13 Stories to Watch in 2013

It's New Year's Eve. In light of 2013, here's 13 trends/storylines to look forward to in the coming year.

2015's Best Point Guard: Not Kyrie Irving

There are many reasons to read NBA articles on ESPN.com. The site has a couple of excellent evaluators/writers—David Thorpe and Kevin Arnovitz being the crème de la crème. But among the reasons not to read ESPN is it's shameless self promotion.

This month's ESPN the Magazine features Cavs starting point guard Kyrie Irving on the cover. So, of course, the day after Christmas, ESPN posted a piece by Amin Elhassan detailing why he'll be the best point guard in three years.

Another reason not to read ESPN--Henry Abbott and his Truehoop network. Case in point, Elhassan's story was followed up with an article by five members of the Truehoop network regarding who they believe the best point guard will be in 2015.

Overwhelmingly, Irving was the choice (with a Derrick Rose and a Chris Paul thrown in for good measure).

I bring this up because Russell Westbrook got no mention.

Still Not a Believer: Knickerbocker Edition

It’s New York, so of course there’s going to be lots and lots of love for the Knickerbockers in a year in which they currently own the best record in the Eastern Conference. There’s talk of Carmelo Anthony for MVP. There’s talk of best team in the Association. There’s talk of dethroning the Heat.

But, talk is cheap. Analyzing the situation, trends, and historical precedents, reveal what should be more realistic expectations for this Knicks team.

Chris Broussard is an Idiot

I have a love/hate relationship with ESPN's Chris Broussard.

On the one hand (the hater hand), Broussard writes a bunch of sensationalist garbage and tries to pass it off as journalism. On the other hand, he gets the wheels spinning in my head because he obviously represents the popular opinion and my views on the NBA are almost always at odds with his. 

More to the point, Broussard wrote a piece today (I won’t bother linking to his piece, because it’s not worth your time reading) that points to Kobe Bryant as the problem to the Lakers woes this season. Basically, as Broussard has done his entire career, the gist of his argument is that Bryant is shooting too much and is the reason the Lakers have vastly underperformed. 

Poor commentary greatly angers me and provokes a pointed response.

Center of Attention

The Lakers won for only the third time in December last night in Philadelphia. While they won by 13, it wasn’t particularly impressive considering the Sixers were missing Jrue Holiday. The more interesting takeaway from the game was the comments made by former Laker Andrew Bynum.

As standalone quotes, his words come off a lot more scandalous-sounding then they actually were. That said, Bynum sure did have a lot to say—especially for a guy who has yet to log a single minute of playing time this season.

Let’s break down his quotes…and his logic.

The Curse of the Fountain of Youth

Arizona’s dry desert heat, ample golf courses, and laid-back atmosphere have for years attracted large swarms of retirees looking to float peacefully off into the sunset. In that light, the fact that many of the NBA’s former elite have found themselves donning purple and orange makes perfect sense.

What makes the Phoenix Suns so attractive to the elder-statesmen in the NBA is the Suns medical staff--a staff that has been resurrecting and sustaining the careers of a variety of former all-stars for the past half dozen years.

In ever way, it is all at once miraculous, logical, and downright brilliant.

Blake & DeAndre Convo #1,321

Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan of the Los Angeles Clippers make up the most athletically gifted front court duo of all time. This season, both have shown vast improvement in their respective games.

Mr. Pogo Stick Block Party

Larry Sanders is beasting of late. No, not Garry Shandling (who I'm sure has seen a spike in Google searches over the past week). I'm talking about Mr. Pogo Stick Block Party Larry Sanders who plays for the Milwaukee Bucks.

Karma is a B...

Dwight Howard. Meet karma.

In his first matchup against his former team, Howard could only muster 9 of 21 from the freethrow line as Jaques Vaughn, the Orlando Magic's coach, utilized the hack-a-Howard to great effect. The Magic continued to send Howard to the freethrow line up until the last two minutes of the game (when this strategy results in a technical plus the ball). But, by that time, the damage had been done and the Magic held a 12-point lead.