2014-2015 NBA Season

[funwithteeth]

Preseason starting soon! And what better way to kick off the new thread than with LBJ news?

http://deadspin.com/did-lebron-james-get-hair-plugs-or-what-1636297518

[thelakelander]

LBJ should man up and accept his baldness. 

[I-10east]

At the NBA in Jax game, the Wizards beat the Pelicans 94-89, to an announced crowd of 7, 719 at JVMA.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=400583934

[funwithteeth]

I was there. Jax native Patric Young got the biggest applause of the night by far when he came out in the 4th.

I don't know off the top of my head how those attendance numbers compares to last year's game, but just from an eyeball test I noticed a lot more empty seats. I'm sure that neither team held much regional interest didn't help ticket sales. (Nor that neither team was a "big" team, like the Bulls or the Lakers.)

[KenFSU]

^Yeah, a Pelicans/Wizards preseason matchup is a pretty tough sell anywhere.

Switch out one of the two teams with the Lakers, Bulls, Cavs, Heat, Rockets, Clippers, Thunder, Spurs, Heat, or Knicks, and you're probably looking at a sellout.

Desperately wanted to go to pay my proper respects to Paul Pierce, but got stuck at the office late.

Can't wait for the season to start.

[funwithteeth]

New Orleans was the "home" team; before the game, I took a picture of myself with Pierre the Pelican:



This was the best I could get, as he wouldn't stop dancing to "Mo Money Mo Problems."

I was sitting in the front row, with the only thing separating me and the Pelicans bench was a section reserved for scouts and personnel from other teams. Did you know Bob McAdoo works for the Miami Heat? I was close enough to throw something at his head.

[pierre]

You would think the Magic would do a better job in embracing this market. But they don't.

[funwithteeth]

^I've wondered about that. I don't know the specifics of how it became a Wizards-Pelicans game (the Pelicans having played the Magic here last year, remember), but I can tell you there was a fairly loud contingent of Magic fans at last year's Jax game. I enjoyed myself last night, but there's a difference between watching and enjoying a game just to watch and enjoy a game and watching a game because you are actively rooting for a specific team to win. The former was the case for me last night; judging from the general crowd response, I wasn't in the minority.

[KenFSU]

IT'S ON.

Can't wait.

I count ten teams that could potentially take the title this year:

San Antonio, Cleveland, LA, Dallas, Chicago, Golden State, Memphis, OKC, or even Portland or Houston.

A ton of the non-contenders are going to be a blast to watch too. Wiggins in Minnesota. Jabari Parker with the Bucks. The potential Kobe trainwreck with the Lakers. Derek Fisher and Phil Jackson taking over the Knicks (and supposedly angling to acquire Rondo this year and Marc Gasol in the offseason). Bosh stepping it up in Miami. Rondo hopefully healthy for Boston. The Wizards, Raptors, and Pistons. Etc.

If I had to pick a winner for the season right now, I'd go with Chicago.

[thelakelander]

I wouldn't count on Chicago because that means relying on a guy who hasn't played a full NBA season in two years.  That's like expecting Wade to play at his 2006-2011 heyday for a full season. I'll root for Chicago and anyone who plays Cleveland, but I believe the Spurs are in line to win it all again.

[funwithteeth]

I love Memphis, but the way that team is constructed I think their championship window closed when they got swept by the Spurs in the 2013 WCF. They're an aging team whose big offseason acquisition was the still-effective-but-ancient Vince Carter.

Prediction: Elfrid Payton bypasses Wiggins and Jabari in the Rookie of the Year sweepstakes.

[KenFSU]

Pretty amazing to see how sharp and quick Kobe Bryant is at 36 years old, in his 19th season, coming off of major surgery. Never been a big fan of the guy, but it'll be a travesty to see him waste his last two years with such a terrible team around him.

P.S. ^ Would not complain about Payton winning ROTY one bit. Really liked what I got to see of Aaron Gordon tonight too. Orlando isn't going to win many games this year, but they should be pretty fun to watch as they continue to rebuild.

[thelakelander]

Kobe shouldn't have taken so much money. They won't be able to get better by rebuilding, until he leaves.

[KenFSU]

^ Yeah, that contract is going to be an anvil around the Lakers' neck for the next two seasons. It's also going to an anvil around Kobe's neck if he ever has a change of heart and decides that he wants to spend his last year or two with a contender, as he's pretty much untradeable at ~$24 million a year.

Can't believe they lost Julius Randle last night too.

[funwithteeth]

On the upside, angry Kobe is good for basketball: