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Magic number 1 ????
No ing way; did he buy his crystal ball from Walmart?
A Look Into the Crystal Ball For 2009-10
SportingNews
I can't explain to you what makes a man start ranking in the preseason. During the year, it's an expert's science, or at least a way to put your expertise out on the line. What guts that takes. But at this point in time, it's more about what you'd like to see, how you assume teams will respond once games start, how players will interact when things suddenly matter, how on-paper talent will flesh itself out.
I guess it's about power—not in any macho sense, but the right to say "hey, this is the season I'd like to see. To back it up, I know what I'm talking about." There has to be a delicate balance between surprises and orthodoxy, lest you either bore people to death or get laughed out of your own column space. Above all else, though, these things should put forth a version of the season that gets fan-blood flowing.
Anyone can stir up controversy or state the obvious. I'm more talking about taking some stands that show not just your ability to predict right and wrong, but a willingness to guess "what will 2009-10 look like?"
It's not just about winners and losers or money well spent, but our ability to imagine this season as something different than the last one, or the one that will follow. Each has a personality, a unique quality to it. This is where that "narrative" thing comes in, and it's not bull. After all, do you really see each season as the same old battleground, with the same pre-programmed actors going forth year after year?
If you don't, this one's for you.
Teams of Note, Large and Small: There's a reason why "middle of the pack" is about quality, not numbers. It's because in the middle, teams are interchangeable, everyone a combination of evenly matched and equally subject to things going unusually wrong or right. I feel like "standard deviation" has a lot to do with my feelings on this bloc. Instead, I deal only with the top and bottom, where teams claw to get to the summit or can't help but fall further and further down the mountain.
THE TEN BEST TEAMS, 2009-10:
1. Orlando Magic
2. Los Angeles Lakers
3. Cleveland Cavaliers
4. Boston Celtics
5. Denver Nuggets
6. San Antonio Spurs
7. Portland Trail Blazers
8. Washington Wizards
9. Dallas Mavericks
10. Utah Jazz
I'll still go with the Magic on top, but that's assuming the Lakers will have problems at some point. The West is obviously deeper to me, and I'm now forced to admit that the Clippers will probably make the playoffs (maybe that Griffin dunk swayed me). I think it was Kelly Dwyer who said it, but more than ever, the West is both the dominant conference and the one on the rise. The East, on the other hand, stakes it all on the Magic, Cavs and Celtics to deliver its message. Talk about top-heavy.
I like the augmented Wiz, at least in principle, but that could easily turn to mush fast. If this list had 11 slots, I'd put Toronto on here. The Raptors have their pieces in place, and while I see them more as the tip-tip of the second-tier, I think they've finally got their soldiers in place. Provided Bosh is happy or gone.
THE TEN WORST TEAMS, 2009-10, WITH "FIRST" BEING THE WORST:
1. Sacramento Kings
2. Golden State Warriors
3. Memphis Grizzlies
4. Milwaukee Bucks
5. Minnesota Timberwolves
6. Charlotte Bobcats
7. New Jersey Nets
8. Detroit Pistons
9. New York Knicks
10. Houston Rockets
This is the part where I wonder how many teams actually fall into the mythical "middle." That consideration aside, it's hard to gauge "bad" when some teams face a much higher level of compe ion. I guess I'm saying that, record aside, some teams will be demonstrably less able than others. I'm excited about a lot of these teams near the bottom; I just don't see them consistently showing up, or figuring out their feet from their socks. And that's taking into account which conference they must hack their way through. I know, some of you want to see the Thunder on here. Not going to happen. That team's young, but pretty well-stacked with players, well-coached and capable of great things when they jell. Try and make that stick—I mean, be willing to stand behind it for an entire year—for anyone else on that list.
TOP FIVE ROOKIES:
1. Tyreke Evans
2. Blake Griffin
3. Hasheem Thabeet
4. Brandon Jennings
5. James Harden
Really daring, I know. I put Harden on here just because there's a federal statute against showing him respect as an NBA prospect. So happy they didn't pass that law for Curry. I know Griffin will be very, very good, but that team's crowded, and we don't quite know yet if he's going to be dominant, eye-dropping impactful or more in the Emeka Okafor mold. Evans, on the other hand, looks like he's accepted the PG role while retaining his slasher's toolkit; he just doesn't get the two confused. Plus, that team belongs to him and Kevin Martin. Thabeet has a chance at being a defensive monster from Day One, Jennings is kind of a wild card but also has the skills to become a true rookie sensation (copyright someone).
TOP FIVE MVP CANDIDATES:
1. Dwyane Wade
2. LeBron James
3. Kobe Bryant
4. Chris Paul
5. Carmelo Anthony
It wasn't just that the Hornets were off last season. I think we all took Chris Paul a little for granted last year, after that absolutely ridiculous 2007-08 that should've won him the MVP. Provided the team can achieve some stability, and assuming he keeps being Chris Paul, we owe him at least a look. Wade was the dark horse candidate in 2008-09, especially after his run of utter dominance in the second half. The Heat will be a playoff team, which makes it totally legit.
LeBron, well, unless Shaq totally neuters him, he's LeBron. I think Kobe's more tethered to his team at this point, making him less of an OMG HE SHOCKED THE WORLD no-brainer, but if I don't include him there will be a riot somewhere. Melo over Howard because the Magic get no love, while Anthony's ready to deliver that all-around gem of season he's been building toward.
