Denver Nuggets: There's no denying that the Nuggets will continue to have one of the most dynamic and entertaining offenses in the league and George Karl's teams have always been notorious for their depth and reliance, almost to a fault, on a 12 man rotation. The Nugget's ability to turn the corner will be determined by Ty Lawson and Kenneth Faried's continued growth and development, for which both appear to be poised. The heady vet, Andre Miller, and a vet with a rather swollen head, Andre Iguodala in the Rockies. Part of the Nuggets success last season, pushing the Lakers to the the limit in the playoffs, was Danilo Gallinari's ability to step up and make big shots. He was about as close to a superstar as Denver had. Iguodala's addition creates an interesting wrinkle in the Nuggets' potential. Iggy's rise to semi-stardom after years of only talking the talk and not walking the walk had everything to do with Doug Collins' coaching and his time on the national team. Iggy's true niche on the court is that of a playmaker, when he had a proverbial leash on him and was not so dead set on being a shotmaker, both Iggy and the Sixers never looked better. If Iggy can maintain that playmaking mindset, the sky is the limit for both he and the Nuggets, but if he reverts back to old habits in this freer offense, the Nuggets organization my live to regret his acquisition. It should be noted that no matter what, Iggy has the potential to flourish in that fast-paced offense, and with Gallo and Iggy locking down the perimeter, if Javale McGee can play with his head on his shoulders consistently, as he did last post season, the Nuggets may fulfill Mile High expectations.
Minnesota Timberwolves: The Wolves finally appeared to have a team tailored for Rick Adleman's system and interest in Wolves basketball was at its highest since Kevin Garnett and, dare I reference him, Spree, suited up in the Twin Cities, then the injury bug bit and bit hard. Rubio's recovery will be something to monitor going forward, but there's no question that the real blow here concerns the implications Kevin Love's broken hand The team will once again face an uphill battle until those two are on the court again, but there's a chance that some saving grace can be found in the rest of the roster. Obvious questions linger about how one-time superstar Brandon Roy's knees will hold up to the grind of the NBA season. The Wolves, likely didn't expect to have to lean on him as much as they might have to at the season's begining, but that surgery worked wonders for Kobe, and it should put some tread back on Roy's tires. If he can stay healthy, Kirilenko could flourish outside of Utah coming off a season overseas. Rick Adleman's offense isn't exactly free, but the change of scenery and a lack of other options could revitalize AK 47's once promising career. Love's absence will create ample opportunity for Derrick Williams to prove his mettle, and a banged up Luke Ridnour may well be a blessing in disguise for the the Wolves, as minutes will open up for the dynamic JJ Barea. As encouraging as all of this sounds, there's no replacing a Kevin Love, or even Ricky Rubio and the fact that your two best players otherwise are walking injury risks is beyond disheartening. As a Wolves fan, you have to hope you can tread water in their absence, but regardless, this team only goes as far as a healthy Love and Rubio lead them.
Portland Trail Blazers: To say that last year's season in Rip City was a disappointment is an understatement and this year will likely wind up being more of the same. However, up-and-coming rookie guard, Damian Lillard could go a long way in rewriting that script. Lillard's preseason indicated that he's prepared for the NBA game, and the prospect of him playing alongside the talented LaMarcus Aldridge is enough to have Portland fans salivating for basketball. The Blazers haven't been this excited about a rookie since the ill-fated Greg Oden. The Blazer rotation is rounded out by two versatile swingmen in, Nicolas Batum and Wes Matthews who still have a lot of upside to their game, but even if all three of these players play to their potential Portland's squad is still very young and, until proven otherwise, not very deep. The team will likely struggle and the time of them being perceived as the sleeper team in the West is behind them, but at least it will be good to know that Aldridge will not be out there playing alone, as it looked at times last season.
Oklahoma City Thunder: On paper, the Thunder's chances of repeating a trip to the Finals took a hit when they traded James Harden to Houston, but Jeremy Lamb as a long term investment may prove wise, the Thunder have a knack for making those calls, as Westbrook and Harden both had players projected to go before them when they were drafted by OKC. Also, let's not forget just how skilled a shoot Kevin Martin was outside of the context of last season's apparent rough patch. However, Martin likely won't get the volume of looks he did when he was in Houston as he plays third fiddle to Durant and Westbrook. If Martin gets licence to run the second unit as Harden did, Martin may pleasantly surprise. There's no question Martin doesn't fill the intangibles of defense, passing, and beard-growing that Harden did, but this is far from a one-sided trade. Health concerns circling Perry Jones resulted in him falling to OKC, if he can be healthy, he may prove the steal of the draft. Eric Maynor's return should help that second unit keep the pedal to the medal and leave opposing teams in the dust. The Thunder have one of the deepest front courts in the league with Perk, Ibaka, the under-sung Collison, and even Thabeet, who will likely play well with no offensive expectations on his shoulders. Oh yeah, then there's Durant and Westbrook who, already at the top of their profession, seem to improve every year. Bear in mind, a lot of the Thunder errors in the Finals were mental. Another year of maturity could do wonders for this squad as they undoubtedly march towards title contention.
