Its early, but this is an exercise Ive been wanting to do. The NBA offers a choice package for league pass where you get 7 teams as opposed to the entire league. It is a little cheaper, and if you are smart, you can still see plenty of teams play. The key is avoiding teams that are on national TV all the time and spreading out your picks so you have a team in each division. That will lesser the frequency where you have two of your choices playing against each other.
Here are my early picks for next season:
The pick for the Central Division is an easy choice. The Bulls are without Derrick Rose, but should still get plenty of time on National TV. I've seen plenty of their entire roster over the past few years and the only intriguing addition is Marquis Teague.
The Pacers are basically bringing back the same team from last year and added perhaps the most boring first round pick possible, in Miles Plumlee. I can wait to watch them in the playoffs.
I thought about the Pistons, but they can be painful to watch on offense. I am not sure how long I could deal with a Stuckey/Knight backcourt with Maggette only trying every third Sunday. Also, I would like to avoid a situation where I'd be faced with an opportunity to watch Charlie Villanueva play. The Drummond/Monroe frontline should be interesting and Id love to follow Drummond's first season, but Ill catch him some other time when his supporting cast is better. Singer is one of the few other good watches on the team. I would follow Kim English's twitter account though.
The Cavs are a team of 2nd rounders and guys who didnt get drafted and to be honest, I am starting to get tired of summer league basketball. An Irving and Waiters backcourt can't come close to making up for the rest of the snorefest of a roster.
By process of elimination, that means the Bucks are my choice. The Jennings/Ellis backcourt will be back in full force, two of the fastest and most exciting guards in the league. I also need to do a year long study on their frontcourt and formulate definitive opinions on the likes of Larry Sanders, John Henson, and Ekpe Udoh. I want to fall in love with one of them and hate another. I also like that they have a defender in Mbah a Moute who can lock down some of the league's best players, so there is always that to watch. Watching Tobias Harris find a niche in the NBA also intrigues me and I look forward to watching Doron Lamb, one of my sleepers in the draft this year, crack the rotation.
For the Southeast, the Wizards should be the hands down favorites. A Wall/Beal backcourt in Wall's all important 3rd year lead the way with young athletic forwards Jan Vesely and Chris Singleton providing more excitement. No longer do you have to put up with the idiotic play of Andray Blatche, Javale McGee, and Nick Young. Nene and Okafor sharing the post together will also be an interesting watch.
The Heat are also out of the running for me because they are on TV all of the time. Although with the remaining choices, the Heat were tougher to eliminate than they should be. I like great basketball and domination at times and in the Big 3's third year, they should be near unstoppable in a lot of games.
The Bobcats have MKG, but will also be out of the playoffs by game 3. I can't endure an entire season of pointless basketball. There is a reason the Bobcats have no fans.
That leaves the Magic and the Hawks, and I will go with the Hawks assuming Howard gets traded for scraps. The Hawks have a loaded backcourt with Teague, Harris, Lou Williams and 3 lockdown shooters in Morrow, Korver, and Jenkins. Josh Smith is one of the most exciting defenders in the league and with Al Horford, I'll be able to watch a skilled big men everyday since I won't get that from the Bucks. I do have the Wizards to fall back on and see divisional games already, so it is not a necessity to pick a team out of this division.
Jumping to the Northwest, Minnesota is in my permanent rotation due to Ricky Rubio. If he doesn't recover from his nasty injury though, I want my money back. The return of Brandon Roy also will be closely monitored. As will Derrick Williams progress heading into his sophomore season.
The other teams in the Northwest all offer some interesting potential as well. Luckily, I have seven teams because I may have to come back to here. I really like what the Nuggets are putting on the court. Faried, Lawson, Andre Miller, and Gallinari are all guys I love to watch. And I really like to watch them play together as a unit. Some of their lesser known players will be great to watch as well as they fight for minutes. The recently signed Anthony Randolph is a bonus. Quincy Miller still recovering from his ACL tear will also be under my microscope. Evan Fournier was their first round pick and Euros are always interesting to get a grasp of and it makes it better that he will battle Jordan Hamilton for minutes. The Nuggets are making a strong case to enter my personal rotation!
Oklahoma City is eliminated because they are on TV too much. They used to be a permanent fixture for "must watch" up and coming teams. I could delve into how I was a fan of them before everyone else, but hey, I dont want to be considered a hipster.
Portland plays a boring brand of basketball and have a lot of "meh" names around the perimeter. And Im not a huge believer in Lillard of the bat.
Utah could be fun, especially to follow Burks ascension into one of their leading scorers. They are jammed pack inside and Ive always been in favors of Favors. Jefferson is a true post, Mo Williams provides exciting scoring streaks, and Millsap is a beast. Carroll, Jeremy Evans, Kanter, and Hayward are other guys I like watch. Ironic that the boring, old, Northwest is the place to be for the most exciting basketball this coming season.
A full season of Nash and Kobe with a possibility of Dwight is hard to pass up, but you know they will be on TV plenty regardless. Same goes for the Clippers and their exciting roster. The Suns have a favorite of mine, Kendall Marshall, but I wouldn't be surprised if he struggled this year. The rest of their roster is unspectacular.
