Oct
30
by Chris Maynard, chris@hoops4thesoul.com
1. Utah Jazz: The Utah Jazz surpassed expectations last season, advancing to the Western Conference Finals thanks to a gritty Game Seven road win against Houston in the first round and some luck running into the hot Golden State Warriors. Deron Williams officially established himself as the NBA’s point guard of the future during the playoffs, going crazy against the San Antonio Spurs before bowing out in five games. Williams is one of those rare players who never lets anyone get him off his game and plays the position as good as anyone in the league by using his strong upper body and deceptive quickness to his advantage. Williams and power forward Carlos Boozer really developed into a nice tandem last season with the former Duke product finally getting past injuries and becoming a scoring machine down low. With Williams never taking a night off, Boozer benefiting from his deft point guard and Jerry Sloan once again on the sidelines, the Jazz should take this division ahead of the Denver Nuggets.
With that said and considering how much of a fan Hoops 4 the Soul has been since Williams was running the show at Illinois, Utah will be hard pressed to get as far as it did last season. This team has some issues, beginning with Andrei Kirilenko and Ronnie Brewer. Kirilenko is no longer the player he once was, able to go off for a quadruple double. Kirilenko’s feuding with Sloan has gotten a bit tiresome, and the Jazz would have really benefited if it was able to move the Russian forward for a player like Shawn Marion (maybe more of a pipe dream than a reality). If Kirilenko is able to focus and get back to a semblance of his old self, this worry will not be as prevalent.
However, a big question revolves around whether the second-year Brewer is ready to start on a team with high expectations. Brewer did not get much time during his rookie season. Brewer would score in spurts at Arkansas and will need to boost his average from four points per game last season while continuing to be an aggressive defender. With Utah letting Derek Fisher leave for Los Angeles to be closer to his sick daughter, the Jazz are without an emotional leader and gritty defender at this position and in the starting lineup. Veteran Gordon Giricek and rookie Morris Almond from Rice will also compete for minutes at the two spots. The Jazz will also try to backup Williams with Jason Hart and Ronnie Price, which will be an interesting thing to follow.
Synopsis: The Jazz will win this division because of the competitive Williams and other solid players like Boozer and Mehmet Okur, who has been a nice addition to the Jazz since coming from the Detroit Pistons after winning the 2004 NBA Finals. Utah may face Houston yet again in the first round, and home-court advantage will be huge. With the addition of Luis Scola in Houston, the Jazz will find it much more difficult to beat the Rockets. Even if Utah advances to the second round, it’s hard to see this team get past the Phoenix Suns, San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks. While Williams called out his teammates after losing Game Five, is Utah talented enough to play with these teams despite its point guard’s greatness? Not quite yet.
2. Denver Nuggets: A lot of pundits like the Nuggets ahead of the Jazz, especially considering that Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson will be teaming up together for a full season. On paper, the Nuggets are more talented than Utah. However, this team is about as ornery and contentious as they come, beginning with Head Coach George Karl, who has a way of being very arrogant and annoying. Anthony played excellent in the FIBA Tournament of the Americas and seems to expect that he’s next in line to reach the Finals because his fellow 2003 Draft Class brethren Wade and James have done so in successive years. While Carmelo may have such an idealistic vision, the fact remains that the Nuggets have failed to get out of the first round in his tenure. Even more amazing, the Nuggets have failed to even make any of their first round appearances competitive series. In his offense, Carmelo seems to have matured and really wants to get better.
Denver is also banking on the fact that Kenyon Martin will finally live up to his big contract, stay healthy and return to his New Jersey Nets days when he was a beast on the boards and an enforcer. That’s a big assumption to make.
All in all, the Nuggets have an impressive first six, with Iverson, defensive player of the year J.R. Smith, Anthony, Martin, the very underrated Marcus Camby and the tantalizing yet ultimately frustrating Nene. The Nuggets also added a very dangerous scorer off the bench in Chucky Atkins.
Synopsis: It’s obvious that the Nuggets are a very talented team. But so are many other teams in the West. What separates those teams from the Nuggets is the ability to make smart and heady decisions during crunch time of playoff games. Ultimately, Denver is a team that will still struggle to contain its emotions in those big moments and rise to the challenge when it matters most. The Nuggets are just too emotionally unstable.
3. Portland Trail Blazers: Sure, the Blazers will be without the first overall pick in the draft and new franchise player Greg Oden, who will most likely miss his entire rookie season after microfracture knee surgery. And the health of last year’s Rookie of the Year Brandon Roy could also be an issue as the talented guard is struggling with a heel injury that may require surgery. With that considered, Portland fans have had to tailor their expectations for this season and yet should still be very excited as the other young talent on this team will get to develop, beginning with LaMarcus Aldridge.
