The Playoffs are HERE! Part 2

The Western Conference Finals are underway and the Spurs are ahead 2 games to 0, coasting through the first game, winning by 22 points.

And thanks in part to the Pacers and Knicks trying their hardest not to win and a scheduling snafu the Spurs and Grizzlies have played their first 2 games, while the Heat and Pacers have yet to lace up their sneakers and hide their retreating hairlines from their advancing foreheads.

Before I get too ahead of myself and talk about the Conference Finals thus far, and the games remaining, I want to reflect on the last round (just a little bit, because for the most part it was dreadful).

For the first time in three years Kevin Durant is starting to understand why LeBron James did what he did by going to Miami, aligning himself with his best friend Dwayne Wade and All-Star big man Chris Bosh and forming the Super Friends featuring Flat Top Norris Cole and the Horse-tronaut Shane Battier.

Kevin Durant looked around his team and realized that everyone comparing Serge Ibaka to Chris Bosh clearly had no idea what they were talking about. Everyone that said Kevin Martin would be an excellent scoring option clearly was still living in 2008. Everyone that said Russell Westbrook was holding both Durant and the Thunder back from greatness clearly is nothing more than an asshat.

Durant looks at his coach and sees a man void of innovation, a man who continues to play Kendrick Perkins even though every metric, advanced and otherwise, would tell you to bench him and to do it permanently. He sees a secondary scoring option in Martin who can’t rebound, doesn’t play defense and manages a measly 14 points a game. He sees a big man in Ibaka who relies far too much on his athleticism and is void of any semblance of fundamentals or basketball IQ.

What Durant doesn’t see is his uber-athletic point guard Russell Westbrook to take some of the scoring load off Durant’s shoulders. A man so polarizing, with his Dr. Seuss-esq t-shirts and his sans lenses, massive framed, hipster glasses that the media tends to forget just how valuable he is on the court and focuses only on the one or two knucklehead moves Westbrook makes in each game. What he doesn’t see is the faux-hawk sporting, running beard James Harden who averaged almost 17 points a game as the third scoring option, and a career high 25.9 points per game as the first scoring option in Rockets Red.

Durant in one 5-game span has done his best decepticon impression and transformed from the quiet, humble superstar who not only says all the right things but does all the right things, into Skip Bayless’s latest target of disappointment. Durant now is the one who isn’t clutch, he’s overrated, and he can’t do it by himself. A man who clutched himself into America’s hearts last year by dominating the 4^th quarter and winning 4 in a row against the romping Spurs. “As is his way, Durant lifts OKC to a new level of success” was the headline to an article written by Sekou Smith on NBA.com after the Thunder vanquished the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals last year. No such praise exists this year. Durant, a man who announced his extension with the Thunder quietly on twitter on the same day that LeBron hosted the infamous “Decision,” now is the brunt of the same absurd “analysis” that LeBron was the victim of, during his last days as a Cavalier.

Now though, at this very moment as the Spurs stampede the Grizzlies and the Heat scorch the entirety of the Eastern Conference, Durant is the reason OKC’s season ended unceremoniously and with a whimper. It wasn’t the fault of a GM who didn’t have the patience to negotiate a reasonable contract with a young, rising star. It wasn’t the fault of a supporting cast who threw up all over themselves the moment Westbrook’s knee gave out. It wasn’t the fault of a head coach who wouldn’t know an adjustment if it wore a low cut top and open toed espadrilles and introduced itself while holding a glass of 18 year old Dewar’s and platter of thick cut bacon.

Durant’s contract will expire in 2015, and I expect one of the following two things to happen before then. 1. Durant will get Scott Brooks fired, as many superstars have done throughout the history of sports, and the GM will do everything he can to bring in a viable scoring option for fear of losing his job too; 2. Durant will start his own super team, preferably with the Lakers.

Okay, now back to the Conference Finals.

The Spurs/Grizzlies series has, for the most part, conducted itself the way you should have expected. The Spurs is up 2-0 going to Memphis and will most likely come back to San Antonio 2-2. The series has been an exhibition in tough, sound, fundamental basketball. Boring to the average viewer? Probably, but an excellent display of basketball, tickling the hairs on the chiny-chin-chins of basketball fans; Heat fans should have a healthy fear of the Grizzlies.

The Heat’s biggest strength is the ability to limit their turnovers, force their opponents into turnovers and score on those forced turnovers. Memphis has been just as successful in limiting their turnovers and forcing their opponents into turnovers this season. The Heat has turned the ball over 13.3 times per game this season, Memphis has turned it over 13.2 times per game. The Heat has forced 14.7 turnovers per game and Memphis has forced 14.7 turnovers per game. Moreover, Memphis’ strength is their low post offense and defense, which is the closest thing to a weakness that the Heat has.

