A couple weeks ago, I broke down the needs of the playoff teams that were bounced in the first round. Now we’ll get into the issues of the squads that were steps away from the NBA’s version of the Final Four

Chicago Bulls — Everyone knows and beats to the death the fact that the Bulls need a post scorer. But more pressing is the need for a legit two-guard so Ben Gordon can reprise his role as Microwave 2000. Gordon is a helluva scorer, but he’s not someone you can count on for 40-plus minutes a night. I also think it’s a stretch to call on him to check a 6’5” or taller two. Talk of dealing Gordon is bogus. People in Chi-town have already dubbed him “Air Gordon.” You can’t deal a young guy who can fill it up.

The rumored deals for Kevin Garnett and Pau Gasol make sense for some reasons. But the cons heavily outweigh the pros. In three playoff appearances, Gasol is 0-12. Yes, the West is tough, but Memphis never finished higher than the eight spot in the playoffs. And who says he’s so awesome in the post. Have you seen him play? Yea, he has post moves, but he’s about as fleet of foot as Sean Casey. And I think his arms are longer than his legs. Take that as you will.

Garnett is intriguing. He’s been a top-5 player for the last half decade. He has an MVP on his mantle. He’s a fiery competitor. But before 2004, Garnett was 0-fer the playoffs. Since 2004, Big Ticket hasn’t seen the postseason. Of all the great players in the League, I honestly believe Garnett plays with the most passion. But he should not be missing the playoffs at this stage of his career. Do you realize the 2007-08 season will be Garnett’s 13th?

 

Yea, he’d be a massive upgrade over P.J. Brown, but I don’t see him being the guy who gets Chicago over the hump. Even with Ben Wallace and Luol Deng on the roster, Garnett would still be The Man. He hasn’t fared so well with that title when it comes to on-the-court. Missing the playoffs three straight seasons is evidence enough of that.

If I were Bulls GM John Paxson, I would build up my roster through free agency and the draft. Bobcats swingman Gerald Wallace is a free agent this summer. He’d fill the need for a legit shooting guard, paving the way for Gordon’s return to the sixth man role. The Bulls could parlay the lottery pick they received from the Knicks by way of the Eddy Curry deal into 7’2” Roy Hibbert. If Hibbert can start right away and give Scott Skiles 14 and 8, the Bulls should be favored in the East. Chicago’s 2007-08 rotation would then be: Hinrich, Gerald Wallace, Deng, Ben Wallace, Hibbert (starters); Gordon, Andres Nocioni, Tyrus Thomas, Chris Duhon and Thabo Sefolosha.

Yes, it’s a young group. But the core has been in the playoffs each of the last three seasons and should have the confidence going into next season that it can hang with anybody and (maybe) make it to the Finals.

Golden State Warriors — Golden State was a great story and seeing the look on Mark Cuban’s face when Dallas lost that series was classic. But anyone in the know knows the Warriors had no shot against any other team in the playoffs.

 

That helter skelter style makes for good TV, but it doesn’t get you any jewelry. Golden State is a team that has to build a big lead and hold it or blow a team out. When it comes to making decisions in tight situations, that’s where the Warriors struggle. Whether it be missing three free throws in the last 20 seconds o####ame, or passing up easy mid-range shots in another, Golden State doesn’t have the personnel to pull out close games.

Jason Richardson wants out. Monta Ellis doesn’t want to be a career back up. And Stephen Jackson is psycho. That playoff run was the epitome of one of those “lightning in a bottle moments.” Remember, the Warriors had to win 10 of their last 11 just to get into the eight spot.

Like Chicago, Golden State is too perimeter oriented. For that reason alone, if it’s true Phoenix is shopping Amare Stoudemire, Chris Mullin should do everything in his power to get him to the Bay Area. The Warriors’ style isn’t hat far removed from what the Suns run. Baron Davis is a capable point guard, and Amare would be their first option — exactly what he wants. Amare is slated to make $15 million per for the next few years. A deal of Stoudemire for Richardson, Sarunas Jasikevicius and an expiring deal would get it done.

If Golden State doesn’t find a guy who they can dump the ball to on a consistent basis, the second round is as far as they’ll get.

New Jersey Nets — The return of Nenad Krstic will help the Nets immensely. In the 26 games he appeared in this season, Krstic netted 16.4 points and pulled down 6.8 boards a night.

