2017-2018 NBA Preview

This past offseason may have been the busiest in NBA history.  Not just for sheer amount of movement, but for movement of key players all trying to maneuver themselves that much closer to the Warriors and the championship.  Will it work?  These teams are hoping so.

Boston Celtics

courtesy: cbs boston

In the most shocking move of the summer Kyrie Irving requested a trade from a team that had been to three straight NBA Finals.  On the surface it’s quite baffling.  We can speculate all we want, but odds are we may never know the real truth.  What we do know is that Irving is now on the Celtics. 

Joining him on the green team is Gordon Hayward.  Hayward is coming off his first all-star season, and is reunited with his old college coach.  (Something that had been rumored to be in the works for many years now.)  Hayward had been the man on the Jazz for a few seasons, so it will be interesting to see how he coexists with the polarizing Kyrie Irving.  As for Irving it’s now “put up or shut up time” because he has his own team now, and there are no more excuses. 

These guys will be joining the past his prime, but still a good player Al Horford.  I think on paper this team looks pretty good.  I’m sure I’ll make this point many times today, but they are in the Eastern Conference, and the east is at an all-time low from a talent perspective so Boston could easily be the number one seed in the east this year.  Is it enough to beat the Warriors?  No I don’t think so.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Well it finally happened.  Dwyane Wade has joined the Cavs.  At this point it seems to be a lock that wherever LeBron may end up, Wade will be right there too.  The aforementioned Kyrie Irving trade returned Isaiah Thomas and Jae Crowder to the Cavs.  The problem is that Thomas is still hurt from last year’s playoffs and isn’t projected to be back anytime soon.  So who will be the Cavs’ PG in the mean time?  Enter Derrick Rose.

The greatest love story in NBA history.

The fact that Wade, James, and Rose are all on the same team is pretty remarkable.  If it were only 2011.  Back then those three were three of the best five players in the league.  And they were duking it out in the Eastern Conference Finals.  The two former Heat stars are sure-fire hall of famers, with LBJ creeping in on the “greatest of all time” category.  As for Rose, it has been all downhill since 2011.  His ’11 MVP season was remarkable, but consistent on and off the court troubles has plagued him ever since.  You could make the argument he has had the worst career of any former MVP. 

Sorry I got off on a tangent there.  The Cavs have announced that Kevin Love will be the new starting center with Crowder playing PF.  This move is clearly a countermeasure to the Warrior’s “death lineup,” and is something they should have done a while ago.  Tristian Thompson isn’t going to win you a championship in this day and age.  Love’s ability to stretch the floor is something that is immensely valuable.  Now they also have another proven playoff performer in Wade.  Now Wade is nowhere near what he was in Miami, but assuming they can keep him relatively healthy, he brings much more intangibles to the table than previous starting shooting guard J.R. Smith could ever dream of doing.

Rose is in the same boat as Wade.  If he can hold down the fort until IT3 comes back, he would be a more than serviceable backup PG.  Naturally the risk there is that Thomas may not be back at full strength anytime this year.  But imagine a playoff team with a healthy Rose, Wade, and Thomas.  I don’t think those three would be able to all play at the same time, but ideally you could have an elite/near elite scorer on the floor at all times, much like the Warriors do.  And that’s not even including LeBron and Love. 

On the flipside there is a lot that could go wrong with this team.  Even if everyone is healthy, they may not gel as a unit, which I’m sure will see someone shipped out at the all-star break.  (I’m sure it will be Kevin Love’s fault somehow.)  But, the upside here is pretty interesting.  Can they beat the Warriors at full health?  The talent isn’t in their prime like the Warriors are, but there is enough cagey veteran presences that could make a little noise.    

  

Houston Rockets

courtesy: slamonline.com 

The Rockets really surprised people last year- during the regular season that is.  As been par for the course, the Harden-led team didn’t make much noise in the playoffs.  So how can we shake it up?  Let’s bring another guy who has underperformed in the playoffs, none other than Chris Paul!  Oh and did I mention that CP is a point guard which is the same position that Harden slipped nicely into last year? 

