30 Teams in 30 Tweets: Vol. 3

What an off-season for the NBA! LeBron and "The Letter", a mega, mega TV rights deal, another Team USA gold, old faces in new places, pre-season injuries, 44-minute games and renewed hopes and expectations for every team in the league. Yet, while all of this has been great, the real reason for our excitement is that we are finally ready for the 2014-2015 tip-off this week!

Now, what would the few days before the dawn of a new season be without a Ball So Hard Sports "30 Teams in 30 Tweets" primer for our fans?! Sure, you can go to the "experts" out there (or Jalen Rose and his baseball bat if you just want to hear jibberish) for long-winded analysis, but like Sweet Brown says, "Ain't Nobody Got Time For That"! So, instead, we give the #BSHNation what they want: 30 Teams in 30 Tweets: Volume 3!

As always, read, enjoy, debate, criticize, whatever your little roundball-loving hearts desire. But know this: we hit 14 of 16 playoff teams last year. Now, some of the jade has stayed (we still love Doc and the other LA squad) and some has moved (Pierce to DC means the Wiz get far more love than Brooklyn now) and some is renewed (welcome back, Hornets!), but as always, the analysis is real!

Without further adieu, here we go. Your 140 character outlooks for everyone in the NBA. Tuesday will be a great beginning for the league's future and hopefully we'll look back in June as some really great predictions from here. Let's get to the tweets:

Atlanta Hawks:  Playoff constant. Could be as high as 4 seed. Still see low seed, 1^st round exit and Horford dealt.

Boston Celtics: Smart, Sully and Olynyk will be fun to watch. This team will scrap. Don’t discount an 8 seed, but 28-30 wins and a big summer sounds right.

Brooklyn Nets: Kidd leaving is a plus. Hollins will get max effort. Bottom half playoff team if healthy. Enjoy KG’s last ride.

Charlotte Hornets: Hornet Revival! Big Al and Born Ready will get this team into the playoffs again, where they might just make some noise.

Chicago Bulls: Can D-Rose stay healthy? If so, Gasol makes this team one of, if not THE favorite in the East. Big year for Noah.

Cleveland Cavaliers: The Letter stole the summer headlines. The Big 3 stole the preseason media coverage. Will LeBron bring a ring to Cleveland? Yes, but in ’16.

Dallas Mavericks: Parsons is a nice get. Nelson an underrated signing as well. Should keep this squad in the West 8, but not far into the playoffs.

Denver Nuggets: Can a team be TOO deep? We will find out this year. Nuggets have the talent to make playoffs and go deep. Manimal’s break out year!

Detroit Pistons:  Stan Van Gundy has his work cut out for him in the Motor City. Feels like a “reset button” year to get things in order. Sorry, fans.

Golden State Warriors: Pressure is on Klay. If they choose you over K-Love, you better help Steph and the crew get deep into the summer. They picked the wrong guy.

Houston Rockets: They failed to get their 3^rd star. Ariza will help. Look for a mid-year Rondo push. Still a piece or two away from cracking the elite teams.

Indiana Pacers: Feels like their window slammed shut. PG-13 missing the year means a long, long season in Indy. Could also mean Lottery status.

Los Angeles Clippers: The Clippers era of failure is gone. Ballmer and Rivers will win. This could be the year for the “other” LA team to raise a banner.

Los Angeles Lakers: Can Kobe be healthy again or has age finally caught up? We know it has with Nash. Randle can be good, but this team will struggle.

Memphis Grizzlies: RT from 2013: Made noise but fell short last year. Same old story. Guessing they drop a bit this year before making a charge down the road.

Miami Heat: This is D-Wade’s team. Unfortunately, this isn’t 2006. They’re still a playoff team, but the Heatles era is nothing but a memory now.

Milwaukee Bucks: Jabari will be great. Not sure why they wanted Kidd, but they are the Bucks. At least they have Mallory Edens!

Minnesota Timberwolves: Another year where MIN trades a star to create a Big 3 for someone else. Wiggins is a star in the making, but not yet. Rubio needs to shine.

