NBA 2014-15

Hey basketball fans. The good news? The NBA is back and this season looks like it’s going to be interesting, fun and full of action. There are so many things worth following so we’ll list down a few here.

So where to start? We would have to go with “The Decision 2.” The King Lebron James is back in Cleveland after a stint with Miami and seeks to bring that NBA title to Cleveland for the first time. And in the same way he brought in Chris Bosh to Miami, Lebron has tagged along Kevin Love, Mike Miller, Shawn Marion and James Jones to team with the young star Kyrie Irving and Andersen Varejao. The Cavs have become title contenders overnight after spending the past years in the cellar. But just how good will they be? Another set of major moves in the East are Pau Gasol’s joining Chicago and Derrick Rose coming back from his injury. With Joakim Noah, the two make the Bulls already so much stronger than last season. Luol Deng “replaces” Lebron in Miami to join D-Wade and Chris Bosh, and although it may not look like one-for-one replacement, some are saying that this makes the Heat stable. I feel for the Heat with Lebron leaving for Cleveland without getting anything in return. But that’s the NBA for you. Here’s wishing Fil-Am coach Erik Spoelstra luck for the season. What I’m also looking out for in the East is the development of guys like John Wall and Bradley Beal in Washington; Andre Drummond in Detroit (and the Pistons over-all as a team); Michael Carter-Williams in Philadelphia; Kemba Walker and Al Jefferson in Charlotte; Jabari Parker in Milwaukee and Nikola Mirotic and Doug McDermott in Chicago. I’m a little worried about Indiana, a team that was big last year but suddenly out of talks to make it far this season with the Paul George’s injury and Lance Stephenson’s transfer.

While the excitement may be in the East, the West still has the strongest teams in the league. All teams have remained intact but are still considered stronger than their counterparts. All teams are now a year older in terms of experience, jelling and are predicted to be even stronger than last year. Scary, di ba?

It all starts with the Spurs. They are favored to repeat as champions with the core trio of Duncan, Parker and Ginobili, and the rise of Kawhi Leonard, Danny Green and the rest of the Spurs. Their team-first philosophy under Coach Greg Popovich has become a classic model for all teams to follow. And they’re doing all this in a city outside of the big city markets like LA, Chicago and New York. Their tinkering with the team is via the improvement of their players (internally). The proof? Leonard winning the NBA Finals MVP (and not any of the Big 3 of the Spurs).

The rest of the West looks really tough with the LA Clippers, Golden State, Portland, Dallas, Oklahoma (before the injuries), Phoenix, and New Orleans. The Clippers are leaning on a new owner who is passionate for the game and the blooming of Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. Ditto for the Warriors with Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and David Lee. And then you have Portland with Damian Lillard, LaMarcus Aldridge and Nicolas Batum. Houston has the pair of James Harden and Dwight Howard. And Dallas replies with Dirk Nowitzki, Monte Ellis and ex-Rocket Chandler Parsons. New Orleans will rely on the maturing Anthony Davis whose game has developed every season he gets older. Oklahoma is strong on paper but isn’t looking good with all those early injuries to Kevin Durant, Reggie Jackson, Jeremy Lamb and now, Russell Westbrook (only yesterday). I was a big Lakers fan in the 80s but it doesn’t look like this year’s team is even close to my favorite set of Magic-Kareem-Worthy and Pat Riley. Sure, Kobe will light up the night on offense, but the team will still struggle this year. Steve Nash is out, Jeremy Lin and Carlos Boozer are in, but they’re not going to win over the rest of the West. Julius Randle would’ve been a player who could contribute as a rookie but he’s already out of the season. Players who I’d like to monitor in terms of development are Ricky Rubio and Andrew Wiggins in Minnesota; DeMarcus Cousins in Sacramento; Harrison Barnes with the Warriors.

And how can we forget the coaches? On the hot seat are rookie coaches David Blatt at Cleveland, Derek Fisher in New York, Steve Kerr at Golden State, Quin Snyder at Utah. We also have the comebacking Byron Scott with the Lakers, Stan Van Gundy at Detroit and Flip Saunders at Minnesota, Lionel Hollins at Brooklyn.

This early, many are picking the Spurs to score a Back-2-Back over the Cavs or the Bulls. While the forecast looks fair, anything can still happen. It’s still a long ways to June 2015 and it’s time to sit back and enjoy the show.

* * *

Time-out: Happy birthday to Vicky Corbes!