The Spurs on the other hand is too old, too slow and turn the ball over too often, without turning the ball over often enough. They are still an excellent basketball team, but cannot keep up with the pace that the Heat set during games and I don’t think the Spurs defense is imposing enough to deter the Heat from executing their game plan.

You might have noticed and that in the previous few paragraphs I made no mention of the Pacers, yep. What am I supposed to say? That Baby Dragon Paul George will give the Heat trouble? Or that Roy Hibbert is going to be a dominant force down low? Well he isn’t and he isn’t. Are the Pacers better than they were last year? Yes. Are they good enough to beat a domineering Miami Heat team that is laying waste to all these supposed “tough” teams that try to “beat up” LeBron James? No.

The Pacers turn the ball over more than 14 times per game, falling directly into the Heat’s trap. The Pacers will out rebound the Heat, so what? Everyone out rebounds the Heat and it’s had no impact on any of the games. Indiana cannot score with the Heat, and they can’t shoot with the Heat. Miami is averaging 98.6 points per game on 49.1% shooting and 34% from beyond the 3-point line in the playoffs. Indiana is averaging 92.0 points per game on 42% shooting and 30.8% from beyond the 3-point line.

So here’s what I’m predicting, the Grizzlies will win in 7 games, and the Heat will advance in 5. Then I will have the dirty pants throughout the finals because the Grizzlies scare the crap out of me.

The Playoffs are HERE! Part 1

First let’s go over my preseason playoff predictions. In the Western Conference for the most part I was right, but where I was wrong I was wrong big, but so was everyone else. So I can take some solace in that.

Let’s work through it:

I had Oklahoma City as the 1 seed and I was right (Oh, I’m liking writing this post).

I had the Lakers as the 2 seed and I was so wrong. The Lakers ended a dismal season as the 7^th seed (disregard previous side note).

I had the Clippers as the 3 seed. They ended up as the 4 seed so I was close and they still got to keep home court in the first round.

I had the Spurs as the 4 seed claiming home court in the first round; they ended up as the 2 seed.

I had Memphis as the 5 seed…RIGHT ON THE MONEY! WHAT UP B—-!

I had Denver as the 6 seed. I greatly underestimated them as they finished the season as the 3^rd best team in the Western Conference, securing home court (which for them is a huge advantage) in the first round.

I over estimated Houston and had them as the 7 seed, they ended the year sneaking into the playoffs as the 8 seed.

And here I was just a moron as I picked New Orleans (the Pelicans…really?) to make the playoffs and they ended just missed out finishing 28 games below .500.

The team I gave no real chance to was Golden State who finished the year as the 6^th seed, surpassing both Houston and the Lakers.  Now in my defense I did say they would be a playoff team sooner rather than later, I just didn’t think it would be this soon.

New Predictions:

I said OKC would win in 4 games and I still think that’s true. I had the 2 seed winning in 5 games, I’m changing that to 4 games and the Lakers will be on the losing end as the Spurs advance with ease. I had the Nuggets beating the Clippers in 7, well now I have the Nuggets beating Golden State in 5, they will be 5 close tough fought games, but it will end in 5. I also have Memphis taking out the Clippers in 7.

Round two will see: OKC, San Antonio, Denver and Memphis.

Eastern Conference:

I picked the Heat to finish in first place…I was RIGHT!

I had Chicago as the 2 seed (assuming Derrick Rose wasn’t a giant baby) I was sooooo Wrong as they finished 5^th in the Eastern Conference.

I had Boston in the 3^rd slot and again I was WRONG! The creaky knees world tour finished the season as the 7^th seed.

I had the young, emerging Pacers as the 4^th seed and I was close (I’ll take it) they won their division and finished as the 3^rd seed.

I had the newly branded Brooklyn Nets as the 5 seed and again I was close as they keep home court in the first round, finishing as the 4^th best team in the Eastern Conference.

I had the 76ers as the 6^th seed and boy did I overestimate that hot, pile of smoking garbage. Atlanta finished with the 6^th best record in the Eastern Conference and the 76ers finished 18 games under .500 and 4 games out of the 8^th spot.

I had the New York Knicks in the 7^th spot, and they massively overachieved and finished with the 2^nd best record in the Eastern Conference, securing home court…for the time being.

I had Atlanta sneaking into the playoffs, I was wrong the Bucks at 14 games under .500 did that. Which I wasn’t totally off on…here’s my quote from the season preview (tooting my own horn!) “They could sneak into the 8th spot this year in the East, but in the long run it would be better for them to finish with another lottery pick so they can get better. In order to make any sort of leap. They have to add a player, preferably a swing player that can slash to the basket and play defense (Easier said than done.)”  And BOOM GOES THE DYNAMITE!

