1. The Boston Celtics bench is no longer a weak point. Leon Powe, Glen Davis, and Eddie House have all proven that they can provide meaningful minutes. Add in Posey (a guy that’s good enough to start on a lot of teams in the league), and savvy vets Sam Cassell and PJ Brown, and you have a team that’s deep enough to go all the way. Kudos to Danny Ainge for acquiring those two vets, and kudos to Doc Rivers for bringing along the younger guys.

2. Rajon Rondo is still the weakest starter on the team, but his shortcomings will be minimized as long as Cassell is available off the bench. Rondo’s game is highly dependent on getting in the lane (something elite teams do a great job of stopping). Take that away from him and it throws off his rythym - offensively and defensively. Lucky for Boston, they’ve got a fantastic point guard coming off the bench in Sam Cassell, so it won’t be an issue.

3. Doc Rivers might cost Boston a championship. It’s clear to most observers that Doc can’t coach at an elite level. He doesn’t understand late-game management, and he has trouble understanding and exploiting match-ups. See games 3,4, and 6 of the Hawks series. Don’t get me wrong - Boston might be able to overcome their coaching handicap. Still, I think every remaining team in the playoffs has a better coach than Rivers.

4. The Celtics have trouble with teams that play at a fast pace with a lot of athleticism. Luckily, they won’t face any more teams like that this year, at least not until the NBA finals (if they make it that far).

5. The Celtics team chemistry is as good as any. A lot of commentators talk about the fact that Boston hasn’t played together enough to win it all, but I think that’s wrong. Look at the way the team has pulled together in tough games all year - they’ve got plenty of chemistry to go all the way.

6. Lebron James is going to give Boston fits. Imagine a stronger, faster, and more capable version of Joe Johnson tear-assing through the Celtic’s defense. Lebron is going to single-handedly terrorize the Celtics defense. Will his supporting cast be enough to put his team over the top? I don’t think so, but it will definitely be close.

7. Detroit controls Boston’s future. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - Detroit is a better team than Boston. But will Detroit play like the better team in the conference championship? If every Detroit Piston is focused, and I mean totally focused, Detroit’s superior point guard play, bench depth, coaching, and experience should prevail. Boston’s bench is good now, but I’d still take the “zoo crew” over them. Having said that, Detroit did collapse last year against Cleveland. It’s going to be a great series…

I like Boston’s chances of reaching the NBA championship - I’d say it’s an even money bet.

> Bad defensive habits.

The much-maligned Nuggets defense improved in the last year, but not enough to overcome their chronic lack of focus. The Nuggets spent just as much time this season playing bad defense as they did playing good defense. They often played to the level of their competition - like beating a tough San Antonio team twice in Denver, then losing a “must win” game to a young Seattle team during the last week of the season.

> Melo’s lack of maturity.

Carmelo is a tremendous scorer, and he’s becoming an excellent passer and a solid rebounder. Unfortunately, he’s yet to develop into a leader. His meltdown after game 3 in the Lakers-Nuggets series underscored his biggest problem - his lack of maturity. He doesn’t understand that his individual defensive efforts would translate to better team defense. Not to mention his DUI that came the week before the playoffs. He’s the best player - he needs to set the tone.

> Chemistry.

It’s clear from comments made by players and coaches this year that the Nuggets lack chemistry. From George Karl’s lack of emotion (he looks like a man that just doesn’t care anymore), to Allen Iverson’s veiled threat to opt-out last October, to Melo’s obvious disdane for his team following game 3 of the playoffs, it’s easy to see this group hasn’t clicked. Only a major change can fix this problem.

Here’s what the Nuggets have to look forward to:

> More time with George Karl

Nuggets owner Stan Kroenke has a tendency to drag out tough decisions. Even if Kroenke is confident it’s time to let Karl go (and it probably is), he’ll find a way to drag it out well into next season. Besides, Karl’s got two more years of contract left. Kroenke doesn’t like to buy out coaches.

> A difficult negotiation with J.R. Smith.

Don’t be shocked if Denver looses J.R. Smith during the off-season. Granted, he played extremely well in the second half of the season, but he’s not going to be worth much more than Sasha Pavlovic money - $4 to $5 million a year. That puts him squarely within many team’s mid-level exception. J.R. is enough of an ego maniac to kill the goose that laid the golden egg (a la Anderson Varejao), so he’s likely to turn down whatever offer the Nuggets produce. For all I know, J.R. might be thinking he’s a max contract type of guy (yes - he’s that delusional).

> Saying goodbye to Eduardo Najera

Based on how the Nuggets season ended, it would have been wise to trade Najera when they had the chance (if only I had a time machine). Najera is a tremendously popular in Dallas, and the Mavericks would gladly bring him on board for the spark he provides off the bench. Even if the Mavs pass on his services, San Antonio, Cleveland, Boston, and Detroit would pay him as much as $3 million a year for his defense and hustle. Najera is as good as gone.

