Season Preview: Oklahoma City Thunder

Finally, we're done after this, and right before start of the season too.

Starting 5:

PG- Russell Westbrook

SG- Kevin Durant

SF- Jeff Green

PF- Chris Wilcox

C- Nick Collison

Off the bench

Guards: Earl Watson, Damien Wilkins, Kyle Weaver

Forwards: Desmond Mason, Joe Smith, DJ White

Centers: Robert Swift, Johan Petro

I have to cringe every time I think about this team, I really do. I went to school in Seattle, and while the Sonics sucked, they at least had the heydays of The Glove tossing up alley-oops to The Rain Man, and Detlef Schremph, and Sam Perkins jacking up 3s at the end of the 4th quarter. They were a team that sucked, with history. Now, they're just a team that sucks. Ok, ok, so maybe I'm not being fair, I'm not considering everything that happened and the legislation and the whole Key Arena scenario and schmo that Howard Schultz is for selling the team in the first place. Alright I'm going to try to be more objective now and not be too abrasive on the Oklahoma City fans out there, but honestly speaking, there's not much in store for them out there, especially this season.

Besides both having coached under Greg Popovich, PJ Carlesimo shares another thing outside of being defensive minded with Mike Brown, that is, they both run the same offensive sets, in essence, have your PG bring up the ball, and give it to your best player. Mike Brown got lucky with this one, because his best player is LeBron James. As great as Kevin Durant is and/or may be, he's no LeBron James. Considering that Durant is only 20, I see a possibility of Durant developing into a trigger happy gunner that is horribly inefficient on the floor, maybe I'm just pessimistic, but it's how he's being taught to play. Seriously, the only time I've seen this team "dominate" was when Durant decided to suit up for a Summer League game. Wilcox and Collison are solid players, but when they're your 2nd and 3rd most effective players on the floor, then I think you're in trouble. Collison to me is like those hustle player that goes for the boards and just does the dirty work, like a... white Udonis Haslem. Wilcox is basically like a more-effective Ronny Turiaf, hair and all, to me something an energy guy, he just scores a bit to go along with it. Jeff Green has shown flashes of great play, but his game is also still raw and unrefined, it's gonna take some time for him to get into it. Damien Wilkins has shown streaks of being able to take the ball to the hole, and has played well during the preseason, I might remind you he played exceptionally well at the beginning of last season before abruptly disappearing from the face of the planet. Russell Westbrook is untested and was drafted more for his defensive abilities so anything he does contribute on the offensive end would be a plus, whereas Earl Watson, well, no one's ever really been sure what to make of Earl Watson, but since Luke Ridnour's gone, I guess that makes him the point man until Westbrook comes of age or if Carlesimo starts his rookie, the backup.

Desmond Mason was brought in as a sort of marketing thing since he's from OKC, and Joe Smith is serviceable but also a non-factor on defense. Either one could snag a starting spot I suppose if things don't work out with Green and Smith outplays either Collison, Wilcox, or the both of them. Finally, if we look at the center rotation, we have Robert Swift, who hasn't been healthy enough to show to us that he really is in fact, bad, and Johan Petro who has shown us that he's somewhat worse than not good, Sene has been relegated to D-League because he's that much worse than Petro, and Ibaka will stay in Europe, because... he's not ready for the NBA? Not really sure about that. Seriously though, when a team has 2 7-foot center eligible players and is forced to start Nick Collison at the 5, not a good sign. So my call on Robert Swift, bust. I'm not going to touch the tatoos and the emo getup.

Season Preview: New York Knicks

Honestly, it wasn't the quote itself that I found interesting, but more that it's Zach Randolph saying it for some reason, and maybe that it's the Knicks.

Starting 5:

PG- Chris Duhon

SG- Jamal Crawford

SF- Quentin Richardson

PF- David Lee

C- Zach Randolph

Off the bench

Guards: Nate Robinson, Stephon Marbury, Fred Jones

Forwards: Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Patrick Ewing Jr, Jared Jeffries, Malik Rose

Centers: Jerome James, Eddy Curry

Being from New York (granted upstate) I really want to root for the Knicks, I really do, but the whole roster and the Isaiah Thomas thing, and all that, just make it really, really hard. Anyways, in looking at the roster, the thing that frightens me the most isn't necessarily the talent level, they're a decent bunch, but the fact that Jamal Crawford is getting lost in a run-and-gun system. The issue ends up being that Crawford isn't getting the touches he's used to to create his shot, he's taking almost 7 less shots per game and that's not allowing him to get into a rythm and get consistent, something he struggles with from time to time. What that means, is that very soon we could see Stephon Marbury starting in place of Crawford if this doesn't work out. That'd be interesting.

Another portent could be the packaging of Crawford with Curry and shipping them both off somewhere, clearing up some roster space for the highly anticipated 2010 free agency, especially with Randolph looking more and more like he fits the D'Antoni system quite well. Another player that thrives in the new run-and-gun system appears to be David Lee, who's hard work and hustle has always merited him to be a fan-favorite but never really got him a enough playing time under Isaiah Thomas to see his potential. Eddy Curry on the other hand has been fighting off a bacterial infection, but more importantly than that, came to camp completely out of shape. As hard as he tries now, I don't think he'll be more than the backup center at best, 3rd string at worst, which he is now. On the plus side, I don't know that he'd qualify for Yahoo!'s Eddy Curry Line should this persist. To continue along views of pessimism, beyond flashes of brilliance we saw at maybe one preseason game, 1st round pick Danilo Gallinari has been sidelined with back issues, not promising, especially considering all the scrutiny and skepticism he came with when he was drafted. However, when healthy look for him to crack the rotation, the big question is, when he will be healthy.

Nate Robinson remains another bright spot in an increasingly glum situation, however, his play hasn't merited him to be much aside from the energy 6th man, as good as the numbers he's putting up, he won't thrive as a starter, though I expect him to get a lot of minutes, like when he played behind Fred Jones last season. Wilson Chandler has been another bright spot, playing well, and producing. With Renaldo Balkman gone to Denver, he's the key SF/PF backup until Danilo Gallinari gets back. A lot speculate that since Quentin Richardson has been so unimpressive, especially for someone who's played for D'Antoni before and is familiar with the system, could lose a lot of playing time, that and the fact that he was pretty consistently injured last season.

Like the Nets, I doubt the Knicks care much about this season or the next, it's all one big project for the 2010 free agency sweepstakes. I hope something about this team makes me like them again.

Season Preview: Memphis Grizzlies

Starting 5:

PG- Mike Conley

SG- OJ Mayo

SF- Rudy Gay

PF- Hakim Warrick

C- Darko Milicic

Off the bench

Guards: Kyle Lowry, Javaris Crittenton, Marko Jaric

Forwards: Darrell Arthur, Greg Buckner, Quinton Ross, Antoine Walker, Brent Petaway

Centers: Marc Gasol, Hamed Haddadi

The Grizzlies have been something of the laughing stock of the NBA for a while now, well, now until OKC decided to call their team the Thunder. They will be most well known now for ensuring Lakers title contention by trading Pau Gasol away for Kwame Brown's expiring contract, Javaris Crittenton, the rights to Marc Gasol, and Aaron McKie. Meaning all they have left now, is Javaris Crittenton, Marc Gasol, and cap space. There's a lot of talent on this team, I'm a Rudy Gay fan, despite the fact that his UConn Huskies defeated Brandon Roy's UW Huskies in the NCAA tournament (I'm a UW Alum). The biggest question is if Rudy Gay can step it up to the next level and really carry a team. Sophomore Mike Conley seems to have won the starting spot, and despite the injuries that plagued him last season, I like the numbers that he can put up. He won't be All-Star caliber, but he's serviceable and what I consider an above average starting point, you certainly could do a lot worse.

