First off: Please post if interested in forming a fantasy league. I'm pretty terrible at them, but they're fun and I took last year off.
Well, the off season is more or less over, with the news that the Pacers have sent Jamaal Tinsley to Denver. Why Denver seems to be collecting nothing but bad-reputation players is beyond me, but there it is. Also, it's not a bad move, because Tinsley is more than capable of running the point.
The new season starts later this month; I figured it was high-time I posted my season preview and pre-season guesses at the various awards, et cetera. So first, a team-by-team review and preview.
ATLANTA HAWKS:
~Not too far off from where they were last season, Atlanta enters this one with essentially the same team they finished out last season with. They get to have Bibby for the whole year, and Bibby might even be healthy this time, so there's a notable improvement off the bat. The biggest news in Atlanta is that they lost Josh Childress to GREECE of all places. I'd say Childress was basically their sixth man, and he was a pesky defender. Their replacement, near as I can tell, is Maurice Evans. I'm not sure how the hell he wound up on the Hawks, because I was pretty sure that he signed with the Warriors, too. I like Evans well enough. I think he's tough and plays hard, but I also think he's a downgrade over Childress. Also, nothing can replace the 'fro.
If the Hawks want to improve their team, they're pretty much saying they're going to do it internally this year, and somehow, I just can't see that as being enough in this weak conference, when several other teams have made much more notable splashes in the off season. Josh Smith is a freak of nature, but I don't see much positive signs by way of him maturing and stretching out his game. Marvin Williams, I think, was initially over-valued in his draft, and probably won't develop into a superstar. That leaves Law and Horford. Horford was already really damn solid last season, and if he improves much more, that will be a big, big plus for Atlanta, and he'll be a legit star in the league. I'm not sure how much potential Law has, although Bibby might not be a bad tutor. Rating the Hawks is hard, especially because I never see them play. Realistically, to hold on to their playoff spot, I think they need to get five points a game from either Law or Horford, and I don't see that happening at all.
I still don't think Bibby is a good fit for this team, and while he seemed to help them in practice, I think that's more of a condemnation on the rest of the conference than it is Bibby being -the- guy that puts Atlanta on the map again.
If the entire argument for Atlanta being a decent team is "They took Boston to 7 games" then I think Hawks fans are in for a letdown year.
BOSTON CELTICS
~Congratulations on winning the NBA Championship. Now do it again, because the fans expect you to. The big, bad, 800 pound gorilla in the middle of the room is that they lost James Posey in the off season. I may not like James Posey the man, but James Posey the basketball player is the kind of player that wins you games, and more importantly, wins you playoff series and championships. Posey was a very important sixth man on this squad. His teammates loved him, and he always had his irritating knack of killing players with defense and hitting just plain bastard threes at the right time to deflate a squad entirely. Clearly not the best player on the team, he's still a VERY strong asset for any team wanting to make a run for the championship. I think his time in Boston and Miami have proven his worth. They also lost P.J. Brown, who is another solid, valuable veteran who knows what the hell he's doing.
The pluses for Boston are, aside from the big three, the room to grow a few of the younger players. Or shrink them, in Glen Davis' case. Watching Rondo in the regular season and in the playoffs, I became shocked that 1)He was drafted so late, and 2)That he was sold from Phoenix, who are just dumbasses. Rajon Rondo is fantastic. He's got some damn impressive creativity with his dribble and his passes, and he's a pretty tough defender. I think he'll be an all-star someday. I don't think it's a stretch for Boston to rely on this guy improving, because I think his ceiling is pretty darned high.
Leon Powe has also shown flashes of being a good big, which is one thing Boston needs, especially with the loss of PJ Brown. I think that loss will hurt Boston only slightly less than James Posey. The rest of their bigs after Perkins are Glen Davis, Powe, and Patrick O'Bryant, who I think Boston only signed because of the "O" in his name, and who will be taking Scot Pollard's valuable bench minutes.
