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This is always a great article. http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/6710042#1
10 things we learned about playoffs
The best news for the NBA is all the playoff scenarios weren't settled until the last night of the regular season, and the league broke its attendance record for the third consecutive year.
For the first time ever, the 16 playoff teams will feature 59 international players from 28 countries and territories, as the globalization of the NBA continues to thrive.
That's the good stuff from the league perspective as we head into the playoffs beginning Saturday with best-of-seven first-round series. The bigger question, of course, is how interesting these series will be, or will it turn into an interminable ball of confusion — not knowing when or on what station the games will be played?
And while we're at it, how long will this first of four rounds take — with the possibility of the some series lasting 16 days?
Only five teams in the Eastern Conference had winning records, led by the Detroit Pistons with 53 wins, but there's also the boon of having the Toronto Raptors as Atlantic Division champions and in the playoffs for the first time in five years and equaling their best record ever with 47 wins. Back in the playoffs after a three-year absence are the Orlando Magic, too.
But the biggest transition comes out West, where eight teams finished above .500. Ageless Don Nelson was talked out of hanging out in Hawaii by Chris Mullin, now the general manager of the Golden State Warriors. And the result is the Warriors are in the playoffs for the first time in 13 years — the longest drought in the league. The last time it happened was when Nelson was coach of the W's and Mullin his All-Star forward.
That's just a taste of what's happening, with more specifics in the 10 things we expect to see in the playoffs.
1. Item: The Chicago Bulls went into New Jersey Wednesday night to close out the season, and they flew home after a staggering nine-point loss to the Nets.
What this really means: The loss cost them the second seed, which would have been their highest since 1998, when they won their last title. Instead they slipped all the way to the fourth seed. So now they're playing the Miami Heat instead of the seventh-seeded Washington Wizards, playing without All-Star Gilbert Arenas. And not only does that set them up against the defending champion Heat, but should they manage to struggle by the seriously banged up Heat, they would then have to go through the top-seeded Detroit Pistons.
It will be interesting to see how coach Scott Skiles handles the team in the wake of the loss when they had control of their own destiny. But it was the 11th loss in a row at New Jersey, so it wasn't a total shock for everyone. What we don't know is how these young guys will respond. There are great expectations for Ben Gordon, Kirk Hinrich and Luol Deng — among others. They will need serious leadership from big free-agent signee Ben Wallace to be able to handle Shaquille O'Neal and the Heat. Their biggest hole all along has been the inability to score in the post, and they're not going to be able to do it against the Heat either.
2. Item: The Heat did win the Southeast Division despite being hobbled all season, first with O'Neal's knee surgery, then Dwyane Wade dislocating his left shoulder and tearing the labrum in the process.
What this really means: The duo is not close to 100 percent and won't be. They will make huge plays and dominate some games, but the concept of them sustaining it through this series and three more after it seems preposterous at this point. From pushing it so hard in rehab, Wade developed knee tendinitis, so that won't help his plight either. He has to play at an All-Star level, which remains in question. The same goes for O'Neal, who continues to show he can dominate individual games, but at the age of 35, it's not going to last an entire series. He just has to be consistently close to double-doubles and be a big factor shutting down the lane on defense and rebounding.
But just like last season, it will require more than O'Neal and Wade, perhaps now even more so considering their debilitated state. That means Antoine Walker can't be throwing up bricks from 25 feet, James Posey has to get healthy, hit 3s and be a tough defender. Eddie Jones, back for his second stint on his home turf, played well defensively and has shot the ball very well too. Who will be solid at point: Jason Williams or Gary Payton? Neither? There are so many questions for Heat coach Pat Riley, particularly playing the Bulls and how quickly Hinrich gets into the head of Wade, who has generally struggled playing in his hometown of Chicago. The Heat are vulnerable and the Bulls know it — this should be the best first-round series.
3. Item: After starting off 0-4, the Dallas Mavericks never looked back, with three winning streaks of 12 or more games and an NBA-best 67-15 record — determined to erase the memory of having blown a 2-0 lead and a double-figure advantage in Game 3 of the Finals to the Heat last year.
