I’m excited. Aren’t you excited? Because if you’re not excited, you’re probably not that devoted of an NBA fan, no exceptions about it. It’s typical to be thrilled by another re-up of professional basketball, to anticipate another 2460 games and four playoff rounds of supreme athletic exhibition and titillating drama. But this year is special. Due to the circus that occurred in the offseason, we are heading into the most anticipated NBA season, possibly of all time. Call me obsessed, but ever since the mercurial Ron Artest hit the clutch three in Game 7 of last season’s championship series, I’ve been frantically waiting for this Tuesday’s opening tip.
Now it’s among us. And I am fucking stoked.
The beautiful thing about The Association is that it’s never short of compelling characters. There are 30 interesting storylines in this post worthy of analysis and contemplation, but it could’ve easily been expanded into a list of a hundred. I’ll try to control my ambitiousness, and stick with a list of 30 enthralling personalities.
#30: Anthony Randolph, New York Knicks
Randolph is like a highly regarded indie rock band. To the eyes of those who “know better”, he’s an acrobatic gazelle capable of blocking a shot on the defensive end, dribbling down the court, and throwing down a crushing dunk, all in one amazing sequence. But as a result of former coach Don Nelson’s outdated policies, he never received any minutes, and the greater majority didn’t even know he existed in Golden State. Being traded to New York was like acquiring a musical guest spot in SNL. He’ll get more exposure playing in the Meccah of basketball, and thanks to Mike D’Antoni’s seven-seconds-or-less offensive philosophy, he now has freedom to be more inventive. Maybe he can develop into the refined player many are wishing he could be.
#29: Evan Turner, Philadelphia 76ers
Turner’s collegiate résumé is inspirational: 20.4 PPG, 9.2 RPG, and 6.0 APG in his Junior year in Ohio State, First-Team All American, 2010 National Player of the Year, Big Ten Tournament MVP. His qualifications are impressive enough for the Sixers to select him 2nd overall in last summer’s draft. Although, precedents have shown that success as an amateur doesn’t always translate well to the pros. His preseason numbers have been pedestrian, and there are rumors that his work ethic at practice has been frustrating. Obviously, hall-of-fame careers aren’t judged by preseason production, but his start in the NBA has the makings of a draft bust.
#28: Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks
Once upon a time, Nowitzki was considered a frightening offensive armament. He’s the 2007 MVP. His team, Dallas, is a permanent fixture on the post-season. He scores 26 points on the regular, executing with immaculate shooting percentages. Sadly, we are in the presence of Dirk’s waning years, and he still has no championship ring to justify his fabulous accomplishments. Add to that, the next Dirk Nowitzki has already arrived—and already eclipsed him—in the form of Kevin Durant (not European, by the way). By signing an extension in the offseason, he chooses to stay loyal to the Mavericks rather than playing for a team with abetter chance to win jewelry; a decision he may soon regret.
#27: Allen Iverson, Lost in Turkey
Sure this doesn’t count because he won’t be in the NBA anymore. But next to MJ, Iverson is probably my second favorite player ever, so I felt compelled to say something. He’s a fearless competitor, a bewildering athlete, a stylistic icon, and a shining beacon of authenticity in today’s muzzled NBA. That’s why it’s heartbreaking to hear him consider playing in Turkey to end his career. Iverson playing in Europe is like Dirk Diggler in the church parking lot in Boogie Nights, a depressing end to an excellent career. If only he can hold his ego in check long enough to realize that he can still be an effective contributor if he accepts a diminished role. As a sixth man, he may be a final piece in a championship puzzle.
#26: Ron Artest, Los Angeles Lakers
Like I said before somewhere, Ron Artest is bliss. When he captured that elusive first title last June, he was so engulfed by euphoria that he became a rambling mess. When the Lakers became champs, he represented exactly our reaction if our boyhood dream of sinking a championship-clinching three came true. Today, Ron-Ron is an athlete to root for, which is hard to believe if you’re familiar with the
melee that happened in Detroit in 2004. The truth about it though is that Artest hadn’t transformed much—he still balls like a bomb with a short fuse, plays like a teenager past curfew—but he is redeemed suddenly, all because we saw ourselves in him. What does he have in store for an encore?
