Can Chris Paul help the LA Clippers overtake the Lakers? Can the Boston Celtics come good again? And are Miami Heat still the most hated team in US sports?
10 things to watch for in NBA 2011-12 - in pictures
In many ways, the upcoming abbreviated 66 game NBA season threatens to be more of a transitional period than a story unto itself, a bridge from the NBA of the recent past to a rather uncertain future. It's really almost impossible to predict what storylines will be relevant in the shortened 2011-12 NBA season without risking almost certain embarrassment. With that said, here are a few predictions for what may happen:
1. David Stern's Last Stand?
This might be a tad overdramatic, NBA commissioner David Stern isn't in his "embattled world leader in his bunker" period quite yet. That said, he has lost a lot of goodwill from owners, players and fans during the protracted lockout and his cancellation of a Chris Paul trade from the league-owned New Orleans Hornets to the Los Angeles Lakers for "basketball reasons" has made him look, at best, foolish and, at worst, dictatorial. It's never a good sign when your league's most compelling storyline might take place away from the stands, and perhaps that, more than anything else, might be the biggest sign that Stern's reign may be over sooner rather than later.
2. Everybody Still Hates the Miami Heat
Before NBA talk devolved into endless haggling about Collective Bargaining Agreements and Basketball Related Income, the NBA Finals ended in a triumphant note for most of the country as the Dallas Mavericks defeated the Brotherhood of Evil Ballers (a.k.a. the Miami Heat). The Two And A Half Superstars (LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, in that order) are ready for a second go around as the most hated team in American sports and (not coincidentally) the biggest draw in the NBA. Although you'd never know that if you catch the first few minutes of Heat home games and their trademark cheering section of empty seats.
3. The Dwight Howard Sweepstakes
The Orlando Magic are the latest team forced to trade their star player or risk letting him leave in free agency for nothing, so center Dwight Howard is on the trading market to a handful of teams. He may be traded by the time you read this. Will he turn around the fortunes of the suddenly rudderless Lakers (who are seeking a quick fix after Stern sabotaged the Chris Paul trade)? Will he make a splash in New York with the Brooklyn-bound Nets? Will he join the World Champion Dallas Mavericks? What about the Toronto Raptors? OK, he's not going to the Toronto Raptors, I just wanted to make sure you were paying attention.
4. Chris Paul in Clipperland
So, Chris Paul, quite possibly the best point guard in basketball, ends up in Los Angeles, but with the Clippers and not the Lakers, leading casual fans to finally notice that L.A. actually has a second basketball team. No, seriously, they play in the Staples Center and everything! Jokes, aside, the combination of Chris Paul and 2011 Dunk Contest Champion/YouTube Legend Blake Griffin make the Los Angeles Clippers potentially the most exciting team in the NBA until one or both of them suffer a season-ending injury. They're still the Clippers after all.
5. The Young Guns
More than any other major American pro sport league, the NBA provides players who are just fun to root for, and as legends grow older (Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Steve Nash) or turn heel (LeBron James, Dwyane Wade), younger players emerge to take their places. No two great players are easier to root for than reigning MVP Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls and Team USA hero Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Even some teams without much hope can take solace in an intriguing player. Will Washington Wizard John Wall take a step up into superstardom? Will Sacramento Kings rookie Jimmer Fredette, who shined playing for strict Mormon institution Brigham Young University, emerge as an NBA answer to Tim Tebow? Or will Jimmer actually be able to play well through the first three quarters of a game?
6. A Rivalry in Decline
The Most Storied Rivalry In NBA History ? has seen better days. The Boston Celtics are getting older, the discussion around them involves more lines about "windows closing" than you'll hear while working a Microsoft help line. Kobe Bryant has lost Chris Paul, Lamar Odom and (thanks to California divorce law) possibly half of his fortune in the last two weeks. That said, the TWO teams still have six great players between them barring injury (Kobe, Pau Gasol, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo) and so expect the two teams to still be a factor, especially if the Lakers make a call for Superman (Dwight Howard).
7. New York Rebirth
For years, New York's basketball history was in shambles, with the Knicks reduced to the subject of countless Saturday Night Live jokes and David Letterman punchlines. Last year, the Knicks acquired Amar'e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony and the New Jersey Nets owner, the Russian billionaire and probable Bond villain Mikhail Prokhorov announced they were moving the franchise to Brooklyn. While the Knicks aren't likely to win the Finals this year, and the Nets will remain in New Jersey for the season, the moves both teams make could lead to a basketball Renaissance, particularly if Dwight Howard gets moved or Chris Paul doesn't work out in Los Angeles.
8. Setting in The West
They never got the hype as the Lakers/Celtics, but the rivalry between Tim Duncan's San Antonio Spurs and Steve Nash's Phoenix Suns has been at least an equal part of the basketball landscape in the last decade. As the two teams enter their twilight, this season would be a great time for fans to appreciate these two teams while they still can. Steve Nash is certainly the finest left-wing, health food obsessed, floppy haired Canadian in the league today and although Tim Duncan's reputation as perhaps the least interesting basketball superstar in NBA isn't entirely undeserved - I in fact nodded off in the process of writing this sentence - we should never take advantage of one more near peak year of any surefire Hall of Fa...zzzz..
9. Old Dogs
Every season features a group of big names forced to become role players, and this trend has been aided by an "amnesty clause" that has allowed each team to release one unfavorable contract. Former stars such as Gilbert Arenas, Chauncey Billups, Vince Carter, Jermaine O'Neal, Baron Davis etc could catch fire, flame out or just keep on. On the flip side, there's always a chance of an unexpected comeback. Even fallen superstar Allen Iverson is attempting one last comeback, although scouts worry that he's out of "practice".
10. Oh Yeah, the Defending Champions
I almost forgot about them, and maybe you did too, but the Dallas Mavericks still won the Finals. It's hard to remember with all the off-field legal wrangling and the Chris Paul highlighted madness of the abbreviated offseason. Nobody's giving the Dallas much of a shot to repeat, but at the very least, it will be interesting to see if Commissioner Stern is present to see his long time nemesis, Mavs owner Mark Cuban, receive his ring. With the rocky year David Stern has had, it will be interesting to see how he adjusts to his always entertaining foil's success, just one more must-follow storyline in what promises to be a utterly unique 66 games.
We will have live coverage of the opening game of the NBA season, Boston Celtics @ New York Knicks, plus reports on all the other games on Christmas Day.
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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2011/dec/21/nba-preview-10-things-lebron-james
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