New NBA 2010 Champs: Orlando Magic

There's no one that can self-destruct like the Orlando Magic can. Behind coach Stan Van Gundy's hollering and persistence for self-perfection, the Magic can play basketball like there's no tomorrow. Unlike the L.A. Lakers, they've shown that they can self-destruct. In that result they have lost three games in a row consecutively. The Lakers have not lost consecutive games since they acquired Pau Gasol from Memphis in 2008. The Magic have played together as a team together since training camp. They have had ups and downs which isn't exactly self-destructing, although they had a little problem with team chemistry incorporating all the players into SVG's playing system. The Magic rely on Vince Carter's perimeter moves and Dwight Howard's dunks and defensive presence. Orlando would love to have Rashard Lewis get down there in the paint and get those rebounds. Lewis' ability to shoot the three from the outside and to get rebounds on both ends of the floor are valuable for a 6 foot, 10 inch, 230 pound big man. His versatility and quickness are valuable assets for someone of his size and caliber. Matt Barnes' hustle and perimeter defense are worthy of a championship contender in the Magic to the 2009 NBA champion Lakers. His defense on Kobe Bryant in the Magic win earlier this season was terrific. He must play that way to get under Kobe's skin in the NBA Finals should the Magic and Lakers meet again. Orlando doesn't need to rely on Dwight Howard's domination in the paint to win ballgames anymore. They have other perimeter scorers who can lay the smackdown on opposing defenses. The Magic's defensive efficiency is top notch as a matter of fact. It will be a tough night for opposing offenses to score against a stingy and zone Magic defense. If the Magic do want to regain their championship form, point guard Jameer Nelson must be able to hit all of his shots from anywhere on the floor. He must score to his advantage if he is to beat the other point guards at his position and they will be plenty of speedy point guards in the NBA playoffs who can make shots on their term. If the Lakers are to win the 2010 NBA championship, their bench players must contribute to the game as much as possible in points, rebounds, assists, blocks, steals, energy, and hustle than the Orlando Magic bench group of J.J. Redick, Mickael Pietrus, Jason Williams, Marcin Gortat, Anthony Johnson, Brandon Bass, and Ryan Anderson. My prediction for the 2010 eventually NBA champs will the Orlando Magic and their first franchise title in history. If the Magic self-destruct, it will be because of team chemistry.

Michael Jordan's Smarts as GM

This move that Charlotte Bobcats General Manager Michael Jordan made for Stephen Jackson from Golden State sealed the deal. After the trade, the Bobcats played together and cohesively as a basketball unit. They shared the basketball, they competed, they depended on each other's competitive nature to play basketball, and most of all, they had the desire and will to finish and complete basketball games especially in the fourth quarter where it counts the most. What the Bobcats have to compete with the other 29 teams in the NBA is that they have complete point guard display of skills with Raymond Felton and D.J. Augustin at the helms. They can pass, they can score, they can handle the ball, and they have complete leadership of the court and the team they are playing for. I don't doubt Stephen Jackson's ability to handle the basketball at his natural position which I think is small forward, but he can also play shooting guard as well. Jackson is able to shoot very well for someone of his size and versatility. The combination of Jackson and Gerald Wallace, whom I've wrote about in my previous articles, is deadly. They're both extremely long athletes and they have tremendously long lanky arms. Wallace can play terrific defense and is a potent offensive scorer as well. The Bobcats aren't so big at the power forward spot. They have 6 foot, 8 Boris Diaw who is an athletic forward who can do a lot of the little things to help a team win, but they lack his height to play aggressively with the bigger forwards. Off the bench, they'll have Tyrus Thomas, who Michael Jordan helped acquire from the Bulls, to play well and score points in bunches. I think Thomas' specialty is defense. He can block shots and make steals. These trades Jordan made for Stephen Jackson and Tyrus Thomas erases the memories of his acquisitions in the NBA Draft for Kwame Brown coming out of high school and the disappointing Adam Morrison out of Gonzaga. At the center position for the Bobcats, Jordan has done well at this spot although I think there is a logjam and some of these centers can actually do perform better at the power forward spot. I can see Tyson Chandler, who I think is a natural at power forward, do better there. I don't think Chandler's a center, although the NBA and the Charlotte Bobcats list him as so. Nazr Mohammed and Theo Ratliff definitely are promising centers to keep for the Bobcats and they are serviceable big men. The other two wingmen for the Bobcats who back up Stephen Jackson and Gerald Wallace: Gerald Henderson and Derrick Brown will do well to score points when subbing in for either Jackson or Wallace.

Deep, Talented Magic: Are they Destined to Reach NBA Finals Again?

