Is this season a guaranteed three-peat for the big three in Miami, or is the long awaited return of D-Rose enough for Chicago to diffuse the Heat? Or could this be the year for the Western Conference with the always-competitive Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder or the year for the LA Clippers led by championship caliber head coach Doc Rivers? The NBA experienced rather strange moves in the offseason; some were advantageous while others left fans questioning owners and GMs. Now that training camp is over and the league is a week deep into the preseason, there is a better understanding of where exactly teams land in their respective division rankings.
Starting in the Eastern Conference, the Brooklyn Nets appear to have the top seed in the Atlantic division. The Nets had quite the offseason acquiring not only all-star veterans Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett from the Celtics, but they also acquired all-star defensive leader Andre Kirilenko from the Timberwolves. After firing P.J. Carlesimo, Brooklyn filled the void in the head coaching position with Jason Kidd, merely two weeks after he announced his retirement as a point guard in the league. Although Kidd is one of nine first-year head coaches in the league, he arguably has the most pressure to perform well due to the stature of his roster.
This season, the Central division will see a tight battle for first place between the Chicago Bulls and the Indiana Pacers. Both teams success depends solely on the health of their key players. Last season, Chicago was without its MVP point guard Derrick Rose and the Bulls experienced a tremendous lack of offensive intensity without him. Center Joakim Noah took great leadership roles in Chicago during Rose’s absence, however Noah would be plagued with injury towards the end of the season which would result in Chicago’s second round exit. Indiana was without all-star forward Danny Granger for the majority of the season and in his absence, Paul George emerged with a force great enough to get him into the 2013 all-star game. Pending the health of there rosters, the fans can expect to see both teams in the playoffs.
The Miami Heat will once again dominate the Southeast division with basically no competition coming from the other teams in the division. In order for Miami to three-peat, it requires a completely healthy Dwayne Wade and simply a healthy Greg Oden. I do not say completely healthy Oden because he will not need to be the game changing presence like D-Wade. Miami needs Oden only in games that require a strong defensive presence against a tough front-court, i.e. Indiana’s Roy Hibbert, Brooklyn’s Kevin Garnett or San Antonio’s Tim Duncan.
The Western Conference, as always, will be a strong conference throughout all divisions. Despite their obvious disadvantage in old age, the San Antonio Spurs will lead the Southwest division due to the incredible coaching ability of Gregg Popovich. Following close behind Coach Pop and the Spurs will be the Houston Rockets, after their offseason acquisition of Dwight Howard. Having worked all offseason with basketball legend Hakeem Olajuwon, Howard has laid promises of an improved post-game and, hopefully, an improved free-throw percentage, that will help lead Houston, with all-star James Harden and Jeremy Lin, to the playoffs.
The Denver Nuggets used to be a legitimate contender for the Northwest division title. However, after an atrocious offseason with the loss of all-star Andre Iguodala and the firing of the 2012-2013 NBA Head-Coach of the Year in George Karl, the Nuggets are completely outranked by the Oklahoma City Thunder and even the Minnesota Timberwolves. OKC always proves to be a title contender under the coaching of Scott Brooks and the performances of KD and Russell Westbrook, but fans seem to forget about the presence of a fully healthy Timberwolves roster. Minnesota was plagued with injury all throughout the 2012-2013 season, and did not have a core set of players for every game. It has also been a while since all-star Kevin Love has graced the court with his presence, but when he does, he proves his dominance on every play.
Acquiring all-star Andre Iguodala in the offseason greatly increased the authority that the Golden State Warriors will bring to the Pacific division this season. Behind the Coaching of Mark Jackson and the lights-out three-point shooting by the Splash Bros Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, the Warriors will once again be playoff contenders. LA will be the other team in the top of the Pacific division, and no I’m not talking about the Lakers, but the other team that is taking over Los Angeles. The Clippers had an incredible offseason in resigning all-star point guard Chris Paul, acquiring 3pt shooters J.J. Redick and Jared Dudley, and acquiring NBA champion head coach Doc Rivers. With the implementation of River’s defense intensive coaching style and the acquisition of solid shooting guards, the Clippers have what it takes to go deep in the playoffs.
Based on offseason acquisitions and preseason performances, pending the health of all players, the Eastern Conference finals looks to be the Miami Heat against the Chicago Bulls, while the Western Conference finals looks to be the Oklahoma City Thunder against the Los Angeles Clippers. As the regular season tips-off on Oct. 29 and the game play presents greater intensity, questions will be answered along with a greater sense of overall league rankings.
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