Sports Genius - 2014-15 NBA Season Previews lyrics

Atlanta Hawks The Hawks had one of the most, if not the most, tumultuous offseasons in the NBA. GM Danny Ferry and now former owner Bruce Levenson are on the outs for racist remarks they made - seriously, did they not learn from Donald Sterling? They also failed to sign any marquee free agents and are currently $13 million under the salary cap. Fortunately, the season is here and some of those offseason woes might be erased. Last year, the Hawks made the playoffs for the seventh consecutive year after posting a 38-44 record in the regular season. They were then eliminated in the first round by the Indiana Pacers, but took the series to seven games. Now, with a (hopefully) healthy core of Al Horford and Paul Millsap, the Hawks will look to improve on the court. They added Thabo Sefolosha, who along with Jeff Teague, should stabilize the backcourt defensively. Offensively, the Hawks will likely struggle again unless Horford goes silly with all that talent he has. They could surprise teams around the league, especially teams who come off back-to-back games, but it's likely that this thin roster will crash and burn. Boston Celtics By jettisoning Paul Pierce and KG last season, and thus k**ing Ubuntu, the goal of the 2013-14 season was clear -- struggle short term for a chance at future success. Mission accomplished, to the tune of a 25-57 record (fourth worst in the Eastern conference). But what transpired after the final buzzer sounded left many of the Celtic uncertain of where Danny Ainge wants this franchise to go. After landing the 6th overall pick and a chance to either surround the existing core with new talent or trade for a veteran presence, the Celtics decided to draft a backup and likely successor to their only established star. Most Celtics fans were fine with the move because they a**umed it meant Rajon Rondo was being moved for a big haul. But when it became clear that both Smart and Rondo would make it to the opening day roster, many fans were left scratching their heads. In the modern day NBA, it's a little kept secret that the best way to get good is to get really bad first (cf. OKC). That's what is worrisome about this season. The Celtics have a decent core with the mercurial but talented Rondo, on-again-off-again Jeff Green, and promising young big man Jared Sullinger. Factor in solid role players like Brandon Ba** and Avery Bradley with new additions Evan Turner and the aforementioned Smart and this team will win more games than last year. But with no star players and the uncertainty as to what the goal of the 2014-15 season is, the C's could end up where no franchise wants to be: not good enough to make any noise in the playoffs if they sneak in, and not bad enough to land another high pick and retool. Brooklyn Nets Even with the initial Jason Kidd drama, the Nets had a pretty quiet offseason. Their biggest offseason acquisition was new head coach Lionel Hollins, one of the highly regarded defensive coaches in the league, who should help the team improve tenfold in that aspect. Jarrett Jack was another great pickup, as he'll be an excellent backup at the point to Deron Williams like Shaun Livingston was last season. However, the Nets may struggle to repeat their success - using that term lightly here - because of their aging core. Kevin Garnett is 38, Andrei Kirilenko and Joe Johnson are 33, and they have a few players who just hit 30 or are approaching it. If - or when - that injury bug hits, it could hit the Nets hard. As for individual player contributions, look for Deron Williams and Mason Plumlee to really have an impact this season. Williams is undoubtedly desperate to erase his 0-of-9 performance against Miami from everyone's mind and restore Brooklyn fans' faith in him. Plumlee, on the other hand, will look to break out after a summer playing with the best of the best during the FIBA World Cup. He should continue to develop, hopefully improving his offense to complement his quality defense nicely. Charlotte Hornets The Hornets, with their new branding, have the potential to make a splash this season after returning a core led by veteran Al Jefferson and young stars Kemba Walker and Michael Kidd-Gilcrest. They will be eager to build on their playoff appearance from last season. Coaching stability and the ability to remain in the same system from last year will also help out their young stars. This, coupled with the addition of guard Lance Stephenson and the upheaval that has taken place in the eastern conference, with the restructuring of franchises such as Cleveland and Miami, leave the Hornets with the best opportunity to make a playoff run that they have had in recent years. Chicago Bulls After spending much of the offseason trying to sign (then) free agent Carmelo Anthony, the Chicago Bulls were given little time to make big changes to their squad. They used the little time they had to sign former Lakers veteran power forward Paul Gasol. Gasol will be filling the hole left by Carlos