Taken from the NBA website.
Well lets see: my team (The New York Knicks) are currently undefeated. With a record of three wins to zero losses, we are at the top of our division. So far our defense has looked not good but fantastic. We even beat the for-mentioned Heat to win the season opener, where else, none other than Madison Square Garden. That was our biggest downfall last year, we never had a problem scoring, we just couldn't make the key stops on defense. Every player is working together, there is no ball hogging as I like to call it. Passes are being made, and there are less shots that make you wonder, "Why did he just shoot that?" If the Knicks can stay healthy, they will get far this year, they might as well be known as the "dark horses" this year.
Taken from Google Images.
A team that made the headlines the most this offseason was the Los Angeles Lakers. They weren't happy with the stars they already had, so they went after top free agent Steve Nash. They did not sign Nash straight out, they did something with Nash's former team, the Phoenix Suns something we sports people call a "sign and trade." What is a sign and trade you ask? The definition is just the way the expression sounds. According to ESPN, a sign and trade is when: the team that the player played for the previous season makes an agreement with both the player and the team willing to take the player and trades him to the other team. To make it sound less confusing and with the real teams involved: The Suns and the Lakers agreed to a price in which both teams could afford under the salary cap. The Suns then told Nash that he was going to be traded for a price. Nash signed the contract to be on the Suns, but because he was a part of the Suns, the Suns were allowed to trade him away.
You might ask "why would the Suns sign a player only for that player to be traded soon after?" Well, that is a good question. Why would a team let go their "superstar" like Nash and not get anything in return? By signing Nash and trading him to Los Angeles the Suns were able to get 2013 and 2015 first-round draft picks, 2013 and 2014 second round draft picks and $3 million.
That wasn't the only thing that the Lakers did this off season. According to the NBA, a blockbuster trade was made in which the Lakers sent their "big" man Andrew Bynum to the Philadelphia 76ers so that they were able to receive another big man, Dwight Howard. It wasn't the only the Lakers and the 76ers who were involved in the deal, the Denver Nuggets and the Orlando Magic (Howard's previous team) were also a part of the deal. The main players who were traded away from their teams were Howard, Bynum and ex-76er, Andre Iguodala. Iguodala ended up in Denver to play along players like Danilo Galinari and former first-round pick, Ty Lawson.
Taken from the Lakers website.
So with all of these "superstars" on one team, one would think that the Lakers would be unstoppable like the Heat of last year, right? Well that's not the case, in fact, the Lakers are horrible this year composing a 1-4 record. The heads of the Lakers are not pleased with how the team is playing so much that they have fired head coach, Mike Brown. ESPN reporter Ramona Shelburne reported the firing earlier today, and I am sure it shocked many if not everyone who is a fan of basketball. What I have a problem with is that Brown was always compared to the great Phil Jackson. Jackson is a legend; won multiple championships with the Lakers and developed stars like Kobe Bryant, revitalize the career of Shaquille O'Neal and many others. You can not compare Jackson to a young coach like Brown. It takes time to be a good coach, Brown is a good coach, but will never be on the same level as Jackson. The only coaches that are remotely near Jackson's level are Pat O'Reily, Pat Summerall, Mike Krzyzewski and Bob Knight.Who will be the next Lakers coach? Will he last long, only time will tell.
Until then,
Sporty Nikki
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