Notice anything unusual in this NBA preseason photo? What about this one? Or this one?
Duh, it's so obvious: The rim design has been updated for this season. Look, it's like night and day!
OK, so the rim update is actually pretty subtle, but that should give you an idea of how comprehensive Uni Watch is being with this year's NBA season-preview column. New uniforms, new compression undergarments, new warm-up gear, new throwbacks, new court designs, the new rim -- it's all covered here.
So let's get to it. With the regular season due to tip off on Tuesday evening, here's what you can expect to see on the court:
• Unfortunate downgrade for the Bobcats, who have a new pinstriped uni set (here's the rear view). When will the NBA learn that pinstripes don't make sense on players who are already 37 feet tall? Even worse, Charlotte's NASCAR alternates now feature checkerboards and pinstripes, which is really pushing it. Meanwhile, the road uni is now blue instead of orange -- probably an improvement when viewed in a vacuum, but does the league really need another team wearing blue on the road?
• The Cavs have an anniversary patch, plus they'll periodically be wearing a late-'80s throwback, which will make its on-court debut on Dec. 2. In addition, they're featuring another "Cav Fanatic" mix-and-match throwback, just like last season. This time around it's the late-'80s design in 1970s colors -- weird but kinda cool -- which is slated to be worn on Jan. 10 and 21.
• If you can get all worked up one way or the other over the Grizzlies' new alternates, then you're way ahead of Uni Watch. And really, enough already with the shimmer fabric. On-court debut: Oct. 28.
• The trend toward abbreviations and nicknames continues, as the Hawks are adding an "ATL" road alternate uni, which will make its game debut on Nov. 26. Unfortunately, they can add all the alternates they want, but nothing can hide the fact that this uni set is utterly characterless.
• The Heat have made three small changes to their shorts, so pay attention. First, the old format of having the NBA logo on the left leg and the team logo on the right leg has been reversed (that's so the shorts match up with the jersey, where the NBA logo appears on the right-chest area). Second, the team logo on the red alternate shorts has been changed from the flaming ball to the flaming "MH." And third, team logos have been added to the waistband on all three shorts designs.
• Remember back around 1981, when the Jazz wore green road uniforms? Right, neither does anyone else, but you'll get a memory jog when when the team breaks out these awesome green throwbacks on Dec. 4.
• The Kings are wearing a 25th-anniversary patch. Here's a really nice close-up of it.
• Fabric change for the Knicks, who are changing from an open-hole mesh to a flat-back mesh, although you won't be able to tell unless you have a courtside seat. Who makes that kind of decision anyway? "In this case it was the equipment manager," says NBA apparel director Christopher Arena. "He felt the color wasn't holding up well enough in the laundry with the open-hole mesh."
• As per recent custom, the defending champions -- in this case, the Lakers -- will wear a special patch for their home opener, when their championship banner will be raised. They'll also have commemorative warm-up outfits and other gear for that game, which will be on Oct. 27.
• Mid-'90s pinstriped throwback set for the Magic. Yes, we've all seen that throwback before, but there's no denying that it looks better than their current road uni. On-court debut: Dec. 2.
• The Mavericks have a new blue alternate uni. It's basically the same as the team's P. Diddy alternate, but with a different color scheme, plus the uni numbers are now in the team's standard number font. Here's the rear view, and there's a video of the unveiling here. On-court debut: Oct. 30.
• The Nets have scrapped their blue "New Jersey" road uni and have promoted their garish red "Nets" uni from alternate to road status -- a bad move aesthetically and, as it turns out, politically.
• Last year the Nuggets wore green jerseys as an environmental-awareness thing. That initiative has been retired for this season, although a broader uni-based environmental program may be put in place for 2010-11.
• The Pacers are adding a memorial patch for longtime co-owner Mel Simon, although they haven't worn it during the preseason.
• Two uniform memorials for the Pistons: They're wearing a jersey patch for Hall of Fame coach Chuck Daly, and they've added "Mr. D" to their rear collar for Hall of Fame owner Bill Davidson. The Daly patch is just for this season, but the Davidson memorial is a permanent addition to the uniform -- the first permanent memorial in NBA uni history.
