What's happened!?
There was no shortage of impressive basketball this season, whether it be the Warriors making their franchise leading run to the top or the unlikely success of a makeshift Celtics squad. Despite these impressive story lines, there were also several teams that sorely disappointed us. For instance:
Yea so that happened...
Despite a bit of a downward spiral at the end of the regular season, the Raptors looked really strong all season. The continued emergence of Kyle Lowry and Demar Derozan, coupled with the award-winning play of Lou Williams, had us all believing this might be the year Toronto makes a deep postseason run. Then the Wizards happened. Toronto folded up like a deck of cards. Kyle Lowry was checked out for practically the entire series, their defense was as porous as my kitchen sponge, and, in the everlasting words of Jack Nicholson, they couldn't "HANDLE THE TRUTH!"
So Now What?!
Toronto is a pretty young team. They've got tons of talent and quite a bit of depth, although I'd say their missing three things overall:
1. A backup center: Greg Stiemsma is a legitimate end of the bench option, but isn't gonna give you much efficiency. They need some size off the bench.
2. A real starting power forward: Amir Johnson looked like he wanted to be 'the guy' but just never panned out. I personally thought Tyler Hansbrough was gonna make a run for the job, but that definitely didn't happen and Patrick Patterson is great off the bench, but not so much as a starter. They need some toughness and efficiency inside.
3. A vet: The Raptors need a gritty veteran to help close in the fourth quarter and boost morale in the locker room. The Wizards took advantage of Toronto's inability to close. They need someone to keep the team's heads up late in the game and potentially drop a bucket at the last second.
So close, yet so far away...
I'll admit, I figured Washington had it all wrapped up, but the Hawks just wouldn't go away. You can blame it on John Wall's injury, but at the end of the day Atlanta just looked like they wanted it more. That is until the Eastern Conference Finals happened. Atlanta was just never able to produce enough steam to sneak out a win. To be honest, I never saw the Hawks beating Lebron, but I was, at least, expecting them to win a single game! Unfortunately, Atlanta had no one that could take over and dig them out of the hole they dug. Atlanta's starting five worked really well together this year, but when you're facing King James, you need a leader, and this Atlanta squad never really found one.
So Now What?!
Atlanta has never really been much of a free agent hot spot, so enticing some marquee player to sign with them is about as likely as the ghost of Dominique Wilkins coming to the rescue. Atlanta has some great assets though, and if this sounds like heresy I apologize, but trade Jeff Teague. Dennis Schroder looked fantastic in only his second year, so giving him the reigns could actually work. I say send Teague, and whoever else you have to package, out- and bring in someone who can take your team to the next level.
Just painful to watch...
Where to start? Well, let's start with the positive. Chris Paul, despite a plethora of injuries, played his heart out in each series. At the end of the day though, he just didn't have any help. Now the Blake Griffin fans are gonna start to complain that Blake put together some serious stat lines and they're right. What he didn't put together was a fourth quarter in either series. What does this mean? Blake can't close! When the fourth quarter comes around he either chokes or the other team has found a way to stop him. By the end of the game, Blake's lack of offensive fundamentals comes back to haunt him. If he's not on the fast break and his jumper isn't falling, Blake is completely useless. His inability to develop any type of back-to-the-basket game has me practically pulling my hair out! But alas, as easy as it is to blame all of this on Griffin, the real problem behind the Clippers is their complete lack of depth. Spencer Hawes never panned out this season and Jamal Crawford didn't show up in the postseason. Mix these two things together and you get a recipe for disaster. CP3 and Blake just couldn't keep it going by themselves, and it was because of this that the Rockets moved on.
So Now What?!
1. For the love of God bring in a small forward! Paul Pierce would be perfect for this team. He's got an opt-out option on his current contract, so I would give some serious thought to falling on your knees and begging him to sign for cheap. He would solve virtually all of their problems. They'd have another scoring option, a three-point threat, someone to help close in the fourth, and someone who could get that dysfunctional locker room in order.
2. Call Hakeem! Hakeem Olajuwon once stated that he'd love to work with Blake Griffin and help him develop a post game. How has this not happened yet!? Blake has all the potential to be great, he just needs to be given the tools to do so.
