The Sports Brief with Besse and Keefe: LeBron

Showing posts with label LeBron. Show all posts

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Who Should Start the 2010 NBA All-Star Game

The starters for the 2010 NBA All-Star game will be announced tonight during the TNT double-header. If you've been paying attention at all to how the fans have been voting, you'll be thrilled to know that Allen Iverson (16 games, 14.8 points, 4.5 assists, 2.3 turnovers) and Tracy McGrady (6 games, 3.2 points, 0.8 rebounds, 1 assist) were at last check in the top 2 for guards in their respective conferences, thus would be starting in the All-Star game next month in Dallas.

I think by now, all level headed sports fans realize it is an absolute joke to allow the fans to have so much pull in an All-Star game. (And if you don't, look at those AI and T-Mac numbers again). Imagine if fans voted for MVP, All-NBA, All-Pro, Hall of Fame?!? But the purpose of this blog post is not to trash the thousands of idiot fans out there, instead I want a chance to say who should start the All-Star game this year.

Eastern Conference:

Guards:

Dwyane Wade, Heat (26.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3+ stocks (if you read Bill Simmons Book of Basketball you'd know stocks are steals + blocks)).

Joe Johnson, Hawks (21.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, 4.9 assists)

Neither guy is a true point guard, but both deserve to be starters in the All-Star Game.

Toughest omission- Rajon Rondo, Celtics

Forwards:

LeBron James, Cavs (29.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 7.8 assists)

Gerald Wallace, Bobcats (18.6 points, 11.3 rebounds, nearly 3 stocks)

Not only is Wallace putting up sick numbers, but his team is currently in 5th place in the East. Yes the Charlotte Bobcats are in 5th place in the Eastern Conference. Let that sit in.

Toughest omission = turn him into my starting Center

Center:

Chris Bosh, Raptors (24.2 points, 11.2 rebounds, leads league with 31 double-doubles)

I guess he's technically a power forward, but it's the All-Star game, another reason the ballots for the fans shouldn't exist.

Toughest omission- David Lee, Knicks, that's right and not Dwight Howard

East Starters- Wade, Johnson, James, Wallace, Bosh

Western Conference:

Guards:

Kobe Bryant, Lakers (28.3 points, 5.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists)

Chris Paul, Hornets (19.6 points, 4.6 rebounds, 11.3 assists, 2.21 steals)

Toughest omission- Deron Williams, Jazz

Forwards:

Carmelo Anthony, Nuggets (29.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists)

Dirk Nowitzki, Mavericks (25.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, %FG-3-FT = 48-39-88)

Toughest omission- let's make him a Center like in the East

Center:

Zach Randolph, Grizzlies (20.8 points, 11.5 rebounds, 2 assists, 50% FG)

Toughest omission- Tim Duncan, Spurs

West Starters- Bryant, Paul, Anthony, Nowitzki, Randolph

-Keefe

Coming soon: "Keefe's 2010 NBA All-Star Rosters"

Friday, January 23, 2009

Thursday, July 31, 2008

NBA Mid-Summer Report: Central Division

This is part 2 of my 6 segment exposé on the NBA in the summer months. Without further ado, I give you the Eastern Conference’s Central Divison…

Chicago Bulls

Starters:
Derrick Rose
Kirk Hinrich
Luol Deng
Drew Gooden
Joakim Noah

Bench:
Ben Gordon*
Tyrus Thomas
Larry Hughes
Andres Nocioni
Aaron Gray
Thabo Sefolosha
Cedric Simmons

Out of town:
Chris Duhon

Ben Gordon is still a restricted free agent. The Bulls brought back Deng, but even if they don’t bring back Gordon, look at all those guards! Duhon goes to the Knicks and it’ll be interesting to see what they do with Ben Gordon, who was the team’s leading scorer last season. The past 2 seasons the Bulls flipped flopped wins and losses. After going 49-33 in 06-07, they were picked to be one of the best teams in the East, and went a disappointing 33-49 missing out on the playoffs. They got rid of what was left of Ben Wallace (horrible pick up to begin with), but they still have a lot of problems. Is Hinrich going to be a 2 guard? Front office has made some bad moves, and they were bailed out by getting the #1 pick. Look for some kind of trade to bring in a big man in place of some of these guards. Names like Brad Miller and Kenyon Martin have been talked about.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Starters:
Delonte West*
Wally Szczerbiak
LeBron James
Ben Wallace
Zydrunas Ilgauskas