• Clever move by the Raptors, who are honoring Toronto's hoops heritage with 1946-47 Toronto Huskies throwbacks (for more on the Huskies, look here and here). Yes, the design is pretty plain, but hey, a Toronto throwback could've been much worse. Now let's hope they make use of the Huskies' old logo, too. On-court debut: Dec. 8.
• New alternate uni for the Rockets -- not bad, right? Additional photos here and here, and there's a really good article about how the design was developed here. On-court debut is slated for Nov. 6.
• Good news in Philly, where the Sixers have switched to a really nice retro-ish uni set. They've also resurrected their old ball-shaped logo, which will appear on the new shorts. Meanwhile, the team's alternate road uni has been mothballed. Further details here and here.
• Uni Watch knows this is hard to believe, but there was once a time when the numbers and letters on the Timberwolves' jerseys were actually legible. And they're proving it by adding this throwback design, which will make its on-court debut on Dec. 5.
• Has an announcer's signature phrase ever been the basis of a uni design before? That's the situation in Portland, where the Trail Blazers have introduced a "Rip City" alternate design that looks pretty sweet. (Don't know what "Rip City" means? Look here, and then check out the jersey's special tagging.) The plan is for the team to wear it only a couple of times -- once on Nov. 6 and again much later in the season -- but Uni Watch has a feeling we may see more of this one due to popular demand. Also: The Blazers will have a 1975 throwback in this season's rotation. On-court debut for that one is scheduled for Dec. 5.
• The Warriors have a great uni history that presents all sorts of intriguing throwback possibilities, but here's one you probably didn't see coming. Simple but cool, and dig the little arrow on the shorts logo patch! On-court debut: Dec. 3. (Looking ahead, a small item buried within this interview with team president Robert Rowell and GM Larry Riley indicates that the team will get a design makeover next season. Uni Watch has seen the preliminary mock-ups and can say with a fair degree of certainty that you will not be disappointed.)
• You won't have the Wizards' two-tone alternate uni to kick around anymore -- they've scrapped it.
• Several teams will once again be wearing green for St. Patrick's Day: the Bulls, Raptors and Celtics (who always wear green, natch, but the gold accenting is special for the holiday).
• The Knicks aren't on the St. Paddy's list this year, because they don't have a game scheduled for March 17. But they're playing at home against the Heat on Christmas Day, so they'll wear their green set and Miami will wear their red alternates, creating a Yuletide tableaux on the court. And for the second consecutive year, all teams playing on Christmas will wear snowflake patches.
• Next March, the league once again will be running its Noche Latina promotion, which will feature seven teams wearing "El" and "Los" jerseys.
• Heritage Week will be Feb. 21-28, 2010. Expect to see lots of number retirements and anniversary celebrations during this period, and five teams -- the Celtics, Knicks, Lakers, Pistons and Rockets -- will be wearing special warm-up gear celebrating their championships. Mock-ups of all five designs are shown here.
• The replacement refs who worked the preseason wore the same officiating uniforms from last year. But now that the lockout has been settled, the refs will get new black-trimmed jerseys (they may look a bit goofy from the back, at least judging by this video game shot) and black slacks (the old ones were navy but were so dark that they basically looked black anyway, so the change is mostly moot).
• Personally, Uni Watch can't work up much enthusiasm over shooting shirts, but the league is very excited about these. Each team will unveil them around Christmastime, after which they'll be worn at least for weekend home games, and maybe more often than that. They'll all be white with team-color trim. OK, so we all know what this is about, so let's just roll our eyes all at once and move on.
• Many players will be wearing a new line of adidas compression tanks, shorts and calf sleeves. Adidas has an exclusive on the tanks and shorts -- players can wear other brands of calf or arm sleeves, but only the adidas gear can carry a manufacturer's logo or show the underlying "ribbing" technology.
• Plus, adidas is getting into padded compression layers for the first time. Players have been wearing this type of gear under their uniforms for years, but this is adidas' first foray into this product category.
• What's that tape strip on Kevin Garnett's leg and J.R. Giddens' knee? It's called kinesio tape, and the Celtics are apparently in love with it. So expect to see more of it in Boston, and don't be surprised to see it spreading throughout the league.
• You may have noticed some players wearing undersleeves during the Sun-Warriors preseason game on Oct. 10. That's because the game was played outdoors, so the players had special permission from the league to wear sleeves. Could this eventually lead to sleeves being allowed for regular-season games? Something to keep an eye on.
• Are you one of those people who like to keep track of court designs? You can see all 30 of this season's floor layouts here.
• And just to bring things full circle, here's something else about that new rim: The new version has breakaway functionality on the sides, instead of just on the front. Watch for it on dunks coming from the sides of the basket.
That should be enough to keep you busy for now. And there are some additional uni details still coming this season, including one absolute bombshell, but Uni Watch isn't at liberty to discuss any of that yet. Stay tuned.
2009-10 NBA Power Rankings: Week 1
www.espn.com
RANK
1 (1) Lakers 65-17 Good line from Professor Hollinger: Only team in the West that can beat L.A. is L.A. But that's why we keep bringing up Ariza, because the likelihood of Hollinger's scenario goes way up with Artest in Ariza's spot.
2 (3) Celtics 62-20 Let's assume that everything goes right and the Celts manage to stay healthy. Then what? As one trusted scout recently told the committee (of one): "They are big, long, athletic and very hard to guard."
3 (2) Magic 59-23 There's never a good time for a 10-game suspension, obviously, but the Magic -- with no fewer than a dozen guys vying for legit PT -- should handle Lewis' absence as well as any team in the league could.
4 (4) Cavaliers 66-16 The way last season ended combined with the stress ball this season will be -- given that the Cavs can't prove anything until the playoffs, plus all the LeBron uncertainty -- is why they start out of the top three.
5 (5) Spurs 54-28 The Spurs, for what it's worth now, are the clear-cut biggest winners of the offseason. How do we know? Because they wouldn't even be in the top five/championship conversation without their summer moves.
6 (7) Mavericks 50-32 Dallas is deeper than it was when it went to the 2006 Finals. The problem: San Antonio can say the same about its current team and the 2007 title team. The competition at the top is so much deeper now, too.
7 (8) Trail Blazers 54-28 If preseason Greg Oden is the new Greg Oden, maybe it won't matter whether Miller starts or comes off the bench. Maybe we'll end up wishing we had touted Portland as the class of the Northwest Division. Maybe.
8 (6) Nuggets 54-28 Unlike Orlando, Denver doesn't have the depth or the reasonable early schedule to downplay J.R. Smith's seven-game suspension to start the season. Game No. 4 at Indiana starts a six-game Eastern swing.
9 (9) Hawks 47-35 One of my eds liked this line, so we're recycling: It's not something you print up on T-shirts, but the Hawks are indeed the clear-cut fourth best team in the East after adding Crawford and Joe Smith and losing little.
10 (12) Jazz 48-34 The cynic in me wonders whether the best thing we'll wind up saying about Utah's season is that it has the Knicks' lottery pick. Korver's injury is already sending a here-we-go-again vibe reminiscent of last season.
11 (13) Bulls 41-41 Maybe we expect too much to peg Deng for a seamless return from injury to replace Ben Gordon, but there's enough here regardless for modest improvement leading into the pivotal summer of 2010. More than enough.
12 (10) Suns 46-36 Judging by our staff picks, it appears I still like this team better than most. Guess it doesn't come as a huge surprise that this committee will pretty much be last off the ship when it comes to the SS Nash.
13 (11) Hornets 49-33 Okafor missed most of his first month in N.O., and doubts persist about CP3 and D-West getting sufficient scoring help from the wings. So brace yourself for the old line about how nothing's easy in the Big Easy for Paul.
14 (17) 76ers 41-41 The optimistic view for a team on the playoff bubble and on a tight budget: If Philly could go 41-41 amid all of last season's chaos, Eddie Jordan's arrival should steady the Sixers right into the 45-win range.
15 (14) Raptors 33-49 If the Raps can overcome their shortcomings on D to get off to a good start, that should hush at least a fraction of the incessant chatter about Bosh's future. If they don't, though, you can probably do the math.
16 (16) Heat 43-39 If we were ranking the teams in order of which ones will endure the longest regular season, Miami would be a top-five lock with Cleveland, New York and Sacramento. 2010 must feel forever away for D-Wade.
