Chad Ford talks hoops

NBA Obsessed takes you into the hit and run game of NBA Basketball.

Chad Ford writes for the ESPN insider and has some definite opinions on basketball.

On Denver vs. the Lakers:

Damon (Socorro, NM): At this point, are the Lakers worrying about Denver?

Chad Ford: They should be. Denver has been great. Chauncey is showing that he was really the heart of the Pistons all of those years and they have a physical front line. They don’t have the depth that the Lakers have, but I think the Nuggets will really, really push them. I’ve been really, really impressed.

Any Piston fan would tell you that Chauncey was an important piece of the puzzle, but as the Pistons aged, Chauncey could no longer carry them. He is great at pulling the team together, but he is not a Kobe or LeBron, where he is the team.

Chauncey Billups is leading Denver to glory

On LeBron James…

Sal (Dallas): Scariest thing for the rest of the league I’ve seen all season: without hesitation, LBJ taking and burying several pull-up 3s at critical points in last night’s game. It wasn’t just that he hit them, but the confidence you could see he had in those shots when he rose up to take them spoke volumes. Despite winning the MVP hands-down this year, the dude is still getting better!

Chad Ford: Yup. LeBron just turned 24 folks. We have guys in the NBA Draft this year that are 24. He’s still fine tuning his game. If he can hit that jumper with consistency … I think he, not Michael Jordan, will ultimately be remembered as the greatest player to ever play the game.

Watching LeBron in these playoffs is amazing. At times it looks so easy for him that he appears bored by what is going on at both ends of the court, but make no bones about it, LeBron wants the title this year and has a great shot at it.

On teams needing to improve in the off season…

Noah (champaign): Of the teams that have been knocked out already, (SA, Utah, portland, NO, Chicago, atlanta, miami, detroit, philly), Which one has the toughest offseason? which one has the best chance to make the leap to elite?

Chad Ford: Utah, Atlanta and Detroit have the biggest question marks. They all have major free agents to deal with and could be in for big changes. In a lot of ways, Detroit has the most pressure. There are high expectations there and Joe D is going to have to make that cap space and draft pick really count. I think Chicago and Portland are the two teams with the best shot of moving into elite status next year. Both are young and improving and will only get better with time.

Take it from a lifelong Piston fan and a huge Joe D fan. The Pistons have to retool and have set themselves up nicely. They will have a mid 1st round pick and tons of free agent dollars. No player on that team is untouchable, although it may be hard to pry Stuckey away.

Be sure to read all of Chad Ford’s article.

Photo source Newscom

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