The big question then, is can Boston repeat? In my opinion, yes. The bigger question is WILL they repeat, and I'm less prepared to say "yes" on that one. They still have to deal with Cleveland and Detroit, and in the West, the big teams manage to look even scarier than they did last season, excepting the Spurs. Boston, unless Rondo and Powe make some big leaps, is probably worse. Worse still, they're probably not as hungry as they were last year. (Except maybe KG) There's no doubt that they'll be somewhere at the top of the league, but there'd be some surprise over here if they actually win it all a second time.
CHARLOTTE BOBCATS
~When a team only wins 32 games in a season, you would think they would change more in the off season than just the coach. Not that changing the coach wasn't a good idea; their old coach was an idiot. The thing with the Bobcats is, while I think Larry Brown might be able to whip some of them into shape, I don't think slacking off is their main problem. I also hear that he doesn't really care for Raymond Felton, which I feel is a serious mistake.
When your big off-season player acquisition is Shannon Brown, your team is either really bad, or really, really good. Charlotte is clearly not really, really good, so someone needs to get off their ass in the front office. There's really not a lot to say here. By not improving their team, they're saying they can make the playoffs with the squad they have, just healthier and wiser. Sean May and Adam Morrison are not the players that will tip this team over the edge. DJ Augustin is not the player who will tip this team over the edge. Larry Brown is a solid coach, but he's not a wizard of arcane and unknowable power.
DJ Augustin would have to be the rookie of the year to make this team a playoff contender. They may be mostly young, but there's really not a lot to work with outside of the solid Okafor, and the more-than-solid Richardson/Wallace combo. My expectation for Charlotte this year is for Larry Brown to lose patience with them, since they're not going to be ABLE to perform to his lofty standards, and for him to do something.... anything.... to pressure management into getting players that he likes. Whether or not this will improve the team remains to be seen, but I'm guessing it's not going to be a good year in Carolina.
CHICAGO BULLS
~Is Derrick Rose good enough to resuscitate the Bulls? Perhaps a better question is if he needs to be. The Bulls last year were not the scrappy, hard-nosed Bulls that I came to love over the course of the last several years, and I think that problem was mostly mental. The players rebelled against Scott Skiles, and then Skiles was replaced with another guy that they seemingly didn't like or trust. Del Negro is an untested coach, and it remains to be seen if he will be a good coach or not. The key for this team, I think, is whether or not he'll give this squad any freedom to run. This can be a devastating team in transition, especially if they can get any of their good defense back to work. I think the coaching staff that the team has this time around will be more conducive to getting their heads in the game, and that could potentially make all the difference.
I like Chris Duhon, but a Derrick Rose/Kirk Hinrich point guard rotation is way better than a Hinrich/Duhon rotation. This squad is still really thin at Power Forward, but these days I think they can get away with it. I also think that some of their younger players will improve, especially if the coach lets them run a little. If Tyrus Thomas can get himself as far as 10/10, which I think is easily within his potential, this can be a strong squad.
Speaking of player improvement, Thabo Sefolosha is one of those players that I think has the potential to have a breakout year. Maybe he will and maybe he won't. What we DO know for sure about this squad is they have gotten a much more creative point-man than they had before. I'm a big fan of Kirk Hinrich, but this is more for his style of play than his playmaking abilities. I think it's more than a little possible that Rose could very well up this team rapidly, within one or two years. This might be a better year for the Bulls, but then again, maybe it just doesn't click anymore.
CLEVELAND CAVALIERS
~Well, Cleveland is an interesting case. This year, instead of LeBron, Z and a bunch of talentless idiots, it's more like, "LeBron, Z, Mo Williams, and a bench without forwards." After giving up Gooden and Smith this team has NO ONE in the power forward spot who can get points. Not a single player. Their best Power Forward option is LeBron. They'll be playing Ben Wallace there again this year, and using him mainly for his D, but let me say this again. Cleveland has no big player who can score points except Ilgauskas. I used to hear this all the time against Chicago, but where is this sentiment in regards to Cleveland?
