This is the home of the defending NBA champions.
No, Gregg Popovich, we haven’t forgiven you for blowing Game 6. This podcast, one of the better anti-Popovich rants you’ll hear, might only be topped by this Popovich bashfest. Ah, we sure were spunky back in late June.
Well, the only key guy missing from last season’s Spurs (aside from Pop’s two top assistants, who moved on to bigger and better things) is Gary Neal, who has been replaced by Marco Belinelli, which on the surface is pretty much a wash.
The interesting thing about this division is the competition Pop’s Spurs will get from the Memphis Grizzlies, whose assistant GM is one of those guys who used to risk the wrath of Pop by daring to ask a question at a news conference. (Those were the days, eh, Hollinger?) The Grizz got the steal of the draft, IMHO, by having Jamaal Franklin fall into their laps, and they’ve been a constant factor in the West for three years running, Rudy Gay or no Rudy Gay.
If they are going to measure up to the Spurs, the first thing the Grizzlies should put on their agenda is staying atop this division. Make the Spurs look northward at someone for a change. Give Pop something to worry about other than his postseason media obligations, which are like watching someone go through a tooth extraction without novocaine.
And hey, wait a minute. We’ve gotten this far into the intro without even mentioning Dwight Howard. (Call it Howard Overload Syndrome. I never want another Dwight Howard free agency headline again.)
The Spurs, the Grizz, the Rockets. Damn good division, right? Well, the Pelicans are my sleeper team, and they happen to belong to this division as well. And the Mavericks? I’m down on them, and folks think I’m nuts. If they finish within two games of either side of .500, I will feel vindicated.
I’ll shaddup now. Onto the previews:
SAN ANTONIO SPURS
By Michael De Leon
ProjectSpurs.com
Can Kawhi Leonard take the next step? The NBA Finals made one thing obvious: Manu Ginobili is on borrowed time and Kawhi Leonard is becoming a bigger part of the franchise. Leonard had Spurs fans comparing him to Bruce Bowen in his first year out of San Diego State, and he shook off some misconceptions about his offensive game in his sophomore season. Everyone in San Antonio – coaching staff and front office included – is expecting Leonard to take another step forward this coming season and become a bigger part of the offense.
The Finals were proof that Leonard is on his way to becoming a top NBA defender, and he showed enough on offense to make everyone around San Antonio wonder if the guy even has a ceiling. Up until now, Leonard has been seen as a complementary piece to the offense. But he will be expected to carry a bigger offensive burden while guarding the opposing team’s best player every night.
The Spurs have been the Duncan and Parker show for the past decade, with some Ginobili mixed in as well. But they clearly need another player that can penetrate, create offense and not just sit around the perimeter and wait on passes to hit spot-up jumpers. Marco Belinelli is a nice addition, but he can’t do all the things Gary Neal can do.
Cut off Parker’s penetration and the Spurs have had a world of trouble finding offensive options and can become sluggish. Leonard will have to be that second perimeter weapon in the starting unit, and he will have to be consistently reliable for the Spurs to have a shot at a championship.
CONTINUE READING 2013-14 SAN ANTONIO SPURS SEASON PREVIEW
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MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES
By Andrew Ford
SBNation.com
Despite a multitude of momentous changes, the Grizzlies continued to obliterate opponents with nasty defense and grind-it-out offense just like in years past. With that said, the Grizzlies didn’t simply stay on track. They ascended into the NBA’s elite. The team finished with its best record in franchise history and played better than ever, post-Rudy. In the playoffs, the Grizz made an impressive run to the Western Conference finals before being picked apart by the San Antonio Spurs.
All this is to say the Grizzlies know how to handle change and arguably thrive during it. That’s a good thing, because the Grizzlies have multiple changes to adapt to for the 2013-14 season.Pera and company, having never connected with coach Lionel Hollins, clearly became too disenchanted with his philosophical differences by last season’s end to retain his services. However, they didn’t have to look far to find a coach that jived with their organizational philosophy. As a matter of fact, they only had to look to the seat adjacent to Hollins.
