NBA Tip-Off
NBA basketball returns tonight with two marquee matchups -- Heat vs. Bulls followed by Suns vs. Lakers. Here is my projected Top 5 for the season.
1. Phoenix
If Amare returns to full strength, he joins two-time MVP Steve Nash, Raja Bell, Shawn Marion and Boris Diaw on a team team that went deep into the playoffs last year. Amare gives them a chance at making it all the way to the finals ... and winning.
2. San Antonio
Tim Duncan is rested and Tony Parker was among the league-leaders in points in the paint last year.
3. Miami
Nothing changed, but Shaq and the aging supporting cast are all another year older. Dwyane Wade is going to win an MVP this year, especially if this team reaches the NBA Finals again.
4. Dallas
Another Finals team which returns all its key players. It'll be a similar story in Big D, with Big Dirk putting up MVP-type numbers. If DeSagana Diop really added a shadow of an offensive game, as some experts are saying, this team would move up in the rankings.
5. Detroit
They're the Patriots of the NBA. The talent is there (Tayshaun Prince, Richard Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace and Chauncey Billups). So is the on-court leadership (Billups). But while they may run out 5 guys who can score instead of 4, the departure of Ben Wallace still hurts.
posted by Jay @ 8:55 AM
4 Comments
4 Comments:
and the knicks are where??? ummm hellooo???
crumchy adams
bulls are gonna be real good this year. watch for it
A buddy of mine went as a Knicks fan for Holloween...a Marbury jersey and a paper bag over his head.
I can't bring myself to be that guy. The guy who watches all the preseason shows and falls victim to all the hype leading up to another NBA season. No matter what the analysts say, and frankly they really don't say much, I refuse to believe that the East has somehow almost overnight caught up to the elite Western Conference teams. Sure, the Miami Heat did win a championship last season, on the shoulders of Dwayne Wade and an absolutely herculian effort in the playoffs. Nobody is taking that away from them. But now all of a sudden everyone is all excited about the eastern conference. People are proclaiming the Bulls with the addition of Ben Wallace, an overated shotblocker with an elementary offensive game, are now all of a sudden contenders. What have the Bulls proven? Who is their elite player? Who for the Bulls is the difference maker? Are you going to tell me that Ben Wallace, whose scoring average is less than 5 points per game is going to lead you to the Finals?
The same thing goes for the New Jersey Nets. Your right they have Vince Carter, who when he wants to be is a top ten player in the league, yet his switch is constantly on and off. Jason Kidd, an aging hero to the white man for his smooth dribble and crisp passes is way past his prime and his run in the Finals is over. Are we ever going to see production from Richard Jefferson, who gets overhyped every year and has yet to perform on an all star level.
For me the NBA Elite begins and ends in the West. It begins with Tim Duncan, who when healthy is the most dominant player in the game, not named Lebron or D wade. There is an interesting theory I once read that says, "always go with the big man". I think it speaks for itself. Otherwise there is the Suns who have become the Colts of the NBA, a team of amazing talent and style but who can't seem to find all the right pieces. A healthy Amare coupled with Steve Nash and all the horses in his stable spells trouble for the West. But those two teams shouldn't look too far because the Mavs are breathing right down their necks, with youth, energy, and the most uniquely talented player in the league.
My sleeper pick, which might sound contradictory to my argument, is the Cleveland Cavs. Not neccesarily the Cavs themselves, but more specifically Lebron James, the game's greatest and most physically gifted and talented player. If Lebron begins the season with a purpose, watch out league, for it is the begginning of the Lebron era, and we are just lucky enough to see the show.
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