There are three "seasons" to any professional sports calendar. The offseason is where teams make moves, bringing in talent, shifting personnel around, and dispatching the dispensable. The regular season is the grind. To make it through intact/healthy is an unlikelihood, and to put yourself in a highly-touted position is paramount. The ultimate goal is the postseason, a land of renewed energy where you’ve got the opportunity to call yourselves champions.
For some, the transition from one portion to the next appears seamless. Those franchises deal with the expectations of making deep playoff runs quite expertly. For others, the completion of this process isn’t quite attainable. But are there situations where making it to all three sections of the calendar is actually harmful for the overall progress of the team? Now, as I’ve recently written, I don’t think tanking is the way to go. However, I do think that some could benefit from a reset button.
Five spots have been claimed in the Eastern Conference playoff picture. The final three places will be decided during this final seven-day stretch. Each of those could go to a squad without a winning record. But, of the six teams fighting for those three slots, which ones could really use that extra seasoning?
Postseason = A Good Thing
As with any trend in sports, the following teams would be best served by making the playoffs. We’ll start with the most likely candidate (heading into Thursday night). Milwaukee has had quite the roller coaster ride over their NBA history. The Bucks have a championship trophy in their distant past. As recently as 2000-2001, this organization made a push to the Eastern Conference Finals. But there have been some hard times as well.
The past couple of years have been "meh" at best. Yes, there have been a couple of playoff appearances (2010 & 2013). However, they have only finished with winning records in two of the past 11 seasons (which could stretch to 2-in-12 without a flourish over the next week). With three rookies (including the injured Jabari Parker) and only one player north of 30 (31-year old Zaza Pachulia), there are still many growing pains to go through. But, considering that there’s a new coach AND ownership group, any kind of postseason experience would be a "cherry on top" for a squad that’s ahead of the rebuilding schedule.
Another team in that "ahead of schedule" mode is the Boston Celtics. There haven’t been many of these cycles for one of the Association’s cornerstone franchises. This is one of the consequences of the "Win now!" philosophy that developed with the nucleus of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen. That window closed, sending the roster into re-build mode. After even more changes (trading Rajon Rondo and Jeff Green around the trade deadline), the nucleus currently consists of Marcus Smart, Avery Bradley, Evan Turner, and Brandon Bass.
Does Boston have that superstar player they’ve historically relied on to lead those championship squads? No. But, unless they trade up well into the lottery, they aren’t really in a position to find that star in June. It would be a better use of their time to get the youngsters some postseason minutes to get a feel for their expected future. And, hey, with so many draft picks in the Celtics’ hands, they may get the best of both scenarios.
While Milwaukee and Boston have playoff position going into the second part of the week, one team trying to return to that lofty perch is Indiana. The fact that the Pacers are in this position is both admirable and disappointing. After missing the vast majority of the regular season with a broken leg, Paul George has returned to the court just in time for a last-second push. However, after the last three postseasons (all ended by Miami), this year had to appear to be a letdown from the opening tip.
Even though this roster in constructed of playoff veterans, only four of these Pacers 30 years of age or older. This is still a young squad, and getting some more postseason minutes couldn’t hurt.
Postseason = Not So Good
Just as there’s a trend for those that should benefit from reaching the postseason, a trend could also be apparent for the squads that probably won’t. The Brooklyn Nets have been one of the hottest teams in the Association, winning 11 out of their last 15. They’ve reorganized the lineup (bringing in Thaddeus Young) and have dynamic players at every position on the floor. However, I believe that coach Lionel Hollins may want to remake his roster even more. What do you think he could do with a Willie Cauley-Stein in the Nets’ front-court?
The season’s biggest turnover occurred on South Beach. The Miami Heat were present in the last four NBA Finals. After LeBron James’ departure, though, the organization had to retool. Adding free agent Luol Deng eased some minds in South Florida. Getting Goran Dragic at the trade deadline provided a boost of energy. But that was also tempered by Chris Bosh missing the rest of the season due to health concerns. Bosh is 31. Dwyane Wade is a well-traveled 33. This could be a good time for Pat Riley to invest in some young pieces for this veteran roster. Plus, how many more miles do you want to put on Wade’s tires before getting him the rest he hasn’t had in five years?
In the first half of the season, I thought that the Charlotte Hornets were on the list of the most disappointing teams in the Association. Not much changed in the proceeding months. I do understand that Kemba Walker missed 20 of 22 contests from mid-January to early March. This team had a lot going for it, though. There’s a nice mix of youthful and veteran talent. They’ve got a formidable inside-outside combination. Plus, they just made the postseason a year ago. But it appears that the addition of Lance Stephenson just hasn’t worked as planned. This organization may need another season to find out if the on-court pieces can gel. However, the front office might need the Summer to reshuffle the deck altogether.
There’s one week left until the field is trimmed from 30 to 16. Every team wants to manage their way into all three phases of their annual calendars. For some, though, two out of three might actually do some good down the road.
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