NBA

[Kargai]

I'll be very pleased if GSW could let Cavs win tonight for them to win the title in their own arena (I betted 4-1 for GSW :p)

So Curry & co if you read this, thanks for loosing, i'll tip you 10k sats. Much appreciated.

[Dusan]

On 10/31/2017 at 12:36 PM, Darko said:

Dirk is at the moment 6th in overall scoring. A feat that I thought no European player will accomplish, scored over 30k points and spent the whole career with Dallas Mavericks.  He is one of the favorite players in Serbia as well. We always cheer for him, whether he plays for the national team or for Dallas.

Nikola Jokic will score more for sure

[Darko]

So... New season is upon us (yeah, I know it is in 2 months from now  ) and we need to start discussing off season moves and expectation for how teams will do this year as landscape in NBA was changed a lot.

 

Atlanta Hawks - They are going into full rebuild mode/tanking this season and probably for one or two more. Traded away Dennis Schroder to OKC to pick up big contract from Carmelo as they need to be over certain salary limit and bought him out after couple days. Used 3rd pick in draft to pick up Doncic and traded him to Dallas for Tray Young (5th pick) and are planning to build around him. He is dubbed as next Stephen Curry cause he likes to shoot three's from every place on the floor and tends to do it in first 10 seconds of possession. Managed to get Jeremy Lin to mentor him a bit but not sure how much he can learn from him. Expectation from looking at their roster is dead last with no more then 15-20 wins.

 

Boston Celtics - They needed just one more good game last season to enter NBA finals although they played without both star players (Hayward missed regular season as well). They managed to keep their core intact and seeing that both Kyrie and Hayward are ready to play I don't see anyone standing on their path to go into NBA Finals this season. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum exploded last season, Rozier covered Kyrie's absence in playoff with several really good performances, Horford was their anchor and glue that made them work flawlessly on the court, Marcus Smart brought a lot of energy from the bench and they have one of the best coaches in NBA as well in Brad Stevens. With all that said I think they will be the main challengers to reining champs GSW.

 

Brooklyn Nets - Really weird team, they still can't recover from one of the worst trade's ever when they gave all their future for three aging All Star players from Boston Celtics. They took some bad contracts from other teams but still haven't made any substantial move that would allow them to be in playoff spot contention. Pretty sure they will have 10 or so more wins then Atlanta but will still be out of playoff and their troubles will continue for a year or two at least as star free agents are avoiding them. They can only hope that D'Angelo Russel, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Caris Levert have injury free season as they are the ones with most potential on the team.

 

Charlotte Hornets - Franchise that keeps on missing playoff's year after year and never dropping low enough to get high picks find themselves in a mess. They have few fairly average players on high contracts so no room for some moves on the market. Howard left them this season and they brought in Tony Parker who is near end of his career and isn't 50% of a player he was when SAS won last championship wo be backup for their start player Kemba Walker. Instead of Howard they have Biyombo and that pretty much says it all (not that Howard is star player like he was when he led Orlando to NBA Finals but come on...). Another year of being between worst teams and playoff place is predicted for them. I expect them to trade Kemba in the mid-season for some picks over the next couple years + maybe couple players on short contracts and to go into full rebuild mode as this road will not get them anywhere.

 

Chicago Bulls - Added Jabari Parker and managed to retain Zach LaVine plus added decent rookie in Wendel Carter jr. but still don't see them doing anything special this year. They need both Parker and LaVine injury free for a whole season to be in contention for playoff spot. Lauri Markkanen had a solid rookie year and needs to add on to his performances. He will share time on the floor with Jabari so we will see how that is going to work as they have Portis who had some good performances last season and they all play same position. Expectation between 7th and 12th place looks reasonable for them.

 

Cleveland Cavaliers - Biggest change in the NBA happened here. LBJ left them to join Lakers and from regular NBA finals team they will have to fight really hard to be even in playoff this season. They gave big contract to Love but I don't think he is the right person to lead them anywhere. They are going into where they were before LBJ joined them which is bottom part of NBA, probably gonna be in bottom 3-4 teams in the East. They place a lot of hope into this years draft pick, COlin Sexton but he can't turn things on his own, doesn't seem like that type of player. Unless they get some high picks and choose wisely that is where they will stay for the next 5-6 years. 