Red flags aside, there's still something positive to be said about the acquisition of Mo Williams. I always used to say that Maurice was a poor man's Chauncey Billups, and that's not a bad thing to add to Cleveland. Mo has a good ability for sticking points on the board. It's essentially sticking LeBron with a better version (for Cleveland, at least) of Larry Hughes.
Beyond that, I can't think of what else to say about this team. LeBron is good. Really, really good, but he still needs help. I think getting Williams was a good idea, but they REALLY needed to pick up another Big. As it stands now, I think their best option is to run Williams/Szcerbiak/Pavlovic/James/Ilgauskus and hope that LeBron can demolish big men the way he demolishes everyone else. There's always my WACKY idea of running James as the point guard, but that REALLY goes out the window with the pronounced lack of size. There's no one to play forward for this to work. LeBron James will not win the MVP award this season, although he'll be the best player.
DALLAS MAVERICKS
~Trading for Jason Kidd was a huge mistake. I've said it before, I am saying it now, I will say it again. Trading for Jason Kidd was a mistake. They pulled the trigger on a deal that mortgaged the Maverick's future to "win now" and where did it get them? They certainly didn't win more convincingly when he joined their squad. Hell. They didn't even get out of the first round. The Mavs took a huge gamble and lost. Another thing about Kidd was it was said his presence would be a giant help in getting America the Olympic Gold. While he helped quite a bit in the qualifying tournament (That we'd have won anyhow), he was a pretty huge non-factor in the actual Olympics, with most of the important Point Guard work being done by Chris Paul and Deron Williams. So what, exactly, is he supposed to do with this rapidly declining team?
Josh Howard has gone from an inspiring story to insane in just three years. Stackhouse isn't getting any younger. Rick Carlisle might or might not be the right coach for this squad. The good news is Brandon Bass is turning out to be really solid, and Diop came back so the two-headed monster lives again. Unfortunately, I think this is too little, too late.
The Mavericks are done. I am saying this with conviction. They'll either miss the playoffs or scrape in on a bottom spot again. The only fall-guy left is Dirk Nowitzki, and not a damn piece of this is his fault. I still would not even be REMOTELY surprised if he was traded away by the deadline. I also wouldn't be surprised if he gets to be stuck with this ever increasing mess of a team, while fans and reporters blame all the heartache on one of the toughest players in the NBA being soft.
DENVER NUGGETS
~Oh, good god. Where do I even begin.
My first thought is, "This team stinks", but I look at their record, and somehow, someway, they won 50 games last year. Is the West really, truly this stacked? 8 teams won 50 games. That is a mind-boggling number.
This team could compete in the East for a mid-table playoff spot, but they cannot realistically win a championship, and they cannot realistically win a playoff series... even one... in the West. They just can't.
Carmelo Anthony is the most overrated player in the NBA. He has serious attitude problems and plays minimalist defense. He didn't even shine on the world stage this time. Allen Iverson is still extremely good, but I don't think he belongs on a squad with a selfish player like 'Melo. It just doesn't work. Now, picture AI on the Cavs, and I think we'd be seeing a totally different result. My problem with the Nuggets is they have a serious attitude problem as a team, their coach does nothing but make this problem worse, and every single season, they seem to go in with this cavalier, "Hell, let's just add more gunk to this mess and see if it works."
Within the last day or so, they signed Jamaal Tinsley, who fits the team perfectly. That is to say, he can take the point and let AI be AI, and he'll do it really well, but he's BRITTLE and he does nothing but make the attitude of the team worse. Seriously, is their management even paying attention? When you are known around the country as the Denver Thuggets, do you really, honestly expect adding Jamaal Tinsley to your team to be a good idea? On paper, he's everything this squad needs to run nicely. In practice he's just another easily-broken prima donna who will add to the trainwreck of this team eventually collapsing in on itself.
