Fifty Peso Previews NBA 2011-12: Pacific Division

Golden State Warriors

Major Additions: Nate Robinson, Kwame Brown, Brandon Rush
Major Subtractions: None

     The Warriors' owners are determined to give the fans a team embarking on a new and better direction, but that is a tall order, especially this season.  The Warriors remain a small team with very little frontcourt presence.  As new coach Mark Jackson faces his own acid test, the Warriors will fight an uphill battle, especially with injuries continuing to hound an already limited roster.  Guard play from Monta Ellis, Stephen Curry and Nate Robinson will net them lots of points.  Wins are a different matter and even if they develop the kind of defensive toughness Jackson intends to give them, it won't matter much this season.

Fearless Forecast: Eliminated in the regular season

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Fifty Peso Previews: 2010-11 Pacific Division

Just like to remind everyone that a 1 hour special on Lifestyle Network's Clash of the Toque-en Ones will be aired on December 20 at 10 pm Skycable Ch. 52. Catch everything from the auditions to the finals!

Golden State Warriors

Major Additions: David Lee, Dorell Wright
Major Subtractions: None


Warriors fans heaved a sigh of relief as the team changed owners and coaches.  They seem to have taken the first step towards a winning attitude, grabbing All Star David Lee and a defensive-minded (former SMB import) Keith Smart as their coach.  The problem is, how long until will the winning actually comes?  This team has developed such a culture of losing that it may take a while.  Look for big years from Steph Curry, Monta Ellis and Lee, but racking up wins and playoff berths are at least 2 years away.


Fearless Forecast: Eliminated in the regular season

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Fifty Peso Previews: NBA's Pacific Division

     I close out my NBA fifty peso previews with the Pacific Division, home of the defending champions, the Los Angeles Lakers.  Will the Lakers repeat?  They could, but they will encounter numerous tough challengers, but probably not from their division.


Golden State Warriors


Last Year: Failed to make playoffs
Key New Additions: Stephen Curry, Mikki Moore
Projected Starters: Monta Ellis, Anthony Morrow, Stephen Jackson, Anthony Randolph, Andris Biedrins


     The Warriors are in quite a mess and ownership should shoulder the blame.  Undermining and then later on removing former GM Chris Mullin netted them internal problems ranging from player to coach (Stephen Jackson vs Don Nelson) and player to player (Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry).  The Warriors do have great young talent in Ellis, Curry and Anthony Randolph, but the line up is smallish and uneven.  Look for the Warriors to be inconsistent, with some games having them scoring a lot of exciting ball while some games having them stink up the place.  It will be another tough year for the Warriors fans who have been thirsting for another playoff run.


Fearless Forecast: Eliminated in the regular season


Los Angeles Clippers


Last year: Failed to make playoffs
Key New Additions: Blake Griffin, Rasual Butler, Kareem Rush
Projected Starters: Baron Davis, Eric Gordon, Al Thonrton, Marcus Camby, Chris Kaman


     The Clippers were their usual selves last year, losing horribly and regularly despite their talented line up.  This year, the addition of number 1 overall pick Griffin, who seems to bring a healthy passion for the game, could be the spark needed to excite the Clippers veterans to play harder.  The key, though, will still be Davis, who can singlehandedly bring a team to the playoffs.  If Davis is interested and the Clippers stay healthy, then the Clips could surprise people.


Fearless Forecast: Bubble Team (8th seed or eliminated from playoffs)

Los Angeles Lakers


Last Year: Champions
Key New Additions: Ron Artest
Projected Starters: Derek Fisher, Kobe Bryant, Ron Artest, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum


     The defending champs, not satisfied with keeping their championship line up intact, went ahead and signed Ron Artest to replace Trevor Ariza.  On paper, that would be bad news for the rest of the league, as the Lakers mainly an offensive team, just added some vaunted defensive teeth.  The problem is, Artest loves to hold the ball for long stretches on offense, which could bog down the Lakers' famed triangle offense.  Artest has said all the right things about playing within the system and even Phil Jackson has said he foresees Artest playing well so indeed, the road to the finals will run through the Lakers again.


Fearless Forecast: At least Western Conference Finals

Phoenix Suns


Last year: Failed to make playoffs
Key New Additions: Channing Frye, Earl Clark
Projected Starters: Steve Nash, Jason Richarson, Grant Hill, Amare Stoudemire, Channing Frye


     Now that the Shaq experiment is over (thank goodness), the Suns, coach Alvin Gentry, can concentrate on their famed running game again.  With Nash at the helm, look for the Suns to run and gun and score buckets.  The problem for the Suns is age.  Nash and Hill, who are expected to anchor the running game, are rather long on the tooth so playing at a high level for 82 games will be no easy feat.  If the young, untested Suns can help spell the "old guys" consistently, then the Suns will be able to return to the playoffs.


