Posted by HoopsAvenue on October 8, 2008 under Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, General NBA, Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers, Toronto Raptors, Washington Wizards | 
Twelve days ago we took a look at some of the best teams in the West and the Lakers emerged as HoopsAvenue’s favorite as well as the fans’ favorite according to our poll. This week we’ll take a look at the Beasts of the East.
The poll results for Eastern Conference champion closed out like this: Other 48%, Celtics 25%, Cavs 15%, Magic 8%, and Pistons 5%. Hmm, looks like we’ve got either a bunch of pranksters or homers in this one as its hard to believe almost 50% of the fans would pick a team other than the Celts, Cavs, Magic, or Pistons next season! Maybe we’re just underestimating the Knicks, though, who knows?
Anyways, what about the supposed top 4 teams. Well, here’s how I’d seed them:
- Boston Celtics – The Celts are a bit older, don’t have as much motivation, and lost a key player in James Posey, but they’ve still got the Big Three and will obviously be a force to be reckoned with. They’ve got to be considered the favorites to get back to the Finals, but if I could take the entire field vs. the Celtics, I would.
- Orlando Magic – Orlando had the 3rd best record in the East last season and Dwight Howard is still getting better (scary!). Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis also give them a lot of versatility. This team is primed to be in the hunt and don’t be surprised to see them make 1 more move during the season to make that championship push.
- Detroit Pistons – The Pistons are probably getting tired of falling short, but I expect that to continue next season. The same cast of characters is back which is still a good thing, but it might be time to shake things up a bit. I wouldn’t count out a team with Chauncey Billups, though. Detroit’s plan should be to aim for homecourt in the playoffs and then maybe things will break their way.
- Cleveland Cavaliers – Now, this is an interesting team. The big question is whether or not Mo Williams is the sidekick Lebron needs. Larry Hughes was supposed to be that guy a few years ago and obviously that never panned out. Another thing working in the Cavs favor is the desperation of their management to keep Lebron James happy with his free agency coming up in 2010. Big Z doesn’t have too many years left so a big move this season might be necessary to keep Lebron happy, and it might help them win the East.
It would certainly be a surprise to see another team win the East, but there are some longshots. The 76ers, after acquiring Elton Brand, are on the radar, but you still don’t get the feeling they are Finals ready. Then, you’ve also got the Wizards who have one of the best Big 3s in the league, but once again injuries are threatening their chances. Even Toronto with a frontline of Chris Bosh and hopefully (for them) a healthy Jermaine O’Neal could be a contender.
Who do you think will win the East?
Posted by HoopsAvenue on August 6, 2008 under General NBA |
The 2008-2009 NBA Schedule was released this afternoon and we’ve got it posted for you. Click here for the NBA Schedule.
Here are some games of interest:
- October 28th – The defending champion Celtics begin their title defense against Lebron James and the Cavs.
- October 29th – Not the most exciting way to start a franchise, but Oklahoma City starts their season hosting the Milwaukee Bucks.
- November 5th – Mark your calendars. Gilbert Arenas, who recently blogged, “Because every player hates Milwaukee. Nobody wants to live in Milwaukee. I’m sorry, Milwaukee, to come down hard on you, but no one in the NBA wants to play in Milwaukee,” takes his Wizards to Milwaukee to hear the boos.
- December 25th – The NBA is amping it up this season with five games on Christmas Day, highlighted by a Finals rematch between the Lakers and Celtics. The Wizards and Cavs will renew their rivalry as well.
- December 31st – Elton Brand returns to LA as the Sixers take on the Clippers.
- January 16th – Jermaine O’Neal makes his first trip back to Indiana as a member of the Raptors.
I’ll definitely be watching those games.
Posted by HoopsAvenue on June 19, 2008 under General NBA, NBA Playoffs |
Will Kobe ever be compared to Jordan again? Yes, of course. That’s what the media does.
Should he? No, probably not.
