2017-18 NBA Preview
Every season brings some new wrinkle to the NBA. At this point, everything is on paper. An entertaining pre-season has given us a good preview of the teams to beat in the NBA.
TOP 5 OFFENSES
1. Golden State Warriors
2. Cleveland Cavaliers
Oh you had better believe it. LeBron James shows no signs of slowing down, and with the moves that Cleveland has made this year they are probably championship bound yet again. Isaiah Thomas is an all around threat almost too small to guard. Dwayne Wade had Chicago buy out his contract so that he could sign to play with LeBron again. Former Celtic Jae Crowder moves to Power Forward and is capable of getting hot and scoring 20 himself, and Kevin Love, a solid three shooter, moves from Power Forward to Center. And they still have Derrick Rose, JR Smith, Kyle Korver and Tristan Thompson all sitting on the bench! Is Cleveland even stoppable?
3. Houston Rockets
CP3, James Harden, Trevor Ariza, Ryan Anderson and Clint Capela. This team is going to be a pain in the brain to stop. With Houston's epic trade to acquire Chris Paul, the Rocket's already lethal offense from the three point range becomes almost unstoppable. The Guards flash signs of legendary greatness, while Anderson and Ariza are both capable of scoring well over 20 points any given night. The only thing that Houston doesn't have going for them is depth and the question will be just how much can the bench score.
4. Boston Celtics
Boston went out and got a superstar, and gave up a good bit to get him. Kyrie Irving will be the new face of the Celtics team, and with rising superstars in Gordon Hayward and Jaylen Brown, Boston is going to be a tough team to defend against. Add Marcus Morris from Detroit to the equation, and with the dangerous shooting Center in Al Horford, the Celtics have a tough team to bring down. Don't forget the depth with Marcus Smart, third overall pick Jayson Tatum and rookie Kadeem Allen, who is seriously underrated.
5. Oklahoma City Thunder
Trading for Paul George from the Pacers and Carmelo Anthony from the Knicks, Oklahoma City acquired two superstars to play with their guy Russell Westbrook. Both players are offensive studs and can average 20+ points per game a piece. Westbrook is a volume shooter, and became the first player since Wilt Chamberlain in 1962 to average a triple double across a season during his MVP run last year. Reports are that he is hard to play with, so we will see how the chemistry ends up between three guys that were the faces of their franchises. Also, this team has almost no depth, and might have issues being able to keep up while their starters are resting.
TOP 5 DEFENSES
1. San Antonio Spurs
2. Utah Jazz
When you have two players capable of landing the 1st Team All Defense in your big positions, you can't help but like the look of this team on defense. Even missing Gordon Hayward, Joe Ingles is a capable defender and is better then most at that position while protecting the perimeter. Forward Derrick Favors, now backed by defensive stud Jonas Jerebko, and Center Rudy Gobert are the backbone of the defense, while Rodney Hood and Ricky Rubio defend the front court. It's a strong defensive team that plays fundamentally sound defense.
3. Minnesota Timberwolves
Adding Defensive Star Jimmy Butler was the best thing this team could have done for itself. The Small Forward position was the one weakness left on the team and the Timberwolves did a brilliant job filling it. Taj Gibson at Power Forward and Karl Anthony-Towns are very strong interior defenders, while Andrew Wiggins is one of the better Shooting Guards on defense in the league. Nemanja Bjelica and Gorgui Dieng are bench players who should see a lot of minutes this season, and can keep the defense strong while starters rest.
4. Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks have an incredible two way star in Giannis Antetokounmpo, and with his flexibility he can defend very well himself. Thon Maker is rapidly improving on defense while Khris Middleton is a very strong defender himself. Add Tony Snell and Malcolm Brogdon to the equation, and the Bucks have a very strong defense. Greg Monroe and Matthew Dellavedova should both see a lot of minutes themselves, and are better defenders then the starters. It's a good look for the Bucks yet again this season.
5. Toronto Raptors
Toronto has a great back end with strong front end players, but really no depth. Jonas Valanciunas and Serge Ibaka are among the best defenders in the country. Kyle Lowry definitely has a higher defensive IQ then most point guards, and DeMar DeRozan is capable of getting 5 steals any given night. Lone man out is CJ Miles who is your average Small Forward. Expect Toronto to make another playoff run.