Enter David Joerger. He led the defense as the lead assistant for several years, and now will get the chance to shine as a first-time head coach. He will take over a savvy, veteran group of players that know what it takes to be successful. The Grizzlies have one of the strongest starting five in the league. Add Mike Miller (free agent signing), Jamaal Franklin (draft pick), and Nick Calathes (acquired via trade) into the mix, and Memphis might have its most potent roster ever.
CONTINUE READING MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES 2013-14 SEASON PREVIEW
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HOUSTON ROCKETS
By Patrick Harrel
DreamShake.com
Forget about Dwight Howard for a moment, and let’s skip straight to Factor No. 1:
What are the Rockets going to do at the power forward spot? When the Rockets signed Howard in early July, the early word out of Houston was that Morey would look to move Asik for a legitimate power forward. Josh Smith, Ryan Anderson and Ersan Ilyasova were all mentioned as targets, but such talk has slowly ground to a halt. As a result, the Rockets are likely going to come to training camp with a big question mark at power forward.
The two traditional fours on the roster, Terrence Jones and Donatas Motiejunas, fit best alongside Howard because of their ability to stretch the floor. But both were hot and cold in their rookie stints. Motiejunas was pressed into starting duty after the trade of Patrick Patterson, and Jones got late season minutes, but both were out of the rotation come playoff time.
With that in mind, what will McHale do with that spot? Will he opt to play Motiejunas and put four shooters around Howard? or will he risk destroying his spacing with an unconventional lineup of Asik and Howard in the frontcourt?
CONTINUE READING 2013-14 HOUSTON ROCKETS SEASON PREVIEW
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NEW ORLEANS PELICANS
By Schlomo Sprung
SheridanHoops.com
A lot can change in just under five months. Just ask the basketball fans of New Orleans. They really needed change after what went on last season.
The 2012-2013 season was dark and gloomy for NOLA hoops. The team finished 14th in the Western Conference at 27-55, with an 11-30 road record that was also 14th in the conference. The team had trouble scoring (more on that later) and winning intraconference games. Its record against West teams was 15-37, good for – you guessed it – 14th in the West.
Promising Austin Rivers (more on him later) had a really bad rookie season, being outplayed by journeyman Roger Mason Jr. The depth wasn’t very strong. Although the team was in the top half of the league in scoring defense (14th overall) New Orleans allowed opponents to shoot 37.4 percent from three. That was 27th in the NBA and … 14th in the West.
CONTINUE READING 2013-14 NEW ORLEANS PELICANS SEASON PREVIEW
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DALLAS MAVERICKS
By Tim Cato
MavsMoneyball.com
Between the much-publicized decision to let most of the 2011 championship team go, and the subsequent failure to obtain a top-tier free agent, Dallas is treading water – not quite ready to go under but with no real rescue in sight.
This offseason, the Mavericks rolled the dice and brought in an eclectic combination of players through free agency that left much of the league shaking its heads in confusion. But as the end of Dirk Nowitzki’s career grows visible, it was clear Dallas had to take a chance on some guys and pray that it works.
One factor:
Can Monta Ellis change? In a move that was frowned upon by most of the basketball world, Ellis became a Maverick. It’s no wonder – the eight-year veteran is inefficient volume shooter and very poor defender.
But after a particularly awful season in Milwaukee, Ellis arrives on a team with a go-to scorer and a demanding coach, something he has not seen much of throughout his career. If there ever was a team that could emphasize his knack for scoring and underrated passing skills, Dallas seems like the place.
It has been speculated that Ellis might come off the bench as the team’s sixth man, a move that could improve his poor shot selection. Whatever the case, Ellis is a gamble that was necessary at this late stage of Nowitzki’s career as the Mavericks hope to give him one last shot at a championship.
CONTINUE READING 2013-14 DALLAS MAVERICKS SEASON PREVIEW