J.R. Smith is probably more talented than 'Melo, and he's coming off the bench. There's no way he will start with AI and Tinsley on the team. He could be a super-sub like Ginobili, and I think he's at least sort of accepting that as his role. Unlike Carmelo and Tinsley and Kenyon Martin and Nene and BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH, I still haven't lost hope on J.R. Smith, and I hope that's because I see something in him other than his talent. There is no doubt about how electrifying this young man is. He's ludicrously talented. I stand by my statement that he's better than 'Melo. He plays half the minutes, and gets half the points. And he has to play WITH Melo and with AI as the other guard. It's way easier for Anthony to get his points than for Smith, and yet, their numbers are comparable across the board. The one plus about Smith on the bench, is that he changes the game pretty much every time he enters it. Imagine how good Denver would be if the team took after his and AI's energy instead of Carmelo's lethargy.
DETROIT PISTONS
~So we were promised big changes in the off-season and what did we get?
...........Kwame Brown.
Really, Detroit? Really?
I guess I don't really consider this a bad thing, because Detroit is one of those teams that I think really does have a chance at the Championship, even if they've been a bit stale lately.
Internally, the team is pretty much the same as always, but that's OK because Rodney Stuckey was a hell of a find. I'm not sure how much more Jason Maxiell can improve, but he's a damn solid player that more than earns his minutes. Antonio McDyess will hopefully come off the bench, even if this means starting Brown or starting Maxiell. Amir Johnson might improve, and if he does, that's a hell of a plus for the Pistons.
I think it's high time the team did something about Rasheed Wallace. Luckily, he's talented AND has a huge salary coming off the books, so he brings a lot of flexibility for any team that trades for him.
My wet dream scenario is the Pistons making a run at Dirk Nowitzki, (Wallace/contract, Prince and Stuckey for Dirk and Stackhouse?) because I am absolutely convinced the Mavs are going to nuke themselves soon. If they do it this year, the Pistons have what it takes to make this one happen, but if it happens next year, well, the Pistons aren't exactly big dogs with their roster anyhow. They're incredibly balanced, and they have a really tough squad that excels at doing the right thing. They're as dangerous now as ever.
GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS
~Welp. They lost Baron. Monta Ellis injured himself on a mo-ped, of all things.
There is a silver lining here. Baron was quite a bit older than most of the rest of the team, and I think they could still be dangerous without him, eventually. They're almost certainly missing the playoffs this year, but they got a good player in Magette, they got a tough-as-nails player in Ronny Turiaf, and most of the team still has time to develop.
It's a shame Ellis is injured, because I think he could really shine in this league, and I think his ceiling is that of a more athletic Tony Parker. His Injury and Baron's absence means they have to spend some more time working on guys like Bellinelli, and that can't possibly be a bad thing. Will they lose more games and miss the playoffs? Yes. But this is the sort of squad where, I think just spending a year continuing to gel is a great idea. It could pay huge, huge dividends. I like the team from top to bottom. It has potential. It has passion. It has an identity, even, I think, without Baron. Yes, he made the Warriors work, but I think, in the long run, they're probably better off without him. His age just -didn't match-, and that would mean that, if they ever wanted to get serious, they would have to eventually bring guys in around him. Right now, I think that in a few years, they could very well have a breakout squad on their hands. Right now, though, I think it's time to "tank", assuming giving minutes to develop Bellinelli and Brandon Wright is tanking.
HOUSTON ROCKETS
~I guess the big news with Houston is Ron Artest. At first I thought they had to be crazy, because, who actually adds Ron Artest to their team? Well, then I got to thinking about it, and Ron Artest really DID turn Sacremento around the first year he showed up. And if I'm not mistaken, Rick Adelman was the coach then as he's the coach of Houston now. So Adelman got Artest to work for him. If Artest can work for Adelman on this team, well, they might just be the most stacked team in the league. Houston is a tough defensive team, and Artest simply adds to that. Say what you want about the guy, but he can create his own shot (and sometimes make it a -good- shot if he's got his head in the game) and Houston badly needs someone other than McGrady to make the offense go.
A possibly overlooked signing was Brent Barry. Yeah, he's basically just another long range bomber to add to the team, but the difference is, Brent Barry still has something in the tank, and he's actually pretty damn good at his job.
