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This week marks the opening of NBA training camps and the release of a new album by Bruce Springsteen. Could it get any better? In honor of the legendary rocker, here are 10 key storylines (with a nod to The Boss) to keep an eye as the pros return to the court.
“Glory Days”
The Boston Celtics were the league’s boldest and biggest winners in the offseason, trading for all-stars Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, who combine with mainstay Paul Pierce to form a talented triumvirate. Do the Celtics have enough talent to return to the NBA’s elite? Well, it certainly helps that they play in the weaker Eastern Conference. They won’t have to beat all of the powers out West, just one of them, which is the same formula the Miami Heat followed two years ago.
Boston has done a nice job of filling out its roster with veteran role players such as Scot Pollard and James Posey, but GM Danny Ainge — even at age 48 and far removed from his glory days as a player with the Celtics in the 1980s — might be the team’s best option to play point guard. Regardless, with half of the roster turned over, coach Doc Rivers has some work to do.
This team should approach 50 wins as well as be favored to at least reach the conference finals. At that point, how much Garnett, Allen and Pierce have left in their tanks will determine if this is a very good team or a champion.
“Born to Run”
The Golden State Warriors were the best story of last year’s postseason, energizing fans across the country with their first-round upset of the top-seeded Dallas Mavericks. It was how the Warriors pulled it off, however, that really made an impact. Given the freedom by coach Don Nelson, Golden State’s free-wheeling, open-court style at times even made the Phoenix Suns seem pedestrian by comparison.
Was the remarkable run, which began with nine wins in their last 10 games to reach the playoffs, short-lived? Or can the Warriors keep it up for an entire season? The health of dynamic point guard Baron Davis, clearly the motor and heart of this team, will go a long way to answering those questions. Davis has missed an average of 30 games in each of the past five seasons.
Watch out for 21-year-old Marco Belinelli, a 6-5 guard from Italy whom Nelson raves about. He averaged 22.8 points in the Las Vegas Summer League, and with his ability to run and create with pace, Belinelli is a perfect fit for Golden State.
“Tougher Than the Rest”
With little fanfare, the San Antonio Spurs just do what they do: win. Following that theme, the Spurs had an unremarkable off-season. While consensus is that trading Luis Scola to the Houston Rockets was a mistake, San Antonio quietly became more athletic with the additions of Brazilian big man Tiago Splitter, Marcus Williams and Ime Udoka.
Regardless, it’s hard to argue with the NBA champions three of the past five years (2003, 2005, 2007).
Coach Gregg Popovich is the league’s best because when things get tough — injuries, distractions, loss of home court advantage, etc. — his team gets tougher, sticking together and finding a way. That foundation, of course, is poured and solidified in October when roles are defined and defense is preached.
Remember this, only two things kept the Spurs from five titles in a row: Derek Fisher’s miracle buzzer-beater in ’04 and Manu Ginobili’s lapse-in-judgment foul in ’06. Beating them 2008 might require a similar unexpected moment.
“Reason to Believe”
With new owner Clay Bennett threatening to move the team, and a legal battle with the city of Seattle pending as a gloomy backdrop, the Sonics will lean heavily on rookie Kevin Durant. By season’s end, however, let’s hope that Durant hasn’t fallen over from all of the leaning.
With Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis departed, Durant will be forced to carry the entire scoring load for a team with a young and talent-deprived roster. But he just might be up to the challenge. No teenager has entered the NBA with more a polished, effortless and diverse set of offensive skills. Expect Durant to have the green light from the first day of camp.
How high is his ceiling this season? All indications are that Durant will exceed the roughly 21 points that LeBron James averaged as a 19-year-old rookie in 2004. (Durant turned 19 years old on Sept. 29.) The Sonics will struggle, but Durant will give fans reason to show up, national TV stations reason to show highlights, and hopefully politicians and citizens reason to support last-minute funding for a new arena.
Score, win, and save the team … why not the cheerleader and the world while he’s at it?
“Restless Nights”
The Dallas Mavericks have averaged nearly 60 wins the past five years, including a remarkable 67-15 record in 2007, but the Mavs have lost eight of their last 10 postseason games. Is this talented regular-season team not built for the playoffs? Or is this the year Dallas wins that coveted championship?
The Mavs kept their entire core roster intact — the league’s deepest and most talented — and are ready to take another run at a title. They’re subscribers of the theory that last year’s first-round upset loss to the Warriors was the case of a difficult matchup and a red-hot opponent.
But just how scarred and fragile is this group? Well, the team’s leader, Dirk Nowitzki, also the reigning NBA MVP and whose subpar performance earned him most of the blame for last year’s early exit, spent five summer weeks backpacking in Australia, New Zealand and Tahiti “exploring the sense of life.”
