PART 6 OF 30
The Dallas Mavericks:
PG: Jose Calderon|Shane Larkin|Gal Mekel
SG: Monta Ellis|Devin Harris|Wayne Ellington|Ricky Ledo
SF: Vince Carter|Shawn Marion|Jae Crowder
PF: Dirk Nowitzki|DeJuan Blair|Brandan Wright
C: Samuel Dalembert|Bernard James
This is what your roster looks like when strike out several times on your intended FA targets and end up going with plan Ds and Fs. You panic, your palms get sweaty, you throw way too much money at an aging Spanish PG, all tell-tale signs of a rushed free agency. Dirk’s not getting any younger and that window is closing faster than a Nazi themed fro-yo restaurant in Germany. So the Mavs went out and acquired a slew of vets with obvious warts and hope that they gel into something capable of making the playoffs. Key acquisition Ellis has enough young legs to compensate for Dirk, VC and the Matrix’s aged getaway sticks. Dalembert never passes and his defense is suspect but he can protect the rim. Calderon can takeover that “incredibly slow and old PG” role that worked so well for them when JKidd was there. DeJaun Blair and his lack of ACLs gives them a big body that can board. Remember Devin Harris? He’s here, for better or worse. The young guys are led by mini-Manimal Jae Crowder (hard not to love this guy) and rookies Shane Larkin and Ricky Ledo, both of which may not see much time this year (injury, depth).
Bottom Line: Rick Carlisle, Nowitzki and the NBA’s version of the Expendables attempt to prove the haters and youngbloods wrong by making the playoffs. If they stay healthy (big if), they just might.
PART 7 OF 30
The Houston Rockets:
PG: Jeremy Lin|Patrick Beverly|Aaron Brooks
SG: James Harden|Isaiah Canaan|Reggie Williams
SF: Chandler Parsons|Francisco Garcia|Omri Casspi
PF: Dwight Howard|Donatas Motiejunas|Terrence Jones|Greg Smith
C: Omer Asik|Marcus Camby
I hope GM Daryl Morey likes waking up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night because the Dwightmare is now his. Serves him right in my opinion, the way he’s been running the team, I’m surprised that the players will have names on their jerseys and not bar codes. Enough of that, let’s see here. Overrated PG, ball-dominant SG, white guy with nice hair at the 3, and arguably the NBA’s best big man (sad, I know) and Judge Reinhold’s Turkish brother in the post. Yeah, go ahead and pencil them into the 2nd round of the playoffs.
Bottom Line: Not too young, not too old, good depth at most positions and enough chattel ahem, assets to trade and rework as they go. Playoffs or die.
PART 8 OF 30
The Memphis Grizzlies:
PG: Mike Conley|Nick Calathes
SG: Tony Allen|Jerryd Bayless|Jamaal Franklin
SF: Tayshaun Prince|Quincy Pondexter|Mike Miller
PF: Zach Randolph|Ed Davis|Willie Reed
C: Marc Gasol|Kosta Koufos|Jon Leuer
Damn this team is constructed old school style. If at least one of these guys isn’t rocking some rec specs next year, color me surprised (what color is that anyway?) They even have a guy called Willie Reed who sounds like every role player from the 60s-80s. I really like this team except for the aging wings of Prince and Miller. Tony Allen is a ‘g’ but he ain’t getting any younger either. But when you can throw the ball into Z-Bo and Gasol how much do you have to run, really?
Bottom line: Very good chance they grind their way to the WCFs.
PART 9 OF 30
The New Orleans Pelicans:
PG: Jrue Holiday|Austin Rivers|Brian Roberts
SG: Eric Gordon|Tyreke Evans|Anthony Morrow
SF: Al-Farouq Aminu|Lance Thomas|Darius Miller
PF: Anthony Davis|Ryan Anderson|Jason Smith
C: Greg Stiemsma|Jeff Withey
This kind of looks like a roster assembled by a teenager in NBA 2K’s franchise mode. So many athletes with unfulfilled potential. So many question marks surrounding this team. Is Eric Gordon healthy/happy/traded/tv’s Webster on steroids? Can Tyreke Evans figure out his position now that he’s out of the Twilight Zone that is the Kings? Is Jrue Holiday worth trading away Noel and a 1st rd pick? Did they name the team the Pelicans to distract people from these earlier questions? Who knows? All I know is that I haven’t seen a collection of white seven footers this impressive since the Utah Jazz of the 90s.
Bottom Line: Some people have the Pellies flying into the playoffs. I have them divebombing the surf during low tide. Too young, too inexperienced and not enough depth.
PART 10 OF 30
The San Antonio Spurs:
PG: Tony Parker|Cory Joseph|Nando De Colo|Patty Mills
SG: Danny Green|Manu Ginobili|Marco Belinelli
SF: Kawhi Leonard|Livio Jean-Charles|DeShaun Thomas
PF: Tim Duncan|Matt Bonner|Jeff Pendergraph
C: Tiago Splitter|Boris Diaw|Aron Baynes
Blah blah blah, they’re getting too old, yada yada yada Greg Popovich is the best coach in the NBA…
Bottom Line: Those Spurs haven’t rusted completely yet.
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