Last time on The New Millennium, Dwyane Wade led the Chicago Bulls to capture the 2014 NBA Championship, and the Cleveland Cavaliers won the lottery. They would shockingly select Marcus Smart first overall, before taking Nikola Jokic with the fourth pick. Jabari Parker was taken by the Nuggets, Andrew Wiggins went to Milwaukee and Joel Embiid joined Paul George and Giannis in Toronto. In free agency, James Harden was the headliner as he signed with the Charlotte Hornets, though the likes of John Wall, Gordon Hayward and Lou Williams are still available. Finally, the Kings blew up their team before the season started, as Chris Paul was sent to New York to team up with Carmelo Anthony and Sherman Conway went to Philly. How will all of these changes affect the 2014-2015 Season?
Eastern Conference
1. New Jersey Nets(56-26)
2. New York Knicks(55-27)
3. Indiana Pacers(51-31)
4. Atlanta Hawks(49-33)
5. Boston Celtics(49-33)
6. Chicago Bulls(48-34)
7. Detroit Pistons(44-38)
8. Orlando Magic(43-39)
9. Philadelphia 76ers(43-39)
10. Charlotte Hornets(41-41)
11. Miami Heat(38-44)
12. Washington Wizards(36-46)
13. Cleveland Cavaliers(34-48)
14. Toronto Raptors(31-51)
15. Milwaukee Bucks(19-63)
Once again, the Nets are the best team in the East, although they got a heck of a challenge from the new "superteam" in the Big Apple. Most of the other qualifiers are the usual suspects, except for the Orlando Magic, who made the playoffs for the first time in years thanks to a breakout campaign from small forward Javier Sanchez(17.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg). Philly were unfortunate to miss out thanks to a tiebreaker on head to head record, even after bringing back Lou Williams(17.8 ppg). Charlotte also missed out despite an excellent year from new star James Harden(24.3 ppg, 8.9 apg), and clearly need a secondary star. Miami still can't get their act together, and Cleveland struggled thanks to the incredibly unwise decision to bench young Kyrie Irving. And poor Milwaukee thought they could contend, and traded away a first round pick for Marion Geiger(14.7 ppg, 10.2 rpg) though at least the pick was top ten protected.
Western Conference
1. Dallas Mavericks(51-31)
2. San Antonio Spurs(48-34)
3. Utah Jazz(47-35)
4. Vancouver Grizzlies(47-35)
5. Portland Trail Blazers(42-40)
6. Golden State Warriors(41-41)
7. Seattle SuperSonics(40-42)
8. Houston Rockets(39-43)
9. New Orleans Pelicans(37-45)
10. Minnesota Timberwolves(37-45)
11. Denver Nuggets(36-46)
12. Phoenix Suns(35-47)
13. Los Angeles Lakers(35-47)
14. Sacramento Kings(32-50)
15. Los Angeles Clippers(26-56)
It was no surprise to see Dallas atop the standings this year, as Stephen Curry(29.4 ppg, 12 apg) had his best season yet en route to a third MVP. More shocking was the meteoric rise of the Spurs, as Kawhi Leonard(23.8 ppg) and Kevin Love(21.7 ppg) formed a devastating one-two punch. Portland could be a title contender this year thanks to new signing John Wall(20.9 ppg, 6.2 apg), while improved defense and better communication got Seattle back on track. Meanwhile, the aging core in New Orleans are clearly on the decline, and Minnesota struggled without Kevin Garnett's interior defense despite a tremendous year from Kevin Durant(30 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 5.2 apg). For the first time in The New Millennium, the Lakers did not make the playoffs, as Kobe Bryant(15.3 ppg) continues to decline. The other LA team certainly did not pick up the slack, as the Clippers finished in dead last and desperately need some sign of hope on the horizon. And up in Sacramento, the Kings were as bad as expected, but did get a very good year from young Julius Randle(14.2 ppg, 5.6 rpg).
Awards
MVP: Stephen Curry, Dallas Mavericks
Rookie of the Year: Julius Randle, Sacramento Kings
Sixth Man: Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers
Defensive Player: Willie Lewis, Boston Celtics
Most Improved: Kevin Love, San Antonio Spurs
Coach of the Year: Lionel Hollins, New Jersey Nets
Join me next time on The New Millennium for the crowning of the 2015 NBA Champions.
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