In an effort to subside my hard on for the return to the hardwood I've decided to write a quick team by team preview for the upcoming 66 game season.
I've ranked the teams by conference and projected their 2011-12 record (Yes, the total wins and total losses are equal).
Eastern Conference
1.) Miami Heat (52-14)- The Heat lost in Game 6 of the NBA Finals last year and they’re only going to get better. If you gave me the Heat or the field to win the 2012 NBA title I would take the Heat and I wouldn’t even think twice about it.
2.) Chicago Bulls (48-18)- They certainly upgraded at the 2 with the addition of Rip Hamilton, but he’s wayyy past his prime. The Bulls are very solid, but who’s their #2 scorer? Carlos Boozer? How’d that work out last year?
3.) Boston Celtics (42-24)- I get it, they’re a year older. People keep pointing to this like Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and Kevin Garnett aren’t good anymore. I’m sure the compact 66 game schedule will affect them a little especially because their depth isn’t what it once was (which is only exacerbated now that Jeff Green is out for the year), but I’m not ready to sell the Celtics yet.
4.) New York Knicks (40-26)- The Knicks biggest concerns last year were defense, defensive rebounding, defending the low post, and protecting the rim. Tyson Chandler is the perfect addition because he does all of those things well, but he can’t cure all of the team’s ills. His unselfishness on the offensive end will also be a plus because there already aren’t enough shots for Melo and Amare. While Chandler makes perfect sense the Knicks had to give up Chauncey Billups and stability at PG to get him.
No, that's not Kimbo Slice. It's the Knicks new PG.
Enter Baron Davis. I’m very intrigued by this signing. For starters, ESPN’s Ric Bucher seems to think that Baron will only be out 4-5 weeks instead of the 8-10 that’s been reported. Everyone keeps saying that if Baron is healthy and motivated he’ll be great for the Knicks. “If he’s healthy and motivated.” I wish it were that easy for me. It’s almost like people are treating Baron like a supermodel/actress that gained a little weight. If she gets healthy (loses weight) and is motivated she can start wrecking dicks again.
5.) Atlanta Hawks (34-32)- The Hawks are stuck in a perpetual cycle of mediocrity. They are never going to win an NBA championship with this roster (especially with the absurd amount of $ they have invested in Joe Johnson). The way I see it the Hawks can either be the 4-5 seed for a few more years and never get past the 2nd round or they can blow the entire team up, bottom out, and hope to land a future superstar in the draft.
6.) Indiana Pacers (34-32)- I really like what the Pacers did this offseason in adding George Hill (a great sparkplug backup PG to push Collison) and David West (he was so underrated that he became overrated, but now he’s underrated again). A foundation of Darren Collison, Danny Granger, and David West may not be enough to win the title, but it’s certainly good enough for 6th place in the East.
7.) Philadelphia 76ers (33-33)- Doug Collins did a hell of a job with this team last year. They were young and he brought a sense of stability. They should get better with another year of experience.
8.) Milwaukee Bucks (32-34)- They lost Corey Maggette, John Salmons, and Keyon Dooling and replaced them with Mike Dunleavy, Jr., Stephen Jackson, and Beno Udrih. I’ll call that a slight upgrade. If Andrew Bogut stays healthy and Brandon Jennings takes a few less contested 3-pointers (he was 98 for 303 from deep last year) this team may climb back to the 6 spot, which is where they finished in 09-10.
9.) Orlando Magic (31-35)- I think Dwight will be traded before the trade deadline in March, but he’ll be around long enough to keep this team around .500.
10.) Detroit Pistons (29-37)- The Pistons are a worse (albeit younger) version of the Hawks. Sure I think that they’ll see a little addition by subtraction with Rip Hamilton gone, but how far are they going when Rodney Stuckey, Ben Gordon, Tayshaun Prince, Charlie Villanueva, Austin Daye, and Greg Monroe are their top 6 players?
11.) New Jersey Nets (24-42)- A full year (66 games, but you know what I meant) with Deron Williams running the show and the Nets should improve significantly. They swung and missed with Carmelo last year, but they seem to be one of the two landing spots for Dwight and he’s a game changer.
12.) Washington Wizards (21-45)- They will be very young, but there is a lot of talent on this roster. John Wall is the only star, but Syracuse native Andray Blatche and Nick Young can score, and Javale McGee protects the rim better than most.
13.) Charlotte Bobcats (18-48)- The Bobcats roster is horrendous. This is an easy comment to make, but I seriously think that Michael Jordan, at age 48, would be their best player. Seriously, this is their potential starting five...
PG- DJ Augustin
SG- Corey Maggette
SF- Boris Diaw
PF- Tyrus Thomas
C- Melvin Ely
14.) Cleveland Cavaliers (16-50)- Kyrie Iriving and Tristan Thompson better grow up in a hurry because there isn’t too much else on this roster other than a washed up Antawn Jamison and Anderson Varajeo.
15.) Toronto Raptors (15-51)- DeMar Derozan showed some signs last year, but I can’t get behind the foreign trio of Andrea Bargnani, Jose Calderon, and Linas Kleiza.
Western Conference
1.) Oklahoma City Thunder (49-17)- I still feel like they’re still a year away, but the West is theirs for the taking. Durant is an assassin, Perk slimmed down significantly, and James Harden stepped up in the playoffs. If Russell Westbrook can stop going 9855783 miles per hour at all times and learn to value the basketball the Thunder will be the team to beat in the West.
He either snorted a lot of cocaine, worked out a lot, or gave up Cap'n Crunch like C.C. Sabathia did.
