1. october 2013 TELESCOPE 59
Sports Feature
Before the new NBA season begins this month,
Sham Majid gives you a sneak peek at the
manouevres that took place after the close of the
last campaign.
All set
to Dunk
WHEN?
NBA Regular Season
From 30 Oct
Wednesday
SuperSports
(CH 202)
The confetti streams
have been cleared; the
champagne has stopped
flowing; and the buzzer
will again be ringing
incessantly come October.
After their absolutely majestic
95-88 victory over the San Antonio
Spurs in Game Seven of their NBA
finals on 20 Jun, the Miami Heat
captured their second straight
NBA crown, winning the finals 4-3
on aggregate. With crown jewel
LeBron James leading from the
front, his magnificent 37 points and
12 rebounds in that game ensured
that the Heat became only the
sixth team to claim back-to-back
NBA titles. Nevertheless, the slate
will be wiped clean in October as
the 2013/14 season of the NBA
championships gets underway.
Management
Over on the managerial front, the
68th
edition of the NBA season
will herald a raft of changes on
the touchline compared to the
2012/13 season.
Perhaps one of the more
sensational managerial
appointments would ironically be
the reappointment of Mike Brown
as the Cleveland Cavaliers coach.
Having spent five years as the
Cavaliers coach from 2005–
2010, which culminated
in a NBA finals defeat to
Spurs in 2007, Brown joined the Los
Angeles Lakers as coach in 2011.
However, he was only 18 months
into his Lakers role before he was
fired from his post in Nov 2012.
With the Cavaliers having
dispensed of coach Byron Scott in
Apr 2013, Brown was rehired by his
former side just days after Scott’s
dismissal. Having missed out on a
spot in last season’s playoffs, Brown
will be hoping to cajole his troops
into replicating their sparkling 2007
NBA finals march.
The Brooklyn Nets, who
suffered a 4-3 first-round playoffs
defeat to the Chicago Bulls last
season, also raised eyebrows
with the appointment of 10-time
NBA All-Star Jason Kidd. Having
revealed in May that interim head
coach P J Carlesimo would not
continue in that capacity, the Nets
moved swiftly to poach the former
New York Knicks point guard.
Losing conference finalists
Memphis Grizzlies, who suffered
a 4-0 game whipping by the Spurs
last campaign, also decided to part
company with coach Lionel Hollins
in June.
Despite leading the Grizzlies
to their maiden conference finals
in their franchise history, Hollins
did not survive the cull and has
been replaced by assistant coach
David Joerger.
The Boston Celtics also
underwent a shake-up of their
managerial structure after nine
memorable years with coach
Doc Rivers. Rivers, who guided
the Celtics to the 2008 NBA
championship, has departed and
will be replaced by Brad Stevens.
The Celtics will look to fare much
better this season after bowing out
of the playoffs at the first round last
campaign following a 4-2 games
defeat to the New York Knicks.
Players
On the playing front, the San
Antonio Spurs will be reeling from
their failure to win the NBA finals
last season, the first time they had
been thwarted in the NBA finals in
their franchise history.
They were gunning to win
their fifth NBA title in their fifth
NBA finals foray. Having claimed
Dwayne
Wade
Tony
Parker
LeBron James Manu GinÓbili
New Season Preview
the Southwest Division
last season, Spurs romped
to playoff victories over
the Lakers, the Golden State
Warriors and the Grizzlies before
finally succumbing to the Heat
in an extraordinary Game Seven
in the finals. Armed with their
attacking triumvirate of point
guard Tony Parker, power forward
Tim Duncan and shooting guard
Manu Ginóbili, Spurs will once
again be expected to be in the
running for the division title and
to launch an assault on the NBA
championship.
Nevertheless, the onus will be
on teams to find a way to stifle the
Heat. With forward James, guard
Dwayne Wade, shooting guard
Ray Allen and power forward Chris
Bosh forming the fulcrum of the
Heat machine, it will take some
stopping to dent the Heat’s hopes
of snagging third straight NBA
championship.
James, in particular, has
surely been vindicated after his
acrimonious move to the Heat
from the Cavaliers in 2010.
Having bagged his second
straight NBA Finals MVP gong
following his barnstorming display
in Game Seven against Spurs,
James shows no signs letting up.
“This is what it’s all about,” James
was quoted as saying by ESPN.com
after winning the championship
last season. “I came here to win
championships and to be able to go
back-to-back, two championships in
three years. So far, it’s the ultimate.”
Heat chief Erik Spoelstra was
not surprised at James’ resurgence
during the penultimate game of
their NBA finals against the Spurs.
“It became time,” Spoelstra told
ESPN.com. “He always rises to the
occasion when it matters the most,
when the competition is fiercest.”
The rest of the NBA have
already been warned. The Heat
are simply not about to hand their
championship over on a platter.