2021-22 NBA Season Discussion

[Clyde Frazier]

Last season's discussion: viewtopic.php?f=64&t=2012832

Time doesn't make sense anymore so I can't believe the season's starting up again, but have at it!

The fact that klay has missed *2 full seasons* now and still isn't back yet is starting to concern me. Hoping he looks ok when he finally does step back on the court.

[falcolombardi]

rootig for okc boys to develop, poku, giddey, dort my biggest hopes for taking leaps or having a good rookie season

also putting attention on chicago, hawks, denver (mpj development) and zion growth

[jalengreen]

rootig for okc boys to develop, poku, giddey, dort my biggest hopes for taking leaps or having a good rookie season

also putting attention on chicago, hawks, denver (mpj development) and zion growth

throw in the rockets. intriguing team imo with kpj sengun green

[parsnips33]

I'm very excited to watch the Bulls this year. Lonzo and Lavine should be a fun combo. And I can finally root for Caruso guilt free now that he's off the Lakers!

[Colbinii]

I'm looking forward to a healthy looking Timberwolves, ANT making a second year leap and Towns being back in the conversation of being the best Center in the league.

They have a competent coach and staff now and the talent to be competitive on a nightly basis.

Homer-shades aside, I'm excited to watch LeBron absolutely kill it next to Russell Westbrook. The regular season is going to be exciting. Russell Westbrook playing with a clearly better on-ball player next to him for the first time in his career is also going to be interesting. The team is littered with Veterans who want to win--Westbrick included.

[The High Cyde]

I'm looking forward to a healthy looking Timberwolves, ANT making a second year leap and Towns being back in the conversation of being the best Center in the league.

They have a competent coach and staff now and the talent to be competitive on a nightly basis.

Homer-shades aside, I'm excited to watch LeBron absolutely kill it next to Russell Westbrook. The regular season is going to be exciting. Russell Westbrook playing with a clearly better on-ball player next to him for the first time in his career is also going to be interesting. The team is littered with Veterans who want to win--Westbrick included.

How do you think the Lakers will fare with Ariza sidelined for two months with ankle surgery?

Agreed that the Lakers will be exciting to watch.

[ShotCreator]

I'm looking forward to a healthy looking Timberwolves, ANT making a second year leap and Towns being back in the conversation of being the best Center in the league.

They have a competent coach and staff now and the talent to be competitive on a nightly basis.

Homer-shades aside, I'm excited to watch LeBron absolutely kill it next to Russell Westbrook. The regular season is going to be exciting. Russell Westbrook playing with a clearly better on-ball player next to him for the first time in his career is also going to be interesting. The team is littered with Veterans who want to win--Westbrick included.

In what world was Harden not clearly better than Westbrook? Hell he was he was better than LeBron in 2020.

[Colbinii]

I'm looking forward to a healthy looking Timberwolves, ANT making a second year leap and Towns being back in the conversation of being the best Center in the league.

They have a competent coach and staff now and the talent to be competitive on a nightly basis.

Homer-shades aside, I'm excited to watch LeBron absolutely kill it next to Russell Westbrook. The regular season is going to be exciting. Russell Westbrook playing with a clearly better on-ball player next to him for the first time in his career is also going to be interesting. The team is littered with Veterans who want to win--Westbrick included.

In what world was Harden not clearly better than Westbrook? Hell he was he was better than LeBron in 2020.

I dont remember 2020--weirdest year of my life and I have blocked it out of my memory [Fascist president, COVID, ect).

[BIGJ1ER]

Really excited for the season to start, should be an interesting one, although I wish Brooklyn weren't as stacked as they are.

I know it's weird take, but I actually really enjoyed watching the peak 17-19 Warriors run as they played a really interesting brand of basketball to me, while I don't enjoy watching Brooklyn even though their offence is super effective, guess I'm just more of a motion fan, plus never been a huge James Harden or kyrie Irving guy myself so that probably makes them less interesting to watch.

Really hope we see some more surprising teams play super well this year like Phoenix and Utah did last year.

In relation to the team I've been bandwagoning the past few years, Philly, I'm very pessimistic on their outlook moving forward. I can't see a way they get through this Ben Simmons saga without severely downgrading, and while I think Embiid is great for that franchise, if they downgrade heavily at guard (which I think is inevitable) I could see him requesting a trade in the next 2 years.

Like Clyde said, I'm worried about Klay, and I'd love to see him return successfully like KD and have the Warriors make another run at it with the original big 3.