2.) Dallas Mavericks (44-22)- They’re the defending champs, so I have to give them respect, but losing Chandler and Barea may come back to bite them. There’s no doubt that they’re talented, but I can’t figure out what they’re doing in the frontcourt. They essentially have 3 awkward forwards. Shawn Marion is a PF trapped in a SF’s body, Dirk is a SG trapped in a center’s body, and Lamar Odom is a SF trapped in a PF’s body.
3.) San Antonio Spurs (43-23)- Weird to think that they were the #1 seed last year. The roster didn’t change too much, which means that they’ll probably trot out an impact foreigner they drafted 3 years ago. Tony Parker, Manu, Richard Jefferson, and Tim Duncan may be old, but they know how to win and Gregg Popovich is one of the few coaches in the league that actually matters.
4.) Los Angeles Lakers (42-24)- Kobe may be a better player off the court this year (Hide your wives, hide your daughters, hide the hotel maids),but he’s still a top 3 player in the NBA (LBJ and Durant). Maybe he and Pau, who was clearly rattled in the playoffs after his GF dumped him, will get it together. Can't you see Kobe going on a one mission to avenge the wrong that David Stern did the Lakers by nixing the Chris Paul trade? All that said, the Lakers still have major concerns- PG defense, Andrew Bynum’s health, and first year head coach Mike Brown.
5.) Los Angeles Clippers (39-27)- The addition of CP3 may be slightly overstated, but it’s still a big deal. The Clippers starting 5 (CP3, Chauncey, Caron Butler, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan) is legit, but I question their depth. They do have 4 point guards (CP3, Chauncey, Mo Williams, and Eric Bledsoe), so they'd be the odds on favorite to win a ball handling competition (which is a lot more gay than it is noteworthy).
6.) Memphis Grizzlies (39-27)- The Grizzlies gained valuable experience in the playoffs last year (beat the Spurs in 6 and lost to the Thunder in 7). Z-Bo was simply a man among boys, which was FTW (fun to watch). Now they lost Shane Battier to the Heat, but they get Rudy Gay back from injury, so I expect them to build on last year’s momentum a little bit.
7.) Portland Trail Blazers (38-28)- They have great length in the frontcourt (Gerald Wallace, LaMarcus Aldridge, and the ageless Marcus Camby) as well as some firepower in the backcourt (Raymond Felton, Jamal Crawford, and Wesley Matthews).
8.) Denver Nuggets (38-28)- The Nuggets biggest problem this year may be in dealing with Chinese legalese as Wilson Chandler, JR Smith, and Kenyon Martin seem to be stuck in China until March. As for the team they’ll actually put on the court, Ty Lawson is an exciting PG, Nene is a solid center, and they have plenty of pieces to fill in the rest (Gallinari, Al Harrington, Andre Miller, etc.).
9.) Phoenix Suns (35-31)- The Suns will continue to fade in terms of NBA relevance as long as their roster is built around the 37-year-old Steve Nash and the 39-year-old Grant Hill. Sorry I’m not sorry that I can’t get excited about Shannon Brown (who I actually like), Channing Frye (it’s almost like there’s an electric fence around the 3-point line and he gets buzzed when he tries to go towards the rim), and Jared Dudley. The Suns do have great team chemistry, but that can only get you so far.
10.) Utah Jazz (34-32)- Their backcourt is highly questionable (Devin Harris, CJ Miles, Gordon Hayward and Raja Bell), but I like Derrick Favors and Al Jefferson, and I’m interested to see what Enes Kanter brings to the table.
11.) Golden State Warriors (32-34)- They can score. That much we know. The real question for them will be whether or not first year head coach Mark Jackson can bring some of that St. John’s/New York Knicks/post up point guard toughness to this team. I think they start to get things going in the right direction, but you aren’t going to the playoffs if Kwame Brown is your best defender.
12.) Houston Rockets (28-38)- This team is a collection of decent to not very good complimentary pieces. Kevin Martin and Luis Scola are solid, but they aren’t taking you anywhere.
13.) Sacramento Kings (23-43)- I really liked the addition of Chuck Hayes and it’s sad to see that his contract was voided because of a heart condition, but I still think that the Kings have improved. First and foremost, they drafted the Jimmer. I’m not sure what he’ll really bring (probably not much more than what J.J. Redick has done for the Magic), but he’s got a slight Tebow quality to him. Their best two players are clearly Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins and Marcus Thornton, J.J. Hickson, and John Salmons are fairly solid pieces to put around them.
14.) Minnesota Timberwolves (19-47)- They have three white PGs (Rubio, Barea, and Ridnour), three white bigs (Kevin Love, Darko, and Brad Miller), and a bunch of Player X’s. By Player X’s I mean that there are 4-5 guys that are not distinguishable from the others. If a casual NBA fan watched the Timberwolves play they’d be hard pressed to tell the difference between Wesley Johnson, Derrick Williams, Wayne Ellington, Michael Beasley, and Martell Webster.
One more point about the Timberwolves. For those people that say that Kevin Love is a top 10 player in the NBA. Stop it. I like Kevin Love. He’s a star with a unique skill set. He’s the best rebounder in the league and he can stroke it from deep, but here’s the problem. He’s at his best as the #2 or #3 option on offense. He can’t carry a team on his back. Just look at his track record. He was the best player on this team last year and they won 17 games. He’d be perfect on a team with a proven scorer like Kobe or Durant, but his skills aren’t fully utilized when he’s deferring to Michael Beasley.
15.) New Orleans Hornets (18-48)- The Hornets are going to be bad this season. Eric Gordon is a budding superstar and Chris Kaman is a serviceable center, but are they enough to win 20 games? I don’t think so.
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