The Biggest Question Facing Every Team in the NBA

The NBA season is just days away from beginning at long last. The question of whether there would even be an NBA season has been answered, thankfully in the affirmative.

Now every team has questions—big questions—which need to be answered. 

With the shortened training camp and only two preseason games, there's not a lot of time to get the answers to them. Here are the biggest questions facing each team. 

Atlanta Hawks

Atlanta has been lurking around that four or five seed era the last few years, but the furthest they have gotten is the conference semis. There are a host of questions surrounding them, but the biggest of them is whether Al Horford can take his game to the next level. 

Horford is the team's best player and is the one player who has the ability to break through to that "elite" status. Josh Smith and Joe Johnson might be All-Stars, but their ceiling is lower than Horford's, who spent the summer working out with Rob McClanaghan. 

McClanagahn famously worked with Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Love last year, right before all three had huge boosts to their career. A similar breakout could come from Horford this year, and would make a huge difference to the Hawks' postseason potential. 

Atlanta's Biggest Question: Can Horford take his game to the next level?

Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics were already looking at a possibility of their season taking a downturn. Then before they were even out of the preseason, they were already facing more questions. 

Jeff Green will be lost for the season with a heart condition. That's a tough enough blow, but things get even worse. Because Boston is a luxury tax team, they won't be allowed the chance to use the hardship exception. 

That means that they will have to resort to signing players to the veteran's minimum. The Celtics' bench was strained last year and this year could be even worse. 

Boston's Biggest Question: Will the Big Three be able to get enough help to contend?

Charlotte Bobcats

The Charlotte Bobcats are looking like a team that is going to be bad this year. When I say bad, I mean sheep bad, i.e. baaaahhhhhhd. 

The Bobcats have a starting five that looks like a punchline. It's possible the "best" player on their team is DJ Augustine, who wouldn't even start for half the teams in the NBA. 

Granted, they have new pick Kemba Walker, but he's going to need help if this franchise is going to be revived. That means the important work for the Bobcats to do is lose! The worse the better! This is not about pride, it's about draft position!

Charlotte's Biggest Question: Can they finish last?

Chicago Bulls

The Chicago Bulls last year can be likened to a beautiful woman with a wart on the tip of her nose. In this case the wart had a name, Keith Bogans. I don't even think that it's an argument that Keith Bogans was the worst offensive starter in the NBA. 

All year long the Bulls had a choice between a shooting guard who could shoot (Kyle Korver), or a shooting guard who could guard (Bogans and Ronnie Brewer). But there wasn't anyone who could shoot and guard, thus living up to the minimal prerequisites of the position. 

Now they've added Rip Hamilton, whose game is ideally suited for the system the Bulls run, to play alongside the reigning MVP, Derrick Rose. 

The Bulls have a big hill to climb in getting past the Miami Heat this year. They'll need Rip to be at his best to do it. 

Chicago's Biggest Question: Is Rip enough?

Cleveland Cavaliers

All things considered, the Cavaliers unintentionally comical owner, Dan Gilbert, has been doing a surprisingly good job of rebuilding the team. One year after looking at a black hole left by the departure of LeBron James, the Cavaliers suddenly have a pair of young players in Kyrie Irving and Tristan Thompson ready to bring Cleveland their next basketball thrill. 

Last year, the Cavs still were a heavy draw for a couple of reasons. They sold out season tickets before "The Decision" and sheer animosity for James kept the fans coming to the games. 

That kind of support has a short window. 

Cleveland's Biggest Question: Will the fans get behind the new Cavaliers?

Dallas Mavericks

The Dallas Mavericks will be getting jewelry for Christmas, namely championship rings. The biggest reason for that is that last year, for the first time, they had a truly aggressive defensive presence playing alongside Dirk Nowitzki in Tyson Chandler. 

The Lakers helped the Mavericks in what my Lakers fan friend calls the "Oh Dumb!" trade, where the Lakers essentially gave away Lamar Odom to their rival to answer the biggest need created in the offseason. 

Dallas' Biggest Question: Is Lamar Odom enough to replace Tyson Chandler?

Denver Nuggets

The Denver Nuggets traded off Carmelo Anthony last year, and this year they took a hit before the season started as numerous Nuggets free agents (of both the restricted and unrestricted variety), Kenyon Martin, J. R. Smith and Wilson Chandler, all signed in China. 