New Predictions:

I had the Heat in 4 games, and even though Brandon Jennings thinks the Buck will win in 6 I’m going to go ahead and stick to my prediction. I had the Bulls beating the Knicks in 6 games, but the real matchup is NYK vs. Boston and I have the Knicks winning in 5 now. I had the Celtics beating Philly in 7 games, but with Philly not in and Boston losing to New York I have Indiana sweeping Atlanta in 4 games. That leaves Brooklyn and the Bulls and without even a star in their lineup I have the Bulls losing in 5 games.

Round two will see: Miami, NYK, Pacers and Brooklyn.

To Be Continued…

 

Preseason NBA Playoff Predictions

I’m basically doing this so that when the playoffs actually start I can laugh at how stupid I was in the preseason.

Western Conference – Round 1

1. Oklahoma City Thunder
2. L.A. Lakers
3. L.A. Clippers
4. San Antonio Spurs
5. Memphis Grizzlies
6. Denver Nuggets
7. Houston Rockets
8. New Orleans Hornets

Western Conference – Round 2
Oklahoma City Thunder – 4 games (NOH)
L.A. Lakers – 5 games (HOU)
Denver Nuggets – 7 games (LAC)
Spurs – 7 games (MEM)

Western Conference – Round 3
Oklahoma City Thunder – 6 games (DEN)
L.A. Lakers – 6 games (SAS)

Western Conference Finals
L.A. Lakers – 6 games (OKC)

Eastern Conference – Round 1

1. Miami Heat
2. Chicago Bulls
3. Boston Celtics
4. Indiana Pacers
5. Brooklyn Nets
6. Philadelphia 76ers
7. New York Knicks
8. Atlanta Hawks

Eastern Conference – Round 2
Miami Heat – 4 games (ATL)
Chicago bulls – 6 games (NYK)
Boston Celtics – 7 games (PHI)
Indiana Pacers – 7 games (BKN)

Eastern Conference – Round 3
Miami Heat – 5 games (IND)
Boston Celtics – 7 games (CHI)

Eastern Conference Finals
Miami Heat – 6 games (BOS)

NBA Finals
Miami Heat – 7 games (LAL)

30 Team NBA Preview

I hate to ruin any fantasy NBA fans may hold on to, but all 30 NBA teams basically fall into 3 categories with a 4th sub-category that houses maybe a team or two every five years or so. The bottom feeders fall into the Hot steaming piles of garbage category, then the majority of the teams fall into the Playoff Purgatory category and then there are the select few elite teams that are Championship Contenders. The fourth category being Up and Comers, and like I had said a team or two climbs into this category every five years or so. Now on to the break down and categorization of all 30 teams (I clearly hate myself).

Hot Steaming Piles of Garbage

Charlotte :- Negatives: Not sure what more needs to be said, but I guess I can wax a little bit of poetic on this team. The Bobcats had the single worst season in the history of the NBA, they have the single worst executive in the history of the NBA, Michael Jordan, running the team, and the only guy on the entire team that was a certified NBA starter, D.J. Augustin, is now a Pacer of Indianapolis. Kemba Walker is not an NBA starter, he is a less talented Ben Gordon and neither of those guys will ever a help a team win. They are both volume scorers. Tyrus Thomas is about as big a flop as there has been in the NBA and that is mostly because of how high his potential was, but in the words of Charles Barkley “He’s a knucklehead Kenny.”
Positives: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. He’s got the potential to be an All-Star caliber player, and works his butt off day in and day out. If he can develop an NBA level offensive game to match his already NBA ready defense he’s going to be a problem in this league for years to come. Plus they’re going to be competing for the top lottery pick for the foreseeable future and hopefully collecting top level lottery picks will help them improve (although the evidence points to the contrary.)
Conclusion: They’re going to be the worst team in the league once again. They have a coach who is out of his depths, an executive who cannot evaluate talent and is surrounded by yes men, and not enough talent to compete against Tunisia (hyperbole alert).

Sacramento :- Negatives: The coaching staff does not have the authority to coach or discipline the young, rebellious players on this team. Their three best players in DeMarcus Cousins, Tyreke Evans and Marcus Thornton are, say it with me Chuck, “Knuckleheads,” and need to learn what it means to be an adult and a professional, but without the proper authority figures around them to guide them and help them grow we’ve got three Tyrus Thomas’ budding. Outside of their top rookie pick Thomas Robinson there isn’t a guy on the team that can play a lick of defense, and if you know the NBA you know that defense in the NBA is about the will to want to play defense and not skill level.
Positives: They have a couple of veteran players in John Salmons and Aaron Brooks that might be able to mentor the young players and hopefully get them to work to their maximum all year long and reach their true potential. That and Thomas Robinson. I love Robinson, his story is great, his work ethic is undeniable, his motivation is unshakeable and his talent is next level. The Unibrow may be the number one overall pick and I do think his ceiling is higher than Robinson’s, but his bust potential is also higher. Robinson’s ability to handle the ball, his rebounding, defense and ever developing offensive game will allow him to establish himself as one of the 5 best PFs by year’s end, mark it down (not sure why you’d be marking it down, but if you’re so inclined feel free.)
Conclusion: The Kings will finish last in the Western Conference. I don’t think John Salmons, Aaron Brooks, and Thomas Robinson will have any impact in changing the team’s leaders attitudes, and in the NBA if you refuse to play defense it doesn’t matter how good your offense is, and the Kings offense isn’t that good.

