2014-15 Hardwood Paroxysm NBA Season Preview
A letter from Podium Bear Emeritus Matt Moore:
Jesus Christ on a pogo stick, am I excited for this season.
Last year was a bust. It really was. And I realized sometime in late July, after LeBron had come home and Melo snuck back into the money pile, and Pau was in Chicago and Parsons was clubbing it up with Cuban what the problem was with last season. It was all about narrative. Would LeBron leave? Could the Heat three-peat? Derrick Rose and the honor of his return. Mamba back, etc. We had an uncertain trade deadline, and a bunch of personalities playing together.
And in large part, those were all busts. Injuries, failed experiments, injuries, disappointing play, and yes, injuries really busted last year. It sucked.
But this year, the reason I’m so thrilled about it, is really the basketball. That thing that made our little blog come into existence, those February Tuesday night tilts seem ready to be more entertaining, more exciting, and more rewarding than last year. The East will be better, the rookie class is fantastic, the top of the contenders have evened out and the talent is nicely spread, and there are so many things that we have to look forward to.
And that, naturally, is what this preview is all about. We’ve done this several years now, and it’s gotten bigger, just as the site has. We started the HPBasketball Network last year, and you can find work here from Mid-Level Exceptional, The Friendly Bounce, The Podium Game, and our well-regarded stats blog, Nylon Calculus. It’s an exciting year as we expand our coverage and somehow actually bring MORE writers into the internet’s fold.
I want to take a second to thank the people who make this thing possible. I have very little to do with the preview. I get the thing kickstarted and review whatever issues come up, but this thing is the work of our talented and brutally hard-working staff. The proceeds from this book go directly to them, and you should want to reward them for it. Amin Vafa, my HPBN chief and right-hand man, who took the reins this year, did a fantastic job and is honestly my favorite person to work with in all of blogging. Jared Dubin remains invaluable as an organizer and manager of assets. Ian Levy, who runs Nylon Calculus, provided invaluable input and wrangled his nerd troops, and Steve McPherson, Jordan White, and Andrew Lynch all spent hours reviewing and helping out with different materials for this book. I’m unbelievably grateful for everything they’ve given the site, and honored to call them colleagues and friends.
Our writing staff works around day jobs and school, career searches, personal lives, getting paid nothing but clicks and recognition for their work. To date, 26 alumni of Paroxysm have gone on to have full-time jobs in either sport management or media, and that number continues to grow. These jobs aren’t the result of Paroxysm, but instead Paroxysm is a reflection of the incredible writing talent we’ve been lucky enough to find. There are, literally, too many writers who have contributed to the site over the past year to list, but each one of them bring something new and refreshing, and I love reading their work, as you should.
You should be excited for this season as an NBA fan. You should be excited for this preview as a fan of basketball on the internet. You should take time to savor this season and not look towards narratives or the playoffs or the future. Let’s all endeavor to enjoy this great game we have in front of us, with all its awesomeness, hilarity, and bizarreness.
Thanks for reading, whether it’s Twitter, any of the sites, or my work over at CBS. And from all of our crew, we hope you enjoy the 2014-2015 NBA Season Preview.
Welcome to the Paroxysm.
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2014-15 Hardwood Paroxysm Season Preview by Hardwood Paroxysm
All of the proceeds for this year’s preview go to the hard-working writers who made it all possible. Thank you for your consideration in purchasing the preview, and thanks as always for reading.
