Midnight Revelations: The Return

While watching an entertaining Oklahoma City/Los Angeles opener.
Yeah, the NBA (aka the Free Throw Association) still absolutely sucks. HARD.

1) With all due apologies to the 90% legit fans of the two teams, whose bandwagon is full of more absolute posers: Red Sox Nation or Kobe-era Laker fans???

2) Charles Barkley is good for one memorable quote...a minute.
"The rest of the NBA better get their wins against Oklahoma City and Chicago now. Because in a few years, they're gonna be REAL good. Better beat that butt (he used a different word, mind you) now, before you can't in a few years."

Call me a homer (go ahead, you wanna), but this guy can be very good...sooner than later.
Credit: Blog.Newsok.com

3) Eric Maynor is fully capable of being a starting point in the NBA. Russell Westbrook may be a potential rising phenom, but I see Maynor (who Utah idiotically gave up in a far-too-lazy-cap relief move) successfully starting for a team in less than 3 years (i.e. his next contract)...against the likes of Westbrook and the Thunder.

How do you say "boo hoo" in Spanish? Anyone? Anyone?
Credit: Buttheadsports.com

4) Pau Gasol's mannerisms make me want to die. Why pretend to act like you're tough, Pau? Why act like you're too physical (by pounding your chest down the court) for your opponent, when you're clearly not, Pau? We saw what KG did to you in 2008. That tape will never lie. You're incredibly skilled, Pau. And a Spanish fugazi on the court. Only in your facial expressions, of course.

5) They need to end people being rewarded a timeout while rolling around on the floor with the ball in a crowd. Isn't that traveling? The NBA did well to end the Rodman-rule (diving out of bands and calling a timeout). Time to end this nonsense.

Jeff Green needs to get rid of the shakes too when he's 1-on-1.
Credit: DailyThunder.com

Oklahoma City just needs a solid big and some time to develop. And to stay healthy, of course. But they're getting swept this series. Oh well.

NBA Pre-Season Power Rankings - Part I: Eastern Conference

Garnett: Impossible was defense before his arrival in Beantown

Credit: ESPN

[EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the first of a 3-pack of pre-season power rankings. Parts II and III will be posted on Wednesday and Thursday. These power rankings will then be used to determine draft order for our first NBA Mock Draft. Yeah, that's how we do.]

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Atlantic Division
1. Boston
2. Toronto
3. Philadelphia
4. New Jersey
5. New York

It's a case of the rich staying rich, but distributing some wealth along the way. Philadelphia and Toronto scored major off-season acquisitions in the form of Elton Brand and Jermaine O'Neal. However, the champions remain the favorites to win the Atlantic Division (and the Eastern Conference). It'll be another depressing year for the Nets and Knicks. Expect more wins from the latter, but the Knicks are at least a year until they can effectively purge their roster of horrific contracts. Let the countdown begin, Coach D'Antoni.

Central Division
1. Cleveland
2. Detroit
3. Chicago
4. Milwaukee
5. Indiana

To say this is a defining season in the career of LeBron James is a major understatement. Ownership has emptied its pockets to build a team around the superstar, bringing in Mo Williams from Milwaukee. Detroit will need steadier contributions from younger players in order to vie with Cleveland for top spot in the Central and to hold off the upstart Chicago Bulls, who won't tank it for two years straight. As for Milwaukee and Indiana, I expect both to win at least 35 games, but neither will be in the playoffs.

Southeast Division
1. Orlando
2. Miami
3. Atlanta
4. Washington
5. Charlotte

Though I'm not in love with Orlando, they won the division last year and no one in the division can defend Dwight Howard (okay, perhaps Emeka Okafor can). When they try, they realize quickly that the Magic can sink the trifecta. Future ROY Michael Beasley will stuff the stat sheet in Miami and get some Ws. D-Wade and Shawn Marion won't disappoint either. Atlanta will remain talented but unfulfilled (Thank you, Josh Childress). And yes, Wizards fans, the season is not in good shape when it hasn't started and two of your three best players have injuries. I'm calling for Mike Woodson to relieved of his job by February and for the Wizards to struggle due to having no Arenas. Stan van Gundy will continue to look like this man.

Conference Rankings
1. Boston
2. Cleveland
3. Detroit
4. Orlando
5. Chicago
6. Toronto
7. Miami
8. Philadelphia
9. Atlanta
10. Washington
11. Milwaukee
12. Indiana
13. New Jersey
14. Charlotte
15. New York

The Ticket Is Punched: The Celts Are Now A Contender?