Utah Jazz: This team looked pretty woeful by last season's end, but that had as much to do with San Antonio hitting its stride as it did the Jazz struggling. Mo Williams at point is an improvement over Devin Harris who appeared to lose all confidence in his game last season. The Jazz have one of the best starting front courts in the league in Jefferson and Milsap. Gordon Hayward and Derrick Favors' continued development will shape this season's depth and perhaps, if Marvin Williams can finally meet his potential halfway, the Jazz could turn some heads. Odds are this team will again be in the awkward middleground of too good to break up, but not enough there to really compete. New found guard depth and Marvin Williams' promise at least keeps that glass half full in Salt Lake City.
Showing posts with label Oklahoma City Thunder. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Oklahoma City Thunder. Show all posts
Monday, October 29, 2012
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Heat Lightning
The NBA Finals are finally upon us and, as many expected during this condensed season, youth has risen to the top. In a battle of elemental fundamentals, the much scrutinized Miami Heat will have their second shot at raising a banner in the East, while the ever-maturing and largely adored Oklahoma City Thunder will represent the West and attempt to realize their potential just 3 short seasons into the OKC era, leaving the city of Seattle to look on with mixed feelings.
Neither team got to the Finals without first weathering the last stand of a couple of the league's elder statesman in Boston and San Antonio, but this is arguably the first time during this post-season where Miami and OKC playing a team built to run the floor with them. This should make for a series that could, at times resemble a track meet more than a basketball game and makes for some interesting matchups on both ends of the floor.
The most intriguing matchup by far will pit everyone's favorite second pick of a draft, Kevin Durant, *shakes head at Portland* against the world's most reviled first pick, LeBron James. I'm curious how often these two will actually be guarding each other. With all respect to Shane Battier, I'm hard pressed to find a player more capable of at least making Durant work for his points than LeBron James. Kevin Durant's game seems to become more well-rounded by the season and this year he's really been rising to the challenge defensively, making the effort to check the league's elite. I doubt very much Scott Brooks will have Durant guard LeBron for any extended period of time, as Harden will likely draw Wade and Sefolosha the daunting task of James, but down the stretch it would surprise me if Durant requests to guard James and, as LeBron struggles to do late it games, rises to the challenge.
Now, for all the flack that LeBron James takes for his inability to make (or even take) clutch shots late in games, let's not forget whom we're talking about here. I dislike the guy as much as the next sports fan with a pulse and a television, but he makes the term "beast mode" almost seem appropriate for use in sports journalism. The luxury of LeBron is his ability to be so dominant in games that the final minutes aren't important. As if it was in doubt, LeBron's performance in Boston proved that he's more than prepared to step up in big game situations, but he's yet to prove that he's up for the big moment.
Dwayne Wade has proven himself capable of brilliance time and time again, James Harden is OKC's most well-rounded (not best) player, and Westbrook is showing naysayers that his shoot-first-have-it out-with-KD-later point guard philosophy can be successful, but I think the most compelling matchup in the finals well be the Bosh/Ibaka matchup. As fun as it can be to mock Chris Bosh's emotional, don't-dive-because-you-might-hurt-me attitude, he's an invaluable cog in the Miami offense as their only post and mid-range scorer who compliments James and Wade perfectly. His ability to step out, board, and straight up make teams pay for over helping makes him Miami's X Factor in my opinion. What's scary is that he seems to be playing with a chip on his shoulder for the first time in his career. Look out, he's not just happy to be there anymore.
Serge Ibaka makes for some of the most highlight worthy defensive plays in the NBA, on top of that he's really perfected a mid-range jumper that, during the Laker series, made Bynum and Pau look like second fiddles to the Perk-Ibaka tandem in the post. Given Miami's lack of interior scoring, look for OKC to go small again as they did in San Antonio. His ability to check Bosh, patrol the paint, and hit open jumpers could pay championship dividends.
For all their differences in personel, these teams are built to win in a pretty similar, fast-paced, fashion. Neither team is especially deep, with a roster centered around three scorers and a bunch of blue collar guys who know their respective roles, and this series could go either way and will be hotly contested. With that said, I give a slight, but distinct edge to the Thunder heading into the series. With the exception of Battier's performance in game 7 of the conference finals, I've yet to see any of Miami's gunners step up and consistently hit the shots afforded them by James and Wade's penetration. I will say that Mario Chalmers' play has been drasticly undervalued and he may be due for a coming out party similar to Jeff Teague's rise to relavance against D. Rose last season, but as I mentioned before, Miami is facing a mirror image of themselves in the athleticism department. As a result, if this series becomes essentially a battle of "Big Threes" OKC's trio compliments each other a little better than the three amigos of South Beach.
