I was wrong. Quite wrong actually. Once again, the Jazz front office has proven to the world what a high quality franchise it is. They have shown D-Will that they are committed to winning. The Jazz have quietly had one of the more productive offseasons in the NBA and I have a feeling they will still go overlooked in the 2011 NBA season. Who am I kidding, we are always overlooked. But, in my opinion, the Jazz are now a better team than they were last season. Now after that long introduction, here are my 5 reasons that the Utah Jazz will be better next season.

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The final stop in the Connect Four Tour journeys to America’s Heartland, home to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Led by Kevin Durant, the Oklahoma City Thunder carved their way into the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. Finishing the regular season 50-32, the Thunder earned the eighth seed, advancing to the Western Conference playoff picture.

You might be wondering to yourself how in the world can a team win 50 games and yet draw the bottom spot in the playoffs. First off, the depth of the Western Conference from top to bottom leaves little to no room for error when teams set their sights on postseason basketball.

Kevin Durant and the Thunder gave the Los Angeles Lakers all they could handle plus some throughout the first round of the playoffs. A Pau Gasol tip-in with 0.02 seconds left stunned the capacity crowd of 18,342 in attendance at the Ford Center.

Prior the put back, the game certainly appeared to heading for a game seven back in Los Angeles. However, there would be no game seven for the Thunder.

At least not this year. Talk about a debilitating punch to the gut.

You don’t forget moments like that and you can be sure Kevin Durant would be inclined to agree.

Oklahoma City knew a series of moves had to be made. Returning starters Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, Nenad Krstic, Thabo Sefolosha, and scrappy Russell Westbrook by far lessens the pressure to shop around for help during the offseason.

Aiding the solid starting five, Eric Maynor, James Harden, Nick Collison, and Serge Ibaka spring off the bench ready and willing to contribute on both sides of the ball. 

Averaging slightly over 21 points per contest between the four benchmates, the Thunder bench beefed up adding lefty veteran Morris Peterson (7.1 ppg) from New Orleans and valuable three-point commodity Daequan Cook (5.0 ppg), who came over from the Miami Heat.

On draft night, Christmas came early when the New Orleans Hornets thought it was wise to trade 6-11 rookie shot-blocker Cole Aldrich to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

What a steal.

Former Texas Longhorn great Royal Ivey adds a lockdown defensive presence matching beautifully in connection with a team loaded in size.

If they are to revisit the playoff scene, the Thunder must use every single weapon at their disposal. That shouldn’t be too terribly difficult.

Over the last few seasons, the structure of the Oklahoma City Thunder organization was built around the phenomenal talent of Kevin Durant. As he goes, so does the rest of the team.

Averaging 6-7 all the way around, Oklahoma City can stretch out the opposing offense without surrendering the dribble-drive on a consistent basis.

Because of the length, Oklahoma City holds opponents to 98 points per game (11th in the NBA), averaging nearly six block shots along the way (1st in the NBA).

Cole Aldrich should feel right at home with this type of defense.

Out-rebounding their opponents, the Thunder is the on-court version of Robin Hood, ripping off eight steals per game, which is sixth overall.

Offensively, Kevin Durant possesses capability to score at will almost nightly.

Unyielding point-guard play from rock solid Russell Westbrook forces the defense to avoid double teams as much as possible. His slashing style triggers the defense to close in, opening easy scoring chances around the basket.

The free throw line had been kind to the Thunder all season long as they shot 80 percent as a team (2nd in the NBA) and 46 percent from the field.

With the good come the bad.

Turnovers troubled the Thunder over the course of the season as they coughed the ball up 15 times each game (although they forced 15 turnovers per game), ranking them near the bottom half of the league.

Knocking down shots at a clip of 46 percent on the season, the Thunder struggled particularly from long range, managing a meek 34 percent as a team.

Poor shooting from deep indicates just how essential scoring from the free throw line and around the rim are to a team expected to make another run at the playoffs.

Head coach Scott Brooks has to be psyched about the upcoming season. If he’s not, there is something seriously wrong with the hard wiring in his brain.

Although no longer considered the dark horse in the Western Conference, the Oklahoma City Thunder discovered the team chemistry amongst the majority youth mixed with veteran leadership.

Oh yeah, there is also a guy named Kevin Durant.

Last season was not a fluke.

You can bet the nasty taste from the disheartening loss at the hands of the Lakers lingers all too close for comfort. Getting back to the playoffs isn’t enough.

Now that this team has been exposed to the playoffs, nothing will satisfy the Thunder unless the take home the NBA Finals trophy.

Is it crazy to think Oklahoma City can win it all?

Maybe to some.

Of all the teams capable of knocking off the Lakers, the Oklahoma City Thunder can.

Believe it.

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But who is the best?

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That is the only way to describe what has gone on in this NBA offseason thus far.

There has been a major power shift in the Eastern Conference, with the Miami Heat rebuilding a team that has struggled to make it out of the first round the past couple of seasons.

And there has been an influx of star power coming over from the West to the East in the forms of Carlos Boozer and Amar’e Stoudemire.

While the offseason is far from over with Shaq, Allen Iverson, and a few other big names still available on the free-agent market, there are quite a few contenders from last season who are already in trouble for 2010-2011.

Teams changing their rosters and performing key makeovers have made these seven teams in desperate need of some sort of move this offseason to stay with their previous season’s playoff pace.