 

To be continued...

[bmg]

Good information Darko and I hope your team The Miami Heat does well this season .  Good luck

[gametreckers]

cool post bro

 

[Darko]

It is time for me to continue with analyzing NBA teams and share my expectations for incoming season.

 

Dallas Mavericks - They improved their team with addition of DeAndre Jordan (yeah, the same guy that stood them out in 2015th after agreeing to move there) and one of the most talented young guys I ever watched - Luka Doncic. We will still have to see how will Luka handle NBA but if he keeps on doing what he was doing till now we got another superstar from Europe. He managed to break into first team of Real Madrid being only 16 years old so with proper development under Rick Carlisle he should be doing great. DeAndre will add some toughness down at the rim, with Barnes playing nicely and Dennis Smith Jr improving they have decent roster. Doubt that it will be enough for playoff's this year in super strong Western Conference but the future looks bright for them, my expectation is somewhere around 12th spot in the West. This should be last season of great Dirk Nowitzki, he dedicated himself to the franchise, lead it to a ring and is so far the best European basketball player ever in NBA. Full of respect for him, will be sad when he retire, don't think I ever heard anyone saying one bad word for him. Just cause of him I hope that they will manage to sneak somehow into 8th spot so he can be in playoffs for one last time. 

 

Denver Nuggets - Finally did some smart moves in the market, even drafted the best possible player available to them as they were 14th in line. With addition of Isiaih Thomas all they needed to do is clear some salaries otherwise they would be paying high taxes. So they did just that, traded Chandler, Farid and Arthur going under the tax limit. They signed Barton to long term contract and gave highest possible to Nikola Jokic. My fellow Serb should lead them to playoffs this year, they just need to stay healthy. Jokic became cornerstone of the franchise, he was 41st pick and obviously was heavily overlooked by all teams in the league. Now, Denver have point guard in him as he has eyes on back of his head, dishes out crazy assist, can shoot three's and is leading the offense of this team. With addition of Thomas they are looking to add more fuel to their bench attack and to provide some stability in 4th quarters as Thomas is simply ice cold in crunch time. Their defense will still be weak spot but I think they can score more points then any other team aside GSW and Houston. Last year they was 1 win outside playoff spot with too many injuries (Millsap and Haris near the end of season) so this year I expect them to shine and maybe get to 6th place. Don't think they will stay out of playoff's again.

 

Detroit Pistons - Eastern conference is pretty open for playoff spots so I think that Detroit will have it's chance with Drummond and Griffin leading the way. They have Jackson and Ish Smith on point guard positions but rest of the team needs to step up. They will not be able to lead the team alone, someone else will have to shine. Maybe they will go for upgrade of the roster mid season to give them push for that playoff position. Can't see them placed higher then 6th, in reality with this roster they will fight for those three last spots with several teams. If Blake Griffin gets injured their chances to enter playoffs are close to 0.

 

Golden State Warriors - Well there isn't much to say about reigning champs. Except that they managed to improve team even more. They managed to sign Cousins for really low salary on 1 year deal, he will be injured till January but I think they have more then enough depth to stay on 1st or 2nd position till then. They can even enter playoffs from 8th spot and will still be clear favorites against any team. Expectations - champions again, no one can stop them. They have great coach, picked excellent on draft in previous 9 years, signed perfect players to fit into team culture and are picking up fruits of their labor. Real problems for them will be next year as Thompson and Green will be eligible for new contracts, Durant as well and they really don't have enough money to pay them all properly. One of those three should be gone for next year along with Cousins who only signed this contract to win a ring and prove to other teams that he is still the same beast prior to his hard injury.

 

Houston Rockets - The only true challengers to GSW in Western Conference. They had great chance last year but with CP3 going out injured there was no way they could win. They signed Carmelo Anthony, kept Capela but lost Trevor Ariza to Phoenix. Defense will be real issue for them but they aim to outscore any opponent anyway. Harden will have to be on his MVP level again and CP3 needs to be healthy to have some slim hopes of beating GSW this year but as I said in GSW expectations - no way of anyone stopping Warriors this year. I expect Houston to make it to Conference Finals again but anything more then 2 wins there will be a surprise.

