That's how close we are to the dawning of another NBA season. And the storylines abound.
Can the Heat three-peat? Can the geriatric Nets stay healthy enough to make their luxury-tax-paying Russian oligarch look smart? Can the 76ers avoid breaking their own record for futility? Can LeBron be any better? Can KD be any better? When will Kobe come back?
The list goes on and on.
But for the sake of simplification — and because this is a blog; not a book or a Bill Simmons blog — I'm going to jump right into my NBA preview by breaking up the teams (listed in the order I think they'll finish in their conference) by their objectives for the season.
It might be the easy way out, but, hey, isn't that what a handful of teams will be doing when they sit their top players come March and April with "back stiffness?"
See below.
Categories
- Playing to win (PW): Teams that are in this thing to win the NBA 'ship in June.
- Playing for the playoffs (PP): Teams that just want to make the postseason, where they won't last long. In many cases, these teams have GMs who won't be around next year if their teams don't qualify for the postseason.
- Playing for Wiggins: Simple. Teams that will be horrible and hope to win out at the draft lottery and get the No. 1 pick to (most likely) select Andrew Wiggins.
- Playing for LeBron: Teams whose prime objective this season will be to make themselves look good enough and appealing enough to attract the world's best player during free agency.
- Shit, I don't know (SIDK): Teams that aren't making much sense with their personnel moves and will be irrelevant for most of the season.
Eastern Conference
1) Miami Heat: Two storylines to watch before the playoffs — can LeBron be even better? And can Greg Oden stay healthy and be a factor. PW
2) Chicago Bulls: Yep, 95 percent of America was wrong. What's new? Derrick Rose knew what was best for him despite the intense criticism, and now he's fully healed. Watch out, East. PW
3) Indiana Pacers: So what's new for the team that came within a game of taking down the mighty Heat? Well, they get back a healthy Danny Granger and swapped Tyler Hansbrough for Luis Scola. I'd call that a productive offseason. PW
4) New Jersey Nets: A couple thoughts — their backcourt of Deron Williams and Joe Johnson is overrated; their frontcourt of old guys KG and Paul Pierce plus Brook Lopez is underrated. PW
5) New York Knicks: They'll finish in the middle of the East and maybe even win a playoff series. That, however, doesn't mean they have a clue what they're doing long-term besides hoping for LeBron. SIDK, PFL
6) Atlanta Hawks: Of all the coaching changes this offseason (quick, name two!), this one is so under-the-radar, I bet most Hawks fans don't know the guy. But Gregg Popovich disciple Mike Budenholzer will keep the team a reach-the-playoffs-and-lose-early-every-year outfit. PP
7) Detroit Pistons: If the Pistons don't make the playoffs after acquiring Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings, Joe Dumars is done as GM. Pressure's on. PP
8) Washington Wizards: The Wizards are in the same boat. The late acquisition of Marcin Gortat should get them to the postseason if they can stay relatively healthy, which was their undoing last season. PP
9) Cleveland Cavaliers: The Cavaliers' main goal under Mike Brown (hey, welcome back!) is for the young nucleus to learn how to play defense and to look good enough to bring back another former Cav next summer... PFL
10) Toronto Raptors: Assuming no move is made involving Rudy "I like to shoot a low percentage" Gay, Toronto — and its awesome fan base — will push for a playoff spot and come up just short. PP
11) Charlotte Bobcats: I'm sorry, but Michael Jordan is as bad at being a GM as he was good/great/legendary at playing. He's terrible (see Jefferson, Al; Gordon, Ben; Zeller, Cody). Charlotte will be just good/bad enough not to make the playoffs OR give itself a decent shot at Wiggins. SIDK
12) Milwaukee Bucks: Milwaukee was smart to rid itself of Brandon Jennings and let Monta Ellis go shoot a lot and play no defense for Dallas. Still, the Bucks aren't attracting any free agents beyond O.J. Mayo and have pieces that don't fit. Maybe a draft pick could help... PFW
13) Boston Celtics: If Rajon Rondo isn't traded and plays a healthy season, combined with Brad Stevens on the sideline, they might not be as bad as they should be. That, of course, isn't what the fan base wants. PFW
14) Orlando Magic: You know what would be fun — Victor Oladipo paired up with a certain college freshman next season. PFW
15) Philadelphia 76ers: No team is more transparent about its goals. GM and analytics guru Sam Hinkie ditched Jrue Holiday, traded for a rookie who's out for the year (Nerlens Noel) and has a lineup that includes Thaddeus Young, Evan Turner and Spencer Hawes. Yeesh... PFW
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Western Conference