What this really means: Coach Avery Johnson has done a brilliant job of re-focusing this group and Dirk Nowitzki is the favorite to win the Most Valuable Player award. But for the Mavs to win, they'll have to prove they are going to be clutch in close games — and that puts the pressure not only Nowitzki, but Josh Howard, Jason Terry, Jerry Stackhouse and young Devin Harris. Of course, Johnson's approach is to keep them all involved so the pressure is on nobody — which is what they have managed to do all season.
But it will be interesting to see how they respond in the first round, playing their former coach Don Nelson and the Warriors. The Warriors are the only team to beat them multiple times this season and five in a row overall. If it were a five-game series like the first round used to be, then it would be even more curious. As it is, the Warriors won't beat the Mavs, but could push them. The bigger question will be what will happen to the Mavs when they get to the San Antonio Spurs or Phoenix Suns. Meanwhile, they'd better clean up their track shoes; the W's will try to run them to death and Nowitzki tends to get ankle sprains ... so beware.
4. Item: The Warriors won their last five games and 16 of 20 to sneak into the playoffs at 42-40. It was a great accomplishment considering Nelson all but conceded on Feb. 28 the team had little or no chance to make the playoffs and he contended he had even less juice left as a coach.
What this really means: With the mid-season trade that brought them Al Harrington and Stephen Jackson making an impact, along with Jason Richardson finally getting healthy and Baron Davis coping with his bad knee, the Warriors got more and more proficient at outscoring anybody they played — including the Mavs and the Suns. Their kid duo of Monta Ellis and Andris Biedrins continued to improve and win games from time to time for reasons on both ends of the court.
It's certainly laudable what was accomplished here, from Mullin having the faith in Nelson, to Nellie actually pulling it off. But this is a whole different deal in the playoffs. Davis isn't going to be able to drag his leg around the floor with the pressure that will come from the speed of Terry and Harris. Sure, Davis and Richardson have a huge size advantage over Harris and Terry, but the quality of depth and the experience is like night and day. Just because the Warriors finally made it back to the playoffs doesn't mean they're ready to become only the third eighth seed (Denver beat Seattle in 1995 and New York beat Indiana in 1999) to win a first-round series. Those were of the five-game variety, but that doesn't mean Nellie and his guys won't throw some fire at his protege Johnson to keep them inspired. In the long run, this matchup probably helps the Mavs.
5. Item: Nobody benefited more from the Bulls losing to the Nets more than the Cavaliers, who won their last four games, including Wednesday night at home against Milwaukee to lock up the second seed.
What this really means: They will play the Wizards in the first round instead of the Heat and then if they advance they will play the winner of Toronto and New Jersey as opposed to the Detroit Pistons in the second round. Obviously, it was a huge juxtaposition that surprisingly unfolded for the Cavs. Now, with a record-setting season of sellout crowds of more than 20,000, they have to prove playoff-ready after taking the Pistons to the limit in the second round last season — but unable to close the deal.
Conventional wisdom all points to the necessity of superlative play from LeBron James, considering he's the reason they've gotten to this point in the first place. It also is contingent on consistent productivity from Larry Hughes and Sasha Pavlovic, along with the continued consistent interior play of Drew Gooden, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Anderson Varejao. Nonetheless, it always comes down to James, and if the Cavs are to get to the conference finals, it will again. He struggled physically this year for the first time, perhaps as a residual effect of playing in the World Championships. More importantly, his free throw shooting continued its disturbing trend of getting worse every year, this time dropping below 70 percent overall when he split 10 free throws in the final game. If they're going anywhere, above all else, James will have to make clutch free throws.
6. Item: Although the Pistons only ended up with a three-game lead on the Cavs by the end of the season, it was misleading because they really had control of the top seed in the East from the time they signed Chris Webber (bought out by the Philadelphia 76ers and released) and never looked back.
What this really means: On the surface, and certainly the way they started (15-3) once he joined the team, it was just another brilliant move from president Joe Dumars. And it still may turn out to be just that. But it also has caused some confusion for point guard Chauncey Billups. It has been his role to run the offense, and have the ball in his hands at crunch time with the responsibility of hitting the big shot or getting the ball to someone else in scoring position. Instead, Webber's superlative hands and passing skills out of the high and low post have changed the ball flow and tempo of the offense, and it has affected Billups — a free agent this summer — more than anyone.
