About 2 weeks into the NBA season
and the Golden State Warriors were the last undefeated team at 5-0 but recently
lost to Phoenix. The Houston Rockets, Memphis Grizzlies, & Toronto Raptors
all have the best record tied at 6-1. Chris Bosh & Klay Thompson have been
named players of the first week. And a few teams are already dealing with major
injuries; most significant are the OKC Thunder with Kevin Durant & Russell Westbrook
out more than a month, the Lakers losing both Steve Nash & Julius Randle
for the year, & the Pacers without Paul George.
There are interesting headlines
all over the NBA & the championship will be wide open this season with
multiple teams looking like viable contenders to win it all. King James
returned to Cleveland to bring his city its first ever championship along with
Kevin Love & Kyrie Irving and a host of other teammates that LeBron brought
with him from Miami. Despite minor ankle sprains to both ankles, Chicago
finally has Derrick Rose back and a new addition in Pau Gasol so they’ll be a
top pick to get to the Finals. The Heat are off to a great start with Chris
Bosh averaging over 23 points & 10 rebounds, a healthy Dwyane Wade, and
contributions from new teammates including Luol Deng, Shawne Williams, James
Ennis, Shabazz Napier, & Justin Hamilton. The Knicks hope to have a better
season with Phil Jackson hired into the front office & Derek Fisher as the
new head coach. The Wizards have a solid team coming off a 44-38 record last
season looking to aspire for 50 wins and then some with Paul Pierce, John Wall,
former Gator Bradley Beal, & Marcin Gortat. Charlotte has a young playoff
team, add in Lance Stephenson & they should make bigger noise in the East.
Indiana will suffer without Paul George so it’ll be interesting to see how much
of a setback his loss will be & who will step up in his place. Despite
losing Paul Pierce, Brooklyn will be right in the middle of the pack &
should finish with at least 42 wins. Atlanta is an average team with just
enough young talent & depth to either finish as a #8 seed or be out of the
playoffs.
Things are just as exciting and
maybe even more competitive in the Western Conference. As good as the Spurs are
with Greg Popovich and their core players, I believe the Spurs will always be
in the race but they’ll take a backseat this season to a new Western Conference
champ. If I could bet my money on any team to come out the West, it would be
the L.A. Clippers. They have the leadership to get it done with a coach that
won the 2008 NBA Finals, one of the league’s best point guards in Chris Paul,
an even better Blake Griffin, a big threat in the paint with DeAndre Jordan,
and reliable depth coming off the bench. They have all the pieces in place to
get to the Finals. Golden State is another popular pick. The Splash brothers
are wet from anywhere on the court but how will the team play under Steve Kerr
after Mark Jackson got the pink slip? The chemistry seems good as they pulled
off 5 straight wins to start the season. The Rockets should achieve another 50+
win season. They have 2 of the best players in the league in James Harden &
Dwight Howard and look to get past the 1st round after getting beat
on a buzzer beater last season from Damian Lillard. Portland got to the 2nd
round last year and has the talent to compete with anybody. Memphis is the same
ol’ gritty team with stingy defense but suspect offense. Zach Randolph &
Marc Gasol will play their parts but who will be the consistent go-to scorer
when they need it? OKC will struggle early without Durant & Westbrook but
will be alright in the second half of the season if they can stay healthy. Kobe
will carry the Lakers without Nash & Randle but don’t expect them to win
more than 30 games. Dallas looks like a better team than last year’s 49 win
season and will surprise a lot of people. My sleeper team is the New Orleans
Hornets. They’ll be the most improved team from last year and Anthony Davis
will carry them to just enough wins to compete for the #8 seed in the playoffs
along with Jrue Holiday and Tyreke Evans. 
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