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Each June brings with it the excitement of the NBA finals, tempered by a sense of impending doom. As July comes by, the excitement is replaced by a hollow, gasping chasm of a void.
After such a peaking crescendo of the seven game series we were treated to, where molten Heat collided with and overcame the ice cold execution of the Spurs, we knew that the resultant explosion would have a silent aftermath once the dust settled, a silence which would stretch for months until the next season began.
The coverage doesn’t really stop during the off-season. There’s plenty to satiate a hoops fan, with the trades and trade rumours and Dwight Howard himself providing enough rumours as the rest of the rosters in the NBA combined. Everything is watered down as we don’t have the real game to digest and dissect. There is still plenty of intrigue to go around though.
Here are four things to keep an eye on this off-season:
Kobe Bryant‘s Twitter account
Kobe Bryant joining Twitter sent shockwaves across the social platform. Not as large as the seismic waves felt around the league when he tore his Achilles. Since then the Mamba has been sharing pictures of him being in various stages of recovery. Perhaps at no time in the league’s storied history have we been privileged to observe such a raw, unfiltered and first hand look into the recovery of a superstar of Kobe’s caliber.
Check out some of the pictures he’s uploaded:
What’s next for the Lakers?
Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers supposedly had a super team to rival all super teams. The supposedly best big man in the league, one of the top three players in Kobe, one of the best point guards to ever play in Steve Nash, one of the most versatile bigs in Gasol, and one of the best defenders in World Peace.
This team was built to win and win now. Even the staunchest critics couldn’t have predicted the colossal meltdown which this team went through. Blame it on injuries, a coach who chose to bench Gasol in favor of Earl Clarke rather than try to accommodate his system to fit the unique talent of Gasol until the latter finally got a chance to put up near triple doubles in the later stages of the season, or blame it on the initial selfishness of Kobe which led him to attempt more shots than Nash, Howard and Gasol combined, or blame it on all of the above. End result was a team which belied all expectations, in a bad way.
Will Kobe be able to return as his usual self? Will Steve Nash stave off old age for another season and remain healthy? Will World Peace come back? Will the Clippers signing of Doc Rivers finally tip the balance of power to the other LS team? Perhaps no other team’s fortunes are as unpredictable as the Lakers’s are.
End of an era in Boston
Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics had been defying old age and critics alike with aplomb. Three of their four core players have been over the hill for ages, one of them left last season for the Miami Heat leaving them as a big the.
Then Rajon Rondo went down with an injury, effectively killing the title hopes of the Celtics. Now this season the Celtics will be without coach Doc Rivers who has bolted ship for the Clippers. There are rumors of the Celtics trading away Pierce and Garnett as well. Which begs the question, what can we expect to see from the Celtics this year?
The next big three?
Dwight Howard
The formulae for success in the NBA has bolted down to getting a core of three stars and banking on then to carry the team forward. There are rumors that Dwight Howard may leave for the Rockets or Nets. If he joins the Rockets, he may be able to lure Chris Paul too.
The Rockets already have a superstar in James Harden, they are well positioned to form a big three of their own. As can the Nets, who already have Deron Williams and Brook Lopez and can add Dwight Howard to the mix. It’ll be exciting to see which team can fit form the next super team.
