NBA 2011-12 Season

**wxwax** · 12-28-2011, 09:24 PM

Love that the Bullets...er, Wizards... have gone back to the old uniform with primary colors. As an old Bullets fan, this is a step in the right direction. The next step is to ditch the dumb name and go back to Bullets, now that the slaughter has abated in DC.

(I started following the NBA in DC in 1976, as the Bullets hit their peak. Went to the victory parade when they won it all in 1978, no less.

)

Somehow, in the scant time between the signing a CBA and the beginning of the season, Larry Drew has taught the Atlanta Hawks how to play defense. He has transformed a lazy, often disinterested roster into a fast-break, trapping team. Happy results so far: a blow-out of the Nets and right now they're blowing out said Wizards.

Jeff Teague seems to be blossoming at point. He first came alive in the playoffs last season. With Kurt Heinrich on the disabled list for a long spell, and with Teague failing to impress previously, he was a bit of an unknown. So far, so good. Playing fast suits this athletic team and may help them overcome the free-agency loss of a very good 6th man, Jamal Crawford.

**Docta** · 12-28-2011, 10:04 PM

The Bulls have started slow, but Deng has improved a lot from last season. I know he played overseas during the offseason, so it looks like it's helped a lot. Ros is still a boss, Boozer still sucks at defense, and Noah still has a pretty ugly ugly jump shot.

I don't see any team beating the Heat in a 7 game series. Cole will be their PG by the end of the season, and they'll just need Haslem to stay healthy. It looks like Bosh has been playing with more fight too.

**GoBigOrGoHome** · 12-28-2011, 10:24 PM

And the Pistons just plain suck. God bless the Red Wings.

**wxwax** · 12-28-2011, 10:26 PM

Originally Posted by Docta

I don't see any team beating the Heat in a 7 game series.

I've been hoping it might be Chicago.

I don't know how much Shane Battier has left. But potentially he could be the kind of character/"glue" guy who could really help the Heat. Hope not.

**KabaModernFan** · 12-28-2011, 10:27 PM

NORRIS COLE!!!! I became a Heat fan back in the days of Mourning and Hardaway when I was but a young lad. The transition was smooth and I fell in love with Dwyane Wade, went crazy when Shaq came and brought a title with him shortly after, stuck through recent struggles, and found it hard to adapt to being the fan of a team almost universally hated by everyone else. However, I've learned to just appreciate the success that will come with having James and Bosh along with Wade, and to just enjoy the ride while it lasts.

The team I'm going to love watching this year though I think might be the Pacers. In a shortened season with their surplus of youth and depth they can be a top seed in the Eastern Conference. Same with the Nuggets in the Western Conference. I'm not sure how it will translate to the Playoffs, but don't be surprised if one of those two teams sneak into a Conference Finals.

**KabaModernFan** · 12-28-2011, 10:30 PM

Originally Posted by wxwax

I've been hoping it might be Chicago.

I don't know how much Shane Battier has left. But potentially he could be the kind of character/"glue" guy who could really help the Heat. Hope not.

My hope with Battier is that he provides a mature locker room presence, solid defense with the occasional exceptional night, and keeping Mike Miller on the bench as much as possible.

**BuckeyeRidley** · 12-28-2011, 10:43 PM

My Lakers had a ROUGH start!!!!!!!!!!!! From my eyes, the jury is still out on Mike Brown's leadership in LA but I think this is all about how the players play. Here's Hopin' that they finish with dignity. I will say that I am a fan of the reduced season. This 66 or so some games are workin' out nicely. Should they finally decide to see the way that fans do, they'll do more of this later hopefully.

**RSConn5** · 12-28-2011, 11:44 PM

I was at the Mavs-Heat game on Christmas day. The banner raising was really cool to see but the fun lasted all of about 5 minutes as the Heat went on to completely run us out of our own building. Then the Nuggets dominated the Mavs the next night. The losses of Chandler and our D-Coordinator combined with the additions of Lamar Odom & Vince Carter, who don't play any defense, will lead to Dallas being one of the worst defensive teams in the league and be the reason for a low seed and early playoff exit. However, it looks like Cuban is happy with 1 title and is planning for the future by clearing cap space. Dwight Howard has the Mavs as one of his top choices and Deron Williams is from the Dallas area so maybe next offseason we can build our own big-3 of Dirk-Howard-Williams.

Nobody is beating the Heat this year. The only reason Dallas beat them last year is because the zone slowed the Heat's penetration with Chandler protecting the rim, something exploded in LeBron's head, Dirk played the best ball of his career, and all the veteran role players on Dallas played lights out for 1 last shot at the title. Everything pretty much went perfectly for the Mavs in that series and I still came away from 5 of the 6 games thinking the Heat out played us. With having played a year together and some better additions to the team, the Heat are going to roll through the league this year.

**wxwax** · 12-29-2011, 01:54 AM

Originally Posted by KabaModernFan

My hope with Battier is that he provides a mature locker room presence, solid defense with the occasional exceptional night, and keeping Mike Miller on the bench as much as possible.

I once read a fascinating article about Battier and Houston GM Daryl Morey, who is a sabermetrics kind of guy. The piece was about Battier's value being unmeasurable by normal stats. That's the kind of thing the Heat are missing. I hope Battier mislaid his brain on the way over.

I liked the Shaq Heat and I like Wade. I can't stand the other two. Boo, d'you hear me, boo.