Nov. 2 -- In the '80s you could set your watch to either the Celtics, Sixers or Lakers being in The Finals. In the '90s, when Michael Jordan was at his most brilliant, the Bulls going to The Finals was chiseled in stone. Even at the turn of the 21st Century, with four appearances in five seasons, the Lakers making The Finals seemed to be a certainty.
But heading into the 2004-05 season, certainty is in short supply. TNT Inside the NBA studio analyst and one of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players, Charles Barkley, enjoys the mystery.
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Despite his comments that the Heat are Dwyane Wade's team, we all know Miami belongs to Shaq .
Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE/Getty Images |
All of this uncertainty may be miserable for coaches and front-office types, but it gives you, the fan, plenty of storylines to follow in 2004-05. On the first day of the new season, NBA.com picked our 10 favorites. Here they are, in no particular order.
What else can we say about Shaquille O'Neal? After demanding to be dealt from the Lakers, the three-time Finals MVP was traded to Miami for Lamar Odom, Caron Butler and Brian Grant in the offseason.
Long the most dominant force in the NBA, in that teams must change their defenses to challenge him, Shaq has helped shift the balance of power in the league to where some would say that the NBA now has balance between the conferences.
Shaq's presence in South Beach instantly makes the Heat the favorite in the new Southeast Division and a strong contender in the Eastern Conference. With second-year guard Dwyane Wade at his side, O'Neal sees great things for Miami. O'Neal has even gone so far as to call the Heat "Wade's team."
Still, while Shaq demurs, everyone knows the Heat belong to Shaq. Yet, if there is a question about Shaq, it's his ability to stay healthy. He's missed 15 games in each of the last three seasons and has a nagging hamstring injury to start this season. Because if Shaq can't show for Heat, the Heat won't glow -- no matter how much Shaq calls it Wade's team.
Can we have a season without the Lakers experiencing some kind of drama?
That seems impossible. Just take a look at last season. After imploding during the NBA Finals against the Detroit Pistons, the Lakers imploded off the court.
Phil Jackson, who led the Lakers to three consecutive NBA titles, didn't have his contract renewed. Shaq demanded, and received, a trade. Gary Payton, who exercised an option to stay a Laker instead of opting for free agency, was traded. Franchise stalwarts Derek Fisher and Rick Fox are gone, and not only is Karl Malone's season in limbo, so is his storied career.
One thing that isn't in limbo is whose team this is. It's Kobe Bryant's, who is quite possibly the most electric player of his generation. With superstar friendly coach Rudy Tomjanovich guiding L.A. from the bench, Kobe should more than get his share of shots. His numbers could flourish like never before.
The main question is: Will the Lakers flourish as well?
They shocked everyone but themselves with the "five-game sweep" of the L.A. Lakers in the NBA Finals 2004 and some are picking them to repeat.
So, can the Pistons do it again? Why not?
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Letdown? Even Ben Wallace's hair is intense.
Allan Einstein/NBAE/Getty Images |
And while some experts have the Pistons losing to the Spurs in the NBA Finals, the one thing they agree upon is that the Pistons will have a target on their back. Every team will be aiming for the champs. That, and they can't, as TNT analyst Kenny Smith said, get fat and happy. They must keep their edge.
Here's thinking that a team with players as intense as Ben and Rasheed Wallace, Richard Hamilton and coach Larry Brown will be able to keep their edge.
A new season. A new sneaker campaign. And most importantly, and possibly most dauntingly, there are new expectations for LeBron James.
Last season, many wondered if the 18-year-old was worth his first-season hype. He lived up to the advance notice by winning the 2004 got milk? Rookie of the Year award.
This season, they're asking if LeBron can lead the Cavaliers to the playoffs. It's quite possible he can. In 2004-05, James has veteran Eric Snow to help at point, the athletic Drew Gooden to replace Carlos Boozer at power forward and the second-best center in the East in Zydrunas Ilgauskas.
But make no mistake, this team belongs to LeBron. No team has ever been placed in hands so young, but the Cavaliers believe they are in a pair of hands that are most capable.
One year after bringing in Jeff Van Gundy as head coach, the Rockets front office provided Van Gundy with one of the NBA's premier scorers in Tracy McGrady.
McGrady has led the league in scoring the last two seasons, but in Houston the four-time All-Star must contend with two issues. One, can he co-exist with All-Star center Yao Ming? Second, can he flourish on offense despite Van Gundy's defense-first mentality? Those questions can't easily be answered in the preseason.
