The Ultimate Guide to the 2021-2022 NBA Season
Like Marvel movies, Pumpkin Spice lattes, and a good Massachusetts October snow, the NBA has returned once again. Despite COVID, despite the NFL and MLB putting on a show comparable to Broadway in its prime, the excitement about basketball remains. Although Brooklyn did it’s best 2017 Warriors impression in the offseason, there’s still a lot of intrigue throughout the league.
I’m about to (once again) rank the 30 teams competing for that weird gold basketball trophy from Contenders to Pretenders, the real from the fake, the best and the worst. Oh yeah, it’s rankings time. My rankings will be definitively correct and as always, nobody will disagree with me or have any doubts about any of my hot takes (and we have some flaming ones this year).
So, why wait to ponder on Kyrie’s vaccination status or whether or not the Sixers will trade Ben Simmons? Let’s get into it.
The Flash Gordons
The Flash Gordons are the best of the best, cream of the crop, the true saviors of the universe, and the teams that would definitely end up having a crazy night with Mark Wahlberg and a teddy bear.
Brooklyn Nets
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Players to Watch:
Kevin Durant
James Harden
Kyrie Irving*
Blake Griffin
The Timeless Patty Mills
Nic Claxton and Cam Thomas
There’s no surprise here. This team is loaded and should be favored to sit atop the Eastern Conference. However, Kyrie Irving remains a question mark. While I won’t get into that discussion here, I’ll just write him off as a question mark for now. Nevertheless, Durant and Harden are more than enough to carry a team loaded with solid veteran talent and exciting young guys. They’ll be the talk of the town all year and look cool while doing it. If you take away one thing from their placement here, it’s that I think that Harden has an extremely good case already for his second MVP award.
*Barring still being unvaccinated by 10/19
Los Angeles Lakers
Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images
Players to Watch:
LeBron James (obviously)
Anthony Davis
Hoodie Melo
Russell Westbrook
The Also Timeless Rajon Rondo
There’s a lot of contention about the Lakers. I don’t even think that highly of them (my Boston bias). Even my advanced stats driven mind cannot comprehend how bad this team is supposed to be defensively. However, I just can’t count out LeBron. If there’s one thing I’ve learned as a Celtics fan is that this guy is a killer. We’ll save the GOAT conversation for later, but if he and AD can somehow get this below average defensive team of geriatrics to a championship, there might be some rumbling at the top. They brought back Dwight and Rondo which didn’t really fill any needs, but they’ll help. Ellington and Monk were huge pickups, though. Losing Caruso and KCP hurts, hopefully these two along with Rondo can pick up the slack.
Milwaukee Bucks
Jesse D. Garrabrant/Getty Images
Players to Watch:
Giannis Antetokounmpo
Khris ‘Money’ Middleton
Jrue Holiday
The Pride of Arlington, MA, Pat Connaughton
Semi ‘Biceps’ Ojeleye
The Milwaukee Bucks are Champions. Wow. Feels nice to read, feels better to say. Go ahead, read the first sentence aloud to yourself, right now. This team is still loaded. Despite losing PJ Tucker (God bless him.), this team is basically the same with some changes here and there on the fringes. The road back will be tougher and if they manage to get there again, they probably won’t be favored, but that’s the life of an underdog. I think they could do it again. Giannis and Khris are a formidable 1-2 punch and with Jrue leading the way defensively, the Champs are back and they’re coming back like Rambo: ready to blow sh*t up.
The Xander Bogaerts Teams
AP Photo/Steven Senne
The Xander Bogaerts teams are reflective of who X is at heart. He’s a guy who rakes and rakes and rakes some more. However, he never really seems to crack the top tier of his position. For every Xander, there’s a Tatis. And for all of these teams, there always seems to be one or two in their way that they just can’t seem to crack.
Phoenix Suns
Players to Watch:
Devin Booker
CP(The ‘P’ is for Point God)3
Deandre Ayton
Cams Johnson and Payne
Twitter User @CJC9BOSS
The Suns went to the Finals last year. In what was probably the most surprising Finals matchup in the last decade, the Suns made a historic run that was an impressive achievement on it’s own. However, to me, it’s their ability to find scraps and turn them into gold. Other teams’ trash is truly their treasure. Cam Payne in Chicago? He’s just a benchwarmer, making sure that Zach Lavine has his water. In Phoenix? Why, he’s the backup point guard to Chris Paul and a guy who could give you 20+ points on any given night. Frank Kaminsky in Charlotte? He’s taking time away from such elite offensive talents like Cody Zeller and Bismack Biyombo (God bless, Bismack.). In Phoenix? He’s a borderline starter asked to make big shots and take on tough defensive assignments while Ayton sits. The Suns are a mercenary team ready to go for the kill against anyone. However, they do have their limits. LA is fully healthy again and ready to deploy a (hopefully) healthy Russ and a healthy Anthony Davis, who gave them fits last year. Denver should be back to full strength and teams like Portland, Utah, and Golden State aren’t going anywhere any time soon. Time will tell, but they’re not my favorite...yet.
Denver Nuggets
David Zalubowski/AP
Players to Watch:
Nikola Jokic
Michael Porter Jr.
