Los Angeles Lakers 2008-2009 Season Preview
October 5, 2008
The Lakers made it to the Finals last season but they were missing a lot on the defensive end. They did not rebound well and gave up tons of easy layups. They hope to solve that problem with the return of young Andrew Bynum. Bynum was having a solid season last year before he was injured. With his return Pau Gasol will move down to the power forward spot and Lamar Odom will move to the small forward spot, or the bench.
A lot of people including a lot of media members are handing the title to the Lakers already because of the return of Bynum. I know he will improve the Lakers interior defense but unless their perimeter defense improves I don’t see them getting back to the finals.
Aside from defense the Lakers need to rotate their players better. All of their bench players, with the exception of Ariza and Farmer, are just shooters which means that the Lakers second unit isn’t aggressive going to the basket. Phil Jackson needs to keep one of the starters on the floor a bit longer so that have a go to guy on the second unit. Last season Lamar Odom was always the starter that stayed on the floor the longest but he not the type of guy to take over games. They lost quite a few leads with that second unit because the only shots going up where threes.
The Lakers have what it takes offensively and Bynum and Ariza will bring some of what the Lakers missed in the playoffs, slashing, rebound,and shot blocking, but with the increased competition in the West they have to play better perimeter defense and be more aggressive on offense to win a championship.
Los Angeles Clippers 2008-2009 Season Preview
October 3, 2008
The Clippers added a bunch of new players this season but they will still have to battle to make the playoffs because most of their players have had up and down careers. Baron and Camby are players that have had injury problems since they have been in the NBA. Kaman had a horrible 06-07 season before having a monster season last year. Tim Thomas seems to only play hard during a contract year. Ricky Davis can score but most consider him to be a cancer. Cuttino Mobley’s stats have declined since he left Houston.
The Clippers are going to need Camby and Baron healthy for a large portion of the season because Baron is going to determine how far this team goes and Camby is going to determine how good defensively this team will be. They also need last year’s Kaman to return this year. With Kaman scoring and getting rebounds and Camby rebounding and blocking shots, the Clippers will have one of the best power forward, center combos in the NBA.
If the team can get positive contributions from Thomas, Davis, Mobley, and guys like Eric Gordon and DeAndre Jordan they will improve on last years 23-59 record but they won’t make the playoffs. If you look at every team in the West that was in the playoff last year you expect every team, except Denver, to be back and you would think that Portland would take the spot that was Denver’s last year. The Clippers will have to get extremely hot in order to get in the playoffs
Indiana Pacers 2008-2009 Season Preview
October 1, 2008
The Indiana Pacers moved Jermaine O’Neal this Summer for TJ Ford and a few other players. In the next few weeks they will get rid of Jamal Tinsley and possible Shawne Williams. After those two players are moved the Pacers will have an okay team left but not one good enough to make the playoffs.
This team will have excellent point guard play with TJ Ford starting and Jarrett Jack coming off the bench. The team also has a good batch of shooters like Troy Murphy, Granger, and Dunleavy. After those 5 players you pretty much have a bunch of limited role players and inexperienced rookies. Throw in the fact that this team is not so good defensively and you can see they have an uphill battle to make the playoffs.
This team could use some more solid big men. They have some good trade bait with Radoslav Nesterovic and Jeff Foster having expiring contracts. It is very possible this team could make some moves and improve their roster at any time during the season.
Houston Rockets 2008-2009 Season Preview
September 30, 2008
The Rockets are looking like a very tough team with the addition of Ron Artest. The biggest thing that the Rockets have to do is stay healthy. Ming and McGrady are both injury prone. Last season the Rockets were able to win without Yao but that is not likely to happen this season. If one or both of those players goes down then things can get rough.
In addition to adding Artest this team can look forward to improvements from Scola, Luther Head, and Carl Landry. They can also look forward to improved 3 point shooting with the addition of Brent Barry. Also look for their defense to become even better than in was last year, especially if they resign Mutombo.
I see the Rockets being the number one seed in the Western Conference because they are a better defensive team than the Lakers and Hornets. The Rockets will make the playoffs and they will get to the second round, if they stay healthy.
Denver Nuggets 2008-2009 Season Preview
September 24, 2008
The Denver Nuggets got into the playoffs last season and their were quickly knocked out by the Lakers. This year they return a team that has a lot of question marks.
One of the first things I have to point out is that this team traded away Marcus Camby a good rebounder and shot blocker. Everyone is saying that the Nuggets are doomed with their best defender gone but I say that they have 2 big men that have had injury problems, Nene and K Mart, and they have Chris Anderson and Steven Hunter. If Nene and K Mart stay healthy they can replace Camby’s rebounding and shot blocking. Also remember that K Mart is a solid defender.
