2010-2011 NBA Preview: The Most Anticipated Season Ever
Never before have I been this excited for an NBA regular season to start. With everything that happened in the offseason there is so much to look forward to. There has never been this much buzz surrounding an NBA season, maybe ever.
Let’s take a look at some of the biggest story lines heading into this season.
How will the Chicago Bulls handle the opening month without Carlos Boozer?
What? You thought I would start with another team?
In an unfortunate accident, the Bulls lost Boozer, their big free agent signing in the offseason, for the first month of the season to a broken hand. Boozer suffered the injury while at home. No doubt this is a big loss for the Bulls, not just because Boozer is a 20 and 10 guy, but because it takes away time from him and Derrick Rose developing a chemistry.
The bigger issue may be Boozer’s development in new head coach, Tom Thibodeau’s, defensive scheme. Boozer has not always been interested on the defensive end of the court. Playing in this system, with Joakim Noah, may limit some of Boozer’s shortcomings.
The continued development of Rose will be a huge factor in how well the Bulls can do this season. Rose has been working on his three-point jump shot during the offseason and if he can knock down that shot with regularity, teams are going to have a very difficult time guarding him. He proved last season he could hit the mid-range jump shot and he was able to create more opportunities to attack the basket.
Luol Deng’s performance this preseason has been a refreshing sign that he is still worth the time of the Bulls. For two years, Deng had been relegated to nothing more than a spot up jump shooter. He can make the mid-range jump shot, but his other skills are wasted when he is doing that. During the preseason, he has been cutting and slashing to the basket and his offensive game has been extremely effective. When he is cutting to the paint, that is when he is at his best.
Joakim Noah might be one of the top three or four passing big men in the NBA. Aside from Deng, Noah will most benefit from Thibodeau’s offensive system. Noah can handle the ball at the high post where he has shown to be very effective as a passer. This preseason he has shown the ability to hit a cutting teammate with a pin-point bounce pass. The one downside is that sometimes Noah tries to get too fancy with his passing and turns the ball over. If he can stay within himself and the offense, he should offer a very nice compliment to Boozer.
Given their youth, experience and what should be a tremendous defensive team, the Bulls should win the Central and finish in the top half of the conference and have home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
How will the Miami Heat handle all the pressure of the offseason?
Well, the Heat got their men. They wanted the Big Three of free agency and they got them. Now they have to play. Championships are not won in July. This team is going to have a bulls-eye on its back the entire season.
It will be interesting to see LeBron James and Dwyane Wade play together. Each player has been the guy in his first seven seasons in the league. Now, playing together, will one of them take a backseat?
The Heat have always been Wade’s team. Wade has led them to a title. James, most assume, will take on the role of playmaker and Wade will be the team’s leading scorer. That all sounds good on paper, but when the games start, it may be more difficult than people realize for LeBron to cut down on his scoring.
James has always been able to do whatever he wants on the court. He has shown that when he wants to, he is virtually unstoppable when he is attacking the basket. Wade has shown the same relentless ability to do the same. It will be interesting to see if their styles clash.
The third member of this Big Three is Chris Bosh. Bosh’s biggest influence in a game is his offense. The Heat have two of the best offensive players in the league and Bosh may have to make an impact in other areas of a game to be effective. I’m not sure he can do that. He hasn’t shown a consistent effort on the defensive end in his career. He hasn’t always been a dominant rebounder or shot blocker.
The biggest issue facing the Heat is their ability to handle when teams go big against them. They are not as strong as other top teams in the league at the Center position and this could plague them, especially in the playoffs.
They do have two of the four best players in the league and that should be more than enough to carry them to the best record in the East and into the Conference Finals.
How will the Lakers and Celtics hold up?
The biggest concern with both these teams is going to be how they handle the 82-game schedule given their age and how many games they’ve played the past three seasons.
The Lakers are the two-time defending champions and have been to three straight Finals. The Celtics have been to two Finals in the past three seasons, winning in 2008. They are both older teams and have played a lot of games the past three seasons.
Kobe Bryant is coming off knee surgery and has been hobbled a bit in the preseason. The Lakers may need to take a page from the San Antonio Spurs and rest some of their guys when they play back-to-backs and four games in five nights.
The Lakers have plenty of depth and if Kobe is given the night off a couple times throughout the season, it should not affect their ability to compete. They should finish with one of the top two records in the West and they are the favorite to win a third straight championship.
The Celtics proved last season that the regular season is not as important to some teams as it is to others. The Celtics were 27-27 in their last 54 games, but made the Finals and lost in seven games. They should be better this year as they improved their depth and may be the deepest team in the league.
Adding to that, they have the biggest team in the league with Shaquille O’Neal, Kevin Garnett, Jermaine O’Neal and will get Kendrick Perkins back sometime in January. They will be a tough out for any team. They may not finish with the best record in the East, but they should be one of the favorites come playoff time.
Can Oklahoma City take the next step and become one of the West’s elite teams?
Kevin Durant has had quite a year. First, winning the scoring title last season and then leading Team USA to the World Championships this summer. The Thunder finished in eighth place last season, but are a trendy pick to have one of the top two records in the West this season.
Much of the success of the Thunder will fall on Durant’s shoulders. But, they need to have someone else step up to take some of the burden away from Durant. Russel Westbrook proved during the World Championships that he can play. Taking the next step in his development will certainly go a long way for this team taking the next step.
The biggest concern the Thunder have is their inside presence. They are not very big and play a lot of smaller lineups. If they can have a couple guys step in and assume some of the rebounding and shot blocking responsibilities, they could be a dangerous team in the playoffs.
How will the Nuggets and Hornets handle their disgruntled stars?
It has been no secret this offseason that Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul want out. They have made it public that they wish to be traded and want to be traded to the same team. The Nuggets are in a position much like the Cavaliers and Raptors were this summer. Do they hold on to Anthony and let him walk and not get anything in return for them? Or do they trade him for far less than market value?
Part of the problem with this situation is that Anthony has made it clear he only wants to be traded to the Bulls or New York Knicks. If a team trades for him, it needs to be certain that he will sign an extension. Anthony has said he will only sign a new deal with the Bulls or Knicks.
The Hornets are in a far less severe situation. Paul still has two more years left on his contract so the Hornets do not have to think about trading him until at least next season. Although he has said he wants to stay, the Hornets haven’t exactly filled the roster with talent. They have a couple of nice pieces, but certainly not enough to compete in the West.
How the Hornets start the season will go a long way in finding out just how serious Paul is about wanting a trade and how much the Hornets are willing to go to keep their franchise player happy.
Now, lets move onto predictions for the season.
Division Winners
Central: Chicago Bulls
Atlantic: Boston Celtics
Southeast: Miami Heat
Pacific: Los Angeles Lakers
Northwest: Oklahoma City
Southwest: Dallas Mavericks
Eastern Conference Finals: Boston over Miami
Western Conference Finals: Lakers over Oklahoma City
NBA Finals: Lakers over Boston
Individual Awards
MVP: Kevin Durant
Rookie of the Year: John Wall
Sixth Man of the Year: Lamar Odom
Coach of the Year: Tom Thibodeau
Most Improved Player of the Year: Eric Gordon
Defensive Player of the Year: Joakim Noah