Jamal Murray
Aaron Gordon
Bones Hyland
The Nuggets truly are the team of Colorado. You might not think about them, you might not see them coming, but they’re up there somewhere. This team is what you think about when you get mile high (terrible weed pun, I know). They’re fun, don’t make any sense, yet are effective. Nikola Jokic looks like he’s a Madden Create-a-Player punter that you made as a joke, yet he might just be the best passer in the NBA and the best passing big ever. Michael Porter Jr. does need to work on his off the dribble game, but once he irons out his pro-level skills and fully adjusts to NBA defenses, he’ll live up to that lofty five year extension that he signed this summer. The Nuggets, despite almost blowing a series to Portland, will once again be formidable pending the return of Jamal Murray. With Aaron Gordon, Jeff Green, Will Barton, 5’10’ short king, Frank Campazzo, and exciting rookie Nah'Shon Hyland, the Nuggets will have a fun cast of characters led by the reigning MVP. Where the fat Serbian man and his crew of young guys and seasoned veterans end up is still unknown, but going into the year, they’re still an elite team.
Utah Jazz
Players to Watch:
Donovan Mitchell
Rudy ‘Defensive Metrics’ Gobert
Joe Ingles *insert heart eyes emoji*
Jordan Clarkson
Mike Conley Jr.
Utah might be the most boring elite team in the NBA. They do have one of the most electrifying and dynamic young guards in basketball with Donovan Mitchell, but outside of that? Rudy Gobert’s captivating offensive rebounds, Joe Ingles’ mesmerizing passing in the screen and roll, and Mike Conley’s dazzling mid-range jumpers might not seem all the rage, but they’re damn effective. This team was the number one seed last year and for good reason. Nobody outside of Utah wants to see this team win and I think they should thrive on that. They are the one small market, built from the ground up team that everyone hates. The Utah Jazz are the 2021 Tampa Bay Rays and they should embrace it, be hated and play boring but win ball games. They are in this category for a reason, but I could see them falling out of it for better or for worse. Could they build on last season? Or was the Clippers series a sign of what last season really was: a fluke? Time will tell, but they’ll be a team to watch, or rather not.
Miami Heat
Players to Watch:
Bam Adebayo
Jimmy Butler
Duncan Robinson
Kyle ‘Fat Ass and A Ring’ Lowry
Tyler Herro
As a Boston fan and someone that doesn’t particularly like Pat Riley, it was very difficult for me to put the Heat this high. This is a team that got swept out of the first round. This is the team who’s best player got outscored by Bryn Forbes in a playoff series. This is the team that wouldn’t trade a struggling Tyler Herro for James Harden. However, they reloaded (Kind of…). Kyle Lowry has been brought in, PJ Tucker signed, Oladipo resigned, and playoff failures behind them. However, they gave up kind of a lot to get Lowry. Goran Dragic had been one of the best players on the Heat for years and often one of the few players to show up in the playoffs. Precious Achiuwa is young, has potential, and more importantly was arguably your backup center after the Oladipo trade and the Meyers Leonard situation. Despite this, Jimmy Butler is Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo is an elite two-way threat. Along with their myriad of shooters, time will tell if Spo’s retooled crew can get it done. My bet is that they won’t, but for now, I’ll respect the team that was in the Finals just over a year ago.
Philadelphia 76ers (Yikes)
Players to Watch:
Joel Embiid
Tobi without Bobi
Matisse Thybulle
Tyrese Maxey
Seth Curry
Furkan.
Ben Simmons (maybe)
Oh boy. How do we even describe Philly? There was a point last year where we were talking about them as serious championship contenders. Then, seemingly in the blink of an eye, we talked about them like they were an eight seed. Where did it all go wrong? We may never know. Was not trading Simmons for Harden a mistake? Probably, but we have to move on. Moving on probably isn’t turning Philadelphia into a Soap Opera. I’ll admit, it’s a compelling story. Darryl Morey, in his never-ending quest to reach peak basketball efficiency, dangled Simmons out to the rest of the league before deciding that Houston’s price was too steep. He hoped Simmons would never find out, never know his secret. But alas! Simmons found out. He’s furious, he calls his closest confidant Rich Paul as they cannot believe that Daryl would cheat on Ben with his ex. Now, Ben sits for a while. Although he’s returned to the team in the last few days, the drama remains, the script read. The drama in Philly definitely isn’t over and its effect on the actual basketball remains unknown. In the meantime, we should get some pretty exciting roundball in the City of Brotherly Love. As long as Embiid stays healthy, Curry and Tobi keep raining threes, and Maxey being the coolest guy ever, this team will be good. Yet, they will not be better than a certain team from Brooklyn and another that employs a seven foot demigod from Greece.
Somebody hit the snooze button!
These are the sleepers, as illustrated by the name. These teams are like the velociraptors in Jurassic Park. You notice them throughout the movie, but it’s the T-Rex that everyone’s looking at. Yet, it’s the raptors who alway save the day. These teams are Amine’s 2020 album, Limbo. You might have never heard of it, but once you do, you’ll be arguing for it as one of the best Rap and R&B mixed albums of the decade. These teams have elite players, go on hot streaks, and produce even hotter takes.
Golden State Warriors
Players to Watch:
Wardell Stephen Curry II
Jordan Poole
Draymond Green
James Wiseman
Klay Thompson (splash soon come, king.)
Wiggins and Porter
Moody and Kuminga
I was teetering on where to put the Warriors. On one hand, they didn’t make the playoffs last year. On another, they have Steph Curry, Draymond Green, and will be getting Klay Thompson back in January. Those three players are the same core that led them to 73 wins in a single season and three shiny championship rings. They’ll be without KD, but they’ve plugged in young studs like Jordan Poole and James Wiseman along with seasoned veterans like Andrew Wiggins and Otto Porter. To get back to their elite status, they’ll need everything to be perfect. Steph must play like an MVP (again), Draymond has to return to form and they might even need lottery picks Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody** to round into form more quickly than you’d think two teenagers might have to. As a team, they’re alright. With Steph and Klay going bonkers, they’re the best team in the league. Which one will we get? That question is what puts them in this tier.
