NBA 2011-2012: Where Games Actually Will Happen.

[batroc the leaper]

Go bulls?

[Kevin T Brown]

This should make Heat fans shudder a bit:

Caron Butler has indicated that he would be willing to play for the Bulls for the mid-level exception.

[Rian Fike]

Initial odds before the season:

MGM Mirage’s race and sports director Jay Rood considers Miami a 2-to-1 favorite to win the title, followed by the Lakers (9-to-2) and the Chicago Bulls and Oklahoma City Thunder (5-to-1). Meanwhile, Jay Kornegay, director of the Las Vegas Hilton Race and Sports Book, has tabbed the Heat as 2-to-1 favorites, unless the Chicago Bulls (6-to-1) get past them. That puts the Lakers (7-to-1) in a third-place tie with the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder.

[Rian Fike]

This should make Heat fans shudder a bit:

Caron Butler has indicated that he would be willing to play for the Bulls for the mid-level exception.

Caron is a world-class human being, I had the pleasure of meeting him during his early years with the Heat. You would be getting a quality person, but not a true star. Good luck!

[JJ Fresh]

There's no doubt the Heat will again be considered favorites to the title, but until that day the Mavs are the best team in the NBA. After coming up short teams either go on a downward spiral or put a chip on their shoulder and perform better; and knowing the competitive nature of Wade, Durant, Kobe, and Rose I think they'll rise to that challenge and bring their teams with them. Unfortunately for the Mavs Chandler seems to be looking at a new destination and no word on Butler either, so they have a question mark or two there.

I wouldn't discount either the Spurs or Celtics despite their age. It is a shortened season (with some occasional back to back to back games scheduled) which will be an advantage for old legs, but I also would bet on Doc and Pop resting their stars for a playoff run. Their windows are closing, and I can think each team is looking at this season as the last chance for more jewlery.

Two teams I consider paper tigers are Orlando and the Knicks. I think Orlando took a step back bringing in Hedo again and the Dwight circus will most likely be a distraction; I'm expecting an implosion more than making any signficant noise. The Knicks I felt took a step back acquiring Melo, and they'll continue to remain allergic to defense. If New York doesn't outscore you they're losing the game, simple as that. It could change if they get CP3, but I highly doubt that even happens.

My Cavs will again stink it up, but I'm hoping Kyrie and Tristan get some serious playing time. If anything Byron Scott knows his point guards and Kyrie should improve by leaps and bounds. He won't make an impact that Lebron did, or even come close to such things, but it will be exciting to watch him grow.

Speaking of point guards, let's not get too hyped about Norris Cole Rian. He did well at CSU, but there's a huge jump between playing in the Horizon league and being NBA ready. Plus, let's be honest he's going to be handing the ball off to better facilitators 99% of the time anyway. He'll be lucky to get 5 shots a whole game if he's a starter.

[Rian Fike]

Speaking of point guards, let's not get too hyped about Norris Cole Rian. He did well at CSU, but there's a huge jump between playing in the Horizon league and being NBA ready. Plus, let's be honest he's going to be handing the ball off to better facilitators 99% of the time anyway. He'll be lucky to get 5 shots a whole game if he's a starter.

I don't want him to shoot, I want him to play defense. Steals at the point = Highlights all night. Cole is a fierce competitor who had Pat Riley saying he had never seen a kid take a try-out as seriously. Ever. That's what I want, the fire that Lebron seems to lack sometimes. The Heat needs speed, defense, and smarts at the point. This kid might have the perfect package, although Riley teams never play rookies unless they are named Wade.

We shall see, the kid sure was lucky to have three better point guards above him in the draft. Imagine breaking into the NBA in his situation. He must have some major good karma, although he is REALLY ghetto on Twitter.

Very exciting times.

[chazbot]

It will all come down to the playoffs, as always, even with the short schedule. I see Rose dropping off drastically and Boston being very scary in the East. The Bulls are a one-star team and we saw how that played out last year. Orlando will have too many distractions no matter which way they go with Dwight.

Not sold on Memphis. Last years run will go to their heads and I don't see them handling internal issues well if things get rocky. I know it seems like a reach and I hate to say it, but the Lakers may be big winners in the West.

We'll see about Memphis. They did all of that without Rudy Gay, arguably their best player. All you need to do is go 7-8 players strong in the playoffs. They'll have a phenomenal top 6 of those 8.

[web_head02]

First off, I will not get involved in any flaming or smack talk in this thread. It was fun while it lasted, but I hope we can just talk basketball here.

The Bulls are an outstanding defensive team with a stellar coach. That almost counts as a second star in my book, but we saw in the Eastern Conference Finals that it was not nearly enough. The Heat pretty much dominated them as soon as they figured out how to stop Rose. In my humble opinion, the Bulls peaked last year and they are due for a drop off. It was a very common opinion that they did not have enough beyond the MVP. I don't see that changing this season, I don't think Rose will get that much better, and Lebron's holding him under 40% shooting when it counted most was not a fluke.

Bosh, on the other hand, will be much more comfortable and motivated. Wade and Lebron are probably better than any other players in the NBA. Udonis is healthy. Norris Cole is such a competitor that he could end up being a taskmaster when they start to slack off. Objectively, the Heat has the potential to live up to all the hype and silence all the critics.

Flaming? I came back at you when threw out an opinion about a team that I watched all last season that was outright false. Now you're back peddaling. I don't get where you think rose won't improve either. Last time I checked he is younger than bosh or the other three stars on the Heat. He has plenty of room to improve and he has spoke heavily on the work he's been doing over the off season.

All that said other teams in the East will be better this year. The Knicks will improve and I think the Celtics will as well. The Heat won't have the cakewalk that some are hoping for.

[Rian Fike]

Christmas Day just keeps getting better! Two more games to make it a full plate:

Magic at Thunder and Clippers at Warriors.

Nice.

[Rian Fike]

... you when threw out an opinion about a team that I watched all last season that was outright false.

In my humble opinion, and the opinion of quite a few writers and analysts, the Bulls were exposed by losing in five games to the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals. The weaknesses were obvious, and we shall see if they can be corrected. The Bulls were great in the regular season, they have a great player and a great defense-first coach, but they weren't even close in that series.

It may be difficult for you to admit, but it is not outright false. It is an opinion shared by many.