NBA Season Countdown: Three of the Best
There are now three days, or to be precise 78 hours and 44 minutes, until NBA tip-off. I am becoming more and more drunk with excitement as the season approaches. I’ve also heard that when people get drunk they often do or say outlandish things that they may regret in the future. I’m certainly feeling pretty buzzed at the thought of the Cavs’ wine and gold jerseys taking to the floor on Tuesday night and am suddenly getting the urge to make some bold predictions for how the season will unfold for this upcoming year.
Some may say these predictions are ‘hot takes’, some may believe them to be utterly ridiculous, and some may think I was actually a six pack deep when jumping to these drastic conclusions. All of these may be true. Nevertheless, I will try to justify my answers with a more compelling argument than Skip Bayless’ oft used ‘[insert player/team] wanted it more’ or ‘[insert player/team doesn’t have the clutch gene]’. Without further ado, here are my three long shot predictions for the upcoming season..
Cold Take (2 Beers) — Damian Lillard Wins the Scoring Title
I have the most faith in this prediction. Both Lillard’s rap skills and his scoring abilities have steadily improved in every one of his professional seasons. Lillard ascended from a viral freestyle on the radio to releasing a legitimately dope studio album with features from 2 Chainz and Lil’ Wayne. Meanwhile, his scoring numbers have followed suit, jumping by roughly two points per game in every season of his career.
Dame finished the 2017 campaign scoring at a 27 per game clip, good for sixth in the league. Now let’s look at the five that finished above Lillard and use some good old fashioned deductive reasoning. The top two, former teammates James Harden and Russell Westbrook, will inevitably have their scoring rates curbed after bringing All-NBA talent on board. Isaiah Thomas is getting a hip replacement. The Brow also has an injury cloud that consistently hovers above him, meanwhile he has the obligation to share the ball with Boogie Cousins who is as emotionally unstable as Cersei Lannister (which would make AD Jamie Lannister…and I need more beer). I love Demar DeRozan, but I can’t help but feel that he squeezed every ounce of potential out of his herky-jerky offensive game that nostalgically ignores the existence of the three-point line.
Dame doesn’t have an All-NBA teammate, nor is he facing early onset arthritis. He certainly does not have to deal with a seven foot man-child who is still going through adolescence and he is one of the deadliest three point shooters in the world today. Add the fact that Lillard now has the luxury of a full season of Jusuf Nurkic setting him endless screens to scurry around and the notion that his scoring will increase once more seems less farfetched.
The clip above shows how useful Nurkic’s massive frame will be in freeing up space for Lillard to drive. Once Dame has the opportunity to get downhill with an effective rim finisher rolling to the hoop alongside, the defense has to reluctantly pick their poison. Nurkic’s screen setting can also be used off-ball to free up hand-offs and catch and shoot opportunities. Having a great secondary ball handler in McCollum offers the Blazers the flexibility to use Lillard in situations like the clip below.
CJ McCollum has also already shown his inner JailBlazer with his court-storming hooligan tactics which will cause Dame to pick up the scoring slack. I firmly believe that McCollum has gone through a Freaky Friday bodyshift with Rasheed Wallace and will now inevitably get suspended for at least twenty games. More Dame, more buckets.
Luke-warm Take (6 Beers) — Milos Teodosic wins Rookie of the Year
Now things are starting to get interesting. The buzz surrounding the 2017 NBA Draft class has already reached deafening heights before anyone has played a meaningful minute. The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor consistently states that rookies tend to be bad; the learning curve is incredibly steep from college to the NBA. The athletic gap shrinks drastically as rookies cannot get open looks at will, their bad habits will often result in turnovers and, if you play for Rick Carlisle, a quick trip back to the bench. There truly is no substitute for experience. Enter Milos Teodosic, the Clipper’s 30 year old rookie with ten years of professional and international basketball already under his belt.