But it isn't as if the Pistons don't have the best starting lineup in the NBA, because with the addition of Webber to Billups, Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince and Rasheed Wallace, they are still extremely proficient in all aspects of the game. Add to them Antonio McDyess, who has gotten closer to his former healthy self in each of his three seasons in Detroit, and this is a crew capable of exceptional play for extended periods of time. Coach Flip Saunders has done a much better job of extending his bench after burning out his starters last season, so that's been an improvement as well. The key will be to keep an eye on Billups — happy, sad, effective or lost — any of the above will tell the tale of where this team is going in the postseason, which can be anywhere from a second-round knockout to a third trip to the Finals in four years.
7. Item: The Houston Rockets came from behind to steal away the fourth seed from the Utah Jazz with 52 wins this season — the first time they've won that many games since 1997, not coincidentally the last time the Rockets won a playoff series.
What this really means: There are any number of reasons why this season has gone so well for the Rockets, starting with the return to MVP form by Tracy McGrady after early season back woes. And when Yao Ming returned from a broken leg, the team meshed as if he was never gone — proving that Jeff Van Gundy certainly is worthy of very strong coach of the year consideration from all points. General manager Carroll Dawson, who retired, did a marvelous job of adding Shane Battier and unheralded Chuck Hayes continues to contribute up front with Juwan Howard. The big question as they play host to the Utah Jazz in the first round, will be the performance of the erratic backcourt — Rafer Alston and Luther Head, which has shot them into and out of games this season. Nonetheless, these are the Rockets who went up 2-0 at Dallas two years ago in the first round, only to blow the series. It brings to mind the real issue, and that's McGrady never having won a playoff series, nor Yao. McGrady, although only 27, is now in his 10th season with five first-round ousters. Yao, 26, is in only his fifth season and this will be his third go-round in the playoffs. They are superlative performers — have been All-NBA caliber when healthy all season. But they still haven't won a playoff series, and Van Gundy hasn't won one since 2000 when he was coaching the Knicks. Gaining home-court advantage over the Jazz is only important if they win this series. If they do, they will be even more dangerous against the Mavericks in the second round. If they lose, it will all be for naught and the questions for McGrady and Yao will resurface.
8. Item: The Phoenix Suns won 61 games and the Pacific Division title for the third year in a row — an average of 59 wins in coach Mike D'Antoni's first three full seasons as head coach in the NBA.
What this really means: It's hard to know which came first, the chicken or the egg with the eruption of Steve Nash from a good, sometimes All-Star point guard in Dallas into a re-born superstar at the age of 30 in Phoenix with D'Antoni. Clearly, there is a spectacular synergy between the two as they bid to be the only team in the West to make it to the conference finals three years in a row. Nash is the lightning rod to everything, of course, and is in the unlikely possibly winning his third consecutive MVP award, although Nowitzki is the favorite.
But the difference this year will be the performance of others — most notably Amare Stoudemire, virtually all the way back from surgery on both knees — and the erratic offensive play of Shawn Marion in the postseason. Averaging 20.4 points and 9.6 rebounds, Stoudemire has responded much stronger from surgery than anyone thought after a rocky start of the season. Raja Bell and Marion are their two best defenders, and they'll need Stoudemire to get more serious about blocking shots in the playoffs. They'll need more consistency from Boris Diaw at both ends of the floor, and continued explosiveness from roadrunner point guard Leandro Barbosa, a virtual lock for Best Sixth Man. And yet, there is Nash, who has averaged more minutes these past two seasons than any other time in his career. With back and shoulder issues at the age of 33 — it will be interesting to see how he handles all the minutes he'll need to play. If Nash holds up, the Suns have a chance to win the West for the first time since 1993.
9. Item: Evidently, building the Suns with D'Antoni wasn't enough for Bryan Colangelo ... he had to bolt to Toronto and in a matter of months rebuild the Raptors into one of the best young teams in the East around budding All-Star Chris Bosh.
What this really means: The Raptors averaged 29 wins a season the past four years until Colangelo blew it all up for coach Sam Mitchell. He traded for point guard T.J. Ford, center Rasho Nesterovic, forward Kris Humphries and guard Juan Dixon. He signed Anthony Parker after a superb career playing in Israel, drafted young Italian shooter Andrea Bargnani and signed rugged Spaniard Jorge Garbajosa. Most of all, he extended the 22-year-old Bosh with a maximum contract. The result was a 47-win season — tying the most in franchise history and the Atlantic Division title.