I'm very sceptical about Russ and Lebron's fit, and this Lakers roster in general, but I do think Lebron and AD could make it work if Lebron hasn't regressed too heavily. Also sceptical about Chicago and could see that roster underperforming heavily.

I don't see Phoenix keeping Ayton and bridges, and I think Bridges will leave after this year if he plays well or improves again, which could make for an interesting scenario around the trade deadline if they don't think they can pay him and they want to get something in return or they aren't looking like contending (I don't think they are a strong contender as is).

And as always, excited to see which young guys take a step this year. Hopeful to see strong seasons from Edwards, JJJ, Zion and Garland, and would love to see some of the rookies get off to a great start!

[Clyde Frazier]

Watch on YouTube

Happy 75th!

[HeartBreakKid]

Suggestion for mods:

Add Odin's project where we ranked the best 5 players of each franchise to the consolidation thread.

[Colbinii]

Suggestion for mods:

Add Odin's project where we ranked the best 5 players of each franchise to the consolidation thread.

Add all his projects

[falcolombardi]

i could see bucks repeating

lakers and nets are too fragile, and no other team looks as good as them(clippers injuries, denver is not quite there yet + Murray injury, philadelphia problems, suns already lost to them and chris Paul is not getting younger)

[AussieBuck]

i could see bucks repeating

lakers and nets are too fragile, and no other team looks as good as them(clippers injuries, denver is not quite there yet + Murray injury, philadelphia problems, suns already lost to them and chris Paul is not getting younger)

This is the best Bucks team yet. Allen fits superbly at starting 2. Donte and Hill off the bench with the Giannis and no starters line up we use is going to be awesome.

Hill
Donte
Pat/Nwora
Portis
Giannis

We alternate that with the following when Giannis is resting:

Jrue
Allen
Mids
Portis
Lopez

Jrue/Allen/Donte/Mids/Giannis against anyone who wants to go small.

Bet the over.

[CKRT]

Over/under on Kyrie retiring this month?

[Texas Chuck]

Over/under on Kyrie retiring this month?

No chance whatsoever.

[Texas Chuck]

i could see bucks repeating

I have them as my favorites as well just ahead of the Nets. They have the best player, they are strong at both ends of the court, having a coaching edge over most other contenders, have strong continuity, and should have a bit more depth. Tucker is a bigger loss than people want to acknowledge imo, but even with that they should be the on paper favorites right now.

[Doctor MJ]

So some thoughts from me at this time:

In the East:
1. The Nets have been the consensus favorite, and I don't have a problem with that, though I'd caution people that we still don't have a sense of diminishing returns of 3 volume scorers in the playoffs. I won't be surprised if it's a lot harder than people think.

2. Obviously the Kyrie situation makes things tricky. Frankly, I think the Nets are handling it better than I'd expect. You have 2 amazing, amazing players and Kyrie isn't one of those 2 guys. You should not let your franchise be held hostage by your #3 guy, and they aren't. Won't be shocked if a Kyrie-less team ends up being actually better than one with Kyrie.

3. I also find myself thinking about the narrative if the Nets end up just riding KD/Harden to a title: People will say that all the Thunder needed to do to have a dynasty was just properly judge who their 2 best players were, and I won't be saying those folks are wrong.

4. I think the Bucks need to scare the hell out of the Nets. Any notion of "We almost beat them and we weren't even healthy" needs to go out the window. Calling the Nets favorites over the Bucks is not crazy at all, but any assumption that the Bucks today are still the deer-in-the-headlights gawkers they were at the start of the 2021 Nets series is just glaringly out of date. They've got the monkey off their back, and I expect them to be a better playoff team now than they were over the bulk of the last playoffs or any time previously.

5. Oddly, I tend to think the 76ers are likely to be about as dangerous as they were last year, regardless of Simmons' presence. Short of them making a big improvement, they are going to be vulnerable in a variety of playoff matchups, but I also wouldn't be surprised to see Embiid destroy the Nets' tissue paper front court.

6. Maybe I'm just being a fan, but I'd love to see Seth Curry get a shot to really operate as the star guard of the team. I think over and over again there have been assumptions about what he can't do and he keeps proving them wrong.

7. I feel like the Hawks are likely to have a better regular season but take a step back in the playoffs. A Top 4 seed kind of team that loses in the 2nd round rather than the ECF. I am however really excited to see Trae Young continue to evolve. I'd say he's the most enjoyable player for me to watch who came into the league post-Jokic.

