Yardbarker
x
10 questions on the NBA season you were afraid to ask
Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook will have all eyes on him this season without Kevin Durant by his side. David Ramos/Getty Images

10 questions on the NBA season you were afraid to ask

Hey, friend. Have you given up on your favorite NFL team? Are you looking for something to fill the days between the World Series? Is The Walking Dead too much for your heart to take at the moment?

Fear not, for the NBA has come to save you! (Of course, the NHL is here for the people, too. Show it some love.)

Admittedly, you may not keep up with the intricacies of 82 games and a long playoff run. You have things to do like homework, raising kids or building your bunker if Donald Trump becomes president. You’re a casual follower of the hoops, which means that you might have some questions about the upcoming season, but you’re afraid to ask. And that’s quite alright because here at Yardbarker, we’re here to help.
So take a deep breath, relax and ask away. This is a safe space.

Hey, so I heard that the Golden State Warriors blew a 3-…

Yes.

They heard the same story, so they went and signed Kevin Durant from the Oklahoma City Thunder. Funny enough, the Thunder and Warriors played against each other in the Western Conference Finals last year. You probably didn’t hear the story of how the Thunder blew a 3-…

Hold up, they signed Durant, which means that the Warriors are going to win the championship. They formed a super team! That’s not even fair! What’s the point of the entire season when we know how it’ll end?

Come on, clichés are clichés because some of them tend to be true. And here’s one: It’s not always about the destination but the journey. You may be crowning them, but it’s not certain that the Warriors are going to make it back to the Finals. (OK, there may be a lie somewhere in there.)

In all seriousness, the Warriors were incredible last year, but they didn’t lose in the Finals strictly because of how brilliant LeBron James and Kyrie Irving were. Even in the chase for the best ever regular-season record, they were their own worst enemy with some lackadaisical play, turnovers, reckless shooting and passive defense late in games, even in games they won! It was quite true that the Warriors could only beat themselves with their complacency, but it also took the right opponent to catch them sleeping.

Also, super teams are the reason why you, Ms. or Mr. Casual Fan, watched the games last year. Golden State wasn’t some random team that won 73 games but a machine with the best perimeter shooting guard tandem ever. Meanwhile, the Cleveland Cavaliers were a clunky, but eventually effective, version of Voltron, with LeBron James chasing ghosts of past champions. And it’s not like we haven’t watched a lot of KD over the years in Oklahoma City when he and Russell Westbrook (more on him later) were carrying the Thunder into relevance.

Speaking of the Cavs, did Cleveland combust yet? Literally or metaphorically, you could answer either.

Shockingly no, the city is still here, and that’s good because it would be hard to host the World Series without, you know, a stadium. With that said, most of the band is back together, with the only significant piece missing being Matthew Dellavedova, who signed with the Milwaukee Bucks. Oh, and J.R. Smith has to wear a shirt now since the new season starts tomorrow night.

As for the champs’ repeat hopes, we have to convince ourselves that anything can derail things, and it very well may be true. Look at the Kansas City Royals, who weren’t close to contending for a playoff spot. The Carolina Panthers aren’t playing with the same zip that got them to the Super Bowl. Heck, even Serena Williams loses sometimes. Why? Players get hurt, other teams come up faster than expected, Roger Goodell suspends people. Again, the destination/journey thing.

Oh, and we talked about the Cavs’ potential pitfalls here.

In the East, are there any interesting teams to keep an eye on?

So we’ve told you about teams that may be a bit overrated, but one or two of them could prove us wrong. In a long season, you need a reason to keep up with everyone, not just a handful of teams.

Every division has some intrigue, though some more than others. Boston hopes that the addition of Al Horford gives the Celtics a great inside-out duo between him and Isaiah Thomas as they try to swat Drake and the Toronto Raptors away from another Atlantic Division crown. The Knicks made another roster upheaval, but they’re going to have a fast break for the first time, maybe ever (plus, Kristaps Porzingis’ putbacks, Carmelo Anthony’s bully-ball and Brandon Jennings being Brandon Jennings are all worth watching). Despite more injury setbacks, the Sixers’ process reaches the next level with Joel Embiid actually playing between tweets. And the Nets exist for Knicks fans who can’t get tickets to games at Madison Square Garden on StubHub.

Believe it or not, the Cavs should have some tough games against the Indiana Pacers this year in the Central Division. Indy should be a very compelling team with Paul George, Monta Ellis and the impressive Myles Turner getting help from a real point guard in Jeff Teague. Milwaukee will still be tall enough to block the sun, and putting Giannis Antetokounmpo at point guard for a full season will be a fascinatingly odd experiment. Detroit will have some issues out of the gate without Reggie Jackson for the first two months, but coach Stan Van Gundy will still make this a competitive squad. Chicago has a totally new team built around Jimmy Butler, but the tug and pull among him, Rajon Rondo and Dwyane Wade will be entertaining in good and bad ways.

The Southeast won’t get as much attention, but it doesn’t mean that you should ignore it. Dwight Howard went home to Atlanta for the rejuvenation of his perhaps still-Hall of Fame career. Washington is a squad where division between star teammates John Wall and Bradley Beal can pull the team in all sorts of directions. Frank Vogel took over as head coach in Orlando, so we’ll find out if he’s OK with new Magic big man Serge Ibaka blindly shooting three-pointers he had no business shooting in OKC. Charlotte, unfortunately, seems to take steps backward, and losing the All-Star Game because of North Carolina’s controversial HB2 bill really stinks. Finally, the sudden dismantling of the Miami Heat is complete, but we’ll have Dion Waiters playing hero ball, even though he’s not exactly the hero you’re looking for.

How about the West?

