Colour me bored. I am. I miss the NBA; I miss it a lot right now. I miss seeing Kobe miss three shots in a row before knocking down one of his patented long range, hey-I'm-still-here-three-pointers. I love when he does that. I miss seeing Chris Paul make everyone around him look like they belong in the NBA. Even if they all don't like Byron Scott. I miss seeing the Birdman swat shots into the 32nd row, and then flap his wings like a...em...bird I guess. I miss LeBron. I think we all do. While the season is in hibernation, teams are scrambling to acquire that right piece, the missing ingredient if you will (I'm sorry, I couldn't think of a better cliché). With the free agent "bonanza" that was the summer of 2009 quietening down, a general consensus has emerged. You have Cleveland-Boston-Orlando in the East. Out West it's San Antonio-LA-Denver. Everybody else seems to have been granted the honour of chasing spots four through eight. So, who amongst those fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eight seeds have a legitimate chance of pulling a Golden State (betcha Mark Cuban breaks something everytime that gets brought up) and causing an upset?
In the East, had Miami held onto Shawn Marion or landed Lamar Odom or Carlos Boozer, then they may have been a deadly mixture. I mean, a game ending line up of Chalmers-Wade-O'Neal and Beasley and Marion swapping forward spots may have been too much to handle. But scenario A (Marion) B (Odom) and C (Boozer - yet) haven't panned out. So that rules them out. Then you have Washington, who are heavily reliant on the most inconsistent variable in basketball - health. They literally put all their eggs in the one Gilbert Arenas shaped basket. If he doesn't come back to the Agent Zero of old, you can definitely cross them off. Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison are solid as a duo, but with a healthy and free scoring Arenas alongside them they are a legit threat...to advance to the first round and get bounced by Cleveland. So that's them out. Chicago depends on Rose. He can and will carry them to the playoffs, where their lack of a low post threat proves to be their kryptonite. The Hawks on paper are a very strong looking bunch, but when your most athletically gifted and potentially brilliant player (Josh Smith) doesn't really dig the coach, how successful will they be? Philadelphia, having lost Andre Miller, lack the floor general needed to be a serious contender. Jrue Holiday has the ability to do anything on a basketball court, but him reachng that level is a few years away still. If Elton Brand can stay fit and the new AI of Phily keeps developing, they may be a long shot. A long long long shot. Toronto intrigues me. Bargnani is starting to look really good. Bosh will still be Bosh. Calderon may be the most underrated point guard in the entire league, and we all saw what Hedo is capable of. DeRozan has the potential to be a playoff X Factor with his unpredictable style and scoring mentality. Their roster is still thread bare as regards quality reserves, so unless the five mentioned above plan on playing forty minutes plus a night come June, Toronto may run out of gas when it matters most. Detroit has a lot of perimeter-orientated players, but lack a board banger in the middle. Villanueva is not the solution, neither is Kwame Brown or Ben Wallace. They may score a lot of points, but will have a hard time stopping points being scored on them. I hope Tayshaun gets a trade to a contender. He deserves better.
In the Wild Wild West, Portland are clearly the biggest threat to crack the top three. They have it all. An experienced and capable vet running the point, an other worldly talent at the two spot, two of the most talented young bigmen in the league at the four and the five and two very capable guys splitting time at the small forward spot. Looks perfect on paper, just as it did against the Rockets two months ago. Perhaps they filled their biggest weakness with the signing of Andre Miller, maybe his savvy was the missing piece against the experienced Houston squad. Only time will tell. Hosuton will not be relevant. Dallas are interesting. If they go small with Dirk at the five, Howard and Marion on the wings and Jet alongside Kidd, that may just work. But are they pinning their hopes on a team that's loaded with players who peaked two seasons ago? Phoenix should now be back to the running and gunning of old. And who in their right mind would fancy manning up on D against Earl Clark and (a healthy) Amare with Steve Nash leading the fast break? Then again, Robin Lopez isn't a starting caliber bigman just yet. He may be the long-term answer, but the Suns are looking to be successful now. Utah just can't seem to get the right break at the right time needed to have a post-season success story. Deron Williams means they will always be dangerous, but are they strong enough in the other positions to truly be a serious contender? I think we can safely eliminate Sacramento, Memphis and Minnesota from the playoff bracket, but not the entertainment one. Golden State has the pieces, but the desire or mentality? Oklahoma and the Clippers respective season will go one of two ways. They will both perform above the expectations and creep into and eight or seventh seed, or crash and burn horribly. Because of Kevin Durant and Sam Presti, the latter scenario won't happen to the Thunder. Because of Mike Dunleavy, Donald Sterling and the Clipper curse, I fear for the other team in LA.
So, fellow NBA lovers, can we really expect a shock this season?