The labor lockout this year has turned this NBA season into a Autobahn, where teams are having to play, think, revise its roster, practice, add / release players, and travel at a rapid, record setting pace. The offseason, while short, was memorable and the 2 preseason games? C'mon man!! As a whole the NBA games have been slightly under par, but most of the players are in shape. Finding out where your favorite role player is now who was on your team last season? Not so easy....No matter what, you gotta love the NBA and its great that its back, even if Principal Stern (oops, Commissioner Stern) threatened to send all the players to China and Turkey...
Anyways, here are SportsEffectLive.comTOP 10 STORYLINES of the NBA 2011-12 season. Enjoy!
(1) Can the Heat rebound? (Norris Cole Effect, Humblization of Lebron)
Not 1, not 2, not 3....
Last year the Miami Heat was the overhyped bullies of the league, figuring that if they team up, instead of going solo aginst the likes of Boston and LA, that they would have a better chance to win not 1, not 2, not 3 championships...etc. and so on...However, that fairytale ending ended with a suprised thud the size of Dirk Nowitzki's arc on his jumper every time it left his hand. The Heat had lost to the Mavs in classic meltdown fashion (after being up 1-0 & 2-1), had looked unclassy in the process (imitating Nowitzki's cold) and with it had Bosh on instant meltdown with LeBron going in hiding for a month or two. After workin' on his game this summer with Akeem the Dream, LeBron seems more at peace than ever before. Miami did do well in the draft, getting sleeper Norris Cole and aquiring Shane Battier through free agency, and looking at their early gallop out the gates, they could be headed back to the NBA Finals; Getting there won't be enough as they are win or bust this season.
Can LeBron get a ring ring?
(2) Will Lakers get over Paul trade block? (New coach, Odom traded, DHoward to LA?Kobe divorce)
The Lakers tried to pull off the deal of the brief NBA offseason by doing a huge trade to get Chris Paul a few weeks ago; However, principal (I meant commissioner) Stern disallowed the trade AFTER ALL TEAMS in the trade had given it the stamp of approval, making it feel like the Lakers had pulled another doozie, only to be Kevin McHaled (SELivedefinition: up and under pump fake) by Stern and swooped on by the LA Clippers. Although the Lakers lost Lamar Kardashian Odom (Mavs) and Coach Phil Jackson (meditation school), they still have enough talent to win a NBA Championship. They are still on the Howard bandwagon, and dont be suprised if Superman ends up in Hollywood. However, will Kobe be able to play at the level he always has, with a (1)new coach(2)a divorce on the way and (3) Father time catching up with his leaping ability?...We think he will, as he always has. So look for the LakeShow to be in the Title Mix.
(3) Where will Dwight Howard end up?
Superman to Hollywood?
Superman has one year left on his contract, and the Magic have tried (to no avail) to get Howard a second star to help them get to a championship; They lost in the Finals a couple years ago, only to move backwards since, while aquiring Gilbert Arenas, Hedo Turkoglu, Jason Richardson and others; Seems like the Magic aren't sure what to do, as trade rumors had Howard going from Jersey all the way to LA...I think he will eventually be traded, although Howard has said if we get another primetime player that he would be willing to stay. One things for sure - wherever he goes, the shift in power will go as well.
(4) Can the Mavs repeat?
Dallas had a dream season last year, starting fast, and finishing strong with a dramatic Championship run; The hard part is that because of the new labor agreement, the Mavs had to let go of a few players who were catalysts in the championship run (JJ Barea, Tyson Chandler, Caron Butler, Deshawn Stevenson). Grabbing Odom, Vince Carter, and Shawne Williams were good moves, but will it be enough to get them back to back Titles? Not so sure....Word is that the Mavs are in the hunt to get Dwight Howard, but that looks like a longshot.
(5) Can the new BIG 3 make it happen in New York?
New York Knicks hasn't been relevant since the Pat Ewing days and one magical year with Larry Johnson,(I do miss the grandmama ads) Allan Houston, LaTrell "choke em out" Sprewell and company; Now with Tyson Chandler joining Melo and Amar'e, the Knicks look like a team headed in the right direction. If they get any production from the guard spots, they will be a Top 4 Team in the East (along with Chicago, Boston and Miami). They had a winner in Billups, but didn't wanna pay 14 Million to the vet, so they let him go. Will that hurt them in the long run?