But Kristic’s return is the least of Jersey’s worries. Vince Carter is a free agent. And Jason Kidd isn’t getting any younger.

Kidd turned in one of the greatest playoff performances ever for two rounds, averaging a triple-double (14.6, 10.9, 10.9). And in one moment, Carter showed that after nine years in the League, he still isn’t ready for prime time as he let 68-year-old Eric Snow body him enough to where he couldn’t get a shot off in game 5 of the Nets/Cavs second round series. He also shot 6-23 in an elimination game.

If this team stays together, it has the pieces to make a run next spring. Jersey needs bench help. Bostjan Nachbar put in 9.9 in 23 minutes of work each night, but the rest of the Nets’ bench did nothing.

This year’s underwhelming free agent class consists of guys who would be solid contributors off the bench. Matt Barnes could give Jersey toughness and some energy off the bench, as could guys like Earl Boykins, Devean George and Andres Nocioni.

Phoenix Suns — If it wasn’t for that bogus suspension, the Suns would still be playing. But they’re not, so I have to address their needs now.

Phoenix doesn’t need much. Kurt Thomas playing solid against Tim Duncan showed that. But Steve Nash’s back isn’t getting any better. He’s approaching Larry Bird territory with that thing.

A couple of things could set the Suns up for years to come. If they play the Amare Stoudemire/Shawn Marion trade rumors right, they should get a starter and a first-round pick in either deal. Phoenix also has a potential top-five pick by way of the Joe Johnson trade. That pick could turn into Al Horford or Joakim Noah, making Stoudemire a little more expendable than Marion due to the positions they play. Marion’s defensive performance against San Antonio, where he guarded both Tony Parker and Tim Duncan for stretches, increases his worth, too.

Steve Nash needs an understudy. If Stoudemire is retained, Phoenix should say “f$ck it” and draft Mike Conley Jr. with that pick and hope Boris Diaw regains his motivation. If Marion is retained, Phoenix should draft Horford or Noah, hope Milwaukee’s Mo Williams, who averaged 17, 5 and 5 last year, doesn’t want a “huge” deal and roll with a core of Nash, Marion, Leandro Barbosa, Diaw, Raja Bell, Horford/Noah, Williams and whatever piece they get in the Amare deal.

Remember, Phoenix got to the Western Conference Finals last season minus Stoudemire. He’s no slouch, but trading Amare wouldn’t set Phoenix back as much as trading Marion would.

More team needs coming after the conference finals.

During one of those “18/58” updates on ESPN Sunday, I saw something that startled me: “Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade will attempt to practice Monday for the first time since his shoulder injury Feb. 21.”

Yes, the dislocation of Wade’s right (shooting) shoulder was serious. Yes, it put a snag in any back-to-back talk in South Beach. But it’s not like this is the first time this injury has hampered an NBA uber-star, even though you’d think it is with all the cov-erage Wade has garnered.

Kobe Bryant suffered a similar injury during the 2002-03 playoffs and re-injured the joint the following year, which caused Bryant to miss 17 games that season. Sure, there was coverage of the damage, but not to the level of attention Wade has received.

This injury has been mainstream news since it occurred in a Heat loss at Houston in February. Wade, who returned to practice Monday, added to the drama by draping a towel over his head and lap after the injury took place. Not to mention needing a wheelchair for an arm injury!

I’ve heard everything from, “he shouldn’t risk fur-ther injury by coming back,” to, “if Wade returns, it’s amazing.”

When Kobe re-injured his shooting shoulder against Cleveland in January 2004, there was no wheelchair, no crocodile tears, nothing — just Bryant vowing to return to aid his team. The love Wade, the 2006 Finals MVP, has been shown the last six weeks is unbelievable. But do you think people in the sports world would be fawning over the Heat guard if he was the polarizing, lone wolf Bryant is portrayed as being?

This has done nothing but reaffirm my belief that Kobe can do nothing to make people “love” him. He can’t become a better teammate, which he has; he can’t do things for children, which he has. Kobe’s stuck.

This is a country of people who give everyone a second chance. Where’s Kobe’s second chance with the media? The people have spoken. Bryant’s number 24 jersey is the No. 1 seller in the League. Fans at Staples Center and abroad chant “M-V-P” when they witness his scoring exploits. This even happened in Boston of all places! Kevin McHale must be spinning in his grave.

