Give me an NBA team to follow daily

[Warner2BruceTD]

Every year I decide i'm going to get back into the NBA hardcore, and every year that lasts about two or three days before I lose interest in watching the same half dozen teams on ESPN & TNT. So I end up watching random 4th quarters late at night and not really paying much attention until the playoffs start.

I've decided the only way to really get back into the NBA, is to follow a team day to day like I do in the other sports. So what i'd like to do this year, is find a team to watch daily to keep me involved. I'm not going to pretend to be a fan of this team, but I will follow them day to day and watch every game like I do with my favorite teams. I will read the local papers and follow the fan blogs. I'll be all in.

I don't want it to be the Nets or Suns. Years ago I was kind of a Nets fan, but that faded as my interest in the league faded. Before that, my favorite player as a kid was Dan Majerle, so I was a Suns fan. I have no passion for either franchise, so I don't bother pretending to be a fan of either anymore.

I don't want it to be a terrible 20 win team that will become a chore to watch.

I don't want it to be a TNT/ESPN team like Miami, Spurs, Chicago, Lakers, Clippers, Thunder, Boston, Mavs, etc.

Forget the Knicks, I can't stand that franchise.

I'm looking for a mid market, under the radar team that figures to be in the playoff mix. I will buy the NBA package if I have to. This thread will then become an official team thread for the team.

Post suggestions and make a case. Ex Hoyas on the roster are a plus.

 

[TheImmortalGoud]

Minnesota Timberwolves or Golden State Warriors. I'll make a case later on.

 

[Golden Taters]

Warriors, at least that's who I'm following since we don't have a team anymore.

Very competitive starting 5:

PG: Steph Curry
SG: Klay Thompson
SF: Harrison Barnes
PF: David Lee
C: Andrew Bogut

Curry is a great scorer and a really fun player to watch. Klay Thompson stepped in for Monta once he was traded, and even made the All-Rookie 1st team, while starting under 30 games. He can also really SHOOT, leading the rookies with a 41% 3 percentage. Barnes is an athletic wing that should help score and David Lee should really blossom now that Bogut is back. As for Andrew Bogut, great defensive center who blocks everything, and who doesn't love a great block?

Plus, their uniforms are beautiful.

Should be a very competitive team if they stay healthy. They can shoot the lights out on you, and rely on Bogut to come up big defensively.

 

[Rudi]

Cavs. see Kyrie Irving thread.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

Warriors & T'Wolves are in play.

Cavs are out. Fuck Cleveland.

I'm going to pick one of these teams to run with in 2K13, too. Won't be the same team.

 

[Len B]

Denver is my choice.


Reason #1: Great new uniforms

Reason #2: No superstar on the team
They have team written all over them. AI is their best player, but is not a ball hog and is a defensive stopper. They have one of the most exciting young point guards in basketball (Lawson), more young talent with Faried, a foreign shooter similar to Drazen Petrovic (RIP) with Danilo, etc.

Loved watching these guys in the playoffs vs. the Lakers.

Reason #3: Mountain Time
Mountain time is my favorite time for sporting events, as nothing is better than a 9:00-11:30 game. Go out and do your thing, come home and relax to a good game. Perfect night cap.

Reason #4: Longevity
http://hoopshype.com/salaries/denver.htm

A lot of their players are locked up for at least two years. This will give you time to follow the team and start to get attached to the players. The team should stay pretty stagnant for a 2-3 year run.

 

[Kuzzy Powers]

Warriors games are either really disastrous or really awesome. They are my favourite team to watch late at night. That team is never out of a game and no lead they have is ever safe. Rollercaster games. Id recommend them if you enjoy drama in your life.

 

[DoubleDeuce]

You can't go wrong with picking a team in the Northwest Division (except the Jazz, and you already stated no Thunder).

Blazers, T-Wolves, and Nuggets are all solid choices.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

Denver is my choice.


Reason #1: Great new uniforms

Reason #2: No superstar on the team
They have team written all over them. AI is their best player, but is not a ball hog and is a defensive stopper. They have one of the most exciting young point guards in basketball (Lawson), more young talent with Faried, a foreign shooter similar to Drazen Petrovic (RIP) with Danilo, etc.