Wizards :- Negatives: There is a complete and utter lack of direction and leadership. John Wall’s feet and hands move a million times faster than his mind; he leads the league in doing the dougie and out running his own wing players on fast breaks.
Positives: By getting rid of Javale McGee and Seven Day Dray (Andray Blatche) the Wizards rid themselves of the two stupidest basketball players I have ever seen. Now I’m not questioning their overall intelligence, I don’t know them they might be great scholars, but I don’t know anyone with lower basketball IQs than these two guys. They added Nene who is a legitimate two-way player, and Emeka Okafor who is one of the better defenders in the league and brings a veteran presence to a young team. If Jan Vesely and Bradley Beal can live up to expectations this team most definitely has the potential to be on the come up, but until that time that the executives and coaches can show me they know what they’re doing I have no faith in this team.
Conclusion: Worst case scenario they end up in playoff purgatory, best case scenario they show that they’ve figured some things out but still do poorly enough because of a lack of talent that they draft high again and grab some more talent.

Portland :- Negatives: I’m having a hard time coming up with negatives for this team, so the only conclusion I can draw is that my evaluation of this team’s’ talent is wrong. Maybe last season was a fluke or more likely they just don’t have enough good players.
Positives: LaMarcus Aldridge is one of the best Power Forwards in the league and a ton of fun to watch.
Conclusion: I’m putting the Trail Blazers in this category because you can’t be 22 games behind first place, make no significant moves in the offseason and seemingly do nothing to improve your team and expect to be placed anywhere else. (I enjoy watching the individual players on this team and I am hoping that I’m wrong about them.)

Cavaliers :- Negatives: They’re in Cleveland. Outside of Kyrie Irving there is not one other player on the team that’s any better than just okay.
Positives: They aren’t the Bobcats or the Kings and they have Kyrie Irving. They also added Tyler Zeller who will be a top 30 NBA center (going out on a real limb here.)
Conclusion: They’ll be fighting for the first overall pick again.

Raptors :- Negatives: Outside of Andrea Bargnani and Jose Calderon there isn’t a single guy on this team that can start on another NBA team outside of Charlotte and Cleveland, maybe DeRozan, maybe. Plus the Raptors have the worst draft track record in the history of the NBA. Don’t believe me just check this out (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_Raptors_draft_history). DeRozan seems to be regressing, Calderon is on the downward swing of his career, Kyle Lowry is coming off of a career year and it was just okay (http://www.nba.com/playerfile/kyle_lowry/index.html?nav=page). Ed Davis stinks.
Positives: Andrea Bargnani is a solid NBA starter, Landry Fields could be this generations less fun version of the Junk Yard Dog, Jerome Williams. Jonas Valanciunas, if what scouts are guessing about him comes to fruition he could be a star on this team seriously lacking even in above average players, but the vast majority of European players just don’t fit well with the style of play in the NBA and they aren’t used to playing with and against the caliber of player the NBA has to offer. The biggest positive however has got to be Head Coach Dwane Casey. The Raptors especially after the injury to Andrea Bargnani this past year had less talent than the worst team in the history of the NBA and somehow finished in 11th. I have to hand that to coaching. That and this team was actually playing defense for the first time since Hakeem Olajuwon was a Raptor.
Conclusion: They’ll be one of the worst teams in the NBA and will pick high in the lottery again and will probably once again waste it on Rafael Araújo.

Detroit :- Negatives: The Pistons have a lot of really young players not yet in their primes and a lot of really old players way past their prime and Joe Dumars has been a pretty awful GM since winning a championship.
Positives: Brandon Knight and Greg Monroe have been pleasant surprises, they’re already paying dividends and have a ton of potential. Andre Drummond could be the next great center in the NBA, subsequently he could also be Darko.
Conclusion: If Drummond’s potential comes to pass, in the next three to five years this could be a real playoff contender assuming other pieces are added. However, right now the lack of good players in their prime is going to keep this team near the bottom, and staying near the bottom is what is best for this team, they need to continue adding talent via the draft and supplementing that talent through free agency.

