Whose Fire Burns Brightest?

The 2010-2011 NBA season promises to be one of the league's greatest. Considering this is the first season after the most historic offseason in history, everyone is looking to bring his A game. No more "tanking" seasons for teams like New York and New Jersey, who previously weren't "trying as hard" in order to prepare for the 2010 offseason. Now that that's over and the results of the offseason are in, every team is looking to win - winning to some teams means merely making the postseason, winning to others means championship.

I'm not one to rank each team from 1 through 30, noting which team is the strongest and which is the weakest. If you've been keeping up with my posts, you'll notice that I take into strong consideration a team's motivation, at the individual and collective level. What's driving that particular team to success? Why does he want it more than him, why does this team want to win more than that team? Let's take a look at a couple of teams that will be motivated beyond measure this season.

1). Chicago Bulls. Point Guard Derrick Rose has gone on record stating that he's ready to take his game to the next level. He went as far as to say that he doesn't see why he shouldn't be league MVP next season. Those are lofty dreams for a 21-year old. He has this to prove: though most people are convinced that the league will belong to Kevin Durant in about five years, Rose is looking for part ownership. And he's in the best position to do so now, with the addition of All-Star Carlos Boozer, sharpshooter Kyle Korver, and defensive stopper Ronnie Brewer. Front office was skeptical about giving up Luol Deng and Joakim Noah for All-Star Carmelo Anthony. Noah, in particular, needs to prove to management and the city of Chicago that the right decision was made - Noah is a gem to keep.

2). Los Angeles Clippers. The long-awaited arrival of Blake Griffin has been one year overdue. As a rookie last season, he showed signs of a promising future for the Clippers organization. And then he went down with a season-ending injury before the season started, an all too familiar scenario for Los Angeles Team B. Now that he's back, with Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman, and Baron Davis looking healthy and primed for spectacular seasons, and with newly hired coach Vinny Del Negro, the Clippers look the best they've ever looked in a long time. An opportunity to be a good team in the NBA doesn't come often for the Clippers, as long as Donald Sterling is calling the shots for the team. The Clippers finally have a chance to prove to the city of Los Angeles that there are two teams in Hollywood, and they must capitalize now.

3). Dallas Mavericks. Not many people will agree with me here, but Dallas should be the team most eager to start this upcoming season. Everyone had them going to the Western Conference Finals last year in a showdown with the Lakers. Instead, they lost in the first-round to an aged San Antonio Spurs team. This only reminded them and us the nightmare that was the Golden State Warriors in 2007, and all fingers are pointed at All-Star Dirk Nowitzki, who has been dubbed one of the greatest big men in the game but has failed to prove anything in the playoffs. And Nowitzki has had the best roster to work with among all superstars during his career with Steve Nash/Michael Finley, Jason Terry/Josh Howard, and now Jason Kidd/Caron Butler/Shawn Marion, but he still has yet to produce something great and constant. And Dallas tried to do everything it could to benefit from Free Agency 2010, but they fell short. Regardless, however, Dallas and Nowitzki should be looking to prove to the nation that they aren't flukes, especially since Dallas' door is closing as Nowitzki (age 32) is getting up there in age. They must look to take advantage of their roster that can still compete now. 

4). Los Angeles Lakers. If Kobe ever wants to be considered in discussions with Jordan, he needs that sixth ring. And if he ever wants to leave Shaq's shadow, he needs to complete a three-peat by himself. He's always been the most focused player we had in this league, but those two points just fixed his eyes towards another ring that much more. This is Phil Jackson's last year. He has the most rings as a coach with 11, but if he really wants to be considered the greatest coach over Pat Riley and Red Auerbach, he should end his career as a winner.

5). Miami Heat. Need I say more. People are counting them out already. Three stars can't share the spotlight. They won't be able to come together as a team. Have their critics not already fed them food for motivation? The first week of training camp saw a very vocal Lebron James, a defensive-minded Dwayne Wade, and an energetic Chris Bosh, along with the other key pieces that Miami has surrounded this star-studded core with. LeBron has the world to prove. His critics have quadrupled in a matter of two months, and he needs to shut each of them up with his game on the court. If Miami doesn't win a championship, they've failed. It's unfair to the Heat, but it's unfair to the rest of the league that we're feeding a hungry and championship-less LeBron James food for motivation by counting him and his Heat out already.

- Leather Head