** “Mody Moodsy Mody Mood M-mody Mooses Mody Mooses Mody Mmo- MOSES MOODY"
Boston Celtics
Players to Watch:
Jayson Tatum
Jaylen Brown
Al Horford (watch his eyes more specifically)
Marcus Smart
Dennis ‘Bag Fumbler’ Schroder
Timelord
This team’s success hinges on Jayson Tatum. Where Jayson Tatum goes, they will go. Like an NFL quarterback, The Celtics’ success is heavily connected to Tatum’s. If Tatum becomes “top five”, as he likes to say, the Celtics could break into the top three of the East. Along with Tatum, Jaylen Brown looks to build on a year that saw him average almost 25 points per game and resulted in an All Star nod. Surrounding the Jays, is a better, more complete team than last year’s utter disaster of a roster. Brad Stevens can truly make moves and look good while doing it. Boston legend Al Horford is back, who along with Marcus Smart look to recapture some of the 2018 playoff magic. Plus, the major hole from 2020 appears to have been filled: bench depth. The Celtics’ bench over the past three years has been young and filled with potential, to put it nicely. To put it in actual terms, they were babies who had no experience and constantly got beat up by veterans who exploited their mistakes. With the departures of Carsen Edwards, Semi Ojeleye, Tremont Waters, and Tacko Fall, the young guys with no business being on the floor are gone (Grant Williams soon enough). Along with those departures, ineffective veterans Kemba Walker, Evan Fournier, and Tristan Thompson are all gone. Incoming are Josh Richardson, Dennis Schroder, Juancho Hernangomez, the aforementioned Horford, and the return of Enes Kanter. The Celtics are at an inflection point. They can flounder or they can evolve. This season will determine which way they go.
Dallas Mavericks
Players to watch:
Doncic, Luka Doncic.
Tim Hardaway Jr.
Kristaps Porzingis
Jalen Brunson
Dorian Finney-Smith
Bobi with no Tobi
Like Tatum is to the Celtics, Luka is to the Mavericks. If Luka can crack the final ceiling and win an MVP, the Mavs could look like contenders. However, I’d consider them a lower sleeper team than any of the others strictly based on conference. Luka might be a top three player in the league (Some of you just aren’t ready to admit it.) but his cast and crew are relatively weak. If you take Luka off of this team, they’re towards the top of the lottery. Kristaps is a nice piece, but has never been healthy enough to fulfill his potential and never been coached well enough to play towards his strengths. Past him, there’s Tim Hardaway Jr and Jalen Brunson who are solid offensive players, but starters? On a potential contender? Asked to be second and third options? I don’t know how viable that is. Outside of Luka, this team is relatively weak. If Luka flounders or is oft-injured, this team could quickly become a developmental project. Josh Green, Jalen Brunson, and Moses Brown are going to be fun to watch develop, but when you have an MVP caliber player, you can’t be in the doldrums of mediocrity. The Mavs have to step it up but I don’t know if they have the roster to do it. However, they do have Luka Doncic and he might just be enough.
Los Angeles Clippers
Players to watch:
Paul George
Terance Mann
Reggie Jackson
Keon Johnson
Eric Bledsoe
Ivica Zubac
Although we probably won’t see Kawhi on the floor of Staples Center this season, the Clippers are still the same contender that we saw fight without him last year. They brought in guys like Eric Bledsoe, Justise Winslow, Keon Johnson, and Brandon Boston. Other than the new guys, it’s literally the same team. Paul George is elite, no matter how many bad playoff jokes he has to prove wrong time and time again. Reggie Jackson took a step up last year and has always excelled in larger roles. However, the main player to watch is Terance Mann. As a fellow Massachusetts native, I love and respect the hell out of Terance Mann. He is a stud and if he can build on last year’s postseason like the Terry Roziers and the Bam Adebayos of the past have, the Clippers might have a 1-2 punch again. Although George will carry the load and Kawhi’s absence hurts, don’t count out the little brother in Hollywood.
Portland Trail Blazers
Players to Watch:
Damian Lillard
CJ McCollum
Larry Nance Jr.
Jusuf Nurkic
Norman/RoCo
Well, well, well. Here we go again. The Blazers are sleepers. In other news, the sky is blue. As long as they have Dame and CJ with Coach Stotts, they’re sleeper contenders. They will not break through until they acquire that third star. They have nice complimentary pieces in Nurkic and Covington, plus they added value added darling Larry Nance Jr. This team just seems to fall short on everything else. Not a ton of depth and not a ton of veteran talent. However, I respect Damian Lillard’s talent too much and have seen worse teams go a lot farther than these Blazers are projected to go. Similar to Dallas, they’ll go as far as Dame with not much room for improvement past there. They’re on the fringes of the sleepers, but never count them out.
Atlanta Hawks
Players to Watch:
Ice Trae Young
John Collins
Clint Capela
Kevin Huerter
Deandre Hunter and Cam Reddish
This team confuses me. They’re like that one kid from your hometown that when you left was a complete mess. Then, about ten years later you randomly run into him and he’s the CEO of a Fortune 500 Company. The improvements have been made, but the core character flaws are still there. Yes, their talent level has gone up exponentially, but have they really fixed their problems? Defensively, they still lack true team defense, relying on one or two guys to do the heavy lifting. Can they rebound? I mean Capela and Collins can, but can anyone else? They lack a true dynamic wing. They have a ton of guys that all specialize in one thing and they also have Trae Young. They confuse me and similarly to the Jazz, this is a prove it year. They got to play the Knicks (oh boy), a collapsing Sixers team, and then got pounded by a banged up Bucks team that would go on to win the championship. They made it to the Conference Finals, but the run wasn’t convincing. I need to see more from them.