New Orleans Pelicans: The Brow is a future MVP. This team is ready to make some noise. Could crack the playoffs this year, but if not bank on it in ‘16.

New York Knicks:  Jackson will eventually bring a title to the “Zen Garden” but will it be before Melo’s new deal expires? Doubtful. Growing Pains for D-Fish.

Oklahoma City Thunder: The Durant injury is crippling to this team. Have to have homecourt to beat SA or LAC. Westbrook will carry them but could be a lost year.

Orlando Magic: They are building something special in Florida with Oladipo and Gordon. That next lottery piece they get next year will help too.

Philadelphia 76ers: Year 2 of Tankapalooza. They’ve got some pieces and potential, but its going to be ugly this year. Lowest wins in history? Possible.

Phoenix Suns: Dead wrong about them last year. They’ll hang around the 8 seed again, but ultimately will fall short. Then big decisions in off-season.

Portland Trailblazers: Lillard has elevated himself to star status. Now he has to team with Aldridge to improve on last year. They just might.

Sacramento Kings: Cousins is going to be an All-Star. Rudy Gay will help. Interesting mix of a team trying to win now while rebuilding. Rondo’s new home?

San Antonio Spurs: The Champs can repeat. Kawhi is again the key. If healthy, look for this team to be playing in June one more time.

Toronto Raptors: Shocking that Ujiri has turned the Raps into Denver East. Very deep. Maybe too deep. Top 4 seed in the East.

Utah Jazz: While they won’t win many games, this team is going to be interesting to watch. Young and can grow together. How will Exum adjust to NBA?

Washington Wizards: The Wiz put the league on notice in last year’s playoffs. Now, with the Truth to guide the young guns, this could be THE team in the East.

Playoff Predictions:

Eastern Conference Playoff Teams: 1. Chicago 2. Cleveland 3. Washington 4. Toronto 5. Charlotte 6. Miami 7. Atlanta 8. Brooklyn

Western Conference Playoff Teams: 1. LA Clippers 2. San Antonio 3. Golden State 4. Oklahoma City 5. Houston 6. Portland 7. Denver 8. Dallas

Eastern Conference Finals: Chicago over Cleveland. Everyone will pick Cleveland to win the East or be in the ECF. I think Washington gives them all they can handle in the Semis and would give Chicago a run if they got a crack at a healthy Bulls squad, but they just won’t have the firepower. The Bulls, if healthy, go to the Finals. If they aren’t healthy, it wouldn’t shock me to see LeBron back in the Finals and Cleveland fans out of their minds.

Western Conference Finals: LA Clippers over San Antonio. This is going to be the year that the Clippers officially put their past behind them, in every facet of the franchise’s history. New owner, great coach, an MVP candidate in Blake…all of it adds up to taking the moniker of “LA’s Team” from the Lakers and heading to the Finals.

NBA Finals: Bulls over LA Clippers. This will be one hell of an NBA Finals if it happens. As a Celtics fan, I love that it would be the perfect Lakers nightmare: the Clippers and Pau Gasol both battling for an NBA title while they sit home! This would seem to be a 7 game slugfest, but I think in the end, the student will get the best of the teacher and Thibs’ boys will overcome Doc and the Clips. This Chicago team just has too much talent if they are healthy to be beaten this year.

Awards Predictions:

MVP: This feels like an easy LeBron win. You could also see Blake make a run if the Clips follow through as far as I have them going. D-Rose will have to be an MVP again for the Bulls to win it all. I really like Westbrook putting the team on his back while Durant is out as well, and the Brow is still a year away. With all of that said, I’m going with LeBron, Westbrook, Griffin, Rose in that order this year.

6th Man: Andre Iguodala. If GS makes him the 6^th man as rumored, this is his to lose. You could see Tristan Thompson make a run here with Cleveland as well.

Coach: Doc Rivers. He kept this team focused and competitive as well as anyone could have during the Sterling debacle. He will be rewarded for keeping them focused and going even further this year.

Rookie: Jabari Parker. He is the most pro-ready of the Wiggins/Parker debate. He’ll show why and win this award this year.