> Trading Marcus Camby, Nene, and/or K-Mart

Denver needs to make a change - someone has got to go. The team needs new blood, and a big off-season trade always has the benefit of changing the dynamics in the locker room. Denver also needs to find a way to bring in some new players without paying out any more money, and that means trades. Aside from Iverson and Carmelo, Denver’s biggest salaries and most trade able pieces are (in order of most valuable trade bait to least valuable) Camby, Nene, and K-Mart. Dumping K-Mart’s contract would be a miracle, so that means Nene and Camby are most likely to be traded. Camby provides defense and rebounding to a team that’s trying to get to the next level, and Nene offers youth and potential to a team that’s looking to rebuild. I would like to see Nene and K-Mart traded for Jermaine O’Neal. O’Neal provides defense, scoring, and size, and taking on his contract is no worse than sticking with K-Mart’s contract.

A front court of Camby, O’Neal, and Carmelo would be as formidable as any in the league. Here’s to hoping…

1 . Your average NBA fan doesn’t understand the game.

Unless you’re watching the Lakers or the Knicks play, you rarely hear a home crowd boo their own team. Why? Because in most cities, the fans don’t know what to expect from their team. When the Lakers or the Knicks blow a lead, give up consecutive offensive rebounds, or miss an easy shot, their fans let them have it. These things are caused by laziness. These things are caused by stupidity. These things are unacceptable. When was the last time you booed your team for doing something stupid or lazy? Maybe you haven’t booed them because you don’t know how the game is played.

2 . NBA fans are drunk.

Attend any game at any arena in America and you’ll find beer. Lots of beer. Some arenas even serve shots and mixed drinks. I’ve got nothing against enjoying alcohol, but there’s something about public events that encourages the average fan to over imbibe. Drunkeness is only enjoyable for drunk people - everyone else is irritated.

3 . NBA fans imagine they’re important.

This one really gets me - people saying “WE DID IT!” after their team wins. WTF? Really? “We” did it? What exactly did you do? Was it that order of nachos that pushed your team over the top, or was it that time you high-fived the guy next to you when so-and-so hit a shot? Unless you’re working out one of your team’s players in practice, you can shut the hell up about this “we did it” business.

4 . NBA fans only participate when their team wins.

Remember when the Pacers were good? That stadium was full every game (about 20k people). This season, Indiana has the league’s lowest attendance figures (about 12k a game). Did 8,000 game ticket buying Pacers fans die in the last 4 years? No. The answer is that those Pacer fans are busy buying Celtics jerseys and talking about how they’ve been a Celtics fan since Bird joined the team in 1980 whatever. Ya right.

5. The “I could have made that play” BS.

You’re watching the game with your friends and your team blows a layup. Somebody quips “I COULD HAVE MADE THAT ONE!!”. Really?! Shut the #@% UP. You can’t even run the length of the court three times. Next time you (or someone you know) starts to utter that phrase, I want you to stop and say “these men are elite athletes - I am a couch potato.” Keep saying it until you believe it, or until your pizza shows up. Fat ass.

Here’s why NY and LA NBA fans are better:

Every year, regardless of the team, regardless of the record, NY and LA enjoy full or nearly full arenas. Just because the team isn’t playing well doesn’t mean fans aren’t buying tickets. NY and LA fans will also boo their team when they’re playing poorly, something I have yet to see in another arena (at least consistently). Finally, and perhaps most importantly, your average run-of-the-mill moron can’t afford to buy tickets to a Lakers or Knicks game. When you keep those people out, the “we did it” mob mentality doesn’t grab hold like it does in a lot of the cheaper arenas in the country.

I hope that I made you laugh. I also hope that I made you think. I really hope I pissed some people off. The truth is that just about everyone has done one or more of these things themselves. You can be mad, you can argue with me and say “my team’s fans are better because blah blah blah”, or you can stop sucking as a fan. Read more. Listen more than you talk. Crack a book sometime in the off-season and learn how the game is played. Get out on the court and run some suicides, do a rebounding drill, and try making a 23 foot jumper. Then maybe you’ll appreciate the game for what it is - the greatest game on the planet.

They’re not playing defense (at least not consistently). Every game I see them take a play or a series of plays off - I’ve even seen them take entire quarters off. Not a game goes by that I don’t see the Nuggets fail to challenge a shooter. It’s sickening - all it takes is a little effort to run out and put a hand in someone’s face, yet no one moves. That’s the definition of bad perimeter defense. Local beat writers are finally starting to pick up on this - according to the Denver Post, the Nuggets win more games when they defend the 3pt line than when they don’t. Too bad I’ve been lambasting the Nuggets for this since before the season started.

They’re not running enough. Running creates a lot of easy points, puts pressure on opposing defenses, and it seems to energize every Nuggets player to play better defense. Yet not a game goes by that I don’t see someone walking the ball up the court. Sometimes it’s simply a genuine lack of focus, but I think it’s also about laziness. Why run when you can walk?

They take a lot of bad jumpers. There’s nothing wrong with chucking up a jumper when it’s the best shot available to you, but there’s no excuse for launching a shot 6 seconds into the shot clock when no one from your team is under the basket. Again, not a game goes by that I don’t see this either.

