Atlanta Hawks: The Hawks will be the Hawks, except a little worse than last season. They’ll finish somewhere in the bottom half of the Eastern Conference playoff picture and experience a quick and painless first-round exit. Remember how the Hawks took a step forward when they replaced Flip Murray with Jamal Crawford? Well now they’re basically going back to Flip Murray (his name will be Pargo this time around). I do think this season will serve as the one where Jeff Teague finally provides the Hawks with a stable situation at point guard. Mike Bibby was a short-term solution, and Kirk Hinrich has limitations. Jeff Teague is a young player who can make things happen at the offensive end. He’s never going to be an All-Star, but he’s the guy who should finally allow them to stop looking for an alternate solution at the one.
Boston Celtics: This will likely be Boston’s final run led by the big three, and they’ve made some decent additions to their bench in hopes of making it a successful one. Chris Wilcox is an under-the-radar guy who brings a lot of athleticism to the table, as does Brandon Bass. Marquis Daniels will actually have a role this time around, so I think he’ll look more like the guy we saw as a Pacer. That being said, these aren’t moves that are going to re-open the window, which we all know has closed. Some will disagree with me here, but I give Danny Ainge a lot of credit for trying like hell to open it back up. Some of his decisions haven’t been popular with the fans, but the fans need to face the facts: last year’s team wasn’t good enough, and this year’s team isn’t good enough. This is not a re-building situation just yet, so the right thing to do is to shake things up in hopes of making the team championship caliber again. I think a Rondo for Paul deal would’ve done just that, and even the David West sign and trade, in conjunction with some other moves, could’ve put them back in the hunt. Unfortunately for Danny and the Cs, Chris Paul is tossing lobs to Blake Griffin, David West opted to sign with the Pacers, and I don’t see another obvious move that makes the Cs good enough to be playing in June. If there is one out there it would have to involve trading Rondo. He’s the only thing they have that anyone would want. If Rondo acts up, maybe he’s dealt for Steve Nash? If Nash was two or three years younger I’d be thinkin’ go for it… at age 37… I don’t know.
Charlotte Bobcats: In trading Gerald Wallace and Stephen Jackson the Bobcats essentially decided that it’s better to be a lottery team than an eighth seed. With Corey Maggette as their most capable offensive player I’d say they’re set to receive a pretty nice pick in the 2012 draft (supposedly a strong class). In addition to whoever they select, they’ll have Kemba Walker, DJ Augustin, and a project in Bismack Biyombo. Those are a few decent pieces, but as far as young, rebuilding teams go, their prospects aren’t very impressive. If I’m the ‘Cats I’m looking to unload Tyrus Thomas. I’m a fan of the guy, but he’ll never be anything more than a high-flying enigma. That’s my word.
Chicago Bulls: The biggest move the Bulls made this offseason was to extend Derrick Rose. While that’s obviously of great importance to the future of their franchise, it doesn’t make them any better this season. Chicago’s lone acquisition made to better their chances in 2011/12 is Rip Hamilton. He’s a two guard, which they desperately needed, but I think that’s about the only thing that makes him a fit. Rip has one of the best mid-range jumpers of the past decade, but he’s very reliant on his teammates. He makes a living moving without the ball, cutting and bouncing off of picks until he’s found an opening. He’s effective, no doubt, but he doesn’t create. This means the Bulls will still be reliant on Derrick Rose to manufacture the vast majority of their offense. Chicago could really use an additional perimeter player with the ability to make something happen on his own. I think that would add a whole new dynamic to their offense. As they are currently constructed, they still aren’t good enough to beat the Heat, who are only getting better.
Cleveland Cavaliers: This team is in a full-rebuild mode, obviously, so the focus will be on the development of young players. Baron Davis is out and the team belongs to first-overall selection Kyrie Irving. I’m not a college basketball guy so I’m not even going to get into making predictions on him. Give me a month’s worth of games and I’ll have an opinion. Other players to keep an eye on include Tristan Thompson and Christian Eyenga. I fully expect Antawn Jamison to be traded before the deadline; probably to whoever offers the most youth and/or draft picks.
