Cavs, Magic Could Dominate Playoffs
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With the rate things are going, it appears that the Cleveland Cavalier (56-16) and the Orlando Magic (53-22) are competing for NBA supremacy this season.
And maybe you’re wondering, why ease out the defending champions Los Angeles Lakers (54-21) from the picture this late? Or the Dallas Mavericks who established a 13-game winning run last March? Or the Utah Jazz and the Denver Nuggets who are expected to crowd the Lakers in the West?
Well, at this point, it appears that the Lakers are not yet mentally and emotionally prepared for a serious defense of the NBA title they won against the Magic last year.
LA is returning to play Utah tomorrow from a dismal 2-3 road trip, that included emotionally flattening defeats against Oklahoma city, New Orleans and the fast-rising Atlanta Hawks.
With Utah and San Antonio as LA’s next two strong opponents, the job is now up to coach Phil Jackson and spiritual leader Kobe Bryant on how well they could help psyche up the rest of the Lakers going into the Playoffs, which start on April 18.
The Mavericks, were just sent down crashing to earth by the Magic today, behind Dwight Howard’s 17-point, 22-rebound effort against a string of Dallas big men, who had no answer against Orlando’s own version of “Superman”.
Meantime, this early, I pick the Cavs and the Magic to really make the biggest noise in the Playoffs because of their killer instinct, their consistency on both offense and defense plus their much-improved rosters.
The Cavs have been playing well with Antawn Jamison, whom they acquired just before the trade deadline. And he has fit well under coach Mike Brown’s system, without really affecting the offensive flow centered around Lebron James.
On the other hand, Vince Carter, the add-ons like Brandon Bass and Matt Barnes as well as the healthy Jameer Nelson have brought stability to Orlando this season, providing the much-needed help for Howard, who as usually, is leading the Magic team in he Playoffs.
Who wants it (the championship) more is what will determine this season’s NBA champion.
From Johnson-Bird to Bryant-James, A New Rivalry In The Making?
From Bird and Magic...
It’s been 30 years since Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, then wide-eyed rookies with immense potential, took the National Basketball Association to a new brand of basketball.
Johnson, a proven winner from high school to college, where his Michigan Lancers ended what could have been a perfect season for Bird and his Indiana Sycamores in the US NCAA national championship the year before, injected passion, love for the game and introduced “Showtime” basketball to the world of pro basketball.
On the other hand, Bird, who can’t jump (that high), but grabs rebounds, don’t dunk a lot, but plays stern defense, was a consummate winner—his trademark buzzer-beaters or game-winning baskets already part of NBA lore.
Together, Johnson and Bird revolutionized the NBA and made the pro basketball a globally accepted sport—the sport that sparked tremendous interest among the Europeans and even Asians. No wonder, the number of Europeans and a few Asians are starting to crowd the Americans for regular slots.
Johnson and the Lakers won five NBA titles during the 1980s, while Bird led the Celtics to three, leaving the crumbs to the Philadelphia 76ers and Detroit Pistons to win one each.
...Lebron and Kobe
Fast forward to the present, the two likely players, who could spark some sort of a rivalry just like Johson and Bird did during the 1980s, are Kobe Bryant, also of the LA Lakers and Lebron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Well, Bryant (31) already has won four NBA championships (2000-2002 and 2009), while James, just 25 years old, already led the Cavs to the 2007 runner-up honors.
With many fruitful years ahead of him, it appears that James can soon catch up on Bryant and earn his place among the NBA legends.
In fact, a Kobe-Lebron Finals face-off nearly took place in the 2009 season considering that the Lakers and the Cavs finished with the best records respectively, in the West and the East.
Orlando Magic however, came in to dash the supposed marketing gold rush by clobbering the Cavs and taking the Eastern Conference title in six games to earn the right to face the Lakers in the Finals.
Basketball has certainly grown to global proportions since the 1980s’ Lakers-Celtics rivalry.
Now, it’s up to current NBA stars Bryant and James to take the lead and lift the level further for pro basketball to break some more records and barriers.
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Renewed Rivalry For the Celtics And The Lakers This NBA 2010?
A Boston Celtics-LA Lakers Finals match up for the second time in three years could be an interesting championship plot come June 2010.
The Celtics and the Lakers ruled the 2008 and 2009 respectively. And both teams are entering the 2010 NBA season with some changes to ensure their continuous competitiveness.
Boston, as everyone already knows, made one of the biggest off-season moves after acquiring the services of veteran forward-center Rasheed Wallace, who finally burned ties with the rebuilding Detroit Pistons.
Wallace, the 6’10” flamboyant big man, has a mean jump shot, can play well on the post and could certainly be a big, big help to Kevin Garnett, who is coming off a successful knee surgery during the off season.
Compared to the Celtics’ line up two seasons ago, Boston has more depth this time since aside from Wallace, coach Doc Rivers also added scoring support with the arrival of Marquis Daniels, who averaged more than 14 points and 4.3 rebounds in 54 games with the Indiana Pacers.
He previously played three seasons with the running-and-gunning Dallas Mavericks, a team that reached the Finals in the 2006 season, which dropped a 2-4 decision to eventual champion Miami Heat.