 

Indiana Pacers - When Paul George left last year everyone thought they would miss playoff's easily. Instead Oladipo started to play the way he was expected of him since he entered the league. With Miles Turner in center position, addition of Tyreke Evans and nice role players in Sabonis, Young, Bojan Bogdanovic, Joseph I see them easily in playoff's again and I think they can make it even to 2nd round this year. My prediction for them is 4-5th place and future looks good as they have nice young core that will develop more. In the future they can be number 3 team of the conference as top two spots are reserved for Boston and Philadelphia.

 

LA Clippers - They are not aiming for anything big this year, all their focus is on next year with Kawhii Leonard becoming free agent along some other big names (Cousins, Durant). They are a team without any superstar at the moment and I think they will be in bottom 4 of the conference this season. I will try to watch as many of their games as possible as they have two Serbian players in the roster, Teodosic who if healthy is assist wizard and exciting playmaker but team where Tobias Harris is lead player is doomed to fail. He has amazing nights followed by terrible ones, inconsistent to the fullest. Avery Bradly and Patrick Beverly are there to clean up in defense but as I said they need at least one superstar to move the team in right direction.

 

LA Lakers - They got LeBron James. Pretty much enough to say about them, they got some nice youth core in previous years, added Rondo and McGee so they will aim for playoffs this season and they are expecting LeBron to help their youngsters make step forward. Also their plan is to get on of the superstars next year and challenge the GSW who have been ruling the league in the past 3 out of 4 years. Making playoff's shouldn't be the issue for them. LeBron can pull the whole team on his own there but doing something more then that - hardly. Maybe with addition of player or two in during season they can try to enter Conference Finals but that is hard to expect. My prediction 4-6 spot and 2nd round of playoff's.

[wry]

I like the Houston Rockets.  They had a great year last year, maybe this is the one where they win the big one.  Fear the Beard!

[Darko]

I am skeptical about addition of Anthony and what he will be able to provide to them but if they can get him to play like first couple of years in New York he could be really valuable addition. I mean if anyone can make him go back to being a superstar is CP3 and The Beard.  

He will be liability in defense as that is where Ariza was great but improvement in offense for sure.

[Darko]

Time for next installment of analyzing teams for upcoming season.

 

Memphis Grizzlies - Well I think we have clear candidate for last spot in Western Conference. They added Kyle Anderson from SAS and picked Jaren Jackson Jr. from 4th place in draft as most notable changes. Tyreke Evans left them to Indiana and they replaced him with Gareth Temple from the Kings. Highly doubt they will do anything this year and will probably trade Marc Gasol mid season for some picks and maybe young players to build up for the future.

 

Miami Heat - They are my favorite team since Alonzo Mourning and Tim Hardaway and that bond just got bigger when they drafter Dwyane Wade. The Flesh became my favorite basketball player of all time from rookie season. He is still with the Heat and I expect him to end his career here. Either at the of this season or next. Quality of team is enough to enter playoff unless some injuries struck them hard. New leader of this team is Goran Dragic, point guard from Slovenia. Think that Miami will try to trade Whiteside for a player that will contribute more and be a team player. Also, their aim is to attract one of superstars that will be without contract. Miami is nice city to live in and are one of biggest markets (obviously New York and LA are the biggest ones in USA) and something that Pat Riley will try to utilize next season. Prediction for this year - playoffs, but I doubt they will advance to 2nd round of it.

 

Milwaukee Bucks - Well this is a team of young talented players and lead with Antetokounmpo their goal is to take over the Eastern Conference now that The King left it. Giannis is one of players expected to rule in the east, his competition for this year are Kawhi Leonard and Kyrie Irving as number 1 player in Conference. I expect them in one of top 3 positions before playoff start. They added Brook Lopez as starting center, lost Jabari Parker to Chicago so all in all I think they will do good this year as their weakest position for years has been center while Jabari had two big injuries that certainly affected his development as a player. Doubt they will be able to win the east, my prediction is number 2 or number 3 depending on who they play against in Conference semifinals.

 

Minnesota Timberwolves - Team that hasn't made much changes, they lost Nemanja Bjelica who was their bench player and Tibodo isn't known for giving much playing time to non starters no matter how well they do when they are given chance due to injuries of someone from starting 5. Relations between their best players are not good according to people following them closely. Max they can do is reach playoffs again. No way they can win a series against any of the top 4 teams in the West. Depending on how bad those relations get they might even trade one of the best players to try and make a change. Media in USA already expects Butler next year in New York with Kyrie Irving so they might fall apart again and miss playoffs for consecutive years if that happens.

 

New Orleans Pelicans - They lost Rondo and Cousins and they signed Randle and Elfrid (worst-haircut-ever) Payton. Oh yeah, they added Jahlil Okafor as well. Highly doubt they will manage to repeat previous year even though they still have one of the best players in the league in Anthony Davis. He really does everything for them but in today's NBA one player can't get much done. If they were in the East they would be top 4 team probably, worst scenario 5th.  But as they are in the west - missing out on playoffs is a real possibility. I hope they can make it as Davis deserves to constantly compete for Championships, really special player and in case they miss playoff this year I can see him demanding a trade to a contender.

 

New York Knicks - They started new season greatly, they booed their draft pick. Last time they did that they got Porzingis and from what I saw from Kevin Knox I think they selected well. With healthy Porzingis they will try to chase that playoff spot but not convinced they can take it. They normally crumble after 20-30 games and already change coach. If they really manage to get Irving and Butler next season then that is something new completely and they will be in contention for at least Conference Finals. But as of this year, fighting for playoff spot is a reality. In case they manage to get in they will lose in first round from any top 4 team.

 

Oklahoma City Thunder - Their best gain is signing PG13 for a long term contract. Had to give away Anthony for anyone just to save 100 million usd's they would pay as tax. Managed to get Schroeder from Atlanta and he will be their 6th man. Anthony had worst season of his career in OKC and this was best solution for all as Schroeder wanted to play in a playoff team which OKC is. They can even go to round 2 of playoffs but I think that is their limit for this year. Too much talent in other teams means really no chance for them to do much. As long as they keep on enabling Brodie to get triple-double nights on regular basis (if any of you watched last several games in previous two seasons you would be able to see how he waits to grab rebounds while his player is unguarded 90% of the time, all 4 players staying around the ball, waiting for him to come and "jump" for it, etc). That is not the way to win Championships and I hope they realize that and start competing for real.

 

Orlando Magic - They suck and will suck in next season and season after that. I just don't know what the hell are they doing. Series of bad moves and not able to get into playoffs in weak East. They have some decent players in SImmons, Vucevic, Gordon and Fournier but that is it. They are only decent, not type of player that will drag the team on his back night after night. Constantly have high picks and usually waste those. Will be interesting watching Bamba develop, hope they don't make a mistake there. My prediction - another season of agony, another high pick in the end.

[Darko]

Final part of analyzing the teams.

 

Philadelphia 76ers - They have several talented young players that showed to all that they can play really good basketball. If they all stay healthy (read Embiid) they will be able to compete for at least Conference Finals. Simmons showed great passing skills but he needs to improve his shot, if he adds threat from distance he will be nearly impossible to guard. Last years top pick Fultz was injured almost whole season and he is expected to shine this year. Keeping JJ Redick and addition of Chandler to the bench unit with expected improvement of rest of the role players they have bright future. Doubt they can make it to the Finals but if some results go their way Conference Finals are not far away this year.

 

Phoenix Suns - They had number one pick and picked expected player, they have high hopes on partnership from DeAndre Ayton - Devin Booker. Also, they managed to add Ariza and Ryan Anderson to give some experience to this young crew. Josh Jackson showed glimpses of potential last season as well and addition of Mikal Bridges in this years draft could be good for them. They have new head coach in Igor Kokoskov who is first foreign head coach, hope he do well with them as he is fellow Serb. Don't expect them to enter playoffs this or maybe even the next year on highly competitive West, for next year they will need to improve roster further and have lot of luck for being among top 8. This season beneath 10th place in West is my prediction.

 

Portland Trail Blazers - Their best players are still 1-2 punch of Dame Lillard and CJ McCollum. Jusuf Nurkic is at minimum decent center and type of player that works good with them in pick&roll game. But rest of the team is really bad, I would say average players at best. Don't think they will have easy time at all and are even in danger of missing playoffs considering how other teams improved their rosters. I see them fighting for that place in playoffs and finishing between 7-10th position.