That means they won't be available until March and the team that played so well after the trade took some hits. 

This offseason, the Nuggets signed both Nene and Arron Afflalo to long-term contracts. Essentially they are banking on the duo to be the team's nucleus of the future. Both have been outstanding role players but neither has been asked to carry a team before. They'll be expected to now. 

Denver's Biggest Question: Can Afflalo and Nene carry the team?

Detroit Pistons

If there's a team in the league that can threaten the Charlotte Bobcats for that worst record, it's the Detroit Pistons. They are almost as bad, but at least they have one starter who is in the top half of starters at his position in Tayshaun Prince. 

That however, is not the biggest question facing Detroit. For them it's all about avoiding drama. With John Kuester, Rip Hamilton and Tracy McGrady all gone, hopefully the mutiny is too. The Pistons just need to have a season where they get along. They won't have any success on the scoreboard, but some harmony in the locker room would be a nice start. 

Detroit's Biggest Question: Can they get along?

Golden State Warriors

The Golden State rumors over the last five years should have been known as the Golen State Warriors. Why? Because there's no "D" in Golen State. 

Over the last five years, since Don Nelson arrived, the Warriors have given up 109.2 points per game, nearly four more than any team in the NBA. 

Mark Jackson wants to change that. He's bringing a new mentality to the team. If the Warriors buy in they could be in for a real breakout season. 

Golen State's Biggest Question? Can they get their "D" back?

Houston Rockets

The Houston Rockets are still struggling to replace Yao Ming. 

It's not for lack of effort though. They tried to trade for Pau Gasol, and that got nixed by David Stern. They inked Gasol to an offer, but that got matched. They chased Nene, but they got beat out. Now they're giving up on Samuel Dalembert and hoping last year's center, Chuck Hayes, can come back in spite of his failed physical. 

The Rockets' biggest question is all about who will be their biggest big. 

Houston's Biggest Question: Who will be their starting center?

Indiana Pacers

The Indiana Pacers have had a sneaky-good offseason. If you ask me, they have a very good chance of being this year's most improved team. They've gotten a lot of attention for adding David West, but perhaps the less heralded move is the addition of George Hill. 

The Pacers have been put together well and head coach Frank Vogel has done a great job with them. 

Still, no matter how things look together on paper, it's not until you get everything on the court that you get a real idea of how well it's going to work. 

Indiana's Biggest Question: Can all the pieces gel as a team?

Los Angeles Clippers

Alright, take a seat, and then a deep breath. 

The Los Angeles Clippers had the best offseason in the NBA this year. 

I actually, sincerely believe that. There's no punchline. It sure seems like there should be though right?

The Clippers landed Caron Butler through free agency, won the bid on Chauncey Billups, matched the offer on DeAndre Jordan and oh yeah, traded for Chris Paul. Who can hold a candle to that?

But there's the ominous presence of Donald Sterling lurking somewhere, ready to ruin it all. 

Clippers' Biggest Question: Can they keep Sterling out of the way?

Los Angeles Lakers

If it's not weird enough for you that the Clippers had the best offseason in the NBA, try this on for size. The Lakers had the worst. 

In fact the Lakers' offseason was so bad that people are having trouble absorbing it. There's a general feeling (one which is growing increasingly desperate sounding) that somehow this is all just set up to get Dwight Howard. 

Yet time passes and it's looking less and less likely. Howard seems to prefer going to play with a young Deron Williams than going to LA and playing with an old Kobe Bryant. 

Lamar Odom is gone in the "Oh Dumb" trade. Gasol is sad, but not angry. Kobe is angry but not sad, at least not about the Lakers. But the whole divorce thing might be another story, and another distraction. 

The fact is that instead of CP3 the Lakers got something closer to C4. This is an explosive situation. 

Lakers' Biggest Question: Can they keep from blowing up?

Memphis Grizzlies

The Memphis Grizzlies did something sort of extraordinary last year. They got better without their best player, Rudy Gay. 

The star forward injured his shoulder on Feb 15th last year and missed the rest of the season. The Grizzlies went on a run in his absence that took them to the postseason, where they they then upset the top-seeded San Antonio Spurs. 

They did so by changing philosophy and leaning on their bigs. Now with the return of Gay, the questions arise as to how to work him into the new scheme. If they work this out right, then the Grizzlies could be right there with the Mavs and the Thunder as favorites to win the West.

