Sorry I didn’t do a season preview for the NBA. That’s how crazy this football season has been. For those that have been following basketball, scoring has been at a record pace. That’s probably because no one cares about defense in the regular season excluding a few teams. It will drive any old school fan crazy. What are the headlines this time around in the East?
Atlanta Hawks (Frozen Abilities): Even with the all in move for Dejounte Murray, Atlanta must deal with the injury bug again consuming them whole. Both John Collins and Clint Capela like last year have been in and out of the lineup. Trae Young can only do so much but he’s also dealt with injuries. Which sucks since he’s putting up career numbers. For those that think Nate McMillan is a bad coach, here’s my counterpoint. Most of this isn’t his fault. (The same thing happened to him in Indiana) The Basketball Gods have been cruel to the Hawks. Although if there is any reason for optimism it’s that they usually play their best ball in the 2nd Half of the season. That’s why I still must take them seriously as a dark horse contender. Their deep run in 2021 is evidence.
Boston Celtics (The Quick Fix to Perfection): If you were to ask any basketball fan back in October about the Celtics this season, they would have said this team is going nowhere now that Ime Udoka was suspended. Here’s what they misunderstood. Boston got better! As much as the pundits are hailing Joe Mazzulla they tend to forget that he runs the same system that Brad Stevens did. The results have been outstanding. Jayson Tatum is putting up MVP numbers, Jaylen Brown is not far behind, and with both Marcus Smart and Robert Williams back to full strength their defense is still in the Top 5. Just like their TD Garden brothers in the Bruins, this team is a well oiled machine that crushes almost everyone in its path. However there have been some questions about them recently. It’s mostly due to the fact that they enjoy playing down to competition. When they’re on, they have the potential to win it all. It’s just to avoid those traps in a 7 game series. With Tatum and Brown being the gamers that they are I think they can overcome that.
Brooklyn Nets (How Are You Not Dead?): Who knew that firing Steve Nash and preventing Marks and Sedra from bringing back Ime Udoka were the sparks this franchise needed? Crazy I know. Yes they had a win streak mostly thanks to an easy schedule, and majority of them being at home. But considering where this team was in the summer it’s needed. Both Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are carrying this team kicking and screaming towards a Top 4. (KD may be injured again, but they’re still producing) It also helps that both Nic Claxton and Royce O’Neale have produced career seasons. And this is despite Joe Harris and Ben Simmons being madly inconsistent. My biggest question for Brooklyn is simple. How good is Jacque Vaughn once teams have film on his tendencies? We asked the same question about Nash a couple of years ago and he ended up getting exposed. The same applies here. Now how’s their unlikable fanbase doing? (Olivier Sedra, Nets fans make conspiracies about Giannis being Captain for the All Star Game and not KD.) HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! This is why Bandwagon World is despised by the rest of the Eastern Conference in particular Milwaukee and Boston. Never change boys!
Charlotte Hornets (Really?): Welcome Back to Hell! It may have been a few years where that wasn’t the case but like most things in that city, the Hornets just happen to be uninspiring to the public. Think about this. In a year that has been dominated by insane individual performances the team that has been victimized the most defensively is Charlotte. They are not only on pace to break the record for most 40 point games given up, THEY ARE GOING TO SHATTER IT! Here’s what frustrates me. Their defense is that bad, but for some weird reason they held Giannis to 9 points and scored 51 points in the 1st Quarter in the same game. A team with LaMelo Ball and some good pieces around him is considered the team with the lowest efficiency in the league. I wonder what caused this? BOOM! (Miles Bridges arrested on eve of Free Agency) If that’s not typical Jordan luck I don’t know what is? MJ has tried everything he can to build a winner, yet the Gods have trolled him. At this point they better start tanking for Victor Wembanyama because that’s the position that they’ve struggled to develop for years. And it will for sure make LaMelo’s job that much easier. Also why did they rehire Steve Clifford? DID THEY NOT SEE HOW BAD HE WAS AT THE END OF HIS TIME IN ORLANDO! Why do they never learn?
Chicago Bulls (Consistency Nowhere to be Found): The Bulls are a strange team. It’s hard to figure out which inneration shows up on a nightly basis. Are you the team that gets blown out by bad teams? Are you the crew that somehow defeats top heavy teams at will? Are you trying to make a push for another playoff spot? Or are you willing to sell pieces at the deadline and look towards the future. I don’t honestly know anymore. Yes they still have DeMar DeRozan, Zach Lavine dragging this team kicking and screaming. The real flaw they are facing is not coaching, but structure. Many of the flaws that got exposed last postseason have been recurring. Now legit options off the bench, Alex Caruso and Lonzo Ball being out long term, Patrick Williams development being a roller coaster, and blaming Grayson Allen for being dirty instead of blaming no one but themselves. We don’t know which team is going to come out of that Jack-in-a-Box. That’s gotta be frustrating if you are in Chicagoland. Can they fix them in time to make a push, or will Jerry Reinsdorf go hungry yet again? It’s a tough choice to make.