Bench:
Daniel Gibson
Joe Smith
Anderson Varejao
Sasha Pavlovic
J.J. Hickson
Darnell Jackson

Out of town:
None: Devin Brown and Dwayne Jones = unrestricted

Looks like more of the same for LeBron and the Cavs. I didn’t like the move they made last year to bring in all those guys. Didn’t help them last year and in don’t think it will this year. Delonte is a free agent, and apparently he wants a 5 year deal, the Cavs have offered 4. I think he eventually comes back and plays for them next season regardless. Once again how far can LeBron carry them. He’s gone as far as the NBA Finals, but even then the ”supporting” cast was better. Perhaps the young rookie out of N.C. State, J.J. Hickson can provide a little life into this squad.

Detroit Pistons

Starters:
Chauncey Billups
Richard Hamilton
Tayshaun Prince
Rasheed Wallace
Antonio McDyess

Bench:
Rodney Stucky
Jason Maxiell
Amir Johnson
Aaron Afflalo
Trent Plaisted

Out of town:
Jarvis Hayes
Lindsey Hunter, Theo Ratliff, Juan Dixon, Walter Hermann = unrestricted
Flip Saunders

Rumors were flying around about a complete shake up of the Pistons. Billups and Sheed to the Warriors for Baron Davis. Well that clearly isn’t going to happen now, but Detroit feels as though they need to do something else. 6 straight years to the Eastern Conference Finals is great, but one 2 trips to the NBA Finals, with 1 Championship. They’re one of the Top 5 teams in the NBA every year, but they want to be the best. The starters continue to get older, but they’ve drafted well of late (post Darko), and have brought in some productive players. Flip Saunders it out, it’s now Michael Curry’s job. This team can coach itself to the playoffs, with the question being, how far can they go?

Indiana Pacers

Starters:
T.J. Ford
Mike Dunleavy
Danny Granger
Troy Murphy
Jeff Foster

Bench:
Brandon Rush
Jamaal Tinsley
Marquis Daniels
Shawne Williams
Travis Diener

Out of town:
Jermaine O’Neal
Kareem Rush

Did you know that Danny Granger and Mike Dunleavy combined for 38.7 points per game last season? Probably not. The Pacers are never on TV and no one talks about them. With Jermaine O’Neal gone to Toronto they don’t have anyone people have heard of. They have a grand total of 0 All-Star appearances on their roster. With that said, they could surprise some people this year. In the East, Indiana could even find themselves in the playoffs. Not sure if they’ll leave Tinsley on the team as a back up, but their starting 5 is sneaky good and I loved the pick of Brandon Rush. He won’t, however, play along side his brother Kareem who went to Philly.

Milwaukee Bucks

Starters:
Mo Williams
Michael Redd
Richard Jefferson
Charlie Villanueva
Andrew Bogut

Bench:
Tyronn Lue
Desmond Mason
Joe Alexander
Luc Richard Mbah a Moute
Ramon Sessions
Charlie Bell

Out of town:
Yi Jianlian
Bobby Simmons

I love the move to pick up Richard Jefferson. He may not love leaving New York City for Milwaukee, but on the court it could be what he needs. He is no longer playing with Kidd and more importantly Vince Carter. Reports were that Jefferson would obsess over making the All-Star team and just try to pad his stats on the offensive end. RJ would try to be better than Vince rather than making his team better. The Bucks now have one of the best scoring wings combos in the league with Jefferson and Redd. It’s not Ray Allen and Pierce, but it’s still good. Milwaukee also drafted Joe Alexander and signed Tyronn Lue in the off season. All of that makes sense to me. But giving Bogut (career 11.9 pts, 8.5 rebs per game) $76 million. I don’t get it. Two steps forward, one step back. In the end I think the Central Division could be competitive this year.

Next: Southeast Division

-Keefe

Friday, May 2, 2008

Rucker Park Showdown (Who Wins?)