Memphis' Biggest Question: Can they reincorporate Gay without taking away from Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol? 

Miami Heat

The Miami Heat came up just short of the NBA title in the first year the Big Three came together. It was a disappointing year for them and they've responded accordingly. 

James worked on his post-up game. Bosh buffed up. Wade appears ready to step up and take the mantle of leader. 

Really the questions for this team can't be answered until the postseason. Everything between now and then is just filler. 

Miami's Biggest Question: Can they win one?

Milwaukee Bucks

The Milwaukee Bucks had a disastrous year last season. Picked by some to beat out the Bulls for the Central Division title, they were shredded by injuries. The most starts by any player was John Salmons with 70 games. 

That was Cal Ripkian by Bucks standards. Only two other players even topped 60 games, Brandon Jennings and Andrew Bogut. 

The Bucks need to stay healthy this year if they want to challenge for the postseason. 

Milwaukee's Biggest Question: Can they stay out of the ER?

Minnesota Timberwolves

Ricky Rubio has been a player who has gotten a lot of media without ever playing in the NBA. He's been called the next star, and he's been called a bust. The truth is he's neither until he's at the very least, played in a regular-season NBA game. 

At least now he's played in a preseason NBA game, and that went well enough. Rubio's passing was on full display and brought the fans to their feet. 

The Wolves are adding pieces to Kevin Love, including Rubio and rookie, Derrick Williams. They've been a team that's either sputtering or getting worse since Kevin Garnet left. They need this experiment to work. 

Minnesota's Biggest Question: Can Ricky Rubio be the quarterback of the future?

New Jersey Nets

This is almost pointless to even explain so I won't. It would be like explaining we need air to breathe. There's no question about which question every breathing Nets fan wants to know the answer to. 

New Jersey's Biggest Question: Is D-Wil to D12 the future of the franchise?

New Orleans Hornets

Ah, the other side of the Chris Paul trade. At least you still have Drew Brees...for now. Things aren't going so easy for the Big Easy though. 

The NBA owns the team and are looking to sell it. To whom though? 

There is a big question about what the franchise's future is. David Stern might have done the franchise a favor by landing them Eric Gordon and the Timberwolves' pick, but the reality is that the team might be there much longer. 

New Orleans' Biggest Question: Can they find a buyer who will keep the team in New Orleans?

New York Knicks

I was thinking of it this way. There's two sides to Baron Davis. There's "Barin" Davis and there's Bearin' Davis. 

"Barin" Davis is a disaster waiting to happen. He exposes the team to all kinds of problems with his disruptive tendencies."Barin" Davis got shipped out by the Clippers. 

Bearin' Davis can bear the burden of a team with playoff hopes and be a real strength to a team. 

Who did the the Knicks get?

New York's Biggest Question: Can Baron Davis run the team without ruining the team?

Oklahoma City Thunder

Last season as the Thunder started to falter in the playoffs, there was some dissension between their two stars, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant. As exciting as the young Westbrook is, Durant is widely considered to be the better of the two, and the apparent leader of the team. 

There are two possible futures for this duo. They could either be Kevin Garnett and  Stephon Marbury, or they can be Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. In other words, they can either be a duo that becomes great, or they could be a duo that could have been great. 

Kevin Durant needs to assertively step into his role, and Westbrook needs to accept his. 

Oklahoma City's Biggest Question: Can Durant and Westbrook co-exist?

Orlando Magic

Dwight Howard is gone. Sooner or later he's leaving Orlando. The only question is where and whether Otis Smith comes to grip with reality. 

Orlando isn't going to drive the price up by delaying a trade more and more; it looks like the price could even come down and force the Nets to sign Kris Humphries. This would hamper their ability to take on Hedo Turkoglu's contract. 

Orlando's Biggest Question: When will they trade Howard?

Philadelphia 76ers

Last year the Philadelphia 76ers were the the NBA's second most improved team, and the bulk of the credit goes to Doug Collins. Most years it would have been enough to warrant Coach of the Year, but he had the misfortune of sharing the spotlight with a man who set the record for most wins by a rookie head coach.

Now the question is can they build on that success or will Philadelphia get worse? The 76ers are a team without a "superstar," which is why many felt that Collins got the most out of the talent he was given. 

Then again, most people didn't think Collins could get the talent he received. Maybe most people are wrong.