17 (15) Wizards 19-63 Jamison's shoulder injury means they're still waiting in the nation's capital to see a healthy Arenas/Butler/Jamison trio in a regular-season game again. They've been waiting since -- no joke -- April 1, 2007.
18 (18) Pistons 39-43 What will keep me tuned in to a Pistons team overloaded with scoring guards but desperately lacking bigs and a setup man? The sense that they'll make a trade sooner rather than later to address the imbalances.
19 (20) Clippers 19-63 Every time I want to believe my Clippers-versus-Lakers playoff fantasy has a shot -- like after hearing so much about how good Baron Davis looks -- I find myself reading about a new Blake Griffin injury.
20 (22) Rockets 53-29 Can the gutty little Rockets hang around No. 8 long enough for T-Mac to come back and drag them into the playoffs? Probably not ... but they won't fall as far in the West as teams like OKC and Memphis are hoping.
21 (21) Thunder 23-59 Leave it to Mark Heisler of the L.A. Times to neatly sum up our view that too much is expected from the young Thunder this season. "If this were a 25-and-under league," Heis writes, "you'd really like their chances."
22 (19) Bobcats 35-47 The team that should have signed Allen Iverson? The Bobcats have a glaring lack of scoring punch along with the coach, Larry Brown, who understands AI best, as well as a Grizz-like need for a box-office draw.
23 (24) Pacers 36-46 The good news: Indy has exceeded my downbeat expectations two seasons in a row. The bad news: "Exceeding" expectations meant ninth place in the East both times, which is realistically Indy's ceiling again.
24 (23) Warriors 29-53 Sad but true: Until Stephen Jackson is traded, pretty much all you're going to hear out of the Bay Area are Jack stories, no matter how much promise we see from A-Randolph, Steph Curry and Morrow.
25 (25) Nets 34-48 We repeat: If Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov gets approved as the Nets' new owner, you could argue that nothing else in Jersey matters much this season. Or would you rather talk about L-Frank's status?
26 (26) Knicks 32-50 You know who probably doesn't mind baseball season stretching into November? Can't see the Knicks complaining about being overshadowed for a couple more weeks given how l-o-n-g their season is bound to be.
27 (29) Bucks 34-48 Thought of one more reason to tune in besides Brandon Jennings' flamboyance and the Redd/Bogut comebacks. With Redd unlikely to opt out of next season's $18.3 million, Milwaukee is bound to shop him.
28 (28) Grizzlies 24-58 Just to clarify: For all our fascination with the Grizz gambling on AI and Zach, we ask the question as much as you do: Why give Pau away, then trade for Randolph to pay him virtually the same money?
29 (27) Timberwolves 24-58 First Kevin Love stops tweeting to appease his bosses, then he goes down with a hand injury. Not the sort of start Minnesota was counting on in its hope that we'd all stop obsessing about Rubio's absence.
30 (30) Kings 17-65 One of our fave scouts says the Kings -- with a hotshot rookie (Tyreke Evans) and our fave rook (Omri Casspi) -- will be better than folks think. Last in the West, though, remains their probable destiny.
NBA Preview and Predictions
www.cbssportsline.com
It was an unmistakable case of the rich getting richer in the NBA this past offseason. League powers Boston, Cleveland, Orlando, San Antonio and of course the defending champion Lakers made bold moves to fortify themselves for a title run.
It's the perfect time, really, for the flaws in the NBA's attempts at achieving parity to come to the forefront. This season will be dominated by a handful of powerful, high-revenue teams while the weaklings can only hope for some concessions in a new collective bargaining agreement. Those negotiations will serve as a backdrop to the ho-hum coronation of a new champion culled from the same old list of suspects.
You don't need me to tell you that the Celtics, Cavaliers and Magic are the overwhelming favorites in the Eastern Conference. In the West, things are a little more open once you get past the Lakers, who will dominate the regular season once again. Things won't get treacherous for L.A. until the conference semifinals; that's where the likes of the Spurs, Nuggets, Trail Blazers and Mavericks will have realistic chances of slowing down the Lakers' bid for a repeat.
