I'm a busy man these days. In addition to beginning a new job, I'm finding myself busy outside of work as well. There's been tons of blog columns I've wanted to write, but every time I thought I'd get to it, I've ended up occupying my time elsewhere. But one of those ideas I'd had was an NBA Season Preview, so I'm holding myself to at least pulling this together. Whether I get to topics of greater substance (relationships, work, politics, etc.) remains to be seen. Perhaps 2011 will be the year I get back in to a consistent effort with the site and writing.
But enough about me, its time to talk about my favorite topic: the NBA. For those who know me, basketball has played a pretty pivotal part of my life. From a kid playing Small Fry Basketball, to my feigned attempt at organized hoops in high school, and on to my days as a coach in my adult years, basketball has always been part of the Delta Whiskey equation.
And as a kid with a dad who invested his heart and wallet in the Bulls, the NBA has meant something within my family life that goes far beyond NBA titles, scoring championships, or anything that takes place on the court. My dad and I have probably attended more than 200 games together in the 29 years he's had his tickets. His loyalty is unquestioned, and I could write a column a day about the circumstances that surrounded some of the games he and I attended together.
So whenever the NBA season begins, my level of excitement rises just a bit. No matter how bad (or good) the Bulls are expected to be, I'm a fan of the NBA and get excited that basketball is back in my life. And with a summer full of headlines, drama, and discussion, this NBA promises to be exciting. For the NBA/basketball fan, I hope some of what I write you'll find interesting. For non-NBA fans, amuse me and read on.
NBA 2010 - 2011: The Year of Transition
I've watched players in Bulls uniforms (technically warmups) lolly gag through layup lines before a game, and usually I'll pick out a guy or two on the roster I could do without. For Bulls fans, these are guys like Eddie Robinson, Eddy Curry, Tyrus Thomas, and even Jalen Rose towards the end of his time as a bull. I'd describe these as "Guys who seem like they'd rather be somewhere else."
So at a recent preseason game I attended with Romeo Sierra, I looked at the 2010 - 2011 Bulls and could not identify one of these types. I even made a point of turning to her and saying, "I can't find a guy I don't like." So you could describe my demeanor as upbeat heading in to a year that I'm calling "the year of transition." The Bulls will be a team that won't win the NBA title, but they've got the pieces in place to get them well on their way.
Guys I'm watching like a hawk:
Derrick Rose - the fan and family favorite, D-Rose has a little pep in his step coming in to this year and its great to see. Since entering the NBA, he's been a humble stud. The kind of guy that won't show up his opponent, disrespect a coach, or blab in an officials ear excessively. Its really hard to watch him play and not like him, and I'm excited to see what he looks like after spending the summer with a bunch of young studs, a great coach (Coach K), and a chance to win a title. He's going to do a few things every night that have you asking, "Did he really just do that?" and the transition I see on D-Rose's horizon is his role as a vocal leader on the floor. One of the great things you see from the studs (MJ, Kobe, Duncan, etc.) is their ability to coach their teammates on the floor. It'll take some time, but D-Rose needs that kind of presence for him to be one of the great ones.
Joakim Noah - the favorite of Romeo Sierra, Noah is the kind of guy you'd love to coach. He'll do anything you ask him to, he'll work his ass off to get better, and he'll bring passion and energy to everything he does. That energy may seem like a non-variable for many of you, but think about your workplace. Do the people who get things done tend to be belligerent, lazy, or bored? Of course they don't, and the Bulls feed off his energy and willingness to do the little things. He sets great screens and will play a huge part in freeing up space for D-Rose on the offensive end, but he'll need to develop the 8 - 12 foot jump shot for teams to stay honest. And with a shot that makes Bill Cartwright's look like a thing of beauty, the jumper may be a stretch. So his transition will take place on the Offensive End, because on the defensive end I don't think there's a guy he can't defend.
