Page 18 - ATD 27OCT,2015

A18
SPORTSTuesday 27 October 2015
NBA: West is wild, Cavs seem to stand above in East
BY BRIAN MAHONEY
AP BASKETBALL WRITER
Kevin Durant is back in
uniform, LaMarcus Al-
dridge is back home in
Texas and the Golden
State Warriors are back
intact.
All over the Western
Conference, there are
teams who look capa-
ble of winning it.
In the East, one team
appears to stand out -
and maybe it’s finally
Cleveland’s time to
stand above every-
body else in the NBA.
The Cavaliers, who fell
just short last season,
have big goals and a
bigger payroll as they
try to finally bring a title
to their championship-
starved city.
“Yes, we were able to
get to where we want-
ed to get to, but we
didn’t close the deal,”
LeBron James said.
“So we look forward to
the opportunity once Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry, right, dribbles around Denver Nuggets’ Emmanuel Mudiay during the teams that are built to
again to be able to go second half of an NBA preseason basketball game Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2015, in Oakland, Calif. contend for titles now.
out there and continue
to try to play at a high
level.”
The Cavs might not look
like championship material
when they open the season
Tuesday night at Chicago,
with James battling a bad
back in the preseason, Kev-
in Love only recently return-
ing from shoulder surgery
and Kyrie Irving still recover- son is back.
ing from knee surgery.
But they have the pieces,
after shelling out big bucks
to assemble one of the
most expensive teams in
NBA history, to get the job
done this time.
“The Cavaliers, man, they
are loaded,” TNT’s Charles
Barkley said. “I just want to
see them healthy.”
The Warriors were too good
for them and everyone
else last season, winning 67
games in Steve Kerr’s first
season as coach. Kerr will
miss the opener Tuesday
while recovering from back
surgery but MVP Stephen
Curry and every other im-
portant piece from last sea-
“What’s great about us,
we’re all so competitive,
that I don’t think compla-
cency will be an issue,” All- in Anthony Davis, mak-
Star Klay Thompson said.
“But we love having the
bullet on our back.”
Many of their pursuers re-
turn stronger, with Okla-
homa City getting former
MVP Durant back from
last season’s broken foot.
Aldridge left Portland for
San Antonio and a spot on
a tantalizing front line next drama is harder to envision
to Tim Duncan and Kawhi
Leonard, while Houston (Ty
Lawson) and the Los An-
geles Clippers (Paul Pierce)
added potential missing
pieces.
Memphis will be rough and
tough as always and New
Orleans has a top talent
on his way to dominance
ing it impossible to predict
the path in the West. There
were seven 50-game win-
ners there last season, and
count on Oklahoma City
getting there after finishing good shot at winning it all.”
with 45 mostly on the back
Associated Press HOPING FOR HEALTH:
of Russell Westbrook while
Durant was sidelined.
The West may be wild, but
back East. The Cavs might
only be vulnerable until
they’re healed and whole.
“I think it does give the Chi- healthier, trimming back-
cago Bulls an opportunity if
they’re able to get off to a
quick start to maybe chal-
lenge Cleveland for the
top seed in the East, but at
the end of the day, it’s still naming its 12-player roster
going to be hard if Cleve-
land is healthy at the end of
the year to beat them in a
seven-game series,” ESPN’s
Jeff Van Gundy said.
“So they’ve got a really
Other things to watch this
season:
LAST CALL FOR KOBE?
Back from a couple
of injured-shortened
seasons, Kobe Bryant
begins his 20th and
perhaps final NBA sea-
son. He’s 37 and en-
tering the final year of
his contract, and said
even he doesn’t know
if this is his last season
with the Lakers, or as a
player.
COLLEGES TO CON-
TENDERS: Oklahoma
City and Chicago
had successful runs
under their previous
coaches, then dipped
into the college ranks
when they decid-
ed it was time for a
change. Billy Dono-
van finally left Florida
to take the Thunder
job, Fred Hoiberg went
from Iowa State to
the Bulls, and both will
have to adapt to the
pro game quickly on
From Bryant to Durant,
Carmelo Anthony to Chris
Bosh, too many superstars
had to shut it down early
last season for health rea-
sons. The NBA is trying to do
its part to help players stay
to-backs to a record low of
fewer than 18 per team.
THE BOSS IS WATCHING: The
U.S. plans to pick its Olym-
pic team without a tryout,
sometime around the June
draft.
So this season is the last
chance to make an im-
pression on USA Basket-
ball chairman Jerry Col-
angelo and coach Mike
Krzyzewski.q