As Halloween creeps up closer and closer, one can’t help but be depressed about the lack of basketball chatter. Without training camps to gauge which rookies are looking good, or what system a new coach is installing, we are left with nothing but complete silence.
Before we get into which teams will be affected by the lockout, let me preface it by saying this: No team is helped by the present situation. The lockout is holding teams hostage. Without the ability to make any moves, or have any contact with players for that matter, it’s impossible to judge which team is going to have the best season, or which team might be underrated. To put it simply, we need basketball.
***
HELPED BY THE LOCKOUT
Less games equals less wear and tear on the players. This is music to the ears of some veteran-laden teams. If indeed there is a shortened season, there may be the occasional frightening back-to-back-to-back, but for the most part, the older guys will be glad to hear about a cut in games played.
Dallas Mavericks
Fresh off a championship season, the Mavs must be well rested if they have repeat aspirations. The Lakers were able to do it in 2010 despite being one of the league’s oldest teams. However, the Spurs’ success during the 2000s never amounted to a single back-to-back title. Can Tyson Chandler, the biggest difference in their 2009-10 and 2010-11 squads, stay healthy enough to play in over 70 games again? Adding a 26-year-old Rudy Fernandez is a start, but with nine players over the age of 30 and a deep postseason run directly in their rearview mirror, a little extra recess could be just what the doctor ordered.
Los Angeles Lakers
After averaging 35.4 points in 2005-06, Kobe Bryant has seen his scoring average decrease in pretty much every season. Seeing him get only 25.3 last season means a 33-year-old Bryant must be a little more reliant on getting some scoring punch from his teammates. If Kobe is going to get the help he needs, this grizzled veteran team would gladly take the extra rest. This year, he will go to battle with 31-year-old Pau Gasol, and 32-year-olds Lamar Odom and Metta World Peace (seeing that name still make me laugh out loud). Even though Andrew Bynum is only 24, his knees are actually 40, making him one of the greatest beneficiaries of the lockout.
Boston Celtics
This past season, Boston’s core four of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo missed a combined total of 29 games due to injury. As father time creeps up on Pierce, KG and Allen, their window of championship-caliber seasons is starting to close. They need to bring it night in and night out to avoid a tough first round matchup with one of the East’s young, up-and-coming teams. No longer can the Celtics afford to have an All-Star not playing in 40% of their games. With the potential to be one of the league’s best teams, a lockout would keep the Celtics from contending in a year they can never have back. Even young All-Star Rajon Rondo seems to get dinged up rather easily, so the more rest the merrier in Beantown.
[Related: Dime Q&A – Rajon Rondo Talks 1-On-1 Hoops, Celtics & NBA Lockout]
Phoenix Suns
Perhaps no team relies on one single player as much as the Suns with Steve Nash. Although he has only missed 16 games over the past three seasons, his presence is missed when he isn’t there. The Suns have only a 6-10 record sans Nash. They certainly aren’t championship contenders, but the Suns absolutely have the ability to make a run at the No. 8 seed in a very combative Western Conference. As long as Nash is well rested and ready to go, so will be the Suns.
HURT BY THE LOCKOUT
To some NBA franchises, the lockout is acting like somewhat of a roadblock in a near-completed journey. For these teams, the light at the end of the tunnel can be seen, but not reached, until there is an agreement between players and owners.
Miami Heat
You all watched what I saw last June. The Miami Heat severely lacked team chemistry. It’s hard to believe that a team would need to improve on an eighth-ranked offense and sixth-ranked defense, but when you fall two games short of your goal, more practice is a must. Luckily, they have three studs locked-up long-term. LeBron, Wade and Bosh will have plenty of time to further familiarize themselves with each other in a training camp run by teammates. The “Heatles” have been surprisingly quiet this offseason, so look for them to put in a lot of extra work to get themselves back to the NBA Finals.
New York Knicks
For a Knickerbocker team that was ravaged with injury during the postseason, the extended time off could be a blessing in disguise. Chauncey Billups told Newsday‘s Alan Hahn, “Something I thought would take four days (to heal) took four months.” While they must be healthy, at the same time, team chemistry was also a major issue in New York. Playing only 26 games with the Knicks, six of those without Billups, Carmelo Anthony managed to only scrape together a .500 record. By adding Iman Shumpert and Josh Harrellson through the draft, and assuming they add some size if free agency ever opens, it’ll feel like a whole new team again in the Big Apple. Like Miami, Billups, ‘Melo and Amar’e will also be hosting an unofficial training camp all season long in hopes of bringing the team together. Practice makes perfect.
[Related: We Reminisce – The 1999 New York Knicks]
Denver Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets may be perhaps the team most severely affected by the lockout. Wilson Chandler, J.R. Smith and Kenyon Martin have all bought one-way tickets to China meaning 33.4 points per game will have to be made up somewhere (Ty Lawson and Danilo Gallinari are also playing overseas, but at least they have opt-outs). Perhaps Danilo Gallinari is poised to shoulder the scoring load, but like the Knicks, this band of players was also struggled in last season’s playoffs. Gallo has been known to pull a disappearing act at times, and when he does his new teammates will need to pick him up. After bringing in Andre Miller in a draft-day trade, it is especially important for the Nuggets to get to know each other on the court. An extended offseason also leaves them with the painful uncertainty that Nene, their defensive motor, may be packing his bags to play elsewhere. Hard to imagine things could get any worse in the Mile High City.
New Jersey Nets/New Orleans Hornets/Orlando Magic
They are hardly championship contenders, but each team possesses a special superstar in jeopardy of leaving. In case you’ve been sleeping under a rock for the past year, Deron Williams and Chris Paul, along with the Magic’s Dwight Howard are heading the 2012 free agent class. If there is no basketball at all this season, these teams are in danger of losing their franchise cornerstones for nothing. With all the pieces the Nuggets received from Carmelo Anthony to set the market, it would be massively detrimental to these franchise’s futures to have nothing to show for a missing superstar.
Who will be helped the most by a lockout? Who will be hurt the most?
Follow Kevin on Twitter at @k_smith688.
Follow Dime on Twitter at @DimeMag.
Become a fan of Dime Magazine on Facebook HERE.