Another issue is JR Smiths minutes. JR Smith should be a starter in the NBA. He could easily average 20 per game. Last season I made a blog post saying that if the Nuggets missed the playoff it would be because JR Smith barely played in the beginning of the season. The Nugget do not play good team defense, they have to depend on their offense to win yet they keep their third best scorer on the bench way too much.
Another issue is Iverson. He did not get the contract extension he wanted so, will he be motivated to play hard? I think so because he needs to show people that he still has it and that he can win if he wants to get another good contract after the season.
Overall, I don’t think the Nuggets are that bad but I don’t see them in the playoffs. They just aren’t deep enough team to get in.
Dallas Mavericks 2008-2009 Season Preview
September 20, 2008
The Dallas Mavericks have never been the same since they blew that 2-0 lead in the NBA Finals in 2006. This season will be the same as the last two seasons because they are not mentally strong. They have not made any significant changes that make them a better team than LA, New Orleans, Phoenix, San Antonio, or Portland.
One thing Dallas has to look forward to is a new coach. Maybe Rick Carlise can bring something to this team the Avery Johnson could not. They also have a full training camp and preseason with Jason Kidd. Maybe Kidd can make a better impact on the team by playing starting the season with the team.
Another thing to look forward to is the development of Brandon Bass. Bass came out of nowhere last year and was the Mavs third best player. If he improves on what he did last year it could be a great help to the team.
Another thing for this team to look forward to is Josh Howard coming out and trying to prove everyone wrong. People are on him about smoking weed, partying during the playoffs, disappearing during the playoffs, and his video about the national anthem. I am sure that Josh Howard will come out an show everyone that he can ball and put all that other crap in the rear view.
Without any major additions this team has to count on new coaching and improved players to make them better but I don’t think that will be enough. The Mavericks will be competing with the Clippers, Nuggets, and Blazers for those 7th and 8th playoff spots and their is a good chance that the Mavs won’t get in.
Cleveland Cavaliers 2008-2009 Season Preview
September 17, 2008
When it comes to the Cavaliers they can win 45 to 50 games with Lebron and any 4 bums on the court. This season Lebron will have a little bit more help in the backcourt with scoring point guard Mo Williams which the Cavs got from the Bucks this summer. Williams can shot and dish the rock.
Acquiring Williams gives the Cavs a trio of good guards in West, Williams and Gibson. The one thing I wonder is how long it will take for Williams and West to be comfortable with the Cavs style of play. On the Cavs Lebron is the basically the point guard, and guys like West and Williams are used to handling the ball. West might make the adjustment soon because he played with the team the second half of the season. It will be interesting to see if Williams can adjust quick enough to make a impact in the beginning of the season.
The Cavs still have Big Z for offense, Ben Wallace for defense and rebounding, and Varejao to annoy players on the other team. They also have Szczerbiak to knock down threes, although they may move him and his expiring contract.
Overall the Cavs are a thin team but they have Lebron and they are in the East. They will win 45-50 games and they will make the playoffs, once they get there they can beat anyone.
Chicago Bulls 2008-2009 Season Preview
September 11, 2008
The Bulls were supposed to be a top team in the Eastern confernce last season but the stunk. They started the season losing, they fired their coach, then they made a pretty bad trade near the trading deadline.
They had a little luck by getting the first pick in the draft but they have a first year coach, a ton of guards, and no real post presence. As a matter of fact this team only has 2 power forwards and one center.
The Bulls need to balance out their roster before they can even think about the playoffs. Obviously rose is their future pg so what happens with Hinrich if he isn’t traded, will he start or come off the bench. The Bulls have Larry Hughes and Ben Gordon (if they resign him) at the 2 spot along with Thabo Sefolosha. At the 3 they have Nocioni and Deng. At the 4 they have Gooden and Thomas. At the 5 they have Aaron Gray and the rest of the team is pretty much d leaguers.
This team will not make the playoffs this season unless they do something with their roster. It is too much confusion in regards to the point guard situation and their is not enough talent up front for this team to win more than 35 games.
Charlotte Bobcats 2008-2009 Season Preview
September 9, 2008
The Bobcats have brought in Larry Brown to try and improve the team and get them into the playoffs but it won’t work. The Bobcats have good players at every position in the starting lineup but they seem to have a lot of injury problems and they are not deep at all.
This season they have added DJ Augistine, and they hope to bring back Adam Morrison and Sean May which could extend their bench. Plus they get to play a entire season with Nazr Mohammad.
This team is lacking a lot of things. They do not have an experience backup point guard unless they plan to play the recently signed Shannon Brown at that position, which would be a mistake since he is not a great ball handler. They don’t have an experience backup center.
Larry Brown is a miracle maker if he can get this team into the playoffs because they have an all-star starting lineup with a d league bench. Not to mention the level of competition in the East will be better because Philly is better, Miami has Wade back, Cleveland has Mo Williams, Detroit has Kwame Brown, just kidding.
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