With the Knicks coming off their best season in over a decade and the Nets sporting a pair of new stars — plus a franchise legend taking over as coach — it’s not surprising that there’s plenty of excitement in New York for the beginning of the NBA season.
But New York isn’t the only place eagerly anticipating the coming year. From Miami to Chicago, from Houston to San Francisco, there are all kinds of intriguing topics to follow and players to watch.
With that in mind, here are The Post’s five biggest storylines heading into the NBA season, which kicks off Tuesday:
Three’s company
Since the ABA-NBA merger in 1976, only two franchises have won three straight championships — the Bulls from 1991-93 and again 1996-98, and Lakers from 2000-02. Just two other teams — the Lakers from 1982-85 and the Celtics from 1984-87 — have reached four consecutive NBA Finals. If the Heat pull off either feat, it would catapult them onto the short list of the greatest teams in league history, as well as further validate the decision of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to join forces in July 2010.
It’s fair to say, however, that history won’t be working in the Heat’s favor. Other than the Bulls and Lakers, there have been four other teams — the 1987-88 Lakers, 1989-90 Pistons, 1994-95 Rockets and 2009-10 Lakers — that failed to threepeat. Only the 1989 Lakers even made it back to the Finals, where they were swept by the Pistons.
Why is it so difficult to achieve? Beyond the fact everyone gunning for you once you have a title — something Miami has dealt with since the moment James, Wade and Bosh teamed up — there’s also the sheer number of games required to advance to three straight Finals.
The Heat have played 67 games in the playoffs over the past three years, nearly the equivalent of a whole season. James, for example, has played 2,865 playoff minutes over the past three years; he played 2,877 minutes in 76 games during the 2012-13 regular season. And though Wade and Bosh have picked up minor injuries during the playoffs each of the past two seasons, the Heat have been relatively injury-free over the past three years. If that changes this season, their threepeat hopes will take a major hit.
What the doctor ordered
For as thrilling as the NBA Finals between the Heat and Spurs was — and you can make a good argument it was the best Finals of the last 20 years or longer — it helped fans gloss over the fact that, until that point, the 2012-13 season was one dominated by players going down with significant injuries. Derrick Rose sat out the entire season after tearing his ACL in the 2012 playoffs. Then there is Andrew Bynum, who never even played a game for the 76ers after being dealt there in the offseason because of his own dose of knee trouble.
Numerous others went down during the season. Kobe Bryant is coming back from a torn Achilles tendon; Rajon Rondo also is recovering from a torn ACL; Kevin Love missed all but 18 games thanks to a variety of injuries, and Russell Westbrook was lost for the playoffs with a torn meniscus.
Their returns, and collateral ramifications, raise many questions heading into the season:
— Can Rose, after being scrutinized for sitting out last season, help lead the Bulls to the league’s best record, like he did in 2011 and 2012?
— Can Bynum get on the court in Cleveland, where the Cavaliers hope to return to the playoffs behind brilliant young point guard Kyrie Irving?
— Can Bryant overcome the history of players with Achilles injuries to return to the player he was and continue his chase for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record?
— Assuming Rondo returns in the first 6-8 weeks of the season, as indications suggest, will he remain in Boston or be traded like Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett?
— Can Love pair with Ricky Rubio to help lead Minnesota back to the playoffs for the first time since 2004?
— Can Westbrook, who will sit out the first several weeks of the season after having a second surgery to repair a loose stitch from the initial procedure, return fully healthy and help Kevin Durant take the Thunder back to the Finals?
Tankapalooza!
With several elite teams at the top of both the Eastern and Western conferences, the NBA is set up to have some of its best regular season action in some time this year.
At the same time, however, it’s also set to have some of its worst. That’s because you could have somewhere in the neighborhood of 10-12 teams actively trying to lose over the second half of the season to position themselves for what is considered by many to be one of the deepest drafts of all-time. It’s universally considered the deepest since the 2003 draft, which saw James, Carmelo Anthony, Bosh and Wade go in the top five.
With several elite prospects expected to enter the draft — including Andrew Wiggins, Julius Randle, Dante Exum, Aaron Gordon, Marcus Smart and Jabari Parker — some teams already have begun their quest to go as low as possible. That group is led by the 76ers, who likely will make a run at the all-time record for futility of 9-73 — held by the 1972-73 Sixers.
Other teams sure to be fighting for the right to have the most ping-pong balls in the lottery are the Bobcats, Magic, Jazz, Kings and Suns. Then there are several teams that could wind up falling into this group if they have injuries or get off to slow starts — including the Bucks, Cavaliers, Celtics, Hawks, Lakers, Pistons, Raptors and Wizards.
Add it all up, and expect that once we hit March 1, there will be as much talk about teams trying to lose as there will be about teams trying to win.
New faces in new places
Among the players, three names dominate this category: Dwight Howard in Houston, and Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce in Brooklyn. Howard’s decision to leave the Lakers and join the Rockets this offseason means he has no more excuses after two years of daily flip-flopping on his future, while the Nets’ draft night deal to acquire Pierce and Garnett easily was the biggest trade of the summer.