Houston :- Negatives: The Rockets wasted money, cap space, and a roster spot on Omer Asik, who is the definition of a below average player and is in the NBA only because he is tall. And this roster is pretty terrible, the Rockets made a lot of moves trying to get Dwight Howard unfortunately when they failed they were stuck with…well whatever the hell it is they are stuck with.
Positives: Jeremy Lin is an upgrade over both Point Guards they lost. Jeremy Lamb is a highly rated rookie and could be along with Lin the sole bright spot on this team this year. Even though Lin is a positive, fans need to temper their expectations. Lin’s ceiling is as an average Point Guard and his floor is as an above average backup Point Guard.
Conclusion: Top 5 draft pick.

Orlando :- Negatives: They traded away their best player and didn’t get anything of any real value in return. I’m of the belief that Harrington’s and Afflalo’s number were inflated by the system they play in. The draft picks they received will be in the range of the 20th and 30th pick, and if the Magic get lucky and one of the picks ends up being a lottery pick, too bad it’s protected. They lost the unanimous 2nd or 3rd best player in the league, passed up on better players from Brooklyn and went from contenders to bottom feeders in a heartbeat. Also SVG is a hell of a coach and one of the most entertaining personalities in sports, and the Magic got rid of him for Jacques Vaughn.
Positives: They got rid of the Dwight Howard headache, they got rid of Jason Richardson’s contract, and they could package the three draft picks for a better draft pick. They avoided playoff purgatory, which is a big deal, because once a team lands in playoff purgatory they remain stuck in playoff purgatory for many years. It’s like the friend zone, except there aren’t any good looking girls around…because it’s Orlando.
Conclusion: Top 5 draft pick.

Playoff Purgatory

First let me explain what this category represents. There are teams in the NBA that make the playoffs or finish just outside it, usually you can take the sixth, seventh and eighth seed and the ninth and tenth seed and switch them in and out. These teams perform too well to get a good enough draft pick to improve their team but really have no shot at competing for a championship. The NBA isn’t Football or Baseball or Hockey in that in those sports because of the nature of those sports if you make the playoffs you’ve got an equal opportunity to win the title. In the NBA there are only about 5 or 6 teams that have any real chance of winning and the teams that continuously land in this category delude themselves into thinking that isn’t the case.

Atlanta :- Negatives: They traded away their second best player in Joe Johnson. They replaced him with a wide array of below average and average players. Their best player Josh Smith, is one of the best athletes in the NBA and can get to the rim at will but for some perplexing reason sits behind the three-point line and jacks up shots that he isn’t good at. The draft pick they received from Brooklyn is almost as useless as Jordan Farmar (sorry it had to be done.) They also have one of Key and Peele’s East/West game character’s on their team in Carldell Johnson.
Positives: Josh Smith, however dumb on the court, is still a very talented player. They also added Philadelphia’s best player in Lou Williams.
Conclusion: Not much has changed for them, the Hawks will finish anywhere from the 5th seed to 9th or 10th in the Eastern Conference. The only way for them to get better is to trade Josh Smith for a high end draft pick, although it would be difficult to do and I don’t see them doing it.

Denver :- Negatives: No superstars, no stars. The Nuggets are filled with above average players. No one on the team can be categorized as a bad player, but on the same hand no one on the team can be categorized as anything more than just an average player. JaVale McGee.
Positives: Great coach, and everyone on the team plays hard every night. Excellent regular season team, decent playoff team. They also improved immensely on the defensive side of the ball by adding Andre Iguodala (didn’t even have to look up how to spell his name *high five.)
Conclusion: They will make the playoffs, they will compete and make it difficult for whichever team draws them, but unless they can make a move for a very good to great player that’s all this team will be. I would have liked to see them go after a guy like Josh Smith.

Philadelphia :- Negatives: Kwame Brown. The 76ers are a more talented version of the Denver Nuggets. They have 1 star. They also lost their best scorer, Lou Williams, to free agency and traded away their best defender to Denver.
Positives: Doug Collins is a hell of a coach; to take a team as bad as this to the playoffs is a truly amazing feat. Thaddeus Young and Evan Turner have All-Star potential that can be reached under the tutelage of Doug Collins. They also added the second best center in the league in Andrew Bynum (If Doug Collins can’t get this guy motivated to give maximum effort no one can) and Jason Richardson should be a good veteran influence coming off the bench.
Conclusion: The 76ers barely made the playoffs last year, but should be contending to participate in the Eastern Conference Finals. That’s more of a condemnation of the East and less praise for the 76ers. I’m going out on a limb here and assuming that Thaddeus Young and Evan Turner will reach their potential this year and Bynum will be healthy and motivated all year. I could be very, very wrong about this. They however have no chance of winning the East.