The Celtics though remains the team of the Big Three—Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, whose vast experience and passion to win revived Boston’s pride. Prior to 2008, Boston tasted its last NBA championship in 1986 when it swept Houston, 4-0 in the Finals.
Artest, A Plus Or A Minus To LA?
Meanwhile, the Lakers, learning from the painful championship series loss they took against the Celtics in 2008, reached the NBA’s apex in 2009 after finishing off the Orlando Magic in five games in the Finals.
Trevor Ariza played a huge defensive role for the Lakers aside from shooting timely three-point baskets during the Playoffs that helped LA in its successful title run.
This season though, the Lakers decided to let Ariza go via the free agency rout, where the long-armed 6’7” swingman signed up with the Houston Rockets.
LA, however, got what it believed was a better deal after hooking up with defense specialist Ron Artest.
Though a lot are wondering how Artest’s volatile ways could fit in to the Lakers’ triangle offense and proven championship formula, LA’s general manager Mitch Kupchak did say during the training camp that it’s not coach Phil Jackson and his coaching staff’s job to keep the 6’8” forward within the team’s scheme of things.
Should Andrew Bynum finally be able to stay healthy all season long and click well in the painted area with Pau Gasol, the Lakers are sure to give any NBA team a run for their money.
The Celtics have Garnett, center Kenrick Perkins, Wallace and Glen Davis to lean on in the shaded lane, but a lot of Laker followers believe 2008 MVP Kobe Bryant and his vast championship experience will play a major role in LA’s title retention bid.
Interesting because though many considered him as the greatest basketball player of his generation, Kobe still had a work out with Hall of Famer and former Rocket great center Hakeem Olajuwon to teach him how to improve his pivot.
Olajuwon, who led the Rockets to the NBA titles in 1994 and 1995, was know for his “dream shake” moves that allowed him to dominate his opponents with ease.
Anyway, talking about a Celtics-Lakers Finals II (for this decade), remains too early to predict, considering that the East has a bevy of teams capable of giving the Celtics a run for their money.
There’s Cleveland and Lebron James, who finally got a helping hand with the entry of super star center Shaquille O’Neal; as well as Orlando Magic and Dwight Howard, who also got Vince Carter during the off season.
Over at the West, the Spurs are a team to reckon with as well as with the addition of swingman Richard Jefferson, veteran big man Antonio McDyess, Theo Ratliff and the return of a healthy Manu Ginobili.
Well, the NBA’s 2010 season appears to be exciting and filled with surprises.
Which team will end up king of the NBA hill?
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NBA Preview: Beasts In The East (1st of 2 Parts)
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.
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Shaq-Lebron Tandem Doesn't Guarantee NBA Title
Will the Shaq-Lebron tandem produce an NBA championship this 2009-2010 season?
On paper, Shaquille O’Neal’s journeyman route that ends at Cleveland recently can be threatening to a lot of teams from the East.
Orlando must have smelled something fishy in Cleveland, Ohio weeks after the Los Angeles Lakers’ NBA title conquest, so that the Magic engineered their own stunning deal that brought in former high-flyer Vince Carter to Florida.
But let me dissect for the moment Shaq’s new partnership with the so-called NBA “king” Lebron James.
After leading the Cavs to a franchise-best 66-16 win-loss record, a pair of series sweeps in the first two rounds against Detroit and Atlanta, Lebron and Co.’s supposed trip to the NBA Finals was cut short when “Superman” Dwight Howard and the Magic knocked them out of the “dream land”, turning what could have been a phenomenal season into a nightmarish end.
So, enter Shaq.
The 37-year-old center is a surefire attraction for the Cavs, whose front office is determined to flush in the toilet their forgettable 2008-2009 NBA campaign as soon as the “Diesel” officially joins the team’s practice.
And the Cavs’ immediate aim? Grab the NBA trophy away from Kobe Bryant and the Lakers.
And that would surely be an interesting Finals plot should Shaq be able to help Lebron and the Cavs square up with Kobe and the Lakers 11 and a half months from now in the Last Dance.
However, before Cleveland even entertain thoughts of facing LA in a Finals match up, they should first set their sight on eliminating Orlando, Boston, Atlanta and even Chicago from the expected tight Eastern Conference power struggle.
Question is, “Can Shaq and his 37-year-old legs keep in step with the Cavs’ running game for 82 regular season games, and probably another four rounds in the Playoffs and the Finals?”
And can Cleveland provide enough backup big men to give breather for Shaq and preserve him in time for the Playoffs where Orlando and Boston are surely waiting?
Lebron, Delonte West and Mo Williams could surely sustain the Cavs’ running game, but watching Shaq run back for a nine-month grind would definitely take its toll on O’Neals’ body and legs.
I think if the Cavs want to last the distance in the 2009-2010 season, Cleveland needs to add up more bench support like a good back up center, a reliable power forward and some quality minutes from some players in the free agency market.
Shaq is no spring chicken. He sure can contribute as evident in his 17 points and eight rebounds average in 74 games with the Phoenix Suns last season.
But Father Time is Shaq’s biggest enemy from now on. And if Cleveland’s front office management will simply be contented with the Shaq-Lebron partnership, the probability of another frustrating season is not far for the Cavs.
Should that happen, Ben Wallace and Sahsa Pavlovic would have the last laugh.
That would be more painful than the 2009 season Playoffs meltdown.