#25: Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
The best way to describe Westbrook when he was nothing more but a rookie is that he’s a player without a position: he had the size and the ball-handling skills of a point guard, but he has the shoot-first mentality of a shooting guard. People viewed this as a sign of instability that endangers not only him but also the players on the court with him. But we’ve seen him grow alongside the blooming superstar Kevin Durant, proving quite well that they can coexist on the court. He’s not really the Pippen to Durant’s Jordan—to begin with, Durant and MJ don’t really share any similarities style-wise—he’s more like the Paul Kariya to Durant’s Teemu Selanne. If you watched Westbrook in last September’s World Championships, he was second best in a team full of guaranteed all-stars. As a Thunder fan, I’m very optimistic heading into this season.
#24: DeMarcus Cousins, Sacramento Kings
You can pull out all the advanced metrics and all the projection analyses and you wouldn’t be able to predict DeMarcus Cousins’ career path. The newcomer has been stigmatized as a problem child for as long as he can remember, and players with attitude like him have always been considered cancerous to an organization. With all that said, no one is denying his potential. He could be our generation’s Moses Malone, a dominating force with mystifying awareness under the basket. If he can only channel that attitude and rage towards the other team, use it to fuel a desire to annihilate his opponents, then he can be a player with tremendous value. I guess we’ll see come this season.
#23: Mikhail Prokhorov, New Jersey Nets
When this Russian billionaire purchased the Nets, he arrived with so much fanfare. He had the whole 60 Minutes
segment where he proudly declared that he has misplaced a $45 million yacht; ties to the Russian underworld surfaced; he mentioned that he plans to make a splash on the free market pool; he bragged how he’s going to turn dedicated Knicks fans into loyal followers of the Nets; he told reporters that in Russia, the ball shoots you. And after all that, the biggest player he wrangled in is Troy Murphy? At least make a play for Russian export Andrei Kirilenko, right?
#22: David Lee, Golden State Warriors
David Lee’s union with the Golden State Warriors is kismet. Certain players are just meant to play for certain teams. Even though coach Don Nelson is long gone, the spirit of Nellie Ball is alive and well, and Lee is born to play that style of basketball. He’s an undersized power forward that refuses to play defense, but he’s a tenacious rebounder, he can run the floor, and he can knock down outside shots. If high-scoring fast-paced basketball is your cup of tea, then there is no better team to root for than David Lee’s new squad. A team consisting of him, Monta Ellis, and Stephen Curry can overheat scoreboards.
#21: Greg Oden, Portland Trail Blazers
Poor Greg Oden, the most tragic figure in recent NBA history. Once a reliable bet to surround a franchise with, a first overall pick in 2007, and now he’s a denizen in the injured reserve list. Last season, after playing only 21 games due to a micro-fracture on his right knee, his only highlight were naked camwhore pictures of himself that leaked all over the Internet (which, by the way, substantiated the stereotype about African-Americans
and seven-footers). Now he’s heading into the 2010 season dealing with intense scrutiny, even more so because Kevin Durant, the player picked second in Oden’s draft, is ripping it in OKC. He’s hasn’t completely healed yet, but if he can deal with his fragility when he returns, he can still salvage this catastrophic NBA career. At least,
he believes he can.
#20: Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns
In the last ten years or so, Steve Nash has won every time he was asked to lead a team, and he accomplished that task by making the game easier for his colleagues. He has the ability to distribute the ball to teammates who have the best chance of scoring, to dictate the pace that would best suit the lineup he’s in with, and to look for his own shots when it’s his time to take over. He’s such a brilliant game manager that he was awarded two consecutive MVP’s for his efforts. But throughout his career, he has never led a team as convoluted as this, a roster consisting of eight small forwards too slow to play the 2 and too small to play the 4. Even a fan like me thinks that he has an impossible mission ahead of him. At the same time, if anyone can do it, he can.
#19: Joe Johnson, Atlanta Hawks
I remember when some of the biggest NBA fans I know weren’t even aware that Joe Johnson existed. He’s always been an “on paper” basketball player, a shooting guard with all-around skills and with no noticeable flaws but one that lacks ineffable characteristic that separates him from role players. Everyone loves to talk about how underrated he is, and he became overrated as a result. It’s funny that after all the hype that surrounded last summer’s free agency market, the player that received the biggest contract is one that got his team swept in the second round of last season’s playoffs. Afterwards, people have criticized his ludicrous $124-million contract so much that they have forgetten that he can consistently put up impressive numbers. All the hate-o-rade and extra attention may be the push he needs to get his team over the hump.