Teodosic is at an unfair advantage in comparison to the big name studs headlining the rookie class. He is like those old dudes in your first year English class at university who have already finished every page of readings and telepathically finish the professor’s sentences (no I haven’t read War & Peace, Brayden). The Serbian’s dazzling passing abilities began to trickle onto our social media feeds earlier this summer in the form of grainy quality videos accompanied by incredible European techno music.
If Teodosic’s preseason performances offer any indication, then Lob City 2: ‘Electric Boogaloo’ is going to be a delight to watch. The former Euroleague MVP plugs in perfectly with the Clipper’s malleable lineup and reforms his backcourt connection with dogged defender Patrick Beverley. Beverley’s defensive abilities relieve Teodosic on that end of the floor and his willingness to play off ball will allow for Teodosic to conduct proceedings offensively. The genius of Teodosic’s passing game will permeate throughout the team and should compliment players such as Blake Griffin and Danilo Gallinari, each selfless and willing playmakers respectively.
The Rookie of the Year award has typically gone to players who put up good stats on bad teams. Before last year, Derrick Rose in 2008–09 was the most recent winner to play on a team with a .500 record. However, last season Malcolm Brogdon turned the tide, albeit in a weak rookie class. Brogdon’s efficient performance on a decent Bucks team was a pivotal reason why they made the playoffs. If Teodosic leads a Clippers team to the playoff with endless highlight reel plays then why can’t he win the award as well? We live in a world where contrarian opinions now become popularized- what is more hip and counter-culture than giving a thirty year old European the ROTY trophy?!
[This Seinfeld clip also needs to be posted every time the Clippers win this season]
Scathing Hot Take (Your buddy just ordered a round of tequila shots but the rest of your friends have already left the bar) — The Sacramento Kings Win 40 Games
The Kings are going to be feisty. Firstly, I’m not sure if De’Aaron Fox is actually this quick or if the tequila shots are turning him into a blur, but the kid is special. Secondly, the Kings influx of pensioners in Carter, ZBo and Hill, are the perfect mentors for the Sacramento Big Brother Program. Joerger has a notoriously short leash with younger players, however the veteran presence of the former Grizzlies duo may offer a greater level of trust in the players on the court.
There are plenty of question marks around the rotation and various lineup configurations. There is no question that the younger players have each individually displayed flashes of talent.
Willie Cauley-Stein has quietly exceeded expectations, meeting the rim-running Tyson Chandler comparisons while offering incredible defensive versatility and sneakily expanding his scoring ability. The hyper athletic pick-and-roll of Cauley-Stein and Fox is a mouthwatering prospect once the kinks are wrinkled out. Defenders will consistently duck under screens and dare Fox to shoot while Cauley-Stein hasn’t extended his range enough to be considered a consistent threat with the pick and pop jumper. Nevertheless, Cauley-Stein is a menace at the rim (see below) and Fox’s dizzying speed is impossible to contain when he dodges, ducks, dips and dives his way around the paint. Patches O’Hoolahan would be proud. RIP.
Buddy Hield was unfairly compared to Steph Curry for the entirety of his rookie campaign. In a vacuum without Vivek’s delusional comments, Buddy’s season should be considered a success- scoring 15.1 per game and over 40% from deep is a promising start. Bogdan Bogdanovic suiting up in purple and white is an exciting prospect and offers the Kings yet another ball handling option. However, the best prospect emerging out of Sacramento may be the Haitian Sensation, Skal Labissiere.
The 21 year old seven footer has an offensive game mature beyond his years. Able to finish with a deft touch from within the paint, shoot from the outside, and create off the dribble, Labissiere’s gangly frame is a problem for opposing defenders. His versatility perfectly compliments Cauley-Stein as he will not clog the lane and can lean on his frontcourt partner defensively. The Kings have a mystique about them entering this season. Playoff aspirations is not realistic and the talent is raw, but with an underrated coach and a new blend of youth and experience, the Kings are finally exciting again. Exciting enough to win 40 games? Who knows. Maybe I just need another beer.