Defensive POY: Joakim Noah. He’s going to have to be a monster for the Bulls to make the Finals and win it all.

There you have it. Outlooks for all 30 teams, ranked playoff predictions and award projections for the 2014-2015 season. As always, let's hear it in the comments if you agree or disagree and we'd love to hear your predictions as well. Happy Hoops Season, everyone!

30 Teams In 30 Tweets: Vol. 2

On the eve of the 2013-2014 season, muddled by all the LeBron 3-peat, Melo-drama, D-Rose/Kobe returns and taking chatter, one major question remains: where is the 30 Teams in 30 Tweets column from Ball So Hard Sports?! Rest easy, kids, all of the projections, predictions and insanity are here and back in full force! This promises to be one of the most entertaining and competitive seasons in recent memory and what better way to lay out predictions than in our favorite 140-character, quick-hit style?

As mentioned last year, of course you can grab your in-depth, put you to sleep analysis of this season at all of those other sites (whom we love dearly and read as well), but in the land of social media dominance, the tweet-length predictions and outlooks for every team will be just what you need to be ready for the opening tip tomorrow.

Without further adieu, here are the Ball So Hard Sports "30 Teams in 30 Tweets" for the 2013-2014 NBA season, followed by our NBA Playoffs and awards predictions as well. Enjoy and let us know whether you agree/disagree in the comments below.

2013-2014 NBA Previews:

Atlanta Hawks:  New season, same outlook, with or without J-Smoove. Bottom-half seed, 1st round exit. Welcome to Atlanta, where mediocre plays. 

Boston Celtics: Hate losing Pierce & KG but business is business. Love the Stevens hire. Don't rush Rondo, take your lumps. The pieces to rebuild are here.

Brooklyn Nets: Stay healthy, raise a banner. League's best starting 5, great bench, 2 hungry new leaders in Pierce & KG. One of the major contenders.

Charlotte Bobcats: They're getting there, slowly but surely. Big Al was a nice signing. Still a lottery team, but at least they seem like it isn't OK anymore.

Chicago Bulls: If D-Rose plays like he has in preseason, all is forgiven. Guys might start tearing ACL's just to come back this strong. Title/MVP possible.

Cleveland Cavaliers: Does Bynum play? Was Bennett #1 worthy? Is this Irving's audition to play with LeBron? A lot of questions, a year away from answers.

Dallas Mavericks: This team just feels like its fallen by the wayside. Window closed, locked and boarded. Time for Cuban to make a splash.

Denver Nuggets: Losing Iggy is a dagger. Needed to get better, took a step back AND traded Karl for a rookie Shaw on the bench. Middle of the pack at best.

Detroit Pistons:  Lots of new pieces in Motown. Jennings and Smith could make the team fun. Looking at a 7/8 seed and a 1st round sweep. Sound familiar, Josh?

Golden State Warriors: The chic pick to win the west. Iggy definitely puts them on the short list. If Curry's ankles are OK, expect big fun and bigger results. 

Houston Rockets: Is the Dwight drama over? Are they a player away? Is Harden OK with dropping back to 2nd fiddle? A year away from knowing, but promising.

Indiana Pacers: They answered the questions last year about being ready. Can they stay at this level and eventually push forward? George & Hibbert = yes.

Los Angeles Clippers: Can Doc work his magic with vets again? If so, they'll go from covering up the other LA team's banners to finally raising one of their own. 

Los Angeles Lakers: Which number is going to be higher: number of games Kobe misses or number of games the Lakers win? Gonna be a long year for the Lake Show.

Memphis Grizzlies: Made noise but fell short late last year. Same old story. Guessing they drop a bit this year before making a charge down the road.

Miami Heat: LeBron's last ride in South Beach or the title that cements his legacy & keeps him in MIA? Too many contenders, prepare for The Decision 2. 

Milwaukee Bucks: One of a handful of teams whose fans will be watching Kansas highlights more than their own team's. Lottery is a necessity for Bucks. 

Minnesota Timberwolves: Can they keep Love healthy and make a playoff run this year? Hopefully, otherwise it may be time to ship Kevin elsewhere.

