Picking up the Pieces

The NBA season is almost over and it’s time to take a look back at the Southeast division

By Kyle Basedow

Well, here we are, the end of another NBA season.

This season went pretty much as predicted, finishing in the same order as last year with the exception of the Washington Wizards who leapfrogged the Orlando Magic for third in the Southeast division.

That being said, here’s a wrap-up and the major story lines from each team in the division this past season.

1. The Miami Heat (61-16)

AP Photo/ Willfredo Lee

Miami absolutely dominated the NBA this season, specifically in the second half. In the beginning they seemed to suffer from a “championship hangover”, playing well, just not at the level they were accustomed to. Miami then caught fire in February, rifling off a string of 27 straight games, finally losing March 27^th to the Chicago Bulls. The Heat are now resting Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, and LeBron James, although one of them is always in the starting lineup. They are geared up for another deep playoff run and all signs point to them reaching the Eastern Conference Finals without breaking a sweat.

Biggest Story Line: 27 game win streak. I don’t mean to beat this to death but it was 27 games. That’s nothing short of impressive.

2. The Atlanta Hawks (42-36)

Atlanta has managed to keep itself off the radar this season, merely plugging its way through the season at a pace that guarantees them a playoff berth. They haven’t played great by any stretch of the imagination and at times they’ve looked terrible, but overall, they’ve been above average. The decline from last year can be attributed to the loss of Joe Johnson and the aliens from Space Jam, who seem to sporadically take all of Josh Smith’s talent.

Biggest Story Line: Kyle Korver approaching the record for most consecutive games with at least one three pointer? Honestly, the Hawks haven’t been the center of much except for the chatter about the departure of Josh Smith this summer.

3. The Washington Wizards (29-49)

Washington has actually done a decent job this season, contrary to popular belief. No, they didn’t make the playoffs but they did make significant strides from last year. Yes, they lost their first 12 games and started 4-28 BUT they recovered, especially with the return of John Wall, and are currently 29-49. I’m choosing to be optimistic and once again hoping that they’re good second half play will carry over to next year and hopefully transform them into a low-seeded playoff team.

Biggest Story Line: Either the 4-24 start or the return of John Wall, who currently leads the team in points per game (18.3), assists per game (7.5), and steals per game (1.3).

4. The Orlando Magic (19-59)

The Magic have been the definition of sub-par this season. They have the second worst record in the NBA, only ahead by one game on the lowly Charlotte Bobcats. Orlando actually ranks in the top half of the league in both rebounds and assists per game but where they struggle is actually scoring and defending the other team as they are in the bottom 10 for both. I feel bad for first year coach Jacque Vaughn who inherited a bad team that only got worse.

Biggest Story Line: The trade of J.J. Reddick, AKA another unhappy player demanding his way out of Orlando

5. The Charlotte Bobcats (18-60)

It’s almost unfair to put the Bobcats this far down because the season isn’t over yet and they still have a chance to push past the Magic and finish fourth in the Southeast. The Bobcats however have been nothing short of god-awful for the past two seasons and it doesn’t look good. Sure they have Kemba Walker, a rising star, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, a possible rising star, but besides that, their next best player is Ben Gordon. No bueno.

Biggest Story Line: Michael Jordan beating Kidd-Gilchrist in a one-on-one. When the biggest headline is your first round pick getting beat by a 50 year old, that’s probably not a good sign.

A Glass Half...Full?

 Just over halfway though the season, its time to take stock of the NBA Southeast

By Kyle Basedow

So far the NBA Southeast has followed the script that was written before the season, falling into the same pattern as last year.

AP Photo/ Rich Pedroncelli

The Miami Heat have continued to dominate in the Eastern Conference and are currently in first place in both the Southeast conference and the entire Eastern conference.

The Atlanta Hawks are sitting pretty in the middle of the Eastern Conference standings and are currently second in the Southeast.

The Orlando Magic are falling fast, slipping way out of playoff contention and are struggling to stay in third place in the Southeast.

The Washington Wizards are attempting to surge forward after their dreadful start and have risen past the Bobcats for fourth place in the Southeast.

The Charlotte Bobcats have returned to their losing ways and are trying to gather momentum in order to avoid finishing their season on another terrible note.

The Southeast is still struggling despite the strong leadership brought by the Heat and the Hawks, both of whom look to be playoff caliber teams. At the halfway point, the three teams at the bottom are running in place, all their efforts seeming futile. In order to truly understand what’s going on in the Southeast, though, here’s a short breakdown of each team at the moment.

Miami Heat: There’s not much to say about the Heat because nothing about them has changed over the past year, except for the addition of Ray Allen. LeBron still does more work than anyone else in the league, expect possibly Kobe Bryant, and the rest of the Big Three continue to follow his lead. Dwayne Wade seems to be getting better and is able to play 100% about 85% of the time. Chris Bosh’s play is unpredictable, sometimes playing well, and other times acting almost invisible. Go figure.

