2014-15 NBA Preview

The 2014-15 NBA season begins tonight, featuring a trio of games, two of which, will begin at 8 p.m. The  New Orleans Pelicans will host the Orlando Magic, while the San Antonio Spurs will look to start their quest for back-to-back titles by hosting the Dallas Mavericks. The nightcap will be the Los Angeles Lakers hosting the Houston Rockets at 10:30, with the heavily anticipated return of 19-year pro Kobe Bryant. The latter two games will be featured on TNT. After a whirlwind offseason that saw LeBron James return to Cleveland, Carmelo Anthony stay in New York, and Pau Gasol finally leave the Lakers to go to the Chicago Bulls, the regular season is finally upon. Granted, it has not come without a price, as all-stars Rajon Rondo and Kevin Durant are out for the first few weeks of the season with injuries. Pacers forward Paul George is out the entire season with a leg injury as well. Here are some things to think about and look forward to as the 2014-15 NBA season gets underway.

Wild Wild West

It's an overused way to describe the NBA's western conference, but it has been accurate for several years now. Only eight teams can make the playoffs in each conference, but the West had 10 teams that would've made the playoffs in the East, while the East only had two teams (Indiana and Miami) who would've been playoff teams in the West. Nothing has changed. Teams like San Antonio, Los Angeles (Clippers) and Oklahoma City saw their rosters stay mostly the same, while the other playoff contenders added key pieces to help fine-tune their rosters and make a strong playoff push. Expect several teams that missed out on the playoffs last year (Phoenix, New Orleans, Los Angeles Lakers and Denver) to field much more competitive teams and contend for playoff spots.

The Spurs will look to repeat as champs for the first time in team franchise history. Source- http://www.vosizneias.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/h_51422558-725x412.jpg

Return of a Star and a Legend

While last season was exciting and fun to watch on many levels, it missed two of it's big players for most of the year. Derrick Rose and Kobe Bryant, both attempting to come back from serious injuries (torn ACL and torn Achilles respectively), re-injured themselves early into the season, and would not play again in 2013-14. Rose, the youngest MVP in league history, regained full health and participated in the FIBA World Championships for Team USA over the summer. The 26-year-old point guard has shown flashes of his old self, but will need to showcase a consistent jumper, and stay healthy in order to prove he is truly back.

Meanwhile in Los Angeles, 36-year-old shooting guard Kobe Bryant is coming off of two major injuries in the past two seasons. The torn achilles suffered in April of 2013 kept him out of the playoffs, and then the torn meniscus suffered in November of last season kept him out for the rest of the year after only playing six games. The critics have been more vocal than ever, doubting that Bryant can return to even close to what he was two years ago when he averaged 27 points and six assists per game. Bryant maintains that he is fully healthy and will have no problems getting back into the swing of things. His athleticism has looked diminished during the preseason, but his intelligence and intangibles will drive him to perform at a high level once again.

Top-Tier of East Will Entertain

One thing is for sure, the NBA is back and should be as exciting, if not more exciting than last year.

Tune in to NBA.com for any and all information on all 32 teams.

Thunder Can Survive Durant's Absence

Written by Jordan Vitkauskas

Fans of the NBA and more importantly the Oklahoma City Thunder woke up to startling news a few days ago- Reigning 2014 NBA MVP Kevin Durant had been injured. Not just an ankle sprain or sore back, but a fractured right foot injury that will sideline him for the first quarter of the NBA season at minimum.

Image source- http://img.bleacherreport.net/img/images/photos/003/104/399/hi-res-3a5a7db31459dadad6615b7a0449ba13_crop_north.jpg?w=759&h=506&q=75 

It was a crushing blow to Thunder fans, who were hoping that this was finally the year their team could breakthrough and win an NBA championship. In order to do have the best chance at achieving that, any team in the loaded Western Conference must secure home court and be playing their best basketball going into the NBA's second season. This now seems like a tall task for the Thunder. But there are several things that head coach Scott Brooks and the rest of the Thunder can do to achieve success in Durant's absence.

Utilize Reggie Jackson

Scott Brooks listen to me on this one. Reggie Jackson can play. The soon-to-be fourth year point guard out of Boston College has show tremendous growth. He started 36 games while Westbrook was injured last year, and showed flashes of scoring ability and leadership. While his shooting percentages will have to improve (44% FG, 34% 3pt), Jackson's athleticism and maturity will help the Thunder on both ends of the floor. The best way to utilize Jackson would be...

2 Guard Line-ups

Speaking of Reggie Jackson. He was used alongside Westbrook later in the season and in the playoffs, with successful results. Teams now had to worry about stopping two quick guards instead of  letting the less offensive Thabo Sefolosha, in addition to Durant of course. Jackson and Westbrook are more than capable of running the offense together, as the latter is one of the highest scoring point guards in the league on a yearly basis. In fact, some critics say he isn't a true point guard, rather a hybrid combo-guard. This can and will work in OKC's favor. Both guards will be able to score, as well as run the pick and roll effectively with Ibaka, which will make it extra tough for defenses. Speaking of Ibaka...