As we anticipate the announcement of the NBA’s MVP, the question rises each year, what makes an MVP? Is it the best player on the best team (Dirk Nowitzki 06-07), or the guy who makes everyone around him better (Steve Nash 04-05, 05-06), or simply the player with the best stats (Kevin Garnett 03-04)? One criteria Bill Simmons uses is if 2 people were choosing sides for a pick up game that would decide their lives or something like that. Who would be the first pick? Well we’ll take it one further. Tristan and I have chosen teams based on players performances through the 2007-2008 seasons, and our 8 man teams will decide our lives (or at least a beer or two), the game will be played at historic Rucker Park.

We flipped a coin for the first pick, and then it went to the next two, next two, and so on. End result is an 8 man street ball squad (not street ball rules), also tacked on a coach to lead these dynamic players. Here is how the draft went with a brief reaction after each selection by the guy who made it.

Rich Keefe won the toss and deferred.

Besse 1st (1) pick: Chris Paul

Sure, I probably should have taken Kobe or Lebron here, but I’m on the Chris Paul bandwagon and at an inner city hoop game, guys like this carve up the court. He has surpassed Steve Nash as the best point guard in the game. A guy like this won’t just make no look, behind-the-back, highlight reel passes, but he has the ability to score as well as any other player on the court. In my eyes, the primary ball handler is a key position for a game at Rucker Park, so I went ahead and took the best one there is.

Keefe 2nd (1) pick: Kobe Bryant

As good as Chris Paul has been this year (my pick for the MVP) there’s no way I’m passing up on Kobe. LeBron has monster numbers, but I still think Bryant is the best in the game. He’s been threw battles on the court and with my life depending on it, I have to have Bryant. If this game comes down to a last second shot… yeah I like my chances.

Keefe 3rd (2) pick: LeBron James

Really thought I would end up with Kobe or LeBron, not both. I now have 2 guys who can take over a game and score at will. It’s going to be a physical game, and LeBron certainly has what it takes. These two guys worked very well together on Team USA in the qualifier, and should win himself a Gold Medal this summer. LeBron has lived up to all the hype he got coming out of high school. He has a chance to one day be the greatest player of all time. And he falls to 3? What a game.

Besse 4th (2) pick: Allen Iverson

I wasn’t surprised at all that Rich took both Kobe and Lebron. Having taken the two best scorers in the game, I needed a scorer of my own. There’s plenty in the league, but only one truly belongs at Rucker Park. A.I. looks the part, plays the part and he is the part, as like Kobe, he’s actually played at Rucker Park before. And Iverson plays every game like he’s in Rucker Park, sacrificing his body to create lanes, open shots and scoring opportunities across the floor. And his experience in a game like this with his scoring ability will be essential.

Besse 5th (3) pick: Amare Stoudemire

I wanted a big man that can score here. I debated Dwight Howard and almost pulled the trigger on it, especially after seeing these 20/20 games he’s posting in the post-season. But I didn’t want his rebounding ability to be the end all in making this pick, so I went with another bad-ass in Stoudemaire. KG and Tim Duncan were other options, but I didn’t like KG’s offense in a game like this, and Duncan is great, but too soft.
Amare gives me good size down low and was a force at C before Shaq allowed him to move back to his natural PF position. Based on my first two picks, I’m starting a trend of playing small, so logic tells me a natural C won’t work here. And I like his attitude and energy for this.

Keefe 6th (3) pick: Kevin Garnett

Besse is on his way to recreating the Western Conference All-Star team. His guards are good, but small. I have my two wings so I need to focus on bruisers up front and a point to match Chris Paul. If my life is truly on the line here, I want a guy that I can count on to play like his life is also on the line. I’ll go with KG. Intense is too light a word for Garnett, maybe “KG” should be a new entry in the dictionary. This guy won’t let me down.

Keefe 7th (4) pick: Dwight Howard

Should I go point guard here? Maybe I should have, but with Dwight Howard sitting here with all the muscle can’t pass him up. A windy day outside probably won’t effect his two handed thunder dunks he’s put on opposing big men all season. He and KG down low will be a perfect compliment. Some say all he does right now is dunk and rebound. Well with Kobe, LeBron, and KG, all I want him to do is dunk and rebound.