Phoenix :- Negatives: They lost one of the best players in the history of their franchise in Steve Nash. I don’t have much faith that their Coaching staff knows what to do now that Nash is gone since he called all plays when he was on the court.
Positives: Goran Dragic has a lot of potential and fits that Phoenix style of play and system perfectly. They also added a couple of athletic young swing men in Michael Beasley and Wesley Johnson. Marcin Gortat is a good pick and roll Center which fits in perfectly with Dragic, and Kendall Marshall is both athletic and has a high basketball IQ.
Conclusion: The Suns will once again finish outside of the playoffs but are plagued with the same problem all the other teams in this category suffer from in that they won’t be bad enough to really improve the team in any substantial manner.

New York :- Negatives: Melo with all his greatness is a one way player who cannot guard any of his contemporaries. Amar’e is an excellent pick and roll player, but with Lin gone has no one to play the two man game with and cannot create a shot for himself even though he is an above average mid-range shooter for his size and position. Jason Kidd can’t play anymore. Raymond Felton is like two Jeremy Lin’s but only in weight. Iman Shumpert is coming off a terrible knee injury. Also Rasheed Wallace is the 4th oldest player on the team. Yup that’s right the guy that came out of retirement is the 4th oldest player on the team.
Positives: Melo is either the best or second best pure scorer in the league, Amar’e is an excellent Power Forward. Marcus Camby is declining, but is still a great defender. Iman Shumpert is a great one-on-one and team defender, and developing his offensive game, and Mike Woodson’s ISO system fits Melo perfectly.
Conclusion: They will make the playoffs, they will be over-hyped, they will not make it out of the first round.

Dallas :- Negatives: This roster is terrible. I’m convinced that Mark Cuban is purposely building a terrible team in an attempt to sign Dwight Howard (He failed.)
Positives: Rick Carlisle is great coach, Dirk Nowitzki is a Hall of Famer and can still play at a Superstar level and Darren Collison is a good point guard, he brings a new dimension to the team with his speed and agility, I believe an in shape Dirk and Collison can put on a show with a great, and unbelievably fun two-man game.
Conclusion: I think Mark Cuban was hoping that the Mavericks would finish in the lottery so that they could both sign Dwight in the offseason and draft a good young player that can make an immediate impact. Too bad neither will happen.

Brooklyn :- Negatives: There really isn’t a lot to say here about the new look Nets aside from a lack of a third star player and Brook Lopez can’t play defense.
Positives: I’m a fan of Avery Johnson as a coach, Deron Williams is the second best Point Guard in the league behind Chris Paul, and Joe Johnson is a dead eye shooter. Gerald Wallace is both a good defensive and offensive swing man; he is a good shooter and can attack the basket. Plus I think that both MarShon Brooks and Tyshawn Taylor are going to be stars (assuming they live up to expectations).
Conclusion: The Net’s don’t have many negatives, but they lack the essential third star. They’ll be competitive and will be willing to spend the money to get a third star. This year I think they make the playoffs and lose in the second round.

Jazz :- Negatives: Derrick Favours. Al Jefferson never lived up to the hype he built for himself in Minnesota. Marvin Williams and Randy Foye are major upgrades, and therein lies the problem, these guys shouldn’t be major upgrades.
Positives: Mo Williams is an upgrade to Devin Harris and Paul Millsap is a good Forward. (That’s all I got.)
Conclusion: I think the Jazz will miss the playoffs and will at some point trade away Paul Millsap, Mo Williams and Al Jefferson. All three are in the last years of their current contracts, and are prime candidates for sign and trades to contending teams. If the trades occur in season they’ll finish near the bottom of the league and fight for a top lottery pick, if they wait till next offseason they’ll finish just outside the playoffs or as the 8th seed.

Indiana : Negatives: No superstar. No lead scorer. Roy Hibbert is unbelievably overrated. His impact is tied into nothing more than his height. Hibbert is slow of foot and not very athletic and has a very limited offensive skill set and is not quick enough to be a defensive force anywhere outside of the low block and Danny Granger is what he is, a pretty good player, but at this point isn’t getting any better and that is a problem for a team that needs him to be.
Positives: D.J. Augustin is an excellent addition. Roy Hibbert is tall and is a problem for teams on the low block defensively, and for smaller teams offensively. Paul George is only in his third year. If he can hit his stride this year the Pacers can be real contenders in the Eastern Conference. Also Frank Vogel is both a good coach and an entertaining interview.
Conclusion: Pacers finish in the top four in the East and depending on seeding make the Conference Finals.