Atlanta Hawks: The Hawks have fallen from where they were last season, though not by much, which is impressive considering they lost an All-Star in Joe Johnson, though he isn’t playing like one right now. The addition of Devin Harris hasn’t helped as much as originally thought, but steady play from Josh Smith and Jeff Teague will keep this team on course.

Orlando Magic: The Magic cannot seem to catch a break, literally. Glen “Big Baby” Davis is out for the rest of the season with a broken foot that required surgery and Jameer Nelson, Aaron Afflalo, J.J. Redick, and rookie DeQuan Jones are all listed on the injury report and have missed time this year. With his team falling down right before his eyes, first year coach Jacque Vaughn has watched ten straight losses. There doesn’t seem to be much light at the end of his tunnel. Additionally, J.J. Redick is possibly on the trading block, but only for the right price. The Magic are reportedly looking for either draft picks or a quality young player.

Washington Wizards: The return of John Wall has given the Wizards little of what they’ve hoped for. Looking for a savior, John Wall has come back to become the team leader in both assists and points per game, but even that hasn’t been enough to save them as they also continue to fight the injury bug. The Wizards will look the win most of their games after the break, hoping to finish third in the Southeast conference.

Charlotte Bobcats: The Bobcats just can’t win. Something about the team just makes them unable to win games even though their players really aren’t bad. It’s not just the coach and it’s not just the players, so the blame now falls onto the organization. Something has to slow the team’s fall and right now no one has any clue how they’re going to be saved.

Breaking Down the Wall

The Wizards John Wall returned to the court on Saturday for the first time this season

By Kyle Basedow

He’s baaaaaaaaacccccccckkkkkkkkkk.

AP Photo/ Richard Lipski

John Wall returned to the Washington Wizards for the first time this season after recovering from a knee injury that has kept him sidelined up until this point in the season.

Wall returned on Saturday in a home game against conference rivals Atlanta Hawks, scoring 14 points while handing out five assists in 21 minutes of work.

The Wizards (7-28) won 93-83 against the Hawks (21-16) who had been dominating Washington in recent years.

In Wall’s second game back, he dished out six assists to go along with 12 points, hitting six of six from the free throw line.

The Wizards deftly handled the Orlando Magic (13-24) and have now won three straight.

Wall’s return seems to have given the Wizards new life after the team won only four of its first 32 games. The Wizards have been struggling with injuries to their already depleted team, with multiple big men struggling to return to the active roster.

With Wall now returned to lead his team, the Wizards are hoping that they can prevent blow out losses to the Miami Heat and the New York Knicks while also finding out ways to close games.

The Wizards have been notorious for being unable to finish out games this season, losing 16 games by seven points or less and losing all five overtime games they’ve played.

Working Wall back into game shape and eventually setting up his return to the starting lineup may take time, but the threat that he gives them while being on the court is enough to make opposing coaches plan for him.

Wall is known for being a very attacking player who has the ability to blow by defenders and slash his way to the basket. Not to be underrated is his passing ability and his vision, which greatly increases the offensive productivity of those around him. Wall lacks a defining outside shot but has been known to catch fire at times and hit consistently.

Wall’s return to the Wizard’s will jumpstart their NBA worst 90.2 points per game while further improving their tenth-ranked defense.

The return of John Wall is a big step in the 2012-2013 season for the Wizards, one that they hope will end on a better note than which it started.

Chopping Down the Beanstalk

Both the Orlando Magic and the Washington Wizards played the upset role this week beating two high caliber teams

By Kyle Basedow

Fee fi fo fum where is Andrew Bynum?

On Sunday night, all Lakers fans were begging that question. The Orlando Magic beat the Los Angeles Lakers 113-103 after an impressive performance from the Magic’s starting five.

The Lakers, on the other hand, were less than spectacular, especially on defense and at the free throw line. Dwight Howard shot 9-21 from the line while scoring 21 points and grabbing 15 rebounds.

Howard was acquired in the blockbuster trade this summer that involved four teams and sent former Lakers center Andrew Bynum to the Philadelphia 76ers where he has yet to play due to injury.

AP Photo/ Mark J. Terrill

The Magic, meanwhile, shined on offense with all five starters scoring in double digits. Arron Afflalo had 30 points with 5 rebounds and 5 assists, Jameer Nelson had 19 points and 13 assists, Glen “Big Baby” Davis scored 23 points with 12 rebounds, and Nikola Vucevic had 17 points with 4 blocks and 12 rebounds. The only Magic starter who had an average night was J.J. Reddick, who scored 14 points with 7 assists.

With both teams scoring close the same amount of points in the paint and on fast breaks, the game ultimately came down to who could shoot free throws better. The Magic shot an impressive 19-20 from the line as a team and the Lakers shot 25-39 with Dwight Howard accounting for all of the misses except for two.

