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The start of the NBA season keeps creeping ever earlier -- this year, the league
tips off on Oct. 29 -- which means the regular season will span seven months.
Coincidentally, so will the postseason. Since you've probably got a head full
of tobacco-chomping ballplayers and supplement-enhanced gridironers, I've answered
eight burning questions to prepare for the grace, artistry and 8-for-28 shooting
nights that make the NBA what it is.
Who the heck are these guys on the sideline?
Ten teams have
new coaches, and to show you how thin the coaching pool was, Tim Floyd is now
with the Hornets. He is usually the one on the bench trying to figure out that
durned Rubik's cube. The rest: Paul Silas will mentor the Savior in Cleveland;
Jeff Van Gundy is now on Yao duty; Mike Dunleavy stooped to the Clippers; Randy
Ayers gets to kowtow to Allen Iverson; the new Jordan in Washington is Eddie;
Rick Carlisle crash landed in Indy; Kevin O'Neill will pray for Vince Carter's
knee; Larry Brown motored to Detroit, and Terry Porter is trying to figure out
how the heck he wound up with the Bucks.
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Who's on the hot seat?
Several coaches have teams with higher expectations than talent/chemistry levels, and those are always the endangered suits. On the early list: Jeff Bzdelik, Denver; Doc Rivers, Orlando; Don Chaney, New York; Flip Saunders, Minnesota. And it's only a matter of time before Jerry Sloan throws up his arms and walks away.
Who's going to be MVP?
There are only four real candidates, all in the West, and the odds break down this way: Tim Duncan, 3:2; Shaquille O'Neal, 2:1; Kevin Garnett, 4:1; Chris Webber, 14:1. Sorry, Mr. McGrady, those to the right of the Mississippi need not apply, though the league is considering giving a medal and a pizza party for the best player in the Eastern Conference.
Who will be Defensive Player of the Year?
Pistons monster Ben Wallace is a lock, because voters look only at numbers and tend to favor whoever won it the previous year. Ticketmaster
How many games will Ron Artest miss for suspensions?
The over/under is currently at 5.5, but he's only just begun to work with Rick Carlisle. Stay tuned.
How about the rookies?
There are some good ones (Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade), but if you're talking rookies, remember: It's not a sprint, it's a LeBron-a-thon.
Are there any darkhorse teams?
Beware the Bulls, who had the funkiest stat of all last year-they were 27-14 at home, 3-38 on the road. Pretty soon, they'll be building a statue of Jerry Krause outside United Center. Well, maybe a plaque. Ticketmaster
Any draft prospects worth tanking for?
The scouts already are rumbling about Atlanta high school power forward Doc Howard and three-position behemoth Kosta Perovic. The guy who almost crashed last year's draft, 7-5 center Pavel Podkolzine, could be in the mix, too. In the college ranks, look for Syracuse forward Hakim Warrick and Connecticut power forward Emeka Okafor to draw the scouts' attention. Are they tank-worthy? No, but while some teams choose to tank, others have a tanked season forced upon them. The Jazz, for instance.