I can’t really see this pairing working that well.  Two ball-dominant guys that think they are the true “alpha male” can’t be good for a team.  The Warriors work because they genuinely play as a team, and obviously the proof is in the pudding.  Who knows maybe with the supercharged “run and gun” Rockets offense will thrive with two elite ball handlers.  I know that’s what the Rockets are expecting, I just don’t know how likely it is. 

Minnesota Timberwolves

I’ve sung their praises for many years now, but it’s never come to fruition.  The players that were on that roster that I was praising are no longer even on the team.  Now we get a team with a whole new identity.  A team that has playoff experienced ballers, and a coach that wants more than anything to get them to the promise land.

It had been rumored for a while, but Jimmy Butler was officially traded to the Wolves to reunite him with his old coach Thibs.  They gave up Zach Lavine and Kris Dunn.  Lavine was really starting to come in to his own last year before he got hurt.  Much like the Celtics did, the T-Wolves traded a good player (not nearly as good as Isaiah Thomas, but still) who was injured and got a better player in return.  Obviously Lavine was a flyer, and with a reconstructed knee, it’s hard to tell what kind of player he will be when he returns.  His three-point game was coming along nicely, so if nothing else hopefully he can adjust his game accordingly if need be.  Enough about Lavine though.

Butler is at worst the third best shooting guard in the NBA (behind Harden, and possibly Klay Thompson).  He’s got game for sure, but he did seem to cause a ruckus in Chicago behind the scenes.  Chicago is a mess though, so it may not entirely be his fault.  Minnesota is desperate for some success, and I’m sure is absolutely thrilled about Butler’s arrival and will welcome him with open arms, and would put up with plenty of shit, should it come to that.

Long time PG Rubio is out, and in his place is Jeff Teague.  Teague disappointed last year in Indiana, but hopefully he can regain some of the form he had in Atlanta where he was an all-star.  Other backcourt signings were Jamal Crawford and the journeyman Aaron Brooks.  Both guys are well past their primes, but every blue moon will single handedly win you a game with a scoring outburst.  Minnesota hasn’t had a bench like this in quite a while.  The main front court signing was another former Bull Taj Gibson.  I’ve always had a soft spot for the guy, I’m not sure why.  He is a great blue collar player that I’m sure will have no issues fitting in.  

Chemistry issues throughout the team could be something that affects them.  To me the most glaring example of this is Butler and Andrew Wiggins.  Both guys are pretty similar players, at least offensively.  Wiggins is a poor-man’s Butler, no one is questioning that, but he has made strides over the last year.  Does this hinder Wiggins’ progression?  Or does Butler become a mentor figure for him?   

The key ingredient here is a guy I haven’t even mentioned yet.  Karl-Anthony Towns is a superstar in the making if you ask me.  Many journalists and “insiders” feel the same, and many have declared that Towns could be potentially 1^st team All NBA this season.  I don’t know if he’ll make that leap this year or not.  I would think that would depend on Minnesota’s success this season.  One thing I am sure of, is that this is KAT’s team.  The guy has a unique of offensive game as anyone out there, and the offense should run through him.  Does this fact sit well with Butler?  That is a big issue.  What about Jeff Teague?  He’s not a traditional PG by any stretch, so he’ll want his shots.  Definitely more than Rubio ever did.  Don’t forget Wiggins!  Or, Crawford, or Brooks, or Shabazz Muhammad. 

I guess the positive outlook here is that they have plenty of firepower on the team now, which is something the Wolves have always lacked.  Can they play together is the million dollar question?  (As it has been for almost every other team we are looking at today)  Many pundits are expecting big things from this team.  I’ve even heard predictions as high as a fourth seed for this team.  To me that’s ridiculous.  This franchise hasn’t even made the playoffs since 2004.  Give it your best, but I would think they’re goal should be to get the 8^th seed.  Anything after that is just gravy.  Then if you achieve that goal, then set a new one, and so forth.  I want this team to succeed, but the hype train gets a little too heavy at times. 