Houston made a "big splash" in recruiting Artest, but they didn't give up much to get him. This is a team that had an historical winning streak without the services of arguably its best player. Assuming everyone stays healthy... and this might be asking a lot... this team could easily challenge for an NBA Championship. Artest very well could have been that "final piece" to the puzzle.
INDIANA PACERS
~This team is on the rise. Their current squad is actually gellin' together, which is a good thing, and T.J. Ford has defied all odds and managed to be the better end of a big-for-small trade TWICE in his short career. I've heard some worry that the Pacers will be in a lot of trouble without Jermaine, but I'm inclined to disagree, vehemently, on the basis that they very nearly made the playoffs last year, and yet O'Neal only played in half their games and didn't even manage 15 points per game when he DID play. While I'll get to apologizing to O'neal later in my Raptors preview, I'll say here that he simply had nothing more to add to the Pacers.
The one knock on the trade, is that it shows Indiana was willing to finally deal with their problem of having a brittle point guard with a bad attitude by trading their "star" player for... ....TJ Ford... The reality is that Ford's attitude is nowhere near as bad as Tinsley's was, and that he's LESS brittle (although, when he goes down, it tends to be for a while). It should also be noted that, statistically, Ford is an upgrade over Tinsley in every metric). Even Fords much-maligned shooting percentage is somehow WAY THE HELL beyond Tinsley's. This is a serious upgrade.
So. A team that surprised me with how well they were playing basically traded a non-factor to upgrade a position dramatically, AND they added some backups to Ford at the position. AND they drafted some big guys to fill the other hole. AND pretty much their whole team is young and improving from year to year. Hmmm.
The Pacers are going to the playoffs. You heard it from me first.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'll take a small break on that positive note and go to bed. Hopefully, I'll have the rest of my previews done by the end of the weekend. They WILL BE HERE because I still have quite a lot to say. For now, I want to get this posted just so it's out there. Enjoy the read, and here's hoping for a fine 2009 season of NBA Basketball.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS
~Oddly enough, I think they're better this year than last year. Well, maybe not so oddly. Last year, they didn't have Elton Brand or a decent point guard. This year, Brand is gone forever, and they upgraded to Baron Davis. The lack-of-Brand from last year is replaced with Marcus Camby. I think Camby and Kaman can work together better than Brand and Kaman ever could have. The big question mark is "Where does the offense come from with Magette out?"
Well, I guess a little bit comes from everywhere. Eric Gordon is supposedly the long lost twin of Ben Gordon. Baron Davis should step right in and produce some good numbers, probably inflate everyone else on the team, too, since they didn't have an actual point guard last season. Camby and Kaman don't play the same spots on the floor, with Camby being more of a mid-range shooter, and the Caveman being the mix-it-up sort. If nothing else, they might be the best rebounding tandem in the league. Rebounds!
They even upgraded Smush Parker to Ricky Davis. If you are going to have a player with an inflated sense of self worth on your team, it may as well be someone who can occasionally do something right. With the ultra-stacked West, I don't see the Clippers as a playoff team, but damn it, they'll be better than last year.
LOS ANGELES LAKERS
~Presently, my pick to win the NBA Championship.
I mean, in all honesty, they were SO close last season, and that was with their best player playing injured, one of their rapidly developing big men completely unavailable, and one of their key players adjusting to a new team. This year, none of those things will be a problem.
The Lakers are stacked. Ridiculously so. The only player they really lost going from last season to this one is Ronny Turiaf, and while I'm a big fan of Ronny's, I'd much rather have a healthy Andrew Bynum. If nothing else, Josh Powell can probably take the minutes from Turiaf without really losing anything big on production.
Just imagine. Imagine what a whole SEASON with this Laker squad healthy can do. This feels bigger to me than the Celtics did at the beginning of last season, and look how that turned out. There's really no reason for me to believe that any of the really important players are going to grow old and die. The bench is pretty darned stacked. Phil Jackson has hinted at starting Trevor Ariza and bringing Lamar Odom off the bench. I think that's a load of horseshit, but when your coach can TALK about bringing Lamar Odom off the bench, your team is pretty damn sexy.
MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES
~Following up on my pick for NBA Champions is my pick for the worst team in the NBA. There's just so much headache going around with this team, I barely know where to begin.
First off, the only NBA Starter caliber player on the entire team is Rudy Gay. Not Mike Conley, not Darko Milicic, not Marc Gasol, and HAHAHAHA at Marco Jaric. From top to bottom, this team stinks. I would not be particularly surprised if OJ Mayo won rookie of the year based entirely off of the rest of his team being unable to put up any numbers. This team is gloriously, hideously, heinously bad. There really isn't an adverb that suggests what's wrong here. Think I'm kidding? Rudy Gay was the only player on the team to average at least twelve points a game last season.
This team.... I mean, dear god. They're like an expansion team. I can't believe they traded Gasol for THAT package. What is their plan? Are they trying to make enough money to make a run at one of the big names next year? Does it really matter?! Would any Basketball player with both talent and the desire to win a ring go to the Grizzlies?
At this point, their best option is almost certainly to draft every single attractive player they can, and hope like hell that one or two of them start to gel together within five years or so, because I really can't see this franchise making it in the league if things don't change, and soon. I will be surprised to see this squad take 20 games.
Oh, and they employed that Iranian guy. That was a pretty cool story. Maybe if Memphis is lucky, he'll turn out to be really good.
MIAMI HEAT
~I think I no longer irrationally hate the Miami Heat.
Oh, according to the NBA Live '09 simulated season, Miami is going to win the East this year. Yes. Dwyane Wade, Shawn Marion, and Micheal Beasley are SO good, they'll win the East without anyone on their team who can competently play as a point guard or as a center. The two most valuable positions in basketball. And they're going to win the entire season.
Riiiiiiiiiiiiight.
Well, the good news is that Marion will be on for the whole year and has time to Gel. Beasley is still just a kid, so there's probably good odds that Marion won't feel insulted to be in his presence, and will take over the #2 spot on the team. Wade is coming back from injury and looking really, really good. He's bulked up quite a lot, and in a good way that makes him look less breakable than before. In the Olympics, he dominated pretty much everyone. There's a lot to look forward to in Miami.
But winning the East? Hell, even MAKING THE PLAYOFFS? Pipe dreams. I almost want to put this team below Memphis, but then I remembered that THREE players on THIS team managed 12 points a game, and Beasley can probably pull it off, too. Just the same, they have a nice core of players in Wade/Marion/Beasley, assuming they can get Marion to stick around, and Haslem is a really good roleplayer, but god DAMN is he not a center.
MILWAUKEE BUCKS
~Another one of the teams from the East that I feel has improved a good deal. I remember that I wrote in the old topic how Milwaukee basically did everything in the off season that I thought they should. They got a talented slashing type player to compliment Michael Redd (Richard Jefferson), they got an athletic, basket-attacking big man to pair with Bogut (Francisco Elson) and they got a hardnosed coach to instill some discipline in the team (Scott Skiles). That's a pretty good run.
Yes, they lost Mo Williams to the Cavs, but I still think they're pretty decent looking without him. Jefferson is a fairly serious upgrade over whoever the hell they had at this position before, and I think that alone will lead to a big increase in production for the Bucks. Luke Ridnour has, throughout his career, had to put up with some shitty treatment from his coaching staff, and maybe, just maybe, he'll be able to do SOMETHING in Milwaukee. I should hope so. As a past-first kind of guy, he's got 4 scorers when Redd, Jefferson, Bogut, and Villanueva are on the floor, so he damn well better be able to dish out somewhere around 6-8 or so assists per game. Otherwise, I think he deserves every bad word said about him. Personally, I hold some faith. If not, there's still Ramon Sessions, who CAN get that many assists per.
The big question is Skiles. The Bucks last year suffered from a severe lack of team cohesion, and Skiles is known to be a coach that occasionally sparks mutiny in his players. I think if he can get them to buy into his system, there'll be a dramatic improvement in the Bucks this season. Maybe not playoff dramatic, but it seems like they have as good of a shot as anyone in taking that #8 spot in the East.
MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES
~How anyone can think that Memphis got the better end of their little deal is beyond me, because Mike Miller is easily the best player involved. SomethingAwful has this thing against Kevin Love, and they keep making fun of him and his mad outlet passing skillz. Well, ok. If the best thing that can be said about you is you are a fine outlet passer, that's really not a whole lot to look forward to. And Love is supposedly rather doughy. I think fans in the city will actually be fairly happy with how he turns out. By most accounts, he plays hard, aggressive basketball, and the guy seems like a hoot.
Al Jefferson is probably about as good as he's ever going to get, but a reliable 20-10 guy is a pretty fine thing to have, and way the hell more than Memphis has right now. Minnesota can look for improvement from within from Randy Foye (someone that a lot of people figure is due for a breakout season) and Corey Brewer (Someone who.... people like.) I think there's no way in hell they make the playoffs this year, but they should be able to develop some of their youth without too many problems, and maybe next season they can get a decent swing man in the draft or free agency. They're really not all THAT far from a decent team. They'd probably be pretty good in the East.
NEW JERSEY NETS
~Yet another team clearly in the rebuild phase. Or, perhaps more accurately, the "Cutting our budget to hire LeBron James" phase. Which is probably well and good, because they're not going anywhere this year, and they'll have a hell of a lot of cap-space when the time comes, AND a decent draft pick out of the mess. The plus is that of the core of players, only Vince Carter is really the "too old to develop" sort. And he's not even really old. He's been off lately, but I think he could still do some damage when paired with another star and a bunch of young talent.
Back when Jefferson and Kidd were on the team, that was pretty much the whole team. I mean, for the love of Christ, they were starting Jason Collins. JASON COLLINS. Let that sink in.
I really like Devin Harris, and while I'd love to see him running the point on a championship level team like the Mavs of a few years ago, I'll settle for him developing on a team like New Jersey, which MIGHT grow to that Elite level sometime when they move to Brooklyn. Joining him on the "If we develop, we'll scare the bejeezus out of you" squad are Yi Jianlian and Sean Williams. Particularly the latter. The more I see Yi, the more I feel like someone pulled a fast one on us here in the states, because he's just not that good. I guess he's got a lot of athletic potential, but I'd have at least thought he'd shine for China in the Olympics. Such was not the case. Sean Williams, for his part, is a genuine freak of nature that impresses the hell out of me when he plays like he means it. Supposedly, he's on the list of players with "attitude problems" and this is a shame, because this kid has some unfathomable talent, that, if he chooses to develop it, he could be a perennial all-star.
NEW ORLEANS HORNETS
~Another good bet to win the NBA title this year. Their big problem is, as it has been, a lack of depth. I've heard people freak out about this team possibly going downhill because they lost, get this, Jannero Pargo. I like Pargo, and I wish him luck overseas, but when losing him means your team is suddenly in danger of slipping into irrelevance? That speaks of a depth problem. Unfortunately for the Hornets, Pargo really was the only person on the team I'd want running the offense with Chris Paul on the bench.
Good thing for the Hornets they had the foresight to sign one of the ultimate bench players of today, James Posey. Posey adds some severely tough defense to the team, and contributes yet another three point shooter that can get hot at any time. Posey has this irritating ability to make me think less of a team. I certainly hope I'm not rooting against the Hornets this year. I have strong feelings for this team and for CP3.
Speaking of, did you know the kid was just 23? A lot of point guards don't even hit their best season until their LATE twenties, and he just came off of an MVP type season. That's crazy. This team is a threat to win the title if for no other reason than they have one player with that level of talent.
Unfortunately, we've seen in the past what one or two injuries can do to this otherwise really good team. Given how dangerous they were last year, especially in the playoffs, I can't see any West team playing them easy if someone DOES get injured. The one place I can't see the Hornets is in the middle of the pack for the playoffs. In my mind, they'll either be at the top of the West, or in the Lottery.
NEW YORK KNICKS
~Mike D'antoni is coaching Zach Randolf and Eddy Curry.
