NBA Preview by Committee Part 2: Rebound

Dear JBH,

I've pondered several ways in which I might respond to your last post on our favorite schizophrenic professional athlete.

I could have listed the many ways in which Artest has hurt or helped his teams in the past, and the potential for him to repeat these performances in myriad ways over the next eight months, but I think we've exhausted that line already.

Or I might have responded to your question with a list of additional questions in search of some explanatory power: "Do you think he likes Los Angeles as a city?" "What is his over/under for games suspended this year?" "Did the Lakers have to hire more security guards to protect their season ticket holders from personal injury?" "Do you see a Shaq/Artest mixtape in the cards for next summer?"

But these efforts all seemed guided by my attempts to find reasons for why Ron "The Melee" Artest might succeed or fail in LA and the ramifications on the Laker's season. The problem with this strategy is, of course, that things like "reason" and "consistency" don't really apply to a man like Ron Artest.

So, after many sleepless nights, I reverted to my old college ways and decided to plagiarize from Wikipedia to help in my prediction for the fate of Ronnie Defense.

"Chaos theory," says the magic Wiki, "studies the behavior of certain dynamical systems that may be highly sensitive to initial conditions. As a result of this sensitivity, which manifests itself as an exponential growth of error, the behavior of chaotic systems appears to be random. That is, tiny differences in the starting state of the system can lead to enormous differences in the final state of the system even over fairly small timescales."

The Zenmaster needs to hope that he's setting up RonRon with the right initial conditions. Otherwise, well, we've all seen what can happen.


Speaking of unstoppable forces, my toss back to you is focused on Beantown's new southern rival. Do you think the Magic made enough improvements over the summer to repeat in their conference championship performance, or will Lebron and the new defensive unit be too much to overcome?

Still too scared to put the Celtics under the microscope,
JC

NBA Preview By Commitee Part 2

JC,

I see your point on Kevin. Not at all sure that the youngster's scoring touch, precocious and prodigious as it is, makes the Thunder any better. The thing is...I don't care. OKC could have 30 wins, 13 wins, or 3 wins next season, and it really wouldn't excite me. What would excite me? If I get to tune in several times a week all season long and watch Durant do his New-And-Improved-George-Gervin routine for 44 minutes a game. That would excite me.

And I stand by my prediction.

As for the Big Aristotle in Cleveland, I'm not entirely sure what to expect. On the whole, I think the acquisition will be viewed as at least a partial disappointment, since I don't think it solved any of Cleveland's mortal flaws. But I don't really buy the theory that Shaq's personality is going to ruin the whole thing. I get that he's used to the spotlight and has clashed what with a lot of sidekicks in the past, but do you really think he's the kind of ego maniac that would blow up a chance to bring Lebron his first title? I don't see it.

I'd be a little more worried about the chemistry involved in a different off-season addition.

I speak of Los Angeles. And Mister Ron Ron.

This summer he released a "rap" tribute to the deceased Michael Jackson. It does not contain many rhymes per se. It does contain reference to crying, carrying firearms, and meeting Mr. Jackson in heaven "next year".

Uh huh. Any thoughts on the new Laker?

Concerned About My Man,
John

NBA Preview by Committee Part 1: Rebound

Ah, the blogosphere. How I've missed thee. It's hard to believe that just five short months ago we were meditating our way into a drunken stupor while the Celts were busy finding ways to drop games 6 and 7 to a sporadically efficient Orlando Magic squad. But hey, at least everything turned out well with KG's knee...

And here again is my friend Johnny, back to his old ways of slurping Kevin "Big Win Over New Mexica State" Durant. We get it, he's a good player, but his team is shit and his franchise has some serious karma issues to contend with. And can I take this chance to pose some serious questions: Why does OKC's jersey look like the mesh tanktop they hand out at registration in an outdoor three-on-three tournament? They're paying these guys millions, if not tens of millions of dollars each year and they can't spring for someone to design some better uniforms? Does Durant's agent have any say in this?