From there, everything sort of curtails into potential and hopes that that potential is realized. Darko has pretty much been deemed a draft bust, more because expectations I think were too high than that he's actually that bad. He's a serviceable player, just don't expect 20-10 from him night in and night out. Antoine Walker, well, is Antoine Walker, he takes up space and a lot of cap space, similar to Marko Jaric, except he doesn't bring as much to the floor, or a supermodel girlfriend to the area. Anyways, in terms of basketball, Marc Gasol and OJ Mayo have shown they can play, but if that carries over consistently into the regular season remains yet to be seen. All we've seen thusfar is play from Euroleague, NCAA, and the preseason (in the case of Marc Gasol, yes the Olympics as well). Marc Gasol hopefully can pan out to be almost as good as his brother, and man the middle. OJ Mayo, well, they were willing to throw Mike Miller into a package for him, which is really saying a lot about how much they like him. Worse case scenario he turns into a DeShawn Stevenson, actually, that's pretty bad. Hamed Haddaddi will get his taste of NBA action, after being cleared by US Customs to come over from Iran, he looked good in his league, but again, it's a matter of how much of his game is lost in translation.

Potential and upside team yet once again. They've been that for a while. When will they realize that potential? Who knows?

Season Preview: Charlotte Bobcats

Only a couple more weeks!!!

Starting 5:

PG- Raymond Felton

SG- Jason Richardson

SF- Gerald Wallace

PF- Sean May

C- Emeka Okafor

Off the bench

Guards: DJ Augustin

Forwards: Matt Carroll, Jared Dudley, Adam Morrison, Shannon Brown, Jermario Davidson

Centers: Nazr Mohammed, Alexis Ajinca, Ryan Hollins, Andre Brown

I don't know, but this teams looks like it should be doing a lot better than it actually has been. I like Jason Richardson, and in terms of production, Charlotte looks like it got the better end of the deal on what was essentially a Jason Richardson for Brandon Wright straight swap. The offense should continue to run through J-Rich, though how that will work is up to the new coach: Larry Brown. If we look at the roster, the draft choice of DJ Augustin doesn't seem to make a lot of sense, and seemed to imply that Raymond Felton would be soon departing, but there's nothing for certain yet. Gerald Wallace has expressed that he refuses to play the PF position since he seems to always get concussions while doing so, and there was word out that Michael Jordan is less than pleased with his performance. Honestly, I think if any player merits a Scottie Pippen comparison it's Wallace, a lot of people forget about his defense and only point to his poor shot selection, that, and the fact that he's on the Bobcats makes his accomplishments forgettable. So here I remind you, Wallace is known for his defense first. Okafor is another solid guy that just hasn't been able to find his groove. He has the size of a power forward but plays like a center. Some say that the answer is to play a center next to him, but I feel like that's not the answer, unless you use him like a Tim Duncan kind of guy, but even Tim Duncan is effective out of the paint. We'll see, Okafor is still young, so he still has a ways to grow.

The bench isn't horrible, but it's not great. I've never really liked Adam Morrisson and nothing about him now is leading me to change my mind. Matt Carroll is a hard working but not really all that impressive to me, however, he's a solid contributor. With Wallace injured often, we saw flashes of brilliance from Jared Dudley, if he could become a solid contributor and consistent, then that'd be great. Nazr Mohammed, well, is Nazr Mohammed. With starter's minutes he put up monster production for a bit last season, and then was promptly benched, no one's ever really sure what to do with him. Look for DJ Augustin to develop as a rookie, and if Larry Brown likes him better, which arguably he does, and his game develops enough, then he could easily supplant Felton as the starting point. Things don't bode well when a 40 year old Michael Jordan shows up to practice and rocks all your players, however, we'll see. Hopefully Sean May can get back in shape. However, while this team looks good, it's also looking for a clue. I'm not really sure where they're going either.

Season Preview: Sacramento Kings

I'm really not sure why, but I keep forgetting that this team exists.  Fortunately, today, I remembered that they're there.  Here we go:

Starting 5:

PG- Beno Udrih

SG- Kevin Martin

SF- Francisco Garcia

PF- Mikki Moore

C- Brad Miller

Off the bench

Guards: Bobby Jackson, Quincy Douby, Bobby Brown

Forwards: John Salmons, Bobby Jones, Donte Greene, Kenny Thomas, Shelden Williams

Centers: Spencer Hawes, Jason Thompson

When you take a second look at this team, it actually doesn't really look all that bad.  I mean, okay, you're starting Mikki Moore, things could be more ideal than that, but still it's not horrible.  Kevin Martin is a legitimate All-Star caliber talent (some say the real "Blue Light Special"), and I really like Francisco Garcia and John Salmons.  With Ron Artest and Mike Bibby now both gone, I look for Salmons and Garcia to pick up a lot of the slack.  Udrih was a pleasant surprise, and has earned a starting spot.  He's no stud that's going to light up the floor with brilliance, but he's above-average, which is harder to find than one might think in a point guard.  All in all, the team doesn't look half-bad.

That being said, it doesn't really look half-good either.  I think this team is similar to Indiana, in that it has players that everyone likes, but it's just a really average team.  Spencer Hawes still needs to find his game, Kenny Thomas needs to get off the books, and I'm not really sure what to make of Donte Greene yet.  Sure he scored 41 at a Summer League game, but obviously that wasn't enough for Houston to want to keep him.  Bobby Jackson is a solid backup, and I'm a big Bobby Jones fan, maybe it's because he's from UW.  That being said, I can't say I know how much to make of this team, they're solid, but not exceptional, which is what you have to be nowadays in the West to get anywhere.  So I'll stand by my intial gut reaction kind of assessment:  The Indiana Pacers of the West.

35-47

Season Preview: Chicago Bulls

I realized that, the season is coming (yay!), but I still have a good number of teams left (like 5 not including this one) to preview (not so yay). So I'll try to start cranking.

Starting 5
PG- Kirk Hinrich
SG- Larry Hughes
SF- Luol Deng
PF- Drew Gooden
C- Joakim Noah

Off the bench
Guards: Derrick Rose, Ben Gordon, Thabo Sefalosha, Darius Washington
Forwards: Tyrus Thomas, Andres Nocioni, Demetris Nichols
Centers: Aaron Gray, Omer Asik, Cedric Simmons

Forgive me if I'm not on the Derrick Rose bandwagon. I haven't seen a whole lot to impress me yet though. Regardless of how well the no 1 pick pans out, the fact of the matter remains that this team still needs a lot of work.   It's a young team, the veterens being the expendable Drew Gooden, Larry Hughes, and Andres Nocioni.  I believe that to begin with Larry Hughes and Drew Gooden will get their starts, but if Vinny Del Negro decides to go young, I can see them benched with Derrick Rose and Tyrus Thomas picking up starting spots and Kirk Hinrich sliding over to the 2 guard position.

