After a crazy off-season which saw my Rockets win the Dwight Howard sweepstakes, the NBA returns tonight! Here are my projections for the upcoming season.
Western Conference
1. Los Angeles Clippers- Vinny del Negro is gone, Doc Rivers is in, and the Clips resigned MVP-candidate Chris Paul, while also adding perimeter shooting and defense in the form of J.J. Redick, Jared Dudley, and backup PG Darren Collison. Plus, my NBA preview wouldn't be complete without picking an LA team to win the West. (We all know how that turned out last year)
2. San Antonio Spurs- After last year's heartbreaking Finals defeat, the Spurs retooled by adding veteran guard Marco Bellinelli and resigning Tiago Splitter. Expect another run at the title by Popovich's team, led by a probable breakout year from Kawhi Leonard in his third year.
3. Oklahoma City Thunder- Assuming Russell Westbrook returns health from his knee injury, expect Kevin Durant's team (who hope that either Reggie Jackson or Jeremy Lamb turns into a solid third scorer) to contend again.
4. Houston Rockets- Howard and Harden give "H"-Town it's first dynamic duo since the Yao/T-Mac era. How well they gel together, how much production the PG position (Jeremy Lin/Patrick Beverley) provides, and how improved the defense is (likely, a lot) determine how for my Rockets go.
5. Golden State Warriors- They made a big splash by stealing Andre Iguodala away from the Nuggets to pair with Stephen Curry, but they will regret losing Jarrett Jack and Carl Landry, dynamic bench players which they will need to replace if they are to make a run.
6. Dallas Mavericks- The Mavericks missed out on Dwight Howard, and instead of tanking, chose to sign veteran guards Jose Calderon and Monta Ellis to long-term deals. They will horrible defensively, but should score enough points to make the playoffs.
7. Memphis Grizzlies- Letting Lionel Hollins go will probably be a decision they regret. Adding Kosta Koufos will bolster frontline, but they didn't address their biggest weakness - perimeter shooting (seems like I write this every year), which will be their downfall once again.
8. Denver Nuggets- Firing the coach of the year and losing one of the best GM's in the league, Denver hopes Brian Shaw can get Ty Lawson, Danilo Gallinari, Javale McGee and company back to the playoffs.
9. Minnesota Timberwolves- Added Kevin Martin to provide perimeter shooting, and if they (Ricky Rubio, Kevin Love, Chase Budinger) stay healthy, Rick Adelman's squad will make a run at the 8th seed.
10. Los Angeles Lakers- They are old and lack depth (sorry, Nick Young and Chris Kaman will not be the answer), but still have Kobe Bryant, who will keep them semi-competitive once he gets back.
11. New Orleans Pelicans- Shocked the world by acquiring all-star Jrue Holiday on draft night. He, Eric Gordon (if he stays healthy), and Tyreke Evans (overpaid, but still solid) form a solid wing lineup, along with second-year center Anthony Davis.
12. Portland Trailblazers- Nicolas Batum, Damian Lillard, and LaMarcus Aldridge form a solid nucleus, but they still need way more depth (Robin Lopez, Earl Watson, Mo Williams are not long-term answers)
13. Sacramento Kings- And we've gotten to the tankers. Sac-town kept its team, and every year, I write that this is a "team with a lot of nice pieces", and I'll say that again this year, as they got a steal in Ben McLemore in the draft, while also adding underrated Greivis Vasquez and Carl Landry. Hopefully, new coach Mike Malone can put it all together, or this is the last year I'm writing pleasantries about the Kings.
14. Utah Jazz- They hope Enes Kanter and Derrick Favors will be able to replace the production they got from Big Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap, while PG Trey Burke develops. When your most established scorer is Gordon Hayward, expect a lot of growing pains.
15. Phoenix Suns- Full-out tank mode in the desert. Don't know what they were doing hoarding point guards with Eric Bledsoe, Goran Dragic, and Kendall Marshall. Luckily, they dealt Marshall with a lot of veteran contracts for more draft picks. Happy tanking!
Eastern Conference
1. Miami Heat- The defending champions are favorites to three-peat, especially if they get anything out of reclamation projects like Greg Oden and Michael Beasley.
2. Chicago Bulls- Derrick Rose is back (with 5 extra inches of vertical?!) and so are Chicago's championship hopes. I think he, Boozer, Deng, Noah, Jimmy Butler, and Tom Thibodeau's defensive philosophy give Miami a seven game fight-to-the-death series in May.
3. Indiana Pacers- Came oh-so-close last year to dethroning Miami, and they will make another run at it, with much better depth (hello Luis Scola and hopefully healthy Danny Granger).
4. Brooklyn Nets- Sure, they added Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Andrei Kirilenko, but somehow, they forgot about the cap (they'll be like $20 million over) and the fact that it's not the year 2008.
5. New York Knicks- Capped out NY couldn't do much but add washed up Metta World Peace and overpaid Andrea Bargnani. Defense (or lack there of) should be their downfall come playoff time.
6. Atlanta Hawks- Lost Josh Smith, but replaced him with an amazing contract for the underrated Paul Millsap. Also kept PG Jeff Teague. All in all, because the bottom of the East is so bad, they should make it in again.
7. Cleveland Cavaliers- A team on the rise (I think?), with Kyrie Irving, Dion Waiters, Tristan Thompson, and #1 pick Anthony Bennett forming a solid core. If they get anything out of Andrew Bynum, this is a playoff team in the East.
8. Milwaukee Bucks- Signing mediocre veterans (O.J. Mayo, Zaza Pachulia, Carlos Delfino, Gary Neal) to multi-year deals! Hello, 8th seed, Milwaukee!
9. Washington Wizards- They hope to be the most functional team in DC (with our Congress, it's not difficult), with a core of John Wall (who needs to have a bounce-back year), Bradley Beal, and #3 pick Otto Porter. I think with added depth of Al Harrington and Marcin Gortat, they'll be close to the playoffs.
10. Detroit Pistons- Dumbest contract of the off-season goes to-- D-E-T-R-O-I-T BASKETBALL! Spacing going to be absolutely awful if they think a Josh Smith, Andrew Drummond, Greg Monroe frontcourt is going to work. Good luck, Brandon Jennings on finding driving lanes.
11. Toronto Raptors- With Rudy Gay, DeMar DeRozan, Kyle Lowry, Terrence Ross, Toronto has the wing players to compete every night. Unfortunately, their frontline, barring tremendous growth from Jonas Valanciunas is absolutely awful.
12. Boston Celtics- Rebuilding job for new coach Brad Stevens in Beantown, as a team that was one win away from the NBA Finals two years ago has been broken up and replaced with filler veterans until the draft picks acquired from Brooklyn come to fruition in the coming years.
13. Charlotte Bobcats- Seems like Charlotte can't even tank correctly, as they give severely overpay for center Al Jefferson, a quality big who will have no impact on the Bobcats' nonexistent playoff chances.
14. Orlando Magic- Orlando is assembling pieces with #2 pick Victor Oladipo joining Nikola Vucevic and Tobias Harris in forming a nucleus for head coach Jacque Vaughn.
15. Philadelphia 76ers- The Andrew Bynum trade set this franchise back five years (at least) it seems, as Philly is now in complete tank mode, after trading all-star Jrue Holiday for the injured Nerlens Noel and draft picks.
