כתבה מעניינת על פציעות חשובות בקבוצות ודירוג הקבוצות באתר ה-NBA
http://www.nba.com/2012/news/features/d ... x.html#topMiami (46-20, first place, Southeast Division; won NBA championship): To the victor goes the spoils ... and Ray Allen. What's even scarier for the rest of the league is that the Heat don't even need Allen until the playoffs; that's how good LeBron James is right now.
2) Oklahoma City (47-19, first place, Northwest Division; lost NBA Finals): The Thunder have the callouses of a team that got its heart broken. Normally, a team with the kind of talent and youth the Thunder have breaks through sooner rather than later. But can OKC keep James Harden's contract status from becoming an issue?
3) Los Angeles Lakers (41-25, first place, Pacific Division; lost second round): I'm not fitting the Lakers for rings just yet, because I still want to see how Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard and Steve Nash actually complement one another on the court. But they could be a defensive behemoth by season's end.
4) San Antonio (50-16, first place, Southwest Division; lost Western Conference finals): The longest extended run this side of "Cats" shows no signs of stopping, with the Spurs' core of old and young vets ready to start another ascent of the mountain.
5) Indiana (42-24, second place, Central Division; lost second round): Everything's in place; the Pacers' title contender window is officially open. There's no reason the Pacers can't contend for the East's best record.
6) Boston Celtics (39-27, first place, Atlantic Division; lost Eastern Conference finals): Could be very interesting at TD Garden this season if Rajon Rondo is indeed ready to be the league's best point guard.
7) Memphis (41-25, second place, Southwest; lost in first round): If Z-Bo is back to his old form, Grizz should get back to bludgeoning people inside, with Rudy Gay motivated to prove he should have been an Olympian.
Los Angeles Clippers (40-26, second place, Pacific; lost in Western Conference semis): Clips have a lot of talent, but they have to prove they can become an elite defensive unit if they're ever going to be more than an exciting regular-season show.
9) Dallas (36-30, third place, Southwest; lost in first round): By my count, 11 Mavericks who are expected to make the team are either in a contract year or are subject to a team option for their 2013-14 deals. That's a lot of uncertainty for a team hunting for another Finals run.
10) Denver (38-28, second place, Northwest; lost in first round): The Nuggets are a sexy pick to make a long playoff run, and if Andre Iguodala gives George Karl the kind of perimeter defense that, say, Nate McMillan did back in the day, that might turn out to be true. We know the Nuggets will score at a furious rate.
11) Philadelphia (35-31, third place, Atlantic; lost in Eastern Conference semifinals): There are a lot of new pieces, and for this thing to work, Andrew Bynum has to get on the same page as Doug Collins. But if Philly can get out of the blocks in decent shape, the Sixers should be a force by the end of the season.
12) New York (36-30, second place, Atlantic; lost in first round): There's firepower up and down the lineup, but who's going to run the show? Ray Felton was great in Mike D'Antoni's system, but will he be just as good playing halfcourt ball for Mike Woodson -- and playing off of Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire?
13) Chicago (50-16, first place, Central; lost in first round): The Bulls aren't a title contender until Derrick Rose comes back, but they'll still defend well enough to win a whole bunch of 94-90 games and get to the playoffs. And maybe Rose is back by then.
14) Atlanta (36-30, second place, Southeast; lost in first round): Certainly looks like the Hawks are laying in wait for the summer of 2013, when one suspects they and a half-dozen other teams will max out restricted-free-agent-to-be James Harden. Until then, a one-and-done in the playoffs is the likely outcome.
15) Brooklyn (22-44, fifth place, Atlantic; did not make playoffs): You just wonder, after all the hype of moving into New York, and all the money spent, whether the Nets will be good enough defensively to really make a mark in the Eastern Conference. Who's really a shutdown guy among their core group?
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