The thing I note with this team is that they're deep, however, their depth consists mostly of average level talent, and doesn't begin with any All-Star caliber players.  The center position is the weakest as I believe Joakim Noah to be little more than a young Ben Wallace, meaning, high energy and negligible on the offensive end.  Omer Asik is supposed to have a lot of upside, but I haven't heard or seen anything to tell me it's anything but upside right now.  All in all, Deng, Gordon, and Hinrich have not shown that they can carry a team unless they're all playing at their best at the same time, which hasn't happened in two years.  I'm not as optimistic about this team as most other people.

34-48

Season Preview: Golden State Warriors

I don't dislike the Warriors, in fact, they're the closest team that I can go watch, so I have a slight personal vested interest, sort of. I'm not a fan either though, however, objectively, I can't say they'll be very good this year.

Starting 5:
PG- Monta Ellis
SG- Stephen Jackson
SF- Corey Maggette
PF- Al Harrington
C- Andris Biedrins

Off the bench
Guards: Marcus Williams, CJ Watson, Dan Dickau, DeMarcus Nelson
Forwards: Marco Bellinelli, Kelenna Azubuike, Anthony Randolph, Brandon Wright, Anthony Morrow, Ronny Turiaf
Centers: None

Technically, Harrington and Turiaf would likely split time at the 5 with Biedrins, given how Nellie runs his small ball lineups. I wouldn't be surprised to see Randolph and/or Wright get playing time there too. The season hasn't even started and it's already been ruined for most Warriors fans, everything went downhill when Baron Davis opted out and fled south to his favored hometown of LA to join the Clippers. The features of this year's Warriors will be the same as those of previous years; minimal defense, lots of running. All this of course less Baron Davis and Monta Ellis.

It hurts that Ellis is out for so long, and from what I hear, his injury is not a quick recovery, he could very well be rehabbing for the better part of the season. Much of the onus of scoring and production now fall upon new acquisition Corey Maggette and captain Stephen Jackson. Al Harrington also will now have a chance to prove himself worth something, maybe that'll get him traded or something, if that's what he wants. Azubuike and Bellinelli look to fill the void left by reserves Barnes and Pietrus, which some might consider an upgrade. I hope that Nellie opts to develop his younger players more. Ronny Turiaf was a solid, but expensive addition to help mitigate the post and assist Biedrins on the glass, I think they can do better.

Playoffs unfortunately are well out of the picture. Stephen Jackson and Corey Maggette will be interesting playing next to each other, but all in all everything remains the same, minus the beard. Hopefully Marcus Williams or CJ Watson can really step it up.

38-44.

Season Preview: Indiana Pacers

I warn you that this isn't written for fantasy, so you use your own discretion if you use it for such.

Starting 5
PG- TJ Ford
SG- Mike Dunleavy Jr
SF- Danny Granger
PF- Troy Murphy
C- Rasho Nesterovic

Off the bench
Guards: Marquis Daniels, Travis Diener, Jarrett Jack, Brandon Rush
Forwards: Josh McRoberts, Austin Croshere, Shawne Williams
Centers: Jeff Foster, Roy Hibbert, Maceo Baston

I would like to reiterate the fact that I don't think this team is very good, in fact, it's average, so average that it's forgettable. Which shocks me, because Danny Granger is considered like top 5-10 SG/SF material on like every other ranking board I've seen. Ok, he had a career season last year, 19.1 pts, 6.1 rbds, 2.1 assts, 1.2 stls, 1.1 blcks per game, a respectable line. Top 5? I don't know about that. Here's Yahoo!'s Kelly Dwyer's take:

8:29	[Comment From Jaceman] Is there any specific reason that Granger is ranked so high in all the power rankings? Or am I the only one that thinks he's been massively overhyped?

8:29	KDonhoops: Because it sounds right. Solid player, does everything OK, but that's it. He's OK, but he's just ... OK.

8:30	KDonhoops: ... as he charges into Tyson Chandler.

8:31	[Comment From Jaceman] Ok enough to be considered top 10 SG/SF?

8:31	KDonhoops: Nope.

There you have it. I'm done. No, I'm not, but seriously. Danny Granger is good, but he's not THAT good. There are still other people I'd rather have on my team, and that is the reason why he, little Dunleavy, and TJ Ford are not going to take the Pacers to a playoff series this year.

That seems to be the problem with everyone else on the roster too, they're all just OK. I don't see Marquis Daniel or Travis Diener being anything more than serviceable, Jarret Jack already is serviceable, and unless Roy Hibbert and Brandon Rush somehow manage to win playing time and breakout then maybe. However, I don't see them outperforming Rasho Nesterovic and/or the above mentioned Marquis Daniels anytime in the near future. Honestly, there's nothing that convinces me that this team will perform well against the better constructed teams. It's like where all the players that deserve a contract but no one really wants ends up. I might change my analysis if Rasho Nesterovic or Troy Murphy start averaging 20-10, but until then, Pacers have a bleak season ahead of them.

34-48

Season Preview: Minnesota Timberwolves

Continuing onward...

Starting 5:
PG- Randy Foye
SG- Mike Miller
SF- Corey Brewer
PF- Kevin Love
C- Al Jefferson

Off the bench
Guards: Sebastian Telfair, Rashad McCants, Blake Ahearn, Rodney Carney
Forwards: Ryan Gomes, Craig Smith, Krik Snyder
Center: Mark Madsen, Calvin Booth, Rafael Araujo

The T'Wolves are another team that made a major acquisition in the off-season. I meant the steal that was in essence Mike Miller for Antoine Walker and Marko Jaric, that and the ugliness of Brian Cardinal's contract, but that aside, it was a steal. Granted the trade was highlighted around the rookie swap of Love and Mayo, but the fact that Kevin McHale could squeeze a solid veteran player like Mike Miller out of it was big. I only have two problems with it. First, Mike Miller needs to be on a win-now team. Second, the T'Wolves are not a win-now team.

They have a lot of talent, but they need to continue to develop Al Jefferson. As good as Kevin Love is, he isn't what's going to carry this team into the playoffs, at least not this coming season. Mike Miller needs to mesh, but by the the time this team is ready, it may already be too late. Randy Foye needs to live up to expectations, and hope that his injury doesn't hinder him too much, and that he's at least as good as Brandon Roy, who he was traded for on draft night. There are too many what ifs. Craig Smith are Ryan Gomes look to be solid role players, but become nothing more than severely undersized power forwards, and as much as I like them, I wouldn't play them extensively except in emergency situations.

Certainly they're a better looking team, however, as much as people rave about Kevin Love, I cannot really see an effective co-existence of him and Al Jefferson. To me, they're too identical. It's not that they'll cannibalize each other's stats, but my concern is more at the defensive end, where teams can use size, among other things to exploit this matchup. I have to see more Love play, but he is small for a PF, and big bodied ones might take advantage of that. Additionally, Jefferson has struggled all season last year at the center position, the addition of Love helps him because... he keeps playing at center? It could end up working out, Jefferson could learn to fill the center role, however, they'll be sorely pressed when manned against a larger team like Toronto or Portland.

