NBA 2013 Regular Season Tip-Off

Are you ready for some NBA basketball?

The best brand of basketball in the world, 2 years removed from a lockout that almost forced fans to question their loyalty.

The 2013-2014 campaign will be compelling, but how will the Western Conference and Eastern Conference play out?

Teams in the Western Conference have talent across most playoff hopefuls, particularly at the point guard position. From newly acquired Eric Bledsoe and the woeful Suns, to playoff hopefuls like the Minnesota Timberwolves and Ricky Rubio. Add Steve Nash. Then you look at Western Conference Finals contenders and you realize, the Clippers and Chris Paul, the Spurs and Tony Parker, the Thunder with Russell Westbrook, and the Warriors with Stephen Curry are also poised to dominate.  And make no mistake that Mike Conley Jr. on the Memphis Grizzlies will also be ready to battle with the other elite point guards of the West. The question mark for me out of the west is the Houston Rockets.

One of the reasons Dwight Howard left the Lakers was in search of some stability. Houston is franchise that seemed to be organized and a coach who seemed to be willing to have Howard as the focal point of the offense. The only catch is, that this season is a trial run for Howard, James Harden, and head coach Kevin McHale. Their success will come down to how well these three can communicate and grow over the course of an 82 game season. Should the Rockets not start off firing on all cylinders, it’s likely that the spotlight Howard felt in LA will find its way to Houston.

Ultimately, I think that the West will be decided by its best player, Kevin Durant. Russell Westbrook is expected back in the line-up in 4-6 weeks according to reports, but I’m intrigued to see how the superstar wing man with the 7 ft wingspan can carry the Thunder as the undisputed lead man. Durant has said in the past that he aspires to play like Larry Bird of the great Celtics team. Part of the Thunder’s success this season, will depend on Durant’s ability to turn his teammates into All-Stars, similar to how Bird took advantage of the Hall of Famers that surrounded his great Celtics teams. Some might argue having James Harden would make this possible for Durant to accomplish, and I would agree if it wasn’t for Durant’s incredible work ethic, focus, and desire to be the best in the NBA. The Western conference is Durant’s for the taking, and he is poised to deliver.

On the East Coast however, I think the only team with a dominant point guard, the Chicago Bulls and Derrick Rose, will be able to use the 1 time MVP’s resurgence to dethrone the Miami Heat. Rose is rejoining a team that’s still coached Maybe Brooklyn or Indiana has something to say when the NBA Playoffs come around. With the Nets, having a team that isn’t necessarily sharp from the 3 point line, they would seemingly be best adopting the defensive intensity that Kevin Garnett tries his best to show. The Pacers expect to have Danny Granger back for a full season, so we’ll see exactly how he and Paul George can work together. Of all the things in the East that they may lack in comparison to the Bulls and the Heat, the Nets and Pacers do have size, and rebounding. These are the 4 teams contending for Eastern Conference supremacy.

With LeBron James and the Miami Heat holding serve the last 3 seasons, it is hard to imagine on an NBA Finals that he isn’t a part of, but that’s how I see the Eastern conference shaping up this season. Making the Finals 4 straight seasons would be an unbelievable accomplishment, and expecting LeBron and the Heat to accomplish it without considering some of their elite competition might be too much of a stretch. With that said, LeBron has proven a unique ability to achieve incredible things with this Heat roster that would otherwise seem far too taxing, even for an NBA superstar. He is the best scorer, rebounder, defender, and ball handler on his own team, but he will probably have to be that and more this season to be playing in June. Some might argue Dwayne Wade and additions to the Heat will take the pressure off of James, but I think that the wing players on Chicago, Indiana, and Brooklyn will be enough to slow Wade down.

Ultimately, I expect Rose and Durant will have their best seasons, and that their teammates will also play at a high level because of their leadership and elevated level of play, ending with a face off in the 2014 NBA Finals.

With that said, I still expect the players and teams mentioned, to contribute to a compelling season. Who are you looking forward to watching this season? Let me know in the comments section.