It’s been about two years, but Benchpoints is officially back! A lot has happened the past two seasons, but basically it comes down to this:
It’s all bright and sunny in California as the Lakers are the two-time reigning champions and they’re going for their second threepeat in 10 years. And, with the additions of talented veterans Steve Blake, Matt Barnes, and Theo Ratliff, as well as the Trevor Ariza clone in Devin Ebanks, the Lakers look more unbeatable than ever.
However, down in South Beach, a new three-headed contender has been spawned by former Lakers Coach Pat Riley. Led by Lebron (or Dwyane Wade based on who you ask), these young upstarts are looking to challenge the Lakers for league supremacy and, in all likelihood, they will get their wish. Lebron + Wade + Bosh + Anybody is a formidable beast of a matchup.
Despite the attention that Miami is getting, one can’t overlook Superman in nearby Orlando or the revamped Celtics with the addition of the O’Neal “Brothers”. Both teams have the talent and drive to push Miami to the limit. They may still make it to the Finals, but it won’t be a walk in the park, unless the park is filled with lava pits and dinosaurs, then it would be an accurate comparison.
It won’t be all sunshine and rainbows out west either. Kevin Durant is playing the best basketball of his young career and, fresh off his World Championship, he’ll be looking to take his game to the next level. And he won’t be alone. The Thunder have assembled a young, but extremely talented group of guys that pushed the Lakers to 6 games last post-season. While I will be looking forward to watching them play, most teams in the NBA won’t be.
And let’s not forget the other contenders in the West. I won’t go through every team, but some teams that will be competing with the Lakers will be the Blazers (always a threat when they’re actually healthy), the Suns (Steve Nash will keep them competitive), the Spurs (Tim Duncan’s not THAT old), and Houston (Yeah, that’s right, look what they did last year without Yao. And now Yao’s coming back…probably).
Yeah, that’s about it. I have a feeling that this is going to be a crazy season with lots of ups and downs with some teams coming out and surprising everyone (read: Fear the Deer). Look for miniature season previews for each team to be published soon. And, in case you weren’t excited about basketball enough, here’s a clip from the just release NBA Jam 2010:
-Shogun