Last year was last year. Admit it. I'm not sure if the Orlando Magic behind Dwight Howard actually made the NBA Finals last year was a fluke. Turns out this year may be a whole different story. And animal. The Magic retooled their bench and they have a deeper and versatile bench group of players that can sub in for their starters day in and day out. If the NBA Finals turn out to be Lakers-Magic Part II, don't be surprised if the Magic bench subs steal the show. The Lakers' star-studded cast of players who are helping Kobe Bryant out are Ron Artest, Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol, and Andrew Bynum. The rest, nahhh, Shannon Brown, Jordan Farmar, are all right, I guess. Not much playing time for Sasha Vujacic or Luke Walton, the used-to-be regular Lakers starters. On the Magic side, you have, ahhhh, Dwight Howard, dominanting the paint like before. Other than that, you have perimeter threats in Jameer Nelson, Vince Carter, Rashard Lewis, and Matt Barnes. Mickael Pietrus, who has proved that he can score and make three-point shots, can start for the Magic in place of Barnes. Pietrus can come off the bench. There isn't a more talented shooting bunch of three-pointers than the likes of Orlando's J.J. Redick, Jason Williams, Ryan Anderson, and Brandon Bass. I think Marcin Gortat can throw in a three-pointer. I think Anthony Johnson can handle himself out there like a veteran he is, playing with experience and leadership on the court. My prediction is, if the Magic bench substitutes can dominate a game like the starters can, the Orlando Magic will be hard to beat. And the Lakers will be hard-pressed to stop Orlando. The Lakers can play defense. The Magic have proved that they can play defense behind Stan Van Gundy's military-style coaching. The thing it comes down to, can the Lakers' bench subs outscore the Magic bench subs? I doubt it. Be prepared for a newly crowned NBA champion in June.

Celtic Brand of Basketball

I hope that readers realize that I write these posts with a fierce passion on basketball. These Celtics aren't your Larry Bird-led Celtics brand of basketball. This Boston squad is full of veterans who are hungry for a second NBA title underneath their belt since they won the 2008 NBA championship. Gone from that championship team is Eddie House, Bill Walker, and J.R. Giddens. Now they have added recently acquired Michael Finley who is a free agent and been let go from the San Antonio Spurs. He will help the Celtics with some veteran shooting, leadership, and experience off the bench. This is a Celtics team now retooled with Nate Robinson on board. The team is still the same talentwise with Rajon Rondo at the point, Ray Allen at the shooting guard, Paul Pierce at the three, Kevin Garnett at power forward, and Kendrick Perkins at center. The bench is still outstanding. You got Rasheed Wallace covering Garnett and Perkins as well as big men Sheldon Williams and Glen Davis. You have Marquis Daniels covering for Ray Allen. I would say, this is still a Celtics team that is ready to pound the ball and run whenever they can. Their shooters will shoot the lights out of the gym once Rondo gets the ball to shooters on the wings and corners. The Celtics big men will rotate the paint and make sure the opponents' offense will be unable to get off any kind of shot in the lane. That's how good the Celtics' stingy defense is behind Garnett's howling.

Milwaukee Bucks: The Acquisition of John Salmons

The Bucks got a terrific player in a trade from Chicago for John Salmons. Needing a perimeter scorer with sharpshooter Michael Redd out with an injury, Salmons has filled the void. Since Milwaukee acquired Salmons within the trade deadline, the Bucks have won thirteen out of their last seventeen games. Right now, the Bucks are in sixth place in the Eastern Conference playoff race and could challenge for a higher seed. They can go as high as the fifth seed. This is a Bucks team that has defensive stability and relies on its defense to win ball games. Its offense will come and go, however championship teams are built on winning on defense. That is how elite teams are formed, by being able to play defense on a consistent night-in night-out basis. Brandon Jennings has filled in admirably for a rookie playing point guard in his first year in the NBA. Luc Richard Mbah a Moute has done a splendid job playing at the 4-spot despite what I think that he is undersized and underweight to play guarding and playing the bigger and more athletic power forwards in the league. Ersan Llyasova has backed him up and he is doing a more tremendously terrific job filling the bench load playing the 4-spot. I know that Andrew Bogut is doing a good job handling his duties as center, however, I think that he is only limited to doing some things on the court such as playing defense and blocking shots. On offense, Bogut is definitely limited. Carlos Delfino is a big pickup for the Bucks, his streaky offense and his ability to play defense has won Milwaukee coach Scott Skiles over. Add a couple of veterans in backup point guard Luke Ridnour and backguard guard/forward Jerry Stackhouse and Bucks mainstay Charlie Bell who can play point guard, shooting guard, or small forward to the acquisition of John Salmons and I think that the trade for Salmons has helped Milwaukee stay hot in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Philadelphia Sixers: Their decline in 2010 NBA Season

This has been an uneventful season for the Philadelphia Sixers. Since the All-Star Game in Dallas, they have lost nine of eleven games and are two and a half games out of the Eastern Conference playoff race. Since then, they have decided to let Allen Iverson walk away from the game of basketball, knowing that he's done quite a bit for the Sixers organization and should attend to his matters off the court and to his family. The word 'retirement' should be used when referring to Iverson's departure form the basketball world. As a unit, the Sixers have not played like a cohesion, a team that knows who is its leader and playing basketball with a purpose. Philadelphia coach Eddie Jordan says it is Andre Iguodala's duty to step up as being the floor leader for the Sixers on and off the court. Iguodala played it off, saying he is here to play basketball the best he can possibly play. Elton Brand, the Sixers' primary offensive threat is glad to be part of a Sixers team that has Iguodala and rising stars such as Jrue Holiday, Louis Williams, and Thaddeus Young. He says he has no regrets leaving the lackluster star-studded LA Clippers and Brand's role in the Sixers offense has faded. The Sixers have no identity playing as a team on offense and on defense. If anything, they are not playing as a cohesive unit. That said, the Sixers will need to retool in the offseason. I'm not sure what they can do to get better, I'm thinking just work with the players you have.