The Warriors benefit from 1) having four of the best players on the planet, 2) having a very good coaching staff and 3) playing in a terrible Pacific Division. They may have peaked, but the L.A. Clippers are always some weird implosion away from greatness and their rivalry with the Warriors makes for some of the most intense and hilarious basketball of any season. Sacramento has a new arena, and with new head coach Dave Joerger, maybe they’ll have a clue to help out DeMarcus Cousins. Phoenix has high fives! And the first Lakers' season without Kobe Bryant means that the young guns could run free under new coach and former Laker god Luke Walton.

In the Southwest, you’re forgiven if you forgot that San Antonio won 67 games last season but merely notching the second seed in the playoffs out West. It seemed as if they were destined to battle Golden State in the Western Finals, but they lost in the second round to the Thunder. The post-Tim Duncan era begins with Pau Gasol joining LaMarcus Aldridge and Kawhi Leonard, with Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker playing shrunken roles. After being the de facto point guard for the last few years, James Harden is actually playing the lead guard for Mike D’Antoni and the Houston Rockets, which means he’ll make you angry with his contact-oriented game and quadruple-doubles that include double-digit turnovers. Though there’s not a lot to expect out of Dallas, consider this season the Dirk Nowitzki Appreciation Tour now that Tim Duncan, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett all retired this summer. Memphis seems to be Mike Conley’s team now thanks to his mega-contract, but the Grindhouse still has some work to do to chase the Spurs. Finally, the basketball world waits on a healthy Anthony Davis to play a full season for New Orleans and live up to his top billing.

It has seemed like the Northwest has been teeming with youth forever. We fall in love with Minnesota pretty often, and with Tom Thibodeau as the new head coach, said youth should make for an improved defensive team. Utah is to this season what the Bucks were a year ago, the critics’ choice to make some noise, even if the Jazz may not be ready for the show just yet. Denver has a decision to make about its frontcourt as the dynamic Kenneth Faried is supposedly on the trading block. Yet, the division will be a tug-of-war between Portland and a revamped Oklahoma City. After losing most of their starters a year ago, the Blazers shocked the league by not only making the playoffs, but upsetting the Clippers and giving the Warriors a tougher-than-expected second-round series. (And if you forgot, any time Dame Lillard plays against Steph Curry, he torches him. It’s ridiculous and wonderful.)

Yeah, so about OKC, I’m sure Russell Westbrook is happy about being the man in OKC, right?

I know you love watching Steph draining threes from the suburbs, but there really isn’t a player in the entire league like Westbrook. There’s a nearly inextinguishable fire within, one that could singlehandedly carry the Thunder to the playoffs (and it almost happened in 2014-15 when Durant missed the majority of the season). He throws down what I personally call “DUNKS OF RAGE.” At an insanely athletic 6’3”, Russ notches triple-doubles like Pac-Man gobbles dots. He is an absurdist’s fashion icon, a scoring machine and your primal id when someone asks you what you think is a dumb question. And we love him.

And yet, we have no real idea what’s going to happen. The Thunder could shock everyone like the Blazers did last year and overachieve against major losses. The team could completely fall apart, though that’s doubtful with a good frontcourt, the addition of Victor Oladipo and some impressive coaching from Billy Donovan. Yet, if you are here for all Russ, all the time, schedule your life around Thunder games. You won’t be sorry.

OK, so KD goes to Golden State, but who else moved where in the offseason?

A lot of guys will be wearing some strange uniforms — and one sadly won’t wear any, perhaps ever again. Joakim Noah, Derrick Rose, Courtney Lee and the aforementioned Jennings are in New York. Rajon Rondo and Chicago native Dwyane Wade (yeah, I know!) are the new Bulls backcourt. Dwight Howard is a Hawk. Harrison Barnes and Andrew Bogut are in Dallas. Pau Gasol is a Spur. Most importantly, Timofey Mozgov will be the greatest Lakers center of all time.

Yet, you also heard about Chris Bosh. The last two seasons have been incredibly hard on a guy finally being appreciated for being a really, really good basketball player. He’ll never play for Miami again because of health concerns, but he’s determined to make it back to the league to play for someone. Let’s hope for good health, and maybe basketball will be a bonus.

A lot of players got paid a ton of money this offseason. What does that mean for the CBA? Folks kept saying that we’re due for another lockout.

Any product or service is worth what someone else is willing to pay for it, so while it’s easy for people to say many players are overpaid (and maybe it’s true for some guys), we should probably ease up on the whole “overpaid” thing. The league is flourishing right now thanks to the current broadcasting agreements putting more money into the owners' and players’ pockets (and a rising salary cap, of course).

Sure, there is still a chance that the NBA and the NBPA (the players’ union) could decide to blow it all up in December by opting out of the current CBA. However, recent reports tell us that both sides are close to something most of us haven’t seen before in the Association: labor peace for more than a decade thanks to the possible extension of the current deal through at least 2022.

Good times.

Any chance at midseason trades? Those are always exciting.

Sure, especially for teams that won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. As mentioned, the Nuggets have been shopping Faried around, so contenders will look at any way to take on the energetic forward. The Celtics still have a bunch of future first-round draft picks from other teams as well as their own after 2018, and they will dangle them in front of GMs like they’re toy keys for toddlers. Yet, you may hear more about Cousins at the trade deadline if the Kings continue to screw things up since he is set to become a free agent after next season.

This is all well and good, but you never really answered my question. If a Finals rematch seems inevitable, why watch?

Do you read the last page of the book first or fast-forward to the end of a movie? Probably not. Yet, every year we hear these cries about the NBA, the same people come back to enjoy the show. And compared to the disaster of the NFL, at least this one will have highlