Happy 2011 everyone! Here’s my comments on every team in order of current conference standing:
Eastern Conference
Boston – Two years ago when the Celtics said Garnett had a minor injury he ended up being out for the season and took most of last season to recover. Is this seasons injury really minor or are the Celts covering up again?
Miami – They figured things out pretty quickly. Now if we can only get LeBron to keep his mouth shut.
Chicago – After losing Carlos Boozer for the first quarter of the season, Noah is now out for 6-10 weeks. They’re too good and the east is too weak for them to fall lower than a 4th seed though.
Orlando – 5 wins in a row against mostly quality opponents tells me this trade is working out pretty well for them. However, with a diminished front line, Dwight Howard needs to keep his mouth shut. He’s only 6 technicals away for a suspension.
Atlanta – Making almost no moves in the offseason except to give Joe Johnson the biggest contract of the 2010 free agency basically puts them in the same spot as the last few years; 50 wins in the regular season and a quick exit in the playoffs.
New York – The best season in about 10 years has Knicks fans really excited. Playing the starters 40 minutes a night has the fans nervous as well. They are also in desperate need of a defensive big man.
Indiana – Better than expected even though Darren Collison has been worse than expected.
Milwaukee – Some key injuries (Jennings) and some free agency signings that haven’t exactly worked out (all of them) have them currently in the 8th seed in the east. The good news is that they are in the east and it will be really hard for them not to make the playoffs with Philly as their only threat.
Philadelphia – Elton Brand is looking rejuvenated, Holiday and Young are playing well, however Turner is having a rough rookie season and their front line is too weak to compete with bigger teams on most nights.
Charlotte – After making the post season for the first time last season the Bobcats made some questionable offseason moves and look to be back in the lottery this year. Larry Brown quit. The only surprising thing about that is that he stayed as long as he did.
Toronto – They had a horrible offseason where they lost Bosh and signed Amir Johnson to an awful contract, but are playing better than expected.
Detroit – Rip Hamilton has quit on the team, no one is playing particularly well and their salary cap is maxed out. The glory days of the early ’00’s in Michigan are long gone.
New Jersey – They struck out in free agency and Brook Lopez took a huge step back. Kris Humphries has been the one bright spot for the Nets this year. They better pray they get Melo or it’s going to be another really long season.
Washington – They traded the presumed to be untradable Arenas but they can’t get away from the drama. McGee and Blatche continued the disfunction by getting into a fist fight last week.
Cleveland – I’m sorry
Western Conference
San Antonio – They have the NBA’s best record despite Duncan having one of the worst seasons of his career. Lesser known players like George Hill and Gary Neal are the reason.
Dallas – Looked great the first 1/3 of the season. Let’s hope the injuries to Nowitzki, Butler and Marion aren’t serious or they could fall in the standings real quickly.
LA Lakers – They’ve looked really mediocre for the last few weeks. Should Laker fans be worried? No. No they shouldn’t.
Utah – Injury prone players Jefferson and Kirilenko have not been hurt this season which is why they are sitting in 4th place right now. I’d be surprised if their health lasts for the remaining 50 games.
Oklahoma City – Impossible to live up to the inflated expectations they faced coming into this season, but I wouldn’t consider this season a disappointment. They are 1game out of the 3rd seed and Westbrook is playing at an all-star level.
Denver – 19-13 despite injuries to Andersen and Martin and constant Melo trade rumors. It looks like Melo is definitely leaving, so why prolong the inevitable?
New Orleans – 9-13 after that impressive 11-1 start with Houston gaining ground real fast. Hornets fans should be worried.
Portland – Another injury plagued season in Portland. Oden is out for the season, and Roy is looking more and more like his career is close to being over. Despite these major setbacks they will still compete for the final playoff spot in the West.
Houston – Yao got his annual injury. Don’t know how anyone was surprised by that at this point. The Brooks injury was a more significant setback, but Landry filled in well and the team is fairly healthy and playing well now. Look for them to move into the top 8 real soon.
Phoenix – Poor Steve Nash. Horrible offseason moves, some injuries, and some really poor play from the same guys that led the Suns strong bench last season have the Suns at 14-17 and looking like a lottery team right now.
Memphis – Good enough to just miss the playoffs. Again.
Golden State – They don’t get many wins but their no defense approach make them a lot of fun to watch.
LA Clippers – After a 5-18 start they are 5-5 in the last 10. Baron Davis looks more interested despite being heckled by Donald Sternling and Blake Griffin looks awesome.
Minnesota – Another fun to watch bad team. Love has been playing out of his mind. Beasley, Webster, Ridnour and even Darko Milicic have all had moments of brilliance this season.
Sacramento – Cousins has an attitude problem? No one saw that coming. Except everyone. Not much else to say about the worst team in the league.
Make sure you guys check Jay out on The Brink of Sanity and also give a listen to the New York Knicks podcast.
5 comments
GG says:
Jan 3, 2011
Nice job Jay.
As a Warriors fan, they pain me to watch them. It’s the same story since 1994. Undisciplined, no offensive sets, and defensively lackluster.
They’ve had a few really good players come through and those players like Monta Ellis have saved them from being the Clippers.
And Baron’s no look alley-oop to Griffin the other day was awesome.
blerd says:
Jan 3, 2011
The Clips have the makings of something man. I just think they’re cursed. If you believe in that kinda stuff.
GG says:
Jan 4, 2011
I don’t think they’ll be much until Sterling lets them go, which isn’t happening soon. They seem to have pieces, then the pieces don’t work. They seem to have chemistry, then it blows up and they have to sell off players.
And they have all these high draft picks and none of them seem to turn out. A lot of that can be excused to some sort of curse, if you’re into that. I’d say horrendous management, terrible coaching hires, and awful draft picks would be a better argument.
Jay says:
Jan 4, 2011
Thanks GG.
Agreed re: Clippers. The management is a joke. Heckling aside there have been terrible draft picks, bad trades, horrible coaching and a poor atmosphere in general.
I really thought Golden State was going to be pretty decent this year. They got derailed once Lee got injured and he hasn’t been the same since. Elbow still seems to be bothering him.
GG says:
Jan 4, 2011
I think the idea of Lee is a good one. He’s hard working, plays aggressively, but in the end, he’s the kind of player who is always exposed in the all offense, no defense system the Warriors have.
I’m sure if you put him next to a decent big man and didn’t have guards who give up the middle to penetration all the time, he probably wouldn’t be exposed defensively as much as he is.
I think you can have guys like Lee on your team if he fits with opposite minded players. He’s obviously an offense-minded player, but isn’t athletic enough to stay with the top 4s and without help from a center, they just give up points so easily.
I think they’re going to regret that contract before it’s all said and done.