Kyle Korver - of the new additions this summer, Korver is one I'm very excited about. Every team needs a gunner who can keep a defense honest, and its been a while since the Bulls have had the right shooter at the right time. There have been some great shooters in recent years (Ben Gordon) but there haven't been other pieces on the floor to free up these shooters to shoot without a hand in their face, in the location on the floor they're most comfortable shooting from. With Korver, there's now a very tricky balance teams are going to have to strike with helping to prevent D-Rose's penetration and staying at home with Korver. If you leave D-Rose to go 1 on 1, he'll beat whoever is guarding him 8 times out of 10. If you come to help D-Rose, you'll leave Korver open to drain 3's all day from the spot he likes. He's not going to wow anyone on defense, but that's why he won't start. He'll be a great guy to have off the bench, but I worry about his health. As for his transition, he's just got to stay out of trouble and keep his wits about him while living up on the North Shore.
Tom Thibadeau - there's a bunch of friends I text during significant bulls/NBA games. In the old days, I'd call my dad to chat about a big game, but with the advent of text messaging I'm able to keep multiple conversations going with people from all over the country. As it became clear that Thibadeau was to be the next bulls coach, I remember texting some of my hoops friends about how crazy TT seemed to be as an assistant coach for the Celtics. I have never seen an assistant, stand and coach literally EVERY DEFENSIVE possession. So its obvious he has a passion for defense, and his teams in Boston were able to defend well once they had the right parts. There are many similar parts here in Chicago, so we'll see if he's able to bring that same discipline to the Bulls. For Tommy T, its a year of transition. His first year as the head of the staff, the team, and the public figure Chicago will want to be charismatic. He's also got a reputation as a data fiend and film studier. So the transition in his world is balancing all of this. Speaking for myself, its not easy to step in to a new role where you're asked to do more, quicker, faster, and successful. But good thinkers figure out a way to make it work, and I'm confident he'll be able to take the bulls from a 'good' team to a 'great' team.
Predictions:
I've often wanted to predict what I think would happen on record, mainly to see how well I'm able to predict a series of events that would be impossible to accurately calculate. But somehow, I like to think that years of watching basketball has made me somewhat knowledgeable about things, so I'm putting my reputation on the line. And I've asked some friends to join me as well, although they'll be keeping their responses with an Alias of their choice. Only I'll know who folks predicted, and maybe this will help me know who among my friends is the best to help me predict a whole bunch of other things. I'm only predicting 3 things, and that's all I'm asking of my audience and/or those I've asked. Keep in mind, this isn't what I WANT to happen, just the way I see it....and I'll assume the same is true for everyone else.
Delta Whiskey (yours truly):
Bulls Wins: 52
NBA Champ: Heat (ick)
MVP: Kevin Durant
Roger Daltrey:
Bulls Wins: 45
NBA Champ: Lakers
MVP: Kobe
Roger Daltrey's Oldest Son
Bulls wins: 49
NBA Champ: Celts
MVP: Kobe
Roger Daltrey's 2nd Son
Bulls wins: 49
NBA Champs: Lakers
MVP: Kobe
Romeo Sierra (Delta Whiskey's better half)
Bulls wins: 43
NBA Champ: Lakers
MVP: Derrick Rose (love the optimism)
Bravo Kilo (partner in crime as a coach of Small Fry Basketball, biggest bulls fan I know outside of me)
Bulls wins: 49
NBA Champ: Rockets (ballsy, but I like it)
MVP: Kevin Durant
Sierra Echo (partner in crime on Pat Barker's Freshman Basketball Team)
Bulls wins: 47
NBA Champ: Magic
MVP: Dwight Howard
Charlie Sierra (longtime bulls fan and season ticket holder, played some EPIC 2 on 2 games in our 20s)
Bulls wins: 49
NBA Champ: Lakers
MVP: Dwight Howard
Bravo Whiskey (my dad)
Bulls wins: 47 (he actually gave me two number 46 and 48 so I'm splitting the difference)
NBA Champ: Lakers
MVP: Dwight Howard
