Except for that irresistible chocolate you've been dying to have, there's nothing sweeter than a buzzer beater. That was on full display Wednesday night, when Gordon Hayward nailed a step back jumper at the buzzer, sending the Utah crowd into a frenzy, and Lebron and company packing with another loss.
Buoyed up by that epic finish, I thought there was no better time to get into my quick takeaways and predictions for this season.
High Ceiling Out West
San Antonio is definitely the favorite, but the rest is up for grabs! With Durant out for up to two months and Westbrook out at least a month, who knows about Oklahoma City? The next six teams feature a lot of exciting potential, but time will tell on who emerges out of the pack of Golden State, the Los Angeles Clippers, Portland, Houston, Memphis and Dallas.
My initial thoughts are that Golden State looks great under Kerr, but much of their success will depend on a healthy David Lee and Andrew Bogut. As for Houston, they are an exciting team to watch and off to a huge start, but their bench leaves much to be desired, Harden can't guard a chair and Howard isn't a winner. Despite getting thumped by Golden State, I believe the Clippers will wind up a top 4 seed, but they are a team that has underachieved for years. Portland has a very bright, young team, but they must have home court to do anything special. On the other hand, Memphis plays maybe the best defense in basketball, but they have lacked offensive firepower and battled injuries for years. And for my Dallas Mavericks, they have a much more talented team this year under a great coach, but they must learn to gel together and play good defense if they want to go anywhere in the playoffs.
The East Garbage
It's only been two weeks, but how bad is the Eastern Conference? You only have 4 teams with winning records, and if you're scoring at home, that's 11 with losing ones. Out West, you not only have 8 teams with winning records, but 3 of them are also undefeated.
Despite how poorly Cleveland has looked, I still expect the East to be a two-team race between them and Chicago. But, I will say that Miami, Washington and Toronto have the talent to make for an interesting playoffs, especially if a guy like Derrick Rose or Kevin Love were to go down. As much as some people hate the New York teams, it's far less interesting when they are both lousy. If the Bulls and Cavs can develop a fun rivalry, or those younger teams can rise up and challenge them, it could make for an exciting playoffs.
The Flames: Will They Burn Out?
The two initial surprises to this point have to be Houston and Sacramento. As crazy as it sounds, Sacramento is 4-1. It seems that Demarcus "Boogie" Cousins has finally tempered his inner demons and become a leader behind his immense talent. I still think they just don't have the talent to make the playoffs, and see them winning 35 games at the most. As for Houston, they're sitting pretty at 6-0, but I think their lack of depth will catch up with them. Trevor Ariza has been a wonderful addition, adding the defense they badly needed. But, I think losing two starters in Lin and Asik will catch up with them. Look for them to get a top six seed, and fizzle out in the playoffs.
The Predictions
It's lame and predictable, but I see the Spurs beating the Cavs in the finals. If Rose is healthy, the Bulls have a better overall team than Cleveland, but I can't bank on his health. As for a bold prediction, I think you will see Golden State in the finals in the next four years. Stephen Curry is already a dark horse MVP candidate, Klay Thompson got paid and is thriving early, and Steve Kerr seems like the perfect man for the job. I believe they will be the most fun team to watch this year and a tough out for anyone because of their hunger and talent.
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