Post#497 » by limbo » Tue Jul 16, 2019 10:34 pm
I'd have the Clippers as my title favorites at this point in time. Followed by the Lakers, Philly/Bucks, Warriors, rounding out the Top 5, not necessarily in that order. Jazz are the wildcard dark horse for me.
Clippers:
pros: 2nd best duo in the NBA, can defend and shoot at a high level, solid lineup versatility, not GOAT level depth but arguably best among contending teams.
cons: Maybe kinda weak at the C position. They'll probably play Trez there in smallball lineups but he's not exactly the biggest guy out there. If (or likely, when) they see the Lakers in the postseason this could be an area McGee/Davis/Boogie could exploit. Also, lack of great playmakers on the team could end up being a problem against elite defenses
Lakers:
pros: Best duo in the NBA, no longer think defense and shooting will be a problem, especially in the playoffs where AD/LeBron will be fully engaged, McGee/AD/LeBron/Kuzma/Cousins probably the best/deepest frontcourt in the NBA (only Philly could compete with that in terms of quality with Embiid/Horford/Harris).
cons: LeBron is getting up there in age, AD's health, a lot of question marks on the roster in terms of who can be relied on to consistently contribute in the postseason, maybe i can count them on one hand right now, Rondo is horrible but when you lack sufficient playmaking options and players that can take over the floor general role so LeBron can catch his breath, i fear we're going to see him play serious minutes. If i was Vogel i'd just make sure LeBron and Rondo don't see the floor at the same time, EVER, and it could work for stretches.
Sixers/Bucks:
I'll start by saying, i don't like what the Bucks did in the offseason. I mean, they were kinda in an awkward position without much leverage so i won't judge them heavily from a GM standpoint. From a basketball standpoint though, they lost Brogdon and Mirotic (who while flawed and sat on the bench a lot during the playoffs, could still be a valuable piece, if nothing else during the RS) and they brought in Wes Matthers (who i'm not a huge fan of, theoretically he is a 3&D guy but did neither of those things for Dallas and he has a tendency of playing out of his element on offense thinking he's CJ McCollum or something) and the other Lopez bro, who is a solid big body to have, but not someone who's going to move the needle for your team. Bledsoe has consistency issues and sometimes completely loses the plot during important series, Middleton just secured a fat bag, so his motivation will really be put to test... Basically, a lot will rest on Giannis. He'll have to carry possibly even harder than last year.
So tying this to the Sixers. With the Raptors losing their best player and no one else in the East really stepping up (Brooklyn won't compete in their conference without Durant this year, maybe Miami can do something if they can get CP3 and he plays well) but until then, it's between the Sixers and Bucks, and i favor the Sixers, even though their roster has a higher degree of risk and potential collapse compared to the Bucks, they basically stacked their frontcourt and team with height just so they could deal with Giannis. A lot will rest on Embiid's health again and if Simmons can make a bucket outside the paint but Horford and J-Rich are really good pieces, though losing Butler and Reddick will be huge and they haven't really did much of anything to fix their bench. It's going to be a toss up dogfight between Philly and Milwaukee.
Warriors:
I think they have enough quality to get into the playoffs with Klay missing most of the season. Curry will go nuclear, D'Lo can help offensively a decent amount, Draymond will have to step up. Once they get to the playoffs i expect Klay to be close to 100% and a team with Curry/D'Lo/Klay/Draymond/Cauley-Stein is good enough to compete for a title in this year, not as the favorite, but i won't ever count out the trio of Curry/Klay/Draymond and their valuable chemistry/experience.
Jazz:
Utah won 50 games last season and they clearly got better. Upgraded Rubio for Conley and added Croatian Bogdanovic who is a solid starting wing in this league. They lost Favors and Crowder but Ed Davis and Jeff Green should be good enough replacements. Gobert/Ingles/Bogdanovic/Mitchell/Conley is a sick lineup. The biggest problem of theirs is a lot of their offense hinges on Donovan Mitchell, who's simply not ready and/or good enough to be the primary offensive option for a title winning team, not even close at that. If this was a healthy Oladipo there instead of Mitchell i might have Jazz up there with the Clippers as the favorites.