namkcuR
ONE love, blood, life
Well, here we are at the beginning of not just another season, but another decade of NBA basketball. Tonight is opening night, but by the time the season is over, the 2020s will have begun. The 2010s were a decade of superteams in Miami, Cleveland, and Golden State but, as we head into this new decade, it seems like we might be starting to move into a new era, as the league is more wide open than it's been in probably 15 years.
LBJ is aging and AD is not signed beyond this season, Durant is rehabbing from a serious injury, Golden State is undermanned, Kawhi left the champion Raptors for LAC, joined by Paul George, the perennial playoff team OKC is now rebuilding, having dealt Westbrook to Houston, Philly has had a facelift, the Bucks, despite having a lot of help around Giannis, are still a one-superstar team, and the most hyped #1 pick since LBJ is already injured(though not seriously). Meanwhile the China controversy hovers over the league.
As some of you might remember(obviously Headache does, judging by his question in the other thread), I usually like to post a series of questions at the beginning of a season, and rarely has a season posed so many. So here they are...
1. Will the LBJ+AD Lakers be a success and compete for a title? Or will they implode? Will AD be thinking about leaving by the all-star break?
2. Will the Kawhi/PG Clippers overtake the Lakers as the best/most popular team in LA? Will Kawhi push to win a title with a third team, or will there be growing pains?
3. Will Zion live up to the hype or be a disappointment? As as secondary question, how will his supporting cast look? Will Ball and Ingram excel away from the bright lights of LA? Will Alexander-Walker and Hayes be legit?
4. Will the Milwaukee Bucks have any competition in the East this season? Is there any reason Giannis shouldn't lead them to the Finals?
5. Will the Sixers, having lost Jimmy Butler and JJ Redick but acquired Josh Richardson and Al Horford, be better or worse? Will they be a factor in the East? Will Embiid be able to stay healthy? Will Simmons finally develop a jump shot/be worth his extension?
6. Will the Kyrie-led Brooklyn Nets be anything special this season without Durant? Any chance Durant makes a late-season return? Whenever he does return, will he be himself? Are these Nets signings overhyped?
7. Will Golden State be at all relevant with Durant and Iggy gone, and without Klay until mid-season? Will D'Angelo be enough to help Steph and Draymond keep it afloat?
8. Will Harden and Westbrook next to each other be as much of a terrible fit as it looks like on paper, or will they find a way to actually compliment each other? Will the Rockets be any better than they were last season with CP3? Worse? About the same?
9. Will the Raptors matter at all without Kawhi? Will they even make the playoffs? Will Siakam take the next step now that he's signed his big extension?
10. How long until CP3 is bought out or traded? Or is his contract so bad that neither will be possible and he'll have to languish in a now-rebuilding OKC for the whole season?
11. Will the Kemba/Tatum/Jaylen/Kanter Celtics be any better than the Kyrie/Tatum/Jaylen/Horford Celtics? Will Hayward bounce back? Or will the Celtics rebuild be deemed a middling failure?
12. Will Jokic, Murray, and the Nuggets continue their upward trajectory? Or have they hit their ceiling already(with MPJ in tow now)? Same question for the Lillard/McCollum Blazers(with Whiteside in tow now)?
13. Will the Doncic/Porzingis duo make some noise in Dallas in their first post-Dirk season? Will Porzingis be back to his pre-ACL form?
14. Will Jimmy Butler be good enough to lead the Heat anywhere, or will he just prove that he's never been a #1 option.
15. Will Utah, having added Conley and Bojan, be any kind of playoff threat?
16. Will Markelle Fultz finally show something this season?
17. Outside of Zion, which high picks will live up their slots? Morant? Barrett? Coby White? Garland? Culver?
18. Which young teams will have breakout years?
Hawks(having added DeAndre Hunter, Cam Reddish, and Evan Turner)?
Bulls(having added Satoransky, Thad Young, and Coby White)?
Suns(having finally added a legit PG in Rubio and Dario Saric)?
Kings(having added Ariza and Dedmon and going into their first full season with Barnes)?
Magic(with Bamba and Fultz healthy now)?
Indiana(having added Brogdon and TJ Warren - though still not having Oladipo back)?