32-50. No post season.

Season Preview: New Jersey Nets

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Starting 5:
PG- Devin Harris
SG- Vince Carter
SF- Bobby Simmons
PF- Yi Jianlian
C- Josh Boone

Off the bench
Guards: Chris Douglas-Roberts, Keyon Dooling, Julius Hodge
Forwards: Eduardo Najera, Jarvis Hayes, Ryan Anderson, Brian Hamilton
Centers: Brook Lopez, Sean Williams, Stromile Swift

Another one of those upside and potential teams, for good reason, their just collecting the pieces until they can hopefully win over LeBron in the lucrative free agency market to come. Thus, they have a hodge-podge of small contracts and are building up a lot of cap space hopefully to make a splash and land a new big star. They still have Vince Carter, and don't get me wrong, Vinsanity still has game. He put up a respectable 21.3 pts, 6.0 rbds, and 5.1 assts per game, and as much as he says he cares, it's pretty apparent that he wasn't really trying, meaning, he could play better. Granted he's another year older, he's a year past the wrong side of 30 for NBA players, and he's probably lost some of that athleticism that defined him in the 2000 NBA Slam Dunk competition.

Now that the show has officially become Vince Carter's and only Vince Carter's, it lends for him to step up and show that he's worth the contract given him, he's worth the remaining 4 years on it. Jason Kidd has been shipped to Dallas, Richard Jefferson to Milwaukee, now all that remains is Carter and a bunch of young guns that show promise but not much else. Devin Harris was considered the biggest mistake Dallas made, that is, in giving him up, he was considered the Tony Parker stopper, and instead, he was exchanged for playmaker Jason Kidd. Granted Kidd has more on his resume, but Kidd's also a lot slower, that makes it harder, not easier to stop Tony Parkers. In Jersey, things are looking up for Harris, perhaps now that he is a more integral part of the offense, he can begin to thrive more and be able to develop his game. Chris Douglas-Roberts, or CDR as he is known, has shown a lot of promise and Ryan Anderson has shown streaks of solid gameplay, granted both in Summer League. Likewise is the case for 1st round pick Brook Lopez. If Lopez develops I can easily see him ousting Josh Boone out of a starting spot, since his offensive touch around the rim is much more refined.

Yi has been listed as something of a marketing ploy more than any contributions he brings on the court. His game has shown flashes of greatness but they've easily been lost in his inconsistent rookie season at Milwaukee. Hopefully, on a team that doesn't care to win, Yi can really get some solid playing time and develop his talent much more. The obviously glaring gap within the lineup remains the SF position (hint, hint, LeBron), with only Bobby Simmons and Jarvis Hayes to fill the spot, it's not very promising, but again, we all know what they're after.

In review of the Nets roster, I realize, that they do indeed suck. 30-52.

Season Preview: Denver Nuggets

As I mentioned yesterday, I don't know that AI will stay in Denver, if he's not dealt this season, it's likely he won't find any sort of extension coming up and will have to take a pay cut in the lucrative free agency. However, regardless of Iverson's playing possibilities the fact of the matter is, that now, he remains in Denver, and so he figures into how this squad is going to play.

Denver Nuggets

Starting 5:
PG- Anthony Carter
SG- Allen Iverson
SF- Carmelo Anthony
PF- Kenyon Martin
C- Nene Hilario

Off the bench
Guards: JR Smith, Chucky Atkins, Ruben Patterson, Smush Parker, Mateen Cleaves
Forwards: Linas Kleiza, Renaldo Balkman, Nick Fazekas
Centers: Steven Hunter, Chris Anderson

Wait, wait, wait... That's right, I did say Smush Parker and Ruben Patterson. Denver has once again said that its defense is a problem. They hope to once again focus again on improving their defense. Patterson and Parker are here on make-good contracts, meaning, they're not really signed yet. However, they are playing in training camp. Patterson, who was supposed to be a "Kobe-stopper" adds some defensive tenacity in the backcourt, something that Denver has always lacked. While many people believe that Denver's defense went out the door with the delivery of Marcus Camby into the laps of the Clippers, the Nuggets writer at Pickaxe and Roll tell us a different story. I'm a fan of Camby, but I don't really mind Nene either. Kenyon Martin has still proven he can be an effective defensive stopper as well, despite having slowed down with age and knee surguries. The more I think about it, hoping for Nene to be healthy isn't much different from hoping Camby would be healthy for more than 70 games in a season. What the loss of Camby and Najera has done though, is gutted any frontcourt depth that this team had before. Likely we'll be seeing Balkman and Anderson get a lot of playing time should either Martin or Nene become injured, and they likely will be the key reserves in terms of big men.

The concerted defensive effort though will have to begin with the face of the franchise, that is Carmelo Anthony. If Melo can motivate his teammates with the fire he had in the Olympics, then perhaps this club will have something going. Scoring wise, they haven't lost a whole lot as Melo and Allen Iverson are both still on the roster. George Karl has mentioned that should he develop, JR Smith could find a spot in the starting lineup sliding Iverson over to the PG position. While that's not ideal for Iverson, it's not an idea that I'd be completely against, especially since he's playing next to such an effective scorer like Melo. Linas Klieza, after his impressive play in the summer for Lithuania in the Olympics, also has to really step up. He'll be the key sixth man should Smith take over as a starter and likely a key reserve regardless. He's the spark plug off the bench and I think he still has a little to prove in that he's worth more than Ron Artest (as he was the deal-breaker in a possible Artest trade last season).

The reason Iverson starting as a PG works for me is because the alternatives, while serviceable, aren't really great. Currently they'll continue to start Anthony Carter, who while serviceable, has not been outstanding. Chucky Atkins just had surgery and is injury-plagued, and like won't return to playing for a while let alone back in game shape. Smush Parker is... well Smush Parker. He has a shot at cracking the rotation, but there was a reason that he was cut from 2 different teams in the last two seasons. There still is a shot however, though, that he might have cleaned up his act and gotten his game together. Conditioning I believe has always been an issue for him.

Update: Apparently Smush Parker is considered one of the top prospects for this year's D-League draft.

Season Preview: Atlanta Hawks

Considering that John Hollinger has done in a day what I've been doing for the past week, I'm almost tempted to ask why I even bother. Then, I remember that he gets paid to do this stuff, and I would add, that I respectfully disagree with a lot of his rankings, though his reasoning makes sense, I suppose. I'll let you decide whose commentary you like better, but again, remember, Hollinger is the expert, me, I just like to think I know what I'm talking about, maybe I do.

