The King Gets a Ring and Superman Destroys Orlando: NBA Southeast Recap

by Kyle Basedow

Trumpeter: “Hear ye, hear ye! Make way for King James!”

Citizen 1: “King? What makes him a King?

Citizen 2: “Didn’t you hear? Lebron James won NBA MVP, NBA Finals MVP, his second Olympic Gold, AND his first ring.”

Citizen 1: “Oh, just 1?.”

That’s right, unless you live under a rock, you know that Lebron James won his first ring. Not four, not three, not two, but one. If we were looking at rings alone, then James wouldn’t even come close to being King.

AP Photo/Lynne Sladky

People with more rings than Lebron:

Bill Russell: 11

Michael Jordan: 6

Kobe Bryant: 5

Dwayne Wade: 2

My Sister: 2

Lebron James could possibly be the second greatest player of all time (see Jordan, Michael) however I’ll wait to see how many rings he actually produces because greatness is defined by how you perform in the clutch.

Anywho, for those who don’t remember, here’s how the NBA Southeast finished:

1.     Miami Heat (46-20) – Second Championship in 7 seasons. After an inconsistent performance in the first 82, Miami was hot and cold in the playoffs and on the brink of elimination versus the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals, surviving only by a remarkable performance from Lebron. Even after dropping the first game to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Finals, they gathered themselves and won the next four games in a decisive manner to clinch the Championship.

End Result: First in division, won the Eastern Conference Finals, won the NBA finals

       

2.     Atlanta Hawks (40-26)- The Hawks had another season where they hit the playoff ceiling. They finished with the third best record in the Eastern Conference, yet lost to the Boston Celtics in the first round. Only time will tell how far they get this season after trading away All-Star Joe Johnson, but their overall productivity in the past five seasons (two first-round playoff losses and three second-round playoff losses) prove this team won’t move too much from where they’ve landed.

End Result: Second in division, first round playoff loss

3.     Orlando Magic (37-29)- “It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s the self-destruction of the Orlando Magic! Hey, is that Superman beating up Stan Van Gundy? Didn’t he lead us to the playoffs every year since he’s been here? I don’t know, has he?” While Dwight Howard (aka Superman) never actually beat up Stan Van Gundy, he most certainly helped get him fired. Stan Van Gundy was the best thing to happen to the Magic since Dwight Howard (ironic, right?) leading them to the playoffs for five consecutive years and with an overall record of 259-135 and a .657 winning percentage. He even led the team to the playoffs last year while Dwight Howard sat out for a majority of the season with an injured back AND tried to get Van Gundy fired. In the end, Orlando traded Dwight Howard away for basically dirt and the Magic fired the best coach they ever had. Go figure.

End Result: Third in division, first round playoff loss

4.     Washington Wizards (20-46)- The Wizards finished last season with their fourth consecutive losing season and the second worst wining percentage in the NBA. However, they didn’t finish in last place again, though this should be taken with a rather large grain of salt because the team they finished in front of was the 2011-2012 Charlotte Bobcats (see below). They ended last season on a six-game winning streak and things in the off-season continued to look up with the addition of Florida guard Bradley Beal. With a bunch of other new additions, the Wizards appear to be on the up and up but with face-of-the-franchise John Wall expected to miss the first month with a knee injury, I see another sub-.500 season coming.

End Result: Fourth in division

5.     Charlotte Bobcats (7-59)- The Bobcats stink. Literally. They finished with the worst winning percentage ever (.106) leaving us to wonder if you can actually be that bad or if you have to try to be that bad. Michael Jordan may have been the best player of all time but he’s the worst executive of all time. Their draft picks in the recent years have been busts and Kemba Walker still hasn’t come out of his shell. They suck and they will continue to suck. There’s not much else you can say.

End Result: Fifth in the division, worst record in NBA history