West:
1. I don't think the Lakers acquiring Westbrook - lessening their depth was wise. Best case scenario Westbrook acts as an innings-eater during the regular season when LeBron's on the bench and come playoff time finds a way to be something other than "Russell Westbrook". One thing we know pretty clearly is that if LeBron or AD is on the floor, any possession that ends with Westbrook taking a shot from more than lay-up distance is a failure.

2. I think the Clippers & Nuggets both have a serious chance to emerge as the best team in the conference if they can just get back to full health in time for the playoffs, but that's a big IF.

3. I think with the Suns & Jazz so much of what happens next will depend on their attitude in the wake of last season. Both have to be able to build on top of their prior successes without ego and without doubt. In theory the Suns are in a better position for this because their post-season is a fond memory, but the contract situations of Ayton & Bridges loom. For the Jazz, the reasons for them to go negative are clear, and it's a matter of them not giving in. A team built around Gobert is always going to be vulnerable to a great 5-out opponent, but it's not easy to create teams like that. The Jazz really could have won the title last year with a healthy Conley, and the same may true this eyar.

4. Luka and the Mavs. Won't surprise anyone if Luka emerges as the clear cut best player in the world and the Mavs become a true contender as a result, but I don't like the fact that Luka wasn't able to work with Carlisle harmoniously. The Mavs seem to have now doubled down on just giving Luka whatever he wants, and maybe that will work, but if it turns out that Luka - like basically every other star in history - requires some shrewd team tactics around him to max out his team's potential, going from Carlisle to Kidd is a downgrade.

5. I remain optimistic about the Warriors. I'll grant that if Klay can never come back and play offense like an all-star again there's no reason to look at the Warriors as a contender without major roster changes, but in a league where 3-point shooting is bigger than ever, a healthy Splash Brothers is still the ultimate version of that, and if there were ever an athlete well-suited to a long rehabilitation process, it's Klay.

[Doctor MJ]

Over/under on Kyrie retiring this month?

I can't put odds to it other than to say they are non-zero.

Kyrie really seems to have completely deluded himself into thinking that he's a civil rights leader, and the idea of a civil rights leader retiring early to effect greater change in the world isn't just understandable, it's something we've recently seen in basketball (Maya Moore).

We might think he'd be crazy to retire given that he's still owed lots of money, but that's actually part of why it makes sense. Leaving the millions on the table to sacrifice for the greater good is precisely what a martyr is supposed to do.

[Texas Chuck]

4. Luka and the Mavs. Won't surprise anyone if Luka emerges as the clear cut best player in the world and the Mavs become a true contender as a result, but I don't like the fact that Luka wasn't able to work with Carlisle harmoniously. The Mavs seem to have now doubled down on just giving Luka whatever he wants, and maybe that will work, but if it turns out that Luka - like basically every other star in history - requires some shrewd team tactics around him to max out his team's potential, going from Carlisle to Kidd is a downgrade.
.

Maybe you have access to some credible reporting I don't? I understand the perception is Luka cleaned house in Dallas this year. And I can't say for certain that isn't true. But we do know pretty credibly reported that Dallas did not want Carlisle to leave--that it was a Rick Carlisle decision. Rick made that clear in his statements and the team backed him publicly on that.

Could be spin, I'm not naive about that, but I tend to believe it. And I don't see any reason Luka wanted Donnie out. He and Donnie had a good relationship going back to when he was 13 and Donnie is the guy who engineered Luka to Dallas and was his biggest champion.

And they didn't dump KP at a loss(they couldn't move him for value obviously) when it appeared Luka didn't want to play with him.

I expect Luka's infliuence in Dallas to grow just like Dirk's did. And more quickly just because they always felt good about Dirk's loyalty in a way they shouldn't with Luka. I just don't know that I'm prepared to concede to a narrative that he's already running the team. Kidd definitely comes across as a Mark Cuban decision way more than a Luka decision. Luka doesn't want to play the old school basketball that Kidd keeps talking about in all his public comments.


That said, I don't love that he couldn't get along with Rick either. Or that Cuban allowed Harlabob to have the appearance of having more power than Rick--which seemed to be at a root of a lot of Luka's frustration with the coaching staff.

No doubt this off-season sucked for Dallas and maybe it's all Luka, but I think its much more about Mark Cuban's ego than Luka's determination to call the shots.