10-5-04 - The Fantabulous Houston Astros
10-4-04 - Catching Up
7-6-04 - Some Thoughts
7-5-04 - My Triumphant Return
6-3-04 - Alex's Take on Tubing
5-23-04 - NBA Conference Finals
5-22-04 - Hari's Guest Column
Archives
Las Vegas police are looking for former Oakland Raider kicker Cole Ford in connection with a drive-by shooting at the residence of Siegfried and Roy. Apparently someone driving a van registered to the retired placekicker fired shots at the house and shouted "We need to get these faggots Siegfried and Roy out of our country!" This story has absolutely nothing to do with the rest of my column, but I figured that it was much more interesting than another two paragraphs about how the NBA Eastern Conference sucks except for the top three teams. Here how I think the season will go (based on regular season record):
15) Charlotte Bobcats - This is going to be ugly. This team is basically comprised of Emeka Okafor and the NBDL All-Stars. Plenty of cap flexibility, but hope the fans are patient.
Best Case Scenario - Okafor's is a stopper, Steve Smith is a
1) Can't Stand Me Now- The Libertines
2) Somebody Told Me - The Killers
3) iGeneration - MC Lars
4) You and Only You - Graham Colton
5) When I Goose Step - The Shins
6) Another Morning Stoner - And You Will Know Us by the Trail of the Dead
7) Nowhere Again - Secret Machines
8) Come Back Down - Nickel Creek
9) Last Goodbye - Jeff Buckley
10) Vertigo - Jump Little Children
Worst Case Scenario - Okafor's best days were in college and his teammates become demoralized from the constant spankings they will endure. This team could possibly finish with the worst record in NBA history, but at least they aren't in the Western Conference.
14) Atlanta Hawks - Congratulations, Atlanta, you are no longer the worst team in the NBA!! Sure, this meteoric rise has more to do with the existence of a new expansion team than anything that the Hawks have done, but you have to take your victories where you can. And they will be hard to come by for Atlanta again this year.
Best Case Scenario - Perennial potential breakout player Al Harrington actually breaks out this year, Antoine Walker plays all season with a chip on his shoulder, high school phenom Josh Smith lives up to his summer league hype, the Hawks defeat Cleveland on opening night and the NBA surprisingly cancels the remainder of the season due to some catstophic event (the only way the Hawks can win their division).
Worst Case Scenario - Atlanta continues to be Atlanta. Nothing could be much worse than that.
13) Toronto Raptors - This team has los 107 games over the last two seasons, so it is completely understandable that they decided to completely overhaul the roster this offseason. What? They didn't do that at all? Alvin Williams, Morris Peterson, Vince Carter, and Jalen Rose are back for another go round? Oh...well, at least they are rejoined by Skip to My Lou...that should sell a few tickets.
Best Case Scenario - First round draft pick Rafael Araujo and Chris Bosh develop fast and Donyell Marshall joins them for an imposing front line. VC is finally traded, ticket sales be damned, and the Raptors bond together to fight for the last playoff seed in the East.
Worst Case Scenario - Carter and Rose play like a malcontents all season, Araujo is a bust, and Chris Bosh grows tired of the exchange rate, guaranteeing the already likely prospect that he heads south when he is a free agent in two years.
12) New Jersey Nets - No one had a worse off-season than the Nets. New Jersey lost Kenyon Martin, one of the best young power players in the East, and Jason Kidd got injured AND demanded to be traded. Think Richard Jefferson is re-thinking the massive contract extension he signed? At least their coach won the Best Comedy Series Emmy for his show Arrested Development.
Best Case Scenario - Alonzo Mourning's comeback is a success, Kidd returns to full speed quicker than is being projected, and Richard Jefferson raises his game to the superstar happens. This isn't likely, but it is certainly possible that the Nets finish in the top four in the East this season.
Worst Case Scenario - Mourning and Kidd spend more time in suits than in shorts and the Nets starting line-up consists of names like Travis Best, Ron Mercer, and Brian Scalabrine. They could fall off of the map quicker than Paul Walker.
11) Chicago Bulls - Fuck the Bulls. I picked them to make the playoffs last year, and they went out and underachieved all season. I liked some of the moves they made in the offseason (signing Andres Nociani, jettisoning Crawford, keeping Chandler and Curry, drafting Luol Deng and Ben Gordon) but I'm not going to be burned twice. You just don't win in the NBA when your best player who is older than 24 is Eric Piatkowski.
Best Case Scenario - The rookies play like veterans, Curry discovers some of Chandler's work ethic and Chandler's finds some of Curry's talent, and Andres Nociani has a Ginobili like impact. This team could potentially battle for one of the last playoff spaces in the East.