Besse 8th (4) pick: Paul Pierce

Pierce was stabbed 11 times in the face, neck and back at a late night dance club back in 2000. He had surgery to repair his lungs as a result of the attack. The following season he played all 82 games and averaged 25.3 points per game. Excuse me?
This is the same guy who earned the moniker “The Truth” from Shaquille O’Neal in 2001 and was fined last week for flashing a gang symbol. As far as I’m concerned, these are HOF credential at Rucker Park. His numbers took a dive this year, but so did everyone else’s on the Celtics’ 66-win squad. Like Iverson, he can find ways to create and score at will; he just does it with a 6’7 frame. We’ve seen solid defense this year, as well, and with his toughness I like the pick here.

Besse 9th (5) pick: Steve Nash

Rich has gone all big so far and has yet to take a ball handler. So instead of taking a guy like Duncan to add some size, I took the second best point guard off the board. I was sure he’d have to take Jailhouse Williams which was fine by me. The reason I don’t mind this pick is that we can run different sets with Paul and Nash up top. This will force us to play small, but with the top two passers in the league, scoring opportunities will be aplenty in this one. And let’s not forget that Nash can nail the 3, or 2 in this case. Either way, the last two years he’s had the second highest percentage from beyond the arc (behind Jason Kapono) and in the two previous years before that he was ranked sixth. Not too shabby. As far as his street cred? Reference last year’s playoff series against the Spurs. The guy’s a gamer.

Keefe 10th (5) pick: Deron “Jailhouse” Williams

Two solid picks back-to-back by Besse right there. Really wanted Pierce on my team, being a fan of the Celtics and great players, but with Kobe and LeBron he wasn’t a necessity. I’m glad Jailhouse slipped to me at 10. (Note: while playing at Illinois, Deron Williams was given the nickname by myself and college roommates because of his ridiculous “Jailhouse” tattoos. We were all a fan as the Illini may or may not have won us all some money that season. I have been a huge fan ever since.) This guy is right behind CP3 for best point guard in the game right now, and in Rucker Park, he certainly looks the part.

Keefe 11th (6) pick: Tim Duncan

I know the Big Fundamental doesn’t exactly scream outdoor, physical street ball. Well his 4 championship rings, great defensive, and versatile offensive game make him a must. In fact he will be coming off the bench for my team with KG and Howard ahead of him, but the winning experience will go a long way. He’s a top 5 power forward in the history of the NBA, so I can’t keep him off the board any longer. Welcome aboard Timmy.

Besse 12th (6) pick: Shaquille O’Neal

Keefe selected Duncan which I didn’t mind at all. To counter, I came back with Neon Bodeaux. So he’s not as good as the Neon we saw in Blue Chips, but he’s a big force down low and is a good matchup against any big man in a game like this. I’m not looking for him to score – I have plenty of guys that can do that already. But when in the game, he can move Amare back to PF like he did for the Suns and give us more size down low. It should clog the lane for Keefe’s team, and after seeing him flatten Tony Parker in Game 2, what’s not to love? The opposing team may be bigger overall, but if we defend on the perimeter they’ll have to come inside and meet Diesel, who should feel right at home on the court at Rucker Park.

Besse 13th (7) pick: Gilbert Arenas

I won’t lie, I almost picked him about eight picks ago. Talk about swagger, confidence and a guy that’s destined to play in a game like this. He’ll be a great scoring threat shooting from the outside and with slashers like A.I. and Pierce to go with Nash and Paul, plenty will be done to free up Arenas on the outside to shoot. And he’ll talk plenty, too, adding plenty of character and dialogue that is so commonplace at games like this. I refer back to the YouTube video of Arenas taking on DeShawn Stevenson in a 3-point contest. If you haven’t seen it, check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bn6O42a5vl8

Keefe 14th (7) pick: Caron Butler

After taking Duncan with my last pick I needed some more street cred, and round out my bench. I’ll go with Tuff Juice. This guy is a force. Does everything on the court for yeah and has been a man since his days at UConn. With Arenas out most of the year and for the rest of the playoffs (we’re saying he’s healthy for this game, hence Besse just taking him), Butler has been the reason why they’re not only in the playoffs, but playing a game 6 tonight against LeBron. He’ll be a valuable guy off the bench for me.