Aldridge was outstanding in the preseason and looks like he will be more than a complement to Oden when the big man eventually comes back. Portland also added another fine young player, Channing Frye, from the Knicks in the trade of Zach Randolph. In addition to Oden, Portland’s draft included landing intriguing international prospects in Sergio Rodriguez and Petteri Koponen, a once-expected lottery pick in Josh McRoberts, and a college champion in Taurean Green. Add these players with Portland’s youthful mix of Travis Outlaw, Martell Webster and Jarrett Jack and steady veterans like Steve Blake and Raef LaFraentz, and the Blazers will still be a very interesting team to watch.
Synopsis: Portland’s playoff aspirations were pushed aside with the Oden injury. Yet this year is about Portland Head Coach Nate McMillan further developing the Blazers intriguing influx of youth, anticipating the return of Oden in 2008-2009, and making a legitimate run at the playoffs that season.
Read more about what Hoops 4 the Soul thinks of the Portland Trail Blazers.
4. Seattle Sonics: With the fate of the franchise still in the air, new Seattle General Manager Sam Presti has issued in a youth movement that will guarantee a long season but promises hope in the future. After drafting Texas stud freshman Kevin Durant with the second overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, Presti dealt superstar guard Ray Allen to the Boston Celtics for the fifth overall pick, which turned out to be all-around Georgetown forward Jeff Green. Presti also added veterans Wally Sczerbiak and Delonte West in that deal, with Wally World serving as some scoring insurance to temporarily replace the one-two punch of Allen and Rashard Lewis, who signed with Orlando. Seattle also welcomed in a new Head Coach, P.J. Carlesimo, who was an assistant with the champion Spurs. The former Seton Hall and Golden State Warriors head man played Durant at shooting guard during the preseason; an interesting proposition considering the youngster’s 6’9’’ frame.
Synopsis: Seattle is going to struggle this year, but fans will tune in anyway to see Durant develop. Durant figures to have growing pains during his rookie season, especially with his shooting, but will still be among the short list of favorites for Rookie of the Year with Houston’s Luis Scola and Atlanta’s Al Horford. Green was brought in to be Durant’s Batman in time. Green does a little bit of everything and is a solid all-around player. As for Presti, he brought in veteran Kurt Thomas from the Suns to help give Seattle a more veteran presence along with holdovers in Nick Collison, Chris Wilcox and Luke Ridnour. While Seattle is going to rack up a lot of losses, the team will still be fun to watch with Durant and Green representing so much hope. Here’s hoping that the Sonics will be able to stay in Seattle as its fan base deserves this team and is right to not want to absorb heavy taxes for a new stadium.
5. Minnesota Timberwolves: How Kevin McHale still has a job is behind comprehension? Regardless of how great McHale was as a player, he has done an awful job as General Manager of the Timberwolves. Not only did he waste the amazing talents of Kevin Garnett, he got little in return in trading the best player in the history of franchise. While he did get half of Boston’s team, McHale did not land anyone too exciting. Al Jefferson is never going to be a franchise big man. Gerald Green has talent but is so young that it’s hard to tell where he’ll be as a player in a few years. Ryan Gomes is a solid player, but besides that, the Timberwolves didn’t get fair value for Garnett. McHale also shipped out a questionable character guy in Ricky Davis last week for another slug in Antoine Walker. The team also bought out Juwan Howard yesterday. In simple terms, it’s going to be a long season for the Timberwolves and Head Coach Randy Whitman.
Synopsis: Minnesota is the worst team in the Western Conference without question. With that said, McHale has drafted well the last two years. Randy Foye and Corey Brewer are intriguing young players who are winners. Brewer could contend for Rookie of the Year, and will be one of the better players in this league from the 2007 NBA Draft. With all this considered, the T’Wolves are a long way from being good.
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1. Utah Jazz: The Utah Jazz surpassed expectations last season, advancing to the Western Conference Finals thanks to a gritty Game Seven road win against Houston in the first round and some luck running into the hot Golden State Warriors. Deron Williams officially established himself as the NBA’s point guard of the future during the playoffs, going crazy against the San Antonio Spurs before bowing out in five games. Williams is one of those rare players who never lets anyone get him off his game and plays the position as good as anyone in the league by using his strong upper body and deceptive quickness to his advantage. Williams and power forward Carlos Boozer really developed into a nice tandem last season with the former Duke product finally getting past injuries and becoming a scoring machine down low. With Williams never taking a night off, Boozer benefiting from his deft point guard and Jerry Sloan once again on the sidelines, the Jazz should take this division ahead of the Denver Nuggets.