#18: Yao Ming, Houston Rockets
Whenever Yao Ming suited up for the Rockets, he had been outstanding, like an upgrade of Rik Smits or a slim Arvydas Sabonis. He might be the best player taller than 7’3” to ever play the game. Unfortunately, he’s had bad luck with injuries throughout his career, and it’s sad to think they’ve prevented him from attaining his true potential. Knowing full well that he has to represent an entire race, the heavy burden he carries every night may be weakening him physically. But now, after a year’s rest, it’s assumed that he’s fully recovered after surgery on his broken foot. By letting the Rockets limit his minutes, he may be approaching the upcoming season with less pressure on himself, trying to see if less is more when it comes to the greatest Asian basketball player of all time
#17: Chris Paul, New Orleans Hornets
Watching Chris Paul play is such a delight because it looks like an instructional video on how to play the point guard position. He has insane vision, seeing every passing lane available (and foreseeing passing lanes that
will be available). Also at 6’0”, he’s like a ferocious competitor, seemingly possessing a Napoleon complex when he’s on the court. Regrettably, we didn’t get to watch Chris Paul play that much last season due to a knee injury that caused him to miss 37 games. When he showed up in training camp, he saw an inadequate team that missed the playoffs last year, clumsily assembled by a cheap front office. And because of that competitive nature that made him great, he angrily demanded a trade to a contender. Apparently, he’s been appeased, but I’m betting one sign of turmoil and all these trade petitions will resurface. Does he remain a Hornet for the entire season?
#16: Rajon Rondo, Boston Celtics
Rondo is my favorite basketball player right now because he’s an old soul. He excels in the NBA by bringing back forgotten forms of art like side steps, ball fakes, and shot english. He’s exciting because of his intrepid dismissal of the fundamentals. Everyone points to his unreliable jump shot as a weakness, but he compensates by having unearthly athleticism and creativity, defying logic by actually tallying a high field goal percentage. These idiosyncrasies, however, are reasons why people think he’s unfit to play in international tournaments. Zone defenses try to expose his lack of midrange game (really, it’s a refusal to have a midrange game), which is why he got cut from Team USA last September. I’m anticipating how he reacts to the rejection because Rondo with a chip on his shoulder is a dangerous specimen.
#15: Joakim Noah, Chicago Bulls
If you’re going to compare Joakim Noah with Denver’s Carmelo Anthony, it’s not a close race. Carmelo is a franchise player (more on him later) and Noah, even at his most effective, can only be the second best player on whatever team he’s in. So if you’re the Bulls, why refuse to part with Noah if you’re getting a proven scorer like Carmelo in return? It’s simple, really. Noah’s the best type of role player. He hustles, sets screens, rebounds, block shots, he’s like the Ford Prefect to leading scorer Derrick Rose’s Arthur Dent. More importantly, Noah’s skills complement this roster, whereas Melo with Rose would be like having two entrées for dinner.
#14: Dwyane Wade, Miami Heat
Lost in all the player movement hoopla that happened last summer was how shrewd Wade was. He had the opportunity to switch teams, just like what his best friends did, but he opted to stay in Miami instead. The free agents he recruited to come over, LeBron and Chris Bosh, inherited backlash by stabbing their old teams in the back; Wade came out of all this smelling like a rose. Add to that, there’s not really any pressure on him to win a championship—at least not as huge as the stress LeBron is experiencing—because he already won one on his own. He’s like an evil genius, really.
#13: Blake Griffin, Los Angeles Clippers
Before last season started, there was an enormous hype surrounding newly drafted Blake Griffin. We don't often get a freakish athlete with a terrifying build that plays like how a middle linebacker would play basketball. He has every single attribute to become one of the best power forwards today. The problem is he was drafted by the Clippers, a vortex that sucks the potential of promising young players. It came to no surprise that Griffin was injured for the season even before suiting up for his first regular season game. Now he’s healthy, and he’s the favorite to win the Rookie of the Year Award, that is if the curse of Clippers doesn’t get him again.
#12: Mo Williams, Cleveland Cavaliers
Mo Williams, let your tears flow. Let them water your soul. Lamartine once said, “sometimes, when one person is missing, the whole world seems depopulated.” But don’t let heartbreak crush your world, Mo. Do not consider retirement just because LeBron left you. Bless him and let him go. Allow yourself a decent closure to the situation. Reach back to memories of alley-oops, fist bumps, and pre-rehearsed player introductions in order to get past your anger. You know what would ease the pain? Leading your forsaken Cavaliers to a playoff spot. You’re a leader now, Mo. You have the shooting touch to elevate your status in the league. And when you play with him in the All-Star game, show him how good you’re doing without him. Life can continue in a positive direction if we are truly willing for it to do so. Life can be good again.