 

Sacramento Kings - Missing out on playoffs for so many years now is an issue, they lack superstar that can lead them there and not a single one wanna join them. So they traded Cousins who never managed to lead them there and focused on tanking pretty much, gathering lot of young talent, hoping that they will end up with several great players like GSW did. They are interesting team for us in Serbia as GM and his assistant are two famous former Kinds players (Divac and Stojakovic) and they have Bjelica and Bogdanovic now in the roster. Bogdan showed glimpses of why he was rising star in Europe, Bjelica is new addition after his contract with Minnesota expired and still is to show why he deserves to play in NBA. They drafter Bagley III this year from 2nd place in draft as he was really the only one willing to sign for Sacramento. Alongside DeAron Fox from last draft, Buddy Hield that they got in exchange for Cousins and Cauley-Stein at center position they have talent but that is not enough to enter playoff this year. Prediction - somewhere between last 4 teams in West.

 

San Antonio Spurs - This year is practically end of an era for them. Duncan retired last year, Ginobilli this year, Parker signed with Charlotte. They even traded Kawhi Leonard after year long drama with him. Really think that he acted unprofessionally toward them as they made him superstar and I am sure they had his best interest always. Instead of him they got DeRozan who although is a superstar isn't exactly near Kawhi's level of play. Whole team rests now on partnership between him and LaMarcus Aldridge. Belinelli is back as well, Poeltl came with DeRozan in package deal. They were regular playoff team all these years and I expect them to be among top 8 teams again. They have the best coach in the game so I think they will manage to make it.

 

Toronto Raptors - They made a bit of gamble, traded DeRozan who was loyal franchise player but was not able to lead the team to Finals for Kawhi Leonard who when healthy and with desire to play is top 5 player in league. Probably the only one that can guard LBJ as much as that is possible. Thing is Kawhi is on 1 year deal and wants to move to LA next year. So Toronto needs to somehow convince him to stay after this year and best thing on how to do that is to show to him that they can be a contender. They need to enter Finals to compete against GSW but with Boston loaded in almost all positions and with incredible bench depth I can't see them going past Conference Finals.

 

Utah Jazz - Last years surprise team with surprise new star. From the moment Utah traded with Denver to get Mitchel last year I was raging about that Denver decision as I found it stupid and I expected Donovan to shine. That indeed happened but happened in such scale that even caught me by surprise. He is quickly becoming one of my favorite players and is reminding me of young DWade. Alongside Gober who is monster in defense and really nice crew of support players they can again be the Dark Horse of the division. Playoff is guaranteed in my opinion but anything more will depend on their position and the opponent. I don't think they can challenge GSW and Houston so will probably end their playoff run against one of those two teams. They can play against anyone else, if they lose that would be really tight lose.

 

Washington Wizards - They added several players which will provide them good depth this year. If Wall and Beal avoid injuries they are dangerous team for anyone. Playoff is not questionable at all, only thing that is uncertain is their position. In my mind they are top 4 team in East and will probably make it to 2nd round in playoffs. For something more they will need to have healthy squad and bit of luck (read avoiding Boston). Also, in case they somehow crumble and don't do well it will probably lead to major shifts in team, trades of Wall or Beal as their relationship is not the best outside the court.

 

That was it people, well for now.  I will write more when we are near the start of the season and of course during it.

[Dan]

Awesome info Darko, preseason starts next week yeah? I'm gonna put some money down, who do you think will be a valuable pick for a win?

[williamshennie9]

Awesome information Darko! Thank you for taking the time to post this.

I'm still new to sports betting, especially on international teams such as the American NBA. Still doing research before making any betting decisions 

[Darko]

@Dan Preseason games are not really best to put money on as teams still give equal chance to all players but I will post predictions when regular season starts, surprises happen there as well but at least will have clearer image of how teams play. Only 99% advice I can give right now is - bet on GSW to win it all again. Against Boston Celtics would be my pick. 

[Kargai]

I will not repeat what @Darko said because he did a great job, just want to add my own views and some news informations who came out in the last weeks/days since he published about some of the teams (things move fast in NBA ^^).

