Matt will be doing a four part NBA preview before the season kicks off on Christmas day. This is part one.
I love the NBA. I love Christmas. I love the NBA on Christmas. So it brought me indescribable amounts of joy when Roy woke me up on the morning of Saturday November 26th to tell me that the lockout was over. The effects of the festivities that took place the night before were immediately overwhelmed with a feeling of pure joy.
The NBA has scheduled for the season to kick off on Christmas day with five games. The season will be 66 games, with every team playing at least one back-back-back set of games. Also each team will play 48 in conference games and just 18 out of conference games, meaning the Lakers might not come to DC this year. Full schedules will be released on this evening, and free agency/training camps will both begin on December 9, although now there is talk that training camps may not open up until Monday, which personally makes more sense to me seeing how some teams only have a few players under contract right now.
At this point there is no way to do an accurate team by team preview because rosters need to fill up more via free agency. Even if this is an incredibly weak free agent class, certain teams are bound to improve/worsen over the course of the next few weeks. December 9th and the week that follows are bound to be hectic and awesome. Once the rosters fill out I will write up a post on both the Eastern Conference (which the Wizards will win) and the Western Conference (which the Kings will win), but for now I will hit you with some lists to get you ready for the upcoming NBA season. *neither of the statements within the parentheses are true*
Top 4 Free Agents Available
Everybody knows by now that this is no 2010 class of free agents. As much as I would love to see Nene conduct his own decision on ESPN it aint gonna happen. That being said there are certainly some unrestricted and restricted free agents that could seriously help out. Here are the top four guys I think can make the biggest impact.
1. Nene-- PF/C
Nene is at the pinnacle of this free agent class, and it is pretty blatant that he is the best player available. Nene led the league in field goal % last year shooting 61.5% from the field. He also shot an impressive 71.1% from the charity stripe. He is not the best rebounder there is, only averaging 12 boards per 42 minutes last year, which ranks him a 38th in league. Nene was ranked 26th in PER last year, and I could see that ranking improve in the next few seasons. Some possible suitors for Nene are Houston, New Jersey, Denver, and Indiana.
Where He Will End Up--Houston Rockets
2. Tyson Chandler--C
While Nene led the league in shooting percentage last year, he ranked fourth in true shooting percentage. Tyson Chandler ranked first at 69.7%. Chandler is not going to be a scorer and he shouldn't need to be, almost all of his looks are from dunks or shots right at the rim. Chandler and Nene are very different players. If you are looking for somebody to play more of an offensive role you would look to Nene, but if you want a terrific defender, and big time rebounder Chandler is the man.
Where He Will End Up--Dallas Mavericks
3. Marc Gasol--C
How good would any of these top three free agent big men look on the Heat? I know I would prefer any of these three over Chris Bosh. Gasol holds a special place in my heart because he led my fantasy basketball team to a championship last year. I also love the mid range J (unless I am the one shooting it), and he has a sweet one. I think it would be very hard for the Grizzlies to keep Gasol, who is a restricted free agent, because of the money they have dished out recently to guys like Rudy Gay and Z-Bo.
Where He Will End Up--Indiana Pacers
4. Rodney Stuckey--PG/SG
Stucky is a solid combo guard, who can get to the rim. He is not a particularly good shooter, rebounder or assist man but he has a great frame for an NBA point guard, being 6'5/205 pounds he can guard almost any guard. Stuckey like Gasol is a restricted free agent, and I think he will stay in Detroit for now,
Where He Will End Up--Detroit Pistons
Three Players/Stories I'm Looking Forward To Watching
1. Jimmer Fredette
No doubt about it, the thing I am most looking forward to this NBA season is Jimmer Fredette. There was not a player more fun to watch in college last year than Jimmer, and I don't think there will be many more players I'd rather watch in the NBA than Jimmer, at least not at first. I think Jimmer went to the absolutely perfect team also, as long as Tyreke passes him the ball. Between Reke, Jimmer and Demarcus Cousins the Kings have an exciting core of young players, that I think could take major strides in the next season or two.
2. The Progression of John Wall
As a Wizards fan I am expecting Wall to have an enormous year. I still don't think the Wizards are going to be a playoff team this year, but if Wall can follow the track of Derrick Rose, the team could certainly surprise some people. Wall absolutely tore up the summer circuit, and looked to have an improved jumper. If he can shoot with confidence this year, he could immediately emerge as one of the best point guards in the league. The video below is possibly the greatest thing ever.
3. The Golden State Warriors
The Warriors are my second favorite team to watch, Wizards being the obvious first. They run an offense similar to "The System" invented by Paul Westphal, led by Monta Ellis (top three pure scorer in the NBA?) and Steph Curry. Throw in Jeremy Lin, Epke Udoh and his ridiculous blocking ability, and rookie shooter Klay Thompson, and this team will again be one of the most exciting .500 teams in the NBA. The Warriors-Magic game played last season was one of the best games I have ever seen. The teams scored a combined 41 points in a five minute overtime period in that game. The Warriors will kick off their season against the Clippers on Christmas Day this season. I will enjoy watching that game more than any of the other Christmas Day games, that include Heat-Mavs, Celtics-Knicks, Lakers-Bulls and Magic-Thunder. So get your kettle corn ready come Christmas Day. Also the Warriors have the best jerseys in the league.
Parts two and three of my NBA preview will be team by team breakdowns. So look for that once free agency starts to conclude. Christmas is going to be awesome.
Follow Matt on Twitter @matthouston91 and follow Love Boat Sports @LoveBoatSports. Whomever is the 100th follower of Love Boat Sports will get nothing, but the satisfaction of being the 100th follower.
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