With a healthy Kevin Garnett and the addition of Rasheed Wallace, the Celtics are the strongest team in the East. I'm amazed by how easily folks are dismissing the Magic, who are a much better, deeper and more potent team than the group that lost to the Lakers in the Finals. The irony is that Orlando -- with Vince Carter replacing Hedo Turkoglu -- will be easier for Cleveland to defend this time in the likely event they meet again in the postseason. Shaquille O'Neal will take some of the burden off LeBron James, but I think the Celtics and Magic improved more.
So what are my predictions? I have a lot of them, as you'll see below. As for the most important ones -- who plays in the Finals and wins the 2010 NBA title -- it'll be the Celtics over the Spurs. I love the size and scoring punch San Antonio added with Richard Jefferson, Antonio McDyess and Theo Ratliff -- not to mention the added benefit those players afford coach Gregg Popovich. Pop can now monitor and limit minutes for Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili to his heart's content, without worrying about a significant drop-off in production. Plus, that added size -- and fresh legs under Duncan -- will be a tipping point in the Western Conference finals against the Lakers.
Whether the Celtics face the Cavs or Magic in the Eastern Conference finals is immaterial; as long as Garnett is healthy, Rajon Rondo is focused and Wallace is under Doc Rivers' spell, Boston is better than both of them. However it plays out, it's going to be a thrilling finish. Unless you happen to own one of the 22 or so other teams that don't have a chance.
MVP: LeBron James, Cavaliers. It will once again be a duel between good pals LeBron and Dwyane Wade, with some Kobe Bryant thrown in and a legitimate push by Dwight Howard. But with regard to 1 and 1(a), the debate will be the same: Does Wade deserve more credit than LeBron because he has less talent around him? In the end, LeBron's otherworldly numbers across the board, combined with a team that will be in the hunt for a 70-win season, will tip the scales in his favor. What about Bryant, who finished second to LeBron in 2008-09? It's time for Kobe to let off the pedal a bit in the regular season to preserve his body for another title push. Winning that championship without Shaq reminded Bryant how much more important a ring is.
Rookie of the Year: Tyreke Evans, Kings. Even my original pick, the Clippers’ Blake Griffin, came with the caveat that Evans would present a formidable challenge. The broken left knee cap that will keep Griffin out for at least the first six weeks (20 games) of the season tilts the race in Evans’ favor. Not even Griffin, the No. 1 overall pick who is expected to lead the Clippers’ resurgence, can overcome losing 25 percent of his rookie season. Evans’ aggressive approach and plethora of opportunities to shine for a last-place team would’ve pushed a healthy Griffin. With this setback, Evans is now the favorite.
Coach of the Year: Rick Carlisle, Mavericks. The Celtics' anticipated dominance of the East and the egos that go along with it will create plenty of buzz for Rivers, who will certainly be a deserving candidate if he can control Wallace and make him happy in a reserve role. As everyone is well aware, Rondo isn't the easiest point guard in the league to coach, and as everyone should be aware by now, Garnett isn't the easiest superstar to coach -- largely because he thinks he's the coach. But I'm betting that the Mavs will make a dramatic improvement with the addition of Shawn Marion and re-emergence of Josh Howard, asserting themselves as a worthy challenger to the Lakers, Spurs and Nuggets in the West. A coach who guides a team to an unexpectedly long playoff run typically collects a lot of votes along the way.
Executive of the Year: Kevin Pritchard, Trail Blazers. Several worthy candidates have made excellent cases for themselves, starting with R.C. Buford in San Antonio, who will deserve all the praise he gets for stealing Jefferson from the Bucks, drafting rebounding machine DeJuan Blair and grabbing big men McDyess and Ratliff, who can let Duncan rest his weary knees during the regular season. Oklahoma City's Sam Presti -- a Buford disciple -- will get some attention, too, and deservedly so. But while the Thunder will show great improvement, the award will go to the executive whose team is ready to join the elite in the West now -- not the exec whose team will join those ranks in another year. Pritchard didn't do much this summer besides sign point guard Andre Miller and get jilted by free agent Turkoglu. His creative offer sheet for Utah's Paul Millsap didn't work, either. But he'll get the honor for his body of work -- thanks to dramatic improvement by 2007 No. 1 pick Greg Oden and the coming-out party for a versatile roster that has been assembled patiently. Yes, it was assembled with billionaire Paul Allen's money, too. But money doesn't always buy happiness, much less a championship-caliber NBA team. Just ask the Knicks.
