Dallas has the same perception that Miami has. People don’t believe in them because of age/injuries.
I think if healthy, Dallas could be top 3 in the West. Zaza is underrated. McGee was a good pickup. Matthews is probably their best SG since Finley. They’ve got solid depth. Deron wants to bounce back. But unless Wes can contribute at a high level, they’re probably a 7th-8th seed. He’s going to be their second best scorer and playmaker.
I just think a team stacked with youth is always scarier because you never know when it’s going to be their year. The Timberwolves are built for that.
Kings have a lot of talent but their chemistry is almost as bad as the Suns last year. With Boogie and Rondo both hating Karl’s guts, a midseason implosion seems pretty likely.
So: Norris Cole out 6 weeks with an ankle injury, Bogut has a broken nose and needs surgery, LeJudas get an anti-inflammatory injection in his back, and a bunch of other injuries.
There may be a point, because we don’t know how guys will recover and if they send in Dirk for more then 20-25 minutes. They have to at the start of the season, but we’ll see.
What will help the Wolves to improve quite a bit, is the fact that LaVine does not have to be forced to play PG for them anymore.
They’re both insane custom Videogame players in real life. (Offensive awareness 100, Defensive, yeah nonexistent) With infinite turbo.
2 years ago bounced by the Spurs postgame press conference was really telling.
Like you said, valuing possessions. Work together as a team. But at least have some kind of identity first. Something they excel at that will work in the playoffs to get easy buckets, then commit to defense and not just be forced to score every possession or lose.
Westbrook doesn’t wait for screens or work a pick and roll because he doesn’t have to but that guy might explode like Derrick Rose did from going full bore all the time. Although the season schedule eliminated a lot of back-2-backs and 4 games in 5 nights stuff this year.
Calvin Murphy was so much better when he was younger, but he got hit with a scandal and had to take a step back. Bill Worrell is literally the worst commentator for anything, ever.
I actually used to turn the audio off on the TV and listen to the radio broadcast, but can’t do that anymore as they’re no longer synced up.
OKC did some trades last year and they have a very good supporting cast around KD and Westbrook, top 3 in the west for sure
The Kings on paper look promising, this is probably the best team they had since way back when Webber and Bibby were running the show. They
managed to get Caron Butler solid veteran pickup when healthy, Rondo can still dish the ball, Gay and Cousins will rack up points, and Collison is great off the bench. Kuofos and WCS can relieve Cousins from playing heavy minutes.
Dallas won’t be good defensively, Dirk’s defense really needs help at this stage of his career. That’s what made getting Jordan from the Clippers so important. Now that Tyson Chandler is with the suns it’s really going to show, so they essentially are going to try to outscore you every night like those 00-03 Dallas teams. Losing Monta hurts too, dude can still ball. Raymond Felton is still fat, Javale is clumsy, and Parsons is kinda overpaid. Lucky for them Wes and Deron can plug in some holes, but I don’t think they are anywhere close to being the explosive team we have seen in the past.
The Wolves are like the Kings, good on paper but it’s too early to tell how much better defensively they will be. LaVine is freak of nature and picking of Andre Miller is big he’s a solid veteran who knows the game well. I was never sold on Rubio, but they will be fun to watch. Whether that translates to wins is the question. KG will mentor Towns into a mini garnett
The Jazz are young and inexperienced, but I like Hayward game and some good pieces around him so keep an eye on them they might surprise people this year.
Pelicans will build off last year and should make the playoffs again