State of the NBA: Midseason Edition

The second half of the NBA is upon us. After a turbulent and very quick first half full of surprises, it is time for teams to buckle down and fight for playoff seeding. Teams like the Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls, and Oklahoma City Thunder are living up to their expectations as they’ve been holding the top three seeds in the entire league throughout the first half of the season. Teams like the Indiana Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Clippers, and San Antonio Spurs are all pleasant surprises for various reasons. They are filling up the 4-6 seeds in both conferences with superb and somewhat unexpected success. And then you have legendary teams like the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics who seem to be out of the NBA title race and just fighting for a playoff spot now with overall mediocre play. Add the Orlando Magic, Dallas Mavericks, Atlanta Hawks and New York Knicks who aren’t playing up to their expected level of play. Will things remain the same through the second half and into the playoffs? I highly doubt it.

Let’s look at some of the biggest storylines from the first 30 or so games of this shortened 66 game season:

The Jeremy Lin(derella) Story
Jeremy Lin has become more than a Harvard graduate turned NBA star. He has become a brand that the NBA and the Knicks are cashing in on all over the world. In that sense, the Lin story is a success. However, does he have enough to lead New York to becoming an elite team? The story going into All Star Weekend was whether or not Lin can coexist with Carmelo Anthony, who had been out for a couple weeks due to injury. Add to that the fact that the Knicks signed another ball handler in J.R. Smith. How would the Knicks have an efficient way to run the offense with three primary ball handlers/play callers? In the few games we saw right before All Star Weekend, we saw that everyone on the Knicks is willing to be unselfish in order to get a win. In Mike D’Antoni ‘s offense, there is a need to have a point guard that has extremely good court vision and great passing skills (see: Steve Nash). He has this in Jeremy Lin. And I believe fully that the Knicks will find a way to make this system work with all the playmakers and talent they have on their squad. Lin must work on some weaknesses if he wants to stay relevant in the playoffs and into next year though. His defense must improve greatly if he ever wants to be mentioned in the same breath as Chris Paul, Derrick Rose, Rajon Rondo or Deron Williams. He also needs to work on his left hand (pause). Defensive teams like Boston, Chicago, and Miami will review footage and the fact that Lin can’t go to his left will be glaring at them through the film. We’ll see if the Knicks can carry on the wave of momentum they had in the last 10 or so games before All Star weekend into the playoffs.

The Dwight Dilemma
The Dwight situation has taken more twists and turns than the highway near Chattanooga on my road trip to Florida (that’s a lotta twists and turns for those that don’t know). He’s played the good guy. He’s played the bad guy. He’s played the indifferent, “it’s part of the business,” guy. And he’s still in Orlando. The trade deadline is looming in front of our faces. March 15th. Will the Magic make a move? Will they give up the face of their team and start rebuilding? I’ve been saying this from the beginning and I’ll say it again: they have to trade Dwight. There was that stretch of games a few weeks ago in which the Magic were getting absolutely destroyed in. It was as if they had lost all passion for the game of basketball. I thought for sure Dwight would be traded that week. Didn’t happen. The Magic need to make it happen. I think Dwight will walk when the season’s over and it makes no sense for the Magic to lose him for nothing. They haven’t been able to bring in players to compliment Dwight and take them to an elite level, so it’s time that they start the rebuilding process. Rumors have been swirling forever as to where Dwight might end up. The Lakers, Bulls, Mavericks, and Nets are among the possible destinations for Superman. I guess this will just be something we have to wait and see for an answer.

The MVP Race
The MVP race is heating up again with Kevin Durant and LeBron James both making strong cases for the honor. Kobe Bryant, Kevin Love, Dirk Nowitzki, Russell Westbrook and the reigning MVP Derrick Rose are also making their own cases to be crowned MVP of the league. Don't expect Rose to repeat as MVP this year. James and Durant are making far better cases by putting up monster numbers every night and one of these two should end up being the MVP when the season is over. My pick? I say All Star Game MVP Kevin Durant is long overdue for the title.

The Playoff Picture
Now this is the part I know I'm looking forward to most. The playoffs. I simply cannot wait. For the East, I'm predicting a rematch between Miami and Chicago in the Conference Finals. Unless something drastic happens, these two will make up the top two seeds to be crowned Beasts of the East. Miami will be more determined than ever to shake their struggles in the playoffs and finally win a ring. But in the end, the Bulls will overcome their struggles, have all their players, and come out focused to beat the Heat in an epic series stretching 7 games (CHICAGO BIAS FTW!). Indiana, New York, Philadelphia, and Atlanta will take the 3-6 seeds, respectively. While Boston and Orlando will round out the last of the two remaining seeds.