Boozer, who the Bulls amnestied. The Bulls also took the time to sign 23 year old Spanish power forward Nikola Mirotic. The acquisitions will likely fill the hole that the team has had in the power forward position due to frequent subpar play from Boozer. The Bulls also surprised many people during this year's draft when they traded up to get former Creighton star Doug McDermott. Many an*lysts doubt McDermott's style of play will be able to translate well into the NBA, but others disagree. With all the new acquisitions, the Bulls are clearly looking to improve their offense while keeping their defense strong. Derrick Rose will be able to play and run point, with Jimmy Butler as a two-guard who is both a solid offensive and defensive player. The team's two potential starting small forwards, Mike Dunleavy, and the aforementioned Doug McDermott both are excellent offensively and lacking defensively. Pau Gasol will start at power forward, and reigning Defensive Player of the Year Joakim Noah will play center. The team is still missing the defensive presence of Luol Deng, who was traded mid season last year, but his absence is filled well by offensive minded players. The Bulls are looking to rival the Cavaliers for the best in the East, and if they execute, it is more than possible for that too happen. Cleveland Cavaliers Did any team have a better offseason than the Cleveland Cavaliers? The answer is no. LeBron James came home, Kevin Love has moved in, and Kyrie Irving has some serious firepower alongside him on the court. They're the new Big 3. International coaching sensation David Blatt is the team's new head coach, and he's undoubtedly salivating over the shiny new weapons he suddenly has. Offensively, the Cavs shouldn't have any trouble putting points on the board. They have four elite scorers and great veteran depth on the bench. On the defensive end, guys like Anderson Varejao and Tristan Thompson will be expected to shoulder the load. Will they measure up to the task? Cavs fans definitely hope so, since the team will likely be the #1 or #2 seed in the East and could see a trip to the Finals for the first time since 2007. Dallas Mavericks With all of the madness going on in Cleveland, you probably didn't notice all the moves the Mavericks made this offseason. The Mavs and their over the top owner, Mark Cuban had the best offseason of any team in the west. The Mavs brought back home Tyson Chandler, who was a key figure in their 2011 championship run. Chandler is arguably the best center in the league, and is a big a**et to the Mavs much needed help on defense. Another big signing for the Mavs was small forward Chandler Parsons, who agreed to a 3-year, $46 million contract. Becoming a third scoring option, behind Dirk Nowitzki and Monta Ellis, Parsons will be key for the Mavs winning on the offensive side. Parsons was a big factor in the Houston Rockets' success, and should fit right into Rick Carlisle's scheme. Monta Ellis is entering into his second season with the Mavs and looks promising to be one of the best point guards in the league. With Dirk Nowitzki nearing the end of his career, “The Germanator” wants another taste of a championship before his time is up. The Mavericks are looking to be one of the biggest threats in the west, and are bound to make a run for gold, with great coaching, a huge scoring threat, an improved defense, and a strong bench. Denver Nuggets To say the 2013-14 Nuggets were bitten by the injury bug would be an understatement. Danilo Galinari went down with a major knee injury, speedy PG Ty Lawson battled an ankle injury all season, and frustrating but talented rim protector Javale McGee was shut down in November thanks to a stress fracture. The result was a drop from third seed in the competitive West to below .500 and in the lottery. But now that their rock solid starting 5 seems to be healthy, the Nuggets should should at least be able to compete in the wild West. The strength of this team hasn't been star power since Carmelo Anthony defected to New York. It has consistently relied on a starting 5 of Ty Law, Aaron Afflalo, Danilo Gallinari, Kenneth “Manimal” Faried, and Timofey Mozgov to play smart and play together. But while this makes for three seeds, it doesn't win championships. If the Nuggets want to do more than return to a 50 win season and first round loss, they need someone from this group to put the team on the back and emerge as a star. And since we've seen enough of Afflalo, Gallinari, Faried, and Mozgov to determine what type of players they are, their best hope is that the dynamic Lawson plays to his full potential consistently. The Nuggets will always be a fun team to watch. They pa** better than most teams in the league, play as a unit, and you can usually count on a ridiculous play from Javale McGee that makes you wonder why he can't do that more often. But if their defense doesn't go from good to truly elite and one of their starters doesn't emerge as a true star, it's tough to see them going any further than they did in 