1) L.A. Clippers: This squad could be the paradigm of the "Can a much better coach make a difference?" test, with Doc Rivers taking over for Vinny Del Negro. If Doc can turn DeAndre Jordan into a serviceable free-throw shooter in addition to being a dominant defender, watch out. PW
2) Oklahoma City Thunder: If healthy, this team will be playing in the Western Conference Finals. Its objectives are clear. PW
3) San Antonio Spurs: The Spurs and St. Louis Cardinals are the two most well-run organizations in American professional sports. Don't expect that to change for the Spurs and Kawhi Leonard — the face of the future — this year. PW
4) Golden State Warriors: Their only problem is they've got six guys who should be starting. Harrison Barnes was an effective post-up guy in the playoffs, but he might be stuck on the bench. Expect a potential move during the season. PW
5) Memphis Grizzlies: People are down on the Grizz, saying they had their chance last year (helped by the Westbrook injury), but I love their core, Mike Conley just gets better and stats guru John Hollinger in the GM seat won't make any dumb, rash moves. PW
6) Houston Rockets: Prove me wrong, Dwight Howard. Prove that you can be a winner on a team that's not all about you. Prove that you can shoot better than 50 percent on free throws. If you do, you might help James Harden take this team very far. PW
7) Minnesota Timberwolves: Did you know that no team has had a longer playoff drought than Minny? Yeah, I was surprised, too, that 2004 was the last time the T-Wolves — led by a KG character — made the postseason. It's time to return, even if to get swept in the first round. PP
8) Dallas Mavericks: Mark Cuban has publicly said Dirk is ending his career as a Maverick, so there will be no rebuilding. Instead, he'll add pieces like Jose Calderon and Ellis and see what happens. PP
9) L.A. Lakers: I'm only putting them this high because of Kobe "Bean" Bryant, easily the most competitive player in the league. He'll return from that Achilles earlier than anyone expects, hit some game-winners, and make the case for a certain someone joining him and Pau Gasol in the summer (even though he'll be 36). PFL
10) Denver Nuggets: How do you go from a No. 3 seed to a team just fighting for a playoff spot? You lose your Executive of the Year (Masai Ujiri), fire your coach of the year (George Karl), and let your defensive cornerstone (Andre Iguodala) bolt for Golden State. SIDK
11) Portland Trail Blazers: I actually like this team and what they're doing. Unfortunately, with rookie C.J. McCollum out six weeks and living in the crazy-competitive West, they'll end up short of their playoff dream — and end up in the Wiggins sweepstakes. PP (but PFW by happenstance)
12) New Orleans Pelicans: I'm sorry, but any team that puts effort into acquiring Tyreke Evans and believes Eric Gordon will actually be healthy doesn't know what it's doing. It's sad, too, because Anthony Davis is special and Monty Williams knows how to coach. SIDK
13) Sacramento Kings: This team won't necessarily tank. It will just be really bad, especially if Boogie Cousins has more meltdowns. That means lots of lottery balls. PFW
14) Utah Jazz: Similar to the 76ers, if scaled-down a bit, the Jazz have a plan. Their hope is for youngsters Enes Kanter (21), Derrick Favors (22), Gordon Hayward (23) and rookie Trey Burke (20) to grow and improve together. And if a No. 1 picks comes along, well even better. PFW
15) Phoenix Suns: Phoenix has finally come to terms with the the fact it's a really bad basketball team and execs need to stop watching Steve Nash highlight films. Unloading Marcin Gortat was a start. Goran Dragic should be next to go, which would give Eric Bledsoe free reign over a team of nobodies. PFW
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Playoff predictions
EAST: Miami Heat def. Chicago Bulls (7 games) — I really want to take the Bulls and possible MVP Rose. But this will clearly be the Heat's last hurrah with their Big Three, and LeBron will be transcendent in this series.
WEST: L.A. Clippers def. Oklahoma City Thunder (6 games) — Call me crazy, but I think Doc can take a team that got run off the court in the first round in 2012-13 and lead it to the finals. The additions of J.J. Redick and Jared Dudley will help on the offensive end. Jordan will be the ringleader on the other end. And I didn't even mention Chris Paul.
FINALS: Miami def. L.A. (6 games) — Matt Barnes will do all he can to get under LeBron's skin, but James will be too much for the Clippers. Throw in the clutch shooting of Ray Allen and Greg Oden providing that big body to contest Blake Griffin and Jordan, and the Heat will take home their third title in a row.
Of course, the real drama will have played out weeks before when the PFW is decided by ping-pong balls. ENJOY!
For my basketball insights, follow me on Twitter @jakelam2116
Great insight. Good luck tomorrow.
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