Worst Case Scenario - Curry doesn't grow up, Deng shows why he slid so far in the draft, and Kirk Hinrich is again their best player. On some nights, the Bulls could be Charlotte Bobcat bad.
10) Washington Wizards - This is one of those teams that seems to be put together fantasy purposes only. All of their best and most promising players are guys who don't really have a position. Is Kwame Brown a F or a C? Is Gilbert Arenas really a PG? Is Antawn Jamison a slow SF or a short PF? Is Larry Hughes playing for us or the opposition? This could lead to a very versatile team or a very, very bad one.
Best Case Scenario: This all comes down to Kwame Brown. If he makes a Jermaine O'Neal-like leap, all bets are off. This team has enough talent to contend for a playoff spot with a bona fide post presence. With their Princeton-style offense, they could become a poor man's Sacramento.
Worst Case Scenario: Brown sputters, Arenas and Jamison fight for the ball like they did at Golden State, and this team turns out to be as soft as they appear on paper.
9) Boston Celtics - The 2003-04 Celtics were possibly the worst team to make the playoffs in the history of organized sports. Their series against the Pacers was one the most one-sided I have ever seen. With that lack of heart freshly in mind, Danny Ainge drafted Delonte West and Tony Allen, two of the more mentally tough players in this year's draft. Both will need to contribute if the Celtics want to return to the playoffs this year.
Best Case Scenario: The rookies play like steals, one of the high school bigs (Al Jefferson, Kendrick Perkins) contributes, Gary Payton plays with pride and ego and Mark Blount justifies his exorbitant contract in more than just garbage time minutes. This team has enough pieces to possibly win a playoff series.
Worst Case Scenario: Ricky Davis finds out that Jiri Welsch is starting over him and goes all Last Boy Scout. Far-fetched, yes, inconceivable, no.
8) Orlando Magic - No one had a more disappointing 2003-04 season than the Orlando Magic. Picked to finish near the top of the Eastern Conference, the Magic finished with the worst record in the NBA. I may be alone here, but I like what they did in the off-season. Tracy McGrady was going to be a cancer on a losing team, so they had to move him, even if they got back 75 cents on the dollar. No one is picking this team to do much, but think back. In 2001, Francis and Mobley led the pre-Yao Rockets to a winning record with a lesser supporting cast in a tougher conference. With Dwight Howard (who appears to be the real deal), Grant Hill (I know, I know), Hedo Turkoglu, and Tony Battie/Kelvin Cato (a better than average center combo), this team should be competitive.
Best Case Scenario: Grant Hill comes back healthy as a slower, lesser version of his former self (which would still be one of the better small forwards in the league) or retires to give the team salary cap relief, Francis plays with a chip on his shoulder, and Howard plays like a Rookie of the Year Candidate.
Worst Case Scenario: If Hill gets injured again, Francis dominates the ball, Howard is in over his head, and none of the supporting cast steps up,this team could be heading back to the lottery again.
7) Cleveland Cavaliers - When the Cavs let hardworking Carlos Boozer get away, most pundits were quick to destroy GM Jim Paxson. Since then, though, he has made a series of solid moves that figure to keep the Cavs in the playoff hunt. Trading for Eric Snow, Drew Gooden, and Sasha Pavlovic and signing Lucious Harris and Jeff McInnis are not the type of moves that make headlines, but they are the kind that improve a team.
Best Case Scenario: If LeBron takes the leap to the next level, Gooden and Zydrunas Ilgauskas co-exist in the post, and either rookie Luke Jackson or Justin Guarini....I mean Anderson Varejao... takes hold of the wing spot opposite James, this team could contend for home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Worst Case Scenario: If Gooden and Ilgauskas can't learn to play without the ball, Lebron floats at times like he did last season, and no enforcer is found to provide toughness to what could be a soft team, this team could be back in the lottery for another season.
6) Milwaukee Bucks - Led by everyone's favorite Olympic snub, Michael Redd, the Bucks were one of the NBA's most pleasant surprises last season. They played solid team basketball en route to a .500 record and an unexpected playoff berth. Unfortunately sparkplug T.J. Ford was injured late last year and his return is far from certain.
Best Case Scenario: Redd again proves to be a silent superstar, Ford returns with few ill effects from his (gulp) spinal injury, and Dan Gadzuric and Desmond Mason start to live up to their much talked about potential. Terry Porter looks like a solid coach, and this team can certainly contend for the fourth spot in the East.