Even better news was the way Mitchell and this group bonded. He is a throwback, hard-core coach, and it's always tough to tell how a new group will respond. Well, this one flourished. Now they've got all this inexperience and will face the Nets, starring Jason Kidd, and, of course, the former savior of the Raptors franchise Vince Carter. The back story is an old one — Carter broke down after three special seasons, and admittedly quit on the team before getting traded to the Nets for Alonzo Mourning, Aaron Williams, Eric Williams and draft picks in one of the most lopsided deals ever during the 2004-05 season. But this is a story about the Raptors, at least for now, and this is their opportunity to prove they have outgrown Carter once and for all ... or not.
And that leaves the San Antonio Spurs, in many corners considered one of the favorites to win the title, presuming they are capable of beating the Nuggets, the Suns and then the Mavericks. That's a tall order for anyone, even a team that has been to the Finals two of the past four years.[/COLOR] What this really means: It's hard to get past the obvious — coach Gregg Popovich has built this team around Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, and floated pieces, young and old, around them. He added some size with Fabricio Oberto, Francisco Elson and Jackie Butler to support Duncan up front. Aging gunners Michael Finley and Brent Barry are still around to light up the joint on occasion off the bench — and there are others. Duncan was fabulous in last year's playoffs, but it wasn't enough despite the simple fact he remains one of the top five players in the league and certainly the most accomplished 7-footer at this point. More interesting will be the ramifications from the game officials in the wake of his mocking popular veteran official Joey Crawford, who lost his temper as a result and was suspended for the rest of the season. Who knows if that will be an issue. And then there is Parker, the best guard in the league at getting into the paint who has frequently petered out in the playoffs. Not only will they need Parker at his best — particularly vs. Devin Harris against Dallas — it always seems to come down to Ginobili. If the Spurs are to get back to the Finals, Ginobili will have to be at his annoying best driving to the basket, swishing 3s, deflecting passes and drawing charges. Should their terrific trio play at the highest level they've shown before, they can win another title.
10 things we learned about playoffs
The best news for the NBA is all the playoff scenarios weren't settled until the last night of the regular season, and the league broke its attendance record for the third consecutive year.
For the first time ever, the 16 playoff teams will feature 59 international players from 28 countries and territories, as the globalization of the NBA continues to thrive.
That's the good stuff from the league perspective as we head into the playoffs beginning Saturday with best-of-seven first-round series. The bigger question, of course, is how interesting these series will be, or will it turn into an interminable ball of confusion — not knowing when or on what station the games will be played?
And while we're at it, how long will this first of four rounds take — with the possibility of the some series lasting 16 days?
Only five teams in the Eastern Conference had winning records, led by the Detroit Pistons with 53 wins, but there's also the boon of having the Toronto Raptors as Atlantic Division champions and in the playoffs for the first time in five years and equaling their best record ever with 47 wins. Back in the playoffs after a three-year absence are the Orlando Magic, too.
But the biggest transition comes out West, where eight teams finished above .500. Ageless Don Nelson was talked out of hanging out in Hawaii by Chris Mullin, now the general manager of the Golden State Warriors. And the result is the Warriors are in the playoffs for the first time in 13 years — the longest drought in the league. The last time it happened was when Nelson was coach of the W's and Mullin his All-Star forward.
That's just a taste of what's happening, with more specifics in the 10 things we expect to see in the playoffs.
1. Item: The Chicago Bulls went into New Jersey Wednesday night to close out the season, and they flew home after a staggering nine-point loss to the Nets.
What this really means: The loss cost them the second seed, which would have been their highest since 1998, when they won their last title. Instead they slipped all the way to the fourth seed. So now they're playing the Miami Heat instead of the seventh-seeded Washington Wizards, playing without All-Star Gilbert Arenas. And not only does that set them up against the defending champion Heat, but should they manage to struggle by the seriously banged up Heat, they would then have to go through the top-seeded Detroit Pistons.
