Hoop Hoop, Dunk Dunk...

It’s a new NBA season, we’ve got a new leather friendly ball; we’ve got a new Champion; we’ve got Isaiah back on the bench, and Larry Brown nowhere to be seen. We’ve got Michael as the boss in Charlotte, Don Nelson as the mastermind in Golden State, and Ben Wallace as the reinforcements in Chicago. Just as defense was in vogue during the late nineties, offence is sprinting down the floor. You have Amare returning in Phoenix, a healthy Yao and T-Mac in Houston, and Vince Carter in a contract year. Kobe Bryant has spent all summer thinking about Shaq winning a championship without him, and Tim Duncan finally spent a summer with his feet up. Detroit has to show it can compete without the ‘Fro, and Memphis has to show they can stay competitive until Pau Gasol comes back. Bryan Colangelo has assembled a lot of pieces in Toronto, but can they show the offensive savvy of his Phoenix teams? And even if they do, can they actually stop anyone on the other end? Oh yeah, if all that’s not enough for you, we might also have those three precocious, fresh out of diapers superstars, you know the ones who just appeared on SI’s NBA preview issue, and are going to be featured on ESPN and TNT so often that by the end of the year you’ll have spent more time with LeBron, Carmelo, and Wade than you’ll have with your spouse. And if all of that isn’t enough to tickle your NBA fancy, it’s been at almost eight months since Ron Artest sabotaged his own team, so there’s bound to be some fun in Sacramento! As the old folks like to say, the NBA… it’s FAN-tastic! Here’s how it plays out.

Eastern Conference Playoff Teams:

1) Cleveland Cavaliers (59-23) – LeBron takes another big step forward and bounce back years from Donyell Marshall and Damon Jones provides some shooters to space the floor. The King wins his first central division crown.

2) Miami Heat (54-28) – The Heat will be good, because they have Dwayne Wade on the floor and Pat Riley on the bench, but Shaq, Alonzo, and Payton, are all closer to 40 and Antoine Walker, James Posey, and Jason Williams are each on the wrong side of 30.

3) Chicago Bulls (51-31) – A ten game improvement is not totally the result of Ben Wallace, Kirk Heinrich benefits from his time with team USA and Ben Gordon finally realizes that consistency is more important than highlight real fourth quarter comebacks.

4) New Jersey Nets (50-32) – a number of publications have the Nets pegged into the conferences number two hole, but I don’t see it. The lack of balance in their attack combined with the lack of a post defender and rebounder mean a season similar to last year. An injury to Jason Kidd, Vince Carter, and Richard Jefferson will see them closer to .500.

5) Detroit Pistons (50-32) – Even if they had re-signed Wallace, the Pistons would have receded. They were more like the second half team that went 27-13 than the first half team that went 37-5 a fact which will only be exacerbated by replacing Wallace with Nazr Mohammed.

6) Indiana Pacers (45-37) – The Pacers are trying to escape the star crossed Ron Artest era and while I might have blown things up and started over, they kept the status quo but with Al Harrington subbed in for Peja Stojakovic. They’re brittle, but if stalwart coach Rick Carlisle lets them run, they’ll win some games.

7) Washington Wizards (44-38) – Like the Nets, the Wizards have way too much on the outside and not enough on the inside, still Eddie Jordan’s Princeton offence perfectly suits their big three: Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison, and Caron Butler.

8) Orlando Magic (43-39) – They’ve had shaky drafts the past two years (Fran Vazquez and J.J. Reddick), but the continued development of Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson, and Darko Milicic mean that the Magic are on the up.

The Rest:

9) Milwaukee Bucks (42-40) – Bucks are good, but their shallow point guard situation holds them back.

10) Toronto Raptors (39-43) – Bryan Colangelo made a lot of moves, not quite enough to get them in the playoffs, but enough for their best season since ’02.

11) Boston Celtics (38-44) – Paul Pierce had his best season ever last year, and they won 33 games; Danny Ainge has turned the team over to the babies and they need to grow.

12) Philadelphia 76ers (37-45) – This team is so expensive and misconstrued, that it’s going to be a long, painful decline.

13) New York Knicks (35-47) – Normally Larry Brown is worth ten extra wins to a team just for agreeing to coach, in the Knicks’ case he’s worth that just by leaving.

14) Charlotte Bobcats (35-47) – Raymond Felton promised the playoffs, which isn’t going to happen, but if everyone’s healthy the ‘Cats will be better.

15) Atlanta Hawks ( 30-52) – The Hawks could have drafted Chris Paul and Brandon Roy, but instead they took Marvin and Sheldon Williams. There’s always next year.

