Five Things We have learned so far this season
A LayupDrill.com Exclusive
With the NBA season now halfway done for most of the teams in the league, it would be only right to take a look back at what we have learned thus far through the first two and half months, and what we should expect to see for the stretch run.
1. There is no clear cut champion this season.
The NBA big wigs has parity at the top of their league, and they are enjoying it. Here we are, on January 21st, and there is no clear cut definitive shoe-in to make it to the NBA Finals. Arugments can be made for Boston, Cleveland or Orlando in the East to win the Conference. Out West, the Lakers have certainly led most of the way, but the Spurs are certainly dangerous, as are Chris Paul’s Hornets and the new look Nuggets.
2. There will be a lot of crazy trade rumors floating around over the next few weeks.
With so many teams still in playoff contention, that can only mean that many will be burning up the daytime minutes on their cell phones trying to wheel and deal as we near the NBA Trading deadline. We at LayupDrill.com have certainly kept you up to date on many of the big names who are expected to get moved any day now, from Shawn Marion and Jermaine O’ Neal, to the (hopeful) buyout of Stephon Marbury and trade of Brad Miller.
3. The West has Nine Playoff Teams, and only Eight Spots.
The Western Conference seems to be the best overall conference once again this year from top to bottom, yet one of the talented teams out there will be left out in April. The
only three teams that are pretty much a lock to make the playoffs in the West would be the Lakers and Spurs. The Hornets should make it, and the Nuggets or Blazers will win their division. The 5-8 seed are only seperated by 2.5 games currently, with Dallas and Phoenix fighting for the 8th seed right now. Homecourt will be critical in the playoffs out there, where the difference between playing the deciding game seven on the road or at home is like night and day.
4. This year’s rookie class has been impressive.
There was quite a bit of hype around this years rookie class, and I have not been disappointed by the early returns of the marquee names. Derrick Rose and O.J Mayo are my early front-runners for the rookie of the year award, however you cannot discount the recent play of Michael Beasley, Rudy Fernandez, Jerryd Bayless, or Greg Oden. Expect to see more from Kevin Love this spring as well, as Minnesota head coach Kevin McHale gives the former UCLA Bruin more offensive looks.
5. No team will win 70 games, but a few could challenge for 70 losses.
The early thoughts of Boston challenging the Bulls 72-10 mark went by the wayside in late December, as the Celtics started to skid after losing to the Lakers on Christmas Day. Meanwhile, the season long futility that has surrounded the Wizards, Thunder, and Clippers have all of those teams on pace to lose over 60 games this season. As we get closer to the dog days of March, when the season draws terribly long in these cities, don’t be surprised for one of these franchises to make a run at the most lottery balls and 70 losses. Of the 3 teams, only the Clippers have not fired their coach this year, so the most pressure not to tank would be on Coach Mike Dunleavy. The Wizards don’t expect Gilbert Arenas back this season, and the Thunder have shown flashes of improvement, but they are still a long way away.
My Mid-Season Awards:
MVP – Lebron James(Cleveland)
It is truly hard not give this to Lebron, as he has made his team better, while elevating his personal game to an even higher level, which is hard to believe. I do not think he is running away with this award though, as serious consideration can be given to Dwight Howard in Orlando, Chauncey Billups in Denver, and the current MVP, Kobe Bryant.
Rookie of the Year – Derrick Rose(Chicago)
Rose gets the nod barely over Mayo for the first half of the season, though there are quite a few rookies who I expect to make a serious run at this award in the spring.
Coach of The Year – Greg Poppovich(San Antonio)
This is one of the tougher awards to give right now, and I give the nod to Poppovich based on the fact that the Spurs endured key injuries right out the gate with two of their big three, and at the mid-way point of the season, they have ascended to be the second best team in the West. Cleveland’s Mike Brown and Orlando’s Stan Van Gundy get mention here at second and third respectively.
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