As for Durant winning the scoring title this year, I would refer to my dear State Rep and ask you: "On what planet do you spend most of your time?" You're right to call up Kobe and Dirk among those he needs to pass, but that list also includes BronBron and DWade, and I don't see all four of these boys slipping down behind a kid who only recently earned the right to walk though a casino. I could see Durant jumping ahead of Danny Granger (surprised me too) and one or two of the other guys this year, but adding 4-5 pts a night is a pretty incredible feat, even for someone who made it all the way to the second round of the NCAA tournament.

I think the most important aspect related to this prediction, though, is whether or not Durant winning the scoring title is actually good thing for his team this year. Sure, Green knows how to get his points by cleaning up on missed shots, but what does Sefolosha do if he's not asked to be a scorer? He certainly didn't pick up any good habits playing with Derrick Rose and the rest of the underwhelming Chicago cast during the first three years of his career. And most everyone agrees Westbrook is in for a stellar sophomore season, but what happens when he gets winded and (GULP) Shaun Livingston steps on the floor to command the offense? The relative success of the Thunder this season will likely hinge on Scott Brooks' ability to weave together at least a somewhat balanced offensive attack. Otherwise, if/when the Thunder become competitive enough for teams to take them seriously, it won't be difficult for opposing squads to frustrate their one-dimensional offense (see: Lebron James, et. al.)

Bringing things over to the East for a moment, my question posed to you is this: Can Shaq thrive in a supporting role in Cleveland, or will his ego cause him to lash out at Lebron after a few months of playing second fiddle to the new King of Parquet Castle.



I think Shaq ends up starting the fiasco that leads to BronBron saying goodbye to Cleveland. But does that mean we all have to start liking Kobe again?



Yours in nervous anticipation,
Cooter

NBA Preview By Commitee Part 1

Dear Mister Jeffrey,

Hoops finally starts for real tonight and not a moment too soon, as I think you will agree that this is already shaping up to be one of the worst NFL seasons of our lifetimes. It also comes as a rather welcome occurrence considering that nearly a dozen topics of NBA intrigue have been consuming my every waking thought for the past few weeks.

Is Garnett setting us up for another season of magic or a colossal disappointment? How much better can Bron Bron get? How about D Wade? Are the Wizards a conference contender or one of the worst teams in the NBA? And what about those off-the-charts bonkers two weeks where Al Jefferson looked like Kevin McHale just before he got injured?

After one of the crazier off-seasons in history, we are finally back and business and ready to investigate these mysteries of our beloved game.

What I propose to you, sir, is little back and forth banter to start the season off. I'll toss a topic out to get us started. You come back at me - agreeing, refuting, illuminating, or insulting - and then add your own proposal. We add a new one each day for the next two weeks, all leading up to Cleveland's October 16th visit to San Antonio to face Timmy Duncan's Spurs.

Ready?

I'll start things off with a modest proposal about one of the most electrifying young men currently lacing up hightops in the Association: Kevin 'Long and Smooth' Durant.

My man will lead the league in scoring this year.

Last year he posted 25.3 a game to place sixth in the category, but don't forget that it wasn't really till APRIL that they switched him to small forward. Once he moved there, the kid exploded for almost 31 a game! Everything you heard during the summer - including truly glowing reports from US Basketball mini-camp - sounded like there's a breakout year on the horizon. And most importantly, unlike a few of the men who finished ahead of him last time - Dirk and Kobe come to mind - it feels like Durant might actually get more rather than less shots this season.

By the way, he shoots about 48% from the field and 42% from three.

Durant was murderous as a 20 year old. What is he capable of at 21? And you know what will be really interesting if KD ends up taking the scoring title? The Thunder are only scheduled for one nationally televised game all season long.

Time to take another look at that League Pass...

Your Brother in Excitement,
JB

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