird that a team would hire a new coach to build an offense around a guy that would play backup to Ramon Sessions in any other situation.

But with the Charlotte Bobcats, it’s not.

Assuming the team sat down with Sessions before he signed and told him he’d be playing a lot of backup and a lot of shooting guard at times, Sessions knew what he was getting into when he left the Lakers to sign with the Bobcats.

None of that changes the fact that Sessions is immediately one of the best players on Charlotte’s roster.

Last year Sessions scored 11.5 points per game, dished out 5.5 assists (best on the Lakers) and grabbed 3.3 rebounds a game.

His PER of 16.79 would easily have been the best on the Bobcats last year and he also shot a lethal 48.9 percent from three-point range with the Lakers last year.

Clearly, Sessions brings not only a veteran mentality to the table, but a solid game as well.

For his career, mostly as a backup, sessions has scored 11.1 points, dished out five assists and grabbed 3.1 rebounds a game. His 6’3″ 190 lb. frame will be a nice asset in Charlotte’s normally tiny back court.

If Sessions can put up numbers slightly better than his career averages, the Bobcats will be a lot better in 2012.

March 7, 2012; Charlotte, NC, USA; Charlotte Bobcats guard Kemba Walker (1) talks to a referee during a time out in the game against the Utah Jazz at Time Warner Cable Arena. Jazz win 99-93. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-US PRESSWIRE

The Charlotte Bobcats are moving in a different direction. Long gone are the talks that Michael Jordan doesn’t know what he is doing as an owner. After making good draft picks and picking up a few veterans, the Bobcats are poised to keep climbing up the rankings in the Eastern Conference. However, Mike Dunlap faces the challenge of deciding which player is going to run his team. He has to decide between Ramon Sessions and Kemba Walker.

Both players have similar playing styles. Neither one of them is much of a playmaker. They are small shooting guards, trapped in a point guard’s body. Nevertheless, by default one of them has to be the starting point guard.

Kemba Walker proved in college that he was a leader. He led a mediocre Huskies team to a championship in 2011. Literally, Kemba was a one-man show with UConn. As many of us know, a player’s college career may not be duplicated in the pros. The verdict is still out on Kemba Walker, as far as being a point guard. In my opinion, he may be better suited playing off the ball, but the Bobcats have Ben Gordon at the shooting guard position. Gordon is a shooting guard, nothing more, nothing less. Gordon is underrated at his position. Last season, Gordon lit up my other team, the Denver Nuggets, for 45 points, and he came off the bench while he played for the Detroit Pistons.

Ramon Sessions was doing quite well in Cleveland. He backed up Kyrie Irving at the point guard position, and he played the shooting guard position, also. In fact, Sessions played alongside Irving sometimes last season, prior to being traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. Sessions is an average player, who will flourish in the right system. I think that Ramon is more a point guard, than Walker is, however. If I was Mike Dunlap, I would make my decision based on who complemented the the other players better. The Bobcats do not need a scoring point guard. They need someone who is going to “dilfer” the team. “Dilfer” refers to Trent Dilfer, who was the quarterback of the 2000 NFL champion Baltimore Ravens. Dilfer’s job was not to turn the ball over, hand the ball to Jamal Lewis, and make wise passes. He was not supposed to beat opponents with his arm. In the Bobcats’ case, the starting point guard needs to defer to other players and minimize turnovers. The bread-and-butter from this team will be Gordon and Kidd-Gilchrist.