Ten NBA teams that could capture the le this season
BY BARRY JACKSON
Knight Ridder Newspapers
(KRT) - DALLAS MAVERICKS
The Mavericks' roster is more well-balanced than past seasons, with the need for frontcourt defense, rebounding and shot-blocking having finally been addressed.
Dallas subtracted top bench scorer Antawn Jamison, poor fit Antoine Walker, longtime point guard Steve Nash and key hustle man Eduardo Najera.
They added a skilled, physical center who will keep teams from driving unimpeded in the lane (Erick Dampier), a proven scorer who should thrive in a winning environment (Jerry Stackhouse), a starting point guard (Jason Terry) and the best college point guard in the draft (Devin Harris).
With Harris and two surprising second-year contributors (forward Josh Howard and guard Marquis Daniels), the Mavericks have youth to complement Dirk Nowitzki, Michael Finley, Dampier, Stackhouse and Terry.
"It will probably be a slow process to get better," coach Don Nelson said. "I'm a running coach and I will continue to run. I would hope we're better defensively. We would like to go inside more than we have and use Dampier's scoring ability. We will still be a high-scoring team."
DENVER NUGGETS
Another long shot of sorts, Denver gets the nod for the 10th contender on this list (a toss-up against Utah) because of one of the league's most formidable frontcourts. General manager Kiki Vandeweghe traded three No. 1 draft picks to the Nets for Kenyon Martin, who will share time with Nene and Marcus Camby in the power rotation. Nene likely will come off the bench.
The Nuggets have potentially elite players at small forward (Carmelo Anthony) and point guard (Andre Miller) and should be able to make do with Voshon Lenard and Greg Buckner at shooting guard.
"We won't sneak up on anyone like perhaps we did last year," said coach Jeff Bzdelik, who faces immense pressure after Vandeweghe declined to extend his contract beyond this season.
DETROIT PISTONS
Will anyone figure out a way to consistently score against the Pistons' suffocating defense?
"We tried so hard to defend and rebound every possession," coach Larry Brown said. "We were long and athletic and our guards got better as the season went on and our whole team had a defensive mentality... . Now we're kind of a marked team."
Detroit kept together its starting five (Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace, Tayshaun Prince, Richard Hamilton, Chauncey Billups), but tinkered with its bench, dealing Corliss Williamson to Philadelphia in a trade for Derrick Coleman, and bolstering a strong power rotation with Antonio McDyess. Guard Carlos Delfino, an experienced European player, will give Hamilton a quality backup.
Even with Mehmet Okur having signed with Utah, second-year power forward Darko Milicic will have trouble earning minutes. "They're the deepest team in the NBA by far," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said.
HOUSTON ROCKETS
The chic pick for the Finals, the Rockets - like Miami - have two stars and a supporting cast full of role players. Tracy McGrady should thrive alongside Yao Ming, but the loss of Steve Francis means the Rockets must split point-guard duties among retreads (Charlie Ward, Tyronn Lue and injured Bob Sura, who's out until December).
Jim Jackson, Juwan Howard, Maurice Taylor and Scott Padgett are serviceable at forward. So much will depend on Yao, who must increase his stamina.
"Offensively, Yao's improvements will come with better conditioning - being able to go longer and harder," Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "He averaged nearly 33 minutes last year. We would like him to go 35 to 38."
Memphis coach Hubie Brown cautions, "McGrady is the one who will have to make necessary adjustments for this to work. Before you say they will be better than San Antonio, Minnesota and Sacramento, you have to be careful."
Van Gundy concurs: "We have a lot to prove. I've proven I can get a team to the Finals with the Knicks. I haven't proven I can win the Finals."
INDIANA PACERS
With Jermaine O'Neal and Ron Artest leading the way, the Pacers rolled through the regular season, winning a league-high 61 games before their offense detonated against the Pistons in the Eastern Finals.
Determined to improve the perimeter shooting and ease a logjam at small forward, Pacers executive Larry Bird accomplished both by trading disgruntled small forward Al Harrington to Atlanta for guard Stephen Jackson, who will share minutes with declining Reggie Miller.
"Reggie will probably be playing his last year, and we needed someone who would be a starting caliber player to plug in," coach Rick Carlisle said of the trade. "On paper, it appears to balance out our roster."
With Harrington gone, Jonathan Bender and Austin Croshere will assume more prominent roles. But the Pacers will need to get by with Jeff Foster, Scot Pollard and rookie David Harrison at center. Carlisle was encouraged by the play of point guard Jamaal Tinsley late last season.
LOS ANGELES LAKERS
Kobe Bryant finally got his way: Shaq is gone, and Bryant can go about his business of leading the league in scoring. But will that be conducive to winning big?
Beyond Bryant and Lamar Odom, it's a team of role players - Chris Mihm (who's playing center until Vlade Divac returns in November from injury), Brian Grant (who will be used at power forward and center), point guard Chucky Atkins (acquired from Boston in the Gary Payton deal) and a logjam of small forwards (Caron Butler, Devean George and Luke Walton).