The Phyllis Tier
In the sitcom, The Office, Phyllis Vance is nobody’s favorite character, but she isn’t the least favorite. She has her moments, she’s fun to watch, but nobody is looking forward to Phyllis episode to episode. She always gives us a solid B-plot. The Phyllis tier make up the teams that are going to be fun to watch, show some promise, but realistically have no chance of actually doing anything outside of creating fun highlights.
Charlotte Hornets
Players to Watch:
Lamelo Ball
Terry Rozier
Miles Bridges!
James Bouknight
PJ Washington
Gordon Hayward
The Hornets are so fun. Lamelo Ball is amazing. Miles Bridges should probably be in jail for violence against basketball rims. Terry Rozier is clutch as hell. These things are all indisputable facts. Adding one more year to each of their developments while adding UConn standout, James Bouknight, will certainly create some insane clips to go viral on Twitter. They might make the playoffs, they might not. Does it matter? No, because this team is the coolest team in the league and one of the most fun to watch.
New Orleans Pelicans
Players to watch:
Zion!
Brandon Ingram
Devonte Graham
Jaxson Hayes, I guess??
The Pelicans are weird. I’ve said that about a lot of these teams, but they truly are a mystery. Not retaining Lonzo Ball didn’t really make any sense, but what they got for him was laughably bad. They got a few vets and a draft pick for one of the centerpieces of the Anthony Davis trade which saw them lose the best player they’ve ever had (Yes, he’s better than Chris Paul). They have Zion, which immediately propels them to a top three fun team in the league. Along with Zion, they have Brandon Ingram, who in Zion’s shadow has quietly become one of the most lethal scorers in the league. Outside of those two, they don’t really have anyone who contributes to winning, but that’s not what the Phyllis tier is about. They have two elite talents at the top, that’s enough to win. Clearly, David Griffin agrees with me and knows that you have to start competing for fun, not wins. Jaxson Hayes catching lobs is the second most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen to Zion catching lobs, because man, can he jump. Devonte Graham has a knack for hitting game winners, so hopefully he can cash a few in before the season ends. They’ll probably be in the play-in, but like Charlotte, that doesn’t matter because THEY ARE FUN.
New York Knicks
Players to Watch:
Julius Randle
RJ Barrett
Mitchell Robinson
Kemba Walker
Immanuel Quickley
Now I know what you’re thinking. Adam, they made the playoffs as a top four team last year, why are they in the fun team category? Well, I’ll tell you. In my opinion, the Knicks run was a fluke. When you look at the East, everyone was banged up and if we’re being honest, if every team wasn’t decimated by COVID and injuries (namely Miami, Boston, and Washington), then the Knicks probably would’ve been in the play-in. Now that all those teams have improved and are healthy along with COVID not being a huge issue anymore (for vaccinated teams), the Knicks might just be the odd ones out. Now, that’s not to say that they won’t be fun. RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley make a tandem that is a highlight machine. Along with the addition of Kemba Walker, whose knee might be decimated by December, they’ll be fun to watch. They might not win as many games as last year, but with Mitchell Robinson coming back healthy, the lobs should be rolling and the Garden should be as loud as ever.
Chicago Bulls
Players to Watch:
Zach Lavine
Demar DeRozan
Lonzo Ball
Nikola Vucevic
Coby White
Alex Caruso
This team is another head scratcher for me. Lonzo improved his shooting, but he isn’t a shooter. Lavine can shoot, but he’s your #1 scorer. They have no pure shooters on the roster or in other words, they have nobody whose role it is to shoot threes. You cannot win NBA games like that. However, adding DeRozan? Bringing in Caruso and Ball? They might not be trying to contend in NBA games, but they sure as hell are competing in the highlight game. Ball to Lavine might become the new CP3 to Blake. Albeit at a much lesser scale, as CP3 and Blake were contending and better players, the lobs will be pure magic. They’ll probably make the playoffs and they’ll probably be bounced in the first round, but not before Zach Lavine puts one on Jimmy Butler’s head in Chicago to huge cheers as the Heat win their fourth game of the series. Team Grade: Dunks, but no threes.
San Antonio Spurs
Players to Watch:
Dejounte Murray
Keldon Johnson
Lonnie Walker IV
Derrick White
Thaddeus Young
Devin Vassell
People are sleeping on San Antonio. No matter how many times Shea Serrano hypes up his team, or people talk about Pop, nobody is giving them a shot. For me, however, they’ve got something going. I’ve been on the Dejounte Murray bandwagon since he was a rookie. 6’5” point guards that have elite passing skills and are rangy defenders don’t come around every day. Surrounding him they have Keldon Johnson, the most underrated small ball 4 in the league. Coming off of his gold medal, I think he’s a serious candidate for Most Improved Player. Although “Spurs” and “Fun” haven’t been synonymous since George Gervin was making layups that would make Kyrie Irving and Rod Strickland jealous, this team has some potential. Lonnie Walker has finally seemingly arrived and Derrick White’s return should be welcomed with open arms. Along with the younger guys, I was excited when the DeRozan sign and trade yielded Thaddeus Young. Even though San Antonio might trade him, I really want to see what Coach Pop can do with a veteran player who can play all five positions. The Spurs will be basketball chaos, playing with the style of the mid-2000s with modern day athleticism and pace. Nobody is picking them to win the championship. Hell, some people don’t even think they can make the play-in, but I believe and you should too.