Atlanta Hawks

Starting 5:
PG- Mike Bibby
SG- Joe Johnson
SF- Marvin Williams
PF- Josh Smith
C- Al Horford

Off the Bench
Guards: Speedy Claxton, Maurice Evans, Acie Law, Ronald Murray, Thomas Gardener
Forwards: Othello Hunter
Centers: Zaza Pachulia, Randolph Morris, Solomon Jones

The platoon of guards to replace Tyronne Lue and Anthony Johnson is pretty impressive, that is, assuming Speedy Claxton gets healthy again and Maurice Evans is once again somewhat serviceable. I like Flip Murray and I haven't quite given up on Acie Law yet, he just needs to see some floor time, which he hasn't. As I mentioned in Greg Boome's proposal to send Carter to Atlanta, I would love to see some coach like Adleman, D'Antoni, or Nelson coach the talent on the Hawks. That being said, it's not going to happen. So with the team as it is, less one Josh Childress and plus one Ronald Murray, we have in essence the team that pushed Boston to 7 games in the playoffs.

That being said, the Hawks do boast one of the more dynamic starting 5s, and one that I like a lot, in the league. Bibby is an experienced PG that can run an offense, while he may be past his prime, he's still a perimeter threat. Joe Johnson is a big guard that can shoot and drive and has very good ball handling abilities. Al Horford was a pleasant surprise last season, posting good defensive and rebounding numbers. Additionally, he's able to produce off the block fairly well as well. Josh Smith, the man's a beast. He's only 22, he's a monstrous weak side shot blocker and he's got hops. Marvin Williams, well he can score. Many people I think have a shaded perspective of Marvin Williams, especially since he was drafted before and now stands in the shadows of PG standouts Chris Paul and Deron Williams. However, take into mind that during that draft year, Joe Johnson had declared he would play the point guard position, so front office went with Williams (Marvin) and the Joe Johnson experiment failed. Anyways, Marvin Williams isn't really as bad as people make him out to be, whether or not he's a talent worthy of the 2nd overall selection remains to be seen, of course in light of Paul and Williams (Deron) most people will say no. However, Williams is developing quite nicely and is a legitimate scoring option.

The depth on this team is something of an issue. The primary reserves I see being Zaza Pachulia and Speedy Claxton, who are serviceable at best. Flip Murray and Maurice Evans have shown that they can be fairly reliable given minutes, but Solomon Jones and Othello Hunter? Excuse me, who? This is not a bench I'd go to in crunch time. Injuries aside, you always need a strong bench to add to any squad. Hopefully they figure out a rotation that works.

I don't anticipate significant improvement from last season honestly, and with the Eastern Conference that much better, I see them going like 37-45 and sliding out of the playoffs.

Season Preview: Los Angeles Clippers

I'll likely throw in an interruption to this sometime soon. It'll likely be another rant and potential trade option. Just giving you the heads up.

Los Angeles Clippers

Starting 5:
PG- Baron Davis
SG- Cuttino Mobley
SF- Al Thornton
PF- Marcus Camby
C- Chris Kaman

Off the Bench
Guards: Eric Gordon, Jason Hart, Mike Taylor, Dontell Jefferson
Forwards: Tim Thomas, Ricky Davis, Steve Novak
Centers: Brian Skinner, Paul Davis, DeAndre Jordan

Oh yeah, the other LA team. Two things stand out to me when I take a first glance at this roster, they have a lot of rookies (5) and they have a lot of centers (also 5). Clippers were in the news a lot as they managed to swipe Baron Davis from upstate and bring him down from Oakland and the Golden State Warriors, then effectively have the 76ers swipe Elton Brand away from them. In a move of desperation, they managed to land Marcus Camby for cap relief and a conditional 2nd round pick (basically nothing), and also signed Heat castoffs Ricky Davis and Jason Williams (who subsequently retired). Oh yes, also as recent news, they signed Paul Davis. I have a hunch they did this just to get three Davises on the roster. Now they just need to trade for Dale Davis and Big Baby Glen and they'll have a complete set!

Ok, ok, all joking aside, the roster is another one of those, "looks great on paper" aka "I would play with it on my PlayStation (or XBox or whatever)" rosters. One major concern is firstly, will Baron Davis replicate another 82 game healthy season? Second is can Baron Davis play under a micromanager like Mike Dunleavy Sr.? Things are sort of pointing to no for me. Since Nelly allows his players free reign on the court in Golden State, Baron has been kind of allowed to just "do his thing" for a while. However, if we look back one team prior, Baron had problems with Byron Scott on the Hornets. He's something of a free spirit, and the fact that Elton Brand would no longer be on the team not bothering him has also showed that he only really wanted two things out of this deal: guaranteed money on a longer contract (5 years, $65 mil) and to be in LA (his hometown), hence the Clippers. Big picture wise, he doesn't care about winning. That being said, when he's on the floor, he'll likely contribute in a lot of the ways he normally does, exploding to the basket and chucking up hordes of horrendous shots. Given that you have a rebounding frontcourt of Marcus Camby (13.1 rpg last season, 2.9 offensive boards) and Chris Kaman (12.7 rpg last season, 3.1 offensive boards) that's not a horrible prospect. However, I expect for him and coach Dunleavy to butt heads and I don't really anticipate Davis to play with much fire now that he has what he wants (money and proximity to Hollywood).

While I anticipate a spike in the offensive rebounding and putback buckets that both Camby and Kaman will be getting, the offense likely won't run through them very frequently what with the blackhole tendencies of Al Thornton and Ricky Davis. Granted having proficient rebounders on the glass like Camby and Kaman will help, the strategy of chucking up bad shots from the perimeters and hoping that you get the putback only really works in pickup games at the park. Eric Gordon hurt himself before we could really get a look at how well he really plays, but looks to be something of a perimeter threat. Cuttino Mobley and Tim Thomas are the reigning vets now in the system, and while serviceable, aren't anything special. All in all it's not a bad looking team, but I really don't see them getting it together anytime soon, hopefully they do, but I could be wrong. I'm still not entirely sold on the Kaman/Camby frontcourt though theoretically it should work.

Best case maybe break even, so maybe 41 wins, which is an improvement, but not enough to get them out of the lottery and into the playoffs.

Season Preview: Milwaukee Bucks

Just in case you haven't seen it, OKC has jerseys now (they didn't tell me it was a v-neck version of the old Pistons' jerseys). I personally think they should've stuck with the Summer League ones.

On with the show.

Milwaukee Bucks

Starting 5:
PG- Luke Ridnour
SG- Michael Redd
SF- Richard Jefferson
PF- Charlie Villanueva
C- Andrew Bogut

Off the Bench
Guards: Tyronne Lue, Ramon Sessions, Charlie Bell, Damon Jones
Forwards: Adrian Griffin, Joe Alexander, Malik Allen, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute
Centers: Francisco Elson, Dan Gadzuric

Luke Ridnour goes from a team with 2 PGs it couldn't figure out how to use to a team with 4... something about that just seems wrong to me. Now that OKC has decided to go young with Russell Westbrook and decidedly prefer Earl Watson over Luke Ridnour he gets sent to Milwaukee, who incidentally also picked up Damon Jones from Cleveland and signed Tyronne Lue. Am I the only one that remembers that Ramon Sessions averaged 11.5 pts, 11.3 assts, 4.9 rbds, 1.5 stls on 46% shooting in about 39 minutes of play during the last 10 games of the season? We're talking about a guy with the potential to give you a 24:2 turnover to assist ratio on any given night so long as you play him. Ok, so it was garbage time, no one cared anymore because everyone knew who was in the playoffs already, so start the vet, start Luke Ridnour and play the sophomore behind him, but seriously, Tyronne Lue? My assessment; big mistake.

