10 Predictions for the upcoming NBA season
1. Dallas will overreact to their first round exit by making a stupid trade. We’ve seen them do this before. When they lost barely got by a banged-up Sacramento team and lost to the Spurs, they naturally assumed they had to get bigger inside and traded away the person who got them past Sacramento and was the big shot taker that Dallas has always needed: Nick Van Exel. Dallas didn’t do anything again until Van Exel was replaced by a player of a similar mold: Jason Terry. Now, that they’ve gone down to 8th seed Golden State, they’re going to overreact by adjusting their team to the one that beat them, instead of trying to run with the team to beat. It’s the stupidest possible move and one they can’t help but make.
2. Golden State will fail to build on their surprising season. We’ve seem them do this before. Not only that, it always happens when a team catches the league by surprise one year, but next year, everyone’s ready for them. Hell, it happened in their own division this year, or did everyone forget about the Clippers? I know I did.
3. Shawn Marion will be traded and exposed. And if it doesn’t happen this year, this one will happen at some point, because the media has convinced this man that he’s better than he really is. They’ve also convinced all of you of the same thing. Listen, Shawn Marion is an amazing athlete with freakishly long arms, who can get off the ground quicker than most and has a nose for the ball and can play in the lights. But there’s always a guy like that in the league. Would you really build your offense around him, though? Would you depend on him to put your team on his back and score 25-30 a night? Not with that jump shot, you shouldn’t. But at least one general manager is going to do exactly that.
4. Billy Knight will waste at least ONE of the Hawks’ draft picks. The situation has turned out too well for Billy Knight to deal with properly. He’s going to blow it, because he can’t help himself. I assure you, one of those picks (picks 3 and 11) is going to be wasted on a player that we don’t need. The guy might be a good player, too. But when his name is called, the fourteen Hawks fans left are going to slap their heads in unison. I’ll go so far as to name the name that will likely be called: Either Brandan “the Neo-Marion” Wright or Joakim “Camby 2K8” Noah. He can’t help himself. He just can’t. (Note: I proved to be wrong here.)
5. Detroit will no longer be a championship-level team. Oh, yeah. It’s so over. Flip Saunders is still your coach and still incapable of making adjustments and coaching defense. Some hapless GM is going to be suckered into paying Chauncey Billups that big deal. Rasheed Wallace might have actually worn out his welcome. Chris Webber is not the be-all, end-all. Your starting point guard might actually be Carlos Delfino, who’s not a bad player, but also isn’t a starter. Don’t get me wrong…this isn’t going to be a bad team. They’ll win 50 games or so. But threatening for the championship? No, that ship has sailed.
6. Antoine Walker and Gary Payton are history in Miami. Obviously, this team has to get younger, because Shaq’s days are numbered and they’ve got to become a more up-tempo team to run with Dwyane Wade. Also, judging by the way this team went out (injuries aside), we saw a team age 40 years in about 8 months. I don’t believe they’ll get much in the draft, so the only choice is to make trades. And the only thing they have that can even be considered “trade bait” is Antoine Walker. Who would want him? I don’t have all the answers, but a team like Minnesota is screaming for help to keep KG from leaving. And Gary Payton will likely be thrown in to make the numbers work. Honestly, I’m shocked they made it through last season without being traded.
7. Kobe is going to have a meltdown. When I actually made this list, Kobe hadn’t started making trade demands yet. I wrote this list one night, put it down and forgot I even wrote it. Two weeks passed, and we’ve seen Kobe demand a trade, recant the statement, demand it again, and trash his GM and back-up center to perfect strangers on the street, who videotaped the whole thing. I’d say that counts as a meltdown.
8. So will Kevin Garnett. Well, another meltdown, anyway.
9. Allen Iverson will be playing elsewhere. Because I just can’t see the Iverson/Carmelo Anthony team-up ending in any way other than a fight.
10. Cleveland will be overhauled. Let’s face it, they were lucky to even be in the Finals. And unless they want to keep taking beatings like the one they just took, they’d better make some moves, and fast. Let’s start with a coaching upgrade.
Honorable mention – Dwight Howard still won’t have any post moves. What are they teaching these kids in high school? Does anyone have any old tapes of Hakeem Olajuwon or Kevin McHale? Can they let Dwight Howard borrow them over the weekend or something?
Honorable mention 2 – Daniel Gibson will be next year’s Elliott Perry. Because there’s always that one player who has the breakout season until teams start bothering to play defense against him. You remember Elliott Perry, right? Neither do I. In fact, Charles Barkley was his best damn friend and he hasn’t mentioned him on TV since 1995.
Honorable mention 3 – The patch of hair on Drew Gooden’s hair will continue to mystify me. Seriously. What the hell is it?
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