Memphis Grizzlies
Players to Watch:
Ja Morant
Jaren Jackson Jr.
Dillon Brooks
Desmond Bane
Xavier Tillman
Ziaire Williams and Jarrett Culver
The Grizzlies are riding pretty high and they should be. They made the playoffs, beat Steph Curry and the Warriors in the playoffs and even got a game off of the #1 seeded Jazz on the road. Even so, this is a building year. Not rebuilding, but more of growing. There may be some growing pains, but it looks like every player is ready to boom at once. Ja looked like he was carrying the team in the playoffs, JJJ is finally healthy again, and Desmond Bane and Xavier Tillman look like another example of elite Memphis drafting. Along with the scoring of Dillon Brooks and young projects, Ziaire Williams and Jarrett Culver, this team will be so dynamic. Nobody on the team has truly broken into the elite circle of players in their position, but they have 3-4 guys that could feasibly do it. This team is one to watch to see who will take the next step.
Indiana Pacers
Players to Watch:
Domantas Sabonis
Malcolm Brogdon
Myles Turner
TJ Warren
Caris Levert
Chris Duarte
The Pacers go at the end of the Phyllis tier and I somewhat mean it when placing them last. Not to say that they’re the worst team here, in fact when healthy they’re probably the second best behind New York, but they aren’t fun. The Pacers are just there. They are Captain America in Avengers: Infinity War. They are influential, but they have no real role in the story. They’re just here to be a mid-level playoff team that at most gets 7 games out of a 3-6 seed and is described as a “tough out” for the fifth year in a row. They have no direction and no real present. In other words, I don’t know what they’re doing. Myles Turner has been on the team for three too many years, Sabonis isn’t really a player you can build around, and it seems to make the most sense to dump Brogdon for picks and young(er) guys. Caris Levert is solid, but he needs to turn into 2018 Victor Oladipo to have any impact on winning. Their next best players, TJ Warren and Chris Duarte just don’t fit the team. TJ Warren boomed in the bubble but they never dealt him. His value has only decreased and it won’t get higher as he enters his 30s in the next two years. Duarte was a nice draft pick and one of the most NBA-ready players in the draft, but by the time his rookie season is over, he’ll be 25 years old. They need to rebuild, but they don’t see it. Enjoy mediocrity, Indiana.
Smoke, but no Cigar.
It’s a quiet Oklahoma night and you’re stranded in the woods. No food, no water, time is running out. You’re about to pass out, but somehow in the distance you see rising smoke. You run towards it, seeing unlimited potential in the smoke in the sky. However, it’s too late (or in this case too early), there’s just the wood. No fire, no food. This setup has the workings to survive you for days, but you first have to put in the work to set it up. These teams are just that. They have all the pieces, everything is in place, but they just need time and a little bit of elbow grease to start to move up the list.
Houston Rockets
Players to Watch:
Jalen Green
Kevin Porter Jr.
Christian Wood
Usman Garuba
Alperen Sengun
Jae’Sean Tate
Josh Christopher
The Rockets are working on it. After failing to reach the Finals with James Harden, they decided to move on from the superstar guard. In return, they got...well, not much. They got a ton of picks, but player wise, they got basically nothing. They ended up with Victor Oladipo who they traded for Kelly Olynyk who walked in Free Agency to Detroit. It might seem disappointing, but I think it’s intentional, and I like it. This team is a mix of young guys and veterans, but in a weird way. Daniel Theis and DJ Augustin make a lot of sense for this team. Selfless players who’ve been deep in the playoffs and know how to compliment young stars. However, John Wall and Eric Gordon do not. Unfortunately for Houston, Gordon and Wall make up over $62.5 million on their payroll. They’re waiting for the older veterans and any remnants of the Harden era to fade away and make way for Green, Porter, Christopher, and Wood. The Rockets arguably had the best NBA Draft out of any team in the league and they’ll be picking high again. However, unlike last year, they are building something special here.
Oklahoma City Thunder
Players to Watch:
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Darius Bazley
Lu Dort
Josh Giddey
Aleksej Pokusevski (Poku)
Theo Maledon/Tre Mann
This team might be more deserving to be in the lowest tier, but after watching SGA for the last 2 years, overreacting to Josh Giddey in preseason, and being a huge believer in the potential of Darius Bazley and Lu Dort, I have to put them here. They’re brewing the pot in OKC and with their mass draft pick accumulation, I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re positioned similarly to the 2017 Boston Celtics in a few years, minus an All-Star or two. I love this team and you should too. They’re not rebuilding anymore. They have direction, purpose, and a star. They’re accumulating.
Detroit Pistons
Players to Watch:
Cade Cunningham
Jerami Grant
Saddiq Bey
Isaiah ‘Beef’ STEWart
Killian Hayes
Kelly Olynyk
The Pistons overachieved last year. Yeah, I said it. The team that was awarded the #1 overall pick overachieved. Who knew that Jerami Grant was a borderline All-Star? Who knew that Isaiah Stewart is Michael Jordan from within two feet? Saddiq Bey can shoot the lights out and will only be helped with floor spacer Kelly Olynyk coming into the fold. In addition to the obvious from last year, they got him, Cade Cunningham. Cade is legit and I’ve been raving about this guy since high school. He is Magic with a jumper, a skinny shooting LeBron, Penny if he never got hurt, he very well may be a superstar. If the Pistons roll out a Hayes-Cunningham-Bey-Grant-Stewart lineup, you cannot tell me that they won’t at least be in the mix for that 10th seed play-in spot. They’ll probably miss out on any postseason or play-in play this year, but if Cade is legit, watch out.
