Twenty-nine teams, one dream.
The marathon journey that is the NBA regular season kicked off last night with 13 games on tap.
The first complete NBA season in the post-Jordan era since1994 will include several new rules changes imposed and ratified by the league's Board of Governors this past summer.
Expect a lot of whistles from NBA referees this season as there will be a more strict interpretation of foul calls. Defenders will not be able to use their forearms to push off above the free throw line.
On dead ball situations, the shot clock will be reset to 14 seconds rather than the traditional 24-second count. In addition, offensive post players will no longer be allowed to hold the ball for more than five seconds with their backs to the basket without putting the ball on the floor, taking a shot or initiating their move.
All of the above rules changes are aimed at increasing scoring (the league scoring average last year plummeted to a mere 91 points per game). Essentially, the league is trying to make the style of play more aesthetically appealing with more open court and fast break action.
This past off-season was marked by several key transactions and a flurry of activity by a few contenders hoping to strengthen their teams -- namely Atlanta, Portland, Houston and Phoenix.
Meanwhile, in a rebuilding move, the Orlando Magic, the team that had the best record in the Eastern Conference last season throughout much of the regular season, absolutely dismantled their team [much like the Florida Marlins did following their World Series victory in 1995] by trading away starters Anfernee 'Penny' Hardaway to Phoenix, Horace Grant to Seattle, Ike Austin to Washington and Nick Anderson to Sacramento.
As we look around the league, Penny will be sharing time in the backcourt with Jason Kidd, Scottie Pippen will no longer be upstaged by Hakeem and Sir Charles as he will be playing on the deepest team in the league in Portland, who also acquired Steve Smith in a deal with Atlanta. Atlanta traded away its entire backcourt when it traded Smith to Portland and point guard Mookie Blaylock to Golden State. Potential rookie sensation Steve Francis will be the new starting point guard for the Rockets, who now boast probably their most athletic team in a long time.
So, what is the end result of all of this off-season activity? The Western Conference is stacked with a bunch of teams who could all be the conference champ, while the Eastern Conference has a couple contenders, but is very weak in terms of their overall quality of playoff teams.
The bottom playoff seeds in the conference may very well finish with below .500 records. Many believe the top four seeds in the West will all be better than the top seed in the East. The consensus here is that this year's NBA champ will probably come out of the Western Conference, although, don't overlook last year's Cinderella team, the New York Knicks.
Last season, the Knicks underwent as much controversy as one team could conceivably endure from the Dave Checketts-Phil Jackson secret meeting(s) to the firing of the now-vindicated General Manager Ernie Grunfeld (now the GM of the Milwaukee Bucks) just prior to the start of the playoffs. Grunfeld was fired when the Knicks were 21-21 and in jeopardy of not making the playoffs.
Behind the play of athletic cohorts Allan Houston, Latrell Sprewell and Marcus Camby, the Knicks rolled to the NBA Finals until they met up with a team that exploited their lack of front court depth without injured center Patrick Ewing, who partially tore his achilles tendon during warm-ups before Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Indiana Pacers.
All of the Knicks' key players will be returning this season with the addition of forward John Wallace (a player who was drafted by the Knicks several years ago and this off-season signed a three-year deal as a free agent). Wallace should add some much-needed scoring punch of the bench.
Yet, the fact that Ewing will begin this season on the bench [and may not be back until January] because he has not completely recovered from his injury will hurt the Knicks' chances of attaining one of the top seeds in the Conference, especially since they begin the season with ten of their first thirteen games on the road.
The Knicks' fate last season rested on a miraculous bounce of the ball on Allan Houston's game-winning shot in Game 5 of their series against Miami. This year, it will take more than a lucky bounce to get the Knicks back to the NBA Finals.
Tim Hardaway looked like he was on his last legs in the Miami-New York playoff series. The success or failure of Miami will rest squarely on his health. Injuries have been devastating to this team over the years.
Last season was marked by injuries to Jamal Mashburn and Voshon Lenard and already this season, newly-acquired power forward Otis Thorpe will be out six weeks. If the Heat, only the second team in the history of the NBA to lose to an eighth seed in the first round as a first seed, stumble this season in the playoffs as they have the last two seasons in the first round to the Knicks, expect major household changes in Miami next off-season.
Indiana is another team that should contend this year -- but they are an aging team in decline. Rik Smits is limited by foot problems now and will never be as effective as he used to be, and the rest of the core of this team is over 30 years of age. They shipped Antonio Davis to Toronto in exchange for 18-year-old high school phenom Jonathan Bender this past season, but he will be out several weeks with an injury.
The Charlotte Hornets are a deep, talented team, and, now that they will have forward Anthony Mason back this season from injury and Eddie Jones and Elden Campbell well-adjusted to coach Paul Silas' system, expect them to vie for the top spot in the Conference with New York and Miami.
As for the Western Conference, Portland is unequivocally the deepest team in the League, but the Lakers, Houston, Utah, and the defending-champion Spurs will all be serious contenders, and any of them could probably finish the season atop the Conference. The Spurs will be hurt by the loss of all-star swingman Sean Elliott, who was diagnosed with a kidney disorder just following this past season. Elliott is hoping to return in January, but a return from this type of disease would be unprecedented in sports.
Meanwhile, the Jazz will suffer a little from the loss of small forward Shandon Anderson, who defected to the Rockets.
Be on the lookout for the Sacramento Kings. They will be one of the league's most exciting teams to watch this coming season with point guard Jason Williams, forwar Chris Webber, who seems to have finally found a team he can call home, and shooting guard Nick Anderson. Last season, the Kings were within an eyelash of knocking off the Jazz, but their dream ended in overtime of Game 5 of their first round series. Their rabid fans should have a lot to cheer about this season.
Here are a few of my predictions for this season: Wally Sczerbiak will be rookie of the year. Kings coach Rick Adelman will be skipper of the year. Meanwhile, injuries will play a key role in determining which teams are playing in June. How soon the Knicks get Ewing back and how effective he is when he returns could go a long way in determining their success in the regular season.
Furthermore, the Lakers will be boosted when Kobe Bryant, who broke his hand during the preseason, returns. How soon he can get his rhythm down and get accustomed to the triangle offense scheme new coach Phil Jackson will be implementing in Los Angeles could determine whether they are the Western Conference champs or not.
Can the Spurs survive the season without the services of Elliott, even if they have their twin towers in David Robinson and Tim Duncan, perhaps the NBA's best all-around player?
Will Sprewell drive Jeff Van Gundy haywire in the Big Apple, teaming with Allan Houston to form one of the best tandems in the league?
Will he play like he did during the Finals last year, captivating the league with his slashing drives and unparalleled prowess in the open court? Or will he revert back to his reprehensible behavior in Golden State?
My prediction is that the 2000 NBA Finals will be a rematch of last year's Finals. With a healthy Ewing and Elliott -- the series will be up for grabs.
Don't count out Charlotte in the East and Portland in the West, though.
