This is the beauty of sports. Just when one league is ending its season, another one is just to begin. As we wave good-bye to baseball for the winter, basketball is getting ready to tip off. The Boston Celtics look to defend their 17th championship and the Lakers will try to preserve their Western Conference title. Who has a chance to reach the promise land? Here is the breakdown: The WAY Back Sports NBA Preview.
EASTERN CONFERENCE
1) Boston Celtics. James Poesy may be gone, but does it really matter if the Big Three are still there? Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins both have another year under them, making the C's the team to beat in the east.
2) Detroit Pistons. Yes, they are getting older, but the talent level is still high with Chauncy Billups and Rip Hamilton. Youngsters Jason Maxielle and Rodney Stuckey both grew up a lot in the playoffs too.
3) Philadelphia 76ers. There is reason for Philly fans to get excited over the basketball team again. This is the best they've been since the departure of A.I., bringing in Elton Brand in the off-season. Andre Miller is an underrated PG, and the other A.I., Andre Iguodala is a threat.
4) Orlando Magic. As long as Dwight Howard keeps playing like Superman (and he will), the Magic will be in the mix. Rashard Lewis needs to be more consistent, and Jameer Nelson will need to prove that he can run the point.
5) Cleavland Cavilers. Two Words....LeBron James.
6) Atlanta Hawks. They almost shocked the Celtics. Almost. Though Josh Childress is gone, Josh Smith is an awesome scorer and Joe Johnson provides leadership along side Mike Bibby.
7) Toronto Raptors. The Raptors are revamped after bringing in Jermaine O'Neal this offseason. Jose Calderon will surprise people with his play, and an O'Neal-Chris Bosh frontcourt is scary.
8) Miami Heat. Dwayne Wade+Shawn Marion+Michale Beasley=a solid three-headed monster on South Beach
The Rest
9) Chicago Bulls. Home-town hero Derek Rose will revive basketball in Chicago.
10) Washington Wizards. They could jump up to top 8, depending on when Gilbert Arenas gets back.
11) Milwaukee Bucks. There's talent, but all on offense.
12) Charlotte Bobcats. How much longer will the excuse of "they're young" last? Lets see what Larry Brown can do with them.
13) Indiana Pacers. What did Larry Bird do to this team?
14) New York Knicks. Mike D'Antoni has his work cut out for him cleaning up after Isaiah.
15) New Jersey Nets. How long 'till LeBron comes? They cleared out the cap space for him.
WESTERN CONFERENCE
1) Los Angeles Lakers. Andrew Bynum is healthy again, so it will be fun to see what he can do with Pau. Oh yeah, they have Kobe too.
2) New Orleans Hornets. Chris Paul might be the best PG in the league. Add Posey in off the bench, combined with a very hungry team and you've got yourself a contender.
3) Houston Rockets. Ah, the double edge sword of Ron Artest. If he keeps his cool on the court, he, Tracy McGrady, and Yao will be blasting off.
4) Utah Jazz. Know why Chris Paul MIGHT be the best PG in the league? Deron Williams of the Jazz. Carlos Boozer will bang down low and Andrei Kirilenko will be an inside/outside threat.
5) San Antonio Spurs. The old stand byes are still here, and with Tony Parker and Tim Duncan healthy, they will be. They will need to wait a while to get Manu back after surgery in the offseason.
6) Phoenix Suns. Steve Nash is still Steve Nash, and Shaq is there to teach Amare' Stoudemire how to play in the post. The question will be if they can still run and gun.
7) Dallas Mavericks. Will this just be a team that looks good on paper, or will they produce on the court? But it's hard to count out a team with Dirk and Jason Kidd.
8) Portland Trail Blazers. A LeMarcus Aldridge-Greg Oden frontcourt along with Brandon Roy in the backcourt will get this team a playoff birth.
The Rest
9) Denver Nuggets. The best paper team money can buy. They'll produce on the court, but A.I. and Carmello Anthony will just miss the promise land this year.
10) Los Angeles Clippers. WWBD=What Will Baron Do? This may be one of those 50 win teams that doesn't get in the playoffs.
11) Golden State Warriors. Monta Ellis is the the goat in Golden State after an offseason mo-ped crash. Free agent Corey Maggette will need to provide the scoring for the Warriors this season.
12) Minnesota Timberwolves. Al Jefferson will need to put this team on his back for them not to slip further down in the west. He'll shoulder some of the load, but not much more.
13) Memphis Grizzlies. O.J. Mayo and Rudy Gay are bright spots on a dark team. When Darko is starting, you need bright spots.
14) Sacramento Kings. Name one player on the Kings. It's not that easy.
15) Oklahoma City Thunder. Good luck, Kevin Durant.
Welcome back NBA!
Monday, October 27, 2008
WAY Back Sports Presents: Your 2008-2009 NBA Preview
Posted by Big Cat at 7:13 PM 0 comments
Labels: NBA
All But Over?
For the first time in twenty-eight seasons the Philadelphia Phillies will become World Champions tonight. After beating the Tampa Bay Rays in game four for the 2008 World Series last night, it seems like an almost certainty that the streets of Philadelphia will be filled with maniac fans who have had nothing to celebrate of this magnitude in 20+ years.
Wait, they have another game to play, right? So why are we handing the Championship over to the Phillies with games left to play? Its not over it its over, right? Wrong. Anyone who saw last night's game will agree, this series is over.
The Philly bats overwhelmed Tampa pitching to the tune of 10-2 in game four. Even starting pitcher Joe Blanton got in on the offense last night chipping in with a solo homer to go along with his 6 solid innings of work on the mound. You know things are going bad then the opposing pitcher it taking you yard. More bad news for the Rays: Phillies' slugger Ryan Howard looks as locked in at the plate as he has all season, as he demonstrated by hitting two homeruns in the game, one to each side of the park. Any baseball "expert" would tell you that when a powerhitter like Howard is locked in they will hit with power to all fields. A locked in Ryan Howard spells doom for the Ray.
Game five brings us a rematch of game one starters as Cole Hamels will try to close out the Phillies' second Series title on Monday night against Scott Kazmir. Hamels (4-0) is trying to become the first pitcher to win five postseason starts in one year. Josh Beckett won four last year with the Boston Red Sox.
Even more good news is that Hamels loves the spot light. He has been known as a big game pitcher in his short time in the big leagues. They certainly get no bigger than game 5 of the World Series at home with a chance to bring a championship to a city that has not seen one is twenty years.
"Cole looks for these moments. I call him Hollywood, because when the lights are on, that's when he's at his best, and tomorrow night the lights will definitely be on," said Phillies short-stop Jimmy Rollins.
The World has been counting out the Rays all season, and all season they have somehow stepped it up to another level and proved us all wrong. 42 times in World Series history a team has held a 3-1 advantage. Of those 42 instances, 6 times a team has come back to win the series, prove that it is not impossible, however is unlikely.
This series is over. The Phillies will not lose at home; Cole Hamels will not let that happen. Tampa has had a story book season, unfortunately for them, this story does not have a happy ending.
Posted by Goose at 12:03 PM 0 comments
Labels: MLB