Atlanta Hawks - Agreed with Darko, they will tank and try to be at the very bottom of the East conference. I believe they made a mistake not choosing Doncic for themselves et the draft (Trae Young is more risky) but if Doncic said to them that he didn't want to play at Atlanta ... that's a good move to pass on him. I hope Jeremy Lin can have a good season without injury, I like that player. Can't wait to see if Josh Collins and Taurean Price can progress. Oh and of course to see probably for the last season Vince Carter is huuuuuge.

Boston Celtics - My favorite for the 1st spot on the East. I really want to see Hayward playing again (even if it will take time for him to be at 100%). Hayward/Irving/Horford for the experience, Tatum/Brown/Rozier as young hungry dogs, Smart, Morris & Baynes for the fighting spirit and some decent players on the bench like Theis or Yabusele. And one of the 3 bests coachs on the NBA.

Brooklyn Nets - Last year of "reconstruction" for them since they will have 2 max salary to give next year ... or one this year if they can grab Jimmy Butler. Without him it's a spot 10 to 12 on East for me. With Jimmy they could catch the playoffs (7 or 8th place). Russel, Levert, Dinwiddie, Hollis-Jefferson, Napier, Kenneth Farried, ... they have a lot of mid-level player but they lack 2 big stars and untile now they hadn't the money to bring them in the team, it's now possible.

Charlotte Hornets - Another year for nothing probably, not strong enough to go in playoff (except if 2-3 teams play badly due to inuries or something) but good enough to not finish at the bottom. Probably around the 10th place. No playoffs.

Chicago Bulls - Still with the same dumb front office they will not be anywhere this year. the duo Jabari-Lavine is interesting but both are fragile players who broke something in their body every 3 months ^^ Their rookie could be a good surprise this year and i'm impatient to see if Markaanen, Valentine, Portis and Dunn can step up this year. But even in this case we will have to wait few years before seeing the Bulls doing anything great. And their coach is as wack as their front office. No playoffs.

Cleveland Cavaliers - They loose the best player of the NBA and they don't replace him by anything hald as great so obviously they'll drop in the rankings. Kevin Love is not a n°1 in a team, at best he's a number 2 or 3. Their rookie could be a good surprise (Sexton) and i'd like to see if Cedi Osman or Larry Nance Jr can step up, their traded David Nwaba who play some good games last year with the Bulls. At best I see them in the last spots for the playoffs.

Dallas Mavericks - One of the most intriguing team this year for me. First I hope Dirk will stay in shape to end well his last season and take the 5th place in best scorers all-time in NBA. Than the duo Dennis Smith Jr and Doncic could be huuuuge and fun to watch. With Harrison Barnes and DeAndre Jordan the quatuor could be deadly after few months to play together. And they have some nice experimented backups with Barea, Harris and Wesley Matthews. They lack of some talent from the bench tho. Hardly in playoffs.

Denver Nuggets - Sorry Darko for you serbian friend but I believe they will hardly be in playoffs again. With Isiaih not starting the season at 100% and the new competition in the West (Lakers) I don't believe they can compete. That could depend of the Wolves loosing Butler seeing how they were bad last year without him. Another key point could be their rookie, Michael Porter Jr., they take a big risk choosing him with his back problems but it could pay if he's 100ù healthy and come playing to proove everyone they didn't show him the respect needed (the guy was saying he deserved to be n°1 of the draft and not n°14).

Detroit Pistons - Drummond & Griffin alone could be able to bring a team in playoffs ... except that Griffin is often injuried and Drummond seem not playing all the games, sometimes he's completely off. The rest of the team is ok but too inconsistant, they will need 1 or 2 players to step up their game on a daily basis to be able to compete. I see them fighting the last spot of the playoff with the Cavs.

Golden State Warriors - Nothing to say, bring them the title directly. Except if they suffer 2 or 3 major injuries at the worst moment i don't see a lot of competition this year since they are better than the previous one and their most serious opponent (Houston) are weaker.

Houston Rockets - They missed their chance last year. This year they loose their 2 best defenders and they bring Carmelo Anthony who appeared to be more a liability than anything else lately. Plus Chris Paul is aging and suffer regularly from little injuries here and there. They'll still be probably in the Top 3 of the West because Harden is in his prime, Capela start to be huge, Chris Paul still can pass the ball and they we could see some surprises with the newly arrived Marqueese Chris.