19. Any chance of the Knicks roster not being the clusterfuck it looks like on paper with all those PFs?
20. Will this China problem stick to the league all season, or will it fade away?
I know Headache will answer, but I hope others do too. Have fun!
LBJ is aging and AD is not signed beyond this season, Durant is rehabbing from a serious injury, Golden State is undermanned, Kawhi left the champion Raptors for LAC, joined by Paul George, the perennial playoff team OKC is now rebuilding, having dealt Westbrook to Houston, Philly has had a facelift, the Bucks, despite having a lot of help around Giannis, are still a one-superstar team, and the most hyped #1 pick since LBJ is already injured(though not seriously). Meanwhile the China controversy hovers over the league.
As some of you might remember(obviously Headache does, judging by his question in the other thread), I usually like to post a series of questions at the beginning of a season, and rarely has a season posed so many. So here they are...
1. Will the LBJ+AD Lakers be a success and compete for a title? Or will they implode? Will AD be thinking about leaving by the all-star break?
2. Will the Kawhi/PG Clippers overtake the Lakers as the best/most popular team in LA? Will Kawhi push to win a title with a third team, or will there be growing pains?
3. Will Zion live up to the hype or be a disappointment? As as secondary question, how will his supporting cast look? Will Ball and Ingram excel away from the bright lights of LA? Will Alexander-Walker and Hayes be legit?
4. Will the Milwaukee Bucks have any competition in the East this season? Is there any reason Giannis shouldn't lead them to the Finals?
5. Will the Sixers, having lost Jimmy Butler and JJ Redick but acquired Josh Richardson and Al Horford, be better or worse? Will they be a factor in the East? Will Embiid be able to stay healthy? Will Simmons finally develop a jump shot/be worth his extension?
6. Will the Kyrie-led Brooklyn Nets be anything special this season without Durant? Any chance Durant makes a late-season return? Whenever he does return, will he be himself? Are these Nets signings overhyped?
7. Will Golden State be at all relevant with Durant and Iggy gone, and without Klay until mid-season? Will D'Angelo be enough to help Steph and Draymond keep it afloat?
8. Will Harden and Westbrook next to each other be as much of a terrible fit as it looks like on paper, or will they find a way to actually compliment each other? Will the Rockets be any better than they were last season with CP3? Worse? About the same?
9. Will the Raptors matter at all without Kawhi? Will they even make the playoffs? Will Siakam take the next step now that he's signed his big extension?
10. How long until CP3 is bought out or traded? Or is his contract so bad that neither will be possible and he'll have to languish in a now-rebuilding OKC for the whole season?
11. Will the Kemba/Tatum/Jaylen/Kanter Celtics be any better than the Kyrie/Tatum/Jaylen/Horford Celtics? Will Hayward bounce back? Or will the Celtics rebuild be deemed a middling failure?
12. Will Jokic, Murray, and the Nuggets continue their upward trajectory? Or have they hit their ceiling already(with MPJ in tow now)? Same question for the Lillard/McCollum Blazers(with Whiteside in tow now)?
13. Will the Doncic/Porzingis duo make some noise in Dallas in their first post-Dirk season? Will Porzingis be back to his pre-ACL form?
14. Will Jimmy Butler be good enough to lead the Heat anywhere, or will he just prove that he's never been a #1 option.
15. Will Utah, having added Conley and Bojan, be any kind of playoff threat?
16. Will Markelle Fultz finally show something this season?
17. Outside of Zion, which high picks will live up their slots? Morant? Barrett? Coby White? Garland? Culver?
18. Which young teams will have breakout years?
Hawks(having added DeAndre Hunter, Cam Reddish, and Evan Turner)?
Bulls(having added Satoransky, Thad Young, and Coby White)?
Suns(having finally added a legit PG in Rubio and Dario Saric)?
Kings(having added Ariza and Dedmon and going into their first full season with Barnes)?
Magic(with Bamba and Fultz healthy now)?
Indiana(having added Brogdon and TJ Warren - though still not having Oladipo back)?
19. Any chance of the Knicks roster not being the clusterfuck it looks like on paper with all those PFs?
20. Will this China problem stick to the league all season, or will it fade away?
I know Headache will answer, but I hope others do too. Have fun!
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