Friday, August 27, 2010

Well, we have the duos, trios, and teams that will make a impact.But,WHO will win the 2010/2011 NBA Championships, and get a nice banner to hang in their arena?

Well,here's the list of probable champions, and we will see their strengths and weaknesses.

Sleeper Pick: Milwaukee Bucks

Yes,laugh for all you want.

Dwyane Wade was the 5th pick in the NBA draft, and is now generally considered one of the most prolific scorers in the NBA.

And,look at how close Milwaukee Bucks were in the 2009/2010 season.

They were so close to the second round of the playoffs.

And they were missing their star player,cornerstone,leading scorer and prolific blocker: Andrew Bogut.

They also have a very talented point guard in Brandon Jennings, speedy and good in the paint.

They also have a good,strong backcourt,with Brandon Jennings and John Salmon,and a vastly improved Ersan Ilyasova.

So, they may not have a championship, but if Andrew Bogut stays healthy, I'm pretty sure they will meet the Lakers in the playoffs.

5.San Antonio Spurs
They are aging.

That's the biggest gripe about this team.

Tim Duncan is 34, Tony Parker is 28, Manu Ginobili is 36.

If they want a 5th championship, they got to do it. Fast.

They cannot survive for long in the intense competition in the Western Conference.

But they still have the quality to push it through, at least to the Western Conference Finals,where they will almost certainly meet the Lakers. At their peak.

4.New York Knicks
I'm picking this more because of their cap space than their current players.

Yes, they have Amar'e Stoudemire, a amazing dunker.

But they have hardly anybody else.

Yet, they may get a fast break. A really fast one.

Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony.

Both are interested to move to the Knicks, as they have lots of *money* and as mentioned in my previous post...they were scared of the Heat.

So...if the Knicks manage to get Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul being the the best point guard in the league (in my opinion) and Carmelo Anthony the most prolific scorer (in my opinion).

Championship.Maybe not.

3.Boston Celtics
They were 4 points away from banner No. 19.

Who says they can't do it.

True,they have a aging core,but they are still prolific in what they do.

Paul Pierce,explosive scorer.
Kevin Garnett,huge defensive presence.
Rajon Rondo,underrated scorer and passer.(And mind you,he's rated around 4th in the league)
Ray Allen,amazing shooter.
Kendrick Perkins,explosive and defensive.
Shauille O'Neal,almost-certain-hall-of-famer.

Crazy.But a problem:
Aging.Only Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins are below 30 in their probable study line-up.

But,if they the wind in their lungs,they can win.The 4 points they lose by in Game 7 was because Kendrick Perkins was injured,and their defensive level dropped several notches,as their backup center (then) was Glen Davis,a not proven center.

Their bench is also deep. Jermaine O'Neal,previous starting center of Miami Heat.
Nate Robinson,previous starting guard for the New York Knicks.

Good chance

2.Los Angeles Lakers
Great,great team.
Kobe Bryant,MVP.
Pau Gasol,future all-star.(Too many good power forwards in the West)
Derek Fisher,experienced leader.
Lamar Odom,great physical presence.

They've won two in a row.

What's stopping them from making it three?

One team from the West.

Which could be...

1.Miami Heat
Really.If you haven't guessed it from my previous post,it's quite easy to see.
LeBron James,Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.All three were the leading scorers on their teams before they moved to the Miami Heat.

Some say they would fall.

Some say they would rise.

Only time can tell, and these are my 5 (6 including the sleeper) picks for the championship.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

NBA history has shown that the best things come in 2:
Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen
Karl Malone and John Stockton
Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Bill Russell and Bob Cousy
Julius Erving and Moses Malone
Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant
Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars

And of course,they also come in 3:
Paul Pierce,Kevin Garnett,Ray Allen
Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain
Tim Hardaway, Chris Mullin and Mitch Richmond
Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parrish

So,today,we are going to talk about the current dynamic duos and trios in the NBA that looks set to make a major impact.

*NOTE* I pick the ones that MAY make an impact,not a proven one,like Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol.

Number 5 goes to...
Mo Williams and J.J. Hickson (Cleveland Cavaliers)


I picked this because I'm a Cavaliers fan.

However,the most interesting thing about this duo,is whether they can fill up the shoes of arguably the best player to ever grace a NBA court.

LeBron James.

After 2 seasons of top regular season records,yet suffering early playoff exits,Williams and Hickson has much to prove,for the Cavs fans would hardly take the blow that James has dealt them.Now,with a LeBron-James-and-Zydrunas-Ilgauskas-sized hole in the Cavs,can Mo Williams and J.J. Hickson step up to the pressure?

An interesting preposition,and we will now see how the previous Cavs team functioned SO well.



Now...only time would tell whether the Cavaliers would sneak into the playoffs,or prepare to get a lottery draft pick.