While some may be going from championship contenders to just playoff contenders, others may be falling from playoff contenders to planning their spot in next season’s lottery.

So without further adieu, let’s take a look at those seven teams who may be in a little bit of trouble from their organizational goals going into next season.

As always, sit back, relax, and get your commenting shoes on!

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As with any great professional athlete, there is always a delicate balance of inherent ability and hard work.

And while almost every player who has reached the pinnacle of their respective sport has natural ability and has put in a lot of hard work, there are some guys who have a little something extra to their game which separates them from their peers.

It’s easy to point out who the best scorers or rebounders in the NBA are; in most cases, all you have to do is look at the season averages and see who has the best numbers.

But what usually separates the good from the great are the little things that don’t always show up in the box score at the end of the night.

These are things like; hustle, heart, and intensity which can make an average player good and a good player great.

The players with these intangibles are generally appreciated by the die-hard fan because there’s something rare about the way they approach the game which you don’t see everyday.

Perhaps the thing serious sports fans like about intangibles is that, in most cases, it’s more of a mindset than anything physical and it’s almost as if these players are willing themselves to be great by the power of their minds.

You’ll notice that a lot of the guys on this list were or still are some of the best players in the NBA and it goes to show that you need more than just talent to be a great player.

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The Miami Heat agreed to sign veteran guard Eddie House to a two-year contract earlier today. With the move, Miami’s roster for the upcoming regular season seems to be all but set.

For a couple weeks, the talk leading up to LeBron James’ “Decision” centered around who the Heat would be able to get in order to fill out a roster boasting three max contract players. Many felt Miami would be stuck with a bunch of D-League players. In retrospect, that turned out to be far from the case.

Miami has been fortunate to reap the benefit of having veteran players sign minimum contracts in order to play alongside three All-Stars. The latest addition is House, a three-point specialist known for being able to infuse instant offense.

Pat Riley appears to have elected to bypass flashier names such as Allen Iverson, Jason Williams, and Shaquille O’Neal in favor of veterans who are comfortable with being role players.

As it stands, Miami has a roster poised to be as potent as any in the league.

The current Heat roster features players capable of assisting the talents of Dwyane Wade and James by spreading defenses. This would enable the two superstars to pick apart defenses much more easily.

Miami’s signings of Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Mike Miller, James Jones, and now House gives the Heat four role players capable of knocking down open looks, which they will get plenty of thanks to the attention that will devoted to Wade, James, and Chris Bosh.

The Heat also appear to be a balanced team, thanks to players such as Udonis Haslem, Mario Chalmers, and Joel Anthony, who will be used as defensive specialists.

The one glaring weakness the team may have is the lack of a big defensive-minded center. That task might fall on the shoulders of rookie Dexter Pittman, who at 6’11″, 300 lbs is a mountain of a man. If he is able to impress during training camp, “Big Dex” will likely be seeing extended minutes when going up against other NBA behemoths.

This is not to say Riley is done with the roster additions. Miami will likely pursue a veteran shooting guard in the upcoming days, Tracy McGrady definitely being a possibility.

Even then, I have a strong hunch that Riley has another “ace in the hole” which he has yet to reveal.

The stage has been set for what will be the most hyped and watched team in the NBA this upcoming season and for the foreseeable future. Barring an injury to any of the “Three Kings,” Miami will be well positioned to make a run at an NBA title.

They are already Las Vegas favorites to win it all. This despite never having collectively played a game together. One thing I have learned throughout my years following and covering sports is that Vegas odds makers know their stuff. So to all those pundits and cynics who continue to dismiss the Heat’s chances, you may want to prepare to eat some humble pie.

Miami will undoubtedly be able to field the most talented starting five of any team in the NBA. Don’t give me the Lakers are the champions line. Because while they might be the champs at this moment, all they are doing is holding it for those who are coming to claim it.

Come on, Kobe, put a little more muscle into shining it up good for LeBron and Dwyane!

Anyone who dares argue on behalf of the Lakers needs to be reminded that last season both Wade and James had a great deal of success versus Los Angeles. Now take into consideration that they were playing with teams nowhere as good as the 2010-11 Heat are set to be.

Miami is going to unleash a fury and ability to dominate opponents the likes of which has never been witnessed. You are talking about two of the league’s top three players. Three of the top 15.

Then just for kicks, they added one of the premier long range shooters in Mike Miller. To make it even more ridiculous, they added one of the best shooting centers and backup guards. It’s just not fair, I tell you.

Coaches around the league have yet to emerge from their offices since the three elected to team up. They are all hiding in a closet, curled up in a fetal position while rocking back and forth, saying it was only a dream, it was only a dream.

While some teams may have a better bench than Miami, one needs to remember that come playoff time, elite starters tend to average close to 40 minutes a game. That means for most of the game, you have to try in vain to contain James, Wade, and Bosh every possession on offense.

Even when one sits, you have a combination of two of them still out there. That means when the Lakers rest Kobe and Miami rests Wade, you’d have LA still trying to match Miami with James and Bosh on the floor.

As the song goes, “People get ready, there’s a train a coming, you don’t need no baggage, you just get on board.”

The Miami Heat train is loaded and getting ready to embark on a beautiful journey. Once it takes off and picks up steam, there will be no way to stop it.

Next stop: Championsville.

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