LA Lakers. The big question in LA is whether Kobe and Artest will work well with each other. The rest of the team is essentially the same as last year's, and we know their chemistry is solid. Artest is hit or miss with his teams and it remains to be seen how he'll do in LA.
Artest often takes over games and likes to be the focal point of his teams. This won't be possible in LA as long as Kobe Bryant is on the court. The adjustment in roles may be an easy shift for Artest, but if he doesn't take well to it, things could be murky come playoff time. Regardless, the Lakers should easily win their division during the regular season.
San Antonio Spurs - The knock on the Spurs has been their affinity to injuries, and the fact that both Duncan and Ginobili are on the other side of 30. The window for this team closes each year, but Jefferson and McDyess should give this team a much needed burst of life. This previously shallow team suddenly became much deeper with these two, and the Spurs are the favorite (if there is one) to dethrone LA.
Dallas Mavericks. It seems like this team always enters the season with high hopes, only to quietly exit during the first round of the playoffs. With some big additions in Shawn Marion and others, Dirk and Jason Kidd have a nice core in place now. Josh Howard's effectiveness will be a question mark, and the development of Barea will be key.
Boston Celtics: You are good. You have potential to be great. You probably will lose in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals again. But remember you are a very good team. You have all 5 starters returning and healthy which should help to start off at least8-2 or even10-0 if you can beat Cleveland on opening night and beat Atlanta, which is something you struggle with. The Boston 3 party willneed to invite Rondo and Rasheed inside and become aFab 5 in order to reducewear and tear on the agingbodies anddecrease the chances for injuries. KG will probably stay healthy but will not be the KG he was in Minnesota.RayAllen was pestered by JJ Reddick so teams may havefound a way to slow him down. Pierce will still be as dominate, ugly as it was. Rondo will be a key factor. Which Rondo will show up night in and night out. The almost Mr Triple Double in the playoffs Rondo or the You wanted to trade me / I cant beat Kirk Hinrichfoul playing Rondo. He is youngand still learning to handle pressure. He needs to be grown this year and mature to be as productive as he was in the playoffs. Rasheed will need to understand he is not a sharp shooter anymore and his old legs are not equipped to post up every player. His turn around jumper on the base line and interior defense will make him the asset Boston needs. Big Baby just needs to control his emotions and quit crying. They will finish somewhere in a 1-3 spot depending on the last 15 games of the regular season.
Cleveland Cavs. Cleveland sees another year of LeBron, and at 25, he should still be on the way up. The addition of Shaq will have more of an impact than many anticipate and his veteran presence should go a really long way in bringing this team to another level and firming things up.
The bench won't see too much playing time outside of 10-12 minutes so all they need to do is keep the leads while the starters rest. LeBron... the best player in the league... behind Kobe. Quit playing the stats and play with your team. Steal Kobe's menacing look and get your team in the game. Your assists are great, your dunks are spectacular but Orlando seemed to let you score 40+PPG and do what you wanted, when you wanted and still beat you in 6 games (should have been a sweep if you didn't make that lucky 3-pointer with a hand in your face). You are a small forward. When you are playing PG the team seems to want to watch the next LeBron ESPN highlight. Demand more of them like Kobe has done with the Lakers and your championship should come this year.
Orlando Magic: You are the defending Eastern Champions and you are setting a new NBA trend. A shooting team that proved it is possible to make it to the Finals and almost win. You most certainly could have if Lee had made that lay-up (game 2)and Dwight had nailed 1 out of 2 free throws (game 4). No need to dwell on the past because your future is just as bright. Jameer (Mighty Mouse) needs to come back with a vengeance. Shooting over 50% from the field and 45% from 3pt will make you an all-star this year again. Rashard, keep doing what you did last year and Orlando will be a threat again as well as you an all-star despite the 10 game suspension. It wouldn't hurt to finish strong at the basket sometimes like dunking on smaller players to draw the and 1. Dwight "Superman" will be Dwight and Gortat "Polish Hammer" will be Gortat. Carter needs to come in a merely duplicate Turkoglu's numberswhich should be a marginal task at large and Orlando will reap the benefits of letting Turk walk and trading Lee. Carter needs to understand one on one is not necessary until the final 3 minutes of the game.Brandon Bass and the bench including Jason Williams, Anderson, Reddick,Pietrus, Barnes, Anderson and Grandpa Johnson need to realize the starters cannotput up 80+ PPG and expect to win +55 games this year. 35+ PPG for the bench is not asking for much. This team has one of the deepest benches and 4 all-stars (3 from last year alone which would've been the only team if Jameer had stayed healthy). APesky top 5defenseandsharpshooters from beyond the arc still make this team just a deadly as Boston and Cleveland in the East if not better. Just remember that Dwight is usually open in the middle and he could get at least 5 more dunks per game if you throw it to him. By no means is this team not capable of returning to the NBA Finals.