HGTV’s Newest Show
It’s an ordinary Thursday, you’re sitting in front of your TV and you see a commercial. Wow, you think, it’s Property Brothers. Wait, no, it’s House Hunters. Oh, wrong again, it’s actually a hype video for the upcoming Orlando Magic season. These teams are the worst of the worst. The directionless nature of these teams is more wild than a compass in the Bermuda Triangle.
Orlando Magic
Players to Watch:
Jalen Suggs
RJ Hampton
Jonathan Isaac
Markelle Fultz
Wendell Carter Jr.
Chuma Okeke
Franz Wagner
Cole Anthony
The Magic are really living up to their namesake. No, they aren’t magical, but they are like Disney. They’re all over the place and don’t know what they’re doing. It’s pretty simple: develop the young guys. Why aren’t they a tier up? I don’t know what they’re doing. They aren’t a playoff caliber team and have zero direction. Yet, they have a ton of young talent who could become stars. The problem is that four of their best young players are point guards, two are power forwards, and Wendell Carter Jr. is the only big. Jonathan Isaac and crew need to figure out positioning as that’s what stunted the development of both current Denver Nugget Aaron Gordon and their former top pick and chart topping single, Mo Bamba. They aren’t a team to watch yet, but how soon that day comes is contingent on their front office making the right moves.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Players to Watch:
Colin Sexton
Darius Garland
Evan Mobley
Jarrett Allen
Isaac Okoro
Lauri Markkanen??
This is another bad team with young talent and confusing personnel choices. I think the Cavs are waiting for Kevin Love’s contract to expire to truly become a contender again, but they strike me as a team waiting for the next LeBron. Sexton and Garland (Sexland) are good pieces in the backcourt but the Allen/Mobley fit is confusing. To add on to this they proceeded to hand out a large contract to Lauri Markkanen this offseason. This move makes zero sense. Where does he fit? Why overbid by that much? I don’t know if it’s just me but it seems like they were bidding against themselves. Nonetheless, the Cavs are still a team stuck in limbo that’ll make headlines for helping out a true contender at the trade deadline. Overall, L + ratio, Okoro is better.
Minnesota Timberwolves
Players to Watch:
Karl-Anthony Towns
Anthony Edwards
D’Angelo ‘Still Loading’ Russell
Malik Beasley
Pat Bev, I guess?
The Timberwolves confuse me. How many number one picks does a team need to be good? The Minnesota Timberwolves are an important sports case study that proves that you need way too many. Currently they only have two, but traded one for D’Angelo Russell, a former number two pick, so really they have three. Nevertheless, they are the shining example of poor roster construction. I just feel bad for KAT. I’m not even part of the growing majority preaching how Minnesota should trade him. Edwards and Towns are a good foundation. Now, it’s time to build the rest of the house. Don’t give up yet, Minnesota!
Sacramento Kings
Players to Watch:
De'Aaron Fox
Tyrese Haliburton
Davion Mitchell
Buddy Hield
Marvin Bagley III
As we enter year 12,781 of the Kings rebuild, we must ponder the question, what if? What if they had picked Giannis? What if they didn’t spend first round picks on players projected to go undrafted? What if they had never traded away Boogie Cousins? What if they currently didn’t have three point guards as their three best players? What if they had picked Luka Doncic or Trae Young over Marvin Bagley? We will never know. What we do know is that they have no clue what they’re doing. They might be good because of those top three aforementioned guards, Fox, Haliburton, and Mitchell, but they all can’t be the guy long term. Along with Buddy Hield, they hope to build something of note in Sac-Town, but I think they need to make a couple of moves before that happens. This is an organization that would benefit highly from investing more in their scouting and player development departments. In summation, please fix your roster construction and please properly develop (and save the career of) Marvin Bagley III.
Toronto Raptors
Players to watch:
Pascal *spins* Siakam
Freddie Van Fleet
The OG Anunoby
Scottie Barnes
Precious Achiuwa/Chris Boucher
Goran Dragic
The Raps just lost the man with a ring and a fat ass, two traits that a lot of y’all do not possess. The loss of Kyle Lowry represents the final nail in the coffin of that Raptor core. You know, the one that always got owned by the Cavs, got in the way of the Celtics, but broke through in 2019 and crushed the dynasty of the KD/Steph Warriors. So where are the Raptors now? They have a lot of committed money and a lot of guys who could easily be traded. Masai Ujiri and the Raptors have always been ruthless in trades and they’re only here because I don’t think they’ll be on HGTV forever. They strike me as a team that once the opportunity presents itself, they’ll swap out the fixer-upper and splurge on the six-bed, eight-bath mansion. For Toronto, it’s a matter of time before they become the most annoyingly good team in the Atlantic Division. Right now, though, they are still in the fixer upper, which is fine. Once the market adjusts and housing prices are down, they’ll come out of nowhere and pounce on the mansion.
Washington Wizards
Players to Watch:
Bradley Beal
Spencer ‘Millions’ Dinwiddie
Daniel Gafford
Rui Hachimura
Corey Kispert/Deni Avdija
Kyle Kuzma
The Wizards are in limbo. It seems like they’ve been rebuilding since the ‘70s contenders fell apart. They never really had a shot (ba dum *chhh*) with Arenas, couldn’t quite build around Wall, and now they are squandering Beal’s prime years. Despite coming out of the Wall to Russ to the haul they got back swaps on top, I still don’t really know where they go from here without dealing away Bradley Beal. They need elite young talent but I don’t know if Rui, Kispert, or Deni are that. Deni struggled in his rookie year, Kispert is a high floor-low celing player, and Rui doesn’t seem to have much room to improve. Yet, they’re still investing in the present. Dinwiddie was brought in on a huge deal, they traded Russ for complimentary pieces to Beal, and they seem to be prepared to let Beal walk in free agency, recouping nothing for the best player they’ve had since the brief prime of Gilbert Arenas. If I were them, I’d be calling Boston, Philly, Miami, or any team that would be willing to give up draft picks and players under 25 and getting as much as you can. They should be tanking, yet they don’t. They should be losing, yet they make the play-in. The analytical part of me wants them to tank, but a small part of me likes the chaos. Please, Wizards, make the play-in. Take the spot away from Charlotte, Chicago, or New York. Don’t do it for your team, do it for the one thing that you have ever produced: chaos.
