#4: NBA All-Star Edition
Let's talk about the Eastern Conference!
(The 1998 Eastern All-Star Team. Things have changed.)
HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY, Y’ALL!
If you haven’t been paying attention to the NBA the past few years, you’ve been missing out. Culturally, the league is undergoing a generational shift. The NBA team owners and league head Adam Silver have pivoted sharply towards allowing player expression towards social issues, a concept that should be common sense, but rings revolutionary in the world of The NFL vs. Colin Kaepernick. Add to that the personality-driven nature of the league ( Gotta figure that it’s a lot easier to market a player when they aren’t wearing a helmet, yeah?) and it’s definitely time for you to pay attention to the league, even if you haven’t dribbled a basketball since 8th grade gym.
Right now, the Eastern Conference (all the teams east of the Mississippi River) is fascinating to watch. If you’re a Xiennial like me, you’re used to the 90s NBA where the Eastern Conference ran the league, winning 7 championships in 10 seasons with big names like Michael Jordan, Isiah Thomas and Patrick Ewing flourishing on the court. Since the breakup of the Chicago Bulls championship roster in the summer of 1998, the Western Conference has dominated, with the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs to make 13 NBA Finals in 16 seasons, with 10 titles between them since 1999. Currently, the West still rules via the dominating presence of the Golden State Warriors on the court and focus on Western Conference stars like Lebron James, Russell Westbrook and James Harden off of it, the formerly-dominant East seems to be in a state of flux.
So what’s going on with Eastern Conference teams in 2019/2020? To celebrate NBA All-Star weekend, I called in some backup for insight into some Eastern Conference rosters from anonymous diehard fans about the state of their team leading into next season.
Atlanta Hawks:
Your worst moment as a fan:
"Summer of 2016, when it was reported through various outlets that the Hawks had agreed a deal with Dwight Howard, while Paul Millsap was under contract and Al Horford a free agent -- meaning that either the Hawks had to trade Millsap or allow Horford to walk. They ended up shopping Millsap as they tried to re-sign Horford but to no avail as Horford left for the Celtics, announcing his decision on Twitter with a ton of shamrocks. What made it worse for everyone was that it was reported just minutes earlier that the Hawks seemingly had done enough to re-sign him - the rare occasion where Woj (ESPN NBA reporter Adrian Wojnarowski) was wrong!"
Who's your team's hidden gem?
"If you can call a first round pick a hidden gem, Kevin Huerter. Everyone is excited about rookie point guard Trae Young (and rightly so) but Huerter is so much fun to watch -- he's a great shooter, good passer, sneakily athletic, makes good decisions and is all-around a really fun player to watch. Hawks got a good one at 19th overall and not for the first time (breakout star John Collins being the other 19th selection for Atlanta)"
Best case scenario for next season:
"The young core of Young, Collins and Huerter continue to grow as they have done this season but Trae Young making a big step-up in his second season would be the best case for everyone. The Young-Doncic swap (Atlanta traded the draft rights to superstar rookie Luka Doncic to Dallas) was obviously (and rightly) much criticized but if Young blossoms into a star in this league, it can be forgiven somewhat."
Worst case scenario for next season:
"Young doesn't make a step up and regresses. The future of the franchise hinges on his development."
Charlotte Hornets:
Your worst moment as a fan:
"George Shinn. He held the city hostage trying to have the tax payers pay for a stadium in uptown. After some allegations against him turned out true, he packed up and moved the Hornets to New Orleans. Icing on the cake was losing the #1 draft pick to New Orleans (Anthony Davis) while the NBA owned the team and then quickly sold them."
Who's your team's hidden gem?
"Miles Bridges. He is a fun player to watch and has had some monster moments in his rookie season."
What's the best-case scenario for your team next season?
"Dump Nick Batum's contract. We are cap-strapped this season and don't have a lot of room to make moves."
What's the worst-case scenario for your team next season?
"Trading Kemba Walker. Kemba lives and dies Charlotte and is the embodiment of the city.”
Chicago Bulls:
Your worst moment as a fan: "The godawful early 2000s Bulls are now a distant memory so here’s a recent example: April 29, 2012. At the end of a first-round playoff game against the Wizards (where the Bulls had already secured the win), Derrick Rose tears his ACL and the team is changed forever."
Who's your team's hidden gem? "Either Chandler Hutchinson (a definite “name doesn’t match what you see in-person” All-Star) or Kris Dunn, a vintage PG in a world where Ben Simmons thinks he can play the point."
What's the best-case scenario for your team next season? "The Otto Porter/Markannen/Carter/Lavine core gels, the Bulls draft Ja Morant and shock the world by becoming the 3 seed next year."