Sometimes this team confuses me, and because of that, I feel kind of bad for Michael Redd, I really do. I don't know if this team is in a win now mode, or if they're going for building for the later seasons. Landing Richard Jefferson for Yi Jianlian and Bobby Simmons, understandable, even applaudable of a move. In that context though, it makes the drafting of Joe Alexander something more of an enigma, since he has tons of upside but almost no immediate impact, but he speaks Chinese! Great, that might be useful, in... New Jersey, Houston, or Los Angeles, NOT Milwaukee. All reports show that Alexander has potential, a large amount of athleticism, but really isn't very basketball saavy. Mbah a Moute I don't know a whole lot about, and I don't know that he's much of a standout, except for his name. The only reason I've even heard of him is because his name is funky. He's one of those guys that won't see a lot of playing time but when he does, the commentators will have a field day.

With Scott Skiles at the helm, I think this team has a pretty good shot at doing decently, of course, in lieu of how the Eastern Conference has improved we'll have to see how well they actually do. Additionally, we'll have to see how Richard Jefferson adjusts to getting more shots, as he'll be the second scoring option behind Michael Redd. Also we have to see if Andrew Bogut continues to improve at the rate he has been improving at and if he really does become a standout center. They're moving to a more traditional lineup, but again, I'm not overly enamoured with their options in the reserve roles. Their weakness, especially at the forward positions (Adrian Griffin and Joe Alexander? Two big unknowns who I'm leaning more towards the scrub side) is something to be considered. Desmond Mason would've been a good backup, but getting rid of Mo Williams was a good choice, and Desmond Mason was the price that had to be paid.

Maybe 41 wins? Break even we'll say. Top of the bottom-feeders in the East. I see mediocrity at best, with a few flashes of brilliance. Seriously Skiles, play Ramon Sessions.

Season Preview: Dallas Mavericks

So I'm going to be more sparing with the pics, because frankly, they're kind of a pain in the butt to put in. Onwards!

Starting 5:
PG- Jason Kidd
SG- Jerry Stackhouse
SF- Josh Howard
PF- Dirk Nowitzki
C- Erick Dampier

Off the Bench
Guards: Jose Juan Barea, Jason Terry, Eddie Jones
Forwards: Devean George, Brandon Bass, Gerald Green, James Singleton, Antoine Wright
Centers: DeSagana Diop

The more I think about it the more Dallas looks like something of a Washington Wizards of the West. The exception being that their star players aren't hurt as often, which also means, what they have doesn't work. Talent-wise I think the Mavs are a decent regular season team, but they don't have any sustainability through hard fought playoff series. Dirk Nowitzki has shown that he doesn't have what it takes to carry his team and while Terry and Howard are decent, they're not going to carry the load either. It's like playing with 3 second-option scorers. Granted Nowtizki would be a crazy 2nd option, but still, I think you get the point. All-in-all the team looks to be about the same.

The more we reflect on what was in essence Jason Kidd for Devin Harris straight up, the less it looks that appealing. Kidd hasn't really proven himself yet to be the PG that the Mavs are looking for, but of course we can always argue that half a season for a PG to learn a new system and master it is really asking for a lot, even from someone like Jason Kidd. I don't know what Rick Carlisle is going to do, and I'm not sure if it's going to work. There's just a lot of baggage with this team. Let's hope that Jason Kidd looks marginally better than he did last season, in fact, let's hope he looks better than he did at the Olympics. Granted the man is 35, but still, it's a contract year, and he can only get better than last season right? I hope. Oh yes, we can't forget that Josh Howard is sorry, and therefore that will make him a better player. Right. So where does this put this team?

First, Dirk Nowtizki, in my book, is not, and never will be among the top 5 PFs in the league, unless he learns to play a post game going into his 30s. Dirk is a good player, all that size is just wasted though. He's like Lamar Odom with a jumpshot, but doesn't finish as well. Howard is a shooter/slasher, Terry is a shooter, Stackhouse; shooter, George; shooter, Jones; shooter, wait, wait, wait... Ok so all these people are supposed to do something else, but seriously, is there an inside threat in here? Erick Dampier? Wow. To me, if you're desperate enough for interior presence that you'd throw a full MLE at DeSagana Diop then your franchise has some issues. Dallas also remains among the only team still willing to give Gerald Green a chance. Bass and Barea look good, but aside from that, they're really just a middling team, above-average, by enough to get into the playoffs, that's about it.

48-50 win season again, because they're good enough to pull it off, sliding them into the playoffs, not an easy feat in the West. They however, are not good enough to ever get out of the first round.

Season Preview: Miami Heat

In continuation of everything that's been happening so far.

Miami Heat

Starting 5
PG- Marcus Banks
SG- Dwayne Wade
SF- Michael Beasley
PF- Shawn Marion
C- Mark Blount

Off the Bench
Guards: Chris Quinn, Mario Chalmers, Daequan Cook
Forwards: Dorell Wright, Udonis Haslem, James Jones, Yakhouba Diawara
Centers: Jamaal Magloire, Joel Anthony

There could be a number of shifts in the starting 5, most people feel that Marion is not likely to be in the future of the Heat, though many would like it to be. A possible move would be a trade to Memphis for added depth. However, that's a side note, as things stand now, I see the lineup going something like this. I'm sure that most people are pretty disappointed that Udonis Haslem could not crack the starting rotation somehow, but with both Beasley and Marion, then there isn't much space for Haslem there thusfar. People, including head coach Eric Spolestra have speculated at the possibility of playing Haslem as an undersized center for a smaller lineup. The Rookie Transition Program indiscretion aside, Beasley and Chalmers look to become impact players. Beasley has the talent and hopefully a Riley-run system can discpline him to have the mindset to be a winner.

Chalmers from all appearances is ready to make an impact, however, if he isn't, look for Chris Quinn, who showed hints of being able to play last season. Marcus Banks the veteran of the PG crew with the departure, and subsequent retirement of Jason Williams, I think will step it up and retain the starting spot unless usurped by Chalmers who proves to be something of a rookie phenom. Should Chalmers ultimately prove to deserve the starting spot I would slide him there without hesitation. He lit it up at Orlando Summer League, which of course we have to take with a grain of salt, that grain being, that it was Orlando Summer League. Developing with players like Wade though, I see him becoming a very effective point guard in the future, at the very least. Beasley is something of an interesting phenom, he's got talent and no one doubts he will be something of an immediate impact player as soon as he gets the first couple weeks of adjustment to the league. One blogger (Graydon) likens Beasley to Lamar Odom, only fully realized. We'll see if that's the case, attitude will always be something of an issue, and one can only hope that he takes to heart the hard work ethic of someone like Udonis Haslem.

Blount wins a starting spot because he's better than Joel Anthony, however, with Wade returning healthy and the Heat actually trying to win this season, tacked on with the fruit of their last season's poor performance (Beasley), Blount won't be asked to do much other than rebound. Actually, I'd be pretty leery of holding onto him if that were all he were asked to do, but Jamall Magloire and Joel Anthony aren't really improvements either. Again, I can feasibly see Marion traded for better options or Haslem seeing time as the big man. Wade's explosiveness and rebirth during the Olympics have made believers of everyone, he'll again be asked to carry the onus of leadership on the team, but this team looks a lot better than the one he struggled with in his previous injury laden season.