What are we, some kind of Basketball Squad? - Will Smith (probably)
Wow. What a preview. These tiers are more of where these teams stand organizationally rather than standings wise and external factors will determine how they actually perform. That being said, in this section, like the 2016 version of Suicide Squad, I’m going to cobble together some other random thoughts that I have on the upcoming season.
Standings Predictions
Eastern Conference:
Milwaukee Bucks (60-22)
Brooklyn Nets (58-24)
Boston Celtics (50-32)
Miami Heat (49-33)
Philadelphia 76ers (49-33)
Atlanta Hawks (48-34)
Chicago Bulls (45-37)
Charlotte Hornets (42-40)
New York Knicks (41-41)
Indiana Pacers (39-43)
Washington Wizards (37-45)
Detroit Pistons (35-47)
Toronto Raptors (30-52)
Cleveland Cavaliers (29-53)
Orlando Magic (24-58)
Western Conference:
Phoenix Suns (62-20)
Denver Nuggets (57-25)
Los Angeles Lakers (51-31)
Golden State Warriors (50-32)
Utah Jazz (48-34)
Portland Trail Blazers (48-34)
Los Angeles Clippers (44-38)
Dallas Mavericks (42-40)
Memphis Grizzlies (41-41)
New Orleans Pelicans (41-41)
Sacramento Kings (37-45)
San Antonio Spurs (35-47)
Minnesota Timberwolves (30-52)
Houston Rockets (27-55)
Oklahoma City Thunder (17-65)
I won’t say much as to explain these standings other than that a) they’ll most likely be wrong and b) I’m buying low on the sleepers.
So what about the shiny trophies that don’t really count?
Everyone knows that “Championships are the only thing players care about”, but let’s be real. Everyone wants to be an MVP, everyone wants to be the Defensive Player of the Year, and every teenager and 23 year old wants to be Rookie of the Year. But who will really win them? I’ll be ranking my top three candidates for each major award.
MVP:
James Harden, G, Brooklyn Nets
Jayson Tatum, F, Boston Celtics
LeBron James, F, Los Angeles Lakers
Two of these three are obvious. Harden and James have already won the award and due to certain circumstances with their teams, they’ll be in a position to win another one. Harden will have more control over the offense with an offseason in Brooklyn under his belt and the question mark that we placed on Kyrie. James has a whole new team in LA that will probably require more carrying on the playmaking and especially the scoring facets of the offense. However, Tatum is a newcomer. The young and lanky former Duke Blue Devil showed what he could do last year when given control of a team, especially in the postseason. If the first round series against the Nets is any indication of Tatum’s year to come from an individual standpoint, the East and the rest of the NBA better watch out.
DPOY:
Giannis Antentokunmpo, F, Milwaukee Bucks
Rudy Gobert, C, Utah Jazz
Draymond Green, F, Golden State Warriors
The DPOY winners rarely change in the modern NBA. With the exception of a few votes to Kawhi Leonard, Jimmy Butler, or Marcus Smart, this is a big man’s award. All the voters care about are blocks, rebounds, and DPM. Big men accumulate these stats much more easily as the game transitions towards heavy offense and long range shooting; perimeter defenders, even if they’re elite, look statistically pedestrian. This trend isn’t changing any time soon and for that reason alone, I think it’ll be a recent Defensive Player of the Year winner taking home another piece of hardware.
MIP:
RJ Barrett, G/F, New York Knicks
Terance Mann, G/F, Los Angeles Clippers
Michael Porter Jr., F, Denver Nuggets
The Most Improved Player Award might be the hardest to predict. Which player can take their game to the next level? We never know. Who could’ve predicted 2016 CJ McCollum or 2021 Julius Randle? I think it’ll be a player that showed up in a big way towards the end of last season. Although RJ and MPJ struggled in postseason play, they were solid down the stretch of the regular season and will be handed significantly larger offensive roles in 2022. For Terance Mann, he was a superstar in the playoffs and with no Kawhi Leonard next year, there is a scoring vacuum on the LA Clippers that he is likely to fill. If any of these players live up to their billing, they can make a case.
ROTY:
Jalen Green, G, Houston Rockets
Jalen Suggs, G, Orlando Magic
Cade Cunningham, G, Detroit Pistons
A couple of Jalens and the best prospect in the past draft make up my Rookie of the Year leaderboard. As much as I would love to throw Evan Mobley or Davion Mitchell on here, the ROTY is about one thing: volume. Whoever will have the ball in their hands the most is who is most likely to win the award. Cade and Jalen Green will be handed the keys to offenses loaded with young talent. Jalen Suggs might be the most complete player out of the three, but it all depends on what Orlando’s coaching staff and roster construction (four top young PGs in Fultz, Anthony, Suggs, and Hampton) will allow him to do. Mobley and Mitchell won’t be top options on their teams, but will still be solid and probably round out the rest of the All-Rookie 1st team.