Keefe 15th (8) pick: Carmelo Anthony

Stop snitchin’. Teaming Melo with LeBron can’t miss. Hasn’t been a winner in the NBA’s playoffs, but he’s not the main man on this team. In fact, he’s the 8th man. But with a game like his there’s room for him on my team. He can score a number of different ways and is strong enough to play in a physical game that this will undoubtedly be. Being my final pick he was up against the likes of Baron Davis, Ron Artest, Stephen Jackson, Carlos Boozer, Joe Johnson, Chauncey Billups, Marcus Camby, T-Mac, and Shawn Marion.

Besse 16th (8) pick: Rasheed Wallace

Rasheed reminds me of Raymond from White Men Can’t Jump; the dude that sniffed out Sid and Billy, prompting him to grab his piece from the car. He also tried to rob the convenience store around the corner, but let’s not concern ourselves with that. It’s all I think of when I look at Sheed, though. He’ll come packin’ heat, no doubt about it. This guy is bad ass, and in a street game, he’s a no-doubter in my book. Size, toughness and the dude can play. I thought about Ron Artest here for his defense and BAM (bad ass mentality), but you gotta be able to score in this game, so we’ll let Ron call next.

Keefe:
Deron Williams
Kobe Bryant
LeBron James
Kevin Garnett
Dwight Howard

Tim Duncan
Caron Butler
Carmelo Anthony

Besse:
Chris Paul
Allen Iverson
Paul Pierce
Amare Stoudemire
Shaquille O’Neal

Steve Nash
Gilbert Arenas
Rasheed Wallace

Besse: Coach – Jeff van Gundy
What more can you say about a guy who got dragged across the floor breaking up a fight between Alonzo Mourning and Larry Johnson in ’98? Well, you can also say that he got rocked by his own player, Marcus Camby, trying to break up another fight in ’01. That one left his bloodied and battered. That’s a guy I’d wanna play for, and a guy I want coaching my team at Rucker Park.

Keefe: Coach – Stan van Gundy
My sources got win that Jeff van Gundy was coming out of the booth to coach Besse’s squad. So I thought we’d play mind games with him a bit and take Magic coach Stan Van. This is by no means saying he is the best coach in basketball, rather just some gamesmanship.

Game Outlook:

Besse: There’s no question that with both King James and Lord of the Rings, Rich probably takes this thing in an NBA. But this is at Rucker Park, not the Quicken Loans Arena. I have the two best guards in the game and a roster of scorers whose personalities and playing style blend nicely with Rucker Park. Looking at my lineup, I have more guys that play with toughness and have the ability to find and create scoring opportunities. We’re certainly smaller in size, but we can hit the 2 from the outside and I picked up guys like Shaq and Sheed that will be bangers down low. We’ll play a lot like the Rangers did in Game 4 against the Penguins, playing physical and going after his key players, ala smashing Sidney Crosby against the boards over and over again. I like our mix of skill inside and outside, and with Paul and Nash running the show, look for some serious street ball highlights en route to victory.

Keefe: Kobe and LeBron. Should I go on? I don’t care if this game is in the TD Banknorth Garden, my back yard, the moon (which would be the first time anyone has been there, but that’s a whole other thing), or Rucker park. I have the 2 best basketball players in the world on my team. Not to mention KG and Howard up front with Deron Williams at the point. Yes CP3 is better, but not enough to overtake this stacked lineup. Not to mention Duncan, Butler, and Melo coming off the bench. I like my team very, very much.

Now what do you think? Decide who’s team would win a game where the lives of the people who selected the teams are on the line. We’ll tally up the votes and see who the winner is. Remember this game is being played at Rucker Park, there are whistles, but they are few and far between. Leave a comment and let us know.

Team Besse or Team Keefe?

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Eastern Conference Outlook

-Keefe

The NBA's Eastern Conference is more top heavy than Dolly Parton. Only five teams have a winning record, only three teams score more than 100 a night, while six give up over a century. Despite the five teams above .500 only two have a legitimate shot at winning the whole thing. Boston (41-10) and Detroit (39-14) are running away and hiding from the rest of the conference. Orlando, Toronto, and LeBron (going forward I will refer to the Cleveland Cavs as LeBron) all think they have a chance to win the East, but they would need a MC Hammer type collapse from the Celtics or Pistons to do so.

