Blazers Blogger
-- Last Thursday "The King" Lebron James made his infinite decision made public on a ludicrously egotistical 1-hour ESPN primetime special, a decision that was sure to change the NBA for the next decade – the 2010's or whatever you wanna call them. We had no idea what that impact would be though, until we heard the words "South Beach" slip from his $100 million lips.
Woweeeey! The prospect of D-Wade, Chris Bosh and Lebron coming together in a select town was an undoubtably tasty rumor after their postseasons had cumulatively ended too early for their liking, but I never, ever thought they would all put aside their egos enough to cut their spotlight time and their max contracts by a fraction to play together. And Miami? I mean Pat Riley is a great, great GM and coach who knows how to win, but I guess I always saw the new Big 3, or "Miami Thrice" as I've chosen to call them, teaming up in Chicago or New York.
Chicago seemed like a loaded roster for Lebron to join with Derek Rose, Noah, Carlos Boozer and Deng but ultimately it wasn't to be. Miami's weather and player appeal with Bosh and Wade already signed was too irresistible for the King to pass up and that decision has set the Heat up to win many, many championships under 3 big players who are all hitting their stride with their prime years just beginning. The history books of the NBA will be rewritten in South Beach – that fact, I have no doubt in.
Now there's been a lot of soap opera-style dissent and slamming on Lebron for "betraying" his hometown of Cleveland and doing it in such an aggregious fashion with the ESPN special. Is he a hero turned league villain now? Will he be haunted by the curse of Cleveland like that ding-bat owner Dan Gilbert of the Cavs bestowed on Lebron in what had to be the most insane rant I have ever seen by any professional sports owner in America. I mean wow! That dude really laid it on thick.
The fact is his claims are more ludicrous and out-of-line than James' hour-long special. The Cavs will not win a championship before the Heat, rather if he Gilbert keeps acting like a total egotistical nutcase the Cavs will never get enough talent to come to Cleveland for the 2010-11 season to even be a playoff contender.
Lebron may have not carried himself in the right way through this whole ordeal, but he wanted to WIN CHAMPIONSHIPS and moving Miami to play alongside Wade and Bosh did turn out to be his best possible way of doing that in the long term. Plus, Gilbert and the Cavs at no point got him the help necessary to win a championship in Cleveland and they have had several years to think about that leading up to Lebron's free-agency this summer. They failed, Lebron wanted to win more than he wanted to be loyal and the dude ultimately made a business decision that would make himself the happiest instead of his fans and that's what professional sports is all about people. Hate to burst your bubble but it happens every, single, day in their world…Lebron's just happened to be on live national television thanks to his terribly misled "crew".
How many rings do I think the Heat will win? A minimum of 3 and a max of 5 rings I'm saying at this point. Will they win next year? My take is no, but they will be in the Finals in the East – the Lakers might have too much size for them still though. Phil Jackson is a magical sage-like man who typically gets things his way and if he says he's coming back to L.A. for his final year as a coach to win yet another title (to complete his second 3-peat) well then I believe Phil. The Heat should give them a run for their money, that's for sure.
So for the next decade I see the Heat being in the championship hunt if not the decided winner. Who will be challenging them? Well the Magic certainly have some of the right pieces and youth to be a competitor in the East, as well as the loaded and youthful Chicago Bulls who are probably feeling a bit burned by Lebron right now. The Cavs are out of the picture unless they do something drastic here, and speaking of burned I think the Knicks and their lonestar Amare Stoudemire are also still very much in a rebuilding process up there. If they can get Carmelo in 2011 that would be their next big rumored piece, but as always the clock is ticking their Mr. Walsh.
The Celtics have retained the original Big 3 in Boston as well as picking up Jermaine O'Neal to play with Rondo and add to an already great role player cast. Talks of Shaq joining the Celtics or Hawks have also been floating around the league.
Then there's the Western Conference with a slew of dangerous teams. The Lakers are the repeat champions looking to go for a third and certainly will have a decent chance of doing so. The Denver Nuggets will be looking to avenge their postseason fall-out in 2010 after their skipper George Karl was not able to return to the team to finish the year.
The OKC Thunder are deadly dangerous with the Durantula and Westbrook leading the charge in giving the Lakers a serious run for their money in the 1st round last year. They are the real deal people. The Suns without Amare are probably a bit dried up in the desert, but who knows GM Steve Kerr may pull a swift one and get a great pickup this off-season.
The team for which I am the biggest fan of and the point of this blog is, of course, the Portland Trailblazers. Will they have a shot in 2010? That depends on a few big "ifs."
(See my next blog entry for the dirty details)
Ty Hampton
Blazers Blogger
Portland Trail Blazers '09-'10 Regular Season record: 50-32 (3rd in NW division, 6th in West Conf)
First off, I've got to give mad props to m boys for surviving the severe injury woes last season and coming battling like true warriors. With Oden and Pryzbilla out for nearly the entire year and a slew of other injuries including Roy and Fernandez for large stretches made 2009-10 a true rally year. And rally they did -- to a Game 6 in the 1st round against the enfuego Phoenix Suns.
Roy showed a ton of courage and heart playing on a torn miniscus in that round and gave the team a noticeable boost in spirit, even if he didn't have his step. Batum, Andre Miller, Aldridge, Webster and Bayless stepped up huge when it mattered most.
At the end of the day the Blazers
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