When the 2011-12 NBA season ended
with the Miami Heat winning the championship, I must say, I was very
happy. The season ended just as I
expected it to end, with the Heat at the top of the proverbial NBA mountaintop. What I did not expect were some of the moves
teams would make in the wake of the season.
I’ll break down a few of my favorite moves thus far.
Ray
Allen Leaves the Celtics and Heads to Miami!
This
move surprised a lot of people. I cannot
say I was surprised that he left the Boston Celtics. To me, it seemed like the writing was on the
wall for Ray “Jesus Shuttlesworth” Allen to leave his beloved Celtics. First, he battled through a somewhat injury
plagued season. Then, he lost, or the
Celtics gave, his starting job to up-and-coming player, Avery Bradley. Any person who has ever played basketball
knows that when you lose your starting position, the team is showing you that
your value has somehow been diminished.
To a player that has always been the third man of the “Big Three” that
was probably a hard pill to swallow. To make
matters even worse, the Celtics lost a hard fought series to the Miami
Heat. After the season ended, the
Celtics management recruited another shooting guard, who has a championship pedigree,
just as Ray Allen has. They signed Jason
“the Jet” Terry, but somehow tried to sell the dream to Ray that they would be
able to play together. Honestly, I think
that acquisition was the straw that broke the camel’s back. While in Boston, Ray Allen constantly ran off
of picks set by Kevin Garnett. In Miami,
his role will be similar, but he probably will not have to run off nearly as
many picks. With Lebron and Dwayne Wade
drawing opposing defenses’ attention, Ray Allen will play the role that Mike
Miller played in game five of the NBA Finals. He will “spot up” and knock down uncontested shots. Ray Allen will make a major impact on the
Heat and I anticipate a repeat championship by the Heat. If the Heat sign Marcus Camby, the rest of
the league can forget about it.
Steve
Nash heads to the Los Angeles Lakers!
Steve
Nash is one of my favorite point guards, even at his old age. He is one of only a hand full of players in
the history of the NBA to shoot over 50% from the field, over 40% from behind
the three point line and over 90% at the free throw line. He is one of the best shooters and passers
the game has ever seen. As good as he is
on the offensive side of the ball, his defense is terrible (think, Charles
Barkley’s voice). Either way, his
arrival is certainly a huge upgrade over Ramon Sessions. I am not certain how he and Kobe will play
off of each other. Kobe Bryant has
handled the ball his entire career and I am not so sure he will be able, or willing, to not
dominate the ball. Steve Nash is
effective because he has the ball in his hands 90% of the time and probes the
defense until he finds an opening. The
way those two players mesh will be key to the Lakers championship run. If Nash is allowed to handle the ball and set
up other players, as he always has done, we could see a huge spike in
production from Bynum, and Gasol, thus propelling the Lakers to a higher level. As
great as Kobe Bryant is, I think the Lakers will become a better team if he stops
being a volume shooter and spreads the ball to his other all-star caliber
teammates. I think Steve Nash is just
the player that can bring it all together for the Lakers. As they are currently constructed, I still do
not see them beating a very hungry OKC Thunder team, but it could be very
interesting if they acquire the rights of Dwight “crybaby” Howard. I anticipate the Lakers making it to the conference
finals and losing to OKC.
Deron
Williams stays in Brooklyn!
In
a somewhat predictable move, Deron Williams decided to re-sign with the
Brooklyn Nets. He is the kind of talent
that can catapult a team into championship contention. However, he cannot do it alone. To that end, the Nets signed Joe Johnson,
formerly of the Atlanta Hawks. Joe Johnson
is a perennial All-Star and an overall good talent, but his acquisition alone
is not enough to compete with the Miami Heat.
He will provide steady scoring, as he did in Atlanta. But, against the Heat, his production would
likely be eclipsed, or at the very least, matched by Dwayne Wade, making his
signing negligible in terms of getting the Nets to the next level. I certainly think Brooklyn improved and their
core of Williams, Johnson, Gerald Wallace, Brook Lopez, Marshon Brooks and Kris
Humphries is not bad. However, unless
they are able to grab Dwight Howard, they will still find themselves at home watching
the NBA Finals next year.
Lamar
Odom and Jamal Crawford head to the Los Angeles Clippers!
Lamar
Odon had a very disappointing 2011-12 season.
He experienced a lot of off-court turmoil and as a result, his on-court
performance was downright horrible. He
was unable to focus after demanding a trade.
A lot of people wrote him off and said that he is “washed up” or
incapable of being a successful professional player. I think he will use the negative words as motivation
for his fresh start with the Los Angeles Clippers. He could provide the type of versatility the
Clippers need to advance further in the playoffs. Jamal Crawford is another major piece the
Clippers signed. He is best known for
being a scoring machine off the bench for a number of NBA teams. Most importantly, he has the size of a traditional
shooting guard. He can score and he is a
veteran player. I can envision an end
game lineup of Chris Paul, Jamal Crawford, Caron Butler, Lamar Odom and Blake
Griffin. Assuming Chauncey Billups is
healthy, he could certainly be in that lineup at the end of games. The Clippers made great moves, but they still
don’t have enough to come out of the deep Western Conference.
As
much as I hate to admit it, the only player that can single handedly change the
power structure of the NBA is Dwight Howard.
I am not a fan of his because he is a crybaby, and seems to never be
satisfied. Either way, this offseason
has been exciting thus far, and I anticipate more moves being made in the coming
weeks and months.
Peace
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