Well, it's being posted on the 31st, but the majority of it was put together on the 29th. Just one of those things.
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1. Cleveland Cavaliers – So, it appears that all the Cavs needed to do was just kinda tidy up some spacing issues on the offensive end. The defence was there all along, and now that someone has informed the coaching staff that LeBron James plays for their team, everything should be copasetic from here on in. Man, that’s a lot of pre-written posts I’m gonna have to revisit for the next few months.
2. Boston Celtics – Well, I do think if you’re gonna get an injury, a late December Paul Pierce knee infection is about the best sacrifice the team can make to appease the basketball gods. May it be found worthy.
3. Los Angeles Lakers – There are like four or five teams in the league that the Lakers really need to bring full effort against if they wanna win. The rest, notwithstanding the inevitable mathematical necessities of a few losses here and there, are just statistical anomalies. I’m sure the Suns played a fine game, but really, again, I bet everybody tries harder in June. (Well, except for Kobe, but the rest of the guys, you know.)
4. Atlanta Hawks – For the last few years, at the beginning of every season, somebody would point to the personnel on the Hawks and predict great things, but the head-case-edness of it all negated any talent for me, and I always thought of them as an easy night on the schedule. Now, I don’t know what the hell changed, but they’re thisclose to scaring the bejeezus out of me.
5. Orlando Magic – What the hell are the Magic doing way down here? That either makes me happy for the calibre of the NBA or a wee bit cheesed at the writers who cover it.
6. Dallas Mavericks – What the hell are the Mavs doing way up here at this point in the season? That either makes me sad for the calibre of the NBA or a wee bit cheesed at the writers who cover it. … or maybe they’re good this year and I can’t quite fathom it. Ah well.
7. San Antonio Spurs – I like it when a team beats the teams it’s supposed to beat, and the Spurs are definitely doing that, same as always. Unfortunately, the number of teams in that category has shrunk recently. I mean, the category can only be defined as “every other team in the league” for so long, but I bet that’s slim consolation in the here and now.
8. Portland Trail Blazers – Of course, if there’s a team that has no interest in the consolation of anybody else…
9. Denver Nuggets – Bumps and bruises and general discomfort to some of the main characters here. Championship teams either stay healthy, or are the best water-treaders through adversity. If you asked the Magic 8-Ball what kind of team this is, I’m not sure where all the signs would point towards.
10. Phoenix Suns – The worst part about the nice surprise the Suns have been this season – with pretty much every other team in the league (you know, except the Nets), you can picture the cavalry arriving, and the team would be better in March than they are now. A rookie matures, a veteran heals, chemistry gels, a crazy trade fixes a glaring hole. I think this team is fantastic, but they’re as good now as they’re gonna get. Amare would be a great candidate for healing-slash-maturing-slash-exploding, but…
11. Houston Rockets – Like, these guys, the most overachieving bunch in the league, still have a $23 million bargaining chip to improve with -- one who could miraculously turn into an All-Star if you had a time machine handy. I don’t see them getting better this year, but they have that out-of-left-field hope in the back of their minds.
12. Miami Heat – The Miami Heat are the fifth best team in the Eastern Conference by a near-inexplicable margin, in both the good and bad direction. The Vegas odds on a first round playoff upset are going to be the stuff of legend this year.
13. Utah Jazz – There’s another trade or two in these guys. It won’t change much, but it’ll be blog fodder for a while.
14. Oklahoma City Thunder – If these guys catch the injury-riddled Blazers for the eighth seed, I predict a glut of articles about the passing of the team-of-the-future torch.
15. Memphis Grizzlies – You know, this is the overachieving team that nobody cares about. Seriously, googling “Memphis Grizzlies” yields fewer hits than everybody but the Blazers (I think Blazers vs. Trail Blazers skews the results there) and the T-Wolves (just bad, without being historically Nets-type bad), and that takes into account all the Iverson hoopla from the early season. The invisible team. (Oh, and on an unrelated note, the Thunder have twice as many pages as the Lakers and three times as many as anybody else. I’m sure weather reports have nothing to do with that.)
16. Toronto Raptors – I’d like to believe this little run is a sign of things to come, but I’d like to see them play some good teams before I relax. Of course, I still think that they’d win a seven game series over the lofty Heat right now, so maybe improvement isn’t quite the imperative that it should be.
17. Sacramento Kings – This was supposed to be a weak draft. Tell that to the team with three productive rookies in its rotation.
18. New Orleans Hornets – All world players who make their teammates better shouldn’t be playing on the 18th best team in the league. Chris Paul is phenomenal, but unfortunately, his teammates are less so.
19. Los Angeles Clippers – I would love for Blake Griffin to be the missing piece. I’d also love to see him tear a strip of Baron Davis when he breaks a play for the eighth time in a row. It wouldn’t be productive, but it would be awesome nonetheless.
20. Milwaukee Bucks – If I told you you could have a rookie point guard average 19 points, 6 assists, and 35 minutes a game, would you take it? Then why is everybody worried about Jennings being in a slump?
21. Charlotte Bobcats – I just can’t get interested in this team. I’d rather play golf, and I hate golf.
22. New York Knicks – Knicks seem to play better without Robinson – that was newsworthy. Knicks seem to play better without Curry – seriously? This is news? What was your sample size to draw from?
23. Detroit Pistons – The injured reserves are coming back, but no-one’s really breathing a sigh of relief. Probably not a good sign.
24. Chicago Bulls – I don’t believe in firing a coach because the fans are antsy, and neither do I believe in firing a coach based on one or two stink-fests. The NBA season is long, GMs should know what they’re in for. However – I am fairly comfortable with firing coaches because they are bad at the job. I believe I’ll just leave that hanging.
25. Washington Wizards – It’s an ugly thing, but in this year’s East, would anybody really be surprised if Washington landed themselves an 8th seed? The only way it would be worth it would be if the Cavs were the 1st seed.
26. Golden State Warriors – What would their record be if D’Antoni was the coach? They could still be the crazy gunner kinda team, but maybe with a purpose. Alas.
27. Philadelphia 76ers – Of all the teams down here – I think Philly has probably made more moves that other teams would have made than anybody else. Arenas’ massive contract? Giving Nellie carte blanche? Signing Gordon and Villanueva? All questioned as they happened. Signing Brand? Seemed like a good idea at the time.
28. Minnesota Timberwolves – They are a better team with Kevin Love back. Baby steps.
29. Indiana Pacers – They’d be a better team with Danny Granger back. Yeah, that’s a reach, but it’s the best I got right now.
30. New Jersey Nets – Yes, they’re pencilled in here for the foreseeable future.
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