On the OKC end, I think the Thunder learned a lot real quick from the Spurs about how to play as a team and share the ball. To take such a shot to the mouth from San Antonio (with emphasis on game 2) and recover so quickly and thoroughly is a testament to that team's character and coaching. I kind of feel like the Thunder said "if you can't beat them, join them" and their more unified offense makes them a scary team that I feel has one or two more dimensions than Miami that may prove to be the difference.
Neither team got to the Finals without first weathering the last stand of a couple of the league's elder statesman in Boston and San Antonio, but this is arguably the first time during this post-season where Miami and OKC playing a team built to run the floor with them. This should make for a series that could, at times resemble a track meet more than a basketball game and makes for some interesting matchups on both ends of the floor.
The most intriguing matchup by far will pit everyone's favorite second pick of a draft, Kevin Durant, *shakes head at Portland* against the world's most reviled first pick, LeBron James. I'm curious how often these two will actually be guarding each other. With all respect to Shane Battier, I'm hard pressed to find a player more capable of at least making Durant work for his points than LeBron James. Kevin Durant's game seems to become more well-rounded by the season and this year he's really been rising to the challenge defensively, making the effort to check the league's elite. I doubt very much Scott Brooks will have Durant guard LeBron for any extended period of time, as Harden will likely draw Wade and Sefolosha the daunting task of James, but down the stretch it would surprise me if Durant requests to guard James and, as LeBron struggles to do late it games, rises to the challenge.
Now, for all the flack that LeBron James takes for his inability to make (or even take) clutch shots late in games, let's not forget whom we're talking about here. I dislike the guy as much as the next sports fan with a pulse and a television, but he makes the term "beast mode" almost seem appropriate for use in sports journalism. The luxury of LeBron is his ability to be so dominant in games that the final minutes aren't important. As if it was in doubt, LeBron's performance in Boston proved that he's more than prepared to step up in big game situations, but he's yet to prove that he's up for the big moment.
Dwayne Wade has proven himself capable of brilliance time and time again, James Harden is OKC's most well-rounded (not best) player, and Westbrook is showing naysayers that his shoot-first-have-it out-with-KD-later point guard philosophy can be successful, but I think the most compelling matchup in the finals well be the Bosh/Ibaka matchup. As fun as it can be to mock Chris Bosh's emotional, don't-dive-because-you-might-hurt-me attitude, he's an invaluable cog in the Miami offense as their only post and mid-range scorer who compliments James and Wade perfectly. His ability to step out, board, and straight up make teams pay for over helping makes him Miami's X Factor in my opinion. What's scary is that he seems to be playing with a chip on his shoulder for the first time in his career. Look out, he's not just happy to be there anymore.
Serge Ibaka makes for some of the most highlight worthy defensive plays in the NBA, on top of that he's really perfected a mid-range jumper that, during the Laker series, made Bynum and Pau look like second fiddles to the Perk-Ibaka tandem in the post. Given Miami's lack of interior scoring, look for OKC to go small again as they did in San Antonio. His ability to check Bosh, patrol the paint, and hit open jumpers could pay championship dividends.
For all their differences in personel, these teams are built to win in a pretty similar, fast-paced, fashion. Neither team is especially deep, with a roster centered around three scorers and a bunch of blue collar guys who know their respective roles, and this series could go either way and will be hotly contested. With that said, I give a slight, but distinct edge to the Thunder heading into the series. With the exception of Battier's performance in game 7 of the conference finals, I've yet to see any of Miami's gunners step up and consistently hit the shots afforded them by James and Wade's penetration. I will say that Mario Chalmers' play has been drasticly undervalued and he may be due for a coming out party similar to Jeff Teague's rise to relavance against D. Rose last season, but as I mentioned before, Miami is facing a mirror image of themselves in the athleticism department. As a result, if this series becomes essentially a battle of "Big Threes" OKC's trio compliments each other a little better than the three amigos of South Beach.
On the OKC end, I think the Thunder learned a lot real quick from the Spurs about how to play as a team and share the ball. To take such a shot to the mouth from San Antonio (with emphasis on game 2) and recover so quickly and thoroughly is a testament to that team's character and coaching. I kind of feel like the Thunder said "if you can't beat them, join them" and their more unified offense makes them a scary team that I feel has one or two more dimensions than Miami that may prove to be the difference.
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