Detroit Pistons: This team needs to make a trade or two. They want to start rookie point guard Brandon Knight, and they’ve re-signed Rodney Stuckey for three years, $25 million. Clearly, both players are included in the organization’s plan for the future. This leaves Ben Gordon, an undersized, overpaid shooting guard on the bench. As a team that’s in the midst of a full rebuild, do you really want a 28-year-old coming off of your bench scoring about 10 PPG for $11 million this year? I wouldn’t think so. Most other teams don’t want that either, but I’ve seen Hedo Turkoglu get dealt multiple times since signing that ridiculous deal with the Craptors. Anything’s possible. Where there’s a will there’s a way. Detroit won’t get much in return, but even an expiring contract and a second rounder should suffice. Getting Gordon off of this team should be a priority.
Charlie Villanueva is a year younger and makes quite a bit less money than Gordon, but he’s another guy that could be on the block. He showed flashes of brilliance in Milwaukee three seasons ago, but he’s yet to find a true niche in the league. At age 27… it’s not looking promising. Austin Daye, Jonas Jerebko, and Tayshaun Prince will be eating up the majority of the minutes at the three. CV can play the four, but it’s not his natural position. I don’t feel that he’s part of the long-term plan, so why have him around underachieving out of position? Might as well shop him.
Detroit isn’t in great shape, but they’re better off than they appeared to be last season. The buyout of Richard Hamilton’s contract was a move that absolutely had to be made. I like the coaching change simply because last season was such a disaster; to bring Kuester back after all the stories of what a mess that lockerroom was wouldn’t have been a good look. I got a good first impression of Brandon Knight, everyone likes Jonas Jerebko, and hopefully Tayshaun Prince will rub off on Austin Daye. Oh yeah, I’m calling Greg Monroe for MIP ’11/12, by the way. There are a lot of other cellar-dwelling teams out there who would kill to have a young center with his ceiling.
Indiana Pacers: I hope my good friend InspiredLebowski of InsideHoops is reading, because I’ve got a lot of good things to say about his favorite team. First of all, signing David West to a two-year deal was an excellent move. There wasn’t much on the free agent market this offseason, and Indiana managed to get one of the top players without tying up a bunch of money over a long period of time. Brilliant signing. In addition to West, George Hill is a great acquisition. A 25-year-old point guard schooled under Gregg Popovich is almost a young player and a veteran all in one. He’s accustomed to coming off the bench and will fit in swimmingly. As for returning players… we’re still waiting on Roy Hibbert, but as long as he doesn’t shrink he’s more than servicable as it is. Paul George has moved into the starting lineup and could be poised for a break-out year (and a dunk contest appearance). Tyler Hansbrough is going to define ”role player” for the next decade. I’m not so high on Darren Collison anymore, but I’m not about to write him off due to a sophomore slump. And then there’s Danny Granger… he’s pretty good.
I’m going to say the Pacers improve on last season’s 8th-place finish and crack the top six this season.
Miami Heat: Come this June, 87% of people who read this this will be overcome by furious anger.
Milwaukee Bucks: Andrew Bogut’s health is the key to Milwaukee’s success. In the spirit of a fresh new season, I’m going to write this blurb as if he’ll play at least 70 games. I see the Bucks fighting with the Sixers for the final playoff spot (if Dwight is dealt they’re both in) in the East, but at this point they have to be considered the underdogs. I say that not only because Sixers were a postseason team last year, but also because they should be improved. Philly won’t start 5-13 in ’11/12, so the Bucks can’t afford early-season struggles as they work to get guys like Stephen Jackson and Mike Dunleavy acclimated to a new system. Jackson missed almost all of Milwaukee’s training camp with a back injury, but once he gets in game shape I think he’ll be a good fit. The Bucks are going to be a hell of a defensive team. Anchored by Bogut, they’ve also got Jackson and Mbah A Moute, two of the finest perimeter defenders in the league. I’m gonna say they’ll have the league’s best record when scoring fewer than 90 points.
