Guest Writer William Wolf gives us his breakdown of the NBA teams this year.NBA PREVIEW
Well, The NBA season officially tips off tonight with a great double header. The new look Miami Heat will travel to Bean town to face the Celtics. I can’t even imagine the noise in that building. I am not sure if D-Wade will suit up tonight or not so I am taking Celtics by 6. That’s right….Miami 0-1 to start off the season. After that is another great game where the Houston Rockets will travel to LA to play the defending champion Lakers. It will be interesting to see how Yao Ming looks running up and down the floor so I am going to take the Lakers by 12.
A lot of people do not care about the NBA now due to LeBron James and his publicity stunts, or the gun-toting athletes (I won’t mention any names.) A very good amount are upset with the amount of money these professional athletes make and right fully so! But remember, no sport is perfect, Baseball has steroids. Football is FULL of thugs. Golf has liars, cheaters, and drunks, Hockey….well they just like to fight! But, for me, I am always curious around this time because I find it very interesting to see how the top picks pan out and also the late round guys. You never know who is going to be a stud one day. I will show you what I am talking about.
Great Picks:
Bill Laimbeer 65th Overall pick
Danny Ainge 31st Overall Pick
John Stockton 16th Overall Pick
Michael Redd 43rd Overall Pick
Terrible Picks: (I should just put the whole Hawks draft History up)
Sam Bowie 2nd Overall Pick (picked before Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, AND John Stockton)
Lorenzen Wright 7th Overall Pick (picked before Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, and Jermaine O’Neal)
Michael Olowokandi 1st Overall Pick (picked before Vine Carter, Dirk Nowitzki, and Paul Pierce)
Kwame Brown 1st Overall Pick (picked before Pau Gasol, Joe Johnson, Tony Parker, Richard Jefferson, Zach Randolph, and Gilbert Arenas.)
Now, I think you get the idea to see how interesting “stars” pan out and how guys that were forgot about until late in the draft deserved to be a lottery pick. This list also provides a great laugh to me.
Eastern Conference
1)Miami Heat:
Key Acquisitions: LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Mike Miller, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Jerry Stackhouse, Juwan Howard
Key Losses: Jermaine O’Neal, Michael Beasley, Quentin Richardson, Daequan Cook
There is no question that this team has all the talent to win multiple NBA Championships. But as Phil Jackson said, “Talent doesn’t win championships, coaching wins championships.” That is very true. That is coming from one of (if not #1) the best coaches in NBA history. Look for this team to clinch early and LeBron and D-Wade to take the last 2 weeks of the season off. Bottom line, if the team doesn’t win a championship, that little guido can kiss his dream job GOOD-BYE!
2) Orlando Magic:
Key Acquisitions: Chris Duhon, Quentin Richardson, Daniel Orton
Key Losses: Matt Barnes
Once again as long as this team stays healthy, they will finish in the top 3 in the East for a very long time. We all know Dwight Howard (even though my dad saw him play St. Pius back in the day and said, “Yeah, that kid definitely won’t make it) is a monster. Look for Jameer Nelson to compete with Chris Duhon for that starting PG duty. Duhon is a much better distributor and with shooters like Rashard Lewis, JJ Reddick, Quentin Richardson, and Ryan Andersen; They need one!
3) Boston Celtics:
Key Acquisitions: Jermaine O’Neal, Shaquille O’Neal
Key Losses: Rasheed Wallace, Tony Allen
This team always comes together at the right time. Towards the end of the season….With veterans like Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen, this team is poised to finish in the top once again. But, everyone seems to overlook the success of Rajon Rondo. He is the catalyst for this team. Bringing in the O’Neal brothers was huge for Danny Ainge. They will be without Kendrick Perkins aka Garbage Man for the majority of the season. These guys will split equal minutes.
4) Chicago Bulls:
Key Acquisitions: Carlos Boozer, Kyle Korver, Ronnie Brewer, Kurt Thomas
Key Losses: Kirk Hinrich, Hakim Warrick, Brad Miller
That’s right people, Chicago will be the most improved team in the league. The only questions they have will be how long will Carlos Boozer be out for and is Tom Thibodeau the right guy for this job. With a core of Derrick Rose, Luol Deng, and Carlos Boozer, this team can go places. Since Derrick Rose can’t throw the ball in the ocean, they got Kyle Korver. The kid is a sniper. Give him 1 inch of daylight and it’s on!
