The Bulls & Celtics head to a game 7 tonight. This series has been a classic (so they say) with 4 of the 6 games going into overtime! The Baby Bulls are growing up fast and are certainly giving the defending champs a big test here without KG. Should we be surprised though? The Hawks took the Celtics to 7 games last season WITH Garnett! What has this series taught us?? Rondo is a major stud. Rose is on the verge of stardom. And the Bulls aren't that far away from being really good (considering they are playing without Luol Deng).
The Magic disposed of the 76ers in 6 games. Ho-hum. D12 put up 24-16 and 3 blocks per game. Ho-hum. IF the Celtics lose to the Bulls...are the Magic good enough to challenge the Cavs for East supremacy? NO. The Cavaliers will represent the East in the NBA finals. Lock it up.
The Cavs destroyed the Pistons in 4 games - beating them by double digits every night. They are ready for their makeover.
Could this off-season actually be a busy one with numerous teams in need of makeovers?
The Pistons will certainly look to make changes. Rasheed and Iverson are FA's and I can't see them coming back.
The Hornets just showed that they are no where near where they need to be to contend out West. Chris Paul and David West got man-handled by the Nuggets in the 1st round - including a 58 point loss. The Hornets were 49-33 in the regular season - but they looked horrible in this series. Byron Scott will surely be canned because this team quit on him. They need to add a SG and some depth. Rasual Butler scares nobody and Peja/Chandler look like they're ready for the retirement home. And the bench saviour of James Posey is not enough. Tell me who else is on their bench?? You can't. Hilton Armstrong. Sean Marks, Morris Peterson, and Antonio Daniels? Come on! Did they really expect to beat anyone with that bench?? So, my question would be is this the worst 49 win team ever??
What about the Utah Jazz. The Lakers took them out 4-1. Boozer is unhappy. AK47 is overpaid and under-utilized. What about Korver? Okur? Paul Millsap needs an extension. Can Boozer and Millsap co-exist? Numerous changes could happen here too. Boozer to Detroit is one prominent rumor.
Oh how the mighty Spurs have fallen. They got really old once the season ended. Even Timmy D couldn't help them this time. Tony Parker looks amazing and Timmy can handle being 2nd fiddle - but without Manu and a deeper supporting cast, this team appears doomed. The Spurs have always been good because of their system...but at some point, I think, you have to at least have SOME talent on your roster. Plus, having some athletes helps in todays NBA. Does the 3-head monster of Matt Bonner, Kurt Thomas, Fabricio Oberto really scare any opposing PG's from driving the lane? Bruce Bowen got old like light-switch fast. Whammo. He's old. Will they look to get younger?
And what did the Blazers learn from their 1st round exit?? That Roy and Aldridge need a 3rd option. Roy averaged 27ppg and LA scored 20ppg - no one else averaged over 10ppg. That's a problem. They might have too much depth and need to package them up to get a 3rd option.
So, you have all these playoff teams that need minor/major upgrades. That doesn't even address the 14 other teams that missed the playoffs and who you know will be looking for change.
The Clippers will have to do something with Kaman/Zach/Camby - cause that doesn't work.
The Warriors have 9 swingmen on their roster and have told Jamal Crawford to opt out.
There are plenty of possibilities this season as numerous teams want to make a change to get better and then numerous teams want to make a change so they can clear cap space for the 2010 sweepstakes.
I look forward to seeing what happens this summer with player movement and seeing what happens at the draft.
I think my next post will deal with 2 former superstars who continue to get 'breaks' just because of who they are....stay tuned.
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