The NBA is finally back. To celebrate the return, I took a deep dive into the twenty-two teams playing in Orlando. Each team is ranked below, and we’ve got key storylines and stats all around. This will act as a…
Category: NBA Season Preview
1. Milwaukee Bucks Record: 53-12 Conference Seed: 1st in East The Bucks were the best team in the league during the regular season, essentially from start to finish. They dominated on both sides of the ball after a relatively slow…
2. Los Angeles Lakers Record: 49-14 Conference Seed: 1st in West The Lakers have won consistently despite concerns about their depth beyond LeBron James and Anthony Davis. James has stepped up to deliver a vintage LeBron season the year after…
3. Toronto Raptors Record: 46-18 Conference Seed: 2nd in East The Raptors lost Kawhi Leonard, the reigning Finals MVP, over the summer, and it looked like a sizable step back was coming. Toronto was still expected to walk into the…
4. Los Angeles Clippers Record: 44-20 Conference Seed: 2nd in West The Clippers never reached the Western Conference Finals during the Lob City era, but they managed to end that stretch with one of the more efficient roster swaps in…
5. Boston Celtics Record: 43-21 Conference Seed: 3rd in East The Celtics, seven years after the massive trade with the Nets that landed them so many draft picks, appear to have found their core in Kemba Walker, Gordon Hayward, Jaylen…
6. Houston Rockets Record: 40-24 Conference Seed: T-5th in West The Rockets, after falling to the Warriors four times in five years, made some major changes. The first was age-based, as they swapped the 34 year old Chris Paul for…
7. Denver Nuggets Record: 43-22 Conference Seed: 3rd in West The Nuggets were basically a slightly worse version of themselves from last year. Nikola Jokic, after a bit of a rough start, was his usual dominant self, but a drop-off…
8. Oklahoma City Thunder Record: 40-24 Conference Seed: T-5th in West The Thunder entered the fall in a weird spot. After a rough playoff exit at the hands of Damian Lillard and the Trail Blazers, they had traded Paul George…
9. Miami Heat Record: 41-24 Conference Seed: 4th in East The Heat, like the Mavs, jumped out to a faster start than most were expecting. Jimmy Butler emerged as a star after sharing the load in Philadelphia for much of…