2023-24 NBA Season Discussion

[falcolombardi]

My regular season list likely differs from my "most likely to win a ring/go far in playoffs" list

For reg season it goes somewhat like this

1-suns
2-nuggets (i see then slowing down a bit rs-wise)
3- clippers if healthy
4-warriors
5-lakers
6-thunder
7-memphis
8-mavs
9-minnesota
10-kings

For playoffs it changes a bit (assuming full health which is not realistic for many of these teams)

1-lakers (i am bullish on healthy lakers)
2-denver
3-suns
4-clippers
5-warriors
6-thunder
7-kings
8-mavs
9-memphis
10-minnesota

[BIGJ1ER]

My regular season list likely differs from my "most likely to win a ring/go far in playoffs" list

For reg season it goes somewhat like this

1-suns
2-nuggets (i see then slowing down a bit rs-wise)
3- clippers if healthy
4-warriors
5-lakers
6-thunder
7-memphis
8-mavs
9-minnesota
10-kings

For playoffs it changes a bit (assuming full health which is not realistic for many of these teams)

1-lakers (i am bullish on healthy lakers)
2-denver
3-suns
4-clippers
5-warriors
6-thunder
7-kings
8-mavs
9-memphis
10-minnesota

What makes you so high on the Suns for RS? I feel like they're a classic underperform in RS team with the health concerns for KD and Beal. God forbid Book gets injured, since they're all but guaranteed to have KD and beal miss 25 games each, and I'm not high on the nurk acquisition.

For me the mavs are being overrated, can't see them as a playoff team at all with the depth in the west, and have the pels above them barring another health disaster.

[OhayoKD]

The Laker pessimism is wierd. They played the eventual champs the closest by m.o.v on a team with very little experience to gel and two leading stars playing with injury. Then they improved their roster further in the off-season. They also are one of the few teams here that have recently won a title with the same two pieces they had before

Not saying that makes them title favorites, but there is a world of difference between title favorites and a team that is sneaking into the playoffs.

It also kind of seems that the pro-bron posters here are bigger laker-skeptics. Though I guess much of the Lebron goat crowd only back him to the extent his raw plus/minus and conventional box score production maintains a certain level

[Doctor MJ]

RE Towns playing with Talent:

Are you aware the Wolves starting 5 in 2022 posting a +11.24 Net Rtg as a 5-man line-up and in 2018 the Butler/Towns combination, in over 1800 minutes, posted a +10.25 Net Rtg?

The thing about Towns is he was always cast in an incorrect role. He isn't a Jokic or Embiid--he is a Robin. He is like Klay Thompson but at 7-foot tall and can actually make ridiculously difficult passes and can be a connective tissue offensively. As Edwards grows into the #1 role, Towns will be put into a role offensively he hasn't been in since 2018--a dynamic 1B/2.

So let me say up front in response to both of your posts:

I'm sorry if I came across as "gleefully" negative. I'm not on the bandwagon, but as someone with a lot of Minnesotan family, I'd like for the team to be good.

I think the points you make pertaining to +/- look encouraging, though must acknowledge it doesn't flip how I see things at this time pertaining to this team.

RE: Towns wrong role, he's a Robin like Klay. Okay, but the concern is not that Towns is bad on offense, but that he's bad on defense, whereas Klay being good at defense was a key part of his appeal.

Re: passing, connective tissue. I have to be honest I struggle to see Towns as a hyperaware BBIQ guy, which is to me what you're implying. Maybe I'm wrong.

[Peregrine01]

It’s crazy how Bron is still probably the most athletic player in the league when he wants to be. Can’t sustain it over 82 games but he can still channel that GOAT athleticism when he wants to.

[Doctor MJ]

So who were the contenders in the West? Was it the Lakers? Was it nobody besides Denver? The Lakers made the WCF, yet the Wolves went toe-to-toe, IN LA, in the Play-in game without Rudy Gobert and without Jaden McDaniels.

Well, the NBA GM survey ranked the teams in the West like this:

1. Denver
2. Phoenix
3. Lakers
4. Golden State
5. Clippers
6. Memphis
7. New Orleans
(tie) Sacramento
9. Dallas
10. Oklahoma City

With Minnesota being one of the 5 teams not getting any love at all.

So I see this, and then see more than one poster here predicting Minnesota as a Top 2 team, and it leaves my head spinning a bit.