Loved watching these guys in the playoffs vs. the Lakers.

Reason #3: Mountain Time
Mountain time is my favorite time for sporting events, as nothing is better than a 9:00-11:30 game. Go out and do your thing, come home and relax to a good game. Perfect night cap.

Reason #4: Longevity
http://hoopshype.com/salaries/denver.htm

A lot of their players are locked up for at least two years. This will give you time to follow the team and start to get attached to the players. The team should stay pretty stagnant for a 2-3 year run.

Very compelling argument. Nuggets are in the mix.

Good call on the "new" (old) uniforms.

Also like the Mountain Time deal, I was leaning towards mountain or pacific anyway because that way the GF is in bed and it eliminates conflicts after a full 6 months of blowing her off for Reds games.

As a kid, I enjoyed those Doug Moe run and gun Nuggets teams that scored a billion points and played no defense. Alex English, Fat Lever, etc.

 

[krulmichael]

Even has a Pistons fan I'd have to say the Pacers are a very intriguing team as to what you're looking for.

 

[Juggernaut]

I'll second the Warriors, Pacers, Nuggets calls. Nuggets definitely the "best" out of those 3. They have a great young cast locked up, and they play quick fast basketball.

Out of the ones not mentioned, I'd say the 76ers should be interesting. Personally, I love how their team is constructed, and you can still get some "drama" with Bynum. Holiday, Turner, Young, Hawes, Bynum, Dorrell Wright, Nick Young. They have good players at every position, and depending how the chemistry goes, can be a force in the Atlantic.

As far as Hoyas go, you can go the Pacers route for Hibbert or the Pistons for Greg Monroe. Both are intriguing young big men, so it'll be interesting to see how they progress. Both teams will be interesting to follow, but the Pacers are the better team this year. The Pistons will have Brandon Knight and Rodney Stuckey to add excitement, but the Pacers have Paul George and George Hill, who are arguably the better duo.

 

[Warner2BruceTD]

Warriors
Nuggets
T'Wolves
Pacers
Pistons

This is my order atm.

Do any of these teams have great local broadcast teams? I'm an announcer geek and can't tolerate bad announcing.

 

[Obst]

Warriors
Nuggets
T'Wolves
Pacers
Pistons

This is my order atm.

Do any of these teams have great local broadcast teams? I'm an announcer geek and can't tolerate bad announcing.

Warriors have Bob Fitzgerald who is great.

 

[EmpireWF]

Minnesota is probably your best bet.

Whether they can stay healthy and compete for a playoff spot, who knows. But they're one of the more fun teams to watch….plus, they're easy to root for.

Brandon Roy is coming out of retirement and giving it a try on his bad knees. Andrei Kirilenko and Luke Ridnour are the elder statesmen.

CHASE BUDINGER.

RICKY RUBO. (though he likely won't play until January coming off the ACL injury)

KEVIN LOVE.

J.J. BAREA.

and Derrick Williams.
------


Not mentioned yet and they're around your area I guess….the Rockets.

For this season, best case scenario is they compete for an 8 seed. They're a young team with a couple solid vets (Kevin Martin and Carlos Delfino). Coming off a great draft (Jeremy Lamb, Terrence Jones and Royce White) plus they were able to bring over last year's acquisition from Lithuania, 22-year old 7-footer Donatas Motiejunas (after his debut this summer, he told the press, " If you're scared of wolves, don't go into the woods" lol).

Patrick Patterson and Chandler Parsons are fixtures while they gave big free agent deals to JEREMY LIN and Omer Asik.

--------

If you want a team who really should be competing for a top 5 seed…..MEMPHIS.

The core is still there (Gay, Randolph, Gasol) with Conley, Allen as major contributors that upset Dallas awhile back.

---------------

Philly is a solid squad, good enough for a mid-low seed in the east. Doug Collins coaches them up like crazy and they do have Andrew Bynum now as a legit bad ass center along with Spencer Hawes. They've got a good group of guards (alliteration mfer) between Evan Turner, Dorrell Wright, Nick Young, Jrue Holiday, too.

