NBA Preview

Now that baseball is over, and the NBA regular season begins in 2 days, there are some questions that I am asking going into the 2012-2013 season.

How will Ray Allen enjoy his return to Boston?  I know, I know...it’s a business, it’s only a job.  But there’s lots of things I wouldn’t do at my job - even for more money.  When Ray Allen took his crooked smirk to South Beach he crossed the line.  Ray Allen is going to get absolutely hammered by the Boston fans, and he deserves every ounce of it.  

Can Jeremy Lin be an All-Star in Houston?  If you thought Linsanity was wild in NYC, you should try Beijing.  Lin Shu Hao surpassed Kobe and Lebron status in China - and that is a huge statement.  China already loves the Rockets (which is a big reason Tracy McGrady decided to sign in China this year and is obviously the reason Houston decided to pony up for Lin) but does Lin have any chance of succeeding with that lineup?  If they would have won the Howard sweepstakes I would have said yes, but not now.  They will love him in China regardless.

There's nowhere to go but up, but how high can the Bobcats rise?  After the worst winning percentage in the history of the NBA it is inconceivable that the Bobcats can get any worse.  No one is really asking this question but I live in NC now so I am hoping for some watchable basketball in Charlotte in the not-too-distant future.

Will Pau Gasol still be the best big man in LA?  Ok, honestly, I don’t really think this is going to happen but I really wish it would.  I don’t hate the Lakers like most people do - but I hate Dwight Howard.  I used to like Dwight Howard.   I even had Dwight flair on my Facebook flair board back in the day.  He went south fast in the reputation department.  He has possibly had the worst looking free agency (and pre-free agency) that anyone not named Lebron James has had ever.  The superstar who makes it known well in advance that he wants to be traded is bad, but Howard still had a lot of miles left on his contract.  Gets his coach fired, still has the best smile in the NBA, team hits the tank and looks embarrassing some nights.  It makes you think it is more of a campaigning politician smile and less an I-love-this game smile.  If a superstar demanding to be traded is bad, said superstar who then says he will only go to one of two cities in that trade should draw the ire of every basketball fan in North America.  Because he is the thing with choosing your team, when was the last time anyone ever said, “Milwaukee or nothing” in that situation.  Is the NBA, even with the presence of a salary cap, going to become the English Premier League with a few power clubs and everyone else fighting for 4th and 5th?  If this continues will we ever see another San Antonio or Detroit based champion?  If Howard ends up with the Nets then he is only hated in Orlando.  He ends up with the Lakers and he has just crossed over into territory that is only understood by John Rocker, Barry Bonds, and Mike Vick - national villain.  And here’s another thing that should anger basketball fans around the world -   It was a huge signing, but not an enormous upgrade.  The Lakers just signed the best big man in the league, but they just traded the 2nd best big man in the league.  Granted, there is a large gap between Howard and Bynum, I was really looking forward to seeing Nash lead the Lakers into the finals, now Nash will only get a fraction of that credit when the Lakers hoist another banner into the rafter of the Staples Center.  This will not be the last time you will read these words on this blog this year - man I hate Dwight Howard. 

Can the Spurs keep the magic going?  I was shocked to see OKC come back and beat the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals lost year.  The Spurs looked as good as any team has ever going into that series.  The question at that point was how many games the Heat could eek out against the steamrolling Spurs.  We didn’t even ask this question at the beginning of last year because of how the Spurs finished in 2011.  It was just assumed by everyone that their window had closed.  And now...?

What will be Kevin Durant’s response after some weaknesses were exposed in the Finals?  Durant should repeat as scoring leader.  Kobe has more points to share this year and Durant has less (Harden was traded to Houston today).  I would have said that Lebron isn’t interested in the title but he just publicly made statements this week that he wants to be known as the best ever, and I am becoming a believer in the idea that Lebron can do whatever he decides to do.  I still think Lebron passes too much to win this crown, but Durant had some weaknesses exposed against Miami this summer.  Will teams try to expose his being “soft”?  It didn’t work in London, that’s for sure.  And Durant’s defensive shortcoming shouldn’t change the fact that this guy can make any shot on the court with that tall, quick, and beautiful stroke.  I don’t know that answer to these questions but I do know that it will be real fun watching.

How awesome will the Michael Beasly/Luis Scola connection look in PHX orange?  Well..as a long-time and hardcore Suns fan I have to feign excitement about something this season.  It would have felt too pessimistic to ask how many ping pong balls Phoenix gets in the Lottery.

What is Steve Nash’s ceiling now that he is finally playing with a big man?  (Full disclosure - not only am I a Suns fan, but I have a not-so-secret man crush on Steve Nash)  The only true big man Nash has ever played with is Marcin Gortat.  Dirk in Dallas and Amare in Phoenix were tall but neither ever really played like a big man.  Now he will have 1.5 big men in LA to play with.  While I miss the 7-seconds-or-less Suns and I will always wonder what could have been if they would have held on to Joe Johnson and kept what they had instead of dismantling them piece-by-piece eventually to stoop so low as to sign Shaq, I think Nash will be off the charts good with in LA.  Nash lead the break better than anyone in history not named Magic, but I have no doubt that he can adapt to the tools he will have in LA.  I don’t believe Mike Brown can coach his way out of a paper bag, but lucky for him it is a very thin and soggy paper bag in LA.  With Nash in charge, Brown will just have to try not to get in the way.  And has any player in history ever had an easier chance of succeeding than Dwight Howard?  Nash alone will make him 5 points a game better, and Gasol is the best passing 7 footer in the game.  I think the Lakers were going to win the West even without Howard.  Nash was 1 win against Utah away from single handedly leading the otherwise junior varsity Suns last year to the playoffs.   If his spinal surgeon did a halfway decent job then my money is on LA to prevent Lebron’s repeat.    However, the question I am most looking forward to seeing anwered this NBA season is...

Can Lebron really do whatever he wants to do? - Don’t take it for granted folks.  Enjoy it while it lasts.