Top Ten NBA Storylines

10. Meltdown in Golden State

The Warriors have been mired in controversy even before the opening tip of the NBA season. Stephen Jackson was stripped of his captaincy after a pre-season sideline tantrum. He has now demanded a trade less than one year after agreeing to a three-year $28 million contract.  Ridiculous behavior like this might be expected from someone who thinks it is reasonable to leave a night club shooting his pistol in the air. Ugh.

9. Iverson and the Grizz

An aging star joins one of the worst teams in the league in the “When is the shit going to hit the fan?” super special of the ’09-’10 season. You know that AI is going to be jacking 20 shots per game and that Memphis’ young guns are going to start bitching behind the scenes. Plenty of drama to be had for a team that will most likely win less than 30 games.

8. Raptors’ Face Lift

Chris Bosh has been hinting at wanting out of Toronto for the better part of two seasons now. It will be interesting to see if a brand new roster (only three returning players from last season) will change his mind in any way. Maybe he should take it upon himself to win some games in TO rather than complaining about the franchise’s woes.

7. Da Bulls

The Bulls pushed the Celtics to one of the most memorable seven-game series in recent NBA memory last season. Having lost one of the key contributors from that series, (Ben Gordon) will Derrick Rose be able to handle the added responsibility by taking his game and his team to the next level?

6.  Clippers = $$$ ?

By all accounts the LA Clippers are going to have an exciting and successful team this season. Bizarre. Rookie Blake Griffin is ready to contribute and Baron Davis is back in shape with a renewed will to compete.  The Staples Center rivalry might be something actually worth tuning into this season.

5. Shaq Diesel in Cleveland

Shaq is hilariously entertaining. But how can his antics and various off-court projects NOT be a huge distraction to the Cavaliers? Sure, when he was the dominant centerpiece of multiple NBA championships it was easy to tolerate the likes of “Shaq Fu” and “Kazaam”. Now that he’s old and fat “Shaq Vs.” doesn’t seem nearly as easy to stomach. Unless, of course, he puts up 15 / 10 and leads the Cavs to a title.

4. Rasheed in Beantown

Rasheed Wallace enters the fray with a Boston Celtics team who, in the year they won the title, seemed to have nearly perfect chemistry. We’ll see if ‘Sheed and his bad boy, 30 technical fouls per year (plus suspensions) reputation will be neutralized by an aging Celtics squad of cagey veterans who are abundantly aware that this could be their last shot at an NBA title.

3. Vince in Orlando

All I can read is what an amazing addition Vince Carter is to the Orlando Magic – arguably the team to beat in the East. I think there might be a case of collective amnesia passing through the sports media as a whole. Vince Carter is a whining, sniveling baby who has never won anything and has poisoned every team he has ever suited up for. Barring a MASSIVE change of attitude and emotional makeup, this is not going to be the franchise altering move that everyone seems to think it will be.

2. The Spurs

Old faithful should be back at full-force this season with the return of Manu Ginobili and the addition of Richard Jefferson. Tim Duncan is ready to take another shot at the title for a much-improved San Antonio team. It is so easy to write these guys off at the beginning of each season, mostly because they have been at or near the top for so long (and they’re pretty damn unlikeable). Watch for a lethal Spurs squad that will be ultra focused on dethroning the boys ranked number one on this list.

1. Artest and the Lakers

The Lakers’ much-scrutinized move to bring Bat Shit Crazy Ron Artest to LA has to be the biggest storyline heading into the new season. GM Mitch Kupchak chose to “mess with success” in letting super-clutch playoff performer, Trevor Ariza, bolt for Houston, replacing him with the well-documented lunacy of “Ron-Ron”, whose talent and production has been regressing for a couple of seasons now. Getting rid of last year’s playoffs’ equivalent of Robert Horry could be a huge mistake, unless Artest completely changes his attitude (and faulty brain functions) in order to bring the title back to LA.