Also, the Rockets gave up quite a bit in the McGrady deal, sending their starting backcourt of Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley to Houston. Old warhorse Charlie Ward will take over the point and journeyman Tyronn Lue will back him up. A lack of depth in both the backcourt and the frontcourt could hinder the Rockets in the deep Western Conference.
After playing in just 47 games in three seasons and after missing all of last season because of a surgically repaired left ankle, Grant Hill is back on the floor and ready, he says, to contribute to a Magic playoff run.
In six preseason games, Hill has averaged 24.8 minutes per game. In that time, he's been his usual versatile self, pouring in 10.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game.
Hill will have help in getting the Magic to the postseason as the Magic made a blockbuster trade this offseason to bolster their overall depth. Orlando sent Tracy McGrady to Houston for Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley and Kelvin Cato. Throw in No. 1 overall pick Dwight Howard, who tallied 12.9 points per game in seven preseason games, rookie point guard Jameer Nelson and free agent signing Hedo Turkoglu and the Magic could work some magic this season.
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K-Mart and 'Melo should be formidable fowards for the Nuggets.
Garrett Ellwood/NBAE/Getty Images |
At the end of last season, Nuggets coach Jeff Bzdelik's job was said to be in jeopardy. After all, why wouldn't there be speculation surrounding a guy who just took his team from a 17-win season to a 43-win season and the playoffs?
But look at Bzdelik and his Nuggets now. With super soph Carmelo Anthony eager to improve on a stellar rookie campaign, new power forward Kenyon Martin in the fold, and with a great supporting cast, one website asked if the Nuggets could -- gulp! -- win the NBA title.
They could be getting ahead of themselves, but with the All-Star Game arriving in February, it should be quite the season in Denver.
With the addition of the Charlotte Bobcats, the NBA will have an even number of teams in the league -- 30 -- for the first time since Jimmy Carter was president.
Charlotte's re-entry into the NBA affects the league in many ways.
First, basketball returns to the basketball-bonkers city of Charlotte, which has been without a team since the Hornets alit for New Orleans before the 2002-03 season. At one point during their tenure in Charlotte, the Hornets sold out 364 consecutive games.
Second, and most important, Bobcats owner Robert Johnson is the first African-American to own a team in the NBA, NFL, MLB or NHL.
And, third, the Bobcats' arrival forced the first major NBA divisional shift since 1980-81 (more on that later).
Led by general manager and head coach Bernie Bickerstaff, the Bobcats went for youth instead of bloated veteran contracts that would strap their salary cap, which bodes well for the future. The Bobcats' first season won't be easy, however. The last seven NBA expansion teams (Dallas, Charlotte (New Orleans), Miami, Minnesota, Orlando, Vancouver (Memphis) and Toronto) averaged 18 wins in their first seasons.
In the league's first seismic divisional shift since 1980 when the Dallas Mavericks joined the league and the San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets moved from the Eastern Conference (yes, the East) to the West and the Milwaukee Bucks and Chicago Bulls went from the West to the East, the NBA has radically redesigned itself.
Six five-team divisions replace the previous four-division format. The Bobcats will be joining the new Southeast Division in the Eastern Conference. The new Southwest Division, with all three Texas teams, welcomes the Eastern Conference expatriate New Orleans Hornets. And 200 years after Thomas Jefferson sent Lewis and Clark to explore the Pacific Northwest, the Western Conference explores it again with the new Northwest Division.
The holdovers? The Atlantic and Central Divisions remain, as well as the Pacific Division in the West.
The new divisional alignment also changes NBA's playoffs dynamic. Each division winner will automatically be awarded one of the top three seeds in each conference. The remaining five playoff berths for each conference will be based on regular-season records with no regard to divisional alignment.
In 1954, 50 years ago, the NBA played its first season with the 24-second shot clock. This hands-on approach immediately increased scoring, which went up a remarkable 13.6 points per game.
This season, it looks as if the league will take a hands-off approach to help increase scoring. NBA officials are being instructed to be more vigilant in calling the hand-checking foul above the free throw line extended in the hope that it would give the offensive players more freedom of movement.
Why the concern about scoring? Well, in the first season of the shot clock, NBA teams averaged 93.1 points per game. Last season, NBA teams averaged 93.3 points per game or according to SI.com, 17.4 points per game fewer than in 1984-85.
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