Ask anyone in the know and they’ll tell you Bryant is the League’s premier player. No mention of his 40 ppg March is needed, although that scoring barrage catapulted Bryant from fourth in scoring to the top of the heap (31 ppg). Bryant recently followed up a 53-point effort in an overtime loss to Houston with an all-around effort (19 points, 13 dimes) in a 126-103 rout of Sacramento.

Kobe won’t win the MVP award this year. Hell, I’m almost convinced he’ll never receive the honor after last season, where he took a team of career underachievers (Kwame Brown, Lamar Odom) and youngsters (Luke Walton and Andrew Bynum) to the playoffs, while posting the highest scoring average (35.4) in nearly two decades.

Kobe finished fourth in MVP voting last season. How is that possible? Bryant should have won the award hands down. But voters of the award don’t like Bryant.

Isn’t that title supposed to be bestowed upon the best on court performer? And, if the rape charge is a reason behind that dislike, people fail to remember no jury convicted Bryant of anything. Steve Nash is an amazing talent, but he wouldn’t have finished in the top 10 of the voting 15 years ago. Jason Kidd has no MVPs to Nash’s two, but Kidd has two Finals appearances to Nash’s zero. Does that mean Kidd should have beat out Tim Duncan for the award during the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons? No, because Duncan was the best player those two years, as Kobe has been the last two.

What does Kobe have to do to get some love from the mainstream? Cure cancer? I don’t think we’ll ever know.

The only thing we’ll know is that Bryant is one of the greatest of all time. We don’t need anyone to tell us that.

WOW! That's all I can say after those two games last night.

The Bulls beat the Heat, 108-66, in the worst loss every for a defending champion. Almost made the ring ceremony a moot point, huh?

I had no idea Chicago would come out like that. Hinrich showed how much playing with the best in the League at the World Championships improved his game. He won't shoot like that all season, but his 26-point performance gets him off to a nice start. The Bulls ran and played with energy for a full 48 and made Miami look, well, old. Dwyane Wade, the youngest guy in the Heat rotation, was the only Miami player who looked like he wanted to be out there. Shaq looked awful in his 24 minutes of action. You'd think that, after an entire summer off, he would have come out with some zeal. Gary Payton looked slow and was killed repeated by Hinrich and Chris Duhon-20 points off the bench, inclduing 3-3 from three-point land. Ben Wallace looked solid in his Bulls' debut, pulling down 11 boards and converting his only free throw attempt. Yes, it's only the first game and Miami is supposedly built for the playoffs, but if they can't put in a good effort against a team like Chicago, visions of back-to-back titles will fade quickly.

How about them Lakers!!!

It was announced shortly before tip that Kobe was going to sit out the game and he may miss the first week of action, too. L.A. subsequently came out and gave up 41 to Phoenix in the first quarter. The Lakers gave up just 65 the rest of the way, on their way to a 114-106 win, and got a superb showing from Lamar Odom-34, 13, 6, 3 steals-and a career game from second-year man Andrew Bynum-18, 9. Maurice Evans and Luke Walton chipped in with 17 and 11 points, respectively, in what could prove to be the best win for the Lakers all season. Phoenix didn't look bad, although Amare Stoudemire didn't do much in his 12 minutes of action. Two-time MVP Steve Nash had 15 and 13 dimes and Leandro Barbosa torched L.A. for 30 off the pine. I say this was an important win for the Lakers because performances like that of Odom and Bynum could have finally shown Kobe that he can trust in his teammates to get the job done and help him out. If  he's not too stuborn and pig-headed to see that, the Lake Show could see a lot of air time come the second season.

This time tomorrow, Ben Wallace will be battling Shaq for post position for the first time since late May. Ben Gordon will have taken 20 shots and Dwyane Wade will have taken 648 free throws.

Yes, the new NBA season kicks off tomorrow night. Before the first tip, here are the ten teams I believe have the best shot to hoist the Larry O'Brien trophy next June.

10. Houston Rockets: The Rockets could go from Lottery to late May if everything goes according to plan: Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming play more than 65 games apiece, Shane Battier gives his trademark hardnosed effort, Bonzi Wells takes his meds. You know Jeff Van Gundy will have these guys playing tough D every night. And, if healthy, Houston will almost certainly improve on its 90.1 ppg average from last season. T-Mac can get a third of that alone. Watch out for rookie Steve Novak, too. The 6'10" Marquette product displayed his range all preseason long. Look for him to hit a couple clutch threes for H-Town this season.

