Sports Outlook – NBA

Good day NBA Fans,

This season is vastly approaching and Man O’ Man do I look forward to this season. Let’s Chop It Up and See what the season could be…….

Eastern Conference:

• Atlantic Division:

• NY Knicks: I LOVE what Phil Jackson is doing for my Hometown Team. All Knick fans were sick to their stomach watching the draft and hearing Kristas Porzingis name called as the 4th overall pick in the draft. We’ve seen highlights and obviously Knick fans were still skeptical with this pick. Personally, I’ve seen Youtube videos and I do like what I’ve seen. The same would apply watching this kid in the Las Vegas Summer League. The kid played with heart, IQ and looked as if he was having fun which is important. It is a gamble that Phil has taken, however, I believe this kid is going to be the steal of the draft, as long as he can sustain a long 82 game NBA Season. The additions of Robin Lopez, Aaron Affalo, Kyle O’Quinn, Derrick Williams and drafting of Jerian Grant. Phil is putting solid systematic players around Melo, just as Phil did with Kobe in Los Angeles with Odom, Sasha Vujacic (Whom the Knicks signed this year), Gasol etc. It’s going to boil down to Melo being able to make his teammates better. If Melo can put up 21 PPG, 7-8 RPG and 5+ APG then this would allow his team not to just stand there and watch him with the ball. The Triangle should put players in the right spot, along with good ball movement. I believe in Phil and Melo. The Atlantic division is still weak compared to other divisions in the conference and I feel the Knicks have a chance to Win their division and make it to the playoffs. I have the Knicks finishing either 1st or 2nd in the Atlantic division and anywhere from 6th-8th seed in the playoffs. Call it a fan dreaming if you want, this can be a reality. The NY Knicks will finish this year with more than 17 wins. I’m going 35+ this year !!!

• Brooklyn Nets: The Nets finally got rid of Coach killer Deron Williams ….. When you have a Hall of Fame coach like Jerry Sloan resigning due to indifferences with a player, thats a Problem !!! He arrived in NJ/Brooklyn and Avery Johnson (Coach of the Year -2006) gets fired due to who knows what, thats a Problem !!! Since leaving Utah, Deron Williams has Never been the same player at all. Injuries, Lack of Confidence, Coaching and Player/Personnel changes have really affected this guy. I believe its Karma !!! In my opinion his career is going to be short lived moving forward. Dallas will be his last stop in the league. Veteran Joe Johnson is still on the roster, more than likely Billy King couldn’t find a taker for the overpaid and under performed former all star. Joe would provide veteran leadership, however can he actually lead and perform when it counts most…. The Playoffs !!! I do like Brook Lopez and what he brings to the team. The main concern with Brook is Health. Can the Big Fella play at least half or 3/4 of the games this season to really help this team. Who knows !?!? The Nets had some decent free agent signings that can help the team…. PF Thomas Robinson, PG Shane Larkin & PF Andrea Bargnani (If Healthy). They have a good coach in Lionel Hollins, however can Coach Hollins get these fellas to come together collectively and make some noise in the division and conference. Time will tell….. I have the Nets finishing 3rd or 4th in the division & possibly 7th-8th seed in the playoffs.

• Boston Celtics:Danny Ainge has to be 1 of the smartest General Managers in the league. Ainge has rebuilt this Celtic roster thru the draft and making smart free agent signings. It starts with Coaching and Danny Ainge thus far has gotten the right man for the job. Brad Stevens has got these young fellas in Boston balling !!! He’s getting them to buy into his system and play well. The Celtics did make the playoffs last season & even though they were swept by Cleveland, they put up a Respectable effort. They’ve added some much needed depth in the front court with PF David Lee (Formerly of Golden State), C Amir Johnson (Formerly of Toronto Raptors) SF/PF Perry Jones (Formerly of OKC) & drafting sharp shooting SG R.J. Hunter (Georgia State University) In my opinion what hurts the Celtics is No Veteran Leadership. They have good young talent … PG Isaiah Thomas, SF Jae Crowder, G Avery Bradley and SF Evan Turner. When it comes down to the come down, who’s going to take that key shot in a key game !?!? No one on this roster has been in this position. This team will need to add a veteran or two to help these young guys get thru a loooong NBA Season, On & Off the court. I do not see the Celtics making the playoffs this year. I see them finishing next to last in this division and not getting more wins then they did last season. They will finish with less than 40 wins they accumulated last year. The good thing with Boston is they have draft picks thru the roof over the next couple of years and I can see this franchise getting back to the status they once were, Sooner than Later.

• Toronto Raptors: Toronto has a solid roster and they’ve made some pretty good additions in the off season. The Raptors have a Veteran Leader in PG Kyle Lowry, SG DeMar DeRozan mixed in with solid role players …. C Jonas Valanciunas, SF DeMarre Carroll (Formerly of Atlanta Hawks), PF/C Louis Scola (Formerly of Indiana Pacers), SG Terrence Ross and Toronto Native PG Cory Joseph. When it comes to the Raptors, I just don’t believe in them to get past the 1st round of the playoffs, They will be in the hunt each season for the Atlantic Division, however when it comes to playoffs they do not reflect what was displayed during the regular season. It’s easier said than done, Coach Dwayne Casey has to get these fellas to buy into the system in Toronto and follow thru with a consistent effort especially in the playoffs. Now grant it the Raptors have back to back division titles…. But we play for more don’t we !?!? I can see the Raptors having a solid regular season as  normal, but when it gets to the playoffs, 1st or 2nd round at best !!!

• Philadelphia 76ers: This franchise has me scratching my head each season !!! Lottery pick after Lottery pick each year and Still this team gets no better !!! I call it the Curse of Bubba Chuck !!! How the 76ers handled A.I. is coming back to haunt them, I believe. A.I. should’ve Never been allowed to leave the team, PERIOD !!! Anyway, I had to vent a bit, LOL !!! They’ve drafted PF/C Nerlens Noel, C Joel Embiid & This Year C/PF Jahlil Okafor !!! Nerlens Noel is coming into his own in his 3rd year in the league. I haven’t seen enough from him yet to fully believe in his skill set as an NBA player. Joel Embiid hasn’t played 1 NBA minute and has encountered another setback with his injured foot. This franchise is in trouble with no end in site no time soon. I look at this roster and believe I can put together a team that would & can compete with this NBA Team. The positives for this team is they have tons of draft picks coming up in recent drafts. If I’m not mistaken they have damn near 4-5 draft picks in next years’ draft alone. History shows, whomever is drafting for Philly needs some help or get rid of him, Goodness !!!! Come to think of it Philly had 5 picks in last years draft….. C/PF Jahlil Okafor, Guillermo Hernangomez, Richan Holmes, Arturas Gudaitis, JP Tokoto & Luka Mitrovic. I guarantee that 4 of the 5 draft picks will never see an NBA Arena !!! Just Turrrrrrible (In My Charles Barkley voice) This franchise is going nowhere FAST !!! LMAO !!! I just can’t understand how the front office continues to fail this franchise & city. The 76ers have had multiple draft picks (At least 3 total) in each of the last 10 seasons and have only gotten to the finals 1 time and the playoffs 5 times. Maybe 5 years down the line this franchise maybe something to talk about. The 76ers will finish last in the division as well as the league.

• Predictions: 1st – Toronto Raptors // 2nd – NY Knicks // 3rd – Boston Celtics // 4th – Brooklyn Nets // 5th – Philadelphia 76ers.