As numerous sportswriters try to project what the next season will be and explain why that is the case, I will not write out of a forecast mold but I will ask questions that hopefully will be answered as the season proceeds. I will have three installments before the games begin by November. Thus I will go through questions for 2 divisions per article starting from the East headed to the West.

Atlantic Division  

Boston Celtics:

Players – The big three (Garnett, Pierce, and Allen) is a year older and it has been documented from last season about their age, so would those nagging injuries and age play a big role? Would they be as hungry as last season and have the “need to prove” mentality or feel like “we will just flip the switch come playoff time” because of the success they have felt, which only San Antonio arguable has done rather successfully? Losing an important and experienced bench player in James Posey, how will that affect the team?

Coaches and Management – Glad that winners are rewarded as Coach Rivers received a contract extension, however, just like the players, will that let him slide and slack off or he will feel more motivated and be on the mode of “need to prove” mentality again? Good thing defensive guru Coach Thibodeau returned but will the staff continue working as a unit or egos will start to precede the team’s success?

Players – Yearly deep playoff appearances are long gone now especially that the last person to be in the Finals in Jefferson bolted to Milwaukee, if that is the case, what is the identity of the team now with only Carter being the face of the franchise? If Carter was not able to lead the Raptors beyond second round, how will he fare with this roster? Would Yi Jianlan be a success like Yao or be like Wang Zhi Zhi that flamed out in his NBA career?

Coaches and Management - Is the recent extension of Carter and trading of Jefferson a ploy to move a step forward in the Lebron James sweepstakes in 2010? Especially that Bron is known to have a strong affinity with New York area and with New Jersey’s move to upstate New York in the future? General Manager Kiki Vandeweghe is one of the reputable GM’s and with Jay-Z’s role in ownership as Bron’s close friend, are these factors to have a stronger case to sign LBJ? And if that is the case then, are they more concerned in the future and could not care less what will happen in the next two years?

Players – How will their psyche become better if they are rather the same set of players from a terrible three year stint together aside from the hiring of former Sun Coach D’Antoni? As documented about there is no accountability with this group and their new coach’s also documented to hold easy practice, will that have a reverse psychological effect for the players to play more cohesive and play harder? How will this team adapt to the 7-seconds or less offense when their offense previously is about a perimeter player dribbling the ball side to side for seven seconds?

Coaches and Management – Coach D’Antoni sure loves challenges because of the questions I have posted above so what is he thinking except for the bright lights of New York, the money, and the freedom to run the show like he did before Steve Kerr came in the Suns organization? Isaiah Thomas is still there?

Players – Will Elton Brand’s knee hold up and be worth all the money that was spent on him? With the team’s success in the first round against the Pistons and with this marquee acquisition, are they prepared that teams will gun after them? Can Iguodala shoot well enough from the perimeter (.33 FG%) to not clog up the paint with Brand?

Coaches and Management – Stability in the coaching staff was done with Coach Cheeks receiving an extension, and with the players seem to be paying attention to him, how long will this last?

Players – Will the twin towers in O’Neal and Bosh work since O’Neal had a chance to play with the Spurs before with Tim Duncan and he turned it down? Speaking of Jermaine, is his physical body healed and more importantly, is his psyche rejuvenated after an injury and controversial stay in Indiana since the 2004 Palace brawl? Now that Calderon is projected to be the starting PG after trading Ford, is he really prepared to run the show for 40 minutes/game in spite of his recent injury that sat him on the gold medal game against USA?

Coaches and Management – Wherever and whenever a Colangelo is running the show, will Bryan carry the mantle well that his Dad has accomplished? Will Coach Mitchell be creative enough to run a more active offense than before especially with a star studded “international team” that they have in their roster?

Southeast Division 

Atlanta Hawks:

Players – Which team will show up the whole season, the team that lost 4 games against Boston in the first round or the three games they won in that series? How will the Childress void going to affect them after he bolted to play in Europe? How many games will Mr. Cinco, Josh Smith, have at least five points, rebounds, blocks, steals, and assists?

Coaches and Management – Is Coach Woodson’s leash shorter this year or longer even when they pushed the Celtics to the limit and in spite of his extension? Is Coach Lister (one who I worked with as an Asst. Coach at Mesa Community College), have the necessary impact to develop their big man in Horford?

Charlotte Bobcats:

Players – What is the identity of this team? Who is their leader? Who is an All Star that would be their go-to-guy when they need a last basket just like the guy in the front office as a part managing member of basketball operations (Jordan)? Will they be good enough in order not to lose the interest of their new head coach?

Coaches and Management – As I have learned from reporters and opponents alike, never say anything bad to the great Michael Jordan because you will not get anything good in return, I am relieved that this is an article of asking questions so I will just ask and not claim, how good he really is given that his track record in office is not all too successful? With Larry Brown’s hiring and his reluctance to coach and play youngsters, how will that pan out with a roster that hardly has a playoff experience (Wallace was with Sacramento when they were playing deep in the playoffs but he hardly got off the bench on those games)?

Players – Gone are the days of igniting their offense through a big guy in Shaq, so will they now play small ball and be successful with rookie Beasley, Marion, Wright, Wade, and whoever they choose at the point guard slot? Speaking of point guard, who is prepared to run that spot for on paper, none is a “true” point guard? Wade was simply awesome in the Olympics with the highest PPG while being efficient in shooting percentage playing for Redeem Team (please see my previous article), now that he is not playing with 11 other All-Stars in a team, would his numbers and wins show that he is still part of an elite group of players and indeed be healthy for the whole season?

Coaches and Management – Coach Spoelstra is first in two categories: youngest to coach in the NBA and the only one who has Filipino roots (he beat me to the punch to the NBA coaching ranks but if in case he does not win the championship, I would still want to be the first Filipino coach to win the Larry O’Brien trophy, nonetheless more power to him!), is he indeed ready to run the show even with the full support and recommendation by a coaching great in Pat Riley? Or when the Heat is about to win a championship again, would he be released just like Stan Van Gundy was when Riley took the reins in 05-06?

Players – Is Florida not an attractive state to have good point guards? Will Howard continue to be content to be the third option on offense behind Lewis and Turkoglu even if he is the team’s leading scorer in the regular season with a 58% shooting percentage?

Coaches and Management – If Coach Van Gundy publicly blasts Howard again, would management really allow that to happen anew? Will management later on have to decide to choose between their All-Star and their competent coach? Will Asst. Coach Ewing be successful to share some of his offensive skills to Howard aside from just overpowering people?

Players – Where is Arenas’ head this year, which seems to be more important than his health? How is his relationship with his coach? They played rough in the Cleveland series, is that really their true character? Speaking of rough, will Stevenson’s quality of play be able to back up all the talk he does?

Coaches and Management – Has Coach Jordan overstayed his welcome in this organization especially if he still fails to get out of the first round in the Playoffs and a shaky relationship with their best player?