NBA Season Preview: Pacific

Los Angeles Clippers
MVP: Elton Brand
LVP: Elgin Baylor

Mr.EAST: The Clips ain’t all that bad. That’s saying a lot for a team which is generally considered the baby left on the Staples Center doorstep in the middle of the night. “Not that bad” for the Clippers is kind of like “Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs”. They’ll take “not that bad’ any chance they can get it….sugar coated.

Elton Brand has exceeded a lot of people’s expectations in his career, with only injuries and poor support from his rotating group of teammates keeping him from earning a bigger place on the All-Star stage. The field of players around him has thinned considerably, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing to me. When Brand found himself surrounded with teammates like Quentin Richardson, Lamar Odom, Darius Miles, Michael Olowokandi, Bobby Simmons, and Marko Jaric he was often lost in the mix. He was clearly the best player of the bunch, but not the strongest ego by any stretch.

The cast in LA now features legendary ball hogs Sam Cassell and Cuttino Mobley to go along with Corey Maggette, but unlike the other players, Cassell and Mobley have been winners in other cities. It’s a different breed of greed that we’re talking about now. Brand should benefit from their support, and finally be able to focus on rebounding like a monster and dominating the low block.

The downside of all this is that Elgin Baylor (my LVP) has sacrificed the future of the franchise for some short term success. It’s not to say that the young players on the roster that have departed would have made the miraculous leap to championship contender any time soon, but the aging Cassell isn’t an investment in the future and Cuttino Mobley doesn’t figure to be around when things get good for the Clips. Yeah, they have Shaun Livingston, but he’s already a physical wreck. What happens next is anyone’s guess, but I’m taking bets that this team will look like the 2005-2006 Hornets in about 2 or 3 years.

Mr.WEST: Boy are the Clippers cock teases! Well, I’m not gay but you get the point. Their roster, yet again, looks somewhat filled with talent. And, yet again, they will quietly stink it up. I believe in Elton Brand. I believe in Sammy Cassell (unlike many). I believe in role players like Wilcox and Kaman. Corey Maggete, eh, no so much. But I also believe in reality, and reality says the Clippers win some games and earn some respect but lose far many more, then have the roster altered again next year.



Phoenix Suns
MVP: Steve Nash
LVP: Amare Stoudemire's knee

Mr.WEST: Just win the Suns were starting to convince other ball clubs to actually enjoy the game and score some points, Amare goes under the knife. Lets cut him slack and not oint out that he waited until pre-season to actually get is knee checked rather than take are of it in the summer. Or let's just point that out. But without Amare people are going to wonder if the Suns can really perform another minor miracle this year. I say yes.

In what likely will turn out to be a bad move for all involved, Joe Johnson and Quentin Richardson are no longer Suns. Maybe those guys should've realized that Steve Nash and the Suns basically made their NBA careers in one season. But now they are gone and instead we have James "Who?" Jones and Raja Bell. I think those two jokers will fill the empty shoes quite nicely. Why? Because the Suns system works. They run and gun. And there are TONS of players in the NBA with incredible talent who can thrive in the right system. Just give those two a chance and watch them score points and fill the stat sheet.

Nash and the Matrix will be scoring as much as they can. The role of Kurt Thomas is now even more important. Can he keep up while hitting shots and rebounding? Yes. Kurt will need to be a rock for Phoenix and will deliver. I'm not sure the Suns will even see Amare this year at all but only a jackass would doubt a playoff appearance so once Amare emerges on the court come Spring, it's gonna get real interesting for opponents.

Mr.EAST: This is still a good ballclub, and you have to want them to succeed. There are too many teams that are unbearable to watch. At least you know you’re going to get some good hoops when the Suns show up. I actually wish that there were only 2 teams in the NBA. Suns versus Kings for 82 games. Make it 83. The extra game assures that one team is guaranteed to win the season series. The Suns will make the playoffs, and Amare shouldn’t come back even if he thinks he’s healthy. It’s not about this year anyway. Take the time to rehab and make sure you don’t pull an Antonio McDyess. The league needs you Amare.



Los Angeles Lakers
MVP: Lamar Odom
LVP: Came Brown

Mr.EAST: At first glance, you may wonder why Kobe Bryant isn’t the MVP of this team. Answer: ‘Cause he’s a beeotch. Sorry, but it’s true. Nothing personal, but the guy just reeks of beeotch. His ridiculous off court persona spills directly into his equally ridiculous on court persona, and poisons the immense talent he possesses. He’s clearly one of the top 5 talents in the league, but he’s not a top 10 player. He’s got the skill, but his head isn’t screwed on straight. Lamar Odom is the key to anything and everything that the Lakers want to do with Phil Jackson back at the helm. Kobe’s talent will win games for the Lakers, but Odom’s presence will have to carry them to the playoffs, if indeed he has it in him. The offense will be better for having the ball in Odom’s hands, because Kobe is a more valuable player when he’s off the ball. He dominates the shot clock too much when he’s in iso mode.