5)Atlanta Hawks:
Key Acquisitions: Jordan Crawford, Etan Thomas, Josh Powell
Key Losses: NONE
Well, in typical Atlanta fashion, we need a big guy and what do we do? We have 4 less than average big men on the roster in Zaza Pachulia, Jason Collins, Etan Thomas, and Josh Powell. That is estimated $7 million right there. Jordan Crawford looked like a mirror image of Jamal Crawford and look for Jamal to be gone at the end of this season. Atlanta did not do much this offseason so they fall back two spots to #5 in the East
6) Milwaukee Bucks:
Key Acquisitions: Drew Gooden, Corey Magette, Larry Sanders, Chris-Douglas Roberts
Key Losses: Dan Gadzuric, Charlie Bell, Luke Ridnour, Jerry Stackhouse
Milwaukee made a few quiet moves here and there, but not enough to move them anywhere in the Eastern Conference standings. Corey Maggete will provide some toughness over there. When Michael Redd is 100% healthy, they will be a real threat. Andrew Bogut, Maggete, Jennings, Redd, Salmons? I wouldn’t want to face them in the first round of the playoffs.
7) New York Knicks:
Key Acquisitions: Amare Stoudemire, Raymond Felton, Anthony Randolph, Kelenna Azubuike, Timofey Mozgov, Roger Mason
Key Losses: David Lee, Chris Duhon, Al Harrington, Tracy McGrady (is he really a key loss??)
Finally the New York Knickerbockers make that leap into the playoffs! They got rid of two cancers in Tracy McGrady and Al Harrington. Huge upgrade at point guard with Raymond Felton and of course Amare Stoudemire. David Lee was a big loss but I think they will get over him quick with Amare. Most importantly, D’Antoni got what he can coach with. And that is ATHLETES. Raymond Felton, Amare Stoudemire, and Anthony Randolph are top tier athletes. Stick Gallinari on that wing and look for them to average 110 points per game
8) Detroit Pistons:
Key Acquisitions: Greg Monroe, Tracy McGrady
Key Losses: NONE
It will come down to the last couple games for this last seed in the playoffs but I believe the veteran presence of this team will guide the Pistons into the playoffs. Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, and Ben Wallace will all contribute, but look for a breakout year with Rodney Stuckey at point guard. He is capable of being a 20+ppg and 8+ apg guy.
9) Charlotte Bobcats:
Key Acquisitions: Kwame Brown, Sherron Collins
Key Losses: Raymond Felton, Tyson Chandler
Michael Jordan make a mistake in letting Raymond Felton go. He was getting near his potential, but he has given the point guard duty to DJ Augustin. Outside of Stephen Jackson and Alabama legend Gerald Wallace, where is the scoring going to come from? The only thing keeping them from being in the cellar is a good coach by the name of Larry Brown.
10) Philadelphia 76ers
Key Acquisitions: Evan Turner, Spencer Hawes, Jodie Meeks
Key Losses: Samuel Dalembert, Rodney Carney, Willie Green
This team is still going through an identity crisis. I thought they were going for an athletic team, yet they spend $20+ million a year on a fossil by the name of Elton Brand. C’mon dude, the gay is WAY past his prime. They have Andre Iguodala, Thaddeus Young, and Jrue Holliday……and ELTON BRAND? They need to find a way to dump this guy. Until then, playoffs will not be a thought for them.
11) Washington Wizards:
Key Acquisitions: John Wall, Kirk Hinrich, Yi Jianlian,
Key Losses: Randy Foye, Josh Howard, Mike Miller
Wow, what an experiment this team will be! Flip Saunders definitely has his hands full with this group of guys. I think Hinrich will start PG, and move Arenas to Shooting (haha) Guard. John Wall will come off the bench either until Arenas is released or an injury occurs. But, this team won’t go far with Gilbert on the squad.
12) Indiana Pacers:
Key Acquisitions: Lance Stephenson, Darren Collison, James Posey
Key Losses: Troy Murphy
Larry Bird has put some nice pieces together on this team, but I think it will be a few years to build some chemistry and veteran presence with this team. Roy Hibbert is a home run! He looked great last year and looks good in the preseason. But, you know there is something wrong with a team when Josh (Why did I leave school early?) McRoberts and Tyler (Sorry, no whining in the NBA) are battling it out for the STARTING Power Forward position. Granger needs more help.
