- The Nets.
‘Nuff said. When you have 3 of the most polarizing stars in the league with KD, Kyrie, and Ben Simmons, that’s more than enough reason to tune into the Nets this season. The Nets could have looked like a completely different roster to start this season; KD was flirting with the Suns in the offseason while Kyrie was reportedly close to a reunion with LeBron in LA.
Add in the additional drama with the usual Kyrie stuff (Alex Jones, Kyrie? Really?) and rumors of KD asking for the firing of Nash and Marks, and you’ve got yourself a future documentary in the making.
Simmons hasn’t played since the 76ers’ Eastern Conference Semifinals loss to the Hawks last year, which spans nearly 16 months without an official NBA game. He is no longer the highly prized 20 year old playmaking prospect he was in Philly. Now he is a 26 year old vet who can help improve the Nets’ 2022 19th ranked defense with smart, instinctive defending (career 1.7 steals/game). Can he overcome his personal demons and poor shooting stroke (34% on jump shots in 2020–21) and help lead the Nets to the Finals?
2. The Return of the Injured
Jamal Murray and MPJ is back. The entire Clippers team is back. Referring to the Lakers’ injury prone star, Charles Barkley famously coined Anthony Davis as “Street Clothes”, but the expectation is that AD will be healthy for the Lakers this season (although he missed the recent preseason game against the Suns with a back injury).
The West is going to be a bloodbath. Remember the blood elevator scene in The Shining? That’s going to be the Western Conference this season.
3. The Not-So-Dearly Departed
At the time of writing, Robert Sarver is currently trying to sell the Phoenix Suns after a tumultuous year and Ime Udoka has been suspended by the Celtics for an entire year for some -ahem- extracurricular activities.
The Suns will have no shortage of potential suitors. They have recently spent millions of dollars on arena and facility renovations, are two seasons removed from a Finals appearance, and is a desirable destination with one of the fastest growing cities in the US. They are projected to be sold for upwards of $3 billion. Can the Suns block out the noise and focus on their goal of making it back to the NBA Finals and winning the first ring in franchise history?
Meanwhile, Udoka is coming off an impressive rookie campaign in which he led the Celtics to the Finals and a reputation as one of the best defensive teams in the league. Can the Celtics with their nasty defense led by DPOY Marcus Smart and the smooth scoring duo of Brown and Tatum overcome the Udoka suspension to make a second consecutive Finals appearance?
4. The MVP Race
The MVP has been dominated by European superstars in recent years, with Giannis and Jokic both winning back to back awards. Will this season be 5 in a row for Europe? Luka Doncic currently has the best odds to win MVP in Vegas with Embiid and Giannis close behind. After a season in which Doncic put up MVP caliber numbers (28.4 ppg, 9.1 rpg, and 8.7 apg) and leading the Mavs to a Western Conference Finals showdown with the Golden State Warriors, Luka may be ready to challenge for an MVP. Don’t forget Jokic either, although voter fatigue is a very real thing. Larry Bird was the last player to win 3 consecutive MVPs, and that was all the way back in ‘86.
Dark horses: Booker, Kawhi, Curry, Morant, Zion.
5. The Tank Wars for Wembanyama
Wembanyama is a unicorn like we’ve never seen before, and was the favored number 1 overall pick even before his brilliant game of 37/4/5 with 5 blocks vs Scoot Henderson, another highly touted NBA prospect.
This season will be a tank war like no other, and every basement level team is gearing up for it. The Jazz traded away both Mitchell and Gobert, the Spurs got rid of Murray, and OKC is, well, OKC.
Expect lots of “Oops, my bad. Bad pass (wink wink)” and stern Adam Silver frowns this season.