Western Conference Playoff Teams;

1) San Antonio Spurs (63-19) – Tim Duncan finally had a whole summer to rest, Tony Parker’s a year older, and Manu Ginobili’s well, Manu Ginobili. The Spurs are the model of consistency and will again pace the Western Conference.

2) Dallas Mavericks (62-20) – The Mavs will recover from their horrific Finals experience by beating teams all season, but everyone knows that Dallas’ season starts in June. Anything other than championship redemption will be a disappointment.
3) Phoenix Suns (59-23) – The best thing for Phoenix, and for Amare himself, would be Stoudemire accepting a limited sixth man role that helps Phoenix exploit mismatches and keeps Stoudemire from re-injuring his knee.

4) Utah Jazz (47-35) – Health is the only thing keeping the Jazz from getting back to the playoffs. If they can get 75 games from Andre Kirilenko and Carlos Boozer, then the Jazz will be singing all the way to the Northwest Crown.

5) Los Angeles Clippers (50-32) – For the second year in a row, the Clippers remain LA best team. The continued development of point guard Shaun Livingston and Elton Brand’s broad shoulders keep the fun in Clipperdom.

6) Houston Rockets (49-33) – If McGrady plays over 70 games then the Rockets could be even better than this, but the key to their season is Yao. China’s largest import is now the NBA’s best center, a point he’ll emphasize with a 25-11 season.

7) Denver Nuggets (46-35) – The Nuggets made a huge mistake by investing so much money in Nene and neither Kenyon Martin nor Marcus Camby are reliable, but the Nuggets will improve as Carmelo Anthony improves.

8) Los Angeles Lakers (45-36) – In general I wouldn’t bet against Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson, but this team has limited and mismatched parts. They overpaid Vladimir Radmanovic and unless Andrew Bynum develops quickly the Lakers will be fighting for the playoffs.

The Rest:

9) New Orleans Hornets (44-37) – Chris Paul is so good that the Hornets could earn that eighth playoff spot.

10) Golden State (42-40) – Like Larry Brown and Phil Jackson, Don Nelson is worth ten wins to his team, unfortunately in the West that’s not enough.

11) Sacramento Kings (38-44) – The Kings have the talent to finish as high as sixth, but after years of backing Ron Artest, I’ve given up. He’s a nutter, plain and simple.

12) Minnesota Timberwolves (36-46) – They should have traded Kevin Garnett, instead they handed Mike James the same type of contract that’s hamstrung them thus far.

13) Seattle Supersonics (33-49) – They seem stuck, waiting to move or waiting to stay. Either way, they have no inside presence and Ray Allen’s no spring chicken.

14) Memphis Grizzlies (32-50) – Long term, Pao’s injury could help the franchise as this year’s draft is deep and could bring that second all star Jerry West desperately needs.

15) Portland Trailblazers (25-57) – Until they trade pariahs Zach Randolph and Darius Miles, the Blazers rebuilding will remain stunted.

Playoffs:

Cleveland takes another step in the LeBron era, beating Detroit in the conference semi’s, but fall in the Eastern finals they fall to Chicago who just nick Riley’s tired Heat. The Bulls ferocious defense is put to the test in the Finals where Amare Stoudemire finally comes alive for Phoenix. They mercifully end Dallas’s season and then sneak past the Spurs in a cracker of a series. With Stoudemire, Steve Nash, Shawn Marion, Leandro Barbosa, Boris Diaw, and Marcus Banks the Suns just have too many weapons for the Bulls.

Awards:

1st Team All League: 2nd Team All League: 3rd Team All League:
g – Steve Nash g – Kobe Bryant g – Chris Paul
g – Dwayne Wade g – Vince Carter g – Gilbert Arenas
f – LeBron James f – Tim Duncan f – Kevin Garnett
f – Dirk Nowitzki f – Elton Brand f – Shawn Marion
c – Yao Ming c – Shaquille O’Neal c – Dwight Howard

Defensive Player of the Year: Tim Duncan, Spurs – As Duncan leaves more and more of the offensive weight to Parker and Ginobili he finally gets recognized as the NBA’s top defender.

Coach of the Year: Jerry Sloan, Jazz – The voters love guys who go from lottery team to playoff team, which explains why the incomparable Jerry Sloan has yet to be recognized.

Rookie of the Year: Adam Morrison, Bobcats – the Wispy Moustached one has had a rough preseason, but sixth months from now he’ll be the NBA’s top rook.

Sixth Man of the Year:

Most Improved Player: Darko Milicic, Magic – In recent seasons, this award has gone to talented youngsters who’ve broken out, rather than guys who’ve tangibly improved. Darko splits the difference.

MVP: LeBron James, Cavaliers – LeBron is the NBA’s chosen one, and he wins his first of five MVPs for taking Cleveland to the top of the Eastern conference.