8 Things To Watch For Now That The NBA Lockout Is Over

1 - Will LeBron, Wade, Bosh, make the Finals again?

The Heatles have one year under their belt together and should put together a sound round through the Eastern conference on the way to the Finals.  Atleast that is what the talent of the roster indicates.  Pressure is on LeBron James again to see what he can do down the stretch.  I'm not sure his career/legacy can take another 4th quarter late playoff meltdown/disappearance.

2 - Chris Paul, Dwight Howard on the move?

King James can't afford another 4th quarter playoff letdown.

This was originally fifth on my list of things to watch for before the events of this past week transpired, with Paul almost becoming a Los Angeles Laker and Howard seemingly on the cusp of becoming a New Jersey Net.  It's going to be interesting to see now how the league handles CP3 and the league-run New Orleans Hornets.  Paul may have to just become a free-agent as it will be difficult for teams to propose a trade for him without other league owners having a problem with it and urging commissioner David Stern to step in once again.

3 - Can Kobe be a good teammate without Phil Jackson as coach?

Mike Brown is the old coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers and the new coach of the L.A. Lakers.  So this means he is going from coaching LeBron to coaching Kobe Bryant.  If Brown couldn't really check Bron's ego, what the hell is he gonna do when Kobe starts throwing up 30 shots a game?  It will be something to watch to see how coach Mike handles that yearly slide that the Lakers always go through, when they're losing to teams they shouldn't lose to and people act like the world is coming to an end.

4 - What rookie will take the NBA by storm?

It's happened for a good four straight years now where a rookie has hit the scene and looked like a future dominating presence in the NBA (see John Wall, Derrick Rose, Blake Griffin, and Kevin Durant).  It's been a while since we've seen these guys because of the lockout but write me down for Minnesota Timberwolves forward Derrick Williams and Sacramento Kings guard Jimmer Fredette as the top two rooks to have big impacts.

This might be the last chance for the 'Big 3' to get that second ring.

5 - Boston Celtics 'Big 3' final run?

When Boston Celtics general manager Danny Ainge put together the team that would eventually win the 2007-08 NBA Championship in its first year together, most basketball fans found it likely that this team probably could win a minimum of two rings barring any major injuries.  But of course, sports are sports and injuries do happen.  Kevin Garnett went down with a knee injury the following year and really gave the C's no chance of repeating.  The 2009-10 squad made it back to the Finals, only to squander a 3-2 series lead at the hand of the rival Lakers.  Last year, most Celtics fans would blame Ainge for the team not making the Finals, as long time center Kendrick Perkins was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder late in the season, effectively destroying the team chemistry and morale.  But Boston still has K.G. (age 35) along with Paul Pierce (34) and Ray Allen (36), but the window of oppurtunity for that second 'chip keeps getting smaller.

Dirk is the reigning NBA 'baddest man in the clutch'.

6 - Can Dirk establish himself as one of the greatest players of all time?

Dirk Nowitzki led the Dallas Mavericks to the franchise's first championship ever last year while running through the Western Confrence and the likes of Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant and stunning the star-studded Miami Heat in the Finals.  This was no doubt one of the best individual playoff runs in NBA history, as the Mavs were not anyone's favorite to win the title before Dirk began his unconscious tear.  Can Nowitzki repeat this type of playoff performance in 2012, with the target of 'baddest man in the clutch' squarely on his back?

7 - Short season to benefit veteran teams or young teams?

You would think that this short season would help the veteran teams because logically they already have chemistry playing together, but I'm not so sure.  Sometimes it takes the older guys some time to get things rolling, it's only 16 less games, yeah, but those games definitely could effect where teams are seeded when playoff time comes.

8 - Blake Griffin?

What do I really have to say here?  It's Blake Griffin folks!

Look out below!!!

'Who's Next?'

I don't think anyone outside of the state of Texas had the Dallas Mavericks winning it all this year and certainly no one could've predicted the absolute clinic Finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki put on along the way to said championship.  You probably won't get very accurate predictions (atleast I called that the Heat wouldn't win a championship though) out of me but nevertheless, my list of players who I think have what it takes to be the 2012 Dirk, but still need work on certain aspects of their games.

Rondo can drive and dish, but his J is AWOL.

Derrick Rose - Chicago Bulls

MVP or not, Rose still needs work on his perimeter jumper.  He shot 33-percent from 3-point during the 2010-11 season and a wretched 25-percent during the playoffs.  The guy is unstoppable off the drive already, imagine what will open up for himself and his teammates once a few more J's start falling.

 

Rajon Rondo - Boston Celtics
It's pretty clear that if Rondo could shoot the basketball worth a ball of yarn, we would all be looking at the second coming of Isiah Thomas.  Rondo has played four years in the NBA and is a two-time All-Star, the starting point guard on NBA Championship team, and boasts some historical individual playoff performances (29 points, 18 rebounds, 13 assists against Cleveland in the 2010 Eastern Conference semis), despite being a career 24-percent 3-point shooter and 62-percent from the free throw line.

Time for Melo to show he's more than just a scorer.

Carmelo Anthony - New York Knicks
We know he can score, but what can he do to make his teammates better?  Melo needs to take a cue from what Kobe Bryant went through in the post-Shaq L.A. years and save the offense for down the stretch.  Get the teammates involved and their confidence up because they are the ones you are going to have to rely on to make shots when the double and tripple teams come.  Also, Anthony is a physical guy on offense but doesn't really translate that mentality on the defensive end.  He needs to be more assertive on that end of the floor, it will go a long way in showing your teammates that you are sold out to doing anything it takes to win.

Russell Westbrook - Oklahoma City Thunder
Very talented and athletic point guard that needs to better understand his role as Kevin Durant's teammate in this current Thunder offensive system.  A first time NBA All-Star in 2011, Westbrook has elevated his offensive game to the point where he commands double teams now.  But what killed Westbrook and the Thunder in the playoffs against the Dallas Mavericks was poor shot selection down the stretch and lack of ball movement.  Westbrook was benched for the whole fourth quarter in Game 2 of the Western Conference Semis for being the main contributor to the two aformentioned maladies.  Westbrook's main job is to help get Durant going by creating space for him by penetrating and kicking out and continue to find K.D. when he's hot.  His offensive game is most effective when he is under control in the half court and when pushing the ball in transition.

Griffin is the second best player in L.A. already. 

Blake Griffin - Los Angeles Clippers
There is no way the Clippers find a way to screw this one up.  Griffin is two post-up moves and one face-up move away from being a player who is perennially in the conversation for league MVP.  All the hype is not an exaggeration either; not when you win Rookie of the Year honors by averaging 22.5 points per game and 12.1 rebounds per game in 82 games after missing the entire 2009-10 season from a knee injury that required surgery.  Who knows if Griffin will end  up staying in Los Angeles though as the Clippers are a franchise known for everything in the world that is the opposite of 'good'.  The Clip roster is pretty young and talented (see DeAndre Jordan, Eric Gordon and Al-Farouq Aminu) but who is to say that they can't make strides like the OKC Thunder have over the past few seasons?

Dwight Howard - Orlando Magic
In a league that is known historically for dominant big men equalling playoff success and championships, Howard has experienced very little of the former and none of the latter in his career which began in 2004.  Rumors are swirling that Orlando might not be the right fit for the three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year and four-time All-NBA First Teamer.  No matter what team he plays for though, Howard needs to develop as a playmaker when he has the rock with his back to the basket, a-la Hakeem Olajuwon.  When the ball goes inside to him, defenses know that he is probably going to put up a shot since his post game is not smooth enough yet to find open teammates off the double team with any sort of consistency.