The Magic have spent the last two off-seasons rebuilding a young, athletic roster. They were able to draft Victor Oladipo to guard wings, Elfrid Payton to play the point and Aaron Gordon to do the freakishly athletic things he’s expected to do in the NBA. Orlando is off to a nice start.
How far away is the Magic from being a playoff team?
We will be posting a team preview for every team up until the start of the regular season.
Here is the 2014-15 NBA season preview for the Orlando Magic.
The Thunder are the perennial preseason favorite to win the Western Conference. They deserve all the hyped they receive. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are two the best ten players in the league. Unfortunately, this preseason is much different for one of their stars.
Kevin Durant is expected to miss at least 6-8 weeks with a Jones fracture in his right foot. OKC didn’t really have a contingency plan for this. They are thin at small forward and will need to be creative to fill his spot.
We will be posting a team preview for every team up until the start of the regular season.
Here is the 2014-15 NBA season preview for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Carmelo Anthony did the whole recruiting tour this off-season. He visited Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles (among others) and each team pulled out the red carpet. It was a long shot he would sign anywhere other than back in New York, but I’m sure he got some free meals out of it.
The Knicks had a disappointing season last year. They had hoped to build on the previous season’s success, but were derailed by injuries and underwhelming free agent signings.
Can the Knicks bounce back and once again be a playoff team?
We will be posting a team preview for every team up until the start of the regular season.
Here is the 2014-15 NBA season preview for the New York Knicks.
Anthony Davis is my sleeper pick for MVP. It is highly unlikely, but just like Derrick Rose did a few years back, he beat the odds and won the award over the usual candidates.
In order for Davis to become the next superstar, the Pelicans need to make the postseason. That is easier said that done in the hyper-competitive Western Conference.
New Orleans have a fun roster to watch. They can spread the court with shooters and score at the hoop with athletic finishers at the rim.
Here is the 2014-15 NBA season preview for the New Orleans Pelicans.
Minnesota was busy this off-season. Trade rumors swirled all Summer. No one had a clue which player(s) they would get for Kevin Love. First, it was Klay Thompson, then Chicago jumped into the mix and finally, LeBron returned to Cleveland. That move trumped everything and Love was moved to Ohio.
How will the new-look Twolves fare this season? Was the Kevin Love trade the first of many future moves?
Here is the 2014-15 NBA season preview for the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Milwaukee technically lost the NBA Lottery, but ended up with the player they wanted, Duke’s Jabari Parker. Also, the nation was the real winners of the NBA Lottery. We were introduced to the Bucks co-owner’s daughter, Mallory Edens.
Jason Kidd is now in charge in Milwaukee. How will he fare with young talent?
Do the Bucks play hard all season or will they once again tank to speed up the rebuilding process? That’s the biggest question in Milwaukee.
Here is the 2014-15 NBA season preview for the Milwaukee Bucks.
LeBron James took his ball and went home…and Miami fans should thank him. If you like actual basketball (not that non-stop isolation offense crap), you’re going to love this team. Also, since you got rid of LeBron, you probably got rid of most of the bandwagon fans who did nothing but jack up the price of tickets (and cause the remainder of NBA fans to hate your fanbase).
Miami probably won’t be in the NBA Finals this season, but I like the team they put together. They spent their cap money pretty well. They may have overpaid Chris Bosh, but we’ll see what kind of player he is without LeBron. He could be worth every penny.
We will be posting a team preview for every team up until the start of the regular season.
Here is the 2014-15 NBA season preview for the Miami Heat.
Getting to the playoffs is becoming the norm in Memphis. The Grizzlies were never synonymous with winning until Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol joined forces in the paint. They have become a trendy sleeper pick come playoff time year after year.
How many more years do you think the Randolph/Gasol duo have in them? Randolph is just 33 years old, but this will be his 14th season. Has the championship window closed in Memphis?
We will be posting a team preview for every team up until the start of the regular season.
Here is the 2014-15 NBA season preview for the Memphis Grizzlies.
I wonder if Kobe Bryant ever wonders if he should have retired after blowing out his Achiilles’ tendon? I’m sure it crossed his mind a few times in-between the gym and the bank…where he cashes those huge checks. He now finds himself trying to play with Swaggy P.
The Lakers are expected to be near the bottom of the NBA standings. Does Kobe have a little magic left in him? If things go bad, how does Kobe handle losing?
We will be posting a team preview for every team up until the start of the regular season.
Here is the 2014-15 NBA season preview for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Donald Sterling will no longer be sitting courtside at the Staples Center. Steve Ballmer paid two billion dollars to purchase the team after Sterling was banned for saying racist remarks that would even make Stonewall Jackson uncomfortable.
Ballmer made a big entrance and is clearly excited to own an NBA team. He’s filthy rich and I expect him to pay the luxury tax every single season. The Clippers are prepared to take over Los Angeles if the Lakers let them.
Will Blake Griffin continue to develop into a perennial MVP candidate?
We will be posting a team preview for every team up until the start of the regular season.
Here is the 2014-15 NBA season preview for the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Pacers had a hell of a year last season. I’m not talking about their record or their effort in the Eastern Conference Finals…I’m talking about the off-the-court issues.
Paul George went from a ‘clean-cut NBA future star’ to a guy impregnating strippers and dressing like Eddie Murphy circa 1983.
Roy Hibbert went from Defensive Player of the Year shoo-in to a guy who put up the same NBA numbers I do.
Lance Stephenson went from someone who was trying his hardest to earn respect to doing anything possible to remove the respect he earned.
How will the Pacers do without George and Stephenson?
We will be posting a team preview for every team up until the start of the regular season.
Here is the 2014-15 NBA season preview for the Indiana Pacers.
I might have went 7-8 last week, but I did call a Jacksonville Jaguars moneyline play, so if you played my picks, you still easily had a positive cash week. I am now 54-50-1 against the spread on the season.
We are starting to realize which teams were overrated in preseason and which teams that made all the ‘experts’ looks stupid (I’m looking at you, Dallas).
Colt McCoy is starting for Washington this week. I hope he does well, so every sports blogger has the opportunity to un-retire old pictures Colt McCoy’s girlfriend.
I had a decent year betting against the spread in the NFL last season (133-95-10). Any year you hit nearly 60% of the NFL games against the spread is a damn good year. I hope to keep it going in 2014.
We pick every NFL game against the spread and throw out a few upsets in Week 8 of the 2014 NFL season.