Potent threat inside and outside
So who’s going to dominate in the coming NBA 2010 season?
If you’re an NBA aficionado, I’m sure you wish your favorite ballclub ends the season with the championship.
Unfortunately, there can only be one champion after 82 regular season games and16 playoffs victories counting the Finals.
NBA TV has been running some interesting previews on how various teams would fair come the 2010 season, which by the way kicks off this Oct. 28 (Manila time) featuring a blockbuster match up between the 2008 NBA champion Boston Celtics and the 2007 runner up Cleveland Cavaliers.
Reigning NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers, on the other hand, locks horns with cross-town rival Los Angeles Clippers to test how far the latter has gone in their off-season manpower stock-up.
Anyway, in my mind, I figure that the top three teams expected to dominate the East this season are in this order—Boston, Cleveland and Orlando.
“Old” Big Three Gets Help
I say Boston is a shoo-in to regain homecourt advantage all-over the power packed Eastern Conference after boosting its line up with the off-season blockbuster acquisition of one-time NBA champion
Boston's top acquisition
Rasheed Wallace, a strong low-post operator and a credible three-point threat as well.
The Celtics also injected a speedy forward Marquis Daniel to the line up to ensure fresh legs in time for the Playoffs considering that Boston’s Big Three of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen are not getting any younger.
Of course, Eddie House is expected to figure prominently in Boston’s rotation to spell Allen and give the Cs a resident outside threat.
No Longer A “Doughnut” Team
For the Cavs, on the other hand, the arrival of long-time NBA superstar center Shaquille O’Neal has given them a legitimate strong big man to complement the slashing-dunking-and-three-point shooting Lebron James.
Finishing with the home court edge all over the league last season following their franchise-best 66-16 win-loss tally, the Cavs were tipped to win their first-ever NBA trophy last season.
But their lack of a legitimate low-post threat was completely exposed when Cleveland succumbed to Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic, 4-2 in their Eastern Conference Finals.
Two more 6’8” forwards in Jamario Moon, along with ex-Boston Leon Powe, bring more depth to the Cavs’ menacing bench.
Moon, who rose to fame as Toronto Raptor before being dealt to Miami last season, is a great open-court player—loves to run, can play defense and adds excitement as well to the Cavs because of his athleticism.
Powe, on the other hand, adds championship experience and physical presence for Cleveland, something Cleveland lacked during the 2009 Playoffs. He could easily be a help to O’Neal in banging bodies inside the paint.
With O’Neal in tow, James can get more help on offense. Throw in Mo Williams, who loves to shoot it from the outside and the Cavs now have a legitimate three-pronged scoring threat.
“Magical Ride” With Carter
Meantime, the Magic didn’t leave any stones unturned in ensuring that the 2010 season would be a “magical year” that would end with a Larry O’Brien trophy to hoist.
Though Orlando eventually lost an inside-outside scoring threat in Hedo Turkoglu to free agency, the Magic managed to get a superb replacement in the presence of veteran Vince Carter.
Carter, who during his younger days, is noted for his high-flying ways, has learned to improve on his outside shooting, a style that easily fits into the Magic because coach Stan Van Gundy’s system includes an offense that rely on three-point shooting.
Bench depth has improved as well for the Magic in the coming 2010 season with the entry of slasher-forward Matt Barnes, athletic power forward Brandon Bass, veteran center Adonal Foyle as well as playmaker Jason Williams, who is coming out of a one-year sabbatical.
These are the NBA’s Beasts In the East. Tomorrow, I’ll come up with my own picks for the Best in the West for 2010.
Photo Source: http://nimg.sulekha.com/Sports/original700/shaquille-o-neal-lebron-james-2009-10-3-12-41-36.jpg
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