2012-13. Detroit Pistons With Detroit Pistons legend and builder of the Bad Boys Part 2 Championship team Joe Dumars out the door after a fall from grace, the Detroit Pistons ended up with one of the greatest coaches ever to be the President of Basketball Operations and Coach, Stan Van Gundy. With an NBA record of 371-280, no one can deny that this is an obvious upgrade from Maurice Cheeks as Head Coach. Not many people expected that SVG would end up coming to the Pistons as many had Lionel Hollins as the frontrunner and the ideal candidate for the dysfunctional Detroit Pistons after the disastrous signings of Josh Smith and Brandon Jennings. Last season, the starting five had many issues ranging from inconsistent play making, terrible three point shooting, terrible interior and perimeter defense and arguably only one player being able to guard his position who was consistently a starter. So, what will Stan Van Gundy do about obvious issues? Well, he will do what he did in Orlando basically. With a bigger Dwight Howard in the paint, he can use a similar system to the one in Orlando during the Dwight Howard era (4 out 1 in), but it would have to be modified to 3 out 2 in to fit the personnel better. Stan Van Gundy has gone out and solved the issue of inconsistent play with the point guard, shooting guard and small forward spots by going out and signing some players that have nice outside strokes. They even solved the issue of having no legitimate backup at the center spot by signing Aaron Gray who can bang down low for some limited minutes. Unfortunately, he is out now due to a heart ailment. Best wishes to Aaron Gray. On top of these signings, they have also traded backup point guard Will Bynum to the Boston Celtics for Joel Anthony, which gives the Pistons another legit backup to Andre Drummond and helps get rid of the log jam at the point guard spot, which is made up of DJ Augustin and Brandon Jennings now, both players that could start at the PG spot, and currently injured rookie point guard Spencer Dinwiddie who will end up playing both guard spots because of his size. The starting lineup that Stan Van Gundy is expected to play carries some familiar faces from last season but is missing a large part of the starting lineup from the past few season, Greg Monroe. His ideal role on this team would be a sixth man who comes in when Drummond is not on the floor or can be slotted in with Drummond against certain lineups and matchups. Even then, building chemistry between the projected starting five is more important than appeasing a Moose who has basically said that his time in Detroit is over by refusing to sign to a long term deal and asking other teams not to put an offer up, taking the 1 year qualifying offer so that he can be a free agent next year. While trading him would be optimal, it would be difficult to do so as he is going to be an unrestricted free agent next year, unless it ends up being a Kevin Love like situation. With the current makeup of the team, the postseason is a long shot, even in the weak Eastern conference, with 32 wins being a good estimate considering they have solved their outside shooting problem and will solve their floor spacing issue by bring Monroe off the bench. Golden State Warriors The Warriors ended up having a pretty good offseason starting with the hiring of Steve Kerr, getting the coach that they wanted. And although they didn't get Kevin Love despite showing interest in getting him, the Warriors did manage to get some useful pickups. The Warriors were able to keep most of their core roster from last season, however, Steve Kerr has made a change to the starting lineup. You still have one of the top backcourts aka the Splash Brothers in Stephen Curry, one of the top players in the NBA, and Klay Thompson, who is in a contract year and has steadily been improving each year, with the frontcourt you have Harrison Barnes starting in favor of Andre Iguodala, along with David Lee & Andrew Bogut. And while the starting five is one of the better units in the league the Warriors did manage to improve their bench, which was one of Golden State's main weaknesses last season, with the new pickups of Shaun Livingston, & Leandro Barbosa, along with bringing back Brandon Rush to add some depth to the backcourt, and although they weren't able to add some more depth to their frontcourt they do have Andre Iguodala along with Draymond Green to give some solid production off the bench, however, one main concern in the frontcourt is going to be at the center position. The jury is still out as to whether or not GSW has reached its full potential. After backing the vaunted Spurs into a corner in 2012-13, one would have liked to see more of an improvement in the 2013-14 season. Instead what we got was more of the same — a highly entertaining brand of basketball that wasn't built for the long run resulting in what some would call a disappointing season last year after getting bounced out in the first round of the playoffs that ended up with the firing of