Big Games on NBA Opening Night
October 30th 2007 06:50
The San Antonio Spurs are considered as the "team of the decade" but they have yet to win consecutive championships to completely cement their status as one of the most dominant franchises in NBA history. This season is their shot at it.
With the same guys coming back this year, the Spurs are definitely a marked target for the rest of the field by setting the league standard. Tim Duncan and Tony Parker will once again lead the tried and tested veteran unit composed of Manu Ginobili, Bruce Bowen, Robert Horry, Brent Barry, Michael Finley and Jacque Vaughn.
Their first opponent this season are the hard luck Portland Trail Blazers who had just lost first overall pick Greg Oden for the entire season due to his damaged right knee. The Blazers will most likely lean on 2007 Rookie of the Year Brandon Roy to lead them on the floor. Young frontliners LaMarcus Aldridge, Martell Webster and new acquisition Channing Frye will be relied on heavily up front all season. Jarrett Jack is entering his second year as a starting point guard for this young Blazers squad.
The game will be held at the SBC Center which gives the Spurs the edge aside from their obvious experience advantage. The Spurs are on an 8-game winning streak against the Blazers at home since '02.
The Blazers are huge underdogs against the reigning and defending NBA champions. Tonight I expect a win from the Spurs. Portland's young team might be overwhelmed but they must take this opportunity in playing the Spurs on the road on opening night as a great learning experience.
The second game on the TNT doubleheader will be between the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Rockets replaced defensive-minded coach Jeff Van Gundy with offensive-oriented mentor Rick Adelman in an attempt to use a different approach that could be more beneficial to a team that has Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady leading the assault. The supporting cast is made up of Shane Battier, Rafer Alston, Luther Head, Bonzi Wells and 16-year veteran Dikembe Mutombo. The re-acquisition of Mike James from Minnesota and Steve Francis from Portland could also be the key for a much improved season for the Rockets. Rookies Carl Landry, Aaron Brooks, and Argentinian star Luis Scola completes great bench depth.
Meanwhile, the Lakers had a quite tumultous pre-season centered on Kobe Bryant's trade request that made Lakers owner Jerry Buss listening. They may have reeled in Derek Fisher back in LA but it's still not enough to solve what Kobe and coach Phil Jackson says as "lack of manpower" the franchise is experiencing.
Kwame Brown, Vladimir Radmanovic and Lamar Odom could prove to be reliable if only they have healthy seasons. Andrew Bynum, Jordan Farmar, Brian Cook, Maurice Evans, Ronnie Turiaf, Sasha Vujacic and Luke Walton are all young players who fill in their respective roles as they improve gradually. Perhaps Kobe and Phil are not accustomed to slow rebuilding programs and are not patient enough with the people that they have.
The Lakers were never the same since Shaquille O'Neal left for Miami. The consequences of his departure should have been prepared for by the organization, and also, by Kobe himself. Too bad that they had to figure things out in the hard ways of losing. Big deal that Phil came back to coach the skidding Lakers but he must also understand that he has to use his "coaching skills" to coax out a winning team by "patiently" training the young guys in the team into consistent performers in the system that is supposed to win with Kobe in the future.
Kobe made excuses due to his "inability" to win with a team that is made up mostly of role players and will be traded for it sooner or later. Kobe Bryant isn't that great after all. I just hope that Phil won't be a quitter like Bryant. He must prove that he is as great a coach that he should be by bringing this team back to prominence by starting from scratch especially when Kobe gets shipped in the very near future.
I'll say that the Rockets are favored to win on opening night. Their depth and new offensive approach can certainly overcome the Lakers even with Bryant playing. With Odom sidelined fo this game, LA will once again look to Kobe for heavy production. Looking at the matchups, the Rockets are up and playing at the Staples Center won't even matter.
The game that will be held simultaneously with the Houston-Los Angeles match-up will be the meeting between the Utah Jazz and the Golden State Warriors. These two teams improved greatly last season by qualifying in the playoffs with the Warriors upsetting the Dallas Mavericks and the Utah Jazz reaching the Western Conference Finals only to bow to the Spurs. Utah and Golden State figured in the Western Conference Semifinals with the Jazz taking the series 4-1.
