NBA Preview: Detroit through Memphis in a Nutshell

I'm in a horrific time crunch for two reasons. First, and more importantly, I now have a little more than two days to finish my issue package in my Writing for New Media class, and even after getting interviews and doing good research I still don't know where my focus is, let alone the fact that I am completely baffled with all technological aspects of this class.

The second reason is the fact that the NBA season starts tomorrow, and by my count I have 23 more team entries to do. So much for my promise of 30 teams in 30 days. Fret not, though, loyal fans. I have come up with a solution.

And I'll start with the Pistons.

Detroit Pistons
Burning Question: How will Detroit cope with the loss of Ben Wallace?
Justin's Take: Defensively, Wallace defecting to the Bulls is a huge loss. I know quite a few people out there who believe that the Pistons were an overrated team defensively when he was there, and I guess this year we'll find out. However, offensively Nazr Mohammed will give them a player that opposing teams will actually have to guard. Even without Wallace, I think that the Pistons have the best starting line-up in the East, possibly even in the NBA. Picking up Ronald Murray is a move that I like but John Hollinger of ESPN.com despises. Hollinger thinks Murray has poor shot selection, but I think he's exactly the kind of guy that the Pistons need off the bench. Pencil these guys in for the conference finals, and they may even be playing in June.
Projected Record: 58-24

Golden State Warriors
Burning Question: Will Don Nelson's arrival be enough to revitalize this otherwise stagnant franchise?
Justin's Take: I might have mentioned this before, but I'm a huge Mavericks' fan. Nelson resurrected Dallas and instituted the fun and gun offense, and I'd argue that the Warriors are much more athletic than those Mavs' teams. If Baron Davis can stay healthy, I fully expect him to put up Steve Nash-type numbers in terms of dishing the rock, and he'll be dishing to one of the best finishers in the league in Jason Richardson. Keep an eye on Monta Ellis. There's a logjam in the backcourt, but he will be a special player. All in all, I think having Nelson as the coach gets this team to the playoffs. To get further than that they'll have to play defense, but maybe next year.
Projected Record: 44-38

Houston Rockets
Burning Question: How many games will TMac miss this year, and if he does miss significant time, can the Rockets make the playoffs without him?
Justin's Take: With nothing else to do until basketball season, Slamonline.com has been ranking the top 50 players in the NBA. The list has been quite ambiguous to this point, in terms of some players being ranked much higher than they should have been without substance, but columnist Lang Whitaker (one of my favorite writers around) admits that if he were consistently healthy, Tracy McGrady would have gone much higher. The problem is, he hasn't been completely healthy since he arrived in Houston. When he was healthy last season, the Rockets were a playoff team. When he wasn't, they were a mid-major Division I team. Having Shane Battier and Bonzi Wells will take pressure off of him, and the Rockets may even be OK if McGrady misses 20 games. But, in order the Rockets to make the playoffs, #1 has to be on the court consistently.
Projected Record: 45-37

Indiana Pacers
Burning Question: Can the Pacers somehow get consistent point guard play?
Justin's Take: The answer to the above question is really based upon whether or not we'll see the Jamaal Tinsley of a couple years ago or the injury-plagued one we saw last season. I've always liked his game, and I think if he stays on the court and out of the trainer's room he'll be okay. However, if he has another injury-riddled season the Pacers will sink to the draft lottery. Former Maryland Terp Sarunas Jasikevicius only plays well in the Olympics for Lithuania and in my opinion isn't an NBA caliber point guard. Marquis Daniels was always one of my favorite players on the Mavs and I really, really, really thought he should have seen more time in the Finals guarding Dwyane Wade, but honestly his place is more on the wing, not at point guard. The Pacers are solid everywhere else. Jermaine O'Neal is one of the best fours in the league, and Al Harrington is a great acquisition. Stephen Jackson, while erratic at times, is a tough match-up at the two spot. If the Pacers get any kind of play from the point guard position, they should sneak into the playoffs. But, if there's slippage, there will be a number of parranahs waiting for their demise.
Projected Record: 42-40

Los Angeles Clippers
Burning Question: Are the Clippers ready to take the next step?
Justin's Take: I honestly thought that the Clippers should have beaten the Suns last year in the playoffs, but their guys seemed to wilt under the Game 7 lights. However, pretty much every rotation player is back for another crack at it, plus they picked up the guy who shot them out of the playoffs as a member of Phoenix, Tim Thomas. He'll pretty much take Vladimir Radmonovic's spot in the rotation. People talk about improving teams in the off-seasons by spending zillions of dollars, but I honestly think a year's worth of experience will make this club better. I really don't think that Elton Brand is done improving, plus you have a tremendous backcourt rotation in Sam Cassell, Cuttino Mobley, Corey Maggette, and Shaun Livingston. I don't know if there's a team in the NBA who has four better guards on the same team. Here's my first curveball of the previews: the Clippers will be in the conference finals. Debate.
Projected Record: 53-29

Los Angeles Lakers
Burning question: Did the Lakers do enough in the off-season to stay in the playoffs?
Justin's Take: I said something in my Cleveland preview that I may want to take back. I essentially said that Lebron James should have won the MVP award last year. I would like to take this opportunity to apologize to Kobe "#24" Bryant. Sure, James' put up better all-around numbers, and Bryant will never be mistaken as the best teammate in the world, but he put that team on his shoulders last year and almost carried them to the second round of the playoffs by himself. Here's the thing: as good as Bryant is, if he gets them back to the playoffs this year the media should annoint him as the MVP for the next two seasons. Houston will be improved, as will Golden State, and Memphis did enough to stay ahead of them. Adding Jordan Farmar gives the Lakers a legit point guard, but it almost doesn't matter because Phil Jackson doesn't believe in the term. And, in case you missed my post on first round busts, I'm not sold on Kwame Brown.
Projected Record: 41-41

Memphis Grizzlies
Burning Question: How long will it take Gasol to get back into rhythm coming off of an injury?
Justin's Take: Other than the whole broken-foot thing, Pau Gasol has had a great year. In the past 14 months he has played the best basketball of his life, becoming an upper-echelon player in the NBA while leading his native country Spain to a gold-medal in the FIBA championships. But, as great as those times were, the immediate focus is on Gasol's foot and how quickly it heals. Basically, that will determine how far Memphis goes this season. The early diagnosis was four months , but now doctors are saying that he may be back in early December. If that's the case, I think the Grizz have enough talent to stay above water, especially at the pace that Coach Mike Fratello like to play.
Projected Record: 44-38