Defensive Player of the Year: Rajon Rondo, Celtics. This will be wide open for a few reasons that I'll explain. I would give the nod to Garnett, except I'm not convinced his knee is 100 percent yet, meaning that Rivers will dial back his minutes along the way. Dwight Howard won it last year, so voters will exercise human nature and look for reasons to vote for someone else. Shane Battier remains one of the top perimeter defenders in the game, but he'll find out that defense is a team sport and won't get the same credit without Yao Ming defending the basket. LeBron certainly will be deserving, but how many awards can one guy win? So I'm betting that Rondo, on a mission to prove his doubters wrong, will use the enormous chip on his shoulder to lead the league in steals and dominate opposing point guards in marquee matchups with Orlando and Cleveland. Sorry, Danny Ainge; Rondo just became that much more difficult to retain as a restricted free agent, assuming you're not signing him to an extension by Oct. 31.
Sixth Man of the Year: Rasheed Wallace, Celtics. This is by far the most interesting race, with mainstays Ginobili, Jason Terry and Lamar Odom in the mix. Jamal Crawford, envisioned as a Terry clone off the bench in Atlanta, will get noticed, as will Ben Gordon in Detroit. But I have a feeling Terry will wind up starting a good bit when the Mavs decide to play to their strength with a smaller lineup and I'm not convinced Gordon will come off the bench all year with the Pistons. Odom rarely gets recognized for his impact and is often lumped in with the Lakers' starters when discussing what makes them great. So I'm going with Wallace, whose value to the Celtics as a stretch forward and post defender will be overwhelmingly obvious from Day 1.
Most Improved Player: Greg Oden, Trail Blazers. There is no shortage of outstanding candidates here, starting with Golden State's Anthony Randolph, the Lakers' Andrew Bynum and the Raptors' Andrea Bargnani. I'm going with Oden because he will deserve it after all the criticism he has endured during a rookie season lost to injury and an underwhelming 2008-09. If he can put the health concerns to rest, Oden will establish himself as a consistent threat on both ends and become a big part of Portland's success.
First to be traded: Stephen Jackson, Warriors. It's with some hesitation that I grant this dubious honor to Jackson over Utah's Carlos Boozer. Here's why: The Jazz need to trade Boozer only to get luxury tax relief, and those payments aren't locked in until the trade deadline. So GM Kevin O'Connor can be patient and wait for the best deal. The Warriors clearly need to offload Jackson as quickly as possible to have any chance of restoring some semblance of sanity. Jax wants out, Don Nelson wants him out, so what usually happens in such cases is that the player gets his wish.
First expiring contract to be dumped: Tracy McGrady, Rockets. Houston GM Daryl Morey probably would prefer to let this play out and benefit from McGrady's $23 million deal falling off the cap next June. Frankly, I don't think the Rockets are going to be as hopeless without Yao as most people do, but McGrady hasn't contributed much to their recent success anyway. And there will be several teams jockeying for 2010 cap space who will entertain taking on McGrady as a ploy to sell some tickets in the meantime. Primarily, I'm referring to the Knicks, who could pawn McGrady off on the fan base as an "All-Star" and help the 2010 plan at the same time. The problem is the Knicks need to subtract Eddy Curry and/or Jared Jeffries to have enough space to sign two max free agents. Can't imagine Houston taking either one.
First coach to be fired: Lawrence Frank, Nets. As a lame duck in the last year of his contract, Frank has lost his trump card. He survived the league-wide coaching purge last November and December because the cash-strapped Nets didn't want to hire a new coach in 2009-10 and pay Frank $4.5 million. The one thing working in Frank's favor is that his most logical interim replacement, Brian Hill, bolted for the Pistons when the Nets announced plans to reduce their coaching staff. But with the Nets' Brooklyn plans still up in the air and their roster not going anywhere until they see what the 2010 free-agent class yields, there's no harm in turning things over to longtime assistant Tom Barrise until all those issues are resolved.
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