2008-09 NBA Season Preview

October 27, 2008 By 9 Comments

nba season preview

Just so everyone knows. The NBA season starts this week…and not in February as is commonly assumed.

The off-season free agent period was pretty boring except for a few moves. But that’s okay considering the next two are going to be bloodbaths.

Some playoff teams in the East (Cleveland and Philadelphia) got a little bit better in the off-season free agent period. Some (Detroit and Boston) got older.  The West looks to be just a tough and grueling as last year.

Some of the bigger questions this year:

  1. Can Boston repeat? (sure…they could)…or are they too old (probably)?
  2. Is Kobe still the best player in the NBA? (nope).
  3. Will the coaching changes in Dallas and Phoenix take them to the next level? (No)
  4. Will Derrick Rose or Michael Beasley win the Rookie of the Year award? (No)

Here is my top 8 in each conference and my pick for postseason conference champions and the NBA champion:

Eastern Conference

1. Boston Celtics: Are they hungry enough to repeat? The new Big 3 have their rings. Do they have the desire for another one this year? I think their defense and depth will win them the regular season, but, their age will show in the post season and slow them down.

2. Cleveland Cavaliers: LeBron finally has his second scoring in option in Mo Williams. This will first time he has another player on his team that averages at least 17 points per game. One factor here is whether or not Williams will be the locker room disruption that he was reported to be in Milwaukee. LeBron is going to the best player in the NBA this year and get his MVP award now that he will be a little bit more freed up on offense. They also have a great defense and remember that they took the champion Boston Celtics to game 7 last year (I know, I know….so did the Hawks)

3. Philadelphia 76ers: I like this kind of team. They have a great PG in Andre Miller (who somehow had his breakout year at age 32), young talent on the wings and a dominant post presence with the additions of Elton Brand. They also gained some playoff experience last season.

4. Detriot Pistons: Dumars was reportedly shopping the whole team in the off seeason. They’re battle tested and tough. But, they’re getting old. Rodney Stuckey is a great player and is a glimpse of the future for this aging team.

5. Orlando: They play in the weakest division in the NBA and are favorites by many to win it. They have a talented front 3 in Howard, Lewis and Turkoglu. I’m not sold on their guard play at all.

6. Toronto Raptors: Jermaine O’neal is reportedly much happier and healthier in Canada. If he is the combination of him and Chris Bosh in the frontcourt should be quite dangerous.

7. Washington Bullets: Much depends on the health of Gilbert Arenas this season. They are a talented but indisciplined team. They can make the playoffs if they stay healthy and shut up.

8. Chicago Bulls: They underacheived last year. They have 1 talented but unproven PG in rookie Derrick Rose and 7 or 8 other decent guards. and a weak front court. Let’s see if Vinny Del Negro can get his new team into the playoffs….I think if he does, it will be at the eight seed.

Sleeper team: The Indiana Pacers: Larry Bird made a lot of solid moves in the post season. I look for them to be a contender for the East title in 2 or 3 years…not quite this year. Although, they should do a much better job of staying out of trouble this year. They could get it together this year and slip into the playoffs since they are in the Eastern Conference.

Western Conference:

1. Los Angeles Lakers: Andrew Bynum is healthy and it looks like Lamar Odom is going to be playing off the bench this year. But, Kobe played his 1,000th game which is traditionally when swing men start losing their game a little bit. He looked pretty weak against that Celtics defense in the finals last year. Opting for feeble jump shots instead of driving to the whole like the Kobe of old. I still think they have the talent and the coach to win the West in the regular season.

2. New Orleans Hornets: CP3 all the way. and they added James Posey who was the emotional glue that held the Celtics last post season. I can’t wait to see him hug Hornets players and whisper sweet nothings into their ears before games like he did to Celtics players last year. Chris Paul should be a top 3 contender for MVP this season and maybe even win it.

3. Houston Rockets: This basically relies on if Yao “Canirisheck” Ming can stay healthy. I really like the addition of Ron Artest as well.

4. San Antonio: As long as they have Tim Duncan…I’ll never count them of the hunt. I think he is on of the best pure Power Forwards ever…if not the best. But, he is aging. If Ginobli can get healthy they should make another push come playoff time.

5. Utah Jazz: Another team with great PG play out of Williams, a great swing man and a good post player in Carlos Boozer (I hate that he is good because of what he did to the Cavs)….worst nicknamed franchise in sports.

6. Portalnd: Is there a more fun GM on draft day than Kevin Pritchard? This is a young talented team and gaining second year rookie Greg Oden is going to help them a lot. He is my pick for ROY. They just need a little more help at PG and they will really strong. I wouln’t be surprised if they find a way to work a deal to get Conley from Memphis to reunite him with Oden. It would be great for Portland and great for the league.

