Keys For Success: Atlantic Division

With the NBA season about to begin tomorrow, the little girl inside me needs to talk some more basketball, and cute boys, oddly enough.  So, I'm going to break down each division, team by team, solely based on which player will be the most important to the success of the team this year.  I am going to start with the Atlantic Division, you know, alphabetical, I guess...in the Eastern Conference.

Boston Celtics
     Jeff Green: Green is a super solid player with size and is an all around talent.  He showed some sick play in the preseason, he looks to be coming out strong since his absence last season.With Ray Allen gone, Paul Pierce and Garnett getting...up there, and some new young bigs, he is going to have to play his best to keep the team anchored.

Brooklyn Nets
     MarShon Brooks: The Nets starting five are looking strong this year despite some lack of defense and a messy preseason. Their bench however, is made up of a motley crew of drop outs and could-have-beens (sorry guys).  Their go-to bench guy and sixth man, MarShon brooks, is a strong player though, and has shown he can step it up.  When the starters have to take a breather, he has to be able to step in and take over.

New York Knicks
     Amar'e Stoudemire: Last season was one of the weakest in Stoudemires' career, which is understandable considering the countless bad lucks that happened to this guy.  But, The Knicks has revamped and kicked it into overdrive with...senior citizens.  Although the bench can take care of themselves this year, the starters have to do it.  Melo and Stoudemire need to gel quickly, but most of the pressure will be on the latter.  The work he put in this summer looks exciting, and needs to pay off.

Philadelphia 76ers
     Andrew Bynum: Whew...it has to feel pretty bad to be traded away by a title contending team for a player who plays the same position and who you consider to be worse than you.  Although most people don't consider Bynum to be the best center in the league, when he plays Dwight Howard, his stats are by far in his favor.  If he can stay injury free and play with a chip on his shoulder, the 76ers will be far more successful.  Plus, he is rocking a new afro now, which is probably just because he thinks he badass, but I like to think its a throwback.

Toronto Raptors
     Andrea Bargnani: The Raptors, despite a cool name and a sick logo, have never really been a contending team.  They have had cool players, even cooler nicknames, and a weird on court optical illusion, but still not contenders.  This year looks to be about the same, but if they are going to compete, their European big man Bargnani, has to play like a big man.  He has put up some solid numbers before, especially since Chris Bosh departed, but they have no super solid big guys and he has to play his part, not the parts of others.  

NBA Fashion Finals

     After hours of intense deliberation and a thick stack of stylish photographs left behind me, I have decided who will receive the coveted Classketball Trophy of the 2012 season.  It was rough, and at times it seemed like there was no end in sight.  But, after many blue raspberry slushies to clear my mind, the answer became clear.

      After the easy sifting and elimination of the obviously unfit candidates (c'mon Glenn Davis) it all came down to the top eight.  The Fashion Playoffs for the East in 2012 were, Carmelo Anthony, Lebron James, Amar'e Stoudemire, and Dwayne Wade.  For the West, Russel Westbrook, Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, and Andre Iguodala all made the cut.

     

The East was a real challenge to narrow down from the top four.  The first matchup, Melo and King James, was neck and neck for the entire series.  LeBron James has it all, a unique fashion sense, swag, and the skills to back it up.  Melo is the same, and he makes it a point to show up super well dressed for his ads.   Who would have thought that a single accessory would be the thing that led to ones downfall.  LeBron, you may be my favorite and best player in the world , but the thick hipster glasses have really thrown off your whole game. Its just been done too often.  Melo selects when to wear the hipster glasses and prefers shades.  Win for Melo.  

    

     The matchup between Amar'e and Dwayne Wade was not as close.  Amar'e has a pastel look that looks tight, but in the end, the chic and smooth style that Dwayne Wade has exhibited his whole career wins the day.  Advantage D-Wade.

     Down to Dwayne Wade and Carmelo Anthony.  Both have such a classic sense of style and sense of classy that it may have been the hardest match to decide.  But, Melo chooses bright colored suit jackets and undershirts much too often.  D-Wade wears the greys of a classic, everlasting look and makes it look...well, classier.  The champion in the East is Dwayne Wade.

     

     The West was not as hard to decide.  Russel Westbrook made the cut because I thought his Urkel-esque look was a unique statement that showed he was a joker and just an all around cool guy to hang with.  After the same kind of horrid pattern a hundred times, I thought a little less of the style.  An easy win for Kobe Bryant.

     Andre Iguodala, on the other hand, has a sense of style very similar to Melo, crisp and smooth.  Chris Paul is equally well dressed, and shows his calm, savvy nature when photographed.  Then there is the issue of the hats. CP3 loves hats.  He loves to wear hats.  He loves to wear hats higher and higher on his head in every picture taken of him.  Its like skytops for your face.  Not cool, man, not cool.  Iggy wins. He wears hats the right way.

     Iggy versus the Black Mamba in the division finals.   Two powerhouses of chic, towers of style power.  For days in pondered, wondering who would be able to get any lead.  Then I stumbled on the photos of Kobe with those two girls that his wife got mad about.  No shirt and jeans.  That's way too 90's Kobe.  Your'e not Afro Kobe anymore.  Iggy wins again.

     Iggy versus D-Wade in the Fashion Finals.  These two juggernauts have really set the standard for what the classic NBA look should be.  When one of them shows up to a party, it HAS to be like a handful of doves fly through the door behind them and ten scantily clad ladies pop bottles of champagne in a tunnel in front of them.  And there's a tiger.  So how can I choose between two ballers whose off court style matches their on court presence.  It all comes down to simple attitude.  Which player knows he could coax a lady just with a nod of his head?  Which player knows that tiger will listen to him for no apparent reason other than his look?  

     That player...is Dwayne Wade.  Congrats Wade, you've shamed us all with your look.  And for every one of us you've ruined, you've ruined three ladies who will never look at us the way they look at you.