The new NBA season started last night, with the Miami Heat defeating the Chicago Bulls, who had a healthy and effective Rose back in their lineup. Also, the Los Angeles Lakers, that most tiresome of sports franchises, knocked off their cross town rivals, the Los Angeles Clippers.
So, how will the season shape up? Who are the teams to watch?
Here is a brief summary of both conferences:
East
The Miami Heat opened their season last night not only by beating the Chicago Bulls, but getting their rings, as well as the championship banner raised. So the question: can they now three-peat?
I have some serious questions about that. Winning a title is difficult. Winning back-to-back titles is obviously even more so. But winning three in a row is truly a rare accomplishment in team sports, particularly in North America. Think of the teams that managed to do it in the last three or so decades. You have the Chicago Bulls of the nineties, who managed to do it twice. But that was with Michael Jordan, and a very talented team around him. The New York Yankees did it in baseball, from 1998 to 2000. They also happened to have a lot of money to buy a lot of talent that got them to the top. And the Los Angeles Lakers, from 2000 until 2002. Going back even further, you could say the New York Islanders of the early eighties, as well, who actually won four titles in a row.
But that's it. You can count the amount of times it has been done in the last three decades on one hand. It has not been done in American football during that time (the last team to do it in the NFL was Lombardi's Packers in the latter half of the sixties). It's just that it is incredibly difficult to win that many championships, as the pressure increases year after year.
So now, with the Miami Heat having won two titles in a row (and having made it all the way to the NBA Finals three years in a row, although they lost that first time to the Dallas Mavericks), the question remains: are the Heat good enough to win a third title in a row?
The short answer is yes. They have talent, obviously. Enough to win it again, sure. But the pressure will continue to mount, and they have more serious opposition this time than they had in the past. And let us not forget that, for all intents and purposes, the San Antonio Spurs actually outplayed them and, somehow, against all odds, managed not to win what would have been a championship-clinching Game 6, when they held a sizeable lead with 25 seconds left to play, and time running out on Miami's chances.
Like everyone else, I am intrigued by the Brooklyn Nets. Upon making the move to Brooklyn, the owner pretty much promised a championship within a few years, and he now seems serious on delivering that promise. They obviously made a lot of moves, and seem to have almost everything covered.
But one concern I have with them is their age. How much will they rely on Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, when those guys are hardly spring chickens these days. Remember, they won the championship with the Boston Celtics back in 2008, and returned to the NBA Finals in 2010. But that was already a long time ago. How much do they have left in the tank? Nobody denies that they can be effective, but can they last all the way to the end of the season and, presumably, the postseason?
One saving grace for the Nets is that they are a talented team already without those two guys. They have some serious talent, and let's remember that they were seen as a young, up and coming before acquiring Pierce and Garnett. If they play those guys right, meaning if they do not overuse them and tax them too heavily, and allow them to be relatively fresh and effective towards the end of the season, and particularly for the playoffs, then there would be no reason for them not to succeed to the fullest. Even if those guys are overused, and perhaps injuries slow them down, the team should benefit from their veteran leadership.
Another team that is seen as a rising power in the East would be the Indiana Pacers. They also retooled, and that came on the heels of a strong run through the playoffs that, unfortunately, ended against Miami in the Eastern Conference Championship. But they played well, and should be seen as a strong contender in the East. Can they get by Miami if they face them again? Can they knock off other elite teams, like they did the Knicks last season? Time will tell.
Finally, another Eastern team that should prove to be perhaps vastly improved from last season would be the Chicago Bulls, with Jalen Rose back in the lineup. If he can stay healthy for the entire season - a big if, I know - then the Bulls should, once again, rise to the upper echelon in the East, Like with the Pacers (and with everybody else in the East and in the league, actually), they have yet to prove that they could actually beat a loaded Miami Heat squad in a best of seven. But Rose's presence should definitely help tremendously, and brings credibility to their title aspirations this season.
The New York Knicks are also talented, although they hardly made the offseason moves that have made people stand up and take notice, like the Nets and, to a lesser degree, the Pacers. Nor are they getting their marquee player back from a long absence, like the Bulls with Rose. I know, coming from the New York area, that there is always a lot of hype surrounding this team. Like certain teams in other sports (the Philadelphia Eagles would be one team that always immediately come to mind), there is always this buzz around them that they are closing in on a championship, that this time, it will really happen in the near future). Then, nothing. Flat line.
And as much talk as many Knick fans are generating, I don't think this team will match it with results down the stretch, particularly against elite teams in the East, let alone the West, once the playoffs roll around. This is a playoff team, to be sure. But not a championship team, or even an NBA Finals team. I don't even think this is an Eastern Conference Finals team. Just a team that will qualify for the playoffs, and maybe win a series. Two if they are extremely lucky. But no more than that. Same old Knicks.
