Before I get to the final ten teams in my preview and my award, division and playoff winners, here's some quick hits, things I'm looking forward to and questions about the upcoming NBA season.
-The Bulls will be perimeter oriented, similar to how Jersey was when they got to the finals, minus K-Mart. I wanna see how far they can get with no post presence. -The slide of the Pacers. Best record in 03-04, 46 wins in 04-05, .500 last season, Yes, I know key guys were injured last year, but this team needs to be blown up because their door closed the night of the brawl. Don't forget, they beat the Pistons by 15 that night, were 7-2 and Artest was averaging something like 24, 8, 6, and 2 steals -How tough and exciting the Pacific division will be this season -Can T-Mac and Yao stay healthy and can Bonzi be content coming off the bench -When will the Isiah suicide watch start? -When will Doc Rivers be fired? -How will Miami's seed in the playoffs be affected with Shaq playing 50-55 games during the regular season? -Will Rasheed stop shooting eight threes a game? -How much zone will the Pistons play since they don't have a help defender anymore? -Can Dallas rebound after losing a 2-0 lead in the finals?-Will D-Wade be satisfied with one ring
-Will we see Kobe from games 1-5 of the Phoenix series, or Kobe from games six and seven?
-If Miami goes back to back, does Shaq call it a career?
-How the shift from Shaq/Kobe will switch to Wade/Kobe
-How quickly Chris Paul will ascend to best point guard in the L status
Yo jaycarmel81, here are my answers to your good questions:
-The Nets will get to the 2nd round, if everyone stays healthy.
-The Pacers have been boring to watch since Reggie retired. J. O'Neal's career is a lot like KG's, great player, but for various reasons plays on average team.
-The Pacific will be exciting, especially if the Lakers can continue to improve. GS with Nellie will interesting too. I do think Nash will have a major injury this season, so don't count on the Suns too much.
-60+ games for T-Mac, 70+ for Yao, and Bonzi wants to get paid next off-season, so I say he will behave.
-I thought the Isiah suicide watch started last year. It will actually stall a bit this year. Everyone will be motivated to prove Larry Brown wrong by trying to play as a team, so maybe playoff. But Isiah will be fired sometimes mid-next season.
-At the end of this season, Doc Rivers will be fired. But the Celtics won't find anybody better.
-Miami will be 3rd in playoff seeding, if Wade and Mourning stay healthy. Everyone else is kind of dispensable.
-Sheed will not average 8 3's this season, because he will miss a big chunk of the games due to various nagging injuries.
-Zone doesn't really work in the NBA. Plus, no dominating big man in the East for the Pistons to really use the zone that much.
-Dallas will alright this year, but still falls short to the Spurs in the West final. Championship for Mavs next year!
-Wade is of course not satisfied, but I say no more ring for him in Miami. He will move on to a bigger stage after Shaq retires
-Kobe will always be Kobe
My name is Jason Carmel Davis, and I am a graduate of the Michigan State University School of Journalism. Yes, we do go to class in East Lansing, not just to bars and the liquor store.
I'm almost positive I had an SI with me in the womb, checking out Ralph Wiley. He's the main reason I ever decided to pursue a career in sportswriting .
I even remember the first highlight I ever saw on SportsCenter. I don't remember who was reading it, but it was Michael Jordan's 63-point game against the Celtics in the Garden in the 86 Playoffs. I've been hooked ever since.
