Nate’s 9
My
thoughts on the beginning of the NBA season so far…
#9. The Timberwolves have proved me wrong. I thought signing Kevin Martin instead of OJ
Mayo would be the absolute wrong thing to do.
Early signs put to Martin being a steal for the Timberwolves. Which now begs the question: why did the
Wolves draft Shabazz Muhammad?
#8. Indiana is real, and I may have been one of the few that wouldn't have been surprised if they had beaten Miami to get to the
finals. They have great depth, a bona
fide superstar in Paul George, and believe they can win every night. While I may have said that Chicago is likely
Miami’s greatest challenger come playoff time, the Pacers are right in the mix.
#7. The Wizards should start thinking about trading John
Wall. For whatever reason, he hasn't hit
the level that a Chris Paul and a Kyrie Irving have in his first few seasons in
Washington. Whatever the problem, his
value remains high, and a team like the Lakers or Houston could be very
interested. I know there is still
another year on the deal, but maybe they try and get a number of first round
picks and build around Beal and Porter instead.
#6. Speaking of the L.A. Lakers, it might be time to start thinking
about the future. The trade for Howard
didn’t come through the way they planned, but that might not be a bad
thing. If the Lakers can somehow get
into the lottery, the future may not be that far away.
#5. I thought Derrick Rose would be fantastic. Not to say that I haven’t been impressed with
his performance up to date, but he has looked a little rusty in a number of
games already this season. Chicago does
have the talent to let him come back at his own pace, but to reach the top, he
needs to match the expectations I had for him.
#4. James Harden is still a beast, but Houston isn’t playing
through him like I thought they would. I
have only seen the Rockets twice, but it appears that they want to win inside
the post rather than the perimeter. I
like the pairing of Howard and Asik though, so their thinking may benefit this
season.
#3. Miami will get there when it matters. I know it seems like they have started rather
slow, but as long as they don’t lose any of the big 3 to a significant injury,
they can win on any court at any time.
The number 1 seed isn’t necessary for the Miami Heat to return to the
finals for the 4th consecutive season.
#2. Golden State could lock up the #1 seed in the western
conference. After years of underachieving
and continuously missing on their top draft picks, these last 3 seasons have
reaped the benefits of getting high draft choices correct. They are one of the most difficult teams in
the league to defend, and can score from just about anywhere on the floor. My only concern for them is health; Harrison Barnes
and Steph Curry have already missed games to injury. If they can win 58+, they could lock up that
#1 spot in the competitive west.
#1. The Clippers are not my favorite team this season. I am
a huge fan of both Chris Paul and Doc Rivers, but putting these two together
was an intriguing, yet unrealistic idea.
It’s a move that I don’t think is going to pan out because of Rivers’
valuation on the defensive side of the ball.
The Boston team was perfect for Rivers to do battle with, because they
knew that teams couldn't score on them in crunch time. I still don’t know where the Clippers get
their last shot from, and I fear they won’t be able to hold opponents to the
80-90 range. It might make for a
difficult season.
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