Watch out, Major League Baseball. The NBA stole your media thunder on trade deadline day, one of the few days on the calendar in which the sport pulls in non-purists to add to plummeting ratings. Furthermore, it’s a day when Barry Bonds is trying to tie Hank Aaron for the all-time home run record, the future home run king Alex Rodriguez is aiming for number 500, and Tom Glavine – one of the all-time elite lefties – seeks elusive 300^th win.

Unless Bonds hits the home run tonight, which would not be until after 10pm this evening, the story of the day remains that KG has been traded to the Boston Celtics. Essentially, the NBA took a page out of the NFL’s ability to attract the media during the off-season by breaking a relevant on-the-hardwood news story.

The Celtics are now relevant. (Yes, even with Doc Rivers coaching.)

But are they the Eastern contender that some are predicting them to be. Not so much. First, let’s take a look at the trade details.

Boston acquires: Kevin Garnett
Minnesota acquires: Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Gerald Green, Sebastian Telfair, Theo Ratliff, two first-round draft picks and cash considerations

For the sake of this article, we’re avoiding the walking mistake that is the perpetual mismanagement of the Minnesota Timberwolves by former Celtics legend Kevin McHale. They got the best deal possible for an aging superstar. As for the Celtics, there are a number of externalities coming out of this trade and we will look at five of them.

1. Butts in the Seats
This is undeniable. The Celtics will still be the third best ticket in town behind the Sox and the Patriots. However, as I said before, they are now a relevant sports franchise and have come out of their putrid obscurity. If the Celtics do not sell out three-quarters of its games, then the loyalty of fans in Beantown should be examined.

2. Paper-Thin Depth
As for the Celtics, they now have three of the league’s finest players in the aforementioned Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen. Unfortunately, the trade leaves them with only players under contract. When I first heard the details, my gut reaction, “the NBDL will make or break this team.” Excluding possibly “Big Baby” Glen Davis, it would be tough to spot Celtics players outside the Big 3 in a police line-up.

3. Susceptible to Injury and Aging
KG is a warrior. Paul Pierce has been known to play through pain. Ray Allen was one of two reasons why the SuperSonics were borderline watchable. Last season, two of the big three – Pierce and Allen – combined to miss a total of 62 games while Garnett has missed six games in each of the last two seasons. Conventional wisdom may lend to the belief that as the Big 3 inch closer to their social security windfall (or complete lack thereof), they could easily miss close to or exceed the combined 68 games missed due to injury and/or suspension last season. Despite having three veteran stars, the Celtics are still a young team and have traded in a host of four-year veterans for two of the league’s best and what will be a host of nobodies.

4. Money, Money, Money, Mo----ney ... MONEY!
At present, the luxury tax threshold is $67.865 million for this upcoming season. According to HoopsHype, Boston’s nine salaries total approximately $66.196 million. For those unfamiliar with the Association’s luxury tax, it’s a dollar-for-dollar penalty when organizations go over the league-mandated amount. This leaves approximately $1.669 million to spend on six players, including second-round picks Glen Davis and Gabe Pruitt, who will both command contracts in the range of $427,000 each, leaving the C’s with a paltry difference of $815,000 to sign four players. Given that $427k is the league minimum, it will be impossible for the Celtics to fill their roster without climbing over the luxury tax threshold. Of course, renegotiation may take place to make this a moot point. For now, it’s newsworthy and value-added analysis.

5. Sustainability
In a word, no. Phrases like “ephemeral rise to relative glory” may be found ten years from now when reflecting on the two major acquisitions’ effect on team history. This effort is one by Danny Ainge to make his mark on the Celtics franchise right now. The short-term worries of relevance and ticket sales are taken care of, but the Celtics should not be taken seriously by the masses until they reach at least the 2^nd round of the playoffs. I stopped short of saying the Eastern Conference finals, because three teams – the Detroit Pistons, the Chicago Bulls and the Cleveland LeBrons – are stronger and more complete than the Celtics. Nevertheless, in three years time, the Celtics will have either sunk or swam. To swim signifies that the Celtics brass must conduct business proactively and restructure their stars’ contracts in order to attract a stronger supporting cast. The less palatable option would involve unfulfilled returns from Garnett and Allen leading the organization into a deeper level of obscurity than seen prior to their arrival.

No matter how you look at it, the Celtics are a stronger team now than they were yesterday and a shoe-in for the Eastern Conference playoffs barring a complete disaster. Will Doc Rivers be accountable for losing close games and tinkering with a million different starting lineups? I hope so.