No. 4 is...
Derrick Rose,Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer

The Chicago Bulls.

The arena where Michael Jordan,Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman carved out the possibly most successful era in the NBA.

Now,a new big 3 is coming.

Carlos Boozer,a newly-acquired free agent,and Derrick Rose,probably one of the most exciting point guards to ever played the game,and Joakim Noah,a strong,talented power center/power forward.



Although missing out on LeBron James,the Bulls managed to snap up a experienced and good player in Carlos Boozer.They also managed to snap up Ronnie Brewer,a young talent that can play the point.

We shall see if it is possible for Carlos Boozer to gel with the Bulls as quickly as possible,and we can see Boozer's prowess,and the Bulls'.



Now...let's see if Chicago Bulls can replicate the Michael Jordan era,or even come close.

3 goes to...
Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook



Two extremely young players,and Durant is already the 2010 NBA scoring champion.Westbrook is also one of the fastest,speediest and extremely talented shooting guard.

Both of them has amazing chemistry,amazing scoring output and amazing baskets.However,their defense and jump-shooting is almost non-existent.They managed to drag the Lakers to 6 games,which is one less than the Celtics,and same as the Suns.Not bad,dragging the then-defending champions,and now two-time champions,to 6 games.



2.Boston Celtics

For this,I will make an exception to the duo/trio rule.IT'S THE ENTIRE TEAM.

Paul Pierce,Kevin Garnett,Ray Allen,Kendrick Perkins/Shaquille O'Neal and Rajon Rondo.

Paul Pierce,one of the most explosive small forwards in the game.

Kevin Garnett,a major defensive presence and dunker in the NBA.

Ray Allen,one of the best shooters in basketball.

Kendrick Perkins,great scorer,great defense.

Shaquille O'Neal,almost sure-Hall-of-Famer.

Rajon Rondo,talented,speedy,underrated shooter and great dribbling and passing skills.

Amazing team.They were 4 points away from a championship,and that was because Kendrick Perkins was injured halfway through the game.If not,I'm sure that they would have won.

Appreciate them.



AND NUMBER ONE IS...

Who else but the Miami Heat has made deadlines over and over and over and again?

First,Chris Bosh joins Dwyane Wade in search of titles.

Then,LeBron James.

LeBron James graces the Heat court.

Damn.

The Miami Heat has made so many headlines,it's getting sick to see "Why the Miami Heat will not win the NBA" or "Why the Miami Heat will win the NBA".

Seriously.It's...too...strong.

3 of the best players in the 2003 NBA draft gets together and plays on the same court.

Rumours are that BECAUSE of this trio,Chris Paul is thinking of teaming up with Amar'e Stoudemire in New York and bring Carmelo Anthony with him.

And Steve Van Gundy says that they can break the NBA record of 72-10 regular season record.

And people burn LeBron James' jerseys in Cleveland.

And Dan Gilbert writes The Letter.

All in all...

This is the trio to watch.









These 5,are probably the ones to watch for in the NBA.The season is starting soon,and may it provide us with good sport.

Thursday, August 19, 2010

LeBron James left the Cavaliers.

It's time for a new player to take charge of the Cavs.

And who else but 21-year-old J.J. Hickson,one of the best young players to date?

"Hickson attended Joseph Wheeler High School in Marietta, Georgia. In the class of 2007, he was ranked as the No. 10 overall recruit and No. 2 power forward by Rivals.com and as the No. 13 overall and the No. 3 power forward by Scout.com. He was honored as a 2007 McDonald's All-American. In 2006, Hickson took the Wheeler High squad to the 5A Final Four. As a senior, he averaged 25.9 points, 13.8 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game."
-Wikipedia

One of the top 3 power forwards scouted in 2008?That's not bad at all.Now,time to appreciate some of his (amazing) skills.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwvHd_Slk4Q

He has great power,as shown by his rim-shaking dunks.He's good on the D,blocking on of the most prolific scorers in the NBA,Dwyane Wade,and one of the strongest,biggest and most athletic big man in Dwight Howard.Pretty impressive.

He has AMAZING speed.So fast that he can match LeBron.And that's no small feat.Hickson also possesses great athleticism.

However,great as his dunks are,he needs to work on his mid-range shot.He's improving,as evident from the Summer League,but it may not be good enough.Besides dunking,he has a lack of scoring options.

Also,he used to feed off LeBron James' passes to get in the post easy.However,the next best passer,Mo Williams,is hardly near LeBron's quality as a passer.As such...Hickson's numbers may drop.

He also has s lack of passing skills. Forgivable though,as he is a power forward after all.

Overall,he needs to work on his shots,his passes and his

Time will tell whether this raw talent will make it to the greats.However,I strongly believe that J.J. Hickson is headed for the stars.