The Warriors addition of Andre Iguodala and his stellar defense on the wing could help the high-octane Warriors take another step forward in the West. Detroit’s additions of Brandon Jennings and Josh Smith has helped turn the Pistons into one of the most intriguing teams in the league heading into the season.
There was even more movement on the sidelines, with 13 teams changing coaches during the offseason. That included nine men being tapped as head coaches for the first time — most notably Jason Kidd in Brooklyn, Brad Stevens in Boston and Brian Shaw in Denver.
The biggest hire of the summer, though, was Doc Rivers leaving the Celtics after nine years to head to Los Angeles — otherwise known as Lob City — to coach Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and the Clippers. After declaring he would stay through a potential rebuild a year earlier, Rivers took a bit of flak for leaving Boston, but it’s hard to argue with his decision. With Paul running the controls and Griffin just 24, the Clippers are primed to be a contender for years to come. After Rivers helped convince perimeter shooters J.J. Redick and Jared Dudley to come to L.A., the big question is if he can coax improvement out of DeAndre Jordan. If he can, the Clippers could be the West’s best team this season.
The Summer of 2014
It doesn’t have quite the same intrigue as the Summer of 2010, thanks in part to the fact that teams began gearing up for James’ first entry into free agency as many as two and three years beforehand. But any time the best player on the planet can hit the open market — and James has the ability to opt out of the final two years of his deal and hit free agency — there’s bound to be plenty of attention thrown his way.
James is far from the only player set to hit free agency this summer, though. New Yorkers know all about Carmelo Anthony’s impending free agency, something that already is become a hot topic. And with the Lakers — led by Anthony’s good friend in Bryant — set to have enough cap room to woo Anthony next summer, it’s not a topic that will go away anytime soon.
There are plenty of other big names who have the opportunity to be free agents next summer as well. Wade and Bosh, have the same early termination option James does, while Pierce, Bryant, Pau Gasol, Dirk Nowitzki, Tim Duncan, Andrew Bogut, Luol Deng, Zach Randolph and Rudy Gay are eligible to be free agents. That could lead to a robust trade market for several of those players leading up to the trade deadline in February, as well as decisions on the futures of these players — by both the players and the teams — being determined by how their teams fare this year.
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A look at key issues heading into the season:
PLAYER WITH THE MOST TO PROVE
Dwight Howard has spent the past two years flip-flopping about his future, as well as playing while recovering from back surgery last season. After choosing to leave the Lakers to play alongside James Harden with the Rockets, he’s run out of excuses if he doesn’t dominate this season like he did previously.
MOST INTRIGUING ROOKIE
Giannis Antetokounmpo was drafted 15th overall by the Bucks in June after plying his trade in the Greek second division last season. Just 18 years old, he already has shown flashes in the preseason, and his raw physical skills — 6-foot-9 with massive hands and a 7-foot-3 wingspan — are tantalizing for a small forward.
COACHES ON THE HOTTEST SEAT IN EAST
After a lengthy rebuilding process, the Wizards are expected to contend for a playoff spot this season behind their young, exciting backcourt of John Wall and Bradley Beal. If they get off to a slow start, however, — especially after trading a first-round pick to Phoenix for big man Marcin Gortat — Wizards coach Randy Wittman, who already is in the final year of his deal, could be in hot water right away.
COACHES ON THE HOTTEST SEAT IN WEST
Portland had a terrific starting lineup last season, but the fact that the Trail Blazers had virtually no bench meant they missed out on the playoffs. After general manager Neil Olshey vastly upgraded the second unit this offseason, coach Terry Stotts will be expected to make the playoffs this season.
MOST INTRIGUING TEAM IN EAST
After acquiring Brandon Jennings in a sign-and-trade and signing Josh Smith in free agency, the Pistons have, along with Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond, a fascinating foursome, particularly defensively, to build around. But, at the same time, they could have the worst offensive floor spacing in league history if things go badly.
MOST INTRIGUING TEAM IN WEST
Kevin Love’s future home is a much-discussed topic in NBA circles after the Timberwolves under the leadership of former general manager David Kahn seemed to do everything they could to alienate their star power forward. But Minnesota fired Kahn, hired Flip Saunders and went out and spent money this offseason, bringing in Kevin Martin and re-signing Nikola Pekovic to play alongside Love and Ricky Rubio to try and end the team’s lengthy playoff drought.
MOST LIKELY FIRST-TIME ALL-STAR IN EAST
Wall was terrific after coming back from a knee injury that held him out of the beginning of last season, averaging 18.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 7.6 assists in 49 games. Wall probably is the fastest player in the league with the ball in his hands, and playing alongside Beal and with a solid supporting cast has a chance to both lead Washington back to the playoffs and make his first All-Star team.
MOST LIKELY FIRST-TIME ALL-STAR IN WEST
The New Orleans Pelicans changed their name this offseason and added Jrue Holiday and Tyreke Evans, but none of that has changed the fact that Davis is the player they’re going to build around. And with the All-Star Game set to be in New Orleans, a breakout campaign in Year Two should earn him his first of likely many All-Star selections.