Philadelphia's Biggest Question: Can they build on last year's success?

Phoenix Suns

Steve Nash could get "I don't want a trade" tattooed on his forehead and the first thing he would be asked is, "how do you feel about a trade?" 

Steve Nash isn't going anywhere. He doesn't want to go anywhere. The Suns don't want him to go anywhere. The world needs to stop advancing Nash trade "rumors" which are steeped in fiction. 

The real thing worth wondering about these Suns is how good can Nash make them look. He's surrounded by a team that has a general dearth of talent. This season will present Nash's greatest challenge yet, and if he can come close to making this team competitive he'll deserve a ton of credit.

Phoenix's Biggest Question: How good can Nash make these guys look?

Portland Trail Blazers

If you're not paying attention you might have missed something. The Portland Trail Blazers could be a really good team. They've added Raymond Felton and Jamal Crawford and that's to a group that already featured LaMarcus Aldridge, Gerald Wallace and Marcus Camby. 

That's a lot of talent, and Aldridge and Wallace are both great two-way players. They also have depth with Nicholas Batum and Wes Matthews in the rotation as well. 

Last year the team was the slowest paced team in the NBA, but this year with Felton running the show and that much athleticism in the lineup, look for a different kind of team. These guys are going to run and they should be fun to watch. 

They'll be expecting to vault into the elite status of the Western Conference teams. 

Portland's Biggest Question: Can the Trail Blazers land a top four seed?

Sacramento Kings

The Sacramento Kings are a team that has as many questions as anyone. Will Jimmer Fredette pan out? Is Marcus Thornton worth the money? Will the team stay in Sacramento?

To me though the biggest question surrounds their big man. DeMarcus Cousins will grow up. He's a man loaded with potential, and if he stops battling occasional bouts of stupidity he could be a dominant player in the league and lead the team to a playoff run. 

Sacramento's Biggest Question: Can Cousins be a grown-up?

San Antonio Spurs

Even Tim Duncan is mortal. I think it's maybe not realized how much he's played. He's already 37th in NBA history in minutes played. The sun is setting on the Spurs' dynasty, as great as it was. 

This year is a real changing of the guard as the Celtics, Lakers and Spurs are all going to take a big step backwards.

The Spurs managed to win the Western Conference regular-season championship last year, but there won't be a repeat of that this year.

The team has managed to stay relevant for years by making brilliant moves. They aren't a brilliant move away from getting back to the finals. 

They are going to go into rebuilding mode, and to get there they are going to trade their most tradeable asset, Tony Parker. When and where are the mystery. 

San Antonio's Biggest Question: When and where will they trade Tony Parker?

Toronto Raptors

Andrea Bargnani is what Dirk Nowitzki would be like if he couldn't rebound or play defense or do anything but shoot from outside. And yes, that was meant to be a bit ironic. 

No Dirk is not the best defensive player or rebounder in the world, but he looks like it compared to Bargnani, who for reason has the Raptors front office believing he's the future of the franchise. 

He's not. 

Meanwhile DeMar DeRozan is this fantastic talent. Toronto needs to realize that you can't build a team around a 7' player that can't rebound or defend or score in the pain. 

Toronto's Biggest Question: Will they come to their senses about the future of the team?

Utah Jazz

The Utah Jazz are stocked with big men. Al Jefferson, Paul Milsap, Derrick Favors, Enos Kanter and Mehmet Okur. That's roughly 34.5 feet of big men. 

That's almost too much, especially when you look at how thin they are at the guard position. There's a reason why they get a lot of speculation about which big man is going to be dealt and to whom and when. 

Someone's going somewhere. 

Utah's Biggest Question: Which big gets traded, where do they go and who do they get?

Washington Wizards

The Wizards were a conundrum last year. On the road they were horrible. At home they were almost average. Their 3-38 road record was 17 games worse than their 20-21 home record, the greatest disparity in the history of the NBA.

So what does this mean? It means they are a young team, and not just because they have Nick Young either. 

The fact that they play so much better at home shows that their lack of success has much to do with what's going on between the ears than between the baselines. Little things like closing out games, dealing with adversity and so on are things that come easier at home with the hometown support. 

Learning to do this on the road is a big part of the league's maturation process.

Another year of experience for John Wall can help. 

Washington's Biggest Question: Can the Wizards grow up and win on the road?