It will be interesting to see how coach Scott Skiles handles the team in the wake of the loss when they had control of their own destiny. But it was the 11th loss in a row at New Jersey, so it wasn't a total shock for everyone. What we don't know is how these young guys will respond. There are great expectations for Ben Gordon, Kirk Hinrich and Luol Deng — among others. They will need serious leadership from big free-agent signee Ben Wallace to be able to handle Shaquille O'Neal and the Heat. Their biggest hole all along has been the inability to score in the post, and they're not going to be able to do it against the Heat either.
2. Item: The Heat did win the Southeast Division despite being hobbled all season, first with O'Neal's knee surgery, then Dwyane Wade dislocating his left shoulder and tearing the labrum in the process.
What this really means: The duo is not close to 100 percent and won't be. They will make huge plays and dominate some games, but the concept of them sustaining it through this series and three more after it seems preposterous at this point. From pushing it so hard in rehab, Wade developed knee tendinitis, so that won't help his plight either. He has to play at an All-Star level, which remains in question. The same goes for O'Neal, who continues to show he can dominate individual games, but at the age of 35, it's not going to last an entire series. He just has to be consistently close to double-doubles and be a big factor shutting down the lane on defense and rebounding.
But just like last season, it will require more than O'Neal and Wade, perhaps now even more so considering their debilitated state. That means Antoine Walker can't be throwing up bricks from 25 feet, James Posey has to get healthy, hit 3s and be a tough defender. Eddie Jones, back for his second stint on his home turf, played well defensively and has shot the ball very well too. Who will be solid at point: Jason Williams or Gary Payton? Neither? There are so many questions for Heat coach Pat Riley, particularly playing the Bulls and how quickly Hinrich gets into the head of Wade, who has generally struggled playing in his hometown of Chicago. The Heat are vulnerable and the Bulls know it — this should be the best first-round series.
3. Item: After starting off 0-4, the Dallas Mavericks never looked back, with three winning streaks of 12 or more games and an NBA-best 67-15 record — determined to erase the memory of having blown a 2-0 lead and a double-figure advantage in Game 3 of the Finals to the Heat last year.
What this really means: Coach Avery Johnson has done a brilliant job of re-focusing this group and Dirk Nowitzki is the favorite to win the Most Valuable Player award. But for the Mavs to win, they'll have to prove they are going to be clutch in close games — and that puts the pressure not only Nowitzki, but Josh Howard, Jason Terry, Jerry Stackhouse and young Devin Harris. Of course, Johnson's approach is to keep them all involved so the pressure is on nobody — which is what they have managed to do all season.
But it will be interesting to see how they respond in the first round, playing their former coach Don Nelson and the Warriors. The Warriors are the only team to beat them multiple times this season and five in a row overall. If it were a five-game series like the first round used to be, then it would be even more curious. As it is, the Warriors won't beat the Mavs, but could push them. The bigger question will be what will happen to the Mavs when they get to the San Antonio Spurs or Phoenix Suns. Meanwhile, they'd better clean up their track shoes; the W's will try to run them to death and Nowitzki tends to get ankle sprains ... so beware.
4. Item: The Warriors won their last five games and 16 of 20 to sneak into the playoffs at 42-40. It was a great accomplishment considering Nelson all but conceded on Feb. 28 the team had little or no chance to make the playoffs and he contended he had even less juice left as a coach.
What this really means: With the mid-season trade that brought them Al Harrington and Stephen Jackson making an impact, along with Jason Richardson finally getting healthy and Baron Davis coping with his bad knee, the Warriors got more and more proficient at outscoring anybody they played — including the Mavs and the Suns. Their kid duo of Monta Ellis and Andris Biedrins continued to improve and win games from time to time for reasons on both ends of the court.
It's certainly laudable what was accomplished here, from Mullin having the faith in Nelson, to Nellie actually pulling it off. But this is a whole different deal in the playoffs. Davis isn't going to be able to drag his leg around the floor with the pressure that will come from the speed of Terry and Harris. Sure, Davis and Richardson have a huge size advantage over Harris and Terry, but the quality of depth and the experience is like night and day. Just because the Warriors finally made it back to the playoffs doesn't mean they're ready to become only the third eighth seed (Denver beat Seattle in 1995 and New York beat Indiana in 1999) to win a first-round series. Those were of the five-game variety, but that doesn't mean Nellie and his guys won't throw some fire at his protege Johnson to keep them inspired. In the long run, this matchup probably helps the Mavs.