There is still a period of feeling out each other since last season was so atrocious, but I say a good 43-44 wins, slipping into the playoffs. East is finally beginning to look semi-legit.

Season Preview: Phoenix Suns

On with the show!

Starting 5:
PG- Steve Nash
SG- Raja Bell
SF- Grant Hill
PF- Amare Stoudemire
C- Shaquille O'Neal

Off the bench
Guards: Leandro Barbosa, Goran Dragic, Sean Singletary
Forwards: Boris Diaw, Matt Barnes, Alando Tucker, Louis Amundson
Centers: Robin Lopez

There are a couple numbers that are going to be pretty important this year for Phoenix. Those numbers are 35 and 37. Why? Those are the respective ages of Steve Nash and Shaquille O'Neal (and Grant Hill). As time progresses Nash looks like another one of those players that are awesome, but never won a ring. That being said, the addition of coach Terry Porter will indeed be something of a change. The idea is that he does hopefully what Rick Adleman did in Houston, which was leave the defense in place and implement a more efficient offense. In this case, Porter would be wise to retain the effective D'Antoni offense that works so well centered around Nash and Stoudemire, but to add a little more defensive tenacity.

Grant Hill's health is another major unknown, but mitigated somewhat by the addition of Matt Barnes. While Barnes won't necessarily be a defensive solution, should Hill be injured, Barnes would fill in nicely, and perhaps even take the starting spot from Hill eventually. Having played run-and-gun with the Warriors, Barnes shouldn't have much of a problem fitting into the system, and should he do as well as he did two seasons ago, I can see him cracking the rotation very frequently. Nash, Bell, Barbosa, Diaw, and Stoudemire constitute the core of the team since their D'Antoni days, and I look for them to contribute as they always have. Despite Stoudemire having a sprained ankle, I see him to produce even better this season, having a lot of the low-post load taken off him by Shaq, and reportedly in the best shape ever. The biggest question-mark of that core will once again be Diaw, who showed flashes of his former potential during one game against the Spurs in the previous post-season. However, his lack of consistency and effort continually bothers me. Barbosa continues to be the monster scorer off the bench and Nash a countinual source of offensive efficiency in scoring and assists, while also continuing to have a large number of turnovers. Bell will once again be the defensive stopper and 3 pt specialist. I look for Shaq to once again do better in rebounding, and hopefully come into camp in better shape.

The remaining players are somewhat unknown. Goran Dragic is supposed to be the Nash backup and eventual replacement. The Slovenian guard is quick and a good penetrator, don't see much of him passing, his game is similar I think to that of Leandro Barbosa, but he says he's modelling it after Tony Parker. Robin Lopez is a high energy and supposedly defensive specialist of the Stanford twins, which right now to me, makes him a poor man's Anderson Varejao, hair and all.

They'll be competitive, I think they'll get 50 wins maybe, but they won't get very far, the West has just become too competitive.

Season Preview: Washington Wizards

So, after my monstrous tirade on how Al Harrington keeps the Warriors from improving via trade, I considered going into various rants about what could make teams better, here and there, but then I realized I'd just be whining about how Lamar Odom has a fat contract, how Shawn Marion is a headcase, how there are no good players available on the market, etc.. So I decided, that for now, we'll go back to our look into the upcoming 2008-2009 season.

Washington Wizards

Starting 5:
PG- Gilbert Arenas
SG- DeShawn Stevenson
SF- Caron Butler
PF- Antawn Jamison
C- Brendan Haywood

Off the bench
Guards: Antonio Daniels, Juan Dixon, Dee Brown
Forwards: Andray Blatche, Nick Young, Darius Songaila
Centers: Etan Thomas, JaVale McGee, Oleksiy Pecherov

I've always liked how this team looks on paper, of course, it's looked the same for at least the past 2 or 3 seasons, the only difference being namely shifting of Etan Thomas and Brendan Haywood in and out of the starting 5. The team so far has struggled to look good beyond "on paper", becoming one of those perennial first round exit teams. For at least the past two seasons I can point to the issue of injury, the Big 3; Arenas, Butler, and Jamison, have consistently failed to be on the floor at the same time, especially during playoffs. If it's not Gilbert Arenas's knee, then it's some injury to Caron Butler's back or Antawn Jamison's foot or something. It's always as soon as one of them gets back too, funny how that works out.

I was almost tempted to put Antonio Daniels in as the starter, in light of the announcement that Gilbert Arenas is getting another operation on his knee and will be out at least 3 months. All Wizards fans have their fingers crossed that Agent Zero will make it back in time to help carry the Wizards into and through the playoffs. That aside, I like the overall look of this team, I think Caron Butler ranks among the top 5 small forwards in the league, proven to be a dynamic scorer and has an amazing overall game, and really emerged as the true star of the Wizards. Jamison's game has improved greatly as well, contributing nightly a 20-10 line. His ability to not only rebound, but spread the floor with his range adds a lot to the game.

There are 3 other pleasant surprises from last season; Andray Blatche, Nick Young, and Brendan Haywood. We'll start with Haywood. With Etan Thomas out the season undergoing heart surgery, Haywood really stepped up into the starting role. He had a fair share of double-double nights and gets his fair share of blocks, putting up very solid numbers for a league short on big men. When Haywood suffered injury midway through the season Andray Blatche emerged as a key player, and competed with Haywood through the rest of the season for playing time. Nick Young has also developed into a solid reserve as well. The key to this team relies again on the Big 3 being healthy though.

Health issues aside, they're easly into the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. I predict a 46-48 win season, and probably another first round exit. After the past couple of seasons, I really think this team needs to change the look of things before they go any further.

Season Preview: Portland Trail Blazers

I realized that I don't use enough (any) pictures in my blog, so I'm adding more (some) now. On to the good stuff.

Portland Trail Blazers

Starting 5:
PG- Jerryd Bayless
SG- Brandon Roy
SF- Martell Webster
PF- LaMarcus Aldridge
C- Greg Oden

Off the Bench
Guards: Steve Blake, Rudy Fernandez, Sergio Rodriguez
Forwards: Travis Outlaw, Luke Jackson, Ike Diogu
Centers: Joel Przybilla, Channing Frye, Raef Lafrenz

Four words for you; this team is stacked. Seriously, if there is any young team to look for to watch as an upstart it's the Blazers. Maybe I'm just rooting for the Northwest because Clay Bennett stole the Sonics, but seriously, this team is stacked. They were expected to be somewhat disappointing last season after finding out 1st overall pick Greg Oden would be sidelined for the entire season due to knee surgery. However, three important things happened to give Blazers fans hope, and to help them secure a respectable .500 season (something that would've guarnateed them a playoff spot in the East).