COTY:
Monty Williams, Phoenix Suns
Mike Malone, Denver Nuggets
Ime Udoka, Boston Celtics
Coach of the Year is another tough one. It’s like predicting which NFT will soar to the top of the market. As poor of an attempt at young person humor as that was (I am in fact 19 years old), hopefully my Coach of the Year predictions can be a bit more spot on. Anyone who watched any of Monty Williams’ speeches in the 2021 playoffs was ready to run through a wall just because he told Deandre Ayton to keep his head up. If the Suns can duplicate their success from last year, he’s a shoe in. Malone’s case is mainly based on player development and team success. If the Nuggets are still top three in the West and players like Michael Porter Jr. and Jamal Murray can keep leveling up their game, he’ll have a shot. Ime Udoka is the new kid on the block. His chances at the award are heavily based on riding the narrative. If Tatum can level up and Brown becomes a true second star while the Celtics make a miracle run (which I think they will), then Nia Long's husband will be given a heavy amount of credit based on how he is the main changing factor from last year. All three have good cases, but guys like Terry Stotts, Erik Spoelstra, and Frank Vogel could also find themselves in this conversation. This award is heavily based on team success and popular narratives, so it’ll be easier to see who has a chance to win the award as the season moves on.
6th Man:
Dennis Schroder, G, Boston Celtics
Lou Williams, G, Atlanta Hawks
Carmelo Anthony, F, Los Angeles Lakers
The Sixth Man of the Year award isn’t talked about nearly as much as it should be. The spark plugs around the league deserve some props for sitting on the bench as starting caliber players for the betterment of the team. For Schroder and Williams, they’ve done just that for years, always being pivotal pieces off of championship-caliber benches. Lou Williams has a Drake song about him called ‘6 Man’. Nuff said. Schroder is an elite scorer and playmaker who should see a ton of minutes as Marcus Smart’s backup in Boston, but I think the bulk of his time could actually be playing alongside Smart late in games, as Smart is more of a shooting guard than a true point guard. Williams and Dennis make sense, they come off the bench, they score 15-18 points per game, and they do it when it counts. Melo, however, doesn’t...yet. The Lakers are kinda loaded in the frontcourt and based on what their team needed to improve on last year, I’m not so sure that this is a good thing for the Lakers. It is a good thing for Carmelo Anthony, though. He’ll likely come off the bench as he isn’t a better frontcourt option than LeBron James, Anthony Davis, or Dwight Howard just to name a few of the guys that will probably start over him. However, if he can play like he did off the bench in Portland, he should be right in the running for the award. Old stars have done it before, with Bill Walton, Kevin McHale, and James Harden all being winners of the award. Although McHale and Harden did it right before their primes truly began, they still carried a bulk of the offense when Bird and Durant were off the floor, respectively. Walton is the perfect case study, though. When he got traded to Boston for Cedric Maxwell in 1986, he was injured and past his prime. Despite that predicament, he was still able to give everything he had while backing up Parish and McHale. I believe that Melo can do the same thing for LeBron and AD, even in his twilight years. After all, in basketball, age is just a number.
Don’t touch the stove!
To wrap up my 2021-2022 NBA Preview, I’m just gonna spit out all 22 of the hot takes I have for the 2022 season with no explanation in a list format. Yes, I am doing this.
LeBron James will finally show regression and so will the Lakers.
The Knicks will fall off of a cliff.
Bradley Beal will get traded by the deadline.
Ben Simmons will play out the season in Philadelphia.
Kyrie Irving won’t play for at least two months.
The Celtics will make the Eastern Conference Finals and lose in seven games... again.
The Warriors will make the Western Conference Finals after a slow start to the season.
At least one rookie (Cade or Jalen Green) will make the All-Star Team.
The first two All-NBA Teams will feature zero players that play in Los Angeles.
Chicago will miss the Playoffs and Zach Lavine will consider walking/Lavine won’t sign an extension.
Devin Booker and Jayson Tatum crack 30 PPG.
Luka Doncic takes a step back.
The Nets veterans struggle and they are carried by Harden and Durant (who alone are enough to win it all).
The Knicks will fire Thibs by the end of the year.
This will be Melo and CP3’s final years in the league.
Tyler Herro cracks 20 PPG.
I hated writing this one, too.
The 76ers will explore trading both Simmons and Embiid again, but ultimately won’t.
Cam Thomas will start a lot of games for Brooklyn.
Klay Thompson scores 40+ in a game within his first 10 games back.
Kristaps Porzingis will get traded.
Boston, Brooklyn, and/or Philly will make a trade before the trade deadline.
Isaiah Thomas will get signed.
Please!
“I am not throwing away my shot!” - Alexander Hamilton
Although your version of Alexander Hamilton probably never said this, mine, Lin Manuel Miranda, did say this. His message of taking advantage of every opportunity you have shines bright in everyday life, but especially in sports. If you have a shot to do something special, you probably shouldn’t throw it away like the Sixers trading Tatum, the Clippers never acquiring a true wing player during the Lob City era, or being Ben Simmons in a playoff game. The point of previewing and predicting the NBA season gives us all and more specifically me a chance to get my takes out into the world before it’s too late. The season starts next Tuesday and it’s shaping up to be more unpredictable than ever. The league is changing by the day and basketball is truly evolving. As beautiful it is to watch the sport grow, it’s even more beautiful to watch the voices who talk about it diversify and grow with it. The internet gives us the power to share our thoughts and ideas in a positive way that can educate others about things we love. For me, that’s corny references dating back to the ‘80s and the game of basketball. If you were to take one thing away from this preview it’d be this:
Don’t throw away your shot. Don’t be Ben Simmons on this play.
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