TOP 5 UP AND COMING TEAMS
1. Minnesota Timberwolves
2. Philadelphia 76ers
Very young and inexperienced, but a ton of cap space and even more depth makes Philadelphia a force to be reckoned with in the next decade to come. Armed with the last two number one overall picks (Power Forward Ben Simmons and Point Guard Markelle Fultz) and a rising star in Center Joel Embiid, they add deep range sharpshooter JJ Redick from Los Angeles and Robert Covington returns to play Small Forward. With TJ McConnell, Jerryd Bayless, Amir Johnson and Jahlil Okafor, the 76ers are loaded with young talent and are ready to take the next step towards greatness this season.
3. New Orleans Pelicans
When New Orleans added Center DeMarcus Cousins from Sacramento right before the trade deadline, New Orleans became a team to begin to respect because of the marriage of Cousins and Anthony Davis, who moved from Center to Power Forward to make room for his new teammate. Truly deep at Shooting Guard with Jrue Holiday and E'Twaun Moore, the Pelicans lack a Small Forward and Rajon Rondo will not be the long-term answer at Point Guard. They still are a team to fear this season and to definitely watch to see how development between the chemistry of the star players on the team and the young guys who will need to step up goes.
4. Chicago Bulls
Starting fresh and young, Chicago definitely won't hit it's 2017-18 season peak until the end of the season. Acquiring Kris Dunn and Zach LaVine from Minnesota with the Jimmy Butler trade, the Bulls landed starting caliber, up and coming players. Denzel Valentine will probably play the role of a sixth man. Nikola Mirotic will mentor rookie sensation Lauri Markkanen from Arizona, while Robin Lopez will hold up the Center position. The only weakness is at Small Forward, the spot the left open with Butlers absence. They're young and restarting, so it's only a matter of time before the Bulls will be back to their 90's peak.
5. Phoenix Suns
Phoenix has been loading their roster. Already having a two way superstar caliber player in Point Guard Eric Bledsoe, they added Shooting Guard Devin Booker two seasons ago, who progressed magnificently because of a lot of extra playing time in his rookie season. TJ Warren is projected to start over the rookie Josh Jackson, but that won't last long as Jackson is downright explosive. Marquese Chriss is still very young, as is Dragan Bender, who are one and two at Power Forwards on the depth chart, but have potential to be star defensive players. The Suns hope that Bender will be able to replace Tyson Chandler, the old man out, at Center after this season. The Suns are deep, young and eager to get going.
Projected Playoff Teams - East
Indiana will win a tie breaker with the Charlotte Hornets. Just enough talent was collected from OKC to push past after the trade that moved Paul George to the Thunder.
7. Detroit Pistons
The addition of Avery Bradley will be enough for these guys to squeak into the playoff race, and then get destroyed by the Celtics.
6. Milwaukee Bucks
The whole front court is a question mark on offense. Otherwise, they are a tough team to beat.
5. Philadephia 76ers
Normally a team doesn't land this high in the playoffs while it's in rebuilding mode. But hey, let's face it, the East is miserable this year.
4. Toronto Raptors
Lowry, DeRozan, Miles, Ibaka and Valanciunas. Hmmm... Sounds like a strong team... in the East.
3. Washington Wizards
Pretty much the same team we saw last season. Who can rival the Wall/Beal/Porter combination?
2. Boston Celtics
Boston is the only team that can go toe to toe with Cleveland, and that's even debatable at this point.
1. Cleveland Cavaliers
How do they not finish first?
Projected Playoff Teams - West
Depth is the key in this league. The Suns have a lot of it, but it's young. Expect a slow start for the Suns, before getting into a groove later in the season as their young talent develops.
7. Utah Jazz
The Jazz won't miss a beat without Gordon Hayward, who signed with Boston in the East, with the offensive breakout of Rodney Hood. With a very strong defense, it's hard to imagine Utah missing the playoffs this season.
6. Denver Nuggets
So many players are stepping up for the Nuggets and, with the rise of Center Nikola Jokic, Denver looks primed for a playoff run.
5. Minnesota Timberwolves
It's going to be a tough division to play in this season, but I think that Minnesota has the depth to get through the challenge of a season.
4. Houston Rockets
Man, it sucks being in the same division as Popovich. Not enough depth to get them over the Spurs.
3. Oklahoma City Thunder
There is a really strong superstar three team there in OKC.
2. San Antonio Spurs
Greg Popovich is just simply an outstanding coach. Can't see it any other way.
1. Golden State Warriors
Can anyone be capable of outscoring them?
