2011-2012 NBA Preview (Part 2)

Continued from Part 1, which was posted on December 18.

10) Washington Wizards

This team is still developing and loaded with potential, but the playoffs probably aren't realistic for this coming season. Except for the veteran Rashard Lewis, every starter on this team has room to grow. If Jordan Crawford is able to break out beside John Wall, the Wiz could have a top backcourt for years to come. Wall's development is key: he needs to play better on-ball defense, decrease his alarmingly high turnover rate, and move better without the ball. All of this comes with experience, and he has superstar potential. Washington also has a two big men capable of averaging a double-double in Andray Blatche and JaVale McGee, as well as rookies looking to make an impact in Jan Vesely and Shelvin Mack. While the future does look bright for this organization, it should be a few years before this team makes any noise.


11) Toronto Raptors

DeMar DeRozan is the future of this team. He has the superstar potential, and Toronto should really try to keep him there for the long term. Andrea Bargnani is a potent scorer but also one of the worst rebounding centers in the league. Look for Ed Davis to take the starting power forward job from Amir Johnson in the near future; both of these guys are young, but Davis should be able to make more of an impact on both sides of the ball. Toronto hopes 23-year-old Jerryd Bayless is the heir apparent to Jose Calderon for the starting point guard job, something only time will tell.


12) Detroit Pistons

The Pistons invested $25 million in Rodney Stuckey, which is odd considering it may be Brandon Knight who becomes the point guard of the future for this team. They also brought back Tayshaun Prince, who will give them about thirteen points and four boards a game for the next few years. Much of the success of this team hinges on the development of Greg Monroe, who goes into the season as the starting center. Far from a sure thing, though, is the power forward position, which is currently held by Jason Maxiell. Behind him is a big waste of money in Charlie Villanueva. The team's 2011 2nd-round pick, Vernon Macklin out of Florida, may be the eventual replacement for Maxiell.


13) New Jersey Nets

The ultimate goal here is still to bring in Dwight Howard. Until then, even with Deron Williams on their side, the Nets will continue to be basement-dwellers. Brook Lopez scored well but only recorded what is an embarrassing six boards per game considering the guy is seven feet tall. I don't see any more 25-game losing streaks for this team, but success is still a long way off.


14) Cleveland Cavaliers

Cleveland actually started winning quite a few games by the end of the season, finishing at 5-5 in their last ten. The city would love to see Omri Casspi develop into a viable NBA starter in LeBron's former position, and Kyrie Irving to start off strong. It's almost a given Kyrie will commit way too many turnovers in his rookie campaign, but become a force to be reckoned with right out of the get-go.


15) Charlotte Bobcats

This roster is full of holes the management has created. DeSagana Diop, a vet who averaged 1.3 ppg last year, goes into the season starting in the middle. Next to him is Boris Diaw, a man with a monstrous contract who has underachieved tremendously. At least their backcourt isn't too shabby, where D.J. Augustin can score fifteen a night from the point guard slot. Gerald Henderson can score alongside him as well, and of course, Kemba Walker looms from the bench.

Western Conference will be written soon. 

Cavs Not Sold on Irving

While Kyrie Irving is expected to be the first pick in the NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers, it is not a done deal. Derrick Williams, who led his Arizona squad past Irving's Duke Blue Devils in the NCAA tourney, is still in contention for the spot.

The Cavs have not informed Irving that he will be picked, and have given no indication of which of the two players they are leaning toward. Most people connected with the league believe Cleveland will, in fact, go with Irving.

A possible scenario is that the Cavs pick Irving first overall and then use the fourth pick on center Enes Kanter, who played in Turkey before entering the draft. Kanter was a student at Kentucky last season, but was ruled ineligible to play by the NCAA.

Cleveland could also take Williams and Kanter, which would leave Baron Davis as the likely starting point guard. As he is aging, this would put pressure on them to sign another field general.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have said they will take either Irving or Williams, depending on the Cavs pick. Irving would join impending arrival Ricky Rubio and Jonny Flynn as point guards in Minnesota, and Flynn would likely be placed on the trading block.

The Utah Jazz have the third pick, and with Irving and Williams gone, will decide between Kentucky guard Brandon Knight and Kanter.

No Stopping Duke

There is one main question about the Duke Blue Devils basketball team after last night's 82-68 win over No. 4 Kansas State. Are the Blue Devils beatable? Featuring some NBA-level talent, and a legendary Coach in Mike Kryzewski, whose win yesterday was his 800th at Duke, the Devils seem unstoppable. A repeat championship run seems more likely as the days go by. While this team's talent is clearly greater than last season's, it is still not entirely known whether they are a better team than the one that defeated Butler to win it all last year. But like that team, they have the teamwork, experience, and leadership skills to repeat. The undefeated season is also being thrown out there, which might be setting the bar too high, but there's a chance.

The bottom line is this: the Blue Devils are one of the, if not the top team in college basketball this season, and seeing how they dismantled Jacob Pullen and Kansas St. only proves this point. Let's take a look at each of their main players.