Now, the West. As it is every year, this Conference is always difficult to determine seeding. The #1 seed all the way down to the 10th or 11th seed are all playoff teams. But there are only 8 spots. Expect Oklahoma City to take the top seed and meet the raining champs, Dallas, in the Western Conference Finals. I won't even try to determine seeding in the West. I will tell you that in addition to the Thunder and Mavericks, the Lakers, Clippers, Spurs, Nuggets, Blazers and Grizzlies will also make the playoffs.

My Finals Prediction: The Chicago Bulls will take on the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals. This matchup will finally usher in a new era of the NBA as the legendary teams like the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs will take a back seat to the young teams. The Bulls, as I mentioned above, will use their experience, coaching, chemistry and finesse to overcome a riled and unorganized Miami team. The Thunder will outrun the Dallas Mavericks and use their athleticism to take them to the biggest stage in the NBA. Bulls. Thunder. Who will come out on top..? Heh.

Bulls all day, baby

Preseason Thoughts: 2011-2012 Chicago Bulls

Finally! It took about 5 months, but the NBA has finally settled their nonsense. I'm gonna try to keep this post short and sweet: it's time to get to work. Especially for the Bulls. With a 66 game season ready to kickoff on Christmas (Bulls v Lakers!), lookout for plenty of back-to-back and even a few back-to-back-to-back games for your favorite hoop squad.

If you've been keeping up with the rumor mill, you'll now that outlandish (and amazing) trade deals are surfacing. Whether or not these will actually go through still remains to be seen. But talk about Rondo being the Celtics' biggest marketing chip and Dwight Howard going to the Nets seem to the all the buzz around the NBA. And as crazy as those trades might be, I don't care. All I care about is the next move my Bulls are going to make.

The 2010-2011 Bulls (pictured above) led the NBA in the regular season with a 62-20 record to earn top seed in the league. Despite the Bulls' heroic effort and their surpassing of all expectations, they were not able to topple Miami's Big Three in the Eastern Conference Finals. And as soon as the Bulls were eliminated from the playoffs, all we heard was how Chicago needed to add a second scorer because MVP Derrick Rose simply could not do it all himself. So here we are. Who do the Bulls pick up in the next couple weeks?

Brandon Roy seems to be a name that's popping up quite often. Expect Roy to be an amnesty cut, putting him on the market for teams like the Bulls. Don't get me wrong, Roy is one of my more favorite players in the NBA. He would be the perfect fit at the #2 spot of the Bulls...if not for his knees. He's a huge liability if the Bulls choose to sign him so it leaves one wondering: is he worth it?

Of course, there are some big name free agents on the market as well. Namely, Jason Richardson or Jamal Crawford. But these names are soon to be wiped out of the Bulls radar because of one simple reason: money. The Bulls are basically maxed out. With Boozer, Noah and Deng under huge contracts (with a max contract being prepared for the reigning MVP), the Bulls just don't have enough money to sign a big name. Unless these guys are willing to take an almost 50% pay cut just to win a ring. So we're left with mid graders like Arron Afflalo or Nick Young, who would be a good fit as well but no guarantees there.

And then there's the trade route. Bulls have some big chips that they could market, including bigs Taj Gibson and Omer Asik. They're very reluctant to trade these guys, however, and I completely understand. Unless we get a huuuuuuge name, it just isn't worth it in my opinion to trade these guys.

Where does that leave us now?

We can always count on someone to take a pay cut and join a championship caliber team. Or we can just count on D.Rose to step his game up a whole 'nother level again and do it himself. Rose, Deng, and Noah have been (hopefully) keeping up with their conditioning. I'm also hoping the rest of the team hasn't been slacking over their long break. The Bulls arguably have the best chemistry in the Eastern Conference and that is one of the reasons they went so far last year. Coach Thibs has for sure been dreaming basketball plays day and night, so no worries there. Now I'm counting on Gar and Pax to put their masterminds to work and help take these new age Bulls to the next level. ESPN claims the Bulls' only goal should be to "Beat the Heat," but I'd have to respectfully disagree. The Bulls' only goal should continue to be another championship. Because at this point, anything less that would be a disappointment.

Let's make the nation See Red again.

Bittersweet Bulls

WARNING: Thoughts of a heavily biased Chicago fan below. Proceed with caution.

Remember this number: 35.

No, that’s not the time left in the game. It’s not the number of D-Rose’s amazing, awe-inspiring plays. It’s not even the weight of Rose’s new crazy light shoes. No, it’s not any of that. It’s percentage. Specifically, Derrick Rose’s shooting percentage in the Eastern Conference Finals versus the Miami Heat. Yup. Read it again: 35%.

It started off like a fairy tale. It was the season that the ever-talented, hometown product Derrick Rose won his first MVP to become the league’s youngest ever in history. It was a year which saw a defensive guru turned rookie coach become this season’s greatest coach. It was a year which saw a team – despite missing out on the biggest offseason free agents – turn what pieces they had to become an elite contender. In a season where the Chicago Bulls went beyond everyone’s expectations, it was the widely hated Miami Heat that finally brought a great run to an abrupt and disappointing end.

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