NBA Tipoff: Start of the Season Proves Older Teams Will Struggle

The lockout has caused this NBA season to be shorter but more compressed. 

Teams are going to have many back to back games and sometimes back to back to back. 

This favors the young athletic teams, because older players need more time to recover.

The start of the season has shown older teams, that would usually succeed in a regular spread out season because of their age and experience, are struggling.

Younger Teams Winning

Three teams that are undefeated this season are the Miami Heat, Indiana Pacers and Oklahoma City Thunder.

These three teams are young, athletic teams. 

The Miami Heat have the Big Three in their second season together, and they look as if they could go undefeated for the whole season. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade both started the season playing MVP caliber basketball. LeBron leads the league in points, is fifth in rebounds and second in steals. Dwyane Wade is third in the league in blocks and has been clutch in the end of games.

The Indiana Pacers have had a star player for the last couple of seasons in Danny Granger. It seems as if they just needed the right pieces to build around him. Tyler Hansbrough is averaging a double-double and David West has been a nice pick up for the Pacers.

Many feel the Oklahoma City Thunder are one of the favorites to win the NBA Championship this season. Kevin Durant is challenging LeBron as the best player in the sport, and because of their youth and athleticism, the Thunder are winning games against older teams.

Dallas Mavericks

The reigning, defending NBA Finals Champions are the Dallas Mavericks.

However, they are struggling in the start of this season. They are clearly an older team. Dirk Nowitzki, Shawn Marion, Vince Carter, Lamar Odom, Brendan Haywood, Jason Terry and Jason Kidd are all in their 30s.

It could be because they are an older team who is struggling to keep up with younger, athletic teams and need more time to rest but aren't going to get it.

The Mavericks are 1-3, with the one win coming against the Toronto Raptors, who are not a good team.

At this rate, the Mavericks, are not going to repeat if they can't pick up their play.

Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics have been an older team since they started their Big Three in 2007.

Two reasons why they have gotten off to a slow start are probably, their age and Paul Pierce's absence due to injury.

Just like the Mavericks, the Celtics started the season with three straight loses. Then they got their first win against a bad team in the Detroit Pistons.

The Celtics desperately need Paul Pierce back, but they still might be too old to compete with the talented younger teams.

Los Angeles Lakers

It seems as if the Los Angeles Lakers are good every single year. They always have a star to lead their team to victories.

Their current star is Kobe Bryant. Bryant is entering the home stretch of his career but is still a top player in the league. At 33-years-old and with a few nagging injuries, you wonder how long Kobe can carry the Lakers.

The other key players on the team are Derek Fisher, Pau Gasol, Metta World Peace and Andrew Bynum. All of them, except Bynum, are in their 30s. And Andrew Bynum is an injury prone player.

The Lakers have put together back to back wins but did start the season off with back to back losses. If something happens to Bryant, the team is done. His wrist injury and knee injury could become a factor in whether the Lakers will struggle.