Preparing For the Next Season Print E-mail
User Rating: / 1
PoorBest 
Written by Darren Odellot   
Friday, 20 June 2008
Preparing For the Next Season


Now that the season is over, it’s time for some teams to rebuild. Their weak points have been exposed as they failed to win during crucial situations. It is not their fault that they lost. It’s just that they lacked better players in key positions. Thus, opponents used this knowledge to their advantage. They made plays that were designed to maximize the mismatch on the positions. Therefore, the weaker teams lost and the stronger teams won. The Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers, each bearing the number 1 position in the East and West, rolled over their conferences by making the right adjustments. Eventually, Boston won due to the better offensive weapons the team has.

Before the trading deadline was over, many teams have had significant changes. Aside from Pau Gasol moving in to the Lakers from the Memphis Grizzlies, the most surprising trade involved Shaquille O’Neal and Shawn Marion. The Miami Heat released Shaq in exchange for Phoenix’s Marion. Phoenix needed a big man as they prepared against the San Antonio Spurs, last year’s NBA Champs. Yet, they failed to see that Shaq was not in a good condition yet thus the Spurs exploited this weakness. They mixed a fast paced offense with more outside gunners so that Shaquille can’t do much on the defensive side.

Mike Bibby was also acquired by the Atlanta Hawks from the Sacramento Kings. The Hawks just made the Playoffs after a long drought and they needed a veteran leader to guide the young players. Bibby has been in many playoff games during his career thus his knowledge is essential. Battling the eventual champions – the Boston Celtics – in the first round, the Hawks showed their grit and passion by taking the series into seven games. Although they have lost, the Hawks showed that their mid-season adjustment paid off. Mike Bibby was not as effective in the playoffs but his leadership skill was the key to extending the series.

The Lakers were just 96 minutes away from winning the championship but they were stopped in their track by the rampaging Celtics. The Lakers know that they need a bigger man to combat the likes of Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan. Thus, they await the return of their rising star, Andrew Bynum, from surgery. Bynum showed a lot of talent before he went down for the season. It would have been a more competitive NBA Finals if Bynum was around. Garnett would have had a harder time controlling the boards. Bynum was bigger than Gasol and he could have had boxed out the Big Ticket.

There is no telling what this season can bring. It is still a long way to the start of the opening tip. Teams may make last minute trades of their star players. They saw the potential of having three superstars in one team. Now, they have to prepare against Boston. They saw Boston’s strength. Thus, their trades and free agent signings would have to adjust to the Boston lineup. If they cannot win against the champions, then it would be a long and arduous season for them.



Reddit!Del.icio.us!Google!Live!Facebook!StumbleUpon!Yahoo!Free social bookmarking plugins and extensions for Joomla! websites!
Comments (0)add
Write comment
smaller | bigger

busy
 
Next >
[ Back ]