The biggest reason is that Jordan never really had an Achilles heel. His biggest weakness was probably that he was not a good three point shooter, but he always found other ways to score no matter who was guarding him. And, his intangibles were always in a league of their own. Kobe, on the other hand, has at least two Achilles heels: his inconsistency in inspiring his teammates and bad timing when it comes to taking over the game.
Let’s look at the cold hard facts. Kobe and the Lakers have now lost two consecutive Finals series and both times his team didn’t even show up for half the series. In 2004, it was Kobe’s selfishness and the Lakers’ overall lack of respect for the Pistons (the Malone injury didn’t help either) that did them in. Now, in 2008, Kobe has matured a bit, but you still have to question his leadership when a team falls flat on its face in the most important games of its season. No, it is not all Kobe’s fault, not by a long shot, but ask yourself if Michael Jordan would ever lose a Finals game by 30+ points. He never did. The most a Jordan-led Bulls team ever lost by in the Finals was by 21 to Seattle in 1996. Oh, and that was a Game 4 with the Bulls up 3-0.
With all that said, Kobe is still the best player in the game. You can make good arguments for a few other players (Pierce is creeping up there), but I would still put Kobe at the top of the list. He’s now got a good supporting cast and has a good chance to return to the Finals next season, but we’ve seen that he doesn’t quite have the it factor that Jordan did. Jordan would take over a game before it got out of hand. Kobe should have done that last night, but he didn’t. He should have never allowed himself to get so out of rhythm in Game 4 either despite the big lead. We know Kobe has the ability to take over, but his timing just seems off sometimes. Jordan seemed to know when to take over a game. He understood the idea of momentum a lot better than Kobe does. Last night I got the feeling that Kobe never really got worried until it was too late. I don’t think he gave up, but he had the memory of coming back from 24 down in Game 4 in the back of his head and by the time he felt a sense of urgency, there was no way to stop the Celtic onslaught. He underestimated the determination of KG, Pierce, and company. This was simply not a game you were going to overcome a big deficit.
Kobe might become a better leader and he might get a better feel for when to take over a game, but after last night, his legacy simply cannot live up to Jordan’s. Even if he wins six titles, three of them would have been with Shaq. That, plus the black scars on his legacy from 2004 and 2008 preclude him from being mentioned alongside Jordan as the Greatest Ever. He may be Jordan’s equal as far as talent, but Jordan had that innate intangible that Kobe is still learning on the job.
Posted by HoopsAvenue on June 17, 2008 under NBA Playoffs |
If there’s one aspect of David Stern’s personality that is decidedly unbusiness-like, its his burning desire to show you that he just doesn’t give a darn what you think. The guy is a rebel. How else can you explain the Commish sending conspiracy theorist lightning rod Dick Bavetta out to referee a crucial Game 5 of the NBA Finals? In public, Stern says all the right things to try to diminish the rampant conspiracy theories, but then he picks the one referee who most fans are at least suspicious of and who is perhaps even under investigation, if you believe former referee Hue Hollins.
Oh, and what happened last night? Ray Allen fouled out. Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett picked up five fouls and Kobe got away with a foul on the game turning steal. Now, I don’t think there were any officiating improprieties last night (but I’m sure you could easily find a different perspective on another blog), but why would the Commish set himself up for this scenario? It’s as if he enjoys playing this cat and mouse game with his conspiracy theorists. Nah nah na nah nah, you can’t prove it. Maybe not yet, but is your stubbornness really good for the game?
As for the series, I don’t know how the Lakers are still alive. Perhaps the only reason they were able to win last night is they were so motivated by the potential embarassment of blowing another huge lead that they did just enough to win or maybe the Celts let them win so they can win a title on their home floor. Oh, and did anyone recognize the defense they were playing on Paul Pierce? It wasn’t zone or man, I think they call it let-him-score defense. I’d never count a team with Kobe on it out, but the odds look long for L.A. Then again, this team has been so hard to figure out this series that maybe they have some magic left (although the actual Magic in his prime would be preferable).
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