Chicago :- Negatives: Outside of Rose they have no one that can take over a game and because of this Lebron and other great defenders just key in on Rose down the stretch and the Bulls have no other way of generating any type of scoring. Carlos Boozer is making max money and is just as average as average can get. Losing Kyle Korver makes them better defensively but it hurts them a lot more on the offensive side than it helps on defense. Who knows when Rose will return.
Positives: Derrick Rose is great. They are an excellent defensive team and Tom Thibodeau is a very good coach. The addition of Nate Robinson could help alleviate some of the scoring pressure off of Rose, not a great player but he is instant energy and can score voluminously in spurts.
Conclusion: Great regular season team and if Rose is healthy they could finish first in the East again, if he isn’t healthy they will still make the playoffs. With or without Rose they have no chance in beating the Heat and thus for the time being are stuck in Playoff Purgatory. For those Bulls fans that disagree with me, the year Rose won the MVP over LBJ the Heat crushed the Bulls in 5 games.

Championship Contender

Clippers :- Negatives: The Kardashians are infesting your team. Blake Griffin is a dunking MONSTER! But has no mid-range game, no outside game, terrible from the free-throw line and an absolute liability on defense, which is part of the reason he was getting benched last year during the playoffs! DeAndre Jordan is also a dunking MONSTER! he’s also an excellent shot blocker, and can do nothing else. Chris Paul is in the last year of his contract.
Positive: Chris Paul is the best Point Guard in the league. A healthy Caron Butler is a great second scoring option. Eric Bledsoe is emerging as a very good back up and potential starter if Paul leaves or is injured. A motivated Lamar Odom is an All-Star and the sixth man of the year, making it easier on the team when Griffin has to be benched and Grant Hill can still ball which is just a great story.
Conclusion: I think Blake Griffin will improve on his defense and his mid-range game, Lamar Odom will be motivated, Chris Paul will be an MVP candidate as he always is and I’m hoping Butler will be healthy. This combination is a definite contender for the Western Conference title and thus for the NBA Championship.

Memphis :- Negatives: Health. The last two years the Grizzle’s had a real chance at winning the West but were hit with injuries to their best players at inopportune times. No transcendent superstars.
Positives: They’ve got stars in Rudy Gay, Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol. They’re role players fit in around their star players very organically, and everyone plays good team defense.
Conclusion: I might be guilty of looking at this team through rose colored glasses, they might just be a collection of talent that’s stuck in Playoff Purgatory and just aren’t good enough to compete for a title, but I think if healthy they can beat any team in the West.

San Antonio :- Negatives: Age. The stars of the team are ancient and the role players are the youngest in the league, the opposite issue as the Pistons, and that’s about the only negative thing to say about them.
Positive: They were in the Western Conference Finals last year and were so dominant until the Thunder reeled off four in a row everyone thought that the Spurs might sweep. Kawhi Leonard is developing into a very promising young player and the role players do exactly what is needed. Oh did I mention that Gregg Popovich is the head coach? I didn’t? Okay, Gregg Popovich is the head coach. There really isn’t much to say here, they’re a really great team that has every opportunity to win it all this year.
Conclusion: Depending on seeding they’re either competing for the Western Conference Finals or they fall just short, but they will be a formidable opponent for whoever they end up facing late in the playoffs.

Boston :- Negatives: They lost the greatest 3-point shooter of all time to their only in-conference rival the Heat. The Celtics biggest disadvantage last year was the lack of athleticism and they tried to counteract this disadvantage by drafting, slow footed, unathletic, and limited in skillset, Jared Sullinger and Fab Melo. Kevin Garnett is a little older (although that didn’t slow him down any last year) and so is Paul Pierce who has slowed down slightly as was seen in his significantly lower shooting percentage.
Positives: Kevin Garnett is still a beast, Avery Bradley is coming back healthy and presumably will be better in his second year and they added Jason Terry, who not as good as Ray Allen, is still a good shooter. Brandon Bass and Mickael Pietrus are back and excellent role players, they’re both good defenders and can toe the line on the offensive end when needed. Also Rajon Rondo is still with the team and in addition to his defense is an absolutely electrifying Point Guard.
Conclusion: Barring injuries they will be one of the two teams in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Lakers :- Negatives: They’re still stuck with Metta World Peace. Kobe and Nash are nearing the ends of their careers.
Positives: Kobe Bryant is still on the team along with Pau Gasol. They also added Antawn Jamison, who off the bench is a good addition as he is still a productive Power Forward. Oh and they added future Hall of Famer Steve Nash at Point Guard. This allows Kobe to play off the ball more and be in better position to have a more efficient season and Nash will get Gasol the ball where he can do the most damage and Nash can play the two-man game with Kobe, Pau and Howard. Oh that’s right They just added Dwight Howard. Howard makes up for Nash who is a defensive liability, and I think will really develop his low post game under the tutelage of Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant and Mike Brown will help him improve his team defense. They added the best pick and roll point guard in the league and the best pick and roll center in the league…go ahead take a guess, what do you think their plan of attack will be this year.
Conclusion: They will be representing the Western Conference in the NBA Finals.