7. Phoenix: Good offense, okay defense…Shaq is 140 years old, but, they have talent. Unfortunately they are in the Western Conference. We’ll see what the new coach can do with this team.

8. Dallas: Will see what the Rick Carlisle can do in Dallas. I think he’ll slow it down a little and make them tougher on D. One time I sold his wife a harmonica…true story.

Eastern Conference Champions: Cleveland Cavaliers. This is going the LeBron’s best year yet. He’s got playoff and even finals experience and finally a little help on offense. They will beat the aging Celtics in the playoffs and return to the Finals.

Western Conference Champions: New Orleans Hornets. This team is talented, they have great chemistry and the best PG in the game.

NBA Champions: New Orleans Hornets. Like I said I’m a sucker for great PG play. The west is tough and if they can get through that…they can win anything. They added a great defender and team player in James Posey in the off season and I think he will an NBA Championship with his third team.

MVP: LeBron James…but part of me wants to pick Chris Paul…can I pick two people and be wrong twice?

Rookie of the Year: Greg Oden.

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  • http://www.midwestsportsfans.com JRod

    It seems like every year, the previous year’s Finals participants are chosen to be the favorites again the next year. I guess this makes sense, and they most recently proved to be good more than any other team; but we know it very rarely works out that way. Of course, I can’t really think of which teams will unseat the Celtics and Lakers, so I guess I can’t really argue.

    My sleeper team for this year is the Heat. Dwyane Wade is back healthy, and looked great this summer. As we know, once player can carry a team to legitimacy (LeBron James). Honestly, look at their respective rosters. Is Wade’s supporting cast that much worse than LeBron’s? We know that they are comparable (though LeBron is better) in terms of their ability to carry a team. But Wade-Marion-Beasley could be a pretty formidable trio, certainly enough to make the playoffs the East.

    If the Cavs can win the East, the Heat can at least make the playoffs. I mean, let’s not forget that Dwyane Wade has actually carried his team to a title before, something that LeBron has not yet done for all his greatness.

    Love the pick of Oden for rookie of the year.

  • Ryan Russell

    Yeah, I was thinking after I wrote it that I wanted to put the Heat in there at the 7 or 8 seed. But I’m not sure that Dwayne Wade is going to come back at his old form yet and they have a new unproven coach. I think that Cleveland’s supporting cast is much better than the Heats. Look at this way: The Heats only two true centers are Marc Blount and Jamal Magloire and the rest of their Front Court (Haslem and Beasley) are pretty short. They are going have to double down a lot down low which is going give teams a lot of opportunities on the wings. The Heat are going to have a real problem with teams like Houston, Phoenix, Orlando and other teams with big, true Centers.

    The Heats other problem position is going to be point guard. Especially since they lost White Chocolate this summer. When your biggest problem positions are point guard and Center, which are the two most important positions on the court, you’re going to have problems.

    If Dwayne Wade can bounce back and have another MVP type year and Michael Beasley can be great in his first season…they could make the playoffs and maybe even make some noise in the post season. Also, Shawn Marion is coming off of injuries as well.

  • Nicholas Gerlach

    I am an idiot. That was me posting above.

  • KVB

    You are an idiot. But for other reasons.

    I agree with Jerod about the Miami Heat pick. I think they are a lock to make the playoffs if not getting home court in the first round. But I don’t think Beasley will be good enough for a long playoff run. Though he only has to be as bad as Shaq and Wade could still carry this team deep into the playoffs.

    On to my man crush Kobe Bryant, he shot 48% on FGs in the playoffs so I don’t see the “feeble jump shot” idea being a realistic observation. Really the Celtics team defense was incredibly effective (thank God Posey left) and Kobe’s inexperienced teammates were a no show in the losses.

  • http://www.midwestsportsfans.com JRod

    You are correct KVB. The Lakers needed a Bertolini-versus-Twin-Lakes type performance every night out from Kobe to win against the Celtics. Not even Kobe can replicate that kind of dominance night-in and night-out.

  • http://www.midwestsportsfans.com JRod

    Ladies and gentleman, Pau Gasol:

  • Nicholas Gerlach

    I’m not as sold on the Heat as you two are. I don’t think their interior defense is going to able to get the job done at all. They could lose 50 games this year…but, I guess that could still get them a 3 seed in the East.

  • Nicholas Gerlach

    They don’t block shots. Let me say this one more time….THEY’RE ONLY TRUE CENTERS ARE MARC BLOUNT AND JAMAL MAGLOIRE.

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