New Orleans Pelicans: A year older. Tyreke is a nice add. Probably another year away but don't be surprised to see this team in a first-round matchup.

New York Knicks:  Officially NY's "other" team. MeloDrama will distract them all year. Bottom half of the bracket, 1st round exit, chaos when Melo leaves.

Oklahoma City Thunder: Will Westbrook rush back or take the D-Rose route? If he returns stronger like Derrick, this could be KD's turn to take the crown.

Orlando Magic: Enjoy Victor Oladipo, Magic fans. Then hope you can pair him with Wiggins next season. 

Philadelphia 76ers: Nice youth movement in Philly, even if it meant a step back. Stash Noel away, maybe win the lottery, be a major player in a few years. 

Phoenix Suns: Last year: at least they weren't the Bobcats. This year, before the first tip, it is safe to say that the Phoenix Suns are on the clock...

Portland Trailblazers: Do they keep Aldridge? They are a borderline playoff team either way. With a loaded draft & Lillard, a step away isn't a bad move long term.

Sacramento Kings: Sacramento won the battle to keep their Kings. Neither will win much else this year. The #1 pick would be nice karma and best case scenario.

San Antonio Spurs: Can they follow up last year's epic run with another? Kawhi needs to step up for it to happen. Never count Pop, Duncan & Parker out. 

Toronto Raptors: An intriguing squad this season. Ujiri is doing things right and should sneak into the playoffs. Will be fun to see if they make it.

Utah Jazz: Lottery seems inevitable but there's a young Thunder feel to their rebuild. You never know with bigs like theirs, but 2-3 years to be sure. 

Washington Wizards: It is time for John Wall to rise to the occasion. Playoffs or bust for WAS and they should do just enough to squeak in to a bottom 3 seed. 

Playoff Predictions:

Eastern Conference Playoff Teams: 1. Chicago 2. Brooklyn 3. Miami 4. Indiana 5. New York 6. Detroit 7. Washington 8. Atlanta 

Western Conference Playoff Teams: 1. LA Clippers 2. Oklahoma City 3. Golden State 4. San Antonio 5. Houston 6. Memphis 7. Denver 8. Portland

Eastern Conference Finals: Brooklyn over Chicago. After dethroning the Heat I'm the Conference Semis, Brooklyn will follow Boston's 2008 blueprint into the NBA Finals with KG and Pierce, leaving D-Rose just shy of a storybook comeback.

Western Conference Finals: LA Clippers over Golden St. I really wanted to pick the Warriors here. Love the Iggy signing and think they can go all the way, but probably 1 year away. With Kobe down & out for a year, this is the Clippers' time to make a run. 

NBA Finals: Brooklyn over LA Clippers. If you told me last October that Doc, KG and Paul Pierce would be in the Finals, I'd have been thrilled. Cut to a year later and they very well could be, but as opponents. Doc does wonders with a vet ball club and the Dynamic Duo knows they have 1 or 2 shots at another ring. I think they meet up with their old coach in June and reach their goal of retiring as champions.

Awards Predictions:

MVP: Derrick Rose. I've seen all I needed to this preseason. He's back. Sorry LeBron.

6th Man: Andrei Kirilenko. The only issue is if Jason Terry is really the BK 6th man.

Coach: Erik Spoelstra. The kid will get his due this year. After 2 titles, he will have to keep this team hungry and focused with all the "will he/won't he" LeBron distraction.

Rookie: Kelly Olynyk. A silver lining in this Celtics season. He'll have plenty of minutes and a chance to shine.

Defensive POY: LeBron. He wanted it last year. He'll make sure he gets it this year.

There you have it. Outlooks for all 30 teams, ranked playoff predictions and award projections for the 2013-2014 season. As always, let's hear it in the comments if you agree or disagree and we'd love to hear your predictions as well. Happy Hoops Season, everyone!

1 More Gift To Unwrap...

Merry Christmas everyone...and just as important, Merry Opening Day, NBA Fans!