Indiana Pacers - The great surprise last year for me. Oladipo really improved but can he keep the pace this year ? Not sure about that. But even if it's the case Tyreke Evans + Doug McDermott are great additions to the roster. And they add some experiences on the bench with Kyle O'Quinn and Cory Joseph. Top 6 "easy" and playoffs.

LA Clippers - No superstars for now and that could be their best chance. Look at last year for Indiana. When there is no star all the players try to be the best of the team and that push sometimes the team. Plus they are full of experimented players (Harris, Beverley, Lou Williams, Teodosic, Gortat, ...) who can play basketball. Not enough to go in playoffs ... except if they can recruit Jimmy Butler or if one player play his best career season (Harris ? Harrell ?). Spot 7 to 11.

LA Lakers - The hype team this year. With reason when you add the best player in your team. Lebron James alone (if he stay healthy) could be able to bring them in the playoffs but the weird association of new players (Rondo, McGee, Beasley, Stephenson) is a big risk to take. That could break the dynamics of the youngsters who could be in the middle of a team brawl. Josh Hart, Ingram and Kuzma could take another dimension this year (if any of those 3 can become a good lieutenant the next Lakers years could be niiiiiiiice), i'm less confident in Lonzo Ball. He's a marketing figure but his stats, shooting percentages,and fundamentals are wack as fuck. He really need to step up 2-3 times before being a good player. Spot 6 to 9.

Memphis Grizzlies - More positive that Darko, i don't see them in the last spot especially since Conley will be back. Anderson + Conley can totally compensate the lost of Tyreke Evans. Spot 11 to 13.

Miami Heat - Middle of the pack for me. Not strong enough to enter in the Top 5 but enough decent players to play for the playoffs. Wade will be just something to look at but will not contribute enough (too old/too broken). Spoelstra/Riley can do anything tho and could be able to receive a nice piece in the team if they trade Whiteside ... and why not taking Butler from Minnesota if they find a good deal.

Milwaukee Bucks - Top 5 East this year. Giannis will be even better than last year and Middleton is a nice lieutenant. They have great veterans who can add value (Bledsoe,Snell, Henson,Dellavedova even if I hate this player, ...), they have great young players/rookie who can step up (Brogdon, Maker, Sterling Brown, DiVicenzo) and they add some decent pieces in the offseason : Ilyasova and Brook Lopez (not starters but nice from the bench).

Minnesota Timberwolves - One of the biggest loosers of this off-season since Butler want to leave. And the Wolves will probably not receive as much value, more the time will fly and less they will receive. We saw what the team is without Butler (from Top 3 to Top 8 in few months last year with or without him). So at best Top 6 to 8 depending of who will come vs Butler.

New Orleans Pelicans - One of my favourite player in Davis but the lack of another superstar is hurting them for long. And last year Davis was very healthy for his own standards. Randle/Holiday/Moore/Mirotic are decents and they have some support and experience from the bench (Ajinca, Hill, Payton, Miller, Troy Williams, ...). But that's not enough in the West. Will look at Okafor (like a little), who could be a nice surprise this year (at least to bring back some of his old mojo). But if the Pelicans are not in the playoffs in february I can see Davis joining another team.

New York Knicks - Not in the playoffs this year probably. New coach, Porzingis out at least for the first half of the season, Kevin Know who will need some time, Joakim Noah to dump, ... and just some average new players this off-season : Vonleh, Hezonja, ... and they loose players who helped them a little last year (Beasley, O'Quinn, Jarett Jack). Even if they can lend Butler ... Top 7-8 at very best, probably more around Top 10-12.

Oklahoma City Thunder - In the Top 4 this year. They dumped Carmelo, at least, who was more a liability than anything and they have a better bench. Dennis Shroder, Nerlens Noel,... that's till better that Singler and Nick Collison.Let's hope Roberson can came back early in the season but Westbrook+George+Adams+Grant+Roberson is a very great starting 5.

Orlando Magic - 100% the same view as Darko : they suck, they are not fun to watch and the only thing to look at this season is their rookie Mo Bamba. I don't understand their 80 millions $ on Gordon (just a decent player at best) but they probably will get rid of some players soon : Fournier, Vucevic, ... but against who? Who want to play there ?

