Preseason NBA Hot Takes
It’s hard to believe but NBA teams are back in camp! It feels like only yesterday that the Toronto Raptors won their first title. Marc Gasol was partying like crazy and all was right with the world. This Summer The Canadian and US teams sent their C squads to the basketball World Cup. The US qualified for the Olympics, but Canada is going to need to heavily recruit players to get through one of the last chance qualifier tournaments next year. The FIBA World Cup was good for Marc Gasol as he hoisted his second trophy in 3 months (Congrats Spanish fans). But now it’s back to his day job.
This year is going to be a bit tough for us here at We’re Still Cool. Cleveland is looking in bad shape, while the Toronto Raptors lost their mega star Kawhi Leonard, and solid vet Danny Green. That, however, will not stop me from making outlandish predictions for the upcoming season.
Let’s go down my list featuring the team I expect to win a championship. The teams who I want to win the title. Teams that will surprise in a positive and negative way. And finally, the teams to avoid if they show up on your TV or streaming service.
My expected NBA Finals for the 2019–2020 season
LA Clippers vs Milwaukee Bucks
When assessing teams, it’s super important to look at 4 things:
1/ Roster turnover
2/ Coaching
3/ Front office
4/ Overall talent and how that talent meshes
The Clippers have added two of the top 10 talents in the league (Paul George and Kawhi Leonard), while keeping the majority of their roster. They have one of the best front offices in the league and hall-of-fame coach Doc Rivers.
Meanwhile, The Bucks have lost Malcolm Brogdon, but have kept everyone else. Led by the newest league MVP Giannis Atentokounmpo, they’ve added the shooting talents of Kyle Korver and Wes Matthews. Coach Bud may not be on par with Doc, but the rise of the Bucks directly correlates with him taking the helm last season.
My expectation however, is a Clippers win in the NBA Finals
Who I want to reach the 2020 NBA finals
The teams I would love to see in the finals this season are the Houston Rockets and Philadelphia Sixers.
The Rockets will feature former OKC teammates, both being former regular season MVPs, joining forces in an attempt to solidify their legacies. It’s been almost a decade since they shared the court in peak condition. Who would be upset if they pulled off a miracle and reached the finals?
As a fan of defense, the Sixers look like a fun team to watch. They’re going to be super long. Their smallest projected starter is 6–6 Josh Richardson. Richardson has a 6–10 wingspan! He also has the smallest wingspan of their starters! Expect lots of stolen balls, shots blocked, and fast breaks. The Sixers are going to be fun to watch!
The teams that are going to surprise (positive)
The teams that are likely to have better records than expected for me are the Toronto Raptors, Chicago Bulls, Dallas Mavericks and Timberwolves.
I’ve tried to convince myself that the wolves don’t deserve a mention here, but things are finally stable. They have a solid coach, a solid front office and genuine star in KAT. If Karl-Anthony Towns is as good as we all think, this is the year that we start seeing his talent impact winning. They have no more excuses.
The Mavs adding Delon Wright during the off-season was a subtle stroke of genius. Delon is a solid glue player comfortable guarding 1–3 while playing the point guard position. The fact that he also has experience playing shooting guard and some small forward is ideal for a team that may ask him to play off-ball to allow Luka Doncic to run sets.
The Bulls have somehow assembled a solid young roster worth paying attention to. In the East, their biggest hurdle to making the playoffs may be injuries. If healthy, this is a team to pay attention to.
Honestly, I think a number of people in the media are writing off the champs. This is a second round playoff team with a brilliant coach. Will they win less games in the regular season? Yes, but the Raptors care more about the playoffs. If they can make the second round, no one knows what can happen.
The teams that are going to surprise (negative)
Sadly, a few teams look destined to disappoint. They include the Spurs, Lakers, Golden State and the Boston Celtics.
Honestly, I think people are expecting too much from the Celts. This is a team led by a player (Jayson Tatum) who has only been in the league for 2 seasons. They are a playoff team, but the media is at fault here. No one should be talking about these guys as potential champs. It’s not fair to the players and their development.