Oklahoma City Thunder

OKC wasn’t on anyone’s radar as a possible destination for Paul George.  Then BAM the trade was announced.  Where did that come from I remember thinking.  Then again OKC wasn’t on anyone’s radar as a destination for Carmelo Anthony.  BAM!  What the hell is going on here?  Presti is a sneaky guy because I don’t know anyone who wasn’t caught off guard by these two deals.  I should also point out that both deals were highway robbery.  Yes PG-13 is an expiring contract and the Pacers were desperate to get something for him, but it was probably one of the most lopsided deals of all time.  The Melo deal was a bit fairer, but not much. 

I truly don’t know how this team is going to work.  I’m pretty sure Westbrook had the highest usage rate of anyone in NBA history last year, and Melo has always been a black hole.  And of course there is another all-star named Paul George.  I hate to be redundant, but GSW proved there is enough ball to go around for any amount of star players, IF the players are willing to sacrifice for the good of the team.  I don’t think Westbrook and Carmelo are that player, and to a lesser extent George either.

Now the big counter-argument to that is “hoodie Melo.”  Whatever, before that it was “Olympic Melo.”  The theory being that when Melo is on the Olympic team he was an entirely different player, and arguably the best player on the team.  I’m putting an end to that nonsense right now.  The reason Melo would lead the team in scoring (or close to it) is because on those teams some combination of: Durant, LeBron, Kobe, Rose, Paul, Wade, Westbrook, Harden etc. were on the floor.  Thus, they would inevitably get doubled at some point, and the lesser of all those evils, i.e. Carmelo Anthony, would get left open for the corner three.  His job was to knock it down.  Congratulations Melo, you were the Kyle Korver of the team. 

PG-13 is more interesting because number one, he could be wearing a different uniform next year, so all of this is irrelevant.  And number two, (and more pertinent for the purpose of this blog) George’s skillset is much more diverse than Anthony’s.  As in he plays defense, and he does it really well.  I could possibly see him buying into sacrificing his offensive game to dedicate himself solely to being the defensive stopper.  Then whatever shot he gets, he gets.  Naturally that would just be a bonus.    

At this point I think Westbrook is who he is.  If he wouldn’t sacrifice more shots to Kevin Durant, who is one of the best players of his generation and one of the greatest scorers of all time, he certainly isn’t going to sacrifice to an over the hill Melo, and complimentary superstar like Paul George.  It is weird though how a guy that averaged 10 assists a game, can still be considered a ball hog.  Leave it to Westbrook to create a conundrum like that.  I’m sure this team will be able to go toe-to-toe with any team on a given night with explosive scoring barrages, but they’re not going to beat any great team in a seven game series.

 

Golden State Warriors

The Warriors were all about continuity, and not trying to add a new weapon to their arsenal.  They had nine free agents this offseason (two of them being named Curry and Durant) and resigned seven of them.  The only two that got away were Ian Clark and James Michael McAdoo; naturally these were two pieces they could afford to lose.  In a move that summed up the team perfectly, Durant took less money to allow Andre Iguodala (2015 Finals MVP remember, and one of my personal favorites) to be brought back.  Now Durant is by no means the first superstar to do this.  But it was a shining example of the team’s philosophy:  Do what’s best for the team. 

courtesy: usatoday.com

People can hate on the Warriors all they want about “ruining the NBA” because they are going to win the next five Finals.  If you enjoy watching basketball, I don’t understand how you can think like this.  I’m not saying they have to be your favorite team, but watching them play is a thing of beauty.  The ball movement man!  The ball movement!  It’s phenomenal.  It’s tough to hate a team that plays together like they do.  Another overlooked fact is the way they play team defense.  But no, all people focus on his how many 3’s they shoot.  It’s an injustice really.  I should also point out a team who won 6 titles in 8 years and they didn’t “ruin” the NBA now did they?