 

(working on the rest)

[Russia64]

Праильно думаю Лейкерс с Леброном наделуют в этом сезоне много шумихи посмотрим на них!!!!

[bonet777]

The best NBA player is Kobe and don't argue with me.xD

[Darko]

Debates on who is the greatest of all time rages every day. Media need new poster guy every now and then to challenge the greatest that this game ever had so they do tend to announce someone on every 10-15 years as the next best thing or the guy who will set all new records and be the best.

I do agree with you that Kobe is a beast, one of the greatest of all time but there are several players that can be put in same line with him. He was dubbed to be the next MJ as now LeBron is. Kobe came close with his killer mentality, clutch plays when game is on the line, championships but still fell short due to injuries and poor team he had to carry on his back for several years. LeBron is the best what today's NBA has to offer but there are several players even now that can challenge him and are playing great in his era.

Still think that there is only one 🐐 - MJ23. There are players with more titles then him but the way he changed basketball and how he played it is still not reached by anyone. And he played in really good era, defense minded. Every player that talked about him mentioned that he would score 50 points on average with these defenses. He was unstoppable and once he reached Finals you just knew he would dominate it, there was no way he would lose 7 game series to anyone.

Oh and I placed 2 bets last night, have to show off a bit.

Ibaka over 15.5, Sabonis over 15.5, Harrell over 16.5 and Fox over 16.5 was first ticket.

Bogdanovic over 14.5, Leonard over 24.5, Toronto - GSW over 223.5 and Sacramento - LAC over 234.5 on second.

Payouts were 11.71 on both.

[Dusan]

13 minutes ago, Darko said:

Debates on who is the greatest of all time rages every day. Media need new poster guy every now and then to challenge the greatest that this game ever had so they do tend to announce someone on every 10-15 years as the next best thing or the guy who will set all new records and be the best.

I do agree with you that Kobe is a beast, one of the greatest of all time but there are several players that can be put in same line with him. He was dubbed to be the next MJ as now LeBron is. Kobe came close with his killer mentality, clutch plays when game is on the line, championships but still fell short due to injuries and poor team he had to carry on his back for several years. LeBron is the best what today's NBA has to offer but there are several players even now that can challenge him and are playing great in his era.

Still think that there is only one 🐐 - MJ23. There are players with more titles then him but the way he changed basketball and how he played it is still not reached by anyone. And he played in really good era, defense minded. Every player that talked about him mentioned that he would score 50 points on average with these defenses. He was unstoppable and once he reached Finals you just knew he would dominate it, there was no way he would lose 7 game series to anyone.

Oh and I placed 2 bets last night, have to show off a bit.

Ibaka over 15.5, Sabonis over 15.5, Harrell over 16.5 and Fox over 16.5 was first ticket.

Bogdanovic over 14.5, Leonard over 24.5, Toronto - GSW over 223.5 and Sacramento - LAC over 234.5 on second.

Payouts were 11.71 on both.

You are so lucky and if i played + on Ibaka he would be on 2pts whole game. Lucky. Lucky. Lucky.

[Darko]

Nah, that was my safest bet, with Green still out at GSW I figured he will do what he desires with weak center line. Once Cousins and Green starts paying then yeah, I am not sure he would have value to play on over on this number of points.

[bonet777]

LeBron is of course handsome, but there are some like Stefan Curry, this is a very cool NBA star.

[anonnep]

7 hours ago, bonet777 said:

LeBron is of course handsome, but there are some like Stefan Curry, this is a very cool NBA star.

they both are  one  of  the  best in their  position 

[KiXxnTRiXx]

I grew up watching the chigaco bulls era eith my dad, and got to witness michael jordan revolutionize the game with his air accrobatics. So griwing up my favorite was Michael Jordan. But overall, i really liked Allen Iverson, he was shorter compared to the majority of point guards/shooting guards but quick asf. He was a but of a ball hog for sure, but damn can he score and wasnt affraid to drive to the basket.. aand damnnn those crossovers are sick. hahaha. Honestly i dont have just one favorite, dif players in different positions brings a unique sets of skills and presence in the game that makes it exciting to watch. But Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson, Ray Allen, Steve Nash, Dwayne Wade would be amongst the top lust of players i enjoy watching.