New Jersey Nets: Nets fans will have to take this season for what it is and patiently wait until next year, because this team’s sorry roster just got a whole lot sorrier. In case you haven’t heard, Brook Lopez is having surgery to fix a broken wheel. It’s uncertain how long he’ll be out, but in the grand scheme of things, does it really matter? The Nets don’t have the talent to trade for Dwight anyway, and this will help them gather more ping pong balls. Without Lopez it’s going to be Williams, Okur (just became a Net), Morrow, Williams (Shawne), Farmar, Humphries, Brooks (MarShon, their first-rounder), and D-Leaguers. I highly suggest giving Okur, Shawne Williams, or Morrow a shot on your fantasy squad if any of them are yet to be claimed. Man, I can’t get over how bad this roster is. Stephen Graham… Johan Petro… Shelden Williams… Sundiatta Gaines…
New York Knicks: Good enough to lose to Miami or Chicago in the second round–that’s how good the Knicks will be this season. Still, that’s a huge step forward. The Knicks haven’t advanced past the first round of the playoffs in over a decade.
The big free agent acquisition to discuss here is obviously Tyson Chandler. I hope no one actually thinks this guy is going to come to New York and “change the culture,” as I’ve heard folks claim he did in Dallas. This is still a Mike D’Antoni team. I’m watching NBAtv as I type this, and some dude just said “Tyson Chandler brings a championship resume.” Okay, I suppose I can’t take the ring off his finger, but when did he suddenly gain all of these leadership qualities? I think the culture of New York will have a bigger impact on Tyson Chandler than Tyson Chandler will have on the culture of New York.
Orlando Magic: This is a bad basketball team. Excluding Dwight Howard, their best player is an aging shooting guard who’s otherworldly athleticism no longer matters because he’s fallen in love with the three-pointer. The other starters are Jameer Nelson, who’s never been the same since that injury, Big Baby, and Hedo Turkoglu, I guess? Their bench includes JJ Reddick, Ryan Anderson, Quentin Richardson, Von Wafer, and Larry Hughes. I didn’t tack Larry Hughes on there as some sort of joke. He’s probably the 9th best player on the team right now, and arguably the 8th (depending on how you feel about Von Wafer).
You know what I think? Dwight wants out, but he feels bad about it. He knows the city loves him and he doesn’t want to go through what LeBron did when he left Cleveland. I bet Dwight is dying for Otis Smith to acquire the talent to get Orlando back in the finals, but how the hell is he gonna do that with the roster at hand? Prediction: Stan Van Gundy gets fired at the end the season, regardless of what happens with Dwight.
Oh, and Dwight either gets traded or he’s walking. He feels bad, but not that bad. He knows the Magic can’t surround him with studs like some other franchises can.
Philadelphia 76ers: I already touched on the Sixers when I talked about the Bucks, and I don’t have a whole lot to say about them. They’ll finish no worse than 9th in the East, and if they make the playoffs they’ll get creamed. What else is there to say? Jrue Holiday will be nice this year. I hope Thad Young plays more. I guess the Sixers don’t really interest me.
Toronto Raptors: This team is so irrelevant that I initially forgot to include them. Upon proofreading I realized I’d only written about 14 teams, and then I actually had to look at NBA.com’s teams page in order to figure out who was missing. Seriously though (wait, that was serious), the Craptors are playing for ping pong balls. I drafted Jerryd Bayless in one of the last rounds of my fantasy draft in hopes that he’ll win the starting PG spot over Jose Calderon. Time to shake it up, don’t you think, Toronto? Bayless has the talent to make a little somethin’ happen from time to time, but not enough to effect your lottery position. Might as well let him run free. I think Toronto should go with an all-athletic lineup of Bayless, DeRoZaN, Johnson (James), Johnson (Amir), and–I’m going to make an exception here–Jamaal Magloire.
Washington Wizards: I plan to watch a lot of Wizards/Clippers LP double-headers this season. John Wall is going to be healthy and make the leap into stardom (not superstardom, but borderline All-Stardom), and I don’t want to miss it. This kid is end-to-end fast like Leandro Barbosa, quick like Allen Iverson (maybe not that quick), and he dunks like a small forward. He also has the swag of a prime Ricky Davis. Speaking of swag, Nick Young signed the qualifying offer. I love watching Nick Young because I feel like I’m receiving an education in one-on-five scoring and afro growing at the same time. Javale McGee is back too. His combination of height, athleticism, and stupidity makes him pretty fun to watch.
The only people who won’t enjoy watching this team are Wizards fans.
Western Conference coming soon.
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