13) Cleveland Cavaliers
Key Acquisitions: Ryan Hollins, Ramon Sessions
Key Losses: Everybody, no just kidding. Only LeBron James, Shaquille O’Neal, Zydrunas Ilgauskas
Well well well….Not much happening here. I think the only bright spot here is that JJ Hickson will finally have an opportunity to shine this year. I expect a double double average for him. Good Luck Byron Scott!
14) New Jersey Nets:
Key Acquisitions: Troy Murphy, Derrick Favors, Anthony Morrow, Travis Outlaw, Jordan Farmar
Key Losses: Yi Jianlian, Chris-Douglas Roberts
This team did head in the right direction, even though they could not pull of any of the big time free agents. They got some guys who will sell seats in New Jersey in Anthony Morrow and Derrick Favors. Jordan Farmar was a good pickup. Sucks to go from LA to NJ though! Haha. I hope Favors gets a lot of playing time this year so he can get his foot in the door. I predict them to win at least 20 games this year!
15) Toronto Raptors:
Key Acquisitions: Leandro Barbosa, David Andersen, Linas Keliza
Key Losses: The whole team aka Chris Bosh and Hedo Turkoglu
What a surprise! The Craptors went out and got more big men that can shoot three’s!! They have NO PAINT PRESENCE. All their big men like to go outside the perimeter. And $34 million for Amir Johnson??? WHAT?? Nothing good to come out of this team. This is what happens when you go International.
Western Conference
1) Los Angeles Lakers
Key Acquisitions: Steve Blake, Matt Barnes, Theo Ratliff
Key Losses: Jordan Farmar
As long as these guys have Kobe Bryant and a guy from Montana that goes by the name of Phil Jackson, look for them to be a top tier team once again. Kobe, Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol, Ron Artest, and Derek Fisher are all back. Great offseason transactions by acquiring Steve Blake, Matt Barnes, and Theo. Those are all great role players. God knows they need another center since I literally have not seen this Bynum kid shoot a basketball. The thunder aren’t far behind them but I look for the Lakers to clinch with 5 games left in the season and Kobe can rest up for the playoffs.
2) Oklahoma City Thunder
Key Acquisitions: Cole Aldrich, Daequan Cook, Mo Peterson
Key Losses: NONE
That’s right!! My Thunder will take the #2 seed in the West this year. They will win 56 games this year. Everyone knows Kevin Durant will put up 30 a night, but what about the others? Jeff Green will have a monster year averaging 21 ppg and 9 rpg. Russell Westbrook has worked very hard during the offseason on his decision making (his decision to give the ball to DURANT.) Watch for James Hardens name to be called frequently as well. I know they are lacking a big guy, but that is why they drafted Cole Aldrich. This guy is huge, but it is unknown how much playing time he will receive.
3) Dallas Mavericks
Key Acquisitions: Tyson Chandler, Steve Novak
Key Losses: Erick Dampier
Cuban made a good decision by resigning Dirk Nowitzki. He is now the glue to that team, now that Dampier is gone. Coach Carlisle will have a hard decision regarding minutes between Tyson Chandler and Brendan Haywood. This team has stuck with the core group of guys with Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry, and Jason Kidd now for a few years. They have young talent and they have veterans. I expect them to be good for a long time!
4) Portland Trailblazers
Key Acquisitions: Wesley Matthews, Elliot Williams
Key Losses: Martell Webster
The Trailblazers stood pretty still this offseason. I think they are waiting for LeBron James’ grandfather to play a whole season (Greg Oden) If that is the case, they are going to be waiting a long long time! Still kept the main guys in Marcus Camby, Brandon Roy, and LeMarcus Aldridge. Coach McMillan has done an incredible job in Portland. Look for them to make some noise in the playoffs!
5) Utah Jazz
Key Acquisitions: Al Jefferson, Gordon Hayward, Earl Watson
Key Losses: Carlos Boozer, Kyle Korver
Oh, the great Utah Jazz! It’s about time Sloan gets a ring under his belt with this club and they have a legitimate shot this year if Deron Williams can stay healthy. They lacked inside presence the last few years because Okur and Boozer are best outside. Jefferson wants to bang inside! I think that was a great sign! They brought in the Butler phenomenon Gordon Hayward to essentially replace Kyle Korver. With Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson inside, shooters be ready!