The Warriors and Kings both have talent and could be good choices. The Warriors are my pick, though, since they have a better shot at making the playoffs. They have a rock solid starting 5 with a young core and Jenkins, Ezeli, Green, Tyler, and Jack all on the bench. They will be fun to see even if Bogut and Lee go down with their annual injuries.
In the Southeast, its a tough competition as you can tell since I am willing to eliminate Anthony Davis' Hornets right away. The Grizzlies haven't changed much and Id prefer to catch them in the playoffs. Wroten and Selby are interesting watches, but I am making sure to get my fix of them in the summer league. The Spurs dont have a deep roster of exciting talent and while I can never watch Duncan enough, Ill have all playoffs to watch him when he steps up his game.
The Mavericks and Rockets both can make a strong argument. However, the addition of Jeremy Lin last night helped make this a less stressful choice. Royce White is a super exciting player, very unique, and any other player they can put on the floor at power forward is young and talented. Chandler Parsons is a personal favorite of mine, they have the speedy Ish Smith, Donatas Motiejunas, and Jeremy Lamb learning from Kevin Martin. The roster is stacked with good players to follow. Even down to Greg Smith, Jerome Jordan, Shaun Livingston, and the bruisers Leuer and Brockman. The Rockets will be a must watch in 2012 and could get even better with possible trades.
I saved the Atlantic Division for last to pend over the decision some more. The Celtics, Nets, and Knicks should all be on TV a decent amount. The Knicks are the most intriguing with their star talent and veteran players. Nets dont have anyone intriguing past their top guys and the Celtics have been a mainstay on National TV for years.
Right now I am decided on the Rockets, Wolves, Bucks, Nuggets, and Warriors. Based on those choices, I guess I am in for some late nights.
I definitely need to add a east coast team and I have chosen all the non-national TV teams that I like already. It is time to just add a team that I know I will enjoy watching. The Knicks have made a lot of noise this offseason, but the moves of Prigioni, James White, and Chris Copeland oddly enough may have pushed me over. Prigioni has been a blessing to watch overseas his entire career, White is a human highlight reel, and Copeland is a hustle guy with a good story. Of course, it doesnt hurt that they have star talent as well and some knock down shooters in Novak and Kidd.
One more team left and I am leaning towards going with a team that is going to get exposure anyone. That means Lakers, Clippers, Mavericks, and Heat are all on the board. Who would you take to finalize your league pass roster?
Do you like the quantity approach I went with or would you prefer quality and go with a league pass line up of the Lakers, Clippers, Heat, Knicks, Thunder, Spurs, and Boston?
Let your thoughts be heard in the comments section and vote in the poll to the right of your screen!
Here are my early picks for next season:
The pick for the Central Division is an easy choice. The Bulls are without Derrick Rose, but should still get plenty of time on National TV. I've seen plenty of their entire roster over the past few years and the only intriguing addition is Marquis Teague.
The Pacers are basically bringing back the same team from last year and added perhaps the most boring first round pick possible, in Miles Plumlee. I can wait to watch them in the playoffs.
I thought about the Pistons, but they can be painful to watch on offense. I am not sure how long I could deal with a Stuckey/Knight backcourt with Maggette only trying every third Sunday. Also, I would like to avoid a situation where I'd be faced with an opportunity to watch Charlie Villanueva play. The Drummond/Monroe frontline should be interesting and Id love to follow Drummond's first season, but Ill catch him some other time when his supporting cast is better. Singer is one of the few other good watches on the team. I would follow Kim English's twitter account though.
The Cavs are a team of 2nd rounders and guys who didnt get drafted and to be honest, I am starting to get tired of summer league basketball. An Irving and Waiters backcourt can't come close to making up for the rest of the snorefest of a roster.
By process of elimination, that means the Bucks are my choice. The Jennings/Ellis backcourt will be back in full force, two of the fastest and most exciting guards in the league. I also need to do a year long study on their frontcourt and formulate definitive opinions on the likes of Larry Sanders, John Henson, and Ekpe Udoh. I want to fall in love with one of them and hate another. I also like that they have a defender in Mbah a Moute who can lock down some of the league's best players, so there is always that to watch. Watching Tobias Harris find a niche in the NBA also intrigues me and I look forward to watching Doron Lamb, one of my sleepers in the draft this year, crack the rotation.
For the Southeast, the Wizards should be the hands down favorites. A Wall/Beal backcourt in Wall's all important 3rd year lead the way with young athletic forwards Jan Vesely and Chris Singleton providing more excitement. No longer do you have to put up with the idiotic play of Andray Blatche, Javale McGee, and Nick Young. Nene and Okafor sharing the post together will also be an interesting watch.
The Heat are also out of the running for me because they are on TV all of the time. Although with the remaining choices, the Heat were tougher to eliminate than they should be. I like great basketball and domination at times and in the Big 3's third year, they should be near unstoppable in a lot of games.
The Bobcats have MKG, but will also be out of the playoffs by game 3. I can't endure an entire season of pointless basketball. There is a reason the Bobcats have no fans.
