As we all know, basketball season is upon us. There are more questions then answers, as there is when any sports season starts. Do the Spurs have enough to repeat? Does Phil Jackson really know what he's doing as an executive? Will the outstanding trio in Cleveland stick? These are just some of the questions going into the season. The one I am posing is simple. Who will be the Beast in the East?
With Paul George out for the season, Indiana has clearly dropped to at least number three in the conference. As good as Indiana is, he is the glue that makes the team stick. The Knicks, who are my favorite team, have first time head coach Derek Fisher and executive Phil Jackson. The question in New York is if Carmelo Anthony has it in him to adapt to the Triangle Offense. Miami has lost Lebron, but still has Chris Bosh, Dwayne Wade, and has signed Lual Dang to name a few. It really comes down to the Tale of Two Cities.
First we have the Cleveland Cavaliers. There is great trio of players on the team. They have the Michael Jordan of this generation in Lebron James. Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love are the other part of the trio. Unlike Bosh and Wade, Kyrie and Love are score first, pass last players. Over the years, I have very much come to respect Lebron James abilities and talent. Clearly the Cavs are better than the past few years, how much better will they be if Kyrie and Love don't change their style of play? Will Lebron have an affect on the way they play? We know that the Cavaliers also have a rookie NBA coach David Blatt(even though he's coached successfully throughout the world). How will that affect their play? We could say Lebron is like a player-coach without having the coach status.
As great as Cleveland is, we also have the Chicago Bulls. The very first question is how healthy is Derrick Rose going to be? It looked like at the FIBA World Championships, he seemed completely healthy. If he is back at his MVP type level, that makes the whole team better. They also have defensive player of year, Joakim Noah. Noah is just as much the heart and sole of that team as Rose has been. If Noah can anchor that defense the way he has, they can be better than Indiana in that regard. Signing Paul Gasol is also a nice compliment to the team as a whole. Even though he is 34, he can still be effective as a player. Tom Thibodeau is a huge factor. He's been around for almost 5 years and his players seem to respond to him.
At the end of the day, if all goes as planned, I believe Chicago will win the Eastern Conference. No disrespect to the Cavs, who I think have dramatacilly improved. Cleveland and Chicago will be battling it out all season for the top seed in the East. Chicagos experience, heart and sole and top notch coaching will help them be the Beast. Let's just hope they don't give any false hope.
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