2012-13 NBA Preview

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.