OKC :- Negatives: Durrant isn’t a good defender…that’s it…that’s all I got.
Positives: Durrant is the best scorer in the league, Russell Westbrook is a freak athlete, Harden is an excellent shooter, Nick Collison does a little bit of everything pretty well, Serge Ibaka blocks all the shots! all the shots! Perry Jones could be an Ibaka clone. Oh and they’re a year older, a year more mature and a year closer to their primes and they were just in the finals. I will list one negative here because this way I don’t ruin the joke I used earlier…as good as they were last year they got run off the court in the Finals by the Heat, having said that, if they make it back to the finals the series will be a much tighter one.
Conclusion: The Lakers got Dwight Howard, I don’t think OKC can beat this Laker team and all of L.A. will be doing this all year (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEFt6BQuFJk).

Heat :- Negatives: The Heat lack size and the corpse of Mike Miller just won’t retire. Mario Chalmers will probably still make 3 unbearably stupid decisions each game.
Positives: Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh. Also they added another future Hall of Famer Ray Allen. Shane Battier is still there hitting daggers and taking charges (we’ll see how this changes with the new flop rule), and Norris Cole is improving and developing into a good backup Point Guard. They also added Rashard Lewis, who admittedly has never lived to up the hype and has underperformed in relation to the talent that he has, but if properly motivated is still talented and can still hit a wide open 3. Just ask Mike Miller, Shane Battier and all of the Heat’s opponents and they can attest to the fact that there will be a plethora of wide open 3’s to be had.
Conclusion: Back to Back Champs.

Up and Comers
A few teams end up landing in this spot this year. Usually it’s only or two but a couple of teams have gone through coaching and management changes recently and so far are headed in the right direction to becoming contenders, but could very easily go back to becoming bottom dwellers or being stuck in purgatory it only takes one mistake, but right now these teams are on the rise.

Minnesota :- Negatives: Maybe I’m drinking the Kool Aid but I don’t see anything major. They lack size, and just don’t have enough talent to compete for a title, but I have no doubt they will be in the playoffs, and since they are still young that’s a step in the right direction.
Positives: They are still headed for the playoffs so that’s a step in the right direction. They also have Kevin Love, Derrick Williams and Ricky Rubio along with head coach Rick Adelman. And they just added Andrei Kirilenko, who is an explosive player, a good defender and rebounder and a strong veteran presence on the team. Also the addition of Brandon Roy is an exciting one. I’m not a doctor so I have no idea if Roy has any chance of being the player that he once was, but if he does they just added a certified star.
Conclusion: Playoffs, and continued success.

Golden State :- Negatives: They are very, very young. Carl Landry is really overrated, and Draymond Green is awful.
Positives: I trust Mark Jackson as a coach, I trust Jerry West as an executive. Stephen Curry is a great scorer, Harrison Barnes has a ton of talent and potential, so does Klay Thompson and if Andrew Bogut can stay healthy he’s one of the best Centers in the league.
Conclusion: No playoffs, they will still be picking in the lottery because the West is too good, but if these young guys continue to grow and develop and if Bogut can get healthy again they could be competing in the West sooner rather than later. I do think they need to make a move for a veteran swing defender because they don’t and can’t play any defense right now.

Milwaukee :- Negatives: No superstars, and no defensive swing players. Players skill sets and talents are redundant.
Positives: Brandon Jennings is a good, young, scoring guard, and so is Monta Ellis. Their rookies have the potential to be good two way players, but have a lower ceiling than their contemporaries. Dalembert is a good defensive big man and Drew Gooden can still hold his own.
Conclusion: They could sneak into the 8th spot this year in the East, but in the long run it would be better for them to finish with another lottery pick so they can get better. In order to make any sort of leap. They have to add a player, preferably a swing player that can slash to the basket and play defense (Easier said than done.)

New Orleans :- Negatives: Their oldest player is Hakim Warrick who is entering his 8th year. They aren’t very deep and they don’t have anyone with overwhelming talent. They may have size but that size isn’t very good.
Positives: They had an excellent draft, getting the overall number 1 pick and a guy that everyone thinks will be an All-Star very quickly, they also added Austin Rivers who was a dynamic scorer in college and should be able to translate that talent and skill to the NBA without much trouble. And they were able to keep Eric Gordon and added Ryan Anderson.
Conclusion: They sneak into the 8th seed and if the rookies prove to be as good as we think they will be they should be able to attract some talented free agents.

*DISCLAIMER
I know I’ve made similar points for multiple teams as an example I’ve said quite a bit that teams need to add a two-way swing player. I realize that this is very difficult to do and most of the teams that I suggested need to do this won’t be able to, but that doesn’t change the fact that they need to.

– Sunny D