What if... the Toronto Raptors had a New Year's Resolution, what would it be?

by Andrew D. Bernstein from http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2217072-ranking-the-best-backcourts-in-the-nba-entering-2014-15-season/page/5

          First and foremost, congratulations to Kyle Lowry for being voted as an Eastern All-Star! He has done a great job carrying the load when Demar Derozan was out for a few games.The Raptors are right behind first place, Atlanta Hawks, in the Eastern Conference. Jonas Valanciunas has been putting steady numbers similar to last season. His defensive presence is what's impressive and a much needed asset for the Raptors team. They can make a lot of noise this year in the playoffs because they not just a jump shooting team anymore. All Star, Kyle Lowry, and Demar Derozan, can both penetrate the paint and make jumpers. We know teams live and die by the jumper. In the Raptors case, they are more versatile. They find ways to change their offense because their players are two dimensional. Led by their bench, Lou Williams, Patrick Patterson, and James Johnson, can fill the void for the starters if they are injured. A scoring punch right off the secondary unit, Lou Williams, has looked like he recovered from his injury. With the year he was with the Atlanta Hawks, he was struggling shooting and wasn't comfortable with the offense. Since the arrival in Toronto, he has rejuvenated his career and is a huge part of the offense for the Raptors. But we know the team starts and ends with Kyle Lowry. The Toronto Raptors are an all-around good team and great things are to come especially with general manager, Masai Ujiri.

          The Toronto Raptors have two players who can take over the game in the fourth quarter. Not only do they have a really good chance this year to advance in the playoffs, but the organization is starting to come together with a formidable team.With the Eastern Conference teams, there are really five solid teams who can make the Eastern Conference Finals this year. We have the Cleveland Cavaliers, Washington Wizards, Atlanta Hawks, Chicago Bulls, and Toronto Raptors. There's a really great chance they might even make it to the NBA Finals if they put all their efforts together and believe they are the better team. It's an easier road to the Finals than the Western Conference, that's for sure. Why not dream big?

What if... the Miami Heat had a New Year's Resolution, what would it be?

by Starting Blocks, Associated Press from http://www.cleveland.com/ohio-sports-blog/index.ssf/2010/06/lebron_james_dwyane_wade_and_c.html

         
          It hurts how Lebron James left the Miami Heat in the offseason. James moved on with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade has to play without him. Bosh has to go back to the roots when he was with the Toronto Raptors. He is almost averaging 22 points and 8 rebounds per game. They are fighting for playoff position but this will be the first time in five years they are not considered as a title contending team. They are a below .500 team and without Bosh, they wouldn't be a playoff team at all. Dwyane Wade just turned 33 years old ( Happy Birthday, Dwyane Wade!) and unfortunately we can't turn back time. However, they do have Mario Chalmers who has been stepping up his game after the absence of Lebron James. Luol Deng has done a solid job averaging 14.9 points and 4.9 rebounds but not enough to cover for James. They need more help if they want to pass the first round this season.

         What's the next move for Pat Riley? There were rumors floating around trading for Brook Lopez or Lance Stephenson. Certainly Brook Lopez would shift Chris Bosh to the power forward spot but it doesn't help the team defensively. We can talk all day about Lance Stephenson's attitude and his role with the Charlotte Hornets. Dwyane Wade doesn't have many years left in the league with his nagging knees causing him to miss a bunch of games each season. They need to go out and find a point guard or develop Norris Cole. He's been in the league for only three years and he has plenty of potential because he can drive into the paint with his speed like Eric Bledsoe and hit the three-point shot. The Miami Heat has to adjust their game and it's certainly going to take time while blossoming center Hassan Whiteside was a great pickup. He had a 23 points and 16 rebounds game in under 30 minutes against the Los Angeles Clippers. The Miami Heat will need to rely on their young players for them to rebuild their organization after Lebron James left.

What if... the Detroit Pistons had a New Year's Resolution, what would it be?

by Gregory Shamus/ Getty Images North America from http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/1NVysp9b40w/Indiana+Pacers+v+Detroit+Pistons/57ZcAj-eZVR/Brandon+Jennings

            

          Boy, what a turnaround after my blog about the Detroit Pistons as the most disappointing team so far in the NBA. Let's see the position they were in about a month ago. The Pistons were 5-19 and went on to lose four more games. After the Josh Smith trade, they were on to win seven game straight and here we are today. They just lost to the Atlanta Hawks which is reasonable considering the Hawks are on top of the East. Now the Pistons are 12-24 who are creeping for the 8th seed, Miami Heat. They are just three games back and if the Pistons can make it to the playoffs this season, it was be a great season. Their goal is to get to the playoffs this year and maybe even try to pass the first round.

