Post by stache on Mar 6, 2013 13:57:35 GMT -5
League Review: Eastern Conference 2011
Brooklyn, New York- The 2011 season has
passed and the draft is quickly approaching us; which makes this a perfect time
for us to review the 2011 NBA season. This season had everything, it had the
drama, it had a king taking his throne, it had races down to the wire for
playoff spots, it had hall of famers traded every which way and even one had an
All Star Season, possibly even MVP, before retiring and with being traded midseason.
Let’s start with the East’s top dog the Miami Heat who ended up the champions finally allowing Lebron James the
king take his throne at the top of the game. Though early on some questioned
their ability, Lebron’s struggles late in games matched with a shocking trade
early in the season which left the new face of the franchise very upset. That
being when they traded Dwayne Wade to the Denver Nuggets. However once
everything settled down the new look Miami Heat were better than before and looked
like heavy favorites to put on a show for the rest of the year and easily claim
top team in the east. That took a wild turn when Lebron James tore an adnominal
muscle and missed the end of the regular season bringing the king and his team
to finish fourth in the conference. Once the king was healthy however, it was
playoff time and one thing led to another and after looking like the odds on
favorite for the MVP of the season the king saddled up his horse and carried
the Miami Heat to the NBA Championship trophy over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Bucks regular season was
outstanding and no one saw it coming. Who would have thought that the Milwaukee
Bucks would top the east for best record, let alone the entire NBA? The Bucks
had one hell of a season led by guard Brandon Jennings and Center Andrew Bogut.
They even got involved in some drama when young star Ersan Ilyasova and the
team couldn’t come to an agreement and the team and his agent went into a
battle of words in the media. Both sides weren’t 100% justified in their
actions but you would be hard pressed to get either one of them to admit to it.
Where does it leave them now that Ersan could be leaving? We’ll find that out
in 2012.
The Chicago Bulls put up one of
their usual seasons. People expect them to be good with them being led by star
point guard Derrick Rose. That’s exactly what they were too taking third in the
conference and having a solid playoff experience, though none of the bulls
would admit that due to their mentality of any playoff experience should end in
the finals; like it is for many teams.<o:p></o:p>
New Orleans Pelicans…where do
you start? The fact they were the 6th best team in the east and couldn’t come
close to matching the Bulls in the playoffs? Or the fact they had Dwight
shining up his interest in playing there all season long. The Pelicans have the
star center’s interest and they seemingly have taken a cocky approach to the
matter looking for teams to literally just take big salaries like Okafor just
to help him get the star center. Though as of right now it looks like Dwight
will have to take a substantial pay cut to play for a team that was the first
eliminated in the playoffs and showed that they really couldn’t hold up with
the best in the league.
The Boston Celtics heritage was
at full force when they took second in the conference when fifty-three of their
games. However, the train is coming to a stop as the general manager has
decided to blow up the team and rebuild after a finances were making the team
go into deep debt. 2012 could be a big year for the Celtics if they want to
keep fans in the seats but with Rondo and Pierce moving in trades the only
person left might be Kevin Garnett if he reaches an extension and how happy will
he be if this team isn’t winning?
The Raptors shocked the league,
when they came out of nowhere down the stretch to take the seventh seed out of
the hands of the 76ers and Brooklyn Nets. They even broke headlines by eliminating
the Celtics from the playoffs in the first round, who would have ever saw that
happening on day 80 of the season? For sure not me. This team has a lot to look
forward to in the years to come.
The Brooklyn Nets were supposed
to be bottom feeders in 2011 with playoff aspirations down the road. That
quickly changed when GM Travis McNair traded for star Center Tim Duncan who
helped carry the Nets through the season as the eighth seed. Though the team
couldn’t see eye to eye with Duncan on an extension, though he later retired as
a rocket anyways, the team traded him and got a far better return than what
they gave up originally leaving the Brooklyn Nets capable of contending for
years to come. Now the only question is…will they?
The conference also had a few
teams that looked shocking even without making the playoffs such as the 76ers
who were in the playoffs as the seventh seed all season only to lose their
chance at the playoffs entirely on the final day of the season. The Raptors
knocked the Nets out of the playoffs and then took the seventh seed from them,
leaving the Nets to storm back to reclaim the eighth seed from the 76ers and to
leave them watching the playoffs on their couches.
There were also some notable
trades including Tim Duncan from a playoff team to the Houston Rockets who
finished well from reaching the playoffs and also a trade that sent Amare
Stoudimier to the Rockets as well in a trade earlier in the season. Now it
looks like in the offseason even bigger names could be on the move including
Rajon Rondo and Paul Pierce among others, will they find homes or is this
purely speculation?
Dwight Howard was also heavily
in the news this season and go figure? He has an attitude and wants things done
this way. He and his general manager were feuding all year long about what the
team should do and it looks like the general manager was right building a club
that finished third in the western conference but it still looks like Dwight is
packing his bags to go east. To where? It’s far less certain now then it was at
the All Star Break. Now it looks like Dwight could be looking for max money but
is still expected to favor the eastern teams. Will he latch out to the Pelicans
who were the first eliminated in the eastern portion of the playoffs and aren’t
likely to be able to put much talent around him? Or will he latch on for the
big dough with a team with money available to build a team? 2012 could be one
of the most dramatic jaw dropping years the NBA will ever see.<o:p></o:p>