Artest often takes over games and likes to be the focal point of his teams. This won't be possible in LA as long as Kobe Bryant is on the court. The adjustment in roles may be an easy shift for Artest, but if he doesn't take well to it, things could be murky come playoff time. Regardless, the Lakers should easily win their division during the regular season.
San Antonio Spurs - The knock on the Spurs has been their affinity to injuries, and the fact that both Duncan and Ginobili are on the other side of 30. The window for this team closes each year, but Jefferson and McDyess should give this team a much needed burst of life. This previously shallow team suddenly became much deeper with these two, and the Spurs are the favorite (if there is one) to dethrone LA.
Dallas Mavericks. It seems like this team always enters the season with high hopes, only to quietly exit during the first round of the playoffs. With some big additions in Shawn Marion and others, Dirk and Jason Kidd have a nice core in place now. Josh Howard's effectiveness will be a question mark, and the development of Barea will be key.
Boston Celtics: You are good. You have potential to be great. You probably will lose in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals again. But remember you are a very good team. You have all 5 starters returning and healthy which should help to start off at least8-2 or even10-0 if you can beat Cleveland on opening night and beat Atlanta, which is something you struggle with. The Boston 3 party willneed to invite Rondo and Rasheed inside and become aFab 5 in order to reducewear and tear on the agingbodies anddecrease the chances for injuries. KG will probably stay healthy but will not be the KG he was in Minnesota.RayAllen was pestered by JJ Reddick so teams may havefound a way to slow him down. Pierce will still be as dominate, ugly as it was. Rondo will be a key factor. Which Rondo will show up night in and night out. The almost Mr Triple Double in the playoffs Rondo or the You wanted to trade me / I cant beat Kirk Hinrichfoul playing Rondo. He is youngand still learning to handle pressure. He needs to be grown this year and mature to be as productive as he was in the playoffs. Rasheed will need to understand he is not a sharp shooter anymore and his old legs are not equipped to post up every player. His turn around jumper on the base line and interior defense will make him the asset Boston needs. Big Baby just needs to control his emotions and quit crying. They will finish somewhere in a 1-3 spot depending on the last 15 games of the regular season.
Cleveland Cavs. Cleveland sees another year of LeBron, and at 25, he should still be on the way up. The addition of Shaq will have more of an impact than many anticipate and his veteran presence should go a really long way in bringing this team to another level and firming things up.
The bench won't see too much playing time outside of 10-12 minutes so all they need to do is keep the leads while the starters rest. LeBron... the best player in the league... behind Kobe. Quit playing the stats and play with your team. Steal Kobe's menacing look and get your team in the game. Your assists are great, your dunks are spectacular but Orlando seemed to let you score 40+PPG and do what you wanted, when you wanted and still beat you in 6 games (should have been a sweep if you didn't make that lucky 3-pointer with a hand in your face). You are a small forward. When you are playing PG the team seems to want to watch the next LeBron ESPN highlight. Demand more of them like Kobe has done with the Lakers and your championship should come this year.
Orlando Magic: You are the defending Eastern Champions and you are setting a new NBA trend. A shooting team that proved it is possible to make it to the Finals and almost win. You most certainly could have if Lee had made that lay-up (game 2)and Dwight had nailed 1 out of 2 free throws (game 4). No need to dwell on the past because your future is just as bright. Jameer (Mighty Mouse) needs to come back with a vengeance. Shooting over 50% from the field and 45% from 3pt will make you an all-star this year again. Rashard, keep doing what you did last year and Orlando will be a threat again as well as you an all-star despite the 10 game suspension. It wouldn't hurt to finish strong at the basket sometimes like dunking on smaller players to draw the and 1. Dwight "Superman" will be Dwight and Gortat "Polish Hammer" will be Gortat. Carter needs to come in a merely duplicate Turkoglu's numberswhich should be a marginal task at large and Orlando will reap the benefits of letting Turk walk and trading Lee. Carter needs to understand one on one is not necessary until the final 3 minutes of the game.Brandon Bass and the bench including Jason Williams, Anderson, Reddick,Pietrus, Barnes, Anderson and Grandpa Johnson need to realize the starters cannotput up 80+ PPG and expect to win +55 games this year. 35+ PPG for the bench is not asking for much. This team has one of the deepest benches and 4 all-stars (3 from last year alone which would've been the only team if Jameer had stayed healthy). APesky top 5defenseandsharpshooters from beyond the arc still make this team just a deadly as Boston and Cleveland in the East if not better. Just remember that Dwight is usually open in the middle and he could get at least 5 more dunks per game if you throw it to him. By no means is this team not capable of returning to the NBA Finals.
About the Author:
If you enjoy the NBA as much as we do, then come and visit the basketball forum at RootZoo, where you can play nba trivia all day until you can't remember MJ's number.
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