Growth From Ibaka

The sixth-year power forward out of the Congo will need to show more improvement in his scoring to keep the Thunder afloat during the first two months of the season. His defense will always be there (career 2.6 blocks per game), and his points per game has gone up each of the last three seasons (career-high 15.1 ppg). However, the 6'10'' big man will have to show more improvement in his post up game to be considered a real offensive threat, so Westbrook does not get double teamed as often. The good news is he is very capable of making this leap. Ibaka's mid-range jumper is very reliable and his athleticism will help him in scoring down low.

Final Thoughts

Thunders fans have no need to fear. Even with a tough schedule in the Western Conference, and the injury to Durant, OKC will be able to post a respectable record in his absence. Scott Brooks and his staff are among the best in the NBA, and will make the proper adjustments to their rotation. Expect Westbrook to shine, and averaged around 25-27 points, seven assists and six rebounds per game while Durant is sidelined.  The Thunder open their season on Wednesday, Oct. 29 on the road against the Portland Trailblazers, followed by a contest in Los Angeles against the Clippers the following night.

Westbrook is not only one of the most athletic players in the league, but one of the best finishers at the rim.

Click HERE for more information on the Thunder.
*All stats and measurements courtesy of Basketball Reference
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Future Stars Emerge from All-Star Game

After watching the 2014 NBA All-Star game last night, one thing stood out. No, it was not the total number of combined points (318), Kevin Durant’s stat line (38/10/6), or the other numerous records broken Sunday night. It was the number of young players who will take over this league in a few short years. Now don’t get me wrong, LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Chris Paul still run the NBA. But it’s players like Paul George, Stephen Curry, Blake Griffin and others that will rise up and take the reigns one day as the alpha males in the league.

All three players mentioned above have come into their own over the last two years, and all three are under 25 years of age (23, 25 and 24 respectively). If you look deep into the advanced stats and metrics, all three place in the top 10 in Win Shares , which estimates the number of wins a player adds to his team (7th: George- 7.9, 5th: Curry- 8.8, 4th: Griffin- 8.9)*.

Furthermore, all three players have improved steadily over the last 2-3 seasons. George has transformed himself into one of the best two-way players in the league. Curry has upped his assists per game, as well as his field goal percentage. Finally, Griffin has improved his low post game,  and has found a way to grab 9.8 rebounds per game while playing alongside DeAndre Jordan, the league’s leading rebounder.

George, Curry and Griffin are also on championship contending teams for the foreseeable future. All three players are locked into deals for at least the next three years, while playing alongside talented teammates (Roy Hibbert, David Lee and Chris Paul) that can help lead them to an NBA title.

No one can predict how high the ceilings are for these three young stars, but one thing is for sure, one day this league will belong to them. It almost already does. The only thing we can do is buckle up and, to quote T.O., “get your popcorn ready”.

Bryant and Rose Set for Return

Kobe Bryant and Derrick Rose are arguably two of the biggest stars in the NBA. The former is one of the greatest players of all-time and a five time champion, while the latter is youngest MVP in league history. Both are coming off of multiple serious injuries, and will be closely watched as the 2014-15 season begins.

Bryant suffered a torn achilles in the Spring of 2013, days before the playoffs were set to begin. He spent the entire offseason rushing a recovery only to injure his right knee after only playing six games in the 2013-14 season. 

Rose tore his ACL in the 2012 NBA playoffs, and then missed the entire 2012-13 NBA season. He returned for the 2013-14 season, but tore his meniscus only a few weeks into the season, and would not play again for the rest of the year.

Both players have stated that they are fully healthy and have experienced no setbacks. Bryant has averaged 19 points per game throughout the preseason, while Rose has averaged 17.5 points per game.

In order for their respective teams to compete for playoff spots this season, the two all-stars must be fully healthy and play at a high level. Only time will tell if this will happen. Stay tuned for more updates.

Click HERE for all news surrounding Bryant and the Lakers

Click HERE for all news surrounding Rose and the Bulls

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NBA Season Set to Start

The NBA season is almost upon us. In less than two weeks, 32 NBA teams will compete in an 82-game regular season to see who the eight best teams in the league are.  Amazing plays will be made. MVP cases will be made, as well as players will emerge as new superstars will be created. After the regular season, the final 16 teams will battle it out for the Larry O'Brien trophy.

Last season saw the San Antonio Spurs defeat the Miami Heat 4-1, winning their fifth NBA championship in team history. This season, the Spurs should be primed to try and repeat as champions, as they returned almost everyone from last season.

The Chicago Bulls re-tooled their lineup, adding power forward Pau Gasol to compliment Joahkim Noah and Derrick Rose. The Clippers added depth to help give their stars some rest and reliability. The Wizards addd Paul Pierce to given them veteran leadership and clutch scoring. Many teams will compete and it will be a dogfight to even make it to the finals.

Stay tuned for more updates and coverage as the NBA season gets underway on Tuesday, Oct. 28.






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