5. Item: Nobody benefited more from the Bulls losing to the Nets more than the Cavaliers, who won their last four games, including Wednesday night at home against Milwaukee to lock up the second seed.
What this really means: They will play the Wizards in the first round instead of the Heat and then if they advance they will play the winner of Toronto and New Jersey as opposed to the Detroit Pistons in the second round. Obviously, it was a huge juxtaposition that surprisingly unfolded for the Cavs. Now, with a record-setting season of sellout crowds of more than 20,000, they have to prove playoff-ready after taking the Pistons to the limit in the second round last season — but unable to close the deal.
Conventional wisdom all points to the necessity of superlative play from LeBron James, considering he's the reason they've gotten to this point in the first place. It also is contingent on consistent productivity from Larry Hughes and Sasha Pavlovic, along with the continued consistent interior play of Drew Gooden, Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Anderson Varejao. Nonetheless, it always comes down to James, and if the Cavs are to get to the conference finals, it will again. He struggled physically this year for the first time, perhaps as a residual effect of playing in the World Championships. More importantly, his free throw shooting continued its disturbing trend of getting worse every year, this time dropping below 70 percent overall when he split 10 free throws in the final game. If they're going anywhere, above all else, James will have to make clutch free throws.
6. Item: Although the Pistons only ended up with a three-game lead on the Cavs by the end of the season, it was misleading because they really had control of the top seed in the East from the time they signed Chris Webber (bought out by the Philadelphia 76ers and released) and never looked back.
What this really means: On the surface, and certainly the way they started (15-3) once he joined the team, it was just another brilliant move from president Joe Dumars. And it still may turn out to be just that. But it also has caused some confusion for point guard Chauncey Billups. It has been his role to run the offense, and have the ball in his hands at crunch time with the responsibility of hitting the big shot or getting the ball to someone else in scoring position. Instead, Webber's superlative hands and passing skills out of the high and low post have changed the ball flow and tempo of the offense, and it has affected Billups — a free agent this summer — more than anyone.
But it isn't as if the Pistons don't have the best starting lineup in the NBA, because with the addition of Webber to Billups, Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince and Rasheed Wallace, they are still extremely proficient in all aspects of the game. Add to them Antonio McDyess, who has gotten closer to his former healthy self in each of his three seasons in Detroit, and this is a crew capable of exceptional play for extended periods of time. Coach Flip Saunders has done a much better job of extending his bench after burning out his starters last season, so that's been an improvement as well. The key will be to keep an eye on Billups — happy, sad, effective or lost — any of the above will tell the tale of where this team is going in the postseason, which can be anywhere from a second-round knockout to a third trip to the Finals in four years.
7. Item: The Houston Rockets came from behind to steal away the fourth seed from the Utah Jazz with 52 wins this season — the first time they've won that many games since 1997, not coincidentally the last time the Rockets won a playoff series.
What this really means: There are any number of reasons why this season has gone so well for the Rockets, starting with the return to MVP form by Tracy McGrady after early season back woes. And when Yao Ming returned from a broken leg, the team meshed as if he was never gone — proving that Jeff Van Gundy certainly is worthy of very strong coach of the year consideration from all points. General manager Carroll Dawson, who retired, did a marvelous job of adding Shane Battier and unheralded Chuck Hayes continues to contribute up front with Juwan Howard. The big question as they play host to the Utah Jazz in the first round, will be the performance of the erratic backcourt — Rafer Alston and Luther Head, which has shot them into and out of games this season. Nonetheless, these are the Rockets who went up 2-0 at Dallas two years ago in the first round, only to blow the series. It brings to mind the real issue, and that's McGrady never having won a playoff series, nor Yao. McGrady, although only 27, is now in his 10th season with five first-round ousters. Yao, 26, is in only his fifth season and this will be his third go-round in the playoffs. They are superlative performers — have been All-NBA caliber when healthy all season. But they still haven't won a playoff series, and Van Gundy hasn't won one since 2000 when he was coaching the Knicks. Gaining home-court advantage over the Jazz is only important if they win this series. If they do, they will be even more dangerous against the Mavericks in the second round. If they lose, it will all be for naught and the questions for McGrady and Yao will resurface.