 

[Cornelius]

Oakland Warriors, ftw. Come on out and we'll go to a game. :hugitout:

 

[stevsta]

Honestly Id choose the t-wolves

they are ready to win now and they have likable players that you can invest in

 

[TheImmortalGoud]

Players:

- Kevin Love (24) is the best PF and best rebounder in the NBA.

- Andrei Kirilenko (31) was the Euroleague MVP last year. He should add some much needed defense and be a reliable veteran.

- Brandon Roy (28) was once one of the best SG's in the NBA, but his knees gave out, and he had to retire last year. It will be a great story if he were to even be a reliable player, but if he can return to his old form, this team could challenge for a conference final spot.

- Nikola Pekovic (26) is a very reliable Center who has the ability to get you 20-10 every night. He is a low post guy, and not a perimeter guy like a lot of big men are these days.

- Ricky Rubio (21) was one of the most exciting players in the NBA to watch last season due to his amazing passing ability. He is already a top-five passer in the league, and you could argue I have him to low. He was on pace to win RotY last year before he tore his ACL.

- Derrick Williams (21) doesn't really have a definitive role on this team, because he is backing up Kevin Love and we don't know if he will even be in the SF rotation yet. He struggled last season, but he has the potential to be a very good player due to his combination of size and athleticism. I don't think he will ever be as good as a shooter as he was in College.

- Chase Budinger (24) is an athletic wing who can also shoot. He's talented enough where he could score 20 a game, but he has been too inconsistent so far in his career, which is why he is on the bench.

- Luke Ridnour (31) is a reliable backup veteran PG.

- J.J. Barea (28) is a guy who is very quick and can get to the basket. It is amazing what he can do at 5'9" or whatever he is.

- Alexey Shved (23) is a guy who is coming over from Russia. He's supposedly and athletic combo guard. Don't really know anything about him.

- Greg Stiemsma (27) is one of the best blockers in the league.

This is a team that should be in the playoffs as long as they stay healthy, and I can even see them winning a round as long as they are not playing the Lakers or Thunder. They are a likable team, because they have been shitty since Garnett left, they don't have any spotlight guys, and it is Minnesota. This team is very young (I listed there ages in parenthesis above), and is only going to get better in the future. The only core piece of this team that isn't locked up is Pekovic (he will probably be gone next year), so you will have a team that won't have much turnover and you can grow with them. They are lead by one of the best coaches in Rick Adelman. They are starting four white guys, and a total of nine white guys will be in the rotation! You won't find another team that can offer that.

 

[ralaw]

W2B, your top 4 should be Denver. Minnesota, Philly or Indiana. Because you are a casual regular season fan you should probably pick a team that is just fun to watch that is guaranteed to win the majority of their games. Without Rubio this probably eliminates Minnesota. However, I really think you would like the Minnesota team, because they are a young team that is moving in the right direction. When Rubio is playing they are probably the most fun team to watch in the league. You would love Rubio and Barea. This leaves you with Denver, Indiana and the 76ers. Philly made some changes and are going to run everything through Bynum. However, from e-knowing you for as long as I have I don't think you'll have the patience for Bynum's arrogance, mood swings and at times lackluster play, so that eliminates them.

This leaves Indiana or Denver. Both of these teams should be solid, but Indiana actually believes they will be an elite team in the East and if you are a anti Heat guy then this is your team, because the players don't like Miami, so you get a little bit of an edge to those games. Indiana has a good young core and a Hoya in Hibbert.

C: Roy Hibbert/ Ian Mahinmi
PF: David West/ Tyler Hansbrough
SF: Danny Granger/Sam Young
SG: Paul George/Gerald Green
PG: George Hill/D.J. Augustin

Lastly, the coach. Frank Vogel who is a good, tough minded, X's and O's type of coach.

In saying all of this if you can hold out until January/February then Minnesota may be your team, but to keep your interest you may need two teams. One that is just fun to watch during the beginning of the season and another that is guaranteed to be a contender late in the year.

 

[ralaw]

Cavs. see Kyrie Irving thread.

People be hatin' on Kyrie. They just don't know Rudi.....but soon enough they will.

 

[seaplus]

not the Bobcats. trust me. i tried