Wishful thinking: NBA Northwest Division preview
Thursday, November 1, 2007
If you've somehow missed all the NBA previews--or are simply jonesin' for more--top bloggers helped We Rite Goode boil the season down to a few catchy soundbites that can be used to impress at cocktail parties or keggers. After you've read our methodology here, go with us from the Atlantic--where nearly all the teams have hopes of a playoff push--to a division where a few teams have set their sights somewhat lower.
1. Utah Jazz
UtesFan89, Win Or Go Home
What they need to do to make me happy: 53 or so wins would be nice, plus a repeat trip to the Western Conference Finals, maybe even a trip to the NBA Finals. Deron and Booze play at All-Star level, Okur finds the shot that abandoned him in the playoffs, AK learns that basketball is a team game and stops complaining, and Brewer develops into an above-average 2 and/or 3. Meanwhile, 'Sap develops a jumper, Almond and Fesenko replace man-crush (Harpring) and Flop (Collins) in the rotation, while Hart and Price solidify the back-up point guard spot.
Reasoning: Even though the Jazz might've over-performed last year, a step up would be nice (if unlikely). Deron and Booze are both All-Star caliber, while Brewer has impressed in the pre-season and he's easily the best defender at the 2. 'Sap's been working on his jumper this off-season, and if Almond develops this year, it could mean less of man-crush and more of a Brewer/Almond combo at the 2/3. Hart and Price improve after a bad pre-season and make it a bit less of a loss when Deron takes a breather. That's what they're paid to do.
2. Denver Nuggets
Howie, NBA Basketball and Other Unrelatedness
What they need to do to make me happy: Win 52 games, get the fifth seed, make it out of the 1st round, have Kenyon Martin become a even an inkling of his ghost-self, Melo winning the scoring chip and finally, solve the problem of overpopulation of pets in Saskatchewan
Reasoning: Saskatchewan pets are out of control! And uh--yeah-- don't look now, but Carmelo Anthony is close to suffering the KG T-Mac Curse of Round One Exit Oblivion or (KGTMCROEO for short). But with the boost of the FIBA win, getting to play with AI from the start, and having healthy teammates for more than 30mins month should bode well for the playoff hopes of Mr. Anthony.
3. Portland Trailblazers
Zach Landres-Schnur, The Big Picture
What they need to do to make me happy: Win 40 games, keep me thinking playoffs until the last week of the season and Brandon Roy needs to be an All-Star, averaging a 20+ points and 5+ rebounds. LaMarcus Aldridge and Channing Frye need to make me not long for Oden and Martell Webster needs to start playing like the Lottery pick that he was.
Reasoning: Making the playoffs is an unreasonable goal. In the loaded West, the Blazers won't be able to sneak in...they're just too many teams in front of them. So to see them compete and keep fans entertained until the end would be satisfying enough, with anything more being a bonus. And with B-Roy the returning ROY, I want more. I'm greedy. I don't give a fuck. Give me a triple-double every night.
* Zach wants the world to know: He's more of a B-Roy fan than a Trailblazer expert. But who can blame him?
4. Minnesota Timberwolves
Anthony Hall, TWolvesBlog.com
What they need to do to make me happy: I honestly don't care about wins and losses for this season- I just want to see Al Jefferson establish himself as an All-Star caliber big man, Randy Foye to successfully take the reigns as the point guard of the future, Rashad McCants to have a breakout season, and Gerald Green to start making smarter decisions. Oh yeah, I also want Randy Wittman to show that he can actually coach in this league.
Reasoning: Wolves fans aren't expecting their team to be anywhere near playoff contention, so this season is all about making strides to improve the future situation in Minnesota. If our core of young players can have strong seasons, everyone will feel much, much better about the future of this team.
5. Seattle Sonics.
Seth Kolloen, Enjoy the Enjoyment
What they need to do to make me happy: Not move.
Reasoning: Yeah, I'm sure you're annoyed with at least one of your team's coach, GM, best player, or dance squad, but consider this: We Sonics fans are staring into the eyes of Death. And his name is Clay Bennett. Bennett's suing the city of Seattle to get out of his Key Arena lease--if he wins, kiss 40 years of living and dying with Seattle's first professional sports team goodbye. Makes that shitty trade you're lamenting look pretty insignificant by comparison, don't it.
Labels: Denver Nuggets, Enjoy the Enjoyment, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA preview, Portland Trailblazers, Seattle Supersonics, The Big Picture, TheHypeGuy.com, TWolvesBlog.com, Utah Jazz, Win or Go Home
posted by Crucifictorious @ 19:34,
2 Comments:
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At November 2, 2007 at 12:47 AM,
WRG said...
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Nice. I hope Seth went as Clay Bennett for Halloween, because he sounds like a scary, scary man.
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At November 2, 2007 at 11:11 AM,
Jarrett said...
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TNT has serious beef with that Utah Jazz blogger.
