Dallas
After the Mavs choked big time against the Heat in the 2006 Finals, they were ready to go the following season, amassing 67 wins and entering the playoffs as the favorites to win. We all know how that went. After their epic collapse against Golden State, Mark Cuban’s Mavs are looking to forget the past and make another run at it.
After a soul-searching journey to the Australian outback, Dirk Nowitzki is ready to follow up his MVP campaign with another stellar season. All-Star Josh Howard, former ACC Player of the Year at Wake Forest, will improve on his numbers from last year and truly enter the upper echelon of small forwards.
I think that Devin Harris will finally be consistent. Word is that he’s got the starting job this year, with Jason Terry coming off the bench. I’d imagine they’ll be getting pretty even minutes and wouldn’t be surprised to see them on the floor together, especially given Terry’s penchant for hitting the timely three.
It should be another terrific regular season down in Dallas. The question is whether or not they can carry that success into the postseason.
Here’s Avery Johnson taking out his frustration on a helpless reporter in the postgame conference after a loss to the Heat in the Finals. It’s great. My favorite part is when he says, “We got people from Israel, and…uh…Minnesota.”
Memphis
I found that picture of Pau Gasol and Hubie Brown lounging by the banks of a stream a few years ago and couldn't resist posting it. Anyway...
After watching Mike Miller fill it up for Team USA in Las Vegas this summer, I’m excited about the Grizzlies. Word is that Pau Gasol has had a really strong summer as well, playing for Spain, and working on expanding his range out to 15 feet.
The Grizzlies bring in dynamic point guard Mike Conley Jr. and lights out Spanish pro Juan Carlos Navarro to bolster their backcourt. After battling injuries, former one-and-done Villanova star Kyle Lowry should be ready to contribute more meaningful minutes. He’s going to be an excellent player.
Marc Iavaroni, for years considered the best assistant coach in the business, steps into the head coaching role in Memphis. I caught some of Memphis’ preseason game against Malaga in Spain, and they looked good. I think that this Memphis team has the pieces in place to be competitive in the West again. They should be in the mix for the bottom playoff seeds.
This has been posted around the web, but it’s worth reposting. It’s Mike Conley Jr. doing his dribbling workout. Truly incredible. Children and young persons everywhere, emulate this man and you may go far.
New Orleans
This is another team, like the Grizzlies, that is a year removed from playoff contention and itching to get back. Last year’s season was derailed due to injuries to Peja Stojakovic and Chris Paul, but they both return healthy this season and the Hornets’ expectations are sky high as a result.
Though ACC fans may never forgive Paul for the sucker punch he delivered to the groin of N.C. State’s Julius Hodge in the ACC tournament a few years back, the rest of the basketball world has absolutely fallen in love with him. As a Duke fan, having witnessed Paul throwing cheap shots at a few of our players during the Wake-Duke game in Cameron in 2006, I’m still not sold on Chris Paul the humanitarian all-around good guy, though articles like this make a strong case.
Regardless, he is a phenomenal basketball player and the key to the Hornets’ success this season and in seasons to come. He is a game changer and is a mismatch against almost every point guard in the league. He has developed his outside shot to the point that you can’t leave him open, and if you play him too tight he has the quickness and the handles to blow by you and finish strong. The Hornets’ hopes rest on his shoulders.
To illustrate my point, here is an outrageous clip of Chris Paul driving hard and dunking on Dwight Howard. (This is only because I couldn’t find a clip of the Paul-Hodge ‘incident’)
Houston
Houston is another trendy pick to come out of the West this year. I think that fans in Houston have good reason to be excited. The Scrapper and I are going to put out our preseason projections as far as standings and major awards, but I’ll give a spoiler here.
I think Yao Ming is taking down the MVP this year. He was dominant last year and there is nothing to say that he won’t continue to improve. This offseason he got married, so hopefully his life off the court will settle down and he won’t be caught in his hotel room with 30 empty beer cans anymore.
Tracy McGrady will be stellar as always. By this point we know what to expect from T-Mac, and I don’t expect his production to decline at least for a few years. His offensive contributions will be supplemented by the across the board production of Shane Battier, the NBA’s best glue guy.
Battier is good but not great at just about everything, and he plays his heart out every night. He is a terrific defender and is willing to sacrifice his body on every play if necessary to help out his team.
The Rockets brought alumnus Stevie Francis back to Houston this summer, though it remains to be seen if he can wrest the starting job from Rafer Alston. Either way, the Rockets should be steady at the point. Trading for the rights to Luis Scola will probably prove to have been their best offseason move since the McGrady trade. After starring in Europe for years, Scola is ready to come in and complement Yao down low.
The Rockets are a legitimate threat to win every night, even against the league’s upper tier. It is not inconceivable that they will best the Spurs and Mavs and win this division.
They have the talent to hang with anybody, and once the game hits crunch time, they have a player capable of scoring 13 points in 35 seconds. I’m not joking. This clip is required viewing for any basketball fan. If you haven’t watched it, do so immediately.
1 comments:
The Rockets are gonnna win it all
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