HoopsHype.com Columns

LeBron. Litigation. Legendary Lakers?
by Jason McIntyre / October 27, 2003

LeBron, litigation, a legendary Lakers lineup, and the loaded West.

What's not to love?

Boring baseball has been folded and put away for the winter, and oh how we can't wait for the best athletes on the planet to take the court, fill the lanes, and have Ricky Davis take off his sneakers and chat courtside with fans during the game.

Seriously, it's all about the Cavaliers, their new logo, and their new face-of-the-league stud, LeBron James.

Thirty. That's how many games they'll win this year. The scoring will be there with LeBron, Ricky Davis (how can you not love a guy who purposely misses a shot at his own basket in an effort to get a rebound and secure a triple double?), and Darius Miles. They'll still a few years away from a serious playoff team, but optimistically, Carlos Boozer and Zydrunas Ilgauskas get the job done inside and remain healthy. Paul Silas is a very underrated coach.

James, who should usurp Bennifer and Governor Arnold as The Major National Story for the next few months, should be good for about 14 points, five rebounds, and five assists per game. Everyone's gunning for him, and each time he gets posterized, it'll be all over tube. I can see him coming out of the gate trying too hard, then getting into a groove at the 20-game mark, and hitting the wall late in the season. The over/under date for him and Davis to go at it more than verbally is set for Jan. 12 against the Lakers.

Kobe, Kobe, Kobe.

Will he ever get along with Shaquille O'Neal? Which will get uglier – Kobe’s court case, or his on-again, off-again feud with Shaq? There hasn’t been this much juice around basketball since the Magic-Bird-Jordan apex in the 1980’s. The superstar soap opera gets juicier by the day. Tim Duncan might be the best player in the league, but he’ll never drudge up this kind of don’t-miss-a-second drama. The regular season has not yet started and Kobe and Shaq are already going at it. This much we know: Kobe’s rape case will be as big, if not bigger, than the O.J. spectacle. With the off-the-court distractions, will Kobe have his mind right to mesh with three other future Hall of Famers?

Just from the Karl Malone-Corey Maggette tête-à-tête, you can tell L.A. will be expecting to beat everyone this year.

Early quote-of-the-year candidate: Gary Payton, post-Clippers fracas: "That's one victim. Chalk it up."

Legal issues aside for Kobe, you wonder just how much his sedentary summer will impact his game. My guess? Expect a weak second half from him, especially with the serious as a heart attack talk about him exploring free agency after this season. Regardless, the Lakers are still a Top 3 seed in the Western Conference.

If you haven't ordered the NBA league pass yet, either get on the ball, or move West. NBA fans will spend many a late night watching all the talent fill it up on the left coast.

Minnesota, Dallas, Sacramento, San Antonio, and the Lakers could all feasibly win 60 games. Of course that means the likes of the Nuggets and Warriors and the majority of the East will be awful, but such is life.

How can you not watch?

The Timberwolves starting lineup rivals any in basketball, and you won't be able to turn away from the tube when they're playing for the simple fact that Sprewell and Szczerbiak are an explosion waiting to happen. Dallas just has too much. Like the "Usual Suspects" is too good of a movie, and Sushi is too addictive, the Mavericks are just too talented. Five All-Stars litter the lineup, but just how far can Danny Fortson take these guys in the middle? Here's a no-brainer -- Mark Cuban does some sort of package deal mid-season in an effort to get a big guy along the lines of Theo Ratliff (due for a big year), Keon Clark (odd fit in Utah), or even somebody like Ben Wallace (yes, seriously).

Even a six seed like Phoenix has a good core of Starbury and Stoudemire, and the Suns would be a Top 3 seed in the mediocre East. Even the Clippers can be fun to watch, and the Grizzlies have Jason Williams, who's still as exciting as they come.

A Cavaliers-Grizzlies December matchup might not sound sexy, but when you consider the youthful talent and energy on the floor, you'll definitely want that league pass.

This season will be more nasty than a Gerald Wallace dunk.

More exciting than Tracy McGrady bearing down on the fast break.

As awesome as a Shaq haymaker that narrowly misses knocking Brad Miller into another galaxy.

Jason McIntyre is a a freelance journalist in New York City and a regular contributor to HoopsHype.com

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