NBA Preview, Part 2

They won't make the finals, but they'll provide some entertainment

If you're not a fan of the Spurs, Pacers, Pistons, or Heat don't worry about buying playoff tickets in June. At least there will be some interesting things to look for.

• The Cavs and Suns are my darkhorses. LeBron will be in the finals some day -- with a few breaks and improvement of his surrounding cast, this could be the year. Probably not though. A healthy Stoudemire makes the Suns contender, but I don't see him being healthy this year.
• The Celtics will be irrelevant again this year. More important than their win loss record will be the development of Jefferson, Perkins, West, Reed, Green, and Greene. This year we'll find out if the Celtics can build around these players or if they'll have to blow it up again.
• The Nets will be good as long as Vince Carter decides to keep trying, but one of their important players will get injured.
• Wouldn't mind building my team around Hinrich, Deng, and Gordon.
• Andre Iguodala is a future All Star and defensive player of the year, but not as long as he's playing next to Iverson.
• Every player on the Knicks is a question mark. Larry Brown wins wherever he goes, but then there's Isiah. I'm not sure which comparison to make: 1) if you mix gold(Brown) with crap(Isiah), it's still a valuable combination, or 2) if you mix chocolate (Brown) with crap (Isiah), it still tastes like crap.
• Shareef Abdul-Rahim who never made the playoffs joins the Kings who always make the playoffs. If the Kings don't make the playoffs this year, let's put him on the Spurs and see what happens.
• Last year the Jazz got a lot of talk because of the addition of Boozer and the development of Kirilenko, then Kirilenko got hurt and they fell apart. Well, Kirilenko's back and Deron Williams will win rookie of the year.
• It's year two of Kobe proving he's Michael Jordan. Phil Jackson will make them better than last year and I like the signings of Kwame Brown and Aaron McKie. But Kobe, you're no Michael Jordan.
• Rashad McCants put up some good preseason numbers, but he sounds like a guy who wants to take advantage of that Lake Minnetonka night life.
• What's an NBA post by me without a Paul Pierce trade rumor? Last year I predicted Paul Pierce would be traded and it didn't happen. Now he's being the happy camper and team leader. I'm guessing he'll be a Clipper by the end of the season.