then head coach Mark Jackson after reported tensions with upper management. And while the Warriors believe head Coach Steve Kerr will be the right choice moving forward, only time will tell whether or not the firing of Mark Jackson in favor of Kerr was the right choice all along. But with a new unproven head coach, along with the fact that the Western conference is looking really competitive again it may take some time before the Warriors are able to make some noise this season. Houston Rockets It goes without saying (but I'm going to say it anyway) that the Rockets had a disappointing offseason. After months of speculation that the Rockets would chase after the likes of LeBron James, Kevin Love, Chris Bosh, and Carmelo Anthony, everything came crashing down. They never had a chance with James and Anthony, couldn't come up with an enticing trade package for Love, and Chris Bosh backed out at the last minute. To add salt to the wound, restricted free agent Chandler Parsons signed a max offer sheet with the Dallas Mavericks, which the Rockets elected not to match. They then brought back Trevor Ariza, made some relatively minor signings, and brought Kostas Papanikolaou over from Greece to slide in at small forward behind Ariza. So where does this leave the Rockets? James Harden and Dwight Howard are the cornerstones of the team and can be counted on to produce, but the team is still lacking a stretch 4. Terrence Jones has been a serviceable power forward but doesn't seem like he'll be a star. Donatas Motiejunas seems to have made some strides in his game, but there are no guarantees. The Rockets have question marks all across the board in regards to depth, which will come into play during the postseason. Yes, they'll make the postseason again. Their seeding just might not be as good as last year. Indiana Pacers Indiana had arguably the worst off-season of any team in the NBA, up there with Miami. They spent most of the free agency period trying to re-sign eccentric shooting guard, Lance Stephenson. That was all to no avail as Lance ended up taking a deal from the Charlotte Hornets. After losing Lance Indiana made a few signings to help aid the void losing Lance will make. They signed Rodney Stuckey and C.J. Miles to try and cover Lance's spot and they also signed bigmen Damjan Rudež and Shayne Whittington to hopefully add some spark off the bench as role players. Then Indiana's season seemed all but over months before the season begins after star player, Paul George went down with a severe leg injury in the USAB Blue vs White scrimmage. He suffered an open fracture to his right leg (Tibia and Fibula) while trying to defend James Harden on a fast break. As Paul tried to defend Harden from advancing to the rim, George's leg caught on the stanchion of the hoop, and fractured. He was stretchered off of the court. The shocking injury will see him out at least this season. They'll need bigman Roy Hibbert, who had a shocking end to the last season, to stand up immensely if they're even going to contend for the 8th seed this season. Los Angeles Clippers With the Donald Sterling controversy making headlines, and a new owner in Steve Ballmer in charge of the team, the Clippers have been able to concentrate on how to improve on their disappointing end to last season. Improving the team is exactly what the Clippers have done during the offseason. After seeing Darren Collison and Ryan Hollins depart, they were replaced by arguably better players in the form of Jordan Farmar and Spencer Hawes. Those two, added to the dangerous duo of Blake Griffin and the Chris Paul, along with an ever improving DeAndre Jordan will be looking to get the Clippers over the lines this time and at the very least reach the Western Conference final. A victory in that game (most likely against the Spurs) and anything is possible for this talented team. Los Angeles Lakers The offseason was one of mixed fortunes for the Lakers. It immediately began with the resignation of head coach Mike D'Antoni in late April to much praise and he was later replaced by Lakers legend Byron Scott. They then brought in Julius Randle as their draft pick and traded the rights of Sergei Lishouk to the Rockets in exchange for point guard Jeremy Lin. After being touted as a possible destination for Lebron - which in all seriousness was never going to happen, they eventually had to settle with re-signing Xavier Henry and Nick Young. But once pre-season began with three defeats in four, and injury struck once more for Steve Nash, expectations fell once again and they have been completely written off by everyone. But with the notion that nobody expects anything from the Lakers, they could yet prove to upset the cards this year. But if that is to happen, it will heavily rely on the performances of Kobe Bryant. Now at the age of 36, and after suffering successive knee injuries, people are unsure of what to expect from him and so have immediately written him off. But with that to motivate him, and others too such as Jeremy Lin and Carlos