By Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson
I don’t think that I have ever been more excited for an upcoming NBA season as I am for the 2008-09 NBA season. This season definitely dovetails the dynamic excitement experienced last summer with the Olympics following the playoffs. The upcoming year will prove to be high octane competitive. Although I do not have the arduous task of being Mother Love like my colleague Andy Weise, in figuring out the Jigsaw puzzle cough…I mean the NBA Western Conference, I must admit the Eastern Conference is much more competitive as well. After all, an Eastern Conference team is the reigning NBA Champion. Without further ado, here’s the Scoop:
Chicago Bulls:
Key Additions: Derrick Rose
This team has some chemistry issues. The point guard position is cluttered and Larry Hughes is kind of his own man. Additionally, Ben Gordon is not necessarily the happiest camper in the world. Welcome to your first year of coaching Vinny Del Negro! Derrick Rose is a competitor and will fit in nicely with this squad. The Bulls are a young and exciting team. They will experience some growing pains.
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Key Additions: Mo Williams
The team has had both training camp and the summer time to gel. Wally World needs to have a great shooting year, and Mo Williams is a great second option for LeBron James. However, Mo Williams has never necessarily had to pass the ball to a superstar. I’m not concerned for the chemistry as much as I am concerned about the continuity offense that they run. I am a fan of a traditional point guard, although I find nothing wrong with a scoring one. I just hope that Williams will adjust his style to accommodate others. Additionally, I like the tandem of Ben Wallace and Zydrunas Ilgauskas, don’t sleep on them. This will be the year that the Cavaliers will go to the Finals and that LeBron will finally get his MVP award.
Detroit Pistons:
Key Additions: Kwame Brown, Coach Michael Curry
This team is basically the same group that lost to Boston in the Eastern Conference Finals, minus Coach Flip Saunders. Is that good or bad? Well, Rasheed will play motivated like always. My only question is whether the current roster will equate to a Championship contender. Joe Dumars spoke a lot at the beginning of the summer about trading players. None of those things came to fruition, at least not yet. The Pistons are still one of the top teams in the East, and they often play with a chip on their shoulder because they are overlooked often. This season is another of those years.
Indiana Pacers:
Key Addition: TJ Ford, Rasho Nesterovic
This team reminds me a lot of the Nets. There are lots of newcomers with an overhaul of veterans. Larry Bird is looking for new beginnings in Indy. Will this team win some games? They have TJ Ford now. Will he be healthy? Is Jamal Tinsley out? All these things and more on the next episode of “As The World Turns.â€
Milwaukee Bucks:
Key Additions: Luke Ridnour, Richard Jefferson, Malik Allen, Damon Jones, Coach Scott Skiles
I really really like this team. They compliment Michael Redd very well with their young core group and may do better than what most people may actually think. They have youth but are also just gushing with high basketball IQ. And it starts all the way from the coaching staff of Scott Skiles, Jim Boyland, Kelvin Sampson (save your “Mr. Telephone Man†and “can you hear he now?†comments he’s an NBA coach…no cell phone restrictions here) and company. Andrew Bogut is going to have a solid year, reminiscent of Chris Webber in his prime. And look out, the Buck does not stop there in Milwaukee.
Leave a Reply