Sound Of The City's 2011 NBA Preview: Each Team, Paired With An Album From The Past Year

Think of the orange car as a clue.

​The resurrected NBA season kicks off (thankfully, finally) on Sunday. To celebrate, we've paired each team with a notable album from the past year; the list, with tweet-sized justifications, is below. (NB, although the NBA-savvy of you might have already figured this out: The teams are listed in approximate ascending order, with the last-place team kicking things off and the first-place team all the way at the bottom. Sorry, Cleveland!)

Cleveland Cavaliers—"Weird Al" Yankovic, Alpocalypse: The world needs laughter. While a whole world written in Comic Sans would be intolerable, it's okay to check in every once in a while.

Charlotte Bobcats—Oneohtrix Point Never, Replica: When a whole bunch of people stand with their mouths open, they might be fascinated. But if they're not dancing, they might just be appalled.

Washington Wizards—Rihanna, Talk That Talk: Sexier, sunnier, and more upbeat than the recent past would indicate. Is anything behind this new bounciness, or are we all just drunk on love?

Nickelback, "Bottoms Up"

Toronto Raptors—Nickelback, Here and Now: These dinosaurs just keep plodding on, conditioned by instinct to stick to well-worn paths. They can be fun in a low-rent sort of way.

Sacramento Kings—Lady Gaga, Born This Way: Passionately devoted fans deserve the best you can give them. "Originality" is overrated, perhaps, but wish the carpet matched the drapes a little more.