First, Brandon Roy emerged as a leader. After winning Rookie of the Year honors, Roy went on to get his first All-Star berth (some would argue stolen from Baron Davis), and has shown himself to be the primary ball handler and scorer for the team. He's shown to be crucial in the clutch with scoring, distributing and most importantly leading the team. He's got stellar averages (19.1 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 5.8 apg, 1.1 spg), ones that easily merit him stardom and he's shown us all why he ought to be the face of the franchise. Additionally, he's only 24, which means what? He'll only get better, scary. As he gains more experience in the league and learns the ins and outs of NBA play and be able to lead his team even better. His transition has been smoother than most other young players of recent years. He's real refreshing to watch, one of the few 4-year NCAA bred talents in a league that's drafting younger and rawer players. I suppose I might have a bias since he's also from my alma mater.

The second thing to really make a big difference was the emergence of LaMarcus Aldridge as a significant post threat. Easily becoming the no 2 scoring option behind Roy, fellow rookie-classmate Aldridge really emerged as a force to be reckoned with in the paint. He averaged 17.8 pts, 7.6 rbds, 1.6 assts, and 1.2 blocks per game last season, both he and Roy had shown hints of greatness the season before, prompting Kevin Pritchard to promptly dump the unpleasant lockerroom presence of Zach Randolph. From the summer workout reports thusfar, Aldridge apparently has built more mass and strength in his upper body and has flashed some moves in practices that have really impressed people, including some impressive handles and a solid jumper. I can't wait.

Finally, I think one of the biggest things was the breakout year and emergence of 6th man Travis Outlaw last season. He averaged 13.3 pts, 4.6 rbds, 1.3 assts, 0.7 stls, and 0.8 blocks per game on 43% shooting. I don't know about you, but I think those are some pretty impressive stats for a guy coming off the bench. His most impressive line coming off of the final game of the season with 24 points, 12 rebounds, and a steal while shooting 42% from the field. He's dynamite, and on any other team, he'd probably be starting. His value is a lot higher than what I think his averages would indicate, as he split time coming off the bench with James Jones, depending on whether or not the Blazers needed the 3pt lift. Now I know that Outlaw has expressed that he wants to be a starter, something that he doesn't really have the skill sets (three point shooting) for right now. It's not that he's not good, it's just that his game doesn't suit the players on the floor if he started. That being said, he's one of the primary scoring options on the floor off the bench, as Rudy Fernandez accomodates himself to the league.

The biggest questions I think will be the contributions of the rookies; Bayless, Fernandez, and Oden (yes, since he didn't play last year he's technically a rookie this year). Bayless and Fernandez are proven scorers from their own respective leagues (NCAA and Spanish league respectively) and just need to adjust to the next level that is the NBA. Bayless is fast and can penetrate, a very good scorer, someone I can see becoming like Allen Iverson or Monta Ellis. The reason he works at the point is because Roy is such a good distributor for a 2 guard. Blake can do most of the ball handling for the reserves. I didn't see much of Rudy in the Olympics but his explosiveness and overall aggressiveness on the floor really impressed me, he and Outlaw I think will be the major sparkplugs off the bench. While Diogu, Przybilla, and Frye (when he's cleared to play after he recovers from surgery) aren't the most impressive reserves in the frontcourt, you could really do a lot worse. For the most part they're serviceable, and get the job done, and they're young, lots of upside, with the exception of maybe Przybilla, who is the oldest member that cracks the rotation, I don't mind lines of 6 pts, 12 rbds, and a block from my backup center though. What makes this team scary in theory is Oden, he could be the missing piece, what's already scary about this team is that Oden really doesn't have to be that good for the Blazers to be successful. I predict something like a 13 pt, 11 rbd, 2 blck average coming out of Oden as he starts to play, but I can see the Oden/Aldridge frontcourt perhaps being the next Robinson/Duncan (that's right, I went there). Oden is big, and if the reports are anywhere near accurate, he spent the entire season last year building muscle, the man was reported to be 235 lbs of muscle, that's 10lbs of extra weight on Dwight Howard. I would love to see that matchup. Regardless, if he can really pull his game together, this team can really become elite. There are rumors of the Blazers also possibly signing Shaun Livingston, who, if he proves to be able to return from his freak injury two years ago, and is able to bring back everything everyone saw in him, will add even more depth to an incredibly deep and talented team.

I see a 50+ win season, I'd say around maybe 56 wins, playoff berths, and possibly surprising us by getting to the second round.

Season Preview: Cleveland Cavaliers

And on and on we go... whee!!! Isn't this fun? At least it is for me.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Starting 5:
PG- Mo Williams
SG- Sasha Pavlovic
SF- LeBron James
PF- Ben Wallace
C- Zydrunas Ilgauskas

Off the bench
Guards: Delonte West, Daniel Gibson, Eric Snow
Forwards: Wally Sczerbiak, Tarence Kinsey, Darnell Jackson
Centers: Anderson Varejao, Lorenzen Wright, JJ Hickson

Not much in terms of major moves this off season, but I like the ones they made. They got rid of Joe Smith, good, they resigned Delonte West, good, they got Mo Williams, good. Mo Williams was a solid addition, the question is, will he be enough? Historically championship teams have had at least two All-Stars on their rosters when they won their rings, Mo Williams, not an All-Star. However, maybe LeBron can overcome that gap. Please, do not try to bring Ben Wallace and Wally Sczerbiak into the conversation. Anyways, the Cavs front office is doing a decent job of trying to take a hodge-podge of pieces and tryign to make something around LeBron, with the impending free agency pool of 2010, they're hoping that they can keep him. That being said, we're here to talk about this season, not next, so onward ho!

Ok, so basically the roster is the same as when they made the finals two years ago, replace Drew Gooden with Ben Wallace, replace Larry Hughes with Mo Williams, and Donyell Marshall with Tarence Kinsey or Lorenzen Wright, your pick. The starting lineup looks nice, Big Z has always been a consistent contributor, despite his age, however, he's not very good at producing on his own. Fortunately, LeBron has a good track record of staying healthy, and he's good at getting his teammates better shots. While Ben Wallace is all but useless on the offensive end, his defensive tenacity is always helpful, the question again remains whether or not he has enough left in his tank to eke out another stellar season. They need him to at least contribute on the offensive glass (beyond picking up his own bricked 2 footers) since he doesn't have the scoring touch of Drew Gooden or Joe Smith. His backup may very well be Varejao with Wright coming in for Big Z off the bench, and the prospects of post scoring don't look much better there either. All in all there isn't much in terms of post presence on the Cleveland offense, while you can do worse than Big Z, he certainly wouldn't be my first choice. Mo Williams by far is a more consistent contributor than Delonte West, Daniel Gibson, and former Cavalier Larry Hughes. He was the second leading scorer behind Michael Redd on the Bucks and is one of those PGs that while scoring is what he does best, isn't a bad passer either, kind of a poor-man's Gilbert Arenas, ok maybe a little better than that.

One can hope that the play book expands to something beyond "pass the ball to LeBron", and that LeBron would be able to also help create off the ball too. Too many good teams are too good at choking such a one-dimensional offensive set. Hopefully Mo Williams changes that. Still, I'm a firm believer that with LeBron anything is possible.

That being said I don't see a significant improvement over the middling season they had last year. Fortunately for them, that's good enough to get them into the playoffs in the East. 46 wins. I'm not gonna make any playoff predictions, why? Because they have LeBron.