WORST 5 TEAMS
1. Atlanta Hawks
2. Dallas Mavericks
Dallas is trying to get their franchise into shape before they loose Dirk Nowitzki to retirement probably after this season. They're nowhere near ready for such an endeavorer. Dennis Smith Jr has a lot of developing left to do, Seth Curry is not the answer at Shooting Guard, Harrison Barnes and Wesley Matthews are overpaid. Nerlens Noel is a bright spot on the roster, but Dallas has kind of been caught with their pants down.
3. Miami Heat
With D-Wade leaving for Cleveland, Superstar Hassan Whiteside is pretty much left alone in Miami with almost no support. Goran Dragic, Dion Waiters, Rodney McGruder and James Johnson are projected to start this season alongside Whiteside, an the depth isn't much better. Miami will be spinning at the end of the season.
4. Brooklyn Nets
Oh, look! The Net's are taking a step up in the world! Last season, they were by far the leagues worst team winning a mere 16 games. Now with help from D'Angelo Russell and Timofey Mozgov, the Net's have a little bit of help to give Jeremy Lin, but nowhere near the depth that they need.
5. Orlando Magic
Orlando can make as many wishes on shooting stars as they would like, but they are still a few years away from any playoff appearance. Until they can find a better scoring front court, the Magic will be wasting the best of Aaron Gordon and Nikola Vucevic as they age and begin to regress.
CHAMPIONSHIP PROJECTIONS
Ahhhh, the inevitable segment of this article. Nobody want's to read about a Golden State Warriors fourth consecutive appearance in the NBA Finals, nor does anyone want to read about a Golden State Versus Cleveland Part IV. So ladies and gentlemen, I am a Christian and I recognize that miracles do happen.
Eastern Conference Round One
We all know what happens in this series. Cavs. 4-0.
7 Detroit Pistons Vs 2 Boston Celtics
Boston isn't perfect, but still handles the series with ease. Celtics 4-1.
6 Milwaukee Bucks Vs 3 Washington Wizards
The Wizards play great offense but don't have much of a defense while the Bucks are more of a defensive team capable of scoring a lot of points. Upset. Bucks 4-3.
5 Philadelphia 76ers VS 4 Toronto Raptors
Do I think that a young 76ers offense can go toe to toe with the Raptors and keep this series close? Of course I do. Toronto 4-3.
Western Conference Round One
I think the Suns will have it in them to shock an almost unstoppable Warriors team... For one game. Golden State. 4-1.
7 Utah Jazz Vs 2 San Antonio Spurs
This will be an interesting match-up simply because of the fact that the two top defensive teams in the league will face off against each other. San Antonio has an offense though. Spurs. 4-0.
6 Denver Nuggets Vs 3 Oklahoma City Thunder
This will start off as an entertaining series as Denver plays very maturely, but can't pull it off in the long haul. Thunder. 4-2.
5 Minnesota Timberwolves Vs 4 Houston Rockets
Another interesting series that will have the potential to go down to the wire. Rocket's offense is simply overwhelmed if Towns plays. He won't. Rockets 4-2.
Eastern Conference Semi Finals
4 Toronto Raptors Vs 1 Cleveland Cavaliers
The Raptors were able to keep it close against Cleveland while Lowry was playing. Now Cleveland is just way too far ahead. Cavs. 4-1.
6 Milwaukee Bucks Vs 2 Boston Celtics.
The Bucks might have had it in them to get past Washington, but Boston is too much for the team to handle defensively. Boston. 4-2.
Western Conference Semi Finals
4 Houston Rockets Vs 1 Golden State Warriors
The Rockets offense is explosive, and makes it a series. Golden State is just too much to handle. Warriors 4-2.
3 Oklahoma City Thunder Vs 2 San Antonio Spurs
Despite all of the wheeling and dealing that the Thunder made during the offseason, it doesn't pay off as the Spurs knock off the Thunder. Spurs. 4-2.
Eastern Conference Finals
Kyrie brings it all against his former team, and the matchup is great. Boston just can't overcome them. Cavs. 4-3.
Western Conference Finals
2 San Antonio Spurs Vs 1 Golden State Warriors
Last time around, Leonard was lost halfway through the 3rd quarter of the first game for the series. This time around, he is healthy. Spurs. 4-2.
NBA Finals
2 San Antonio Spurs Vs 1 Cleveland Cavaliers
The Spurs have a lot of weapons to throw at the Cavs, but they are too much for the defense to handle. Cavs. Game 7. 4-3.
So there you have it folks. That's my insight to the 2017-18 campaign. Enjoy it, it's going to be a fun season for us all.
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