After an
interesting off-season, the NBA returns tonight! Here are my projections for
the upcoming season.
Western Conference
1. Los Angeles Lakers- After last year's
debacle, Lakers go out and get PG Steve Nash and C Dwight Howard to infuse even
more star power in LA. Unbelievable how good Lakers fans have it.
2. Oklahoma City Thunder- After the Finals
defeat, I expected another run at the championship this year. Instead, GM Sam
Presti chose to look to the future, trading James Harden to the Rockets. While
the trade might help them in the long run (they got three draft picks in
return), there is no question OKC is weaker without the services of Harden.
Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook still make this team good, but not good championship-great.
3. San Antonio Spurs- Duncan, Ginobili, and Parker were halfway toward another NBA Finals appearance when the young Thunder simply outplayed them in the final four games of the series. Expect another great year in the Alamo City, with a full season from Stephen Jackson and growth from Kawhi Lenoard and Danny Green spurring another run.
4. Los Angeles Clippers- LA's other team finally
looks relevant again, and after adding veterans Lamar Odom (who should be happy
back in LA) and Grant Hill to a young core, Vinny Del Negro's team has a chance
of making some noise in the West.
5. Denver Nuggets- George Karl's team was simply
amazing last year again, doing it without a superstar and still taking the
Lakers to seven games. They added SG Andre Iguodala in the offseason, and he
along with second-year forward Kenneth Faried and rejuvenated C Javale McGee
should boost Denver's awful defense, at least somewhat.
6. Dallas Mavericks- The Mavericks offseason
started out horribly, as they lost out on Deron Williams, Dwight Howard, and
Jason Kidd. In the end, though, they still emerged as a playoff team, by adding
young guards Darren Collison and O.J. Mayo, as well as veteran big men Chris
Kaman and Elton Brand.
7. Memphis Grizzlies- Hopefully, Zach Randolph
and Rudy Gay can finally stay injury-free for an entire year, and Memphis can
reach its full potential, by riding one of the best front-courts in the league,
with C Marc Gasol. The back court is still mediocre, though, and new additions
Jerryd Bayless and Wayne Ellington (who replace the departed OJ Mayo) need to
make plays and hit outside shots to help space the floor for their front court
to go to work.
8. Utah Jazz- Front court of Al Jefferson and
Paul Millsap is really strong. Backcourt of Mo Williams, Gordon Hayward, and
Randy Foye? Not so much. But, overall, they'll be good enough to put Utah in
contention for 8th playoff spot again.
9. Minnesota Timberwolves- Here we go again with
the injuries, as Kevin Love is out at least a month after a knee injury in
preseason. When they're finally healthy, Ricky Rubio and Kevin Love lead a
young team with much promise and talent. Speaking of injuries, it'll be
interesting how SG Brandon Roy holds up after a year hiatus from the NBA.
10. Houston Rockets- Acquisition of James Harden
gives team all-star caliber player they have lacked for several years. Him and
Lin in backcourt, along with promising forward Chandler Parsons and center Omer
Asik represent a young revival for a team which dumped its top six scorers from
a year ago.
11. Golden State Warriors- Rough first year for
Mark Jackson in Oakland, but first round pick Harrison Barnes and a stability
at the center position in Andrew Bogut (if healthy) should mean an improvement.
12. Phoenix Suns- The Steve Nash era is over, and
back in is Goran Dragic, who will be expected to be the type of dynamic
playmaker to set up their offense to their solid front court of Marcin Gortat,
Luis Scola, and Michael Beasley. Outside shooting is lacking, however, and may
be the team's downfall.
13. New Orleans Hornets- The Anthony Davis era
has begun, and along with Austin Rivers, and Eric Gordon, he'll try to bring
relevance back to a franchise which is finally no longer owned by the NBA.
14. Portland Trailblazers- A young team in full
rebuilding, as they hope first-round pick Damian Lillard lives up to the hype
and forms a good, young core with LaMarcus Aldridge.
15. Sacramento Kings- An team with a lot of nice
pieces: Isaiah Thomas was a pleasant surprise last year, and center DeMarcus
Cousins can be dominant at times inside. However, as a unit, they are pathetic
defensively, and Tyreke Evans really needs to bounceback. Hopefully, first
round pick Thomas Robinson shores up the power forward position that has been a
revolving door since the days of Chris Webber.
Eastern Conference
1.Miami Heat- The defending champions were
favorites to repeat, anyway. Then, they signed the NBA all-time leader in three
pointers in SG Ray Allen. Can't see any other team in East coming close to
challenging the Heat.
2. Indiana Pacers- Resigning Roy Hibbert was
priority #1, as they keep their front court of him, Danny Granger and David
West intact. Development of backcourt of George Hill and Paul George determines
how close to reach to taking down the Heat.
3. Boston Celtics- The Big Three is down to two,
but I think Boston should still be near the top of the East, as they added
Courtney Lee and Jason Terry, who will carry more of the offensive load away
from Paul Pierce. Depth inside and rebounding is an issue, though, with not
much behind the aging Kevin Garnett.
4. New York Knicks- Jeremy Lin is out and Raymond Felton is in, who will be a quality replacement. Bigger issue is whether PF
Amar'e Stoudemire can rebound from a subpar year and become elite again.
5. Brooklyn Nets- They failed to get Dwight
Howard, but in resigning Deron Williams and adding Joe Johnson, the Nets have a
chance to make some noise in their town.
6. Philadelphia 76ers- Made a bold move, trading
for C Andrew Bynum, who will be expected to carry the load on his own for the
first time. We'll see if he's mature (and healthy) enough to do it, as this
team is great defensively, but severely offensively challenged at times (and
lost its leading scorer Lou Williams).
7. Atlanta Hawks- They finally dumped Joe
Johnson's ridiculous contract (who knew that contract was going to backfire),
and will rely on Josh Smith and Al Horford to carry the load inside.
8. Chicago Bulls- No Derrick Rose = no playoffs?
I think Hamilton, Boozer, Deng, and Noah and Tom Thibodeau's defensive
philosophy are enough to make it in the ultra-weak East, but no farther.
9. Milwaukee Bucks- Want to put this team in,
with Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis in the backcourt, but their front court
just isn't enough
10. Toronto Raptors- Should be one of the most
improved teams in the league. They whiffed on Steve Nash, but in adding
all-star caliber PG Kyle Lowry, first round pick SG Terrence Ross, and Jonas
Valanciunas, they finally have a foundation to build on.
11. Washington Wizards- John Wall's team was
awful last year, but frankly, so was he, at times. The veteran front-court of
Nene and Emeka Okafor is a decent combo, and first-round pick Bradley Beal
should help as well. No more excuses, Mr. Wall.
12. Cleveland Cavaliers- Kyrie showed flashes of
being great last year and he'll have to be again this year to carry the load
Cleveland has put on in. Hopefully, for Cavs fans, first round pick Dion
Waiters helps out, and Tristan Thompson improves a lot from year one to two.
13. Detroit Pistons- Greg Monroe's development
into a top-tier big man and the consistency of Brandon Knight and Rodney
Stuckey in the backcourt determine how much this team improves.
14. Orlando Magic- How bad will this team be
without Dwight Howard? Pretty bad, but at least that bad soap opera is finally
over.
15. Charlotte Bobcats- Worst team in NBA history
needed a franchise player (Anthony Davis) to build around. Instead, they get
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who will have to develop a lot as an offensive player
to become a cornerstone.
