Los Angeles Lakers: The key here will be can Ron Artest and Kobe Bryant play nicetogether? We all assume Bynum, Gasol, Odom, and fisher will play as they did last year. Trevor Ariza surprisingly was the sleeper last season and Ron Artest doesn't seem to be a good fit. Yes, he has amazing defense and he is big but Ariza understood his role was to be a pesky defender, shoot the long ball, and challenge the perimeter player to beat him to the rim.
Artest thinks he can take over a game and he can from time to time but its not consistent enough as Kobe is. So will Artest settle into the same role Ariza had and bea superstar at it. If yes, give the Lakers the West again. if not then San Antonio may take that leading spot.Factoring injuries to Bynum, Vujacic, and Farmar, the lakers can once again have a 60+ win season and take the number 1 spot. They are way too talented to slipdown to number 2.Oh by the way, quit letting teams like the Charlotte and Sacramento beat you.
San Antonio Spurs. With some key additions in Richard Jefferson and Antonio McDyess, the Spurs have revitalized what was seen as an aging, declining team just a few short months ago. With a nice core of Duncan, Ginobili, Parker, and Jefferson, there are four players who can top 20 points per game, making this a very dangerous team. The loss of Bruce Bowen may be a problem though.
Dallas Mavericks - I could have gone with a number of different teams here. From Denver to Portland to Utah to Houston to Dallas, there were quite a few options, but I chose Dallas because I do believe that Shawn Marion will be a difference maker. Dirk, Kidd, and Marion is an experienced and effective trio. I like it a lot, and with some contributions from Terry, Howard, and crew, this could be a very dangerous team in 09-10.
Boston Celtics - I believe that the Celtics' best days are behind them. The only improving forces on the team are the young players in Rondo, Perkins, Powe, and Davis, but this isn't enough to offset the decline of players like Garnett, Allen, and Pierce, all one year older. Rasheed Wallace should definitely improve the team, but there's much competition in the East this season and I don't think he'll be enough.
Cleveland Cavaliers: Cleveland, you are expected to make those Kobe/LeBron ABCpuppet commercialsuseful come June 2010. No excuses will be accepted. You lost nobody and gained a bunch. Williams and West will continue to be one of the topduo of guards in the league. Varejao will need to prove he was worth 50 million as he did against Orlando in the Conference Finals last year. His flaw is he cannot defend the outside which reallyhurt Cleveland last year. He needs to reinventhis defense to cover the perimeter.Shaq, will need to be Diesel and not "Dwight you stole my name and my All-Star spot". Shaq will need to cut out the T.V. antics and really focus because he is not the Shaq he was in L.A. in his late 20'searly 30'sIlgauskas will be upset but have to realize the team wants to win a championship and he is not the starting center to get them there.
This isn't a deep team by any means, but they don't need to be deep when they have an elite player and a few very good players backing him up. LeBron should probably have another MVP season and I see the Cavs emerging in the Eastern Conference this season, and possibly going the distance.
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 thinks he can take over a game and he can from time to time but its not consistent enough as Kobe is. So will Artest settle into the same role Ariza had and bea superstar at it. If yes, give the Lakers the West again. if not then San Antonio may take that leading spot.Factoring injuries to Bynum, Vujacic, and Farmar, the lakers can once again have a 60+ win season and take the number 1 spot. They are way too talented to slipdown to number 2.Oh by the way, quit letting teams like the Charlotte and Sacramento beat you.
San Antonio Spurs. With some key additions in Richard Jefferson and Antonio McDyess, the Spurs have revitalized what was seen as an aging, declining team just a few short months ago. With a nice core of Duncan, Ginobili, Parker, and Jefferson, there are four players who can top 20 points per game, making this a very dangerous team. The loss of Bruce Bowen may be a problem though.
Dallas Mavericks - I could have gone with a number of different teams here. From Denver to Portland to Utah to Houston to Dallas, there were quite a few options, but I chose Dallas because I do believe that Shawn Marion will be a difference maker. Dirk, Kidd, and Marion is an experienced and effective trio. I like it a lot, and with some contributions from Terry, Howard, and crew, this could be a very dangerous team in 09-10.
Boston Celtics - I believe that the Celtics' best days are behind them. The only improving forces on the team are the young players in Rondo, Perkins, Powe, and Davis, but this isn't enough to offset the decline of players like Garnett, Allen, and Pierce, all one year older. Rasheed Wallace should definitely improve the team, but there's much competition in the East this season and I don't think he'll be enough.
Cleveland Cavaliers: Cleveland, you are expected to make those Kobe/LeBron ABCpuppet commercialsuseful come June 2010. No excuses will be accepted. You lost nobody and gained a bunch. Williams and West will continue to be one of the topduo of guards in the league. Varejao will need to prove he was worth 50 million as he did against Orlando in the Conference Finals last year. His flaw is he cannot defend the outside which reallyhurt Cleveland last year. He needs to reinventhis defense to cover the perimeter.Shaq, will need to be Diesel and not "Dwight you stole my name and my All-Star spot". Shaq will need to cut out the T.V. antics and really focus because he is not the Shaq he was in L.A. in his late 20'searly 30'sIlgauskas will be upset but have to realize the team wants to win a championship and he is not the starting center to get them there.
This isn't a deep team by any means, but they don't need to be deep when they have an elite player and a few very good players backing him up. LeBron should probably have another MVP season and I see the Cavs emerging in the Eastern Conference this season, and possibly going the distance.
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.
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