With tip-off on Tuesday, here’s five teams that for one reason or another, you should not get behind in 2013-14.
As a new NBA season rolls around, some of you may be thinking of getting into US basketball for the first time and wondering what team to support. So, as a public service to you, here are five teams you should avoid this year.
Some may come good next year, or have a big support base already, but for this year, we advise you give them a swerve. And, if you’re a more regular NBA watcher, this may help you if you are thinking of putting a few quid on a team. Whatever you do, don’t back these teams.
Boston Celtics
Sacrilege, right? Supported by many Irish hoops fans because of their name, their logo, their green colours and the many links between the city and the Ireland, the Celtics are the easy default choice for new fans.
And in fairness, on an average year, you’d be grand. They made the finals in 2010 and have won their division for the last five years. But this year’s Celtics are nowhere near that team. Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, icons of those teams, are gone, to Brooklyn. Coach Doc Rivers, is gone, to the LA Clippers. The only top class talent they have left is superb point guard Rajon Rondo (main pic). He’s injured until who knows when with an ACL injury he picked up in January.
That leaves a squad of very low talent, with a new coach (former college coach Brad Stevens), and zero hope of making the play-offs. The Celtics are in serious rebuilding mode and if they end up in the lottery of the worst teams with a shot at a very good draft pick, they won’t be too upset at all.
Give it a few years before you support the Celtics again. About 2016 should be good.
Miami Heat
At the other end of the scale to the Celtics are the Heat. They are easily the best team in the NBA. They have easily the best player in the NBA too; LeBron James and they have won the last two titles.
But that is exactly the reason you can’t support them this year. It’s too easy. As well as the frankly freaky LeBron, they have Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, two other world-class players, though injuries may finally be slowing Wade, the best hope the rest have of catching the Heat this year.
We still love you LeBron, we just won’t be cheering for you
You can admire Miami, you can swoon at the amazing things LeBron will do in virtually every game this season, but you can’t support them. Sorry.
New Orleans Pelicans
The newest NBA team name is just the Hornets with a more Louisiana name but don’t be lured in by this. They still suck. A lot. They finished 27-55 last year and I don’t think they will be much better this year either. Anthony Davis, who they picked last year, should be even better this year but the big fella needs some help. The addition of Jrue Holiday will do that, but we don’t expect any miracles. Plus, seriously, the Pelicans. You can’t cheer that.
Los Angeles Lakers
Like the Celtics, one of the blue bloods of the game but this season is not going to be a good one to support the famed purple and gold of the Lakers. The big off-season move was the departure of Dwight Howard, but that is not a huge hit to the Lakers as the big man never really fitted in last season.
Kobe icing his ankle this week, which is why you should skip the Lakers this season
Much more of a concern is the injury to Kobe Bryant. An Achilles injury right at the end of the regular season should have seen the veteran out for nine months or more. As always with the ultra-competitive Bryant, he’s ahead of schedule but a return date is still unclear. Add in that he simply can’t be as good as he was last year, at least initially, and you have a recipe for disaster this season.
Point guard Steve Nash will turn 40 this year, and he too is currently nursing an injury, and the only bright spot is Pau Gasol hopefully being back to his best. Writing off Kobe is usually a mistake and the Lakers are still 20/1 for the Western Conference title but we would avoid the temptation as this incarnation of the Lakers is about as far from ‘Showtime’ as you can get.
Philadelphia 76ers
Cool name, terrible team. They let their two best players, Jrue Holiday and the non-playing Andrew Bynum, leave and their big off season move saw them draft centre Nerlens Noel, who is out with an ACL injury with no date for his return.
Philadelphia also brought in a few rejects from other teams, including Royce White from the Rockets who has an anxiety disorder that means he can’t fly, and he didn’t play a single NBA game in his debut season. How the 76ers plan to integrate the talented White and get him on the court remains to be seen.
All in all it looks like the 76ers are hoping to finish in the lower reaches of the NBA and get a good draft pick for the very strong draft class coming out next year. That is a noble project (seriously) but it means you should not throw your lot in with them this season.
We’ll be back with the five teams you SHOULD support in the NBA this year tomorrow.
Update: Here’s the link to the five teams we do like