Boozer having their own personal agendas to put right, things may not be as bad as expected for the now second team of the Staples Center. Memphis Grizzlies The Grizzlies are one of the most respected teams in the Western Conference due to their grit and physical style of play. They're not a team you want to play in a back-to-back series, but aren't a championship contender yet. Rest a**ured, Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph will remain a dominant duo and own the defensive game, but depth and lack of three point shooting will hold this team back. Heaven forbid there are any injuries this season, because the Grizz bench won't be able to handle that. Additionally, they lost their best three point shooter in Mike Miller, who's still famous for sinking a three without a shoe in the 2013 Finals. Vince Carter will look to take over that role for the Grizz, but maybe he'll lose his headband mid shot instead? There's certainly a good possibility the Grizzlies could make the postseason for the fifth consecutive year, but they'll really need to grind it out to do so. Miami Heat No team was hit harder this offseason than the Miami Heat. Their one major free agency loss was the biggest one: they lost LeBron James, the best player on the planet. The Big 3 has been dismantled, but two of its members remain. Heat lifer Dwyane Wade returns on a less atrocious contract and Chris Bosh just signed one. Regardless of whether or not those moves were good from a financial standpoint, the Heat will remain respectable in a weak Eastern Conference heading into 2014-15. Who's replacing James at the wing? That'll be Luol Deng, who spent 10 years with the Bulls before being traded to Cleveland last season. As a seasoned product of Tom Thibodeau, Miami fans can expect Deng to perform well defensively against the league's best scorers as well as produce an adequate amount on offense. Chris Andersen, Mario Chalmers, and Udonis Haslem will also return this season as role players around Bosh/Wade/Deng, while Shabazz Napier could slide in for depth as a rookie. It's pretty much a guarantee that the Heat will make the postseason, but they have a long shot of making it as far as they have the last few years. After all, they'd have to go through LeBron's new team: the Cavs. Milwaukee Bucks You can tell just how bleak things were for the Bucks last season when you realize they're pinning their future hopes on the shoulders of two teenagers: Jabari Parker and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Both joined the squad courtesy of the draft, and the Bucks will begin the season with 4 out of 5 players in their starting five under the age of 25. That sounds crazy, but paired with new owners and a potential new arena, there's finally a light at the end of the tunnel for a Milwaukee team that only managed to win 15 games in 2013-14. After a lone season in Brooklyn, Jason Kidd will take over head coaching duties for the Bucks this season. He'll need to develop a voice that commands respect in a locker room that lacks a true leader, which is certainly possible given the impressionable ages of the majority of his squad. Be sure to keep an eye on both Larry Sanders, who will look to get back on track after enduring injuries and several off-the-court issues, and Antetokounmpo, who's going to wow everyone around the NBA with his pure talent. The Greek Freak, as he's affectionately called, boasts crazy athleticism and a will to constantly improve his game. It'll take a lot of work for the team to improve and be consistent, but the Bucks can finally see their arrow pointing up. Minnesota Timberwolves Unless you've been living under a rock for the last few months, you'd know that the Kevin Love era is officially over in Minnesota. In his place, Andrew Wiggins, Anthony Bennett, and Zach LaVine will be donning Timberwolves jerseys. Trouble looms ahead, though, with Ricky Rubio seemingly stalled in terms of his development - there are even trade whispers - and the uncertainty of hedging your bets on a group of rookies and unproven players. Both the offense and defense will take huge hits in Love's absence, with the offense suffering more. Inconsistency will unfortunately be the name of the game in Minnesota, at least until the rookies get their feet underneath them and the team starts to gel. New Orleans Pelicans #DownWiththeInjuryBug. Seriously. The dastardly disease hit the Pelicans hard last season, with Ryan Anderson, Jrue Holiday, and Eric Gordon all missing time for one ailment or another. Tyreke Evans has already dealt with an injury this preseason, but it should be all systems go once the season tips off. After his performance last year, Anthony Davis was hyped as a breakthrough big man for this upcoming season. He's crazy good with shot blocks, virtually guarantees a double-double each night, and is bound to get even better. After all, he's only 21. This season, Davis will be able to dominate even more back at his natural power forward position with the addition of Omer Asik at