4) The Rise of Anthony Davis (New Orleans Pelicans)
It is truly impressive how Anthony Davis has transformed into a Super star Basketball player in such a short span of time. Brought up in Chicago he didn’t get any attention from outside until he became a senior at high school. He studied in a small Charter school and had considered giving up Basketball at one point in his life since being a Charter school player meant that the chances of his talent being recognized and given a college scholarship or being signed up by a basketball league were almost non existent. It seemed highly unlikely that a player like him, with no background to speak of, was going to make a name for himself. All this changed when the then 6’2 Guard grew 7 inches over one summer thanks to a serious growth spurt! He had a huge desire to become better once that happened. He became the 2nd best high school player in the country in his senior year in high school and went on to become the number one player in College Basketball. He then won a Gold medal at the 2012 Olympics with team USA and repeated the feat at the 2014 FIBA World cup- An unprecedented rise. Unlike others who have been in the spot light for a long time and were destined to become great, Anthony Davis seemed to have grown to become an All-Star player in the blink of an eye.
He had an amazing 2014/2015 season which was his 3rd year in the league. He was selected to the All NBA First team (2015) and All Defensive second team (2015).The 22 year old says in interviews that he is comfortable accepting the role as a leader despite his young age.
Last season Davis averaged 24.8 points per game (4th in the league), 10.5 Rebounds per game (9th in the league) and had 2.9 Blocks per game (1st in the league). He also has a player efficiency rating of 31.4 (2nd in the NBA), 2.2 Assists per game and 1.5 steals per game, Video game type numbers don’t you think? When Davis is on the floor the Pelican’s offense jumps from 104.7 to 110.5 making it the 5th best team offensively in the NBA. He’s a highlight reel machine with an impressive size and freakish athleticism. He is going to be the type of fan attraction that would make even opposing team fans come buy his games’ tickets.
In the 2015/2016 season there’s one addition we might see in Anthony Davis’ arsenal – The ‘3 Point Shot’. Although Davis only attempted 6 long range shots last season, He’s going to be attempting a whole lot of them this season as he has been putting up a lot of work in the gym to get those shots to fall in from outside the arc. He recently said ‘I’m going to mix it up. I love playing down low, but at the same time, if the opportunity is there; I’m definitely going to take them. That’s one thing for sure” referring to three-point attempts. The New Orleans Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry is completely supporting this and even urging the big man to take the long range shots.
He most certainly has improved on his jump shooting which was what was considered to be his biggest weakness when coming into the NBA, shooting overall at 53% last season which is pretty impressive considering the number of shots he is expected to attempt per match. Going up against Anthony Davis is a Nightmare match up for any power forward in the NBA! Anthony Davis has a growing fan base in Sri Lanka and they will be looking forward to seeing their hero perform at his best this season.
Perhaps the scariest and most exciting thing is Anthony Marshon Davis is only just getting started!
5) LaMarcus Aldridge at San Antonio (San Antonio Spurs)
It’s bad enough for opposing teams to have one Tim Duncan to play against, now they will have to deal with 2 Tim Duncans in one team! The Lamarcus Aldridge free agency was one of the most talked about topics in Basketball circles both in SriLanka and abroad and the Spurs signing of Aldridge for a 4 year $80 Million contract is the biggest free Agent signing. The former Trail Blazer Center is one of the most consistent Basketball players in the NBA right now, putting up solid stats year in and year out.
He is returning to his Home state San Antonio. Many believe Aldridge made the decision to not stay in Portland because 3 other starters had moved to different teams too putting the Western conference team in rebuild mode, a state the All-Star Center isn’t willing to be a part of given that he is in the latter half of his career at the age of 30. Aldridge is expected to strengthen the already strong San Antonio offence given that he is replacing Thiago Splitter who was more of a Defensive Center.
The Spurs and Trail Blazers run the pick and roll and pick and pop plays in very similar fashion. Their team prides itself on superior ball movement and constant off the ball motion. They also have an elite point guard in Tony Parker who will be able to instantly find Aldridge the moment he gets open and the latter is an even better spot up shooter than Tim Duncan making San Antonio a dangerous team to match up with. Aldridge could also make up for the loss of the Spurs best spot up shooter Marco Belinelli who was traded to the Sacremento Ki ngs. Spurs will have a consistent low post player now to go to especially in crunch time as Aldridge is simply head and shoulders above the Brazilian Thiago Spiltter. Lamarcus Aldridge is a one of a kind, intelligent player who, though under-rated by experts at passing, has a keen eye in finding cutters and open men on the perimeter. He will not need to do a lot of adjustments to adapt to the Basketball Ball Machine of the- ‘San Antonio Spurs’ under Coach Popovich. In summary San Antonio fans in Sri Lanka and all over the World will be hoping that Lamarcus will fit seamlessly into the Spurs system which would immediately make them one of the hottest contenders to win the Western Conference title and of course go for the NBA Title and try and repeat 2014.
6) Dwayne Wade’s resigning with the Heat and the Lottery Luck of drafting Justin Winslow (Miami Heat)
Talks throughout off season were that Dwayne Wade was going to leave the team he has played for throughout his career (Miami Heat) and possibly join LeBron James and the Cavs just like he did 5 years ago. However Dwayne Wade has finally decided after weighing his options to re-sign with the Heat on a 1 year $20 Million contract. He said in an interview “Miami has always been my city and my home. I’m overwhelmed with the love and support the Miami community has consistently shown me and my family throughout the years”.
The Duke product Justin Winslow’s pick by the team is also something I’m really looking forward to, as he was part of a College Championship winning team and many are surprised that he is picked at only number 10. To learn more about that read my article ‘The Top 10 NBA drafts of 2015 part 2 of 2’ which was published a few weeks ago on ThePapare.com.
There are 2 types of Miami Heat fans in Sri Lanka. One are the die-hard Miami heat fans who have been true to the franchise over the years idolizing Dwayne Wade, some even claiming that he is the best Shooting guard. And the 2nd type are the Band wagon Miami heat fans who started supporting the Florida based team since 2010 because LeBron James signed up with them and stayed on for 4 years. I myself belong to the 2nd category. Now there is truly going to be a division amongst those former fans as the forever Miami heat fans want D-Wade, Winslow and the Miami team to do well this season whereas the Bandwagon fans (including myself) do not want them to perform as well since they could be a legit threat to LeBron and the Cleveland Cavaliers for Eastern conference supremacy. All said and done the 2015/2016 season promises to be an exciting one that you certainly wouldn’t want to miss out on.
Log in next week to ThePapare.com to read the final chapter of the top 10 things to look forward to in the 2015/2016 NBA season. Until then stay cool and keep balling.