I have to admit, I was just as excited for NBA Tip-Off at 11am as I was for any of the gift giving this morning (not the family time...remember, this IS Christmas, people...value the time, especially when you don't live close to them!), making sure the last gift was opened and put away by 10:59.

Great day of NBA Basketball. Sure, we're not going to learn everything from these 5 games, but as I settle in for the 5th, where Lob City (I prefer LA-oop) takes the floor agains the Warriors, here are my quick hits on the 4 games that tipped off earlier today.

-The Knicks apparently thought the NBA plays by NASCAR rules now and the first win is the most heavily weighted. Sure, its a big win, it give them motivation, exorcises a few demons and sets the tone for the expectations inside of MSG this year, but if Crawford doesn't give Melo a gift call, that game goes to overtime at best. I refuse to submit the "Pierce didn't play" card. You dance with what you have. They didn't have Amare in the playoffs. Good win, but remember, there are 65 more, plus playoffs.

-Rajon Rondo is letting the trade rumors get to him, but in a good way. No. 9 is going to go off this year. Nothing like playing with a chip on your shoulder. Will be nice when he has the full starting unit and the 2nd unit can gel and give them some time. This kid could have a special year. Maybe its good they kept him.

-Brandon Bass made me, as well as Danny Ainge, look like a genius today. I said from the get-go this guy was a steal for BBD and he didn't disappoint today. When Pietrus is playing, the 2nd unit is going to be solid. Dooling worries me, but Pietrus, Wilcox, Bass and Daniels will minimize his flaws I hope.

-The Heat may possibly go 60-6. Wow. Nothing else to say here. Buckle in, C's fans...Tuesday might get ugly.

-Many will say D-Rose took the throne from Kobe by hitting his shot and Bryant missing his. Maybe he did. All I know is, Boston, Dallas, LAL all lost today, yet I'm not worried about any of them. This was the 3rd pre-season game. Sure, big games on paper for all of them, but I think all 3 are built for May. Now its just a matter of if the coaching and legs can get them there.

-OKC is the best in the West. I'm convinced. Perk looks healthy (and slim), Harden showed up, just like I think he will all year and nothing to say about the dynamic duo...they're good to go.

Sure, I'd have loved for Santa to deliver a C's victory for me today and I think 0-2 is a realistic possibility. But, if the 2nd unit pans out and Doc can play the Big 3 about 30 min a game and do no worse than the 6 seed (avoiding MIA and CHI in the first round), I say just get there. Truth be told, I'm just glad I'm on my 11th hour of watching NBA Basketball right now. I'll start worrying next week!

Merry Christmas, everyone. Enjoy CP3, Blake and the Clips. Anyone who hasn't bet the over on this one gave away a Christmas bonus!

Sight For Sore Eyes...

Celtics Basketball is back! Mike & Tommy (Hell, I was even happy to see Dickerson on the sidelines!) were in Toronto to call the pre-season tilt vs. the Raptors. After 211 days, the Green were back in action. Here are some of my thoughts from the first quarter:

-The baseline design of the Raptors court that makes it look like there is a raised A-Frame there is trippy.

-Scoring was not at a premium early for this squad. Hoping slow starts won't be the norm. It won't be pretty.

-JO7 is a man on a mission this season. Looked really good early.

-Nice to see Marquis back in Green and healthy.

-Rondo seemed to be ready to play, no ill effects of the trade machine. Elbow looked healthy too.

-Brandon Bass is going to be a key guy for this team. I'm calling it now.

Enjoy the game, fans. We've waited a long time for some game action. The real deal is only a week away!

CP3 Revisited

Tomorrow is finally upon us. Free agents, trades, everything all you NBA die-hards are dying for. Silly Season kicks off in earnest at 2pm. News is already hitting the airwaves (Battier & Curry to the Heat...who look scary all of a sudden) about some signings and intended moves, but of course the top story is where is Chris Paul playing on Christmas Day?

First off, everyone needs to stop reading into CP3 saying he won't sign an extension. Just like Deron Williams said, it costs them money to do so. He's not extending even if the Lakers got him. Smarter to wait for July and use the Bird rights. So whoever trades for him, except NY and maybe the Lakers, has to sweat this season out and hope they aren't renting this guy for 66 games and a playoff run.