Odom will play a lot of power forward initially in Divac's absence, but would shift more to small forward if Karl Malone returns.
"We like Odom at power forward to use his versatility and ball-handling," coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. "The guys doing most of our playmaking will be Kobe and Lamar Odom."
Tomjanovich, who replaces Phil Jackson, said he feels "blessed" to return from coaching after beating bladder cancer. "I made big life changes," he said, including quitting smoking. "I really wanted this job."
MIAMI HEAT
The Heat's biggest issue is whether the supporting cast is formidable enough to win a le, no matter how dominant Shaq is. The Heat will be investing heavy minutes in two undrafted power forwards (Udonis Haslem and Malik Allen), a largely unproven small forward (Rasual Butler), and four veterans who have had nomadic careers (Wesley Person, Christian Laettner, Damon Jones and Michael Doleac).
Most of those players will need to thrive around O'Neal, Dwyane Wade and Eddie Jones. "On paper, it looks like it could be another Kobe-Shaq situation," Carlisle said of the O'Neal/Wade pairing. He meant in a good way.
"Wade doesn't have Kobe's experience but he showed in the playoffs he's a prime-time player," Carlisle added. "I fully expect those two players to make them a le contending team."
While some suggest O'Neal's presence could impede Wade's drives to the basket, Jeff Van Gundy says that's not an issue. Because of Shaq's ability as an offensive rebounder, "very few centers" leave him and defend the penetrator, the Rockets coach said.
MINNESOTA T'WOLVES
Last season, the Timberwolves finally broke their hex of seven straight first-round exits before losing to the Lakers in the Western Finals. It could have been a different series if not for injuries to guards Sam Cassell and Troy Hudson.
Off the court, Latrell Sprewell strongly implied he won't re-sign next summer if the Timberwolves don't give him a contract extension by Nov. 3.
The biggest on-court conundrums for coach Flip Saunders are how much can be culled from center Michael Olowokandi (who missed 39 games and was a bust last season), and how to split up shooting guard minutes between Wally Szczerbiak and defensive specialist Trenton Hassell. Szczerbiak added seven pounds of muscle so he can play some small forward behind Sprewell.
"I have the most unselfish and best player in the world in Kevin Garnett," Saunders said last week. "He's improved being able to put the ball on the floor and going to the hole on a direct line. One thing he decided he wanted to work on is getting to the free throw line more. He amazes me every year, because he comes back every year better."
SACRAMENTO KINGS
The Kings keep winning big in the regular season (55 victories last season) but can't crack the Finals. And while the breakup of the Lakers creates fresh hope, the Kings haven't appeared to improve themselves.
Divac, a perfect fit for the Kings' free-flowing offense, left for the Lakers, leaving underachieving Greg Ostertag as Brad Miller's backup. The starting lineup remains strong (Chris Webber, Peja Stojakovic, Miller, Mike Bibby and Doug Christie). Beyond Bobby Jackson, Sacramento's bench (Ostertag, Courtney Alexander, Darius Songaila) isn't as impressive as past seasons.
The Kings ignored Stojakovic's offseason trade request. "Peja's mind-set has very good," coach Rick Adelman said. "Everybody has an issue... . I just told him ... maybe your feelings will change. He hasn't been a distraction."
SAN ANTONIO SPURS
After losing to the Lakers in the second round, the Spurs set out to fix their offensive shortcomings by signing Seattle's Brent Barry, an adept shooter and ball-handler who should comprise a splendid three-guard rotation with Manu Ginobili and emerging star Tony Parker.
"Hopefully, the new guys can take care of some of the deficiencies we had shooting percentage wise and from the free-throw line," coach Gregg Popovich said. "Brent is a shooter, while Manu is more of a scorer. Brent is going to raise the basket ball IQ of our team."
Center Rasho Nesterovic was a capable addition last season, but he's obviously not the quality of David Robinson during his early years alongside Tim Duncan. Defense, and Duncan, will again be the Spurs' staples.
I'm suprised that people still think Sacramento and Dallas can contend for a le. Sacramento lacks defense, Webber is not what he used to be, and with a dissatisfied Peja over the whole Vlade deal, I just can't see the Kings advancing out of the first round. Also, I think the loss of Steve Nash will hurt Dallas a lot more then people realize. I think both teams with make an early playoff exit.
Sacramento contends every year, and they've still got some great talent. If Peja doesn't sulk and Webber regains at least some of his ups, the Kings will be a force. Add in a great point guard in Bibby, a premier backup in Jackson, an all-star center in Miller, and a still-serviceable Christie and you have a recipe for potential success.
We don't know what Webber will do. We don't know if Peja will let the Vlade situation linger. Don't discount what they can do. They're bringing back essentially the same team that has been very good for years. If Webber recovers somewhat, they'll contend.
Don't count on it. He's already missed time with soreness in that knee. About a dozen NBA players have had that surgery that Webber had and only Kerry Kittles has ever fully recovered.
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