G Kyrie Irving: Irving is establishing himself as one of the top guards in college basketball, and compares well to Chicago Bulls star Derrick Rose. He has breathtaking speed, blowing by Kansas St.'s All-American Jacob Pullen countless times. He sometimes loses control on the break and can turn the ball over a few too many times, but this will improve with experience. An NBA future is a guarantee for him, and this might be his only season playing for Duke before a bolt to the NBA draft. The Cameron Crazies will love this hyped freshman. Stats thru 11/24 (five games): 14.2 ppg, 6.6 apg, 3.8 rpg, 1.2 spg

G Nolan Smith: Nolan increased his ppg by 9 from sophomore to junior seasons, largely because of the departure of Gerald Henderson. Averaging 17.4 ppg  last year, he was a key reason for Duke championship run last season. Smith has a decent touch from beyond the arc, shooting close to 40% from three. He has good speed for a guard, as well as what is becoming his trademark floater. He's a leader of this year's team, along with fellow senior Kyle Singler. He will be an NBA player next year if he continues to show his skill.
Stats thru 11/24 (five games): 16.6 ppg, 5.8 apg, 5 rpg, 1 spg

F Kyle Singler: Making an immediate impact upon his arrival to Duke, Singler has developed into a star and a candidate for the player of the year this season. Along with Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith, (the three Ss) he starred for last year's championship team. Singler is a very complete player, not outstanding at any one skill, but above average at all for the college level.  However, he seems to have regressed a bit since last season, and through five games his numbers have shown that. It is questionable whether he will transition to the NBA level smoothly, and some scouts say that he should have left after last year. But the fact that he is still playing for Duke only makes the Blue Devils a much more challenging matchup.
Stats thru 11/24 (five games): 13.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 0.8 apg, 1.6 spg


F Mason Plumlee: Never really getting to show off his skills last year, partially because of a wrist injury, the sophomore Plumlee is starting to emerge this year. The more talented of the two brothers on the team (a third Plumlee has been recruited for next year, said to be the best of the three), Plumlee broke out against Marquette, scoring a career high 25 points, showing what he's capable of against a formidable Big East opponent.
Stats thru 11/24 (five games): 11.8 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 1.8 apg



G Seth Curry: Referred to as "Stephen's Little Brother," (because of former Davidson star and now Golden State Warriors starting guard Stephen), Seth led all college freshman in scoring, averaging over 20 ppg playing for Liberty. Now transferred to Duke, he will have a diminished role, no longer being the go-to option. But the sharpshooter will still make some noise with the Blue Devils, but don't expect him to reach his full potential this season.
Stats thru 11/24 (five games): 10.2 ppg, 1.8 apg, 1.6 rpg, 1.8 spg


G Andre Dawkins: Dawkins is beginning to find himself this year, after an up-and-down freshman season in which he went in and out of rotation. He came to Duke this season as a much improved player, being able to do more than just shoot from beyond. He is becoming able to create his own shot, as well as defend on-ball better than before. Could break out next year with departure of Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler, as could Seth Curry.
Stats thru 11/24 (five games): 11.2 ppg, 2.2 rpg, .545 3PT %

Duke's balanced attack also includes Ryan Kelly, who is a starter, but plays limited minutes, and Miles Plumlee, who gets minutes off the bench, both of whom average close to 5 ppg this year. The outright skill of the Blue Devils can be seen by the fact that Andre Dawkins, Miles Plumlee, and Seth Curry come off the bench, all of whom would start on almost any other team, and be a star almost anywhere else. But for the good of the team, every player on this team submits to a role best suited for the team, which makes the Blue Devils the early favorite to go all the way.

Duke Poised for Repeat: College Basketball Preview

Last April's clash between the Duke Blue Devils and the unexpected Butler Bulldogs will go down in history as one of the greatest college hoops finals ever. Butler's chances aren't great to get back there this year, but Duke, who loses three senior starters from last season, is looking for the same outcome in 2010-11. Ranked preseason #1 indisputably, Duke added top recruit PG Kyrie Irving, G Seth Curry, who's NBA star Stephen's younger brother, G Tyler Thornton and F Josh Hairston. The Devils also have both Plumlees, Mason and Miles, starting in place of Lance Thomas and 7'1" Brian Zoubek. They are the favorites.

But this is college basketball. How much does being the favorite actually matter? Because I'm pretty sure Butler wasn't one last year. Duke was atop the list, but no one saw Kansas or John Wall's Kentucky in the final like everyone expected. Mid-majors are always lurking, like Memphis, who, under coach Josh Pastner, seem to be improving since John Calipari left. There's also many top teams in the mix, like star senior PG Kalin Lucas' Michigan St, who reached the final four last year, to be beaten by the Blue Devils. Kansas St. looks to win their first Big 12 title since 1977, and this looks to be a year they can do it.

Now the seemingly always strong Big East, whom beating each other up last year seemed to take its toll. Pitt is the favorite, returning most of last year's top scorers. But Corey Fisher and Villanova will try to prevent the Oakland Zoo from celebrating a conference title.

Is this the year when a 16-seed finally beats a #1? Probably not. But get ready for another upbeat, crazy season of college basketball.