So Far..

The NBA season has started and we got to see the teams play. A thing that shocked me was the Heat! Their record is 4-3. Hopefully they improve, or else there will be a new champion. The Bulls need to find rhythm with D-Rose. The Nets are the best team in New York as the Knick are sruggling. The Clippers were considered title contenders, but they struggle at the half court set. Just take the ball out of Paul’s hands an Bam! They are just lost! The Warriors look as energetic as well, and Bogut has took the defense to another level. The Spurs and OKC are playing superb, as usual. The Rockets are okay, but they need to figure out the rotation with Osik and Howard because those players are not scoring when they are on the court together. The Lakers jut need Kobe. They are far to inconsistent and are sloppy. Pau needs to step up because right now the Lakers don’t have a leader. The best team is the Pacers. 7-0! They look fantastic and are just clicking like the Heat did last year.

NBA Tip-Off Part 2

Los Angeles Lakers:

They kept Nash and Pau, lost Dwight, and can only wait for Kobe. But, they added some young legs with the energetic, sharp-shooter Nick Young. They also added the veteran Chris Kaman. With Dwight gone, the Lakers might be better, Beacuse now Pau will get a chance to really shine, and Robert Sacre will get minutes, as last year he only played “trash minutes” when the game was practically over. They got back Jordan Farmar, he was on the ’10 championship team,  who is still pretty young and is an excellent shooter. Jordan Hill and Steve Blake must be stellar on the bench though, to take this team to the top, as last year theri bench was the worst in the NBA. Jodie Meeks and Wesley Johnson need to shoot consistently.  There is a lot of uncertainty, and all the players need to rise to the occasion to excel without the Black Mamba.  This team can either fail miserably if the no one rises and if chemistry fails, or rise and become a close-knit team.

Los Angeles Clippers:

They got Doc Rivers!! They got one of the best coaches…that itself puts them ahead. They also got sharp shooter J.J. Reddick and Jared Dudley. With Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan this deep team is one fun team to watch and scary for competitors. They have learned a lot from the last two years and now know exactly how to prepare for the playoffs. Just watch, maybe the Lakers will be dethroned as the best team in L.A.

Brooklyn Nets:

Now, THIS is going to be interesting.  They have Paul Pierce AND Kevin Garnett who are two huge payers in the NBA.  Then you have Derron Williams, Joe Johnson, Brook Lopez, Jason Terry, AND Reggie Evans. On paper, one wold say, : “WOW! You should already give the trophy to the Nets. Ladies and gentlemen, it’s over.” but, you can’t. Why? Because all these players are used to having the ball, the chemistry might not be there immediately.

Golden State Warriors:

This is the perfect example of the under dog rising. Finally, it’s their turn. They kept all the key players from last year, Curry, Barnes, Thompson, and Lee. AND FINALLY Andrew Bogut is healthy. He will be useful and be that important inside presence they were missing. But, unfortunately, the Warriors lost Jarret Jack. It really is a shame since he was such a good shooter and made key plays in the 4th quarter. They brought in Andre Iguodala to fill in his absence. So, the Warriors have 4 GUARDS. How are they going to balance the shooting and how will each player be happy since they will have to share the ball more. When the pace slows down in the playoffs, how will they adapt will all their guards? It would help to have bigs, but hey, you gotta work with what you have. Mark Jackson will for sure figure something out. The Warriors will be a team to watch. All eyes will be on them, and they have great expectations this year after a phenomenal season last year.

Houston Rockets:

Dwight Howard and James Harden. Hmmm..sound like a dynamic duo…maybe modern day Shaq and Kobe? But remember what happened with Shaq and Kobe, they fought. Both Howard and Harden prefer having the ball. And last year, Howard CLEARLY struggled with sharing the ball. So, will he learn? You see with this team, when you think about it sounds perfect. Dwight will grow with McHale as his coach, one of the greatest big men, and he can have a good, young teammate with him in James Harden. Vice a versa, Harden has a nice go-to guy in the paint. Dwight will be the anchor defensively But, put this into action. What if Harden shoots too much?  What of Dwight takes the ball in too often and not strategically. All this can harm chemistry. And what about the other guys…they need a chance too! Only time can tell us the fate of this team

The Nuggets and Grizzlies might not be as strong. Grizzlies lost Holloins as coach and Nuggets lost Iguodala.

That concludes your preason overview! Thank You for reading!

Ready For Tip-Off

We are only 10 days away from the start of the NBA season. So, to get you ready here is an overview of each team which made major changes and other top contenders. This will tell you where the team stands as of now, and it’s potential

Let’s start with the defending champions, the Miami Heat:

The Heat kept the core of their team, the Big Three, composed of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh since they are still in their contract. Overall, the Heat have kept their key plays such as Ray Allen, Shane Battier, and Mario Chalmers who are all deadly three point shooters. Mario Chalmers can also score the quick lay-up and gets others going, and basically keeps the team together. They also kept Udonis Haslem, who was plagued with injusry last year, and Chris Anderson a.k.a. “Birdman” who add the tenacity and grit to the team. However, they lost Mike Miller, but it is not a big loss since he was inconsistent and only showed up sometimes. All the teams better watch out, since Miami is poised to make a three-peat.

Now, let’s move on to the Western Conference champions, the San Antonio Spurs:

After their humiliating loss in the Finals, the Spurs are out for revenge and are ready to make another trip to the Finals, an this time, return champions. The Spurs have made no major changes and with Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, and Manu Ginobli carrying more mileage, Greg Poppovich will make sure to rest them more, and give the younger players, like Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green, and Tiago Splitter more minutes. There’s no reason to worry about the Spurs since their veteran players, and coach Greg Poppovich will guide their team to success no matter what.

Oklahoma City Thunder:

Now that the Thunder will get Russell Westbrook back soon, they are poised to have another amazing season with the major players still here. They have basically have every type of players on their team. The veteran leader: Derek Fisher, the powerful 4 with range: Serge Ibaka, the rough, old-school style player: Kendrick Perkins, the defensive specialist: Thabo Sefolosha, and last, but not last the powerful, young, energetic duo: Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.They lost Kevin Martin, but they can work around that with Jerry Lamb. Their bench could be better, but Scott Brooks will come up with a good rotation as he did last season without Westbrook.

Indiana Pacers:

Last year with an impressive fight against the Heat, many are expecting a lot from the Pacers, which is completely understandable. They resigned Paul George and Roy Hibbert claims he has worked on his conditioning and plans to be more dominant in the paint. Granger is back, along with and improved bench, making the Pacers a team to watch out for.

Chicago Bulls:

Finally Derrick Rose is back!! The MVP takes this team to a WHOLE new level. Luol Deng, Carlos Boozer, and Taj Gibson with MVP Rose will make a fantastic team, and possibly the biggest threat to the Heat. But, it’s been a long time since Rose’s teammates have played with him, and some players who barely played with him last year. And, will Rose be the same player? How long will it take him to be the same player? How will the chemistry be? All these questions must be answered before predicting the Bulls’s future.

PART 2 IS ON ANOTHER POST