Los Angeles - Summertime is like winter for the NBA season. Those tiny seeds buried in the off-season begin to surface as snow-capped buds at the end of October, and continue their growth until full bloom in June.
Granted, teams will not be in mid-season form until presumably mid-season--the start of the 2007-2008 NBA games are just 4 days away and that gives us enough reason to start celebrating.
Let's briefly take a look at things to look out for.
-Kobe Bryant. He's a man on a mission, but will his venture ultimately be a round-trip to anywhere but a championship contender? If he does leave Los Angeles, he's jetting away on coach, courtesy of Jerry Buss.
- The Boston Big Three. What it do, you may ask? Kevin Garnett is playing in the pre-season like he would be playing for the O'Brien trophy in June. That should be enough to vault them into the East elite.
- Dallas resurgence? I think so. Last year they had the luck of facing the only team that could have possibly knocked them out in the first round. Up until then, they were the ones knocking opponents down like bowling pins, and switching styles up like a cross-dressing hipster.
-Phoenix rising? Boom or bust year for the NBA's sweethearts. A lot of speculation on Grant Hill's impact on this team. I say it's marginal, if they still think they can outrun opponents come playoff time.
-Enough fight in the Bull? Heralded rookie, Joakim Noah makes his debut. Ben Wallace gets his head-band back. Ben Gordon and Kirk Hinrich will be running the show. And Luol Deng is the heart and soul of this team. Chi-town has something (not named Air) to root for again. They are certainly wild cards in the East.
- Motor (City) running again? Yes. The usual ballers (Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace, Tayshaun Prince) will be hungrier after being embarrassed by Lebron James in the East Finals last year. One look at their roster tells you they're still in serious contention for a Finals berth, with big bodies like Nazr Mohammed, Jason Maxiell, and Amir Johnson doing the dirty work. I'm looking forward to their comeback this year.
- Sleeper Picks? The Toronto Raptors showed some promise with their late-season run last year. They are still relatively young, but they can be a legitimate force in the East if they continue building on last year's effort.
-The Rest? The defending champs, San Antonio Spurs will be in the thick of things when it matters. They should cruise their way into the playoffs with a #3 seeding. The Jazz, led by Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer will have plenty to prove this year amongst the stacked West powers. The Cavs made their fluke Finals appearance last year by taking down the Detroit behemoth, but they'll need more than just fireworks from Lebron James to take it to the next level.
So that about wraps it up for my pre-season discussion. Questions and comments are always appreciated. Hope you'll enjoy this upcoming season as much as I will! And don't forget, offense starts on defense.