Cleveland Cavaliers (Spida Attack): The Cavs are where I thought they would be at the start of the season. A dark horse contender that’s in a dog fight for home court advantage in the 1st Round. Thats good on the surface. Donovan Mitchell has played up to the massive expectations placed upon him. Darius Garland and Evan Mobley are emerging pieces that must be taken seriously. The rest of the pieces they got in the Harden Trade like Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert are also good pieces. There is one flaw that has stood out. No depth. Other than LeVert and Kevin Love they have had trouble scoring points off the bench. The only way they can make a serious push at a deep playoff run is if the Starting 5 goes into God Mode and I don’t know if they can despite the talent on display. Although they are getting Ricky Rubio back from a torn ACL last year. That should boost their options off the bench if he returns to form. My belief is that Cleveland may be a year or two away from being top contenders. They have made good progress. I’ll give them that.
Detroit Pistons (Mah Punishments): Leave it to the Pistons to take a promising core and push back their development thanks to another tank year full of bad play and the front office trying to type up their rough draft towards the essay. The reasoning is due to the fact that they, like Charlotte, are on pace to give up the most points in a season. It also doesn’t help that Cade Cunningham has been injured, but even if the Cade Train was healthy Detroit would still be in the basement. Saddiq Bey has been shaky all season defensively, Bojan Bogdonovic is the only reason why they are even watchable, and management still thinks Dwayne Casey is doing a good job. They’ve still got a long way, and I don’t trust Troy Weaver to get them out of it. I know it has gotten a bit better since he became the GM, but they need a spark to retool the franchise. To be fair they may be a Wembanyama or Scoot Henderson type player away from getting out of this mess. That is if they develop them properly.
Indiana Pacers (The Future Came Early): If there is any team in the East that should be doing the exact opposite of what I say that would be the Indiana Pacers. This is a team led by a sudden surge of youth somehow discovering their abilities ahead of schedule. Tyrese Haliburton from an insiders logical explanation based on his performance this season has become the next face of the franchise. Around him is Buddy Hield, Myles Turner, and that Bennedict Mathurin guy who has definitely backed up his high rookie expectations he put on himself on Draft Day. Even then I must put everything on hold. The injury bug has hit them and it cost them Haliburton and TJ McConnell. This team went from the feel good story of the league to being at a crossroads in terms of what they should do going forward. I feel like once their cornerstone returns, they will try and make a push towards the play-in round. What’s their reward? Paying Myles Turner $30M a year for the next two seasons. That’s a steep contract.
Miami Heat (Took You Long Enough): It was looking a bit off early on. But as expected the Heat rattled off a win streak to get back in the race for the #1 seed. The injury bug did hit them early on but then Duncan Robinson needing finger surgery it hasn’t been a factor like it was in the playoffs last year. Jimmy Butler is still putting up solid numbers as is Bam Adebayo. The same can be said about Tyler Herro who is also producing in bunches. The sudden surge by Gabe Vincent gives Miami another weapon to work with. Once again out of all the contenders in the East, it’s these guys who get overlooked the most. Probably because they don’t have a megastar but having a roster with no true weaknesses, and excellent coaching is always a good thing to have. If I’m the big boys in the conference I would be careful about facing these guys in an early playoff series. We did say this in 2021, and they got swept by a certain team that went on to win it all. I wonder who that is?
Milwaukee Bucks (“The Bad Guys” -Internet Trolls): Can we sit back and be amazed at this Bucks season? Yes there are plenty of people outside of MKE that hate them, yes it sucks for them believing that only big market teams with superstars can win in this league but you have to understand how they’ve done this. Giannis Antetokounmpo was openly criticized by Andre Iguodala, and Gilbert Arenas during the offseason, their media team alumni was called out due to their comments over the Deshaun Watson and Ime Udoka situations on National TV (We are not here to further blame women), they’ve dealt with a massive amount of injuries, they have the older roster in the league, and Khris Middleton’s rehab was much worse than expected. What was the Bucks response to all this negative publicity? 9 straight wins to open the season (their best start in franchise history) thanks to rallying behind the idea that everyone is out to get them. Despite everything that’s hit them they’ve maintained their usually consistent success. Brook Lopez has been perhaps the most consistent player not named the Greek Freak. Lopez, Giannis, Grayson Allen and Jrue Holiday have been in the Top 10 or on the outside looking in for the Defensive Player of the Year voting since the start of the year. Bobby Portis has been a Double-Double machine, and the Joe Ingles signing has worked out so far. I know they’re in the Bottom 10 in PPG but that’s because they haven’t had their full lineup on the court at the same time. That number is expected to change as the season goes on. The good news for Milwaukee is that Middleton has returned from his serious knee injury. Although that’s not going to stop Jon Horst from big game hunting at the trade deadline. They are linked to Jae Crowder, but I’m not sure if they have the assets to pull it off. Although Mike Budenholzer has had his eyes on him for years. That means they are pulling it off aren’t they.