3. Three-point depth: JJ Redick's back has got to be tired after carrying the three-point offense this season. He's the only legitimate shooter on the team and it showed! Do whatever you have to do; if it means trading Crawford and Hawes then do it, because this team needs backups that are going to show up!
Parting thoughts:
This season was a blast to watch and I'm thoroughly excited for the upcoming finals series. The only thing that excites me more, in fact, is seeing what all of these teams are going to do next to improve.
So Now What?!
Toronto is a pretty young team. They've got tons of talent and quite a bit of depth, although I'd say their missing three things overall:
1. A backup center: Greg Stiemsma is a legitimate end of the bench option, but isn't gonna give you much efficiency. They need some size off the bench.
2. A real starting power forward: Amir Johnson looked like he wanted to be 'the guy' but just never panned out. I personally thought Tyler Hansbrough was gonna make a run for the job, but that definitely didn't happen and Patrick Patterson is great off the bench, but not so much as a starter. They need some toughness and efficiency inside.
3. A vet: The Raptors need a gritty veteran to help close in the fourth quarter and boost morale in the locker room. The Wizards took advantage of Toronto's inability to close. They need someone to keep the team's heads up late in the game and potentially drop a bucket at the last second.
So close, yet so far away...
I'll admit, I figured Washington had it all wrapped up, but the Hawks just wouldn't go away. You can blame it on John Wall's injury, but at the end of the day Atlanta just looked like they wanted it more. That is until the Eastern Conference Finals happened. Atlanta was just never able to produce enough steam to sneak out a win. To be honest, I never saw the Hawks beating Lebron, but I was, at least, expecting them to win a single game! Unfortunately, Atlanta had no one that could take over and dig them out of the hole they dug. Atlanta's starting five worked really well together this year, but when you're facing King James, you need a leader, and this Atlanta squad never really found one.
So Now What?!
Atlanta has never really been much of a free agent hot spot, so enticing some marquee player to sign with them is about as likely as the ghost of Dominique Wilkins coming to the rescue. Atlanta has some great assets though, and if this sounds like heresy I apologize, but trade Jeff Teague. Dennis Schroder looked fantastic in only his second year, so giving him the reigns could actually work. I say send Teague, and whoever else you have to package, out- and bring in someone who can take your team to the next level.
Just painful to watch...
Where to start? Well, let's start with the positive. Chris Paul, despite a plethora of injuries, played his heart out in each series. At the end of the day though, he just didn't have any help. Now the Blake Griffin fans are gonna start to complain that Blake put together some serious stat lines and they're right. What he didn't put together was a fourth quarter in either series. What does this mean? Blake can't close! When the fourth quarter comes around he either chokes or the other team has found a way to stop him. By the end of the game, Blake's lack of offensive fundamentals comes back to haunt him. If he's not on the fast break and his jumper isn't falling, Blake is completely useless. His inability to develop any type of back-to-the-basket game has me practically pulling my hair out! But alas, as easy as it is to blame all of this on Griffin, the real problem behind the Clippers is their complete lack of depth. Spencer Hawes never panned out this season and Jamal Crawford didn't show up in the postseason. Mix these two things together and you get a recipe for disaster. CP3 and Blake just couldn't keep it going by themselves, and it was because of this that the Rockets moved on.
So Now What?!
1. For the love of God bring in a small forward! Paul Pierce would be perfect for this team. He's got an opt-out option on his current contract, so I would give some serious thought to falling on your knees and begging him to sign for cheap. He would solve virtually all of their problems. They'd have another scoring option, a three-point threat, someone to help close in the fourth, and someone who could get that dysfunctional locker room in order.
2. Call Hakeem! Hakeem Olajuwon once stated that he'd love to work with Blake Griffin and help him develop a post game. How has this not happened yet!? Blake has all the potential to be great, he just needs to be given the tools to do so.
3. Three-point depth: JJ Redick's back has got to be tired after carrying the three-point offense this season. He's the only legitimate shooter on the team and it showed! Do whatever you have to do; if it means trading Crawford and Hawes then do it, because this team needs backups that are going to show up!
Parting thoughts:
This season was a blast to watch and I'm thoroughly excited for the upcoming finals series. The only thing that excites me more, in fact, is seeing what all of these teams are going to do next to improve.
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