6) Phoenix Suns
Key Acquisitions: Hedo Turkoglu, Hakim Warrick, Josh Childress
Key Losses: Amare Stoudemire
The Phoenix Suns lost A LOT of athleticism by letting Barbosa and Amare walk away. Amare was a perfect match for Steve Nash, but Turkoglu is a nice piece. Don’t expect a lot of points in the paint from this team, but they will make the playoffs but that is about it!
7) San Antonio Spurs
Key Acquisitions: Tiago Splitter, Bobby Simmons
Key Losses: NONE
Once again, the Spurs did NOTHING in the offseason. They are content on just making the playoffs and getting older and older. Same old same old. Duncan, Parker, and Ginobilli. That’s it. Between the three of them there will be at least 40 missed games. This team is boring to watch and they will be swept in the first round by the Thunder.
8) Memphis Grizzlies
Key Acquisitions: Xavier Henry, Greveis Vasquez, Tony Allen
Key Losses: Tony Allen
Yes, you read that correct, these Memphis Grizzlies will be on a roll this year. They are a mirror image of the hawks. They have had the same young athletic core for a few years now and are improving every step of the way. Zach Randolph finally has his head on straight after a few stints with Portland and New York. Rudy Gay and OJ Mayo are ready to carry this team. They finished the preseason 8-0. Look for Marc Gasol to match up versus brother Pau in the first round of the playoffs.
9) Denver Nuggets
Key Acquisitions: Al Harrington, Shelden Williams (go ahead and laugh)
Key Losses: Linas Kleiza
This is the year the Thuggets finally collapse. Cocah Karl will be forced to retire due to health reasons. Carmelo will bolt for New York midseason and all these thugs will be left to die in Denver. I mean seriously….JR Smith (thug), Chris Andersen (heroin addict), Al Harrington (thug), Kenyon Martin (thug). The ship stops here and the Thuggets do not make the playoffs.
10) Houston Rockets
Key Acquisitions: Patrick Patterson, Kyle Lowry, Courtney Lee, Brad Miller
Key Losses: Trevor Ariza
Well that whole experiment with McGrady, Artest, and Yao Ming didn’t work. Yao Ming is supposedly coming back to play 24 minutes a game. So, what do the rockets do? Go out and get a starting center by the name of Brad Miller. They will split equal time at the center position, but I will not be surprised if Yao retires after this season or before! There are no scorers on this team besides Kevin Martin.
11) Los Angeles Clippers
Key Acquisitions: Randy Foye, Al-Farouq Aminu, Ryan Gomes
Key Losses: Steve Blake, Drew Gooden, Travis Outlaw
This Clippers team is a very good team. I would not be surprised if they made the playoffs. If they were in the East, they would be a #5 or 6 seed all day. Let’s be real… The one wild card with this team is the return of Blake Griffin. If his knee holds up, this can be a nasty team. With the Kamanator in the middle, it will be awfully tough for teams to score inside. Baron Davis looks to have regained his form and they are an exciting team to watch.
12) New Orleans Hornets
Key Acquisitions: Trevor Ariza, Marco Bellinelli, Willie Green
Key Losses: Mo Peterson, Darren Collison
This has fallen fast. Chris Paul now has questionable knees. He doesn’t even want to play for the Hornets. The General Manager resigned. They went out and got some coach that doesn’t have much experience. This team is a mess. And as Forrest Gump would say, “That’s all I have to say about that.”
13) Golden State Warriors
Key Acquisitions: David Lee, Dan Gadzuric, Rodney Carney
Key Losses: Corey Magette, Anthony Morrow, Kelenna Azubuike, Anthony Randolph
The new look Warriors finally made a splash in the free agency market by signing David Lee to a lucrative deal. They are still young and immature. Buy guys like Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis can get the job done. They will have no holes at the guard spot. David Lee is great at the Center, but who are the forwards? Brandan Wright and Vladimir Radmonovic?? This is Nellies last year, but he won’t make the playoffs with these young’ns.
14) Minnesota Timberwolves
Key Acquisitions: Michael Beasley, Martell Webster, Luke Ridnour
Key Losses: Al Jefferson
Martell Webster has given the Timberwolves something to think about, but for now that is all they will be thinking about. Michael Beasley will have a career year and finally will be able to step into the spotlight. Other than that, not much talent here.
15) Sacramento Kings
Key Acquisitions: DeMarcus Cousins, Samuel Dalembert
Key Losses: Spencer Hawes
The Kings went out and got a couple good big men, but they are no Vlade Divacs. Tyreke Evans will run the break will Cousins stays at the other end watching him. That’s about all.