I know what you’re going to say - every NBA team does these things. Fine. They’re not perfect. I get it. Still, no one can tell me they’re doing a good enough job. Their record is all the proof I need.

But what if, for the sake of argument, the Nuggets DID do these things consistently. They probably wouldn’t have lost to the Knicks on Nov. 6, 2007 by 7 points. After all, the Knicks ARE the worst team in the league. What’s the excuse for losing that one? I bet it has something to do with the Knicks shooting 43% from 3 pt land that game (not challenging shooters).

What about dropping one against the Pacers at home on Nov. 27th? The Nuggets shot 36% in that game - maybe not enough early offense opportunities (aka not running)? Maybe it was hard to run after all that turkey they had at Thanksgiving. Losing in Chicago on Feb 22nd was just as pathetic - allowing the Bulls to score 135 points is just awful. You can count on one hand the number of times the Bulls have scored more than 120. Never mind the fact they’ve never scored more than 130 this season (except against the Nuggets). Awful performance, and it had a lot to do with effort.

Most recently, I watched the Kings beat the Nuggets at home 118 - 115, despite the Kings missing Ron Artest, Brad Miller, and their starting PG Udrih. The Kings shot 40% from 3pt land (because they weren’t being challenged on open looks) and the Nuggets hit 26% of their 31 3pt shots - anyone else think they were more interested in jump shooting than actually playing?

Here’s the most important statistic of the Nuggets season - they don’t want to play hard all the time. They’re L-A-Z-Y.

If you look at the four games I’ve mentioned (Knicks, Pacers, Bulls, and Kings), you’ll see none of them were on a back to back. None of them were with more than one starter missing (unless you consider Nene a starter, but he hasn’t been healthy most of the year). All of those games were winnable. Taking a look at the standings, if the Nuggets would have won all four of those games, they’d be challenging Utah for winning the division and looking at playing the flawed Rockets, Suns, or Jazz with a home court advantage. Instead, if the Nuggets get into the playoffs, they’ll probably have to face New Orleans, San Antonio, or Los Angeles. Can you say first round exit? I’d rather see them miss the playoffs (and get a decent draft pick) than get beat by San Antonio again…

If the Nuggets miss the playoffs, you’ll know why. The question is, will they?

But what the HELL is he thinking? Here’s what I’m talking about - Cassell, eager to be bought out, has refused to walk away from the money remaining on his contact. “I’m not doing it…I know for a fact I’ve done tremendous things for this organization. I’ve helped this organization have respectability in the city of L.A.” (source LA Times)

Let me see if I understand what you’re saying Sam…

• You WANT to leave the Clippers so you can play on a team that has a chance to win it all, but you expect the Clippers to pay you money to do so?
• You believe that because you made the Clippers respectable, you deserve to be paid money you’re not actually going to earn?
• Incidentally, when you were making the Clippers respectable, what exactly were you being paid for at that time? Was the first year of your contract payment for something you’d done previously as well?
• You expect to walk away from the Clippers with a big check in your pocket, yet finish the season somewhere else?
• What’s in it for the Clippers?

What is in this for the Clippers - what do they get for giving Sam his walking papers? Some people say that the Clippers should let Sam leave because it’s the right thing to do…Sam is getting older, and he doesn’t have many more chances to win it all. I agree. Some say the Clippers should let Sam leave simply to prove that they’re a player-oriented organization…good P.R., might help them recruit a free agent, etc. I agree with that point too. Sam should be allowed to leave.

But why should Same take money he didn’t earn with him? He wants to leave, and the Clippers have agreed to let him out of the remainder of his contract. But why should the Clippers also pay him to do so?

Of course, the businessman in me recognizes that if Sam stays, he’s going to get the rest of his money…if the Clippers can pay him less than they were going to anyways, it’s a win. Unfortunately, it sounds like Clippers owner Donald Sterling doesn’t agree with me. I understand his frustration. Listening to Sam brag about all he’s done for your team and then expecting a big severance would be infuriating.

I think Sam should accept the facts - he’s leaving the Clippers in the lurch, with only Brevin Knight to run the point. He’s running out on the sinking ship. Granted, he’s got some good reasons to leave, but where does he get off expecting payment to do so?

Over-sized, over-paid and under-publicized, Mike Miller is a league-leading 3pt shooter that can pass a little and pull down a rebound or two. He’s got a goofy haircut, a personality made for a big market, and two and half years left on a $9+ million dollar contract.

But he can shoot. Really well. I can think of a lot of teams that would value Miller quite highly - overpaid and all. Miami, for instance, had interest in Miller earlier this season.

Even more interesting, consider this - Memphis now has multiple first-round draft picks, three young promising PGs, a big expiring contract (Brown), and a top-notch shooter with a livable contract (Miller). In other words, they’ve got enough pieces to make a trade for a big-time star.  It’s hard to imagine, but maybe Memphis uses their newly acquired expiring contract to grab Jason Kidd?

Or maybe not.

In all likelihood, Mike Miller will be traded for an expiring contract and some youngsters, but don’t count Memphis out on making a big deal (at least not yet) - they’ve got all the right pieces…