#11: David Kahn, Minnesota Timberwolves
We all have aspirations of running our own franchise. It’s why we participate in fantasy leagues, play franchise modes in EA Sports games, and complain when a general manager makes an irresponsible move. David Kahn had similar aspirations too; he was just a former sportswriter with a law degree that was brought in, for some reason, by the Timberwolves organization to run the team. But ever since he was hired, everyone had criticized his decisions. Well, look at his moves: he drafted four point guards in 2009 draft; he alienated Spaniard Ricky Rubio, who was the only one they drafted that had the possibility of becoming an all-star, to the point where he didn’t even want to leave Europe; he gave ongoing joke Darko Milicic a $20 million contract, seemingly for good behaviour; he traded Al Jefferson, their franchise player last year, to Utah for practically nothing. It just goes to show that not everyone is fit to do a job, even you dream really hard.
#10: Chris Bosh, Miami Heat
Toronto is a major city; it has a population of 2.5 million, it’s one of the top financial centers in the world, and it’s rated as one of the world’s most livable cities. But young American kids who wanted to play basketball didn’t dream of playing in Canada’s largest city some day. That’s why Chris Bosh’s move to Miami is defensible. When he was a Raptor, he did everything in his power to help elevate the franchise, but the front office can’t lure first-rate free agents to play with him. Moreover, it’s Miami, a tropical paradise and party central for the luxurious. And he’s going to play with two of his best friends who happen to be two of the best players in the world. What does Toronto have? A Holt Renfrew?
#09: John Wall, Washington Wizards
It’s difficult to put into words how brilliant John Wall is. He is like a more selfish Jason Kidd on rollerblades. He is a more streamlined, more efficient Derrick Rose. He is like LeBron if he wasn’t born on an alien planet. His comparisons work the same way it made sense that Wade, when he won his championship, was the next Jordan, even though everyone expected his reincarnation to be 6’6” and 215 lbs. He jumps passing lanes like a puma pouncing on a prey. No rookie has ever arrived in the league with a dance. Did I forget to mention that he’s the fastest player in the NBA? His raw talent and lavish skill set gives him the ability to demolish our imaginations.
#08: Amar’e Stoudemire, New York Knicks
The Knicks cleared all of this cap room last season, expecting LeBron, Wade, Bosh, or even Joe Johnson to come over, and all they got was Amare Stoudemire? Yes, Amare’s no stiff; he’s a magniloquent presence around the rim, someone who can explode vertically over someone from a dead stop. Furthermore, we know he can play in coach Mike D’Antoni’s system, having played for him in Phoenix. It’s just that I don’t think he’s worth a $100 million at this point of his career, and you’re not going to hoist a championship trophy with him as your main man. You also have to factor in the fact that he’s not playing pick-n-rolls with Steve Nash anymore. Knicks fans should be excited that they improved from last year, but they're going to wish at some point in the season that LeBron, Wade, Bosh, or even Joe Johnson is playing for New York.
#07: Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers
If Kobe really wants to become the new Michael Jordan, he has to prove everyone wrong. Jordan is pathologically competitive; he used the littlest slight to motivate himself. If Kobe wants to be like Mike, he won’t let this Miami super friends own the league until it’s time for him to retire. He’s going to eliminate Kevin Durant’s Thunder in the playoffs, proving once and for all that the kid has a long way to go to surpass him. He’ll tell Carmelo and Chris Paul that it’s irrelevant whom they play with; they’ll lose all the same. He will keep asking Shaq how his ass taste. Kobe has five rings after last season, but if he wants to match Jordan’s six, then he needs to use all of this disrespect and get shit done.
#06: Gilbert Arenas, Washington Wizards
First of all, I agree that bringing a gun collection, that included a gold-plated desert eagle, into an NBA locker room is wrong. I also understand why he got in trouble for finger guns; the NBA has an image to protect after all. However, it’s refreshing to see someone have an I-don’t-give-a-fuck approach to a public scandal instead of going through the charade of a public apology, even though it’s the wrong thing to do. To begin the 2010 season, it seems like he’s in full compliance now: he has announced that the only time you'll see him smile is on court; he changed his number from No. 0 to No. 9 to symbolize a new beginning, abolishing the nickname Agent Zero in the process (sidebar: how come the NBA is the only league to embrace the No. 0?); and he has promised he’s going to try to coexist with rookie sensation John Wall. I don’t know how I feel about a subdued Gilbert because the reason why I loved him is due to his nutty take on the underdog story.