What's the worst-case scenario for your team next season? "Gar Forman and John Paxson let the young guys walk and the team limps along until team owner Jerry Reinsdorf dies and cedes control of the team."
Detroit Pistons:
Your worst moment as a fan: "Learning the current owner made his fortune exploiting the US prison system. Or the night we drafted Darko Milicic."
Who's your team's hidden gem? "Ben Wallace's folks are doing nice work in the medical cannabis game?
Best Case Scenario Next Season: "Owner Tom Gores dies of a cocaine overdose."
What's the worst-case scenario for your team next season? "10th place in the East."
Milwaukee Bucks:
Your worst moment as a fan: "Trading away Ray Allen. Bucks fans have been through a lot of pain since this trade. It turned the franchise in the opposite direction."
Who's your team's hidden gem?
"I'd say the hidden gem is Christian Wood who is dominating the G-League right now. I wouldn't be surprised if he was contributing later this year or used in a trade if he doesn't fit Bud's system."
What's the best-case scenario for your team next season?
"Right now, Bucks fans just want to see a first round win. But with the way Giannis has been playing, I'm not putting the NBA finals out of the question."
What's the worst-case scenario for your team next season?
"I've seen too many season ending injuries to our biggest players (Jabari x2, Middleton, Redd, Bogut, Ford) that killed the Bucks throughout the years. I will not mention who I do not want to be added to that list..."
Toronto Raptors:
Your worst moment as a fan:
"There’s a few: Getting swept by the Wizards in round 1 in 2015, or Kobe's 82, or getting swept by the Cavs or trading Vince Carter for garbage..."
Who's your team's hidden gem?
"SPICY P - Pascale Siakim!!!!!!"
What's the best-case scenario for your team next season?
"We resign Kawhi Leonard, add another starter, everyone improves and we become the Eastern Conference version of the Warriors!"
What's the worst-case scenario for your team next season?
"Kawhi leaves, we trade kyle lowry for picks, and take 2019/2020 to do a quick rebuild."
Miami Heat:
Your worst moment as a fan:
"There have been a few, but the one that sticks out is the 2007 playoff series against the Bulls that bore the Alonzo Mourning meme."
Who's your team's hidden gem?
"Right now I think there isn't much of hidden gem on this team, I would say that the guy that doesn't get spoken about enough is Josh Richardson and I am excited to see what he can do in the future. "
What's the best-case scenario for your team next season?
"The team actually has a draft pick this year and I am a huge fan of the talent in this year's pool so who knows. Also knowing Pat Riley he will be making the push to get one of the big free-agents who can complement the current talent on the roster and help the Heat make a decent playoff push."
What's the worst-case scenario for your team next season?
"It really depends on how the Heat do during free agency. If they are unable to get anyone to come to South Beach, I think it will be time for people like Josh Richardson, Justice Winslow, and Whiteside to step up. Otherwise, they can get an early start on planning some vacations in April and May.
Washington Wizards:
Your worst moment as a fan:
"Gerald Wallace crashing into Gilbert Arenas's knee in 2007. That team was severely limited, but extremely fun, and while the locker-room thing closed the book on them, Gilbert's knee injury was certainly the beginning of the end."
Who's your team's hidden gem?
"Thomas Bryant. Dude tries really hard, like all the time. And on a team where consistent effort isn't a given, It's been refreshing to watch him flourish over the last few months."
What's the best-case scenario for your team next season?
"It hurts me to say it, but if the team finds a way to dump John Wall and his 5 year/$207 million dollar contract on another franchise, they'll be much better positioned to build a team that could make a run at the conference finals."
What's the worst-case scenario for your team next season?
"It also hurts me to say it, but Bradley Beal making an all-NBA team. He's got a realistic shot at finishing the season as one of the 6 best guards in the league, making him eligible for the same supermax extension the team gave John Wall. The Wizards can't afford to spend 70% of the salary cap on two players, but they also can't afford to low-ball the best player the franchise has ever drafted."
YOUR HOMEWORK THIS WEEK:
I wrote about The College Dropout in celebration of the 15th anniversary of its release for Universal Music’s Urban Legends site. Give it a read!
I STARTED A NEW JOB!!!!! I'm the Director of Content for Mess, a Chicago-based design and development studio. Give the company a follow on FB or IG, we have some engaging content coming soon...maybe we'll even do a video version of Office Hours?
TUNES!
The Keith O Challenge - Two years ago, Questlove took umbrage at commentator Keith Olbermann's ridiculous claim that he "ignored rap music" as an invitation to make him a playlist of the music that led to the creation of rap itself, a 200+ song-deep compilation of amazing black music. It's the perfect playlist to listen to during Black History Month, give her a rip.