Worst Case Scenario: Ford's injury is as serious as some fear, leaving the Buck with Mike James and Maurice Williams manning the point. Neither is awful, but they aren't players that take their teammates to the next level. Ford is. Without Ford, the Bucks are no lock to make the playoffs.
5) New York Knicks - Their is something I hate about this Knicks team. I'm not sure if it is the fact that Isiah Thomas is the GM, or if it is first-ballot "Me-First" Hall of Famer Stephon Marbury running the point, or even if it is the fact that Nazr Mohammed and Vin Baker are expected to play major minutes in the New York front court, but I don't like them. Despite that fact, I do kind of respect what they have done in the last year. What was once an aging, overpaid team with no hope and no young talent, is now a slightly less old, overpaid team with no hope,but some young talent (Jamal Crawford, Mike Sweetney). I suppose that is a step in the right direction.
Best Case Scenario: If Allan Houston is healthy and teams with Marbury and Houston to form the best three guard rotation in the East, Sweetney gets playing time and starts to make the leap, and Vin Baker find motivation and loses the key to the mini-bar, it is not out of the question that the Knicks could make the Eastern Conference Finals. Well, that is, if both O'Neal's (Jermaine and Shaquille) and both Wallaces (Rasheed and Ben) are hurt.
Worst Case Scenario: This mix of players and the inevitable return of Isiah Thomas to the sidelines leaves open the possibility of implosion. Things would have to go very wrong, but they could finish in Atlanta Hawk territory.
4) Philadelphia 76ers - Every year I like one team way more than I probably should, and this year, I think that team is the 76ers. Why? Two Reason. I think Jim O'Brienis a fantastic coach. He always got all he could out of his undermanned teams in Boston. Also, their division is underwhelming (Knicks, Nets, Celtics, Raptors)...somebody has to win.
Best Case Scenario: The Iverson as point guard experiment takes, Willie Green and/or Samuel Dalembert have breakout seasons, Andre Iguadola is solid as a rookie and O'Brien gets this whole team thinking defense first. If everything breaks right (and I'm predicting it will), I think they have a chance to win a playoff series.
Worst Case Scenario: If AI as point guard plays out as badly as it looks on paper, Glenn Robinson (egads!) remains the second best player, and none of the young players step up, this team is lottery bound.
3) Miami Heat - With the excitement over the arrival of Shaquille O'Neal and Dwyane Wade's impending superstardom, everyone seems to be forgetting how little talent is surounding them. This is a team starting such luminaries as Rasual Butler and Udonis Haslem. This is a team counting on big minutes from Christian Laettner, Wesley Person, and recent high school graduate Dorrell Wright. If one of the Big 2 gets injured...
Best Case Scenario: If Wade improves his jump shot and O'Neal keeps the Kobe-sized chip on his shoulder, this team will be difficult to stop. If Eddie Jones wakes from his eight year nap and everyone accepts his role, this team has a shot to make the NBA finals.
Worst case scenario: Even if things break badly for the Heat, the East is so weak that it is hard to picture them losing before the second round of the playoffs. But will that be enough for the fans and management with this team's overblown expectations?
2) Indiana Pacers - Indiana comes into this season fired up and confident that this is finally their year. Last year Jermaine O'Neal took the leap from star (Ray Allen) to superstar (Tim Duncan), Ron Artest cut down on the technicals, and the deep, talented supporting cast led them to the best record in the NBA. It is amazing what a team can do once Isiah is out of the picture. With one major change (out: Al Harrington, in: Stephen Jackson), the Pacers believe that this is the year they win the NBA championship.
Best Case Scenario: Jonathan Bender decides to be an All-Star, Jackson and Reggie Miller co-exist, and O'Neal becomes a go to player at crunch time. With the right match-ups,this team can be an NBA champion.
Worst Case Scenario: Plenty could go wrong... Jackson and Miller could fight over playing time, Jamaal Tinsley could continue to be the weak link, Ron Artest could tear the head off the first referee to T him up...but even with all of that, I can't see them losing before the second round of the playoffs.
1) Detroit Pistons - I didn't think that a team whose leading scorer weighed 120 pounds could possibly win an NBA championship...I was wrong. I'll still argue that the Timberwolves or the Spurs would have beaten Detroit last year, but the point is moot. And now the Pistons are back, and more talented than before. With the additions of a healthy Antonio McDyess and Argentinian star Carlos Delfino, this team has the talent and depth to repeat.
Best Case Scenario: Everyone is still hungry and Rasheed Wallace still wants to be a leader. As long as the Pistons still want it, they will be among the championship favorites.And who knows, maybe Darko will even develop
Worst Case Scenario: Complacency sets in.That is the only way that this team isn't going at least as far as the Eastern Conference Finals.