The Warriors had just ended a 12-year franchise playoff drought and "shocked the world" by being the first No.8 seed to beat a No.1 seed in the first round playoff series in a best-of-7 format. It sure was a magical season for Golden State. Don Nelson, the second winningest coach in the NBA with 1,232 victories, had just signed a new contract and will once again organize a scrappy and up-tempo Warriors game that will surely be exciting to watch.
Baron Davis is back and will be expected to be even better for his team. With Jason Richardson traded to Charlotte and Stephen Jackson to miss 7 games due to a league-imposed suspension, Davis would need to take his game to a higher level. Joining him in their game against the Jazz are last year's reliables Monta Ellis, Al Harrington, Andris Biedrins, Matt Barnes, and Mickael Pietrus. Offseason acquisitions Austin Croshere from Dallas and Troy Hudson from Minnesota could be helpful. Rookies Marco Bellinelli from Italy, Brandan Wright, Stephane Lasme and Kosta Perovic are new players that Nelson will look at to include in the system that he is implementing.
The Jazz are coming off their best season in nine years by winning the Northwest Division title and securing a fourth seed in the playoffs. The team is growing together with six of their players making postseason debuts. Carlos Boozer leads the band coming from his best season ever by posting career high averages. Expect another strong showing from the Duke product if he gets another healthy year. Starting point guard Deron Williams is showed a John Stockton-like game last season. Williams placed second only to Steve Nash in the assists department with 9.3 assists showing the influence of long-time Jazz coach Jerry Sloan in molding Williams into a good passer the same way he did with Stockton.
Utah also has Mehmet Okur, Ronnie Brewer, Jarron Collins, Gordan Giricek, Matt Harpring, Paul Millsap and Andrei Kirilenko who wants out of the team.
Kirilenko is coming off a career-low season and requested to be traded or released after he led the Russian national team to the Eurobasket title. Utah denied Kirilenko of his request and will be honoring his contract with the team where he is the highest paid player.
This will be a close one. But given the fact that Sloan and the Jazz has Golden States number on their running game gives them an edge. The best thing going for the Warriors is their homecourt advantage at the Oracle Arena.
With the same guys coming back this year, the Spurs are definitely a marked target for the rest of the field by setting the league standard. Tim Duncan and Tony Parker will once again lead the tried and tested veteran unit composed of Manu Ginobili, Bruce Bowen, Robert Horry, Brent Barry, Michael Finley and Jacque Vaughn.
Their first opponent this season are the hard luck Portland Trail Blazers who had just lost first overall pick Greg Oden for the entire season due to his damaged right knee. The Blazers will most likely lean on 2007 Rookie of the Year Brandon Roy to lead them on the floor. Young frontliners LaMarcus Aldridge, Martell Webster and new acquisition Channing Frye will be relied on heavily up front all season. Jarrett Jack is entering his second year as a starting point guard for this young Blazers squad.
The game will be held at the SBC Center which gives the Spurs the edge aside from their obvious experience advantage. The Spurs are on an 8-game winning streak against the Blazers at home since '02.
The Blazers are huge underdogs against the reigning and defending NBA champions. Tonight I expect a win from the Spurs. Portland's young team might be overwhelmed but they must take this opportunity in playing the Spurs on the road on opening night as a great learning experience.
The second game on the TNT doubleheader will be between the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Rockets replaced defensive-minded coach Jeff Van Gundy with offensive-oriented mentor Rick Adelman in an attempt to use a different approach that could be more beneficial to a team that has Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady leading the assault. The supporting cast is made up of Shane Battier, Rafer Alston, Luther Head, Bonzi Wells and 16-year veteran Dikembe Mutombo. The re-acquisition of Mike James from Minnesota and Steve Francis from Portland could also be the key for a much improved season for the Rockets. Rookies Carl Landry, Aaron Brooks, and Argentinian star Luis Scola completes great bench depth.
Meanwhile, the Lakers had a quite tumultous pre-season centered on Kobe Bryant's trade request that made Lakers owner Jerry Buss listening. They may have reeled in Derek Fisher back in LA but it's still not enough to solve what Kobe and coach Phil Jackson says as "lack of manpower" the franchise is experiencing.
