The Harden trade completed, sending players hither and yon - confusing the hell out of my wife, who has no idea where Westbrook is playing these days - the NBA 2021 season has officially started.
A few words about the Hardin trade. The Beard gets the bad Karma award for dissing Rockets. Houston made you,James, have a little more class.I join everybody's question mark: how will the trio of Irving, Durant and Harden manage minutes and touches. If coaches can figure it out, offense will be unstoppable. However, championships are won on the D side, and Hardin can't defend, while Kyrie is not enthusiastic about defending beyond the first pass. DeAndre Jordan still can't shoot free-throws. And Nets are going to miss Mr. Super Afro a lot.
Standings as of today, January 20 (Trump's Departure Date HOOWAH!): Under-performers of note are the Nuggets at 6/7; and Miami at 5/7. I'm real high on the Heats' Precious Achiuwa. How can you not love a 6"8",260 pound power forward? Just what the doctor ordered to help Bam. (Bam & Precious) Heat lineup will solidify, then look for them to compete for Eastern Conference title again.
Ditto, Nuggets in the West. Jocic trimmed and slimmed down body is a monster. Missing Jerami Grant, but Nuggets can upset anybody. Maybe not the Lakers who have better players all around than they did last season. Schroeder vs Rando, for one example. How the hell did the Raptors let Ibaka and Gasol leave. Huge mistake. Owners gotta pony up. You're zillionaires, pay the damn luxury tax. .
Checking the rest of the league: I don't have a lot of faith in the Bucks to win the East. That is unless Giannis suddenly starts shooting a better percentage from the field. Again, it's all about playoffs, that's when defense picks up dramatically and all the teams are on to his drive/spin move. Oh, he'll score all right, but teams will sag off him and play him for the drive. The Clippers are going to miss Montrzel big time. Lucky they got Ibaka, but the Clips will miss Mantrzel's husstle points. Big Q, is, will Paul George be there during post season?
Pundits seem high on the Suns. I buy that with Paul as distributor and Ayton growing into his talent. Jae Crowder, a great two -way guard pick up. Portland was high on my list at the start of this year, but now that they lost Nurkic (maybe for a season) and McCollum for at least a month, things not so rosy. I'm happy for Carmelo making a comeback but don't trust his court sense. Without Nurkic and a healthy McCollum, Dame can only carry this team into the playoffs. Good pick up of Jones.
Boston has got to find somebody in the post. Might have found a point guard of the future in Oegon Duck Pritchard. Hard to tellright now what kind of team they'll become later in the season.. They might very well surprise folks as it gets down to the wire. Philly, what can I say? Simmons can't shoot. Embid is physically unreliable. If Embid is really healthy at the end of the season, they can win the East.
Dallas needs a tough minded Big. Cauley Stein doesn't cut it. Imagine if the Mavs had, for exampe, Capella around the rim with Doncic passing. Porzingis is another player with unreliable physical health issues. There's some chatter about the Utah Jazz. Donovan Mitchell needs a second All Star at the wing. Bogan is a fine catch-and shoot to stretch the floor, but he can't really create for himself.
Atlanta will be strong all season, but need something? I'm open to suggestions. They brought in enough players to assure they win their division. But compete for the East? What's missing? Indiana Pacers is another team that remain dangerous about seven deep then, a drop off. Warren injured hurts. LeVert from the Nets will help.
Finally, what to say about my Warriors? This year's playoffs depend on how fast rookie first rounder, James Wiseman grows into his awesome potential. He seems like a fast learner. Check back with me after All Star break. I'll leave it at that.
On this day of transition, Thank God, from Trump to a real, caring, President, Joe Biden, I offer the National Youth Poet Laureate, Amanda Gorman, and her inauguration poem. Too long to post. Find it on any site.
