Basketball fans sat on the edge of their seats this offseason, praying that a NBA season would take place. With two very stubborn sides, it seemed that the NBA and the Players would never make a deal, but here we are in the beginning of the shortened NBA season. This is season is already shaping up to be a good one with new faces on new teams, and more competitiveness than last year. With all of this built up hype for the NBA season, it leaves fans with many questions. Who will win the battle for LA? Can the Heat make another championship run this year? And is Oklahoma City a favorite to make it to the Finals? In a recent interview with Dave Zirin, SLAM Magazine Editor in Chief Ben Osborne tries to answer some of those questions. Ben is a graduate of George Washington University and has been a member of the SLAM editing staff since 1997.
In my opinion, and in the opinion of many other NBA fans, the big question is who will be Los Angeles’ team this season? For so long the Lakers have pushed the Clippers aside by signing some of the biggest names in the game. However, this time it’s the Clippers scoring the big name player. After being blocked by David Stern from joining the Lakers, Chris Paul teamed up with Blake Griffin and the Clippers for what should be a very interesting season. Ben Osborne believes that it’s still too early to say who will be the better team because he believes the Lakers will make some moves during the season. Ben did go on to say “If this team is the Lakers roster all season, then the Clippers will have a better record.” I’m going to have to agree with Ben on that. The Lakers are known for going out and getting deals done so I can’t really see them just sitting back all season and not pursuing any new players.
Another question that has been on a lot of peoples’ minds is will the Heat go to the Finals again? For me, I say no. I don’t believe that the Heat can play at the level they did last year. They might have arguably the best duo in the NBA right now, but that doesn’t mean that the rest of the team is capable of producing at a Championship level. The one thing that may play into the Heat’s favor is the shortened season. With fewer games, the starters may not experience some of the late season fatigue that we usually see. Ben Osborne simply puts it, “What difference does the shortened season matter when we get to the Eastern Conference Championship? “
With all the media attention on players getting traded and seeking new contracts, many people have forgot about the always dangerous Thunder. Kevin Durant, who Ben calls “the 2nd best player in the league”, hopes to lead his team for a run at the crown this year. They have a very young and fast team that can put up points in a hurry and has decent depth on the bench. The Thunder aren’t huge on going out and buying the best players available. The Knicks however are always looking to make moves and made another this year by acquiring Tyson Chandler. Now many might see this as a win for the Knicks, but is it really? Tyson has proved himself to be a solid player, but maybe not the one the Knicks were looking for to bump them into the conversation with the Celtics, Heat, and Bulls. When asked about Tyson Chandler’s effect on the Knicks Ben replied by saying “This is going to be kind of messy in my opinion for a number of reasons. First of all the things that he does are kind of subtle, they don’t show up in the box score. All these quote on quote savvy Knicks fans are going to be there like, ‘we gave 14 million dollars to this guy to get 6 points and 9 rebounds?’ I don’t understand who the point guard is. Carmelo is going to handle the ball? The biggest over dribbler in the NBA?” I can’t agree more with Ben. They released Chauncey Billups and Chris Paul was a no so what do they do now? I guess we’re just going to have to wait and see.