9. New Jersey Nets: For some reason, I still think this is too high for Jersey. I know they played Miami tough even though they lost the series in five games, but I'm just not sold on them. Jason Kidd is a year older. Vince Carter is, well, Vince Carter. And I don't believe in their front line past Nenad Krstic. Jersey's perimeter trio of Kidd, Carter and Richard Jefferson will make them one of the League's more exciting teams, of course. And rookie Marcus Williams has the potential to make 21 GMs wish they selected him...just as long as he stays out of any computer labs he comes across. Krstic is the key here. If he builds on his '06 numbers-13.5 ppg, 6.4 rpg, potential double teams could free up Jefferson and Carter to run wild and Jersey could go deep into the '07 playoffs.

8. Cleveland Cavaliers: This is a lot of people's sexy pick to make it out of the East. I don't see it. Dan Gilbert (a Spartan!!!) paid $23 million for three years to forward Drew Gooden, who averaged 10.7 points and 8.4 boards in 05-06. That's $8 mil a year to a guy who played 27.5 minutes a night and had PT taken from him by a guy who looks like Sideshow Bob. Outside of a couple draft picks (Shannon Brown and Daniel Gibson), and singing tge aging David Wesley, Cleveland's roster is the same as the group who played admirably before losing to Detroit in seven games in the east semis. Yes, Larry Hughes will be healthy, but I don't think he's the right guy to play Pippen to LeBron's MJ. If a young Washington team wouldn't re-sign him, what does that tell you? Speaking of LeBron, he can only get better. He has no ceiling. Everybody knows that. He also doesn't have much help at The Q. Brooklyn's calling his name.

7. Chicago Bulls: Former Bull John Paxson made the biggest signing of the summer when he stole Ben Wallace from the Pistons for $60 million over four years. That deal just adds another piece to an already stout defensive squad that held opponents to a league-low 42.5 percent shooting from the floor. Eddy Curry-remember him-has already been forgotten, and Wallace will help Bulls fans forget the underachieving Tyson Chandler, too. As long as they stay together, Chicago is set on the perimeter for at least the next decade. Kirk Hinrich and Ben Gordon anchor a group that includes Chris Duhon, Luol Deng and pitbull Andres Nocioni. That group combined for 70 percent of the Bulls 97.8 ppg last season. That's where the problem lies. Chicago has to get some scoring from the post positions. Yes, Wallace and cagey vet P.J. Brown are tough, but they only combined for 16.3 points per game last season. I know scoring isn't why those two were signed, but the wing quintet is sure to have some off nights. Does Scott Skiles roll with his veteran 4 and 5, or does he insert number two pick Tyrus Thomas and Mike Sweetney to provide some scoring punch? Oh, and what does Skiles do when Ben has a 3-25 stretch from the charity stripe?

6: Los Angeles Clippers: L.A.'s other team is STACKED. Never thought I'd ever say that. When two-time champion Sam Cassell is coming off the bench, you know you have a squad. Elton Brand and Chris Kaman anchor what I think is the best post combo in the League-36.6 ppg, 19.6 rpg combined in 05-06. Elgin Baylor drafted big man Paul Davis out of Michigan State, who I think could develop into a solid post player. Baylor also added some depth with the signing of Tim Thomas. Corey Maggette should see more than 32 games this season, and will regain his starting spot from Quinton Ross. The wildcard for the Clip Show is newly-dubbed starting point man Shaun Livingston. Livingston. The 6'7" third year guard recently had a lot of weight put on his shoulders, and hell need to quickly improve on his game management skills. If he can show why he was drafted fourth overall in 2004, he could lead the Clippers to places no one ever thought they'd go.

5. San Antonio Spurs: I could get a lot of flack for having the Spurs this low. They were a foul call and a heroic Dirk Nowitzki performance from the West finals, and who knows what could have happened had they gotten past Dallas? Yes, the core remains in Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan, but the rest of the roster is unproven, suspect, and old. The meat of Gregg Popovich's bench-Mike Finley, Brent Barry and Robert Horry-averages 34 years of age. Beno Udrih regained his spot as back-up point guard after he couldn't get off the pine in the playoffs, and post monsters Fabricio Oberto. Francisco Elson and Jackie Butler will man the middle for San Antonio. Those three venerable big men have a combined career average of 3.6 ppg and 3 rpg a game. Parker is emerging as a elite point guard and Duncan is the best power forward of all time. I'm just not sure how much they can get out of the rest of the parts. The Spurs are still better than 90 percent of the League, though, so you know they'll be around come late spring.

