NBA Season Preview
The shortened NBA season means a key injury could see a team out of the playoffs. Not to mention younger teams will benefit as the sheer amount of games per week will take their toll on the older sides. Let’s break it down division by division.
Let’s start in the Eastern Conference.
Atlantic Division: Boston, Philadelphia, New York, New Jersey and Toronto.
In recent years the Boston Celtics have dominated this division and rightfully so. The Celtics are led by veterans such as Garnett but Rondo’s presence is the key to their success. But things change- teams age, your rivals improve with key acquisitions and you piss off your best player. The Celtics are slow and ponderous just like their Los Angeles rivals and worst of all they pissed off Rondo, their best player, by suggesting he could be trade bait for Chris Paul. Problem is, Paul defected to the Clippers and now the Celtics are stuck with a disgruntled star. But that’s not the worst part for the Celtics- the New York teams (including New Jersey in this because next year they will be the Brooklyn Nets) are. The Knicks have improved considerably with the acquisitions of Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler and Amare Stoudemire and now with more games in a shorter time span, youth will likely prevail. If the Nets can pull off the Howard trade, the Nets will be equipped with Howard and Deron Williams, a tandem no one will want to reckon with.
Division Winner: New York Knicks- a new day begins in the division.
Central Division: Indiana, Cleveland, Chicago, Detroit and Milwaukee
Chicago is the class of this division but Indiana really came on at the end of last year. Indiana acquired David West this season and with West and Granger the Pacers could be on to something. Nonetheless, Chicago has got Rose and the best coach in the league, Tom Thibodeau (obviously Popovich is a contender but trust me, Thibodeau is the truth). I also liked the addition of Rip Hamilton (the Bulls added him) as he will give them some nice veteran experience off the bench.
Division Winner: Chicago- truly one of the most exciting, disciplined teams in the NBA and if they can acquire a scoring 2-guard they will be unstoppable.
Southeast Division: Charlotte, Washington, Atlanta, Miami and Orlando
With the Miami Heat and the ongoing saga involving Dwight Howard, the Southeast Division is on everyone’s mind. The Heat have to win a championship now, otherwise I can see teams like the Bulls and Thunder winning one and going on to start a dynasty. Orlando’s prospects for the season hinge on Howard. If he’s there, their definitely one of the top seeds in the East but if he’s not, all bets are off. Atlanta has a good squad but for some reason they can never put it together and I don’t see why that will change this year- maybe lockout will help them.
Division Winner: Miami- too much talent to blow it.
Let’s move to the Western Conference, the glamour conference.
Northwest Division: Portland, Utah, Denver, Oklahoma City and Minnesota
First off, I am so sorry to see Brandon Roy retire. He was a standup guy and injuries just killed him. Hopefully he’ll find a second career in broadcasting or something. This division Oklahoma City’s to lose and I don’t expect much of a challenge from any of the other teams. With their youth, skill and energy, the Thunder should be challenging for a title this year.
Division Winners: Oklahoma City- what don’t they have? Oh yeah, a passing point guard. C’mon Russell, pass the ball.
Southwest Division: San Antonio, Houston, Memphis, New Orleans, and Dallas
The defending champion Mavericks are old and they got even older with the acquisitions of Lamar Odom and Vince Carter. The loss of Tyson Chandler could be a bigger blow than most people realize. Memphis put on a great show last season and all signs point to them having a successful season. San Antonio, just like Lakers, and Boston, are old and tired. I want to pick Memphis for the division seeing as how they’re young and hungry but going against the defending champions would be silly, right?
Division Winners: Dallas but Memphis will keep it close.
Pacific Division: Phoenix, Golden State, Sacramento, LA Clippers, LA Lakers
I can’t believe the Clippers are the most talked about team in this division right now. The only reason people have spoken about the Warriors is to deride them for the signing of Kwame Brown- could be the worst basketball player in history- and the failure to land a big name player. Despite the great weather in the Bay Area, basketball players are not keen on a move to the Bay. The Warriors have a nice young nucleus of talent but they need a superstar to transform the perceptions of the organization and to help recruit other superstars to the Warriors. I know trading Stephen Curry is not ideal but if he can get them a top 10 superstar, maybe they should pull the trigger. The Clippers got really good, really fast. Paul is great but he is injury prone and every Laker fan will be hoping he suffers a career threatening injury or at the very least, he sucks in the two years he’s there and then moves to the Lakers. The Clippers have a better team than the Lakers but you still expect the Lakers to win the division because well, it’s the Clippers. The Lakers are in the midst of a decline and unless they can get some young superstar talent, the next five years are going to suck. Howard seems reluctant to follow in Shaq’s footsteps and join the Lakers which means he will likely join the Nets. If he does, Deron Williams will not be a free agent and that leaves the Lakers will no options. Derrick Rose, Kevin Love and Eric Gordon will be free agents but they will be restricted free agents, which means it’s highly unlikely they will move to LakerLand. The Lakers are in trouble, make no mistake about it.
Division Winners: LA Lakers- this might be the last time for a while the Lakers win it and even now it’s not a certainty.
Now it’s time for Championship picks. I got Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder in the final. I want to pick the Thunder but unfortunately I can’t see anyone but the Heat winning.