Phil Jackson gets a lot of credit for his teams’ success between Chicago and LA. He’s unquestionably a Hall of Fame coach who can manage egos with the best of them. The triangle was Tex Winters’ brainchild, but he had the foresight to go with it for MJ and Pip, and then Shaq and Kobe. Having said all that, this is a lost cause. He will never win another championship in Los Angeles, and I’m quite sure he’s back for the big payday. Money is his motivator now, and I’d be shocked into a coma if he were the coach in 2 years. Hate to say it LA fans, but your coach is kind of mailing this one in….

My LVP is Kwame Brown. It’s easy to pick Brown because he bragged, after he moved 3000 miles away, that he wanted to slap Gilbert Arenas but was still too scared to stand by his comments and reportedly called Gil to explain that he was taken out of context. Yeah. What he meant to say was, “I almost slapped the shit outta Gilbert Arenas, but they changed the locks on the Washington practice facility and didn’t give me a key.” Now that’s a guy I want on my team. A 5 rebound a game big man that talks out his ass at every turn. Good luck Zen Master.

Mr.WEST: Good, it’s official. We can all hate the Lakers now., even you Lakers fans. Admit it, Kobe is a bitch. He is the Wannabe Jordan but without the appeal,. He just does not get it—people do not like assholes. Kwame Brown and the big men are stiffs. They have no dribblers. Poor Lamar Odom. Maybe Phil Jackson will give you a nice book for reading on the plane.



Golden State Warriors
MVP: Baron Davis
LVP: Mike Dunleavy

Mr.WEST: Rumor has it that the Bay Area hoops fans are stroking their manhoods over the Warriors chances this year. They swear that Baron Davis is gonna keep the team on the tear that they finished last season with. They say they got talent to go with their depth. They say they have built role players now primed to step up. Sigh.

Golden State has been locked in a limbo for, oh, 10 years now and this squad has a ways to go to prove they are set to ascend into heaven. Baron Davis is an incredible talent who looks set to take over that team to lead it—good. A guy like J-Richardson needs to be bitchslapped into reality, a soldier in Troy Murphy needs a general and a wimp like Dunleavy needs to be manhandled. What this team needs to develop is a winning formula—what that formula is. Perhaps they run when the ycan, perhaps they grind it out. But they better get that persona set and ride it out. The West has been opned up by the Suns, so the style of play the Warriros may play will help them.

The thing Bay Area hippies should fear is lack of patience and a haphazard approiach to the game that these players have at times. None of these guys know how to win as a team. It is hard to breed winning the NBA.

Mr.EAST: First, the Warriors need to go back to the uniforms they wore when Run TMC were playing with Chris Gatling, Billy Owens, Tree Rollins, and Terry Teagle. Then, they need to get rid of the pussies and get some real serious ballers to represent them every night. Dunleavy = floating pussy. Foyle = shot blocking pussy. Calbert Cheaney = still in the league? pussy. Derek Fisher = Laker retread pussy. Where’s the Ben Wallace on this team? Where’s the Bill Laimbeer? Is there a single guy with guts on this team? Davis and Richardson are a tough backcourt, and Murphy is a nice player, but I need an ass-kicker to scare opposing teams into respecting the Warriors again. They are called the Warriors after all…..



Sacramento Kings
MVP: Mike Bibby
LVP: Ronnie Price

Mr.EAST: I’ll start with my LVP. Ronnie Price gets the unfortunate distinction of being the Least Valuable Player in a system where every player seems to be valuable. He’s a rookie from Utah Valley State that will start the season behind team MVP Mike Bobby and the newly acquired Jason Hart. By default he loses this race for lack of minutes. Sorry kid.

I love the Kings. I’ve been a fan since they brought in Pete Carril and installed the Princeton offense. I would pay the current going rate on NBA season tickets to watch this club play 41 home games if I lived in the farmlands of California. A prettier brand of basketball has not been so consistently played in the Association since Magic ran “Showtime”. They will plug SAR and Bonzi into the system and they will succeed too. Mark my words. There are plenty of naysayers out there that want to write this team off for too many changes and the wrong personnel moves. Bull. As long as Bibby runs the show, Peja spots up behind the arc, and Brad Miller is holding down the high-low post this team will be a contender.

Mike Bibby went through his growing pains in Vancouver, when there was a ballclub still playing up there, and was granted the NBA equivalent of a gubernatorial stay of execution when he was traded to Sactown. He’s made the most of his time in California, and seems to get better every year. I expect the Kings to be there in the end and the Western Conference Final Four should be quite a bloodbath with the Kings deep in the mix.

Mr.WEST: Mike smokes too much wasabi. Are you done sucking Bobby’s dick, Mike? Good, because maybe he forgot to tell you about his shooting against the Sonics in the playoffs last year as Seattle took him apart. Sacto will be fun to watch but their slide after not making the Finals against the Lakers years ago continues. Webber was shipped out of town as his career collapses in front him. The Four Horsemen of Bibby, Peja, Miller and Bonzi gets you wins but not overall quality. I personally more teams were like Sacto. That is, until playoff time.