That being said, teams will be scared off (see: Clippers and Warriors) by this roll of the dice and pull out of the sweepstakes. That leaves one option: Boston.

The Celtics HAVE to make this move tomorrow. There are a list of reasons why:
1. Rondo is a head case and all the rumors have already ruined his season. Trust me. Don't trust me? Then trust Shaq. Trust what happened after the Perk deal. Trust he will not be the Rondo you love this season. Its time for him to go.

2. You need Paul in camp immediately. Need him to start working with the Big 3, Doc, learning the system, etc. You only have 15 days until the opener. No time to waste.

3. Short camp. As mentioned, there are only a little over 2 weeks to prep for the season. You want the team focused on the Knicks and 12/25, not the day's latest rumor. We've had no basketball to worry about for months. Time to change that and make it the ONLY thing this team is worried about.

4. Roster purposes. CP3 in Green on Day 1 gives you a chance to land some of the mid-level and vet-min guys that maybe you wouldn't have. People doubt this team (based on the schedule and the crazy road trips, I don't blame them) and this gives them a shot to erase some of the doubt.

Danny talked about a 5 year plan years ago, one that delivered Banner 17. He's talking about a plan to restore relevance to this team in free agency. I believed once, I'll believe again. He knows what he's doing and he's setting the stage for a big 2012. Might as well get a jump on it and end 2011 with a big acquisition.

T-minus 26 hours...

Where Have I Heard This Before?

So Ric Bucher and a handful of the other NBA pundits decided to try and squash the dreams in my first blog, almost immediately coming out and talking about how the Hornets don't want Rondo and think they can do better. Last I checked, Rondo is a Top 5 PG in the league and I'm pretty sure D-Rose isn't going anywhere, same with Deron Williams, so I'd love to know what they're looking for. Immediately this spurred the 3-Team trade talk (Indiana apparently jumped right in...again, not sure how they help) and I'm still convinced only OKC can facilitate a 3-Teamer that makes sense. Personally I think the NOLA GM is posturing, hoping to drive up the price. In the end I think Boston has the chips, or at a minimum could pull another team in with the chips, to get the deal down. Too bad it seems like that's not the real issue here.

Early this morning Bucher tweeted that CP3 said he wouldn't sign an extension with Boston if he was traded there and that he thought the Clippers, among others, could offer better deals than the C's did. Again, I'm not concerned with anyone else's offer. I'm confident Danny can make this happen. But I did chuckle at all the noise Bucher's "CP3 won't sign in Boston" news riled up the Celtics faithful.

Having not lived in MA for 7 years now, I tend to forget how fast Boston fans go right into the tank at the mere hint of bad news (remember the 2 games the Pats lost in a row a few weeks back...distant memory) and sure enough, they were taking the Titanic right to the bottom of the ocean with this news. Apparently, four years created a lot of memory loss on Causeway St.

Doesn't anyone remember a certain fiery PF from the Timberwolves telling the Celtics to not even bother with trade talks, that he wasn't signing with Boston? KG, Kevin Garnett, The Big Ticket...any of those ring a bell? When Danny first tried to land #5, he said the same things CP3 is. Sure enough, Draft Day comes, Ray comes aboard and sure enough, there is KG standing there with Allen and Pierce smiling as visions of Banner 17 danced in all of our heads.

Don't think the same won't happen here. Dwight Howard mentions to Paul that he'd consider Boston if he went there and they could get 1 more season of the Big 3 (KG and Ray on minimum deals) next year...Danny pulls off the Tyson Chandler move, giving Chris the big man he needs to be successful...some move none of us have even thought about yet comes to fruition (I think Danny has a big one up his sleeve for Dec. 9, but we'll see) and all of a sudden, ditching #3 and chasing down #18 doesn't look so bad for Paul now, does it?

Agents and teams are talking, just teasing us all for next Friday when the real fun begins. I'm not giving up hope on Chris Paul in Celtics green yet!