Now that the NBA season is officially over, and the Miami Heat are the champions, there are a number of things that we have learned. For the sake of clarity, I'll list five of the most important things that I have learned about the past, the present, and the future of the NBA.
1) LeBron James and Chris Bosh were correct.
Despite all of the controversy surrounding the formation of the current version of the NBA champions, we learned that Chris Bosh and LeBron James did the right thing. They took less money than they could have earned elsewhere in order to try to win a title. They were both (James more so than Bosh) criticized for doing what they did, but they got the last laugh. Now it isn't a matter of if they will win a title, it's a matter of how many they will win. I'll expand on this further on another day and tell you why I could not have been happier to see James win his first title.
2) The Oklahoma City Thunder are here to stay.
Losing in five games in a best-of-seven series does not look too good on paper, but aside from Game 5, we saw a great series. The other four games came down to the final minutes, and they could have gone either way, but the Heat just simply executed better than the Thunder. However, the entire country got to see how much potential this team has to be very good for a very long time. Kevin Durant is a legitimate superstar. Every time he went up for a jump shot during the Finals, I was shocked if it didn't go in. His shooting touch is exceptional, and he is going to be very good for a very long time.
Russell Westbrook, although not a true "point guard" in the traditional sense is still a star as well. His performance in Game 4 of the Finals was one of the best that we have ever seen, despite the Heat winning. The difference between "stars" and "superstars" though, is the ability to turn great performances into wins. However, he too, like Durant, is still very young and has plenty of time to improve. The only potential problem for the Thunder in the forseeable future is the fact that they might not be able to afford to keep both James Harden and Serge Ibaka, both of whom are key parts that will be free agents soon. If the two of them are smart though (like, say, LeBron James and Chris Bosh were), they will sacrifice some money to stay in Oklahoma City, where they will have the best chance to win.
3) At least one legitimate superstar is needed to win a championship.
In many cases, history tells us that you need more than one superstar to win a title (LeBron and Wade, Kobe and Shaq, Duncan and Robinson, Magic and Worthy, etc.) , but without at least one, you have no chance. Teams like Denver, Philadelphia, and Indiana all had very good years and put in valiant postseason efforts, but in the end all fell short. However, many casual fans of the league could not name the leading scorers in the playoffs of any of those teams (Ty Lawson, Lou Williams, and Danny Granger). In many cases, teams such as these have deeper rosters than some of the top teams in the league, but without a legitimate star, they will not win a title. If some of the biggest names in the game (James, Bryant, Durant, etc.) were to join one of these teams, they would instantly become title contenders, but until that happens, we won't be hearing about championship parades in Denver, Philadelphia, or Indiana.
4) Moves made during this offseason will play a very big role in determining who plays for a title next season.
There are a lot of guys that will be available this offseason that can instantly turn teams from mediocre into contenders. Deron Williams is probably the best of them all, and today said he would prefer to stay with the Nets, but until he signs on the dotted line, we can't be sure. Steve Nash is available and despite his age, is still one of the best pure point guards in the league. He has never been to the finals, let alone won a ring yet, so he is likely to be available to any contender that calls him. Ray Allen has just recently been rumored to be interested in joining the Miami Heat, and despite his age, he can still be a legitimate threat to spread the floor on any team that might need someone like that. Other guys like Eric Gordon, OJ Mayo, Jason Terry, Roy Hibbert, and Kevin Garnett will all be available as well. Although they might not all leave their current teams, it will definitely be interesting to see if any of them move because they could have a big impact on whatever team they play for next season. Add to this the fact that Dwight Howard may possibly be traded (Brooklyn, Los Angeles, and Houston have all been rumored), and we could have a very eventful offseason.
5) The lockout did not matter.
Five years from now, no one will remember the lockout that began the 2011-2012 NBA season. The season may have started later than usual, but you wouldn't have been able to tell if you only started watching the NBA in January. Fans still came out to see the games, two of the best teams in the league still played for the title, and we will probably see even more excitement for the beginning of next season. The Heat defending their title, the up and coming Thunder, the "old" but not forgotten Celtics and Spurs, the Nets moving to Brooklyn, the list goes on and on. With a full training camp and a full season, next season might even be better than this season was. However, until then, the Heat are the champions, and the NBA is thriving.
Daily Giants Update: Still nothing major to report (which is of course, a good thing). Preseason predictions are starting to come out from various outlets and I don't see many of them picking the Giants to win much. That is a good thing though, because the less the team gets talked about, the better they seem to do. Week 1 is less than three months away, and then the title defense officially begins.
Daily Diamondbacks Update: The past week went well, as the team won 5 of 7 games to get us back over .500. A loss last night in Atlanta wasn't too pleasant, and neither was seeing Daniel Hudson exit the game early. He will have an MRI today and then we will learn what might be wrong with him. However, Stephen Drew will be back tonight (Finally!) after nearly one year of rehabbing his broken ankle, and Trevor Bauer will make his major league debut tomorrow night (FINALLY!). The Dodgers have struggled lately, and their lead over the Diamondbacks has been cut in half over the past few weeks. Like I've said before, if we can take care of business over the next eight games (six of which will be against teams with a losing record), we get the Dodgers at home for four games heading into the All-Star break. If things go as I hope they will, we could be in good shape come July 9th.
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