Washington is a bit of an x-factor right now. Antawn Jamison has been playing by himself and putting up great numbers, but if he can get a healthy Caron Butler and Gilbert Arenas back they could be a tough out in the playoffs. I also want to see how the Hawks play with Mike Bibby. I really like the move. A lineup of Bibby, Joe Johnson, Marvin Williams, Josh Smith, and Al Horford could create a minor shakeup in the East. Keep an eye on these guys. But let's look at the real contenders.

Boston Celtics: They came out of the gates hotter than Rose McGowen in Planet Terror, and kept it going. Tough schedule coming out of the All-Star break, they just lost and gave up a season high 124 points last night to the Denver Nuggets, but did get Kevin Garnett back after he missed 9 games (C's went 7-2 in that span). C's have the Warriors tonight, Suns and Shaq on Friday, Portland Sunday, and the Clippers before heading home. It's going to be a great test for a Celtics team that won their first 16 against the West.

Rajon Rondo has made major strides in his second season, running the show surrounded by three superstars. The unselfishness of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett has been well documented. The only worry concerning those three is injuries, particularly Allen and KG. In Garnett's absence players like Leon Powe and Big Baby Davis really emerged. In fact as a Celtics fan I would much rather have Powe on the floor over starting center Kendrick Perkins. Perk is taller, but doesn't score, rebound, or defend as well as Leon.

The bench has been better than expected. Like the supporting cast in Ocean's 11, you got your Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Matt Damon, (Pierce, KG, and Allen... that's how I see it too), but what really makes the movie is the rest of the team, (Rondo, Powe, Perk, Davis, T.Allen, House, Posey, Scal... only included Scal to add up to 11). Anyway these guys have all been solid, but the question remains, do they need a back up point guard? They don't need a starter, Rondo has shined. Can Tony Allen and Eddie House bring the ball up and set up the offense when Rondo is out of the game? So far Danny Ainge seems to think so.

Detroit Pistons: The Pistons once again have the league's best scoring defense (89.9, Celtics are 90.1). Also once again they are lead by Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace, and Tayshaun Prince. Somehow they are #1 in Marc Stein's power rankings. I don't see it. They just got killed last night by the Orlando Magic, but similar to the Spurs, they are built strictly for the playoffs. And in the East they do not have to bust their ass all season to get home court for the first couple of rounds.

Rookie Rodney Stuckey, Jason Maxiell, and Antonio McDyess will help out the 4 big guns as they try to return to the Eastern Conference and NBA finals. Can Flip Saunders lead them to the promise land? He's gotten them to two conference finals but not over the top, including a shocking 4-2 loss to LeBron last year. However, I would be equally surprised if this year it is not the Celtics and Pistons playing for the right to represent the East.

No other team deserves their own breakdown. Quick takes on the rest of the East that could win a playoff series...

Orlando Magic: Dwight Howard is a monster (shoots below 60% at the stripe), Hedo Turkoglu and Rashad Lewis both putting up solid numbers. But the Magic shoot more 3's than anyone in the East, they strike me as a team in the NCAA tourny who could shock a team, but no way could they win a best-of-7 with Detroit or Boston. PG play is weak as well; they miss the playoffs if they were in the West.

Toronto Raptors: Chris Bosh is one of the best players in the conference, and they have one of the best point guards in the East in Jose Calderon, but they might not even get out of the 1st round. Home court would be huge for them especially if they're facing LeBron.

LeBron: No Jason Kidd, no Mike Bibby, no chance to make it back to the Finals. The LeBron-factor has to scare some teams, but the Pistons will be ready this year and the Celtics won't lose 4 games in a series to him.

Wiz/ Hawks = sleepers. I mentioned it at the top these teams, when healthy have a ton of talent, and if they can put it together they could take out the Magic, Raptors, or LeBron.

I will break down the Western Conference 2nd half outlook tomorrow, which will include 10 of the best 12 teams in the NBA. Also I will have a chance to see Shaq play in a Suns uni, albeit his first game. I'm looking forward to seeing how all these trades pay off in the Western Conference. It's hard to pick a favorite right now. Hornets, Suns, Lakers, Jazz, Spurs, Mavs, Rockets, Nuggets, Warriors, and Blazers... it's going to be fun.