2012 NBA Season Outlook

If there’s one good thing to come from the first month or so of NBA action being axed, it’s that schedulers had to frantically piece the rest of the year together. In that haste, they’ve given fans a present they’ll be able to unwrap nearly every night from now until late April. And while back-to-backs with the likes of the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Clippers are reasons for much of the commotion, they aren’t the only two exciting squads. Everywhere you look, in fact, there seems to be a contender, or a team one player away from serious contention. Consider this early guide to the NBA Playoffs as your way of deciphering which teams are which.

Eastern Conference

1. Miami Heat
Believe everything you’ve heard. This really is the scariest Dwyane Wade and LeBron James have ever looked together. They’re playing for four quarters. They’re winning close games too. If the bench holds up, the Heat will have a stranglehold on the No. 1 seed by early March.

2. Chicago Bulls
If you have a team with former No. 1 scoring options like Carlos Boozer and Richard Hamilton, there’s no reason for MVP Derrick Rose to go for 30 every night. But the fact that he can whenever he wants to sure is comforting.

3. New York Knicks
Though Gotham is slightly panicked over the team’s so-so start, we aren’t. Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire will be fine. Tyson Chandler will be the interior force he was advertised tobe. They just have to play it cool ‘til guards Baron Davis and Iman Shumpert return from injuries.

4. Atlanta Hawks
Other teams may have flashier names off the bench, but the Hawks’ second unit (Vladimir Radmanovic, Tracy McGrady) is doing enough to keep Atlanta starters fresh. Come the fourth, Josh Smith and the Hawks’ starters still have bounce. Scary thought, huh?

5. Boston Celtics
We’re not buying this whole Boston Geriatrics thing. Yes, Ray Allen (36 years old), Kevin Garnett (35) and Paul
Pierce are older (34). But just from sprinting around with the brilliant Rajon Rondo (25), they’ll give the appearance of youth…for at least one more run.

6. Indiana Pacers
Years of strategizing by Larry Bird, Indiana’s President of Basketball Operations, has finally shown on the court. By
mixing veteran scorers (Danny Granger, David West), backcourt youth (Darren Collison) and scary presences up the middle (Roy Hibbert), the Pacers have few problems.

7. Orlando Magic
Oh, the irony of life. With so much uncertainty in the Magic locker room these days (Dwight Howard to the Nets? The Lakers? The Hawks?), we can almost see the team vanishing from relevancy right before our very eyes.

8. Milwaukee Bucks
If there weren’t so many Ifs on this lineup –If Andrew Bogut stays healthy; If Stephen Jackson keeps his mouth shut; If Brandon Jennings realizes he’s usually the best player on the court- these Bucks could be brilliant.

Better Luck Next Year: Philadelphia, Detroit

Western Conference

1. Oklahoma City Thunder
If your team had a fourth-quarter assassin (Kevin Durant), a hot-headed sharpshooter (Russell Westbrook) and a defensive goon (Kendrick Perkins), they still wouldn’t be as scary as this spunky group.

2. LA Clippers
It took about three games for the first alley-oop to happen in “Lob City.” After Chris Paul and Blake Griffin have been around each other a few months, we’re certain the ratio of dropped jaws per square mile will increase. Wins as well.

3. Dallas Mavericks
The defending world champs have to find their motivation. Dirk Nowitzki’s gotta find his three-point range (14% over the first week). New face Lamar Odom has gotta find any kind of shot (four for 30 in his first four games).

4. LA Lakers
We were bitten in the tushy last year, thinking that Black Mamba’s sheer intensity would will the Lakers deep in the postseason. We’re giving it one more shot in ’12. Early on, Kobe Bryant’s been dangerous (nearly 28 points a night), but we’re just not sure Pau Gasol has much bite left.

5. Denver Nuggets
Like a b-ball version of Avatar, these Nuggets are making headlines with no stars. For fans not to turn blue later in the season though, Ty Lawson needs to keep up all his scoring. Just not sure that’s in the script.

6. San Antonio Spurs
Though DeJuan Blair’s snatched Tim Duncan’s role in the middle, these Spurs still play the same game they’ve always played: good defense, great shooting and a generous dose of Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.

7. Houston Rockets
With the balance this team demonstrates –four guys average over 10 points a contest- you’d understand if players wanted to try out to be circus acrobats. We’re just trying to figure out who’s the ringleader in the Rockets locker.

8. Portland Trail Blazers
Brandon Roy’s early retirement for incessant knee pains is a story that deserved more ink. Maybe LaMarcus Aldridge and Co. will get their coverage after an inspired run through the West this spring.

Better Luck Next Year: Minnesota Timberwolves, Golden State Warriors

NBA Finals: Miami Over Oklahoma City, 4-2

«HOME