I'm not a big pre-season prediction guy, but what I'll say is that it's not obvious to me that Minnesota should be ranked higher than the teams listed. Could I see Minnesota finish ahead of a number of these teams? Sure, but could see it the other way too. Basically the Wolves have done enough to be seen as in the mix, but they hadn't popped to me as a team that I expect to be elite unless the KAT-Gobert fit really works, which it didn't really impress me that way previously.

[Peregrine01]

Has there ever been a player that makes offense look as easy as Jokic does?

[MyUniBroDavis]

Jokic and Bron commit murder on defense and never get called for it ngl

[Doctor MJ]

Has there ever been a player that makes offense look as easy as Jokic does?

Good way to put it. I don't think so.

[MyUniBroDavis]

Y’all got an inside joke with the wolves or something?

[eminence]

Y’all got an inside joke with the wolves or something?

Nope, my numbers like Minnesota (being the local team doesn't hurt me liking it), and I I'll stick with them until I start losing money.

[MyUniBroDavis]

It’s hilarious that the moment AD and Jokic stopped guarding each other they stopped scoring lol

[eminence]

LeBron's looked good tonight, curious if ~30 minutes will be his new heavy minute nights (for the RS) or if that's just a 1 night thing.

[Peregrine01]

Has there ever been a player that makes offense look as easy as Jokic does?

Good way to put it. I don't think so.

Dirk-like shooting, Shaq-like in how he moves guys in the post, Hakeem-like footwork, Magic-like passing and the best hands of all time. I really think we’re looking at the GOAT offensive player.

[ShotCreator]

Has there ever been a player that makes offense look as easy as Jokic does?

Good way to put it. I don't think so.

Dirk-like shooting, Shaq-like in how he moves guys in the post, Hakeem-like footwork, Magic-like passing and the best hands of all time. I really think we’re looking at the GOAT offensive player.

Probably the most complete half court offensive player ever ever ever.

Still will say specialists like Curry and Nash topped him on raw ceiling of play.

But he does everything out there. Every single thing from everywhere. He just does it a little slow compared to guards so defenses can at least get a chance to think and kind of plan to stop him. You don't get those chances against Curry/Magic/Nash. But you can get physical with them, so again, he's the most complete. Resilient, physically dominant, intelligent, just gifted player.

[itsxtray]

Basically a playoff redux. Nuggets go up and the Lakers claw all game but can't get over the hump.

[eminence]

Good way to put it. I don't think so.

Dirk-like shooting, Shaq-like in how he moves guys in the post, Hakeem-like footwork, Magic-like passing and the best hands of all time. I really think we’re looking at the GOAT offensive player.

Probably the most complete half court offensive player ever ever ever.

Still will say specialists like Curry and Nash topped him on raw ceiling of play.

But he does everything out there. Every single thing from everywhere. He just does it a little slow compared to guards so defenses can at least get a chance to think and kind of plan to stop him. You don't get those chances against Curry/Magic/Nash. But you can get physical with them, so again, he's the most complete. Resilient, physically dominant, intelligent, just gifted player.

I'd kind of put Magic halfway between the two groups there.

[rk2023]

In a vacuum, I think Jokic is the best Offensive player. Atl my vibes tell me that

[parsnips33]

KCP becoming one of my favorite role players

Nuggets are just too likeable, try as I might to feel some animosity towards a Western conference rival

[Peregrine01]

Good way to put it. I don't think so.

Dirk-like shooting, Shaq-like in how he moves guys in the post, Hakeem-like footwork, Magic-like passing and the best hands of all time. I really think we’re looking at the GOAT offensive player.

Probably the most complete half court offensive player ever ever ever.

Still will say specialists like Curry and Nash topped him on raw ceiling of play.

But he does everything out there. Every single thing from everywhere. He just does it a little slow compared to guards so defenses can at least get a chance to think and kind of plan to stop him. You don't get those chances against Curry/Magic/Nash. But you can get physical with them, so again, he's the most complete. Resilient, physically dominant, intelligent, just gifted player.

For some perspective: with just Jokic on last year, the Nuggets posted a higher ORTG than the Warriors ever did with Curry, KD, Klay AND Draymond on in any single season.

I don't think his physical slowness hurts him at all in comparison to guards, at least as it relates to offense. His mind works so fast that the ball is finding the open man before the defense even knows what's happening. Nuggets get a ton of transition points because of that.