nba 2003 season preview

it looks to be an interesting season this year. here are my thoughts:

teams to watch

in no particular order:

lakers

the lakers had no less than a miraculous offseason by signing free agents karl malone and gary payton for a combined 6.x million. that's right, less than 7 mill for two hall of famers. granted both players have passed their prime (more so for malone than payton) but both are still in good health and are solid contributers that should prove to increase the depth of the lakers immensely. having said that, the lakers look good on paper but are not unbeatable. team chemistry was a question mark as soon as rumors popped up that malone and payton would take pay cuts to join the lakers, although if anyone is equipped to coach a team with this much talent it is phil jackson. also talent aside, the lakers are still a relatively old team. they have some solid developing players (medvenko learned some D) but realistically the long season will probably take it's toll on some of the veterans before playoff time.

san antonio spurs

while the defending champs did not have as remarkabe an offseason as my lakers, they did add depth to an already solid team. they added rasho nesterovic to replace the retired david robinson (hats off to a great career admiral), which should prove to be a nice complement in the post to tim duncan. while nesty is not a dominating center by any stretch, his face-to-the-basket approach should work well with duncan, who while listed as the starting power forward plays more of a center style offensive game. they also picked up lengthy swingman hedo turkoglu, a good shooter who should improve the spurs offense by giving them another valid 3-point threat. the spurs also held on to tony parker and manu ginobli, young players who have some definite upside.

dallas mavericks

the mav's have been an exciting team to watch for the last couple years. their collection of talent and up-tempo style of play make for a highlight reel waiting to happen. while they weren't able to catch a real center in the offseason (mark cuban did his best to get alonzo mourning) they did improve slightly in the frontline by adding antawn jamison and danny fortson, who should help provide some inside grit. they showed lasting power in the playoffs last season and i see no reason why they won't do it again as long as everyone stays healthy.

minnesota timberwolves

while always more or less guaranteed a trip to the playoffs every year because of kevin garnett, the t-wolves have had trouble advancing in the playoffs (7 straight first-round exits). they did a respectable job confronting this issue by adding sam cassell and latrell sprewell, both experienced players who can still create their own shot and score. while spree is creeping up in age, he is still a nasty defender who is quicker than many players at his position. they replaced free agent departee nesterovic with michael olowokandi, an injury prone player who if healthy can more than compensate for the loss of the fleeing russian.

sacramento kings

the team that loves to hate the lakers will be back again although like others who are actually paid to write about sports have said i think the kings chances of a championship are steadily fading. they were able to add all-star center brad miller to their roster which should improve their offensive firepower in the front court in addition to taking some of the load off of the aging vlade divac. with that, chris webber is still recovering from knee surgery and will be out until sometime in december. while the kings have plenty of experience dealing with injuries and have one of the deeper teams in the nba (they lost some of their front court depth in letting scott pollard, keon clark, and hedo turkoglu slip out), no team is immune from losing their best player and they may have a slow start to the season. having said that, rick adelman is in my opinion one of the better coaches at juggling a talented roster and the kings certainly have plenty of personnel left to take care of business.

houston rockets

while yao ming did a respectable job in his first season last year i see even more potential as he learns the american game, and with the jazz no longer employing john stockton and karl malone the rockets may just slip into the playoffs this year. stevie francis will no doubt carry the bulk of the scoring load, but backcourt mate cuttino mobley in addition to yao may prove to be enough supporting cast to blast into the post season.

chicago bulls

while the bulls lost a valuable player in jay williams (motorcycle accident), they have enough talent to do some damage if they can get some chemistry going and if their young bigs show up to bring it. tyson chandler went ahead and blocked 8 shots in a preseason game against indiana in only 31 minutes, i am curious to see how he comes along this year. the bulls also added seasoned vet scottie pippen, who will probably not log huge minutes or stats but may prove to serve a mentor role to a young team.

detroit pistons

the all-american defensive grit team will probably make it to the postseason again this year. the question mark is offensive firepower; other than rip hamilton and chauncey billups they don't really have a whole lot of scoring depth. they were able to add a rookie 7-footer, darko milicic, but i see this as more of a long-term project as opposed to an immediate impact player.

new jersey nets

as long as this team holds on to jason kidd and his supporting cast the nets aren't going anywhere but the playoffs every year. unfortunately the only honor this has bestowed upon the nets so far is the joy of being beat in the finals by the western conference representative. the addition of alonzo mourning makes them a legit contender this year if he can stay healthy and establish himself as part of the team, unlike mutombo who never got settled in jersey. if they can ease into the playoffs with mourning playing limited minutes he may just be able to pull off the long haul.

cleveland cavaliers

when it comes to lebron james i am in the camp of "give him some time" as opposed to him being an immediate impact. scouts who watched his high school games say he is well beyond other high school draftees at his age, i.e. kobe, t-mac, etc. however, his preseason has been marked by a handful of great plays coupled with poor shooting percentages. having said that, lebron is part of a strong youth movement in cleveland that should make for a fun team to watch regardless of the win/loss record. ricky davis and darius miles along with lebron should prove to deliver some highlight reel material, if not some upsets against other "better" teams in the eastern conference.