That leaves the Magic and the Hawks, and I will go with the Hawks assuming Howard gets traded for scraps. The Hawks have a loaded backcourt with Teague, Harris, Lou Williams and 3 lockdown shooters in Morrow, Korver, and Jenkins. Josh Smith is one of the most exciting defenders in the league and with Al Horford, I'll be able to watch a skilled big men everyday since I won't get that from the Bucks. I do have the Wizards to fall back on and see divisional games already, so it is not a necessity to pick a team out of this division.
Jumping to the Northwest, Minnesota is in my permanent rotation due to Ricky Rubio. If he doesn't recover from his nasty injury though, I want my money back. The return of Brandon Roy also will be closely monitored. As will Derrick Williams progress heading into his sophomore season.
The other teams in the Northwest all offer some interesting potential as well. Luckily, I have seven teams because I may have to come back to here. I really like what the Nuggets are putting on the court. Faried, Lawson, Andre Miller, and Gallinari are all guys I love to watch. And I really like to watch them play together as a unit. Some of their lesser known players will be great to watch as well as they fight for minutes. The recently signed Anthony Randolph is a bonus. Quincy Miller still recovering from his ACL tear will also be under my microscope. Evan Fournier was their first round pick and Euros are always interesting to get a grasp of and it makes it better that he will battle Jordan Hamilton for minutes. The Nuggets are making a strong case to enter my personal rotation!
Oklahoma City is eliminated because they are on TV too much. They used to be a permanent fixture for "must watch" up and coming teams. I could delve into how I was a fan of them before everyone else, but hey, I dont want to be considered a hipster.
Portland plays a boring brand of basketball and have a lot of "meh" names around the perimeter. And Im not a huge believer in Lillard of the bat.
Utah could be fun, especially to follow Burks ascension into one of their leading scorers. They are jammed pack inside and Ive always been in favors of Favors. Jefferson is a true post, Mo Williams provides exciting scoring streaks, and Millsap is a beast. Carroll, Jeremy Evans, Kanter, and Hayward are other guys I like watch. Ironic that the boring, old, Northwest is the place to be for the most exciting basketball this coming season.
A full season of Nash and Kobe with a possibility of Dwight is hard to pass up, but you know they will be on TV plenty regardless. Same goes for the Clippers and their exciting roster. The Suns have a favorite of mine, Kendall Marshall, but I wouldn't be surprised if he struggled this year. The rest of their roster is unspectacular.
The Warriors and Kings both have talent and could be good choices. The Warriors are my pick, though, since they have a better shot at making the playoffs. They have a rock solid starting 5 with a young core and Jenkins, Ezeli, Green, Tyler, and Jack all on the bench. They will be fun to see even if Bogut and Lee go down with their annual injuries.
In the Southeast, its a tough competition as you can tell since I am willing to eliminate Anthony Davis' Hornets right away. The Grizzlies haven't changed much and Id prefer to catch them in the playoffs. Wroten and Selby are interesting watches, but I am making sure to get my fix of them in the summer league. The Spurs dont have a deep roster of exciting talent and while I can never watch Duncan enough, Ill have all playoffs to watch him when he steps up his game.
The Mavericks and Rockets both can make a strong argument. However, the addition of Jeremy Lin last night helped make this a less stressful choice. Royce White is a super exciting player, very unique, and any other player they can put on the floor at power forward is young and talented. Chandler Parsons is a personal favorite of mine, they have the speedy Ish Smith, Donatas Motiejunas, and Jeremy Lamb learning from Kevin Martin. The roster is stacked with good players to follow. Even down to Greg Smith, Jerome Jordan, Shaun Livingston, and the bruisers Leuer and Brockman. The Rockets will be a must watch in 2012 and could get even better with possible trades.
I saved the Atlantic Division for last to pend over the decision some more. The Celtics, Nets, and Knicks should all be on TV a decent amount. The Knicks are the most intriguing with their star talent and veteran players. Nets dont have anyone intriguing past their top guys and the Celtics have been a mainstay on National TV for years.
Right now I am decided on the Rockets, Wolves, Bucks, Nuggets, and Warriors. Based on those choices, I guess I am in for some late nights.
I definitely need to add a east coast team and I have chosen all the non-national TV teams that I like already. It is time to just add a team that I know I will enjoy watching. The Knicks have made a lot of noise this offseason, but the moves of Prigioni, James White, and Chris Copeland oddly enough may have pushed me over. Prigioni has been a blessing to watch overseas his entire career, White is a human highlight reel, and Copeland is a hustle guy with a good story. Of course, it doesnt hurt that they have star talent as well and some knock down shooters in Novak and Kidd.
One more team left and I am leaning towards going with a team that is going to get exposure anyone. That means Lakers, Clippers, Mavericks, and Heat are all on the board. Who would you take to finalize your league pass roster?
Do you like the quantity approach I went with or would you prefer quality and go with a league pass line up of the Lakers, Clippers, Heat, Knicks, Thunder, Spurs, and Boston?
Let your thoughts be heard in the comments section and vote in the poll to the right of your screen!
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