Deep Thoughts From Around The NBA

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Bulpett: Deep thoughts from around the NBA



Tuesday, October 28, 2014
By:  Steve Bulpett


The Celtics are taking more 3’s this year, and we don’t want to let another trend pass us by (as we sit here in our new Zubaz pants checking out Myspace).

Besides, it’s always good to take the opportunity to nod to old friend No. 3 in the rafters not long after what would have been Dennis Johnson’s 60th birthday. (And we know DJ would have loved watching Marcus Smart play basketball.)

So here we go jacking up treys ...



Three teams with the best
chance to win the championship:

1. San Antonio — Age and health will be the most challenging opponents.

2. Oklahoma City — The Spurs and sharing the ball will be the most challenging opponents.

3. LA Clippers — They got rid of their most challenging opponent in the ownership change.



Three teams that could make me look stupid for not putting them in the previous category:

1. Chicago — The Bulls offense still relies too much on getting the ball to Derrick Rose and hoping he does something great.

2. Golden State — The Warriors need Andrew Bogut to stay on the floor, but they’ll always have a shooter’s chance.

3. Cleveland — The Cavaliers have enough to win the Eastern Conference, but they’ll really have to take some giant steps in terms of cohesion to get by the representative from the West.



Three teams on the fault line:

1. LA Lakers — The loss of Steve Nash may have taken away last thin thread of hope to be competitive. Kobe might still be Kobe, but without more help will it matter?

2. New York — We think Phil Jackson will succeed in the long run, but a mediocre team and a franchise that’s antagonistic to the media will set off tabloid tremors.

3. Miami — A lot is riding on Dwyane Wade’s health, and is Chris Bosh a $20 million player?



Three coaches who may be looking over their shoulder even though it ain’t necessarily fair:

1. Scott Brooks, Oklahoma City

2. Brian Shaw, Denver

3. Erik Spoelstra, Miami



Three best bets to win the MVP:

1. LeBron James — Really going out on a limb here, eh?

2. Kevin Durant — The early injury may leave him fresher down the line.

3. Chris Paul — Blake Griffin will get the dunks, but if the Clippers break through, Paul will get the credit.



Three players under the gun:

1. and 2. James Harden, Dwight Howard — NBA general managers voted them the best shooting guard and center in the league. So why isn’t Houston better?

3. Kevin Love — Sure, it’s all about LeBron, but Love has to do a lot of heavy lifting with Cleveland’s front line.



Three best rookies:

1. Jabari Parker, Milwaukee — Opponents won’t be as much of an obstacle as new coach Jason Kidd.

2. Andrew Wiggins, Minnesota — A distant second to Parker in terms of NBA readiness, but he’ll do well if he just runs the floor and catches Ricky Rubio’s passes.

3. Joel Embiid, Philadelphia — May not even play this year, but when he does he could easily vault to the top of this list.



Three potentially available players who could change the Celtics’ outlook:

1. Al Horford, Atlanta — Do the Hawks want to rebuild? Would they like a contract or two and some shiny draft picks?

2. Marc Gasol, Memphis — A free agent at the end of the year who says he wants to stay with the Grizzlies, but could that change?

3. Roy Hibbert — He’s coming off a difficult end to 2013-14 season and can opt out next summer.



Three best non-player upgrades:

1. Lionel Hollins replaces Jason Kidd as Nets coach.

2. Steve Ballmer replaces Donald Sterling as Clippers owner.

3. Stan Van Gundy takes over as head of basketball ops and head coach in Detroit. The Pistons may not get better, but they’ve definitely gotten a whole lot more interesting.



Three best players to ever wear No. 3 for the Celtics:

1. Dennis Johnson — Any questions? Didn’t think so.

2. Dana Barros — You are correct to say he officially wore No. 11 (and later 13) here, but then-assistant coach DJ used to marker in small 3’s (Barros’ preferred number, but retired for Johnson) on Dana’s jersey.

3. George Nostrand — Averaged 8.3 points in parts of two seasons in the late 1940s.



Three names that keep Celtics TV play-by-play man Mike Gorman awake at night:

1. Giannis Antetokounmpo — Take a tip from Greeks everywhere and just call him Yanni.

2. Mirza Teletovic, Bojan Bogdanovic and Sergey Karasev of the Nets — Not necessarily hard individually, but, says Gorman, “If they’re ever on the court together, it’s trouble.”

3. Michael Hoomanawanui — The Patriots tight end doesn’t play in the NBA, but we just wanted Gorman to know it could always be worse.




bob



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