the rim. With the strength of the Southwest Division and the Western Conference in general, it's not too likely that the Pelicans will make the postseason. They certainly have a chance, though, and can overpower the other teams in their division on a good night. New York Knicks You see that gaping hole in the ground? At the bottom of that hole, you'll find the New York Knicks. You might want to throw them a bottle of water or two... they'll probably be down there for a while. The Knicks fell into that hole last season and were never able to climb out. Their offseason acquisition of Andrea Bargnani was a complete fail and the same went for J.R. Smith's new contract. Elsewhere, the team suffered countless injuries and poor performances. The only consistent performer was Carmelo Anthony, who nearly left the team via free agency this summer. Once you're at the bottom of a hole, the only place left to go is up, right? New team president Phil Jackson brought in the newly retired Derek Fisher to be the team's new head coach, who becomes the league's latest jersey-to-suit hire. Additionally, the Knicks pulled off a multi-player trade with the Dallas Mavericks that netted them a trio of players and a couple of 2014 draft picks. Unfortunately, they lost Tyson Chandler in the process. Aside from Anthony, Jose Calderon will likely have the biggest impact on the Knicks' season. He should excel in the triangle offense that calls for the point guard to move the ball and knock down open looks, since he's a beast from downtown and loves picking up a**ists. It'll take more than a season for the Knicks to turn their fortunes around, but they can kickstart their comeback with improvements on defense, offensive output, and perhaps most importantly: staying away from the injury bug. Oklahoma City Thunder It's impossible to talk about the Thunder's 2014-15 season without talking about Kevin Durant's right foot. He might not have been the real MVP, but he was the well deserved NBA MVP after logging the best season of his impressive career. He may be taking it well, going so far as to call the injury a “win-win”, but I'm not so sure this is something that should be brushed off. Obviously the Thunder are happy he's missing the beginning of the season and should be prepared for the stretch run, but one can't overstate how important the regular season is in the Western Conference. This isn't the East where you just need to sneak in the playoffs and then start playing to your potential, this is the competitive West where a low seeding can send you to the golf course earlier than you'd like. This doesn't mean Thunder fans should panic. They still have capable role players that stepped up along with KD in Westbrook's absence, and those same players will be asked to stay the course with 35 on the sideline. But in a post-Harden world, the Thunder still lack a reliable third scorer to help lighten the load for the Big 2. This likely means Scott Brooks will be forced to double down on D and put out lineups reliant on the defensive ability of offensive liabilities like Perry Jones III and Kendrick Perkins. Hopefully this will be a pa**able stop gap until KD returns, because no one wants to see a player like Durant lose another season in his prime in his quest of a championship. But the Thunder should be sure to tread lightly here, as it will be a real experience watching how the team dynamic is affected by the absence of the cool a**a**in that balances out Westbrook's manic energy. Orlando Magic For the last few years, "Orlando Magic" and "mess" have been synonymous. They've attempted to rebuild but have made some poor draft decisions that haven't panned out yet - not 100% their fault. The fact still remains that the Magic will likely suffer through another awful season in 2014-15, and there's not much they can do about it for now. Rookies Aaron Gordon and Elfrid Payton will receive a generous amount of minutes alongside Victor Oladipo, who in his second year, will benefit greatly from having Channing Frye in the starting five. One of the team's few bright spots, Nikola Vucevic, should continue his rebounding domination and hopefully will receive some help on the gla**. All in all, the Magic likely won't have a very fun time this year, but the development of their rookies and second year players at the very least should be fun to watch. Philadelphia 76ers Without a doubt, the Sixers are rebuilding. In fact, they're in the midst of a huge rebuilding phase that has essentially taken a wrecking ball to the franchise. Any draft pick made prior to the selection of Michael Carter-Williams in 2013 is gone. The team tanked so hard last season, people wanted to fine them. The Sixers are several years away from truly contending, but they've definitely set the foundation for future success. In addition to MCW (once he returns from shoulder surgery), they have a recovered Nerlens Noel ready to go and new draftee Joel Embiid steadily on the way back from injury. They brought in two defensive minded players in to