Forget about life. The Mavs hope Nowitzki’s exploration includes a few more crunch-time baskets in May and June.
“When You’re Alone”
The Los Angeles Lakers won’t trade Kobe Bryant, yet they have essentially wasted three seasons of Bryant’s prime by failing to surround him with anywhere close to a supporting cast that could win a postseason series or two.
They did re-sign Chris Mihm and Luke Walton and sign Derek Fisher. Wow — might as well go ahead and print the Finals’ T-shirts.
There simply isn’t enough talent on the roster to enable Los Angeles to push into the West’s upper-half of postseason teams. That means fighting for a remaining spot and somehow avoiding the Spurs, Suns or Mavs in the first round, which simply can’t be done and would result in another quick loss.
The best part of the Lakers’ season will either be training camp in Hawaii or watching Bryant go for 100 points, unless … enigmas Kwame Brown and Andrew Bynum start delivering night after night, or at least often enough that opponents continue to offer all-stars in trade. Whether or not the Lakers finally pull the trigger on one of those deals is another story.
“Point Blank”
Wonder if Tim Donaghy is taking over/under bets on the amount of elapsed time in Saturday’s first preseason game before a referee’s call is questioned and linked to his scandal?
NBA commissioner David Stern’s worst nightmare won’t go away easily.
Given the situation regarding Donaghy, who pleaded guilty to two felony charges in connection with wagering on games that he worked as a referee, league refs certainly won’t blend into the background this year.
From fans’ signs and heckling, quick-witted highlight-show anchors, and the usual dozen replay angles, expect every call to be under intense scrutiny, even more so than usual.
Elsewhere, Joey Crawford was recently reinstated after a five-month suspension that was levied in part because he reportedly challenged Tim Duncan to a fight. Crawford, of course, will be under strict watch to determine if he indeed has improved his professional conduct. Stern, meanwhile, will be under pressure to institute a set of rigorous standards regarding referee evaluations. Expect a long year for the zebras.
“Follow that Dream”
By this time next year, we should have a good idea of a return date for Greg Oden and how exactly rehabilitation went regarding microfacture surgery on his right knee, etc. Oh, and important details, like his favorite color, toothpaste and cartoon.
Just because Oden won’t play for the Trail Blazers this year doesn’t mean he’ll fade away for the next 12 or so months. The plan is he will attend practices and games, and he’s turning out to be more personable and charismatic than initial impressions suggested. In addition, the concern he has expressed for his team in light of the difficult setback is genuine. It isn’t possible to root against the guy.
Even without its 7-foot franchise center, Portland will be better, but probably not good enough in the loaded West to avoid another trip to the lottery. That could be a good thing. With draft good-luck charm Brandon Roy in attendance, the optimist and dreamer share visions of another No. 1 selection, perhaps point guard Derrick Rose (playing his requisite collegiate season at Memphis), who would help position the franchise for 2009 and beyond.
“Growin’ Up”
The Phoenix Suns, another of the contenders who have been so close the past few years to breaking through for that elusive title, once again enter training camp knowing that the next six months mean little. For this team, intermediate goals are a waste of ink. It is all about the bottom line.
The addition of veteran Grant Hill, another ball-handler and a player whose mid-range game helps address of the Suns’ few deficiencies, certainly will help. But whether or not Phoenix wins a championship, however, more likely will be decided by Steve Nash’s health come April and May as well as the continued development of Amare Stoudemire and Leandro Barbosa, two rising stars who haven’t yet reached their full potential.
Could a disgruntled Shawn Marion and his childish trade demands derail a Suns run? Possibly, but expect Marion to get in line as soon as Nash’s first pass leads him directly to another dunk. If Marion, however, is still grumbling by Christmas, Phoenix won’t hesitate to move him — and move on.
“Lonesome Day”
Hard to believe that LeBron James, who doesn’t turn 23 until Dec. 30, is gearing up for his fifth NBA season. Yet, it is even harder to believe that while several teams in the East bolstered their rosters, the Cavs did, well, nothing to build upon their trip to the Finals.
What all of this means, of course, is that James will have to carry even more of the load if Cleveland is to match last season’s result. James certainly is capable, but is he willing? Despite posting 26.7/6.6/5.9 numbers in 2007, the Cavs’ superstar coasted for stretches as well.
The acquisition of Larry Hughes to be James’ running mate and No. 2 scoring option has fallen far short of expectations, and thus far the team has come up empty in attempts to acquire point guard Mike Bibby.
Cleveland needs a spark, for no other reason than to keep its King happy. As for now, the best bet for a wild-card performance is Sasha Pavlovic, the 23-year-old gunner who now seems capable of filling the consistent scoring role that Hughes has not. If he doesn’t, this kingdom could turn dark in a hurry.