West
Like the Nets in the East, the team that likely will draw the most notice, just out of sheer curiosity as to how they will do with their new lineup, would be the Houston Rockets. They now have a very strong center, and if Dwight Howard looks happy (and early indications suggest he does), then he should be a nice compliment for a team that suddenly looks loaded with talent. This might be the most serious title contender the Rockets have had since they actually won back-to-back titles in 1994 and 1995. But Howard needs to play better, obviously, than he did last year with the Lakers. Of course, he won't have the same pressure on him in Houston that he did in Los Angeles, and that will likely help.
The San Antonio Spurs should have been the ones raising their banner and getting their rings last night, not the Miami Heat. They had the Heat beaten in Game 6, with less than half a minute to play while nursing a seemingly insurmountable lead for such a short amount left to play, in a game that could have clinched the title for them. Somehow, they lost through a series of dumb mistakes, and they just did not get the job done in the decisive Game 7.
So what can we expect of them? This is a team that most people assumed was well past it's prime years ago. Remember, their last title was in 2007, when they replaced the Miami Heat of 2006 as the NBA Champions. Now, a new Miami Heat team handed them one of the most painful and embarrassing losses in recent NBA Finals history, and there is a question of how they can recover emotionally. Also, there is yet another question of just how much they can have left in the tank. True, Duncan looked like the Duncan of old, and Ginobli and Parker are still there. But that center of the team has been together for over a decade now, and you wonder just how much longer they can continue to play at such a high level for?
A few seasons ago, the Oklahoma City Thunder were the hot young team, absolutely loaded with talent, and with expectations of championship glory. But Hardin left for Houston, and the pressure kept building, and the result was a season decidedly less than the expectations had them placed. They did not even come close to the NBA Finals last season.
Yes, they are still a talented team. But they are also a team that needs to do something very soon, because the window of opportunity for this team, with this lineup, could close fast, if they do not get it done in the very near future. They should have championship expectations, and even a swagger about them. Translating that to postseason success, on the other hand, is another matter entirely. They are good, and even good enough to get it done to at least reach another NBA Finals. But it will not be easy ad, I think it's fair to say, anything less than an NBA Championship would be disappointing for them.
The Los Angeles Clippers have been a team on the rise now for a few seasons, and some people think that it's just about time that they start playing like a championship team, as well. They are undeniably good, and have a talented roster. And new coach Doc Rivers clearly thinks that this team should be given respect, having asked that the Lakers banners be covered during Clippers home games.
But what really grants a team respect are the results, and the results still have not quite been there for this team. True, they are not perennial losers, like they once used to be, year after year after year (how they actually did not get relocated to some other city that wants a basketball market, but does not have a team, is still a puzzle to me). But if they want to talk the talk, and have that championship swagger, then they need to walk the walk. Now. not next season. This season. Otherwise, they will begin to look a bit ridiculous, full of talk that they cannot back up. This is a flashy team, and for now, the best team in Los Angeles, most likely. Still, if they really want to even begin to emerge out of the long shadow of the Lakers, it takes more than talk. It takes winning, particularly championships. And the question still remains: can they actually do it?
Frankly, I have my doubts. They have enough talent, true. But Doc Rivers, having been a member of the New York Knicks, should know from experienced that brash talk does not always help, and can often even hinder, a team from accomplishing what they could achieve, if they did not assume a level of greatness beforehand. The time for talk is over. Not, it is time for the Clippers to play that better brand of basketball that they essentially promised. Let's see if they can.
There are other teams in the West that are quite talented, and could be contenders. The Golden State Warriors are clearly a team going in the right direction. But are they ready to deliver this season? I'm not sure that they are, yet. The Denver Nuggets are a solid team as well. I always liked George Karl as a coach, and think he is one of the most overlooked coaches. But he has this team rolling in the right direction, and if they are to make an NBA Finals appearance, or perhaps even take a title, he is the man who could get them there. That said, that obviously would not be easy, and I'm not sure they can quite get there, or even close, admittedly.
As for some of the other teams that have been relatively consistent winners in the West, the Dallas Mavericks just seem to be struggling, ever since their surprise NBA title a couple of years ago. And as for the Lakers, with all of the injuries and the loss of Howard's presence as a big man, I don't even see them as a playoff team this year.
Funny, I was going to do a team-by-team breakdown, but instead got so wrapped up in writing about the upcoming season, that I did not give myself much opportunity to do that. I will try to follow this post up with an actual team-by-team breakdown in the near future.
No comments:
Post a Comment