It’s ironic that Howard’s former team beat his new team in their first matchup against each other since the trade. Adding to the irony is that Dwight Howard, who was trying to get out of Orlando as fast as possible, is quite possibly the main reason for the loss, due to his poor shooting and his less than stellar defensive play.

The Washington Wizards also knocked off a giant of their own on Tuesday night, beating the Miami Heat, one of the top ranked teams in the NBA, 105-101.

The Wizards triumphed despite having only one player score above 20 points. The Heat, on the other hand, had every member of the “Big Three” score more than 20 with LeBron James drop a triple-double with 26 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists.

The Heat dominated points in the paint 56-34 but fell short due to poor shooting. As a team, Miami shot 28.6% from three-point range and 68.8% from the free throw line.

The Wizards, on the other hand, shot 36.8% from three-point range and 75.9% from the free throw line.

The difference in shooting wasn’t much, but it was just enough to make a big difference. The Wizards led at the end of every quarter, despite only out scoring the Heat in the opening quarter.

The game was still close in the end, with the Heat within a basket from tying the game up, but poor shooting by Mike Miller and Ray Allen led to the game slipping away from them.

Still, with 0:06 left on the clock, the ball was in LeBron’s hands and he was able to get off an awful shot from the corner that never really had a chance at going in.

Two things that are interesting to note here: this was only the Wizards second win of the season and their second in three games after starting 0-12. The other is that when the game came down to it, LeBron James had the game in his hands as opposed to Dwyane Wade or even Ray Allen. Granted, Wade isn’t a great outside shooter, but Ray Allen is the one of the best in NBA history so it’s an interesting play call by Heat coach Erik Spoelstra.

And So It Begins...

With the NBA season just beginning, it’s time to take a look at the NBA Southeast

By Kyle Basedow

Tuesday night’s NBA season opener kicked off with two teams in the Southeast playing. In the season opener, the Washington Wizards visited the Cleveland Cavaliers. The second was a rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference Finals, with the Boston Celtics paying a visit to the Miami Heat.

The remaining teams kickoff on Friday, all at home. The Atlanta Hawks host the Houston Rockets, the Charlotte Bobcats host the Indiana Pacers and the Orlando Magic host the Denver Nuggets.

Last night, the games went pretty much as expected. The Heat dominated the Celtics and the Wizards put on a sad performance against the Cavaliers. Here are a few things to take note of…

Miami Heat: 120, Boston Celtics: 107

AP Photo/ J Pat Carter

1. Super Mario 2K13: Mario Chalmers decided to show up and put on his big boy pants last night. He posted a team high of 11 assists and added three steals along with 8 points. If he continues to post these numbers (though 11 assists a night is highly unlikely), he could be worthy of an All-NBA Second Team mention.

2. The Big Four?: Ray Allen, a former member of the Boston Celtics’ Big Three,  played his first game for the Miami Heat last night and made quite the lasting impression on his former team. He logged a solid 31 minutes and had an impressive19 points with 2 rebounds and 2 assists. He could be of great help to the Heat this season, who are already the top team in the NBA.

3. Celtics versus Father Time: The Celtics have very few players that can log consistent minutes, proven by the fact that Rajon Rondo and Paul Piece both logged 40 plus minutes.  Kevin Garnett was the only other player to log more than 30 minutes, and he can’t be expected to do that every game. Doc Rivers needs to find a way to speed up the development of their younger players or they could be in big trouble in the Eastern Conference.

Washington Wizards: 84, Cleveland Cavaliers: 94

AP Photo/ Tony Dejak

1. NBA D-League: This matchup wasn’t highly anticipated; watching the game could most certainly have put a few people to sleep. With both John Wall and Nene missing in action for sometime, the Wizards could be in for a rough ride these first few weeks. The Cavs, on the other hand looked better than last year and could be progressing towards the mid tier of NBA teams.

2. Anderson VareWOW: Who would have thought that one game into the NBA season you could compare Anderson Varejao to Wilt Chamberlain? Varejao had 9 points, 9 assists, and 23 rebounds in an absolutely monster game. It seems that Varejao doesn’t intend to go quietly in the NBA center discussion.

3. A New King?: Kyrie Irving dropped 29 points in last night’s season opener, with 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Irving’s 29 was 9 points less than the entire Wizards starting five. I know it’s too soon to crown him, but Kyrie Irving is certainly helping the Cleveland fans forget about LeBron James.

Overall, the performances yesterday were average, only because the Heat played so well and the Wizards played so badly. This Friday will be the true test to see how strong the NBA Southeast will be this year.

On another note, I bet the Magic are happy that they gave away Dwight Howard now, after that dismal performance yesterday. The owner and GM may have jumped for joy while they watched Howard shoot 3-14 from the free throw line.