The
Western Stand-bys (16-18)
Thunder, Spurs, Clippers -- For these squads it’s all about injuries and not much else. Some nights it’s cool to watch the good teams take over, but on others the relatively low stakes of the regular season make the whole thing seem routine, where even their brilliance is too casual for its own good. They’re gonna be good, they’re gonna be entertaining but they’re gonna be predictable for stretches too. I’ll pop in on them but I doubt I’ll watch a ton…until they play each other.
Thunder, Spurs, Clippers -- For these squads it’s all about injuries and not much else. Some nights it’s cool to watch the good teams take over, but on others the relatively low stakes of the regular season make the whole thing seem routine, where even their brilliance is too casual for its own good. They’re gonna be good, they’re gonna be entertaining but they’re gonna be predictable for stretches too. I’ll pop in on them but I doubt I’ll watch a ton…until they play each other.
Eastern
curiosities (19-20)
Knicks, Bulls -- I know who the Knicks and Bulls are: underachieving big brother, overachieving little brother; the Bulls are gonna prevail no matter how lovely or ugly it gets while the Knicks are slug their way into a losing fight 9 times out of 10. Both of these teams will get more interesting as the season goes on, win or lose. I am curious to see Cleanthony Early and Nicola Mirotic.
Knicks, Bulls -- I know who the Knicks and Bulls are: underachieving big brother, overachieving little brother; the Bulls are gonna prevail no matter how lovely or ugly it gets while the Knicks are slug their way into a losing fight 9 times out of 10. Both of these teams will get more interesting as the season goes on, win or lose. I am curious to see Cleanthony Early and Nicola Mirotic.
Less
fascinated by (21-24)
Pistons, Nuggets, Blazers, Grizzlies -- I’m open to be into these teams, I’m just not seeing it right now. The Pistons will either be wildly better than last year…or they won’t; the Nuggets will have a home court advantage that will keep the relevant in the West and yet mask their actual competence on the court all year long; Blazers have Aldridge and Lillard but without any upgrade at all, I don’t see how they avoid sinking in the West; Grizzlies are fascinating in the playoffs when they’re putting the wood to the Clips or Thunder or Mavs or even the Spurs, but regular season they’re a snoozefest, no thanks.
Pistons, Nuggets, Blazers, Grizzlies -- I’m open to be into these teams, I’m just not seeing it right now. The Pistons will either be wildly better than last year…or they won’t; the Nuggets will have a home court advantage that will keep the relevant in the West and yet mask their actual competence on the court all year long; Blazers have Aldridge and Lillard but without any upgrade at all, I don’t see how they avoid sinking in the West; Grizzlies are fascinating in the playoffs when they’re putting the wood to the Clips or Thunder or Mavs or even the Spurs, but regular season they’re a snoozefest, no thanks.
90%
don’t care (25-28)
Nets -- They’re gonna be such a mess all year, only curious if they start winning, watching them lose sounds boring, I don’t think they’re in the playoff hunt at all. Joe Johnson is not terribly exciting to watch, Deron Williams is depressing and KG is just embarrassing. Next summer will be another dreary one in Brooklyn too. (Wacky prediction: Keep an eye on Bogdan Bogdanovich for ROY, he’ll get plenty of run, plenty of opportunities, no pressure to perform and if there is a silver lining to this team it’ll probably be him. In New York that might be good enough for ROY)
Nets -- They’re gonna be such a mess all year, only curious if they start winning, watching them lose sounds boring, I don’t think they’re in the playoff hunt at all. Joe Johnson is not terribly exciting to watch, Deron Williams is depressing and KG is just embarrassing. Next summer will be another dreary one in Brooklyn too. (Wacky prediction: Keep an eye on Bogdan Bogdanovich for ROY, he’ll get plenty of run, plenty of opportunities, no pressure to perform and if there is a silver lining to this team it’ll probably be him. In New York that might be good enough for ROY)
Pacers -- Tough to
watch a good team fall so quick and, shit, they were no fun to watch when they
were rolling! Man, can’t imagine how
sorry that offense is gonna be this year.
Unless PG makes a speedy recovery, I’m ignoring the Pacers til Draft
Day.
Rockets – Personal
bias: Harden is one of my least favorite players to watch in the game and
Howard has never been as much fun for me as for everyone else, the two flakiest
big stars in the league. The Rockets are
a blocky boring team and from time to time they’ll be wretched, I’ll pass. I think they’ll challenge for a playoff spot
so I’m sure I’ll end up watching some by the end of the year but only when
circumstances suggest I need to.
Celtics – Frankly I
think they’re going to be a grease fire this year and out of respect for Brad
Stevens and Marcus Smart (the sneaky ROY d’jour) I think I’ll avoid them. Rajon Rondo as tradebait isn’t as interesting
as it ought to be (personally, I think he gets stuck in Boston, then becomes a
UFA next summer). If they start to win,
maybe I’d watch but I don’t really see that happening, so they’re already part
of next year’s draft coverage for me.
99%
don’t care (29-30)
Sixers -- I wanna see Nerlens Noel and….not much else. I figure MCW has about 5 or 6 of those blow up number hanging games, I’ll catch the highlights. Otherwise there’s not gonna be much else to see. Compare this roster to last year’s Milwaukee Bucks team that won 15 games: the Sixers aren’t even remotely close to as good as that Bucks team. Think about that.
Sixers -- I wanna see Nerlens Noel and….not much else. I figure MCW has about 5 or 6 of those blow up number hanging games, I’ll catch the highlights. Otherwise there’s not gonna be much else to see. Compare this roster to last year’s Milwaukee Bucks team that won 15 games: the Sixers aren’t even remotely close to as good as that Bucks team. Think about that.
Lakers -- I wanna
see Randle but I don’t think he’ll do much this year. I’m not a Laker hater but this team looks
horrible and Kobe on a horrible team is a horrible thing to watch. I’m glad they’re on prime time, they won’t
interrupt my League Pass. Kobe’s
milestones will make the highlights and not much else I reckon.
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