Previewing the NBA: Dethroning the King?

Previewing the NBA: Dethroning the King?

By: Andy Belilos

Sentry Staff Reporter

Last season, the National Basketball Association  was much of the same as the year before- Lebron James being Lebron James and leading the Miami Heat to their second consecutive championship. So, the only logical question to ask for this upcoming season is, can anyone dethrone the king? The answer to that question is yes.

NBA Finals MVP LeBron James of the Miami Heat holds the championship trophy after defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. AFP/Getty Images
NBA Finals MVP LeBron James of the Miami Heat holds the championship trophy after defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. (AFP/Getty Images)

I’m getting ahead of myself. First of all, let’s be honest: In the past couple of years, the Eastern conference just hasn’t been very good. While the Heat have been dominant, led by the “Big Three” of James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, there has been a consistent lack of high quality teams. The Western Conference has been much better overall. For example, last year, the eighth overall seed in the West, the Houston Rockets, had the same record as the fifth seed in the east, the Chicago Bulls.

I believe that trend will change this year, and there has been a shift of power in the NBA towards the East. Non-Playoff teams from last year such as the Philadelphia 76ers, Cleveland Cavaliers and (dare I say) the Washington Wizards are all much improved. In addition, the Brooklyn Nets basically completely revamped their roster and brought in a championship caliber team, and the Bulls are finally getting All-Star guard Derrick Rose back from injury.

When the regular season is all said and done in the Eastern Conference, the top three seeds will be: 1. Miami 2. Indiana 3. Brooklyn. Rounding out the playoffs in order will be: Chicago, Atlanta, Washington, New York, and Philadelphia. The Heat and Pacers will play in the Eastern Conference Championship, and (gasp) the Pacers will win.

The Indiana Pacers made it to game seven against the seemingly unbeatable Heat after losing All-Star Danny Granger to a season-ending injury early in the year. His return, combined with the continuing development of Paul George and the aging roster of Miami will be enough to finally dethrone “The King”.

What team is strong enough to face them in the championship? In my mind, there is no contest. It will be the Oklahoma City Thunder. The incredibly potent one-two punch of Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant will be almost impossible to stop. Durant will win the MVP award and the Thunder will sport the best overall record in the NBA going into the playoffs. They will sweep the tired legs of the San Antonio Spurs to make it to their second Finals in three years.

Kevin Durant goes head to head with Lebron James. (Issac Baldizon/Getty Images)
Kevin Durant (right) goes head to head with Lebron James. (Issac Baldizon/Getty Images)

The top three seeds in the West will be: 1. Oklahoma City 2. San Antonio 3. LA Clippers. Following in order will be Golden State, Dallas, Memphis, Houston and Denver.

So what will the result be of the showdown between Durant and the Thunder and George and the Pacers? Similar to the rest of the season, I believe that this will be a dominant series for OKC, winning in five games to take home the Championship. However, if Miami is the opponent for the Thunder, it will be a tougher series, as they do not have an elite defender capable of slowing down Lebron.

My sleeper pick for the upcoming season is the New Orleans Pelicans. Maybe it is because of their horrendous name change, but it seems that everyone is overlooking this young and talented team built around budding superstar Anthony Davis. They added explosive guards Jrue Holiday and Tyreke Evans, and if Eric Gordon stays healthy this team could be poised for sneaking into the playoffs and upsetting a high seed such as the Spurs.

My biggest disappointment for this year is the New York Knicks. Star center and team anchor Tyson Chandler just went down with a fractured leg and is expected to be out for four to six weeks. This will be icing on the cake for a team already falling apart. They have long lacked team chemistry with selfish offensive-minded players such as Carmelo Anthony, J.R. Smith and Amar’e Stoudemire. Talented young guard Iman Shumpert could be one of the lone bright spots on this team that will struggle to make the playoffs and barely sneak in.

The Washington Wizards have been an enigma for years for loyal DC sports fans. After years of struggling to not have the worst record in basketball, this will finally be the year for Wizards fans. An extremely talented young backcourt led by John Wall and Bradley Beal, who will both make their first all-star teams this year, will carry this team. Wall will never be an elite scorer- he is the kind of player that is consistently looking for his teammates and helping them become elite scorers, one of which I believe Beal will be in the near future.

One thing for Washington fans to be wary of is the Wizard’s startling lack of frontcourt depth. Even though they traded for big man Marcin Gortat, first round pick Otto Porter is injured, Nene is getting up there in age, and young players Jan Vesely and Kevin Seraphin are untested and very raw.

No matter how this season turns out, it is bound to be very interesting and hard to look away from.

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