#5 - Los Angeles Clippers, Washington Wizards, Sacramento Kings (Tied for 5th)
For these 3 teams, the future rests in the success of their young players.
The Los Angeles Clippers (29-53) improvement depends solely on how healthy Blake Griffin is. If Chris Kaman and Eric Gordon continue their solid play from last year, Blake Griffin joining the team can only be a huge plus. Baron Davis will have to cut down on taking bad shots and begin to get his team mates involved. The Clippers also have 2 good looking rookies in Al-Farouq Aminu and Eric Bledsoe. Look for these rookies to get some playing time to help the Clippers. With Blake in their starting line up, the Clippers are looking to be a team on the rise. Let's just hope the Clipper's curse is broken with Blake Griffin.
The Sacramento Kings (25-57) proved to have a draft steal in Tyreke Evans who averaged 20.1 ppg, 5.3 reb, and 5.8 ast his rookie year. Evans, who won the Rookie of the Year award last year, attained a lot of inside help this year when the Kings drafted DeMarcus Cousins with the 5th pick. These 2 players are looking to be the franchise guys the Kings need to build their team around. With the addition of a solid center in Samuel Dalembert and a core in Omri Casspi, Jason Thompson, and Carl Landry this team will be a much improved team this year.
With the number 1 pick in this summer's draft, the Washington Wizards selected John Wall. He is no doubt the future of this Wizards team, and it's improvement will depend on how well John Wall plays. What happens with Gilbert Arenas is still in question, but the Wizards are looking forward with their number 1 pick. Wall's scoring and play-making ability should help young guys like Andray Blatche and JaVale McGee succeed and the signing of Kirk Hinrich is a plus for this young squad. Look for guys like Al Thornton and Yi Jianlian to make some contributions also. With more playing time together, this team should be a lot better than last years debacle of a team.
#4 - New York Knicks (29-53)
The New York Knicks have finally found their franchise player in Amare Stoudemire. His offensive ability alone can lift this Knicks team to a higher ranking and it doesn't hurt to have a young, talented player in Danilo Gallinari to help. Although Raymond Felton is no Steve Nash, he is a much better point guard than Chris Duhon and should help this team. With solid wings in Wilson Chandler and newly acquired Kelenna Azubuike, this team is looking to get at least 10-15 more wins. Also, look out for Timofey Mozgov to be a sleeper for the Knicks this upcoming season. Now only if they can somehow get rid of Eddy Curry's contract...#3 - Houston Rockets (42-40)
What are the two most important words to the Rockets? Yao Ming. He is the difference maker for this Rockets squad. If he's healthy, the Rockets instantly become a play-off contender. Without him, they stay below the playoff cut. But looking at this team, it has all the ingredients needed to build a championship contender. Aaron Brooks is a lightning quick point guard who can penetrate and shoot lights out. Kevin Martin is an above average shooting guard who can score if given the chance. Battier is the designated defensive stopper, who can knock down the occasional 3. You have Luis Scola as the hardworking, hustling, big man to help along side Yao Ming. Then you have a young group in Kyle Lowry, Courtney Lee, Chase Budinger, and Jordan Hill who should round out this teams bench nicely. It's the makings of a great team, but without Yao Ming they will never get beyond good.
The Rockets are hoping they won't be seeing Yao in any suits this upcoming season.#2 - Chicago Bulls (41-41)
All-Star point guard, check. All-Star post-scorer, check. Insanely hard-working, team-energizing center, check. 3-point shooters, check. Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, or Chris Bosh, unavailable. So, so close! Although Chicago didn't get any of the Big 3 of the Summer of 2010, they still came out with a talented, low-post scoring machine. They will definitely improve to the top 5 in the East and maybe even the whole NBA. This team will rely heavily on Derrick Rose's play-making abilities and newly signed Carlos Boozer's inside scoring, along with Noah's defensive hustle. Look for Brewer and Korver to jack up plenty of 3's, while their bench gets solid minutes. If Coach Thibodeau gets this team and not just Noah to love defense, they will definitely be one of the most improved teams in the NBA. #1 - Miami Heat (47-35)
47 wins and 5th place in the East with a horrible team? Dwyane Wade is pretty darn good. With the addition of LeBron James and Chris Bosh, this team is automatically a contender for the NBA Championship and the favorite for the number 1 seed in the East. That gives them the label of most improved team in the NBA. Having solid backups in every position helps too. Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem will play key roles on this team. Big Z, Joel Anthony, and the rest of the bigs will need to focus on rebounding and defending. Eddie House and James Jones need to do one thing and that's make 3's. Barring any significant injury to the Big 3, this team will be hard to beat. Even though the Lakers, Magic, and Celtics say they aren't scared, I know no one would want to face them in the playoffs.
Miami's Big 3 (LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh) sittin' pretty after their big summer.Writer's Note
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good read mr. phillbo
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