Golden State became a dynasty team by being bad, drafting well, and then paying below market for their star, because of health concerns. That contract, led to them having the space to sign Kevin Durant, but eventually, Steph Curry had to be properly compensated and as Steph, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green received their well deserved contracts the depth that Golden State once had disappeared.
With Durant now a Brooklyn Net, the team has a really shallow bench. Yes, they picked up D’Angelo Russell, but he’s a guard when they really need help at small forward. The current starting small forward for Golden State is Alfonzo McKinnie. When he was with the Raptors, he played a number of games with the Raptors 905. I got to see him play there a few times. He’s definitely an NBA quality player, but ideally, he’s an energy player coming off a team’s bench. He’s miscast here. But they don’t have a better option. That leads to another point, the talents on the Golden State Warriors do not fit one another.
For example their back court players. When healthy, the three best players (on offense) for Golden State are: Steph, D-Ro, and Klay. However, Klay is the only one of the three who plays above average defense. Both Steph and D-Ro are at their best when they initiate the offense. Steph can play off-ball, but that mitigates the gravity he creates, forcing defenders to pick him up at half court.
D-Ro works best when surrounded by shooters. He’s one of the best guards in the league at penetrating defenses and then passing to open perimeter shooters. But who is he going to pass to? Klay will be injured for the first half of the season. The only perimeter shooter for Golden State will be Steph. This is no longer a good shooting team. The threat of a guard who is good at breaking down defenses and passing is irrelevant. Durant is gone, Iguodala was traded. The team isn’t built for a player with D-Ro’s talents. Having Steph and Russell on the court at the same time is a bad idea for defensive reasons as well. However with Klay out, they have no choice. Also, will Thompson be good when he comes back from injury? I have my doubts with the medical staff in Golden State.
Personally, I think Golden State should accept their situation. Trade D’Angelo for a young small forward prospect and draft picks, shutdown Klay and reload for next season.
As for the Lakers, I trust their medical team, but they also have very little depth on their roster. To make the playoffs in the West, they need to get a minimum of 70 games from both Lebron and Anthony Davis. Don’t believe me? The backup small forward with Kuzma injured is KCP, and their backup power forward is Jared Dudley. The other players listed on their roster at those spots likely will not make the team. They’re deep at center, but point guard features non-shooters Rondo and Avery Bradley. If you consider Quinn Cook a shooting guard they look good at that position as well.
If we assume that plays will be initiated by the small forward (Lebron), then the point guard needs to be able to shoot from the perimeter. Instead, they’ve packed the position with defensive players who don’t really stretch the floor. I shouldn’t be able to imagine a box and 1 zone defense defeating a team that aspires to win a title. This is a team that is destined to shoot primarily mid-range shots. Similar to the San Antonio Spurs.
Sadly, despite my Demar Derozan fandom, the Spurs look headed for a downturn. Yes, Demar isn’t the best 3 point shooter, but he at least attempted a decent amount in Toronto. He kept defenses honest. Coach Pop’s job coaching the US team at FIBA Worlds’ was bad. There’s no other word to use. Lots of isolation, no creative ways to get people the ball. I saw a lot of that with the Spurs last year. It’s an easy style of basketball to scout. Sadly, I think this is the end of an incredible run.
The teams you should watch whether they win or lose this season
Portland Trailblazers
Sacramento Kings
New Orleans Pelicans
Denver Nuggets
Atlanta Hawks
The teams you should avoid watching this season
Charlotte Hornets
Washington Wizards
Phoenix Suns
Cleveland Cavaliers
It pains me to put Cleveland on this list, but the GM is bad, coaching is questionable, the lineup makes no sense and the two best players are both power forwards (Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson).
If you’re a soap opera fan, or really like slowing down to look at accidents, the Wizards might be your new favorite team. But if you like entertaining, well-played basketball pretend these teams don’t exist.