#05: Shaquille O’Neal, Boston Celtics
Shaq is sort of emerging as a person who is having trouble letting go of his celebrity status. He’s absolutely jumped the shark as a basketball player. Having said that, he has been written off so many times that it’s not surprising anymore when he makes critics eat their words. I don’t see his new assignment as the Celtics starting center as a desperate attempt to delay retirement, and I thought his signing actually made sense. Their regular starting center, Kendrick Perkins, isn’t expected to return until January, and if you watched the NBA finals last summer, the Celtics lost to the Lakers due to their lack of size. If there’s anything Shaq brings to the table, it’s that. He also has a personal vendetta against Kobe Bryant of the Lakers and Dwight Howard of the Magic, two teams they’ll have to face in the playoffs on their journey to prominence. If you get Shaq motivated for those playoff series at least, then we may see a rematch of last year’s season finale, but with an alternate ending.
#04: Dwight Howard, Orlando Magic
With all the hysteria surrounding the Heat, the Lakers, and the Celtics, fans have forgotten that the Magic had reached the Eastern Finals the last two years. Well, the lack of attention is hurting Dwight Howard’s feelings, which might be beneficial to Orlando. It looks like he’s taking basketball seriously, maybe for the first time ever. Howard sought tutelage from Hall-of-Fame center Hakeem Olajuwon, giving himself a more eloquent vocabulary of
post moves. Teaching Howard the dream shake is like handing Spike Jonze a blank check to make a movie. He is a man on a mission, determined to prove naysayers wrong.
#03: Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
It’s not a secret anymore that Kevin Durant is all kinds of wonderful. I admit that the competition was kind of a joke, since no country had their full arsenal of NBA Stars; but if you witnessed what he did in the World Championships last September, if you saw him play the role of king of the pride, you can’t deny that he’s already one of the best in the NBA at age 22. With all that said, it’s not your opinion that matters. The important thing about being the best player in Team USA was that he was clearly recognized now as The Man by his peers, seeing veterans like Chauncey Billups and Lamar Odom defer to him. Now that everyone believes him to be in the same tier as Kobe and LeBron, he has to prove it on an NBA court, which means he has to improve upon last season’s first-round exit.
#02: Carmelo Anthony, Denver Nuggets?
One of the downsides of the salary cap is that the players have a ton of leverage in negotiations. If a player is not enjoying his current situation, they can ask for a trade. When the team doesn’t acquiesce, the player can shut himself down until they do. Either trade the player or he sulks until he becomes a free agent, which is something they want to avoid because they get nothing in exchange. For that reason, there’s no question that the Denver Nuggets should trade Carmelo. Melo is an elegant scorer, a forward with advanced offensive footwork that allows him to get perfect positioning and dependably get buckets when his outside shooting is failing. Nevertheless, the super team era of the NBA made him realize that he has substandard accomplices in Denver. No matter how tremendous his talents are, he’s no use to the Nuggets if he doesn’t want to be there.
#01: LeBron James, Miami Heat
What would you do? I guess can just copy verbatim a transcript of LeBron’s fabulous and highly rhetorical
Nike commercial in order for you to understand the uproar The Decision had caused in the league. In today’s world, it’s not enough to be great; a player has to want to be great (I actually don’t know if yesterday’s world had that same philosophy). In the eyes of many, he refused to fulfill the prophecy that he would be the next greatest of all time by signing with the Heat. Greatest of all time doesn’t pack up and play with their competition. In addition, by aligning himself with scorers like Wade and Bosh, he can only be the greatest facilitator of all time. There’s nothing wrong with that—Magic Johnson currently holds the title—but no one perceives these types of players as dominant, or great even. It's the byproduct of Jordan basketball, where we want to see supremacy exhibited in the form of 30-point games. What would LeBron do as a response to those who have called him out? A championship would shut everyone up.
Heat vs. Lakers in six games.
Kevin Durant is the MVP
Dwight Howard is the Defensive Player of the Year
Blake Griffin is the Rookie of the Year
Scott Brooks of the Oklahoma City Thunder is the Coach of the Year
Russell Westbrook is Most Improved Player of the Year
Lamar Odom of the Los Angeles Lakers is the Sixth Man of the Year
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