4. Detroit Pistons: Plain got beat by Miami last spring. I know everyone in the organization harped on the starters playing a boatload of minutes throughout the playoffs, but Miami was just the better team. You could argue that the Heat could have been going for back to back titles had Wade and Shaq been healthy for the '05 conference finals. Still, Detroit still has arguably the best starting five in the League even without Ben Wallace. No, Nazr Mohammed won't sell afro wigs and jerseys; and he won't have a "GONG" noise played whenever he blocks a shot or catches an oop, but he will give the Pistons a viable fifth option on offense and Flip Saunders won't have to worry about "Hack a Nazr" at the end of games-.785 FT percentage in 05-06. Backcourt mates Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton will continue to carry the bulk of the offensive load-38.6 ppg in 05-06, but those two will need to defer to the wiry Tayshaun Prince at times. Prince (14.1 points, 4.2 boards last season) is a match-up nightmare at 6'9." He can take smaller guys down low and blow by bigger wing players. Flip Murray-10.3 ppg during the 05-06 season-will add scoring off the bench and give Billups and Hamilton a chance to take a breather at times. Detroit will miss Wallace on the defensive end, and I think they'll employ a lot of zone to make up for that loss. The Pistons won't win 64 games again this season, bu tthey'll be in the championship conversation all year long.

3. Miami Heat: If it ain't broke, you don't fix it. That's essentially what Pat Riley did as no additions or subtractions were made to the core of the Heat's title-winning rotation. Dwyane Wade will continue to be the focal point of the Heat offense and everyone else will continue to know their role. This could be the last go round for a number of players on the Miami roster-Alonzo Mourning, Gary Payton, Antoine Walker....And Shaquille O'Neal. The most dominant center of our era is, sadly, on his last legs. O'Neal had the lowest scoring and rebounding averages of his career last season-20 ppg and 9.2 rpg, respectively. He's averaged just 68 games a season since he won his first title in 2000. It'll be tough, but it'd be nice to see one of the all-time greats go out on top.

2. Phoenix Suns: Let's get this out of the way right now: Steve Nash will not win a third straight MVP award. You could argue he shouldn't have any. Anyway...the Suns and Mike D'Antoni have changed the game. Teams are building their rosters like Phoenix, but not with the same results. The Suns have averaged 58 wins a year since they acquired Nash prior to the 04-05 season. Phoenix even won 54 games last season without Amare Stoudemire. Boris Diaw and Leandro Barbosa helped pick up the slack, 26.4 ppg combined. But scoring-108.4 ppg-hasn't been the Suns' problem. Stopping opponents from scoring-102.8 ppa-has. In last year's playoffs, where defense usually tightens up, Phoenix surrendered more than 105 points a night over its 20-game run. If they had a stopper, or a coach who put at least a little bit of emphasis on defense, I'd rank Phoenix as the League's best team. But since they don't...

1. Dallas Mavericks: In 2003-04, the Mavericks gave up 100.8 ppg. Two years later, Dallas allowed a shade more than 93 points a game, good for top seven in the League. The Mavs already could score at will. Head coach Avery Johnson stressed defense to his group, which I believe propelled Dallas to its first finals appearance in team history. With Nash, Finley and Nowitzki, Dallas was Phoenix before Phoenix was Phoenix, if that makes sense. Two-thirds of the group is gone and has been replaced with well-rounded players such as Josh Howard and Jason Terry. Nowitzki, however, is the engine that makes the Mavs run. Dirk posted career highs in points per game (26.6), field-goal percentage (.480) and three-point accuracy (.406). Dallas has youth (Maurice Ager, Devean George) and experience (Jerry Stackhouse, Austin Croshere) on its bench. Mark Cuban has three big bodies in Desagana Diop, Erick Dampier and DJ Mbenga that can #### and push with the best of them. If they don't have a hangover after a Finals loss where they were up 2-0, David Stern may have to present Mark Cuban with the Larry O'Brien trophy. Then Stern's head will explode.