(6) Does the Old BIG 3 in Boston have anything left in the tank?
Boston's Big 3 (now BIG 4 with Rondo) has won a Championship, lost a championship, and now looks like they have 1 last title run left; PaulPierce is now back and playing good nontheless, which means they still will be a player for the East; Will they be able to muster enough energy in a short compressed season to challenge the Heat, Bulls, or Knicks with all 3 of those rosters having young hungry talent?
(7) Miami Valley Local Lookout...(Daequan Cook, Norris Cole, Derrick Brown, Chris Wright)
DCook with NBA 3pt Trophy
For the first time ever, Dayton, Ohio has 4 guys, born and raised in the DYT, on NBA rosters; While Daequan Cook is the elder statesman of the group, he's only 24 with a NBA 3-pt Crown to his achivements; Norris Cole (Miami) has burst onto the scene stealing the Heatles show in his second game (14 of his 20 pts in the 4th quarter to seal the win) and will be a Rookie of the Year Candidate; Derrick Brown is now in the rotation in Charlotte and Chris Wright is on the practice squad in Golden State, but making great strides and im willing to bet that he will be in uniform before the end of January. This is a GROUNDBREAKING year for Dayton, and hopefully all the youngsters in the Miami Valley will realize, with hard work, patience, and a little luck, they can too be on a NBA roster.
(8) Will the Cavs look good or bad about their draft decisions? (Rookie of Year talk)
Irving and Thompson
Cleveland had 2 of the top 4 picks in the Draft, and went with Duke Guard Kyrie Irving and Texas big man Tristian Thompson; Irving has a load of potential, but due to the fact he only played in a handfull of games at Duke, this season will be paramount to him and the Cavs. Thompson is a athetic 6'10 who is in the LaMarcus Aldridge mold...The Cavs passed up on Arizona's Derrick Williams (Minnesota), will they regret that?...Meanwhile Cavs Coach Byron Scott loves the way Irving plays, and feels he will be a star in the league. Until that happens though, the Cavs will pray for 30 wins and continue to rebuild.
(9) Can the Clippers join the NBA Elite? Blake Griffin / Chris Paul MVP?
Rookie of the Year Clownin'
The Clippers, up until this year, has been the JV team in the City of Los Angeles. No doubt about it. After decades of penny pinching by the owner (Sterling), and horrible front office moves, they finally got it right by drafting Blake Griffin, aquiring athletic young stud and horrible FT shooter Deaundre Jordan, trading for Chris Paul (giving up Eric Gordon sucked) and aquiring Caron Butler and Chauncy B-B-B-Billups through free agency..Now they look like a team ready to make a move from the JV and share the spotlight - or dare we say - take it over from the Lakers. Should be a special year for the Clip Joint.
(10) Is this the Year of the Thunder?
Durant Westbrook combo must work to win Title
Anybody who watched the Oklahoma City Thunder last year in the playoffs KNEW two things; One, that this team has the talent to win it all and (two) can Westbrook and Durant get along? We feel like Durant will be MVP this season, only because it is CLEAR that he is "the man" on this team, the Batman, the lead guy, the Superstar. Russell Westbrook is the x-factor that seemed to be pouting during crucial moments of the playoffs, during nitty gritty parts of key games against the Mavs. If Westbrook can accept the fact that he is playing with one of the GREATEST scorers (and soon to be players) in NBA history, then the Thunder will have a great chance to win a NBA Title. This season. If not, it could be a stormy end of year. Westbrook and Durant have already been arguing this season and if they can't iron it out, either a blockbuster trade or a unsettling situation will be the final result in OK City. They have all of the pieces to win a Title; Two great 1 on 1 players, athletic bigs who can guard and rebound, wing players of all sorts, and speed and defense at the top of the League. But can they get that cohesion that will lead you there? If you looked that the Mavs last year, their teamwork and team first mentality was unparalled in the NBA. Can the Thunder get to that level?
Comments are welcome...
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