Eddy Curry and Zach Randolf will be trying to run as fast as any team in the league. Day in and day out for an entire season. Together.
D'antoni.... oh, man. Well, at least Isiah is out, but are you kidding? This is just not a fit I can see working for this.... "team". The Knicks right now are in a better place than they were last season, but who isn't? I can't even think of things to say right now.
Mostly, I want to see how good Danilo Gallineri turns out to be. I know a lot of New Yorkers booed the guy, but I'm not believing that he was anything but the best player available at the time. Plus, New York DESPERATELY needs someone to play the small forward position, and that's where Gallineri supposedly plugs in.
That's it. That's all my thoughts. After an entire season of being able to say nothing more than "LOL" about a team, I can still only barely manage a paragraph. Damn it, New York. Damn it, damn it, damn it.
SEATTLE SUPERSONICS OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER
~OK. That's the last Supersonics joke. I promise. For now.
The big thing with this team is that they're rebuilding, and they're not even a little afraid to admit it. The other notable thing is, there's really no way I can say they're a worse team than Memphis, so they have that going for them.
OKC picked up FIVE players this year in the draft. They're not exactly keeping their rebuilding plans a secret. In fact, the plan this year is probably to play all the kids together, lose a shitload of games, and then buy some more kids in the next draft. I actually approve of this strategy.
Kevin Durant is weird. He's this spindly little twerp who somehow manages to put up big numbers, and he moves his awkward noodle arms in mesmerizing patterns that somehow manage to get the ball into the hoop. I have never seen a player like Kevin Durant. He's really good, too. A rookie who averages 20 points a game is pretty good, even when he's the focus of his team, and of the opposing teams' defenses. He really came on strong in the later part of last season, so I think things are actually going to get decent for OKC before too much time passes at all.
Jeff Green is also pretty darned solid for a rookie, and the two of them playing together, I think, will establish some kind of an identity. I like the old guys that they added to the team, in Joe Smith and Desmond Mason. These are guys who do things the right way and can teach the youth how to win games. Russel Westbrook should be able to step in and take the other starting guard spot on this team. Why not? He's yet another exciting young player that just might turn into something gold.
If I was an Oklahoman, I'd actually feel pretty darned good about the team I just acquired. I wish the fans of the city well, because it's not their fault that the team owner is a douche who basically stole the team. From their perspective, they finally have someone to cheer for. It's almost poetic how a team that's full of exciting young players moves to a city, where it's an exciting young team.
Please change your horrible jersey design.
ORLANDO MAGIC
~So they lost both Carlos Arroyo and Keyon Dooling in the off season. They picked up Anthony Johnson, so at least they aren't crazy enough to have Jameer Nelson as the only point guard on their team.
Orlando is a really weirdly built team. Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu may as well be the same guy. They don't have a power forward so much as they have two small forwards who mix it up and like the ball in their hands. Both are pretty skilled at what they do, but when you really look at this team, it sticks out just how undersized they are. Howard is the only legit big man on this team. They become much smaller than average when he leaves the floor. This is somewhat mitigated by how when Howard is on the floor, he is the best big man in the room. Period. When Howard leaves the floor, however, the team is left without any sizable defenders. Right now, there's really no insurance for when Howard gets into foul trouble, or god forbid, injured. Rashard and Hedo can both make their own plays, and are both good with the ball in their hands, but how much can they do defensively to stop, say, a Gasol/Odom or Gasol/Bynum combo?
I sort of get the idea that this is the main reason that JJ Redick doesn't play more minutes. It's obvious that he's got a terrific, pure shot, but he's going to get rusty and lose it if they don't give him time to play. The big knock on Redick is his porous defense, and this has got to be especially bad for the Magic, because if he lets someone blow by him, then Howard has to defend the paint, and a speedy #2 can get him into foul trouble pretty quickly. When Howard's not on the floor, well...
My expectation for this team is for them to win a little under 50 games this year. They'll make the playoffs for sure, barring something REALLY unfortunate, but I can't see them breaking the 50 mark in what I feel is a tougher conference than last year. (Not that this is saying much)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Once again, going to bed.
