Interesting Short NBA Season

As I have written in the past, this NBA season is exciting as there is a couple of great games on TV every night. This season is also a very challenging one for almost every team due to the limited number of practices and the high number of back to back games. There isn't much time for rest either and it has taken a toll on older players like Steve Nash and Grant Hill. Many think that Kobe Bryant should be considered as an older player, but he is having one of his best years of his career.

I don't believe age will make a big difference in this year's season. The teams with the least number of changes from last year will do the best this year as they will use past chemistry to overcome the limited practice time. The Dallas Mavericks were last year's NBA champions and they are having a pretty good year, but I feel they lost too many important pieces of their championship team. JJ Berea was a difference maker in the playoffs as nobody could stop him from getting to the hoop. Deshawn Stevenson hit big shots down the stretch and they lost their starting center. That is a lot of changes that I don't believe Dallas will succeed this year even though the main players remain, Jason Kidd, Dirk Nowitzki, and Jason Terry. The Mavericks did pick up a diminished Lamar Odom from the Lakers in a trade before the season started.

Miami Heat are going to remain contenders this year as they returned almost the same team that went to the finals last year. The difference this year is that the role players have remained healthy which adds to their chemistry. Bosh and Wade have missed a few games this year, but it hasn't made a huge difference. The Heat have lost to the Magic twice and to the Bulls in recent weeks. Last year regular season was similar, so it may have no impact on the playoffs and the Heat could be favored to return to the finals.

Chicago Bulls have proven this season they can win without Derrick Rose. The Bulls are winning as a result of excellent team defense. I have don't believe they have the fire power to compete with the Heat or the Magic. Joakim Noah is the difference maker in Chicago defense, but hasn't mattered when playing the Orlando Magic's Dwight Howard. The Magic have suffered when teams have pressured the point guards. It is important that Hedo Turkoglu relieves back court pressure when playing Boston and Miami.

Oklahoma City is trying to run away in the Western Conference, but they have lost a number of games that I would expect them to win. The Thunder have youth, chemistry, and all of the pieces of last year's team have remained for this season. When they play together, they are tough to beat. The Thunder's problem comes when Durant or Westbrook force shots instead of playing together. I don't think it is conducive for the team to go too far in the playoffs this year.

The San Antonio Spurs finally have Manu Ginoble back from injury at the right time of the season. The Spurs had minimal changes this off season as Tony Parker is playing excellent as usual and Tim Duncan finally has help in the middle with second year player Tiago Splitter. The Spurs are having a great year and will provide a great challenge for my Lakers.

I don't believe the Los Angeles Clippers have enough chemistry to make a run this year and I think they will remain that other LA basketball team. Billups injury near the beginning of the season sent the Clippers front office scrambling for some additional offensive weapons at the trade deadline.

The trade deadline finally was used effectively for the Los Angeles Lakers as they upgraded point guard speed by trading away Derek Fisher and getting Ramon Sessions from the Cavaliers. Fisher was that spot up shooter that hit big shots when the game was on the line, but was a liability on defense as he couldn't guard the faster point guards of the NBA. Fisher also didn’t create offense as he just filled spots. His borderline hard fouls will be missed as well. The Lakers also traded away Jason Kapono and Luke Walton who were not used effectively this season in LA. Hopefully they can rebuild their careers after the trade.

The main pieces for the Lakers are back with Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and a healthy Andrew Bynum. Phil Jackson left after last season, but I don't think there was a better replacement than Mike Brown. The Lakers defense was horrible in the past couple of years and Brown is a defensive coach. The offense has had moments of stagnation this season, but the defense is tremendously better this year. The only question is whether the new players will fit in a winning combination for the Lakers right away.

I don't believe the Celtics or last year's surprise team the Grizzlies will be a factor in the playoffs this year. I would like to see a rematch of the finals with the Orlando Magic and the Los Angeles Lakers this year.