New York Knicks (Who Needs Donovan Mitchell?): After last year’s disaster, it appears that MSG is witnessing the type of squad we saw back in 2021. Solid youth, the key pieces returning to form, and a defense being near the top of the leaderboard. Jalen Brunson has been the big time acquisition the Knicks have desperately needed. His impact has been tremendous. Not only that but Julius Randle has returned to form, and RJ Barrett, repeat what I said about Randle. They are right in the mix of being a playoff contender and it’ll be interesting to see what they do at the deadline which is certainly an improvement from a year ago. There’s just one problem. No it’s not because of the recent skid they’ve been on, the Knicks overcame that against Boston. Here’s what it truly is. (DRAMATIC MUSIC) (Dolan doubles down on facial recognition tech at MSG) Of course. Even when they try to please their fans, Dolan must get in the way of everything. At least the team has tuned that out for the moment.
Orlando Magic (The UnMagical Kingdom): Nothing has gone right for the Magic once again. Despite their attempts to try and fix things quickly, it has mostly blown up in their faces. At least you get to see Paolo Banchero and his game changing skills on display nearly every game. (That is when he’s healthy) Other than that it’s been the same nonsense they’ve dealt with since Dwight Howard left. Lack of consistent scoring options, top draft picks having trouble developing, and hiring coaches who must endure the chaos. When Markelle Fultz is considered your 2nd best player, you’re in deep trouble. Here’s my question towards the front office. Why is John Hammond still the GM? How many Top 10 picks has this team squandered over the past six years. He is going down as one of the worst GMs of this generation even if he drafted Giannis a decade ago. He’s learned nothing from his time with the Bucks. Paolo I’d be careful because you may end up becoming the next Jabari Parker if Hammond is still around.
Philadelphia 76ers (The Capital of the Sports World): So it turns out that the 76ers overcame their brutal first month of the season and have become a top contender in the East again. Because as we all know, what Philly needed is another team with title ambitions. It also helps that Joel Embiid is performing as advertised despite getting snubbed out of a starting spot in the All Star Game. (Just use that as motivation for the playoffs and you’ll be ok) Tyrese Maxey was injured in November, but since he came back he too has been playing a high level of basketball. Just like last year the pressure will be on James Harden and Doc Rivers. So far that hasn’t caught up to them. The only mistake they made was the PJ Tucker contract. He’s been decent for them but paying $11.5M a year for a guy in his late 30s on the deadline is not a good idea. They’re still a good team all things considered but as I said the questions involving the Sixers must be answered in April and May. If they get Bradley Beal at the deadline the sports world is literally rigged for that city!
Toronto Raptors (Wake Up!): Despite the attempts to try and build off the moment from last year, the Raptors are dealing with their core going through the Sophomore Slump. The reason I say that is because they did bring the whole gang back from last year. Even with Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakum putting up their typical statline, it’s been a trying year for the rest of the team. Scottie Barnes has been dealing with injuries and his mid range shot taking a step back. OJ Anunoby is still a good defender, but on the offensive side like Barnes has been in a slump. It also doesn’t help that they have one of the worst point differentials in the league when their 2nd team is out there. Getting outscored by an average of 20.5 PPG yes you heard that right. The only reason I’m not burying Toronto is because of their coaching staff and the playoff experience that they have. That and Jurassic Park is why I can’t overlook them. I’ve made that mistake more than once.
Washington Wizards (Colorado Rockies of Basketball): This year has been the perfect representation of the Wizards. And that is doing just enough to keep having DC pay attention to them and putting up good crowds. Don’t let them fool you about the attendance numbers, Washington is in mediocrity once again. Don’t that hot start to the season confuse you. Would a team that isn’t trying make sure that Bradley Beal wasn’t leaving DC? Of course not, management believes that if he’s healthy they’ll make the playoffs. Here’s the problem. Even if Kristaps Porzingus has returned to 2018 form you guys are stuck in the middle of the East. It’s the harder conference of the two and you just traded one of your better players in Rui Hachimura to LA for a bunch of 2nd Round picks. You can have as many former Lakers on your roster it doesn’t mean they’re any good. Here’s what people forget to realize. Since Ernie Grunfeld left after 2019 the Wizards have had a worse record. I think ownership needs to be given a hard look at. The Monumental Sports Company for as much money as they make has not panned out at this point at owning a major sports franchise. There’s still time to change that but it better be sooner rather than later.
Bragging Rights Sports 