Fearless Forecast: Eliminated in the playoffs (1st round)


Sacramento Kings


Last year: Eliminated in the regular season
Key New Additions: Tyreke Evans, Desmond Mason, Omri Casspi
Projected Starters: Tyreke Evans, Kevin Martin, Desmond Mason, Jason Thompson, Spencer Hawes


     The Kings were one of the worst teams last season and things will probably not get too much better this season.  Adding Evans to a squad with young studs Hawes and Martin is a step in the right direction, but it's just step 1 when the Kings need to complete 15.  Look for the Kings to play with a lot of inconsistency but also with a lot of promise.  Unfortunately, promise doesn't count in the run up to the playoffs.


Fearless Forecast: Eliminated in the regular season




photos courtesy of Getty Images and Ball Don't Lie

Breaking (Well-Conditioned) Hearts

     In my recent bowling league night, I bowled a total of thirteen consecutive strikes, and while only twelve is needed to bowl a perfect game, I didn't get one because my 13 strikes were split between two games.  I bowled 7 to finish the first game and 6 to start the second.  To make matters worse, I missed the cash prize given for games over 255 because neither of my games were over 255 (242 and 253)! What a heartbreaker!  

     My own heartbreak got me thinking about sport's biggest heartbreaks.  Here are some that I find to be history's biggest heartbreakers and heartbreaks.

Heartbreaker: Steffi Graf

Victims: Jana Novotna and Martina Hingis

     Both Novotna and Hingis, chasing the prestigious French Open Championships, both played tremendous first sets and second sets to bring their finals match to match point.  Graf, however, refused to wilt under the pressure and displayed the fiery form that won her 22 Grand Slam titles.  In both instances, Graf escaped the second set, and then thoroughly dominated the third set, much to the delight of the crowd and the chagrin of the other finalist.  While Novotna and Hingis both retired with their respectve Grand Slam Titles, I'm betting neither will ever forget how Mrs. Andre Agassi broke their hearts.

Heartbreaker: Los Angeles Lakers

Victims: Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings

     On their way to three NBA Championships and numerous trips to the NBA finals, the Los Angeles Lakers, led by the trio of Phil Jackson, Shaq O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, made sure they broke several hearts along the way.  The first to experience the pain would be the Blazers of the 2000 season.  Leading big in the fourth quarter of Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals, it would seem the Rasheed Wallace-Steve Smith led Blazers would get to taste the NBA Finals.  Unfortunately, the ultra-talented squad, which also featured Bonzi Wells and Arvydas Sabonis, went through an inexplicable dry spell in the last four minutes of the game.  This paved the way for a historic comeback by the Lakers, including a tremendous ally-oop from Kobe to Shaq.  That loss turned out to be last hurrah for the Blazers as that same talented team soon began to implode.  In the coming years, that team became known as the Jail Blazers and soon after that, Portland missed the playoffs for the first time in over two decades.

     The Sacramento Kings were also a talented bunch who fell victim to the Lakers date with Destiny.  The Kings, led by Chris Webber and Vlade Divac, looked to have the Lakers number and needed Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals to take the Lakers to the brink.  However, a broken play by the Lakers resulted in a bad shot, a ball tapped to the outside and alas, that dagger three by Robert Horry.  The Kings and their fans never lived that shot down and never really challenged for the title again. 

Heartbreaker: Shawn Michaels

Victims: All wrestling fans in the universe

     It is only fitting that the Heartbreak Kid would be in this list.  While wrestling is entirely scripted, it doesn't mean the fans won't have their hearts broken.  When Nature Boy Ric Flair, a former 16-time World Champion, was punished by Vince McMahon, he couldn't afford to lose a match, lest he be banished to retirement.  Despite this, the Nature Boy still yearned to battle the best, who at that time, he deemed to be Michaels.  So in Wrestlemania 24, Flair fought tooth and nail against the younger Michaels, almost to a tie, until Michaels finished him off with a super kick to the face.  While almost everyone expected the WWE Hall of Famer Flair to lose and retire, his loss that night still triggered tears to fall from the thousands in attendance, including the victor, Michaels.

Heartbreaker: Bal David

Victims: San Miguel Beermen

     Despite a depleted line up propped up only by import Jeff Ward and Nelson Asaytono, the San Miguel Beermen still managed to put up a tremendous fight against sister team, the Gordon's Gin Boars (Ginebra).  The two teams engaged in a fierce semi-finals knockout match, which even went into overtime.  With the Beermen in the lead with just seconds to go and the Boars having no timeouts, it seemed the underdogs were about to steal it.  The Flash, Bal David, however, threw up a seemingly-impossible half court shot that drilled a dagger into many a beermen fan's heart.  While San Miguel and Jeff Ward would be reunited for another go the following year, they never did win a championship together.

     Do you know any heartbreakers more gut wrenching than these? Comment or send me an email at plated_thrills@yahoo.com