8. Item: The Phoenix Suns won 61 games and the Pacific Division title for the third year in a row — an average of 59 wins in coach Mike D'Antoni's first three full seasons as head coach in the NBA.
What this really means: It's hard to know which came first, the chicken or the egg with the eruption of Steve Nash from a good, sometimes All-Star point guard in Dallas into a re-born superstar at the age of 30 in Phoenix with D'Antoni. Clearly, there is a spectacular synergy between the two as they bid to be the only team in the West to make it to the conference finals three years in a row. Nash is the lightning rod to everything, of course, and is in the unlikely possibly winning his third consecutive MVP award, although Nowitzki is the favorite.
But the difference this year will be the performance of others — most notably Amare Stoudemire, virtually all the way back from surgery on both knees — and the erratic offensive play of Shawn Marion in the postseason. Averaging 20.4 points and 9.6 rebounds, Stoudemire has responded much stronger from surgery than anyone thought after a rocky start of the season. Raja Bell and Marion are their two best defenders, and they'll need Stoudemire to get more serious about blocking shots in the playoffs. They'll need more consistency from Boris Diaw at both ends of the floor, and continued explosiveness from roadrunner point guard Leandro Barbosa, a virtual lock for Best Sixth Man. And yet, there is Nash, who has averaged more minutes these past two seasons than any other time in his career. With back and shoulder issues at the age of 33 — it will be interesting to see how he handles all the minutes he'll need to play. If Nash holds up, the Suns have a chance to win the West for the first time since 1993.
9. Item: Evidently, building the Suns with D'Antoni wasn't enough for Bryan Colangelo ... he had to bolt to Toronto and in a matter of months rebuild the Raptors into one of the best young teams in the East around budding All-Star Chris Bosh.
What this really means: The Raptors averaged 29 wins a season the past four years until Colangelo blew it all up for coach Sam Mitchell. He traded for point guard T.J. Ford, center Rasho Nesterovic, forward Kris Humphries and guard Juan Dixon. He signed Anthony Parker after a superb career playing in Israel, drafted young Italian shooter Andrea Bargnani and signed rugged Spaniard Jorge Garbajosa. Most of all, he extended the 22-year-old Bosh with a maximum contract. The result was a 47-win season — tying the most in franchise history and the Atlantic Division title.
Even better news was the way Mitchell and this group bonded. He is a throwback, hard-core coach, and it's always tough to tell how a new group will respond. Well, this one flourished. Now they've got all this inexperience and will face the Nets, starring Jason Kidd, and, of course, the former savior of the Raptors franchise Vince Carter. The back story is an old one — Carter broke down after three special seasons, and admittedly quit on the team before getting traded to the Nets for Alonzo Mourning, Aaron Williams, Eric Williams and draft picks in one of the most lopsided deals ever during the 2004-05 season. But this is a story about the Raptors, at least for now, and this is their opportunity to prove they have outgrown Carter once and for all ... or not.
And that leaves the San Antonio Spurs, in many corners considered one of the favorites to win the title, presuming they are capable of beating the Nuggets, the Suns and then the Mavericks. That's a tall order for anyone, even a team that has been to the Finals two of the past four years.[/COLOR] What this really means: It's hard to get past the obvious — coach Gregg Popovich has built this team around Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, and floated pieces, young and old, around them. He added some size with Fabricio Oberto, Francisco Elson and Jackie Butler to support Duncan up front. Aging gunners Michael Finley and Brent Barry are still around to light up the joint on occasion off the bench — and there are others. Duncan was fabulous in last year's playoffs, but it wasn't enough despite the simple fact he remains one of the top five players in the league and certainly the most accomplished 7-footer at this point. More interesting will be the ramifications from the game officials in the wake of his mocking popular veteran official Joey Crawford, who lost his temper as a result and was suspended for the rest of the season. Who knows if that will be an issue. And then there is Parker, the best guard in the league at getting into the paint who has frequently petered out in the playoffs. Not only will they need Parker at his best — particularly vs. Devin Harris against Dallas — it always seems to come down to Ginobili. If the Spurs are to get back to the Finals, Ginobili will have to be at his annoying best driving to the basket, swishing 3s, deflecting passes and drawing charges. Should their terrific trio play at the highest level they've shown before, they can win another title.