          The Detroit Pistons should be getting better year by year. With Andre Drummond as their center, he is a great piece to build around. Now that Brandon Jennings and D.J. Augustin is able to handle the ball instead of Josh Smith, they have been playing great team basketball and winning against quality teams such as Cleveland Cavaliers, San Antonio Spurs, and Dallas Mavericks. The Piston's resolution is to go get a player like Draymond Green who can play the small forward position and make the hustle plays. His defense and second chance opportunities are what's going to make the coach happy and Green is one of those special players who doesn't need plays to have an impact on the game. The future is bright for the Pistons who will be on the rise.

What if... the Cleveland Cavaliers had a New Year's Resolution, what would it be?

by Elise Amendola, AP from http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/cavaliers/2014/07/11/lebron-james-cleveland-cavs-home-return-decision-miami-heat/12431349/

       
          Lebron James hurt. Kyrie Irving hurt. A 19-16 start. 5th in the East. Lost to the Philadelphia 76ers who are 5-28, tied for least wins with the New York Knicks. It can't get any worse for the team, can it? With the addition of Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith from the New York Knicks, they still have not found a replacement for Anderson Varejao who is out for the rest of the season due to an Achilles injury. Thristan Thompson has been a great replacement as of now if they want to play small ball. Once the Cavaliers match up against teams with bigs like Al Horford and Nikola Vucevic, size will mater and it will be hard for him to guard. When Tarik Black was waived by the Houston Rockets, I thought the Cavaliers were going to try to pick him up because he was playing great when Dwight Howard was out. He's only a rookie and has already shown he can do the little things by playing defense and hustling on every possession. The Cleveland Cavaliers are not ready for the playoffs if they don't have a quality center.

          If the team continues to get injured and stack up more loses, Lebron James will take matters into his own hands and leave the team if he feels the team is not ready to play championship basketball. Their resolution? Simple: Less drama and more winning. We thought Lebron James returning home was enough, but this? Now that Dion Waiters is out of the picture, the key piece of the trade is Iman Shumpert. Once he's healthy, his defense can be really annoying for the opposing team. I felt J.R. Smith was a throw-in due to his contract. He gives you defense but can make the coach crazy at times. Let's see where the Cleveland Cavaliers are by the All-Star break because there will more changes if they don't take their roles seriously.

What If... Lebron James paired up with a young Shaquille O'neal?

by Starting Blocks/ Associated Press from http://www.cleveland.com/ohio-sports-blog/index.ssf/2009/06/veteran_golf_star_hale_irwin_n.html

          Can you imagine these two on the same team? We've seen Lebron James play with Shaq well pasted thirty years old. The free agent during that summer would swarm all over the Cleveland Cavaliers organization to play with the superstars.

          How cool would it be to see a 25 year old Shaq playing alongside Lebron James? If James has a difficult scoring night, all he had to do was just pass the ball to the post and Shaq would give them two points easily. Shaq was easily the most dominant big man in his era. Injury was never a huge factor for most part of his early career which allowed him to play major minutes with the Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Lakers. The only concern was his fouls. Once he commit early fouls, he would be benched. Also, if a game is coming down to the wire, Shaq would be benched due to his horrific free throws. Other than that, the opposing team's center is going to have a bad shooting night. Going back to James and Shaq as a combo, they are not great free throw shooters for their career but as team players, they make those who surround them better baskeball players. James has the vision of a point guard who can play multiple positions. With James and Shaq paired up together, would they have won more championships than Kobe Bryant and Shaq? Or would they have been a bust?

What If... Ray Allen didn't hit the game tying 3-pointer in game 6 of the NBA finals in 2013?

from http://www.gettyimages.com/

          

          If Ray Allen had missed the three-point shot, where would Lebron James legacy be? Would he have left the Miami Heat that year? Or would he have stayed with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh? He might have left but would he have returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers like he did this season? It would have been an interesting scenario because the three point shot by Ray Allen probably sealed Lebron James as a 2-time NBA champion. The game eventually went to overtime after the sequence and forced a game 7 of the NBA finals. Can he be crowned as the best NBA player that has ever played over Michael Jordan or does he need more championships? Without Ray Allen's shot, Lebron James would have only one championship. Most likely, Lebron James would probably be on a different team if he hadn't won the championship that year. Do you guys think so? Feel free to comment below!