FIVE MOST IMPORTANT PLAYERS WHO AREN'T MVP CANDIDATES (OR MVP-ISH, LIKE DURANT):
1. Rajon Rondo
2. Emeka Okafor
3. Andre Miller
4. Danilo Gallinari
5. Baron Davis
Looking at this list makes me sort of uneasy, since three are PG's and two are possible All-Stars if healthy. But enough self-doubt, let me explain. Rondo looked like the future of the Celtics during the playoffs. What happens with Garnett back? I have no idea, but if there's some sort of trade-off/compromise involved, that team is wasting precious resources. David West is the second-best player on NOLA; however, it's replacing Tyson Chandler with Okafor that will either make or break the Hornets' overall credibility.
Andre Miller could either end up reprising his role as an ultra-productive leader that earned him acclaim in Philly or come off the bench in an effective, but limited, role. I honestly don't know which one's smarter, but the former seems like it could lead to greater results, even if it doesn't make as much basketball sense, and thus isn't that likely to happen.
Gallinari only played 28 games last season, but for better or worse, he's the Knicks' crown jewel. He needs to start showing the Garden faithful something of note, or else this team's really off wandering in the swamp. Oh, and this pick is so closely tied to D'Antoni (would be even if it weren't for the Italian league/heritage thing), that his performance might also hold in it the germ for the post-honeymoon phase of the city's relationship with the coach. When healthy and motivated, Davis is MVP-ish. But he wasn't last season, is getting older and has to pull together a Clippers team that perhaps has too many pieces and not enough underlying logic.
Other than that, I can only hope that the race for John Wall takes some of the heat off of the 2010 saga, but maybe that'll only happen in my brain.
Magic number 1 ????
No ing way; did he buy his crystal ball from Walmart?
I stopped reading after he listed Magic at number 1.
I'm more upset with the Wizards being ahead of my boys in blue.
Well, Chris Paul does have ty teammates
The Wizards ahead of the Mavericks is pretty re ed. They've officially taken the le from the Thunder as the "darkhorse" to do something that won't do anything at all.
The Wizards have a bunch of offense-only players led by an offensive-minded coach. I don't see them winning more than 45 games.
As for the Zombie Sonics, there's a lot to like about the direction they're headed in: lots of great young talent spearheaded by a franchise player in the making, along with a competent front office that has cap space and tons of stockpiled draft picks. But let's pop the ing brakes. They won 23 games last year and added James Harden. I'll be shocked if they win more than 35 games.
I know we like to cream ourselves at the mere mention of DeJuan, but I'm actually surprised he didn't make the list of rookies.
I just saw the rookies. I can't wait to see if Thabeet becomes what he can be.
Desagana Diop?
Well, that would make him valuable against the Spurs.
Potential to be a lot more than that. I doubt if Thabeet will ever be a cupcake away from eating himself out of the league.
Best part of his list:
TOP FIVE ROOKIES:
1. Tyreke Evans
2. Blake Griffin
3. Hasheem Thabeet
4. Brandon Jennings
5. James Harden
I think he almost nailed it, I'd order it like this:
TOP FIVE ROOKIES:
1. Tyreke Evans (The one player capable of being a superstar, the rest of this class is blue collar)
2. Blake Griffin
3. Johnny Flynn
4. Brandon Jennings (maybe the other "special" player, but it's probably a reach)
5. Dejuan Blair (from a talent standpoint, won't get enough minutes with the Spurs)
6. Hasheem Thabeet
7. James Harden
Last edited by Allanon; 10-21-2009 at 04:47 PM.
This dude is absolutely terrible...ORLANDO #1? Reallllly??? And how in the is Blair and Budinger not in th top 5 rookies? Denver at # 5 is even worse, and Washington at #8 is a total disgrace
Top 5 Teams: (IMO)
1. Lakers
2. Boston
3. Magic
4. Spurs
5. Cavs
2,3 and 4 are interchangeable IMO
[[[I'll still go with the Magic on top, but that's assuming the Lakers will have problems at some point.]]]
& assuming the Magic will no problems at any point, eh?
tee, hee.
The maker of this list should stop drinking. It is ing up his career and credibility.
Top 5 Teams: (IMO)
1. Cavs
2. Lakers
3. Magic
4. Spurs
5. Celtics
3 and 4 are interchangeable IMO
Orlando #1?????
Wizards top 10????
Do they really get paid to write this ?
Bottom 10? No way...now I am going to have to cheer for Tmac to come back...dang it.
DD
This is like deja-vu from last year when everyone including all the ESPN blockheads all picked against the magic to win, and they proved they were the better team even against the heavily favored cavaliers.
Please. Keep doubting them, I'm sure it just gives them even more motivation.
They proved all their critics wrong last year and went all the way to the finals and now they have upgraded their talent pool considerably since.
I could see people maybe having some doubt before the pre-season began about how their new pieces would fit but preseason almost done folks and guess what the magic remain as the only unbeaten team, and they are not just beating teams, they are going through them like a hot knife through butter, +15 point differential which is tops in the league by far.
An unbeaten run in the pre-season doesn't prove anything yet, but it does show just how deep and talented their bench is.
It isn't much of a stretch to think they could easily continue this pace into the regular season and become the #1 seed in the eastern conference.
That's just because the Cavs couldn't get James off the arc until less than 5 seconds appeared on the shot clock. He enjoyed standing out there. Nothing bad could happen then.
tee, hee.
the Magic are not the best team in the NBA, sorry. VC is a step down from Turk and Lee. Nelson being back will help, but not enough to make them the best in the NBA
I don't believe it's possible to step down from Turk, unless you dig first.
What are you a ing parrot repeating everything you just heard at ESPN?
For starters: Vince is better than Hedo, and its not even close.
I also could have swore the magic got these other guys named Bass, Barnes, and Anderson too. Do they not count?
Let's review here
VC > TurkOglu (or as I call him TO, short for TurnOver)
Bass & Anderson > Tony Battie
Barnes > Courtney Lee
Nelson (healthy) > Alston
JWill > AJohnson
Oh, right the magic did get just a wee bit better.
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