Written by Chris O’Dell
It is almost the end of October, and that means that my favorite time of the year is officially here. No, it isn’t because of another release in the everlasting “Saw” franchise. It isn’t because of trick-or-treating, perfect weather outside or even pledge week. It is because this is the only time of year when all four major sports are underway at the same time.
With the NFL and college football close to midway through their seasons, the MLB close to its Yankees and Phillies World Series match-up, the NHL in its first month on the ice (yes, hockey is still one of the four major sports in my book), now basketball time has sneaked up on us all.
That means that next week, after a long and tiresome week of pledge week activities, you can flop yourself on the couch and enjoy a baseball, basketball, football or hockey game almost any night you desire.
However, since the NBA kicks off its season this Tuesday, let’s preview what you can expect to see during the 2009-10 basketball season.
The first thing to remember is how the end of last season played out.
First, the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Orlando Magic in just five games during last season’s NBA Finals match-up. After losing the MVP to Lebron James, Kobe Bryant won his fourth championship and first without Shaq.
Next, it is important to note the key transactions that occurred this summer and how they might impact this year’s championship.
The Lakers lost a key player in Trevor Ariza to free agency. They then resigned Lamar Odom, who was a must-keep player for this year’s team. However, L.A. made perhaps the biggest offseason splash after signing bad boy Ron Artest away from the Houston Rockets. If all goes well with Artest in Hollywood, the Lakers should put an even better team on the court this season.
The San Antonio Spurs made the first big trade of the offseason by acquiring swingman Richard Jefferson from the Milwaukee Bucks for a few washed-up veterans like Bruce Bowen and Kurt Thomas. This trade has the potential to put the Spurs right back into championship contention in the Western conference. If Manu Ginoboli, Tim Duncan and Tony Parker can stay healthy this season, the Lakers might have a serious hurdle waiting for them in the Western Conference finals.
Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks added the most to an already solid team last season. With the additions of Shawn Marion, Tim Thomas, Drew Gooden, Quinton Ross and Kris Humphries, the Mavericks have added the depth they lacked during last season’s Conference semi-finals run. By resigning Jason Kidd to go along with Josh Howard, Jason Terry and a top-five player in the league in Dirk Nowitzki, the Mavericks have put themselves up there with the Spurs as possible spoilers to a Lakers repeat this season.
In the East, several familiar faces were added to championship contenders. Shaq was dealt to the Cleveland Cavaliers to play alongside last year’s regular season MVP. With Lebron, Shaq and Mo Williams as the core group in Cleveland, the Cavaliers will need players like Jamario Moon, Delonte West, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Daniel Gibson to shine in the postseason.
Then there’s the Boston Celtics. The team won the championship two seasons ago and was poised for another title run last year until star forward Kevin Garnett went down with a season-ending injury before the playoffs began. With KG, Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce, the Celtics already look like an elite team in the East. Then figure in newcomers Rasheed Wallace and Marquis Daniels to the mix, and Boston might have enough firepower to again win the Davey O’Brien Trophy this season.
Last but certainly not least is the Orlando Magic. The team surprised everyone last year by dominating the Cavaliers en route to their NBA Finals appearance. However, this year’s Magic will have a new look. The team lost Hedo Turkoglu to free agency, but should more than make up for his loss with several new players. Vince Carter should mostly do the job of filling the hole left by the departure of Turkoglu. There to help him will be former Maverick Brandon Bass, Matt Barnes, Jason Williams and Mickael Pietrus. Don’t forget the Magic also resigned back-up center Marcin Gortat, who has the ability to have a breakout season, even if he does play behind the league’s most dominant center. If the Magic are to repeat as Eastern Conference champs, it might be vital for superstar Dwight Howard to improve his offensive game by the time the postseason begins. You might want to keep an eye on that situation.
So with 82 regular season games left to be played starting this week, here is how I see the season unfolding as of now.
The Lakers should be a lock to get to the Western Conference finals this season. I see Kobe and company winning 66 to 70 games this year, falling just short of the ever-elusive 72 win mark set by Michael Jordan’s Bulls. Kobe will win his second MVP trophy in three years after L.A. finishes with the league’s best record.
The hardest question to answer is who will be playing the Lakers in the conference finals.
I see three teams as possible contenders for that spot. There is last year’s surprise team, the Denver Nuggets. Then there are the new look Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs. After going back and forth between the three, I’ll take the Dallas Mavericks over both Denver and San Antonio. I see the addition of Shawn Marion doing more for Dallas than Richard Jefferson will do for the Spurs.
Although the Magic was last year’s conference champions, I see a Celtics and Cavaliers match-up this season in the Eastern Conference finals.
The Lakers will beat out the Mavericks in a tough six-game series, and the Celtics will knock Lebron and company out in the same amount of games.
Then in the finals, I see Kobe winning his fifth ring, and in the process, getting revenge on Boston for stealing the championship from him two years ago.
Lakers fans can once again celebrate in the streets of L.A. After all, in just one year the franchise will be adding Ron Artest, another championship and Khloe Kardashian in a quick span of time.