Kwame Brown, Vladimir Radmanovic and Lamar Odom could prove to be reliable if only they have healthy seasons. Andrew Bynum, Jordan Farmar, Brian Cook, Maurice Evans, Ronnie Turiaf, Sasha Vujacic and Luke Walton are all young players who fill in their respective roles as they improve gradually. Perhaps Kobe and Phil are not accustomed to slow rebuilding programs and are not patient enough with the people that they have.
The Lakers were never the same since Shaquille O'Neal left for Miami. The consequences of his departure should have been prepared for by the organization, and also, by Kobe himself. Too bad that they had to figure things out in the hard ways of losing. Big deal that Phil came back to coach the skidding Lakers but he must also understand that he has to use his "coaching skills" to coax out a winning team by "patiently" training the young guys in the team into consistent performers in the system that is supposed to win with Kobe in the future.
Kobe made excuses due to his "inability" to win with a team that is made up mostly of role players and will be traded for it sooner or later. Kobe Bryant isn't that great after all. I just hope that Phil won't be a quitter like Bryant. He must prove that he is as great a coach that he should be by bringing this team back to prominence by starting from scratch especially when Kobe gets shipped in the very near future.
I'll say that the Rockets are favored to win on opening night. Their depth and new offensive approach can certainly overcome the Lakers even with Bryant playing. With Odom sidelined fo this game, LA will once again look to Kobe for heavy production. Looking at the matchups, the Rockets are up and playing at the Staples Center won't even matter.
The game that will be held simultaneously with the Houston-Los Angeles match-up will be the meeting between the Utah Jazz and the Golden State Warriors. These two teams improved greatly last season by qualifying in the playoffs with the Warriors upsetting the Dallas Mavericks and the Utah Jazz reaching the Western Conference Finals only to bow to the Spurs. Utah and Golden State figured in the Western Conference Semifinals with the Jazz taking the series 4-1.
The Warriors had just ended a 12-year franchise playoff drought and "shocked the world" by being the first No.8 seed to beat a No.1 seed in the first round playoff series in a best-of-7 format. It sure was a magical season for Golden State. Don Nelson, the second winningest coach in the NBA with 1,232 victories, had just signed a new contract and will once again organize a scrappy and up-tempo Warriors game that will surely be exciting to watch.
Baron Davis is back and will be expected to be even better for his team. With Jason Richardson traded to Charlotte and Stephen Jackson to miss 7 games due to a league-imposed suspension, Davis would need to take his game to a higher level. Joining him in their game against the Jazz are last year's reliables Monta Ellis, Al Harrington, Andris Biedrins, Matt Barnes, and Mickael Pietrus. Offseason acquisitions Austin Croshere from Dallas and Troy Hudson from Minnesota could be helpful. Rookies Marco Bellinelli from Italy, Brandan Wright, Stephane Lasme and Kosta Perovic are new players that Nelson will look at to include in the system that he is implementing.
The Jazz are coming off their best season in nine years by winning the Northwest Division title and securing a fourth seed in the playoffs. The team is growing together with six of their players making postseason debuts. Carlos Boozer leads the band coming from his best season ever by posting career high averages. Expect another strong showing from the Duke product if he gets another healthy year. Starting point guard Deron Williams is showed a John Stockton-like game last season. Williams placed second only to Steve Nash in the assists department with 9.3 assists showing the influence of long-time Jazz coach Jerry Sloan in molding Williams into a good passer the same way he did with Stockton.
Utah also has Mehmet Okur, Ronnie Brewer, Jarron Collins, Gordan Giricek, Matt Harpring, Paul Millsap and Andrei Kirilenko who wants out of the team.
Kirilenko is coming off a career-low season and requested to be traded or released after he led the Russian national team to the Eurobasket title. Utah denied Kirilenko of his request and will be honoring his contract with the team where he is the highest paid player.
This will be a close one. But given the fact that Sloan and the Jazz has Golden States number on their running game gives them an edge. The best thing going for the Warriors is their homecourt advantage at the Oracle Arena.
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Comment by Harry
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Comment by World of Hoops
The teams that will be interested will be those who are in dire need for offensive firepower. With Allen Iverson gone to Denver, It would be more interesting for me if he ends up back in hometown Philadelphia.
Any team with a flexible salary cap room will surely consider getting Bryant eg. Atlanta, Charlotte, Minnesota, and Sacramento.