help contain the inevitable onslaught from other teams, but lost two of their best offensive producers in Spencer Hawes and Thaddeus Young. Let's be real... the Sixers will likely be the worst team in the league. Phoenix Suns Possibly the strangest summer acquisition for the Suns was the signing of former Kings PG Isaiah Thomas to a 4-year deal. The signing caused a logjam at the point, with Eric Bledsoe (once he finally signed) and Goran Dragic also commanding significant minutes on the court. In addition to the excess point guards, there's a splatter of big men on the Suns roster. Miles Plumlee and Alex Len are both unproven but will be expected to contribute. With the loss of Channing Frye, Markieff Morris will be asked to step up at the 4. Fortunately, Morris enjoyed a breakout season last year and was inked to a nice deal with his twin brother, Marcus. Head coach Jeff Hornacek employed a very fast paced system in his first season last year, and Suns fans can expect more of the same this year. If they make the postseason, Hornacek may finally win a well deserved Coach of the Year award that many thought he should have won in 2013-14. Portland Trail Blazers Aside from the Spurs (for obvious reasons), you could say the Trail Blazers had the best season of any team in the league in 2013-14. They were the postseason dark horse, dismantling the Rockets in six games with the new Shot Heard Round the World before eventually losing to the eventual champion Spurs in the Western Conference Semis. Now, equipped with a quality starting five and a taste of postseason success, the Blazers will look to advance even further this year. You can't talk about the Blazers without talking about Damian Lillard. Dude is a legit star and lethal shooter - see the aforementioned Shot Heard Round the World. He improved greatly from his rookie to soph*more season, so expect more of the same heading into 2014-15. Every basketball fan should be stoked to watch Lillard play this season. Rounding out the starting five alongside Lillard is Wesley Matthews, Nicolas Batum, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Sideshow Bob - er, Robin Lopez. See why the Blazers have one of the best starting units in the league? It's their bench that contains the question marks. Should one (or more) of the starters go down at any time, replacements will be thin. They did improve the bench this offseason with the acquisitions of Steve Blake and Chris Kaman, so things wouldn't necessarily be as bleak as they would have been last year with injuries. Sacramento Kings With no impending move out of town in sight, Kings fans, players, and management alike can rest easy during the 2014-15 season. There's a new arena coming as well. Let's focus on the basketball though. The trade for Rudy Gay worked out very nicely, so it seems the Kings struck gold on that one. Gay at least struck gold when he picked up his $19.3 million option for this season. DeMarcus Cousins had a monster year in 2013-14 after signing his max contract extension, and looking at his successful summer with Team USA during the FIBA World Cup, it's reasonable to expect him to post up another great year for the Kings. While center might be on lock, they actually downgraded at the point. They let spunky PG Isaiah Thomas leave to join the Suns and signed Darren Collison away from the Clippers in his place. Letting more talent walk in favor of lesser talent doesn't really seem like the smartest move. Draft-wise, the Kings selected Nik Stauskas out of Michigan with their lottery pick. He was a deep threat in college and that alone should guarantee him some rotational minutes in his rookie season. All in all, the Kings have way too many question marks to be a contender in the highly competitive West, but they might get there in the next several years. San Antonio Spurs "If it isn't broke, don't fix it" seems to be the mantra of Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich, as he enters his eighteenth season at the helm of the Texas team. Coming off the back of a commanding win in the Finals last season, it's more a case of shoring up what he already has rather than any kind of revolution. With the careers of stars Duncan, Ginobili and Parker supposedly beginning to wind down, this will be another season to integrate the great youth talents who have began to shine these past few years - Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green have huge careers ahead of them, despite already winning awards and breaking records respectively. The offseason hasn't been explosive - a "war" of words with Robert Sarver, the appointment of the Becky Hammon as a**istant coach, a few disappointing losses and the Spursy draft pick of Kyle Anderson is about your lot, though that's not a problem. The performances from the conclusion last season mean there is no reason why they won't be aiming for the title once more - both Pop and the Big Fundamental will be hoping for their first repeat as champions before they call it a day. Toronto Raptors With the giant surprise of a season from the 2013-2014 Toronto Raptors, who went on a tear after the trading of their best player. Expected to tank for a lottery pick, they instead turned their season around and ended a long playoff drought, though they would fall to the Brooklyn Nets in a questionably called series. #FoulOnJonas What was it that made the Toronto Raptors such a miracle team last year? Before the Rudy Gay trade, the ball would end up in Rudy Gay's hands and just stop and there was an over reliance on isolation plays for both Rudy Gay and DeMar Derozan. On top of that, Derozan and Gay have overlapping sk**sets, with both relying on mid range scoring, finishing at the hoop and posting up smaller players. After ridding themselves of Rudy Gay, the team's offense flowed much better, with actual plays being called rather than "Give the ball to Gay/Derozan". On top of the much improved offense and the typical Dwane Casey defense, the Raptors ended up being top 10 in both Offensive and Defensive efficiency, a very impressive feat. On top of that, DeMar Derozan was elected to his first All Star game, though Kyle Lowry was robbed and should of been in over Joe Johnson. So, what about this season, you may be wondering? Will the Raptors live up to the new found hype? Most likely, yes. They brought back everyone of significance, with Lowry, Vasquez and PATMAN resigning long term. On top of bringing back the main core, they also got rid of some players that didn't fit with the team and signed some players that will make up for a lot of the issues that the Raptors have. They also made quite the bang at the draft, drafting the “Mr Two Years Away From Being Two Years Away”, the “Brazilian KD” Bruno Caboclo with the 20th pick and with the 37th pick DeAndre Daniels. Bruno Caboclo will be on the roster most likely as the Raptors do not have a D League team, so he will most likely be the end of the bench guy, and DeAndre Daniels is stashed playing overseas in Australia. With one of the deepest roster in the NBA last year and that depth being increased, a lot of the holes being covered and the improving core of the team, the Toronto Raptors will be a force in the league and a definitive top 4 seed in the East. I have them as the third seed going 49-33, one more win than last year. Being top 10 in both Offensive and Defensive Efficiency last year, the Raptors built on that, filling in some holes they had on both ends of the floor, the Raptors are much improved but with the East being much more competitive than last year, they will probably sit around the same record as last year. Utah Jazz In 2013-14, the Jazz posted a 25-57 record, good for 15th in the Western Conference. The last time they performed that poorly? The 1981-82 season, in which they posted an identical record. Obviously, there's work to be done. The Jazz did one thing right this offseason when they retained the face of their franchise, Gordon Hayward. He was offered a 4-year/$63 million max contract by the Charlotte Hornets, but the Jazz wisely matched - even though it took up a huge chunk of their cap space - and kept the "best in the game" around for a while longer to help lead the team along with Derrick Favors. The fate of Utah's season this year will rest with their ability to play defense. Atrocious is too tame of a word to describe Utah's defensive showing last season. The front office didn't do much to improve the defense this summer, so it'll be up to the more fast paced offense to counter that inefficiency as the Jazz stumble through another year of mediocrity. Washington Wizards One didn't have to look far to find the Wizards goal for the 2013-14 season -- just check John Wall's sneakers. And after locking down the 5 seed and the first playoff series win since the Gilbert Arenas era, Wall might have to get more ambitious next time he pulls out the Sharpie. The core of this team is the best young backcourt that doesn't play in the bay area.While some questioned whether or not Wall was a winner after seeing him put up good stats for a few terrible teams, he emerged as a leader last season and silenced many of the doubters. But none of that would have been possible without the emergence of Bradley Beal, the sharpshooting 2 guard that built off of an inconsistent and injury-ridden rookie year to make a name for himself in 2014. He's expected to miss 6-8 weeks which could cause the Wizards to come out slow off the gate, but look for him to remain a difference maker once he's back in the starting lineup. Aside from their two stars, the Wiz also boast one of the more complete starting 5's in the NBA -- they have a rim protector, 4 that can stretch the floor, and a veteran wing in Paul Pierce that could make up for the lack of experience on this Wizards roster and shoulder the scoring load while Beal is out. The East is wide open this year, and if the Cavs don't jell, the Bulls don't stay healthy, and the Heat don't bounce back from losing LBJ, look for the East's former doormat to compete for the #1 seed this year.