Quick Hits

Couple of my friends were asking me why I don't write on the NBA since I'm so quick to talk hoops whenever possible, so I decided to re-ignite this for an evening. I'm planning on hitting everything from the NBA playoffs all the way until this bout of free agency, so I'll keep most of it brief (also I don't want to bludger you in the head with all that's already been written on the various subjects I will write on in this blurb).

Let's begin with Rasheed Wallace. You will have to believe me as I had not written on it anywhere officially, but I believed in Rasheed when no one else would. I mean it. Nobody else. I tried to explain my thoughts -- a 37 year old player with 35000+ minutes on his legs who has battled various injuries on a team that has other aging superstars who were missing various extents of time and were not in contention to win their conference. He's not going to be pushing for that 58th victory any time soon. Anyways, it only made sense that as a man who had grown up in the NBA of Shaq, where taking the regular season off for postseason success was the norm and not an exception, that he was going to be taking this route. And what happened? He left it on the floor, he battled with Shaq, he battled with Dwight, he took it to Pau better than any defender I've ever seen (if you told me that you could pull the chair on Pau Gasol I would not have believed you). So I feel vindicated. Probably not as vindicated as Sheed though.

As an afterward, he'll probably end up helping the Celtics in a continued way as we deal his expiring contract.*

*Quick note on that, but as uncertainty on the future of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) dawns upon us, I'm guessing that the fascination with the expiring contract will fade. Just a feeling but the trend of expiring contract's falling in value will continue.

Here's what I'm excited about: the Milwaukee Bucks. I don't know if words are successful when describing Brandon Jennings. He's incredibly poised for such a young player. It helps that he was put into an oppurtunity where he was given every chance to succeed (big minutes, a good supporting cast with the ball in his hands), but he's handled it in the biggest way possible, leading the Bucks to an improbable 7th game (credit also given to John Salmons) against the Hawks after Bogut, who was having by far his best season) was fell with a knee injury.

Moving forward, they've made some good decisions this offseason, adding depth in two troubled veterans (Corey Maggettee and Drew Gooden) who are now going to be handed a chance to prove they can contribute to a winning cause. They also kept John Salmons aboard, the catalyst to their late season push and a very talented shooting guard. They have Jennings, Salmons, Carlos Delfino, Ersan Ilyasova, Bogut, Maggettee, Gooden, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, and of course, Michael Redd. Those are 9 very talened basketball players who can contribute in a variety of ways. I would be excited if I were a Bucks fan. Bold prediction time: the Bucks, if they avoid the Heat in the playoffs, will either win the East or be knocked off by the Celtics in a hard fought battle.

Here's what I'm not excited about: the Chicago Bulls. Yes, Boozer was a very good move. The Bulls will again have someone who can score in the halfcourt, filling the role that Ben Gordon left absent (follow me for a second, I know they play vastly different positions, but it doesn't matter. Positions are largely irrelevant, it's how you are able to impact the game that counts, regardless of where you stand at the tip-off.) But they lost Kirk Heinrich, they have absolutely no bench, and I'm skeptical that they can beat any of the big teams in the East.

One final thought on this and then I'll move on: if the Bulls are more successful than I am giving them credit for, it will be due to Luol Deng.

Let's talk the power alignment, East and West (conferences, not rappers). The East is better. It has been for awhile. Last year the four best teams in the NBA were the Cavaliers, Lakers, Celtics, and Magic. Next year it will be the Heat, Lakers, Celtics, and Magic (I want to add the Bucks and Thunder, but I want you to continue reading my articles (if I continue to write). Anyways, the Eastern Conference featured the upstart Celtics rolling through the Magic and Cavaliers (if you haven't forgotten, they were pegged as the favorites before the playoffs), and on the other side the Lakers beating a cast of pretty good, but not great teams. And here's the kicker: the East has improved (West-to-East: Boozer, Amare, Anthony Randolph, Leandro Barbosa. East-to-West: David Lee and Brad Miller?)

Rookie Summer League: why bother? It's practically pickup, besides being a great social event for young players and a way for other less known young players to make a name for themselves, it doesn't serve a purpose. Every time I hear it described the words "pickup basketball" are used in the description. Alright, I think I get it. It's fun, it showcases talent, and gives us basketball junkies a look at some guys we hadn't seen yet. But let's stop projecting so much based on it. Gerald Green was the star of summer league one year. This year Demarcus Cousins, John Wall, and Demar Derozan are the stars. All three could be stars. Cousins and Derozan could also be busts. Hold off on players who haven't beaten an NBA offense yet.

The Lakers championship was gross. It wasn't World Cup bad, but I came away shaking my head. Also, they rolled through a weak Western Conference and beat the Celtics only due to Kendrick Perkins' injury and the worst game of Ray Allen's career. I'm over it though.

A few predictions:
1. Heat (61)
2. Magic (58)
3. Bucks (50)
4. Hawks
5. Celtics
6. Bulls
7. Bobcats
8. Knicks

Heat over Knicks
Magic over Bobcats
Bucks over Bulls
Celtics over Hawks
Celtics over Heat
Bucks over Magic
Celtics over Bucks

1. Lakers (59)
2. Blazers (58)
3. Thunder (57)
4. Nuggets
5. Hornets
6. Jazz
7. Mavericks
8. Spurs

Lakers over Spurs
Blazers over Mavericks
Thunder over Jazz
Hornets over Nuggets
Lakers over Hornets
Blazers over Thunder
Lakers over Blazers
Celtics over Lakers

MVP: Durant
ROY: John Wall
MIP: Raymond Felton

Just a little more:

1. Ramon Sessions should be starting somewhere. Hopefully Charlotte.
2. Serge Ibaka will be on everyone's tounge.
3. Michael Beasley will post huge numbers and the T'Wolves will be a much improved team.
4. Al Jefferson in Utah won't be pretty and they should have just run with Millsap.
5. Chris Bosh will think he's the man...until he gets punked in the playoffs.
6. LeBron James will think he's the man...until he gets punked in the playoffs...again.
7. Cousins and Tyreke Evans will be awesome.
8. Must watch NBA teams: Bucks, Bobcats, Grizzlies, Kings, Heat, Warriors, and Wizards.

Here are the best seven players in the NBA for next season, after this there is a pretty sizeable dropoff (note: Greg Oden is added to this list if he's healthy).
1. Lebron
2. Dwight
3. Durant
4. Chris Paul
5. Wade
6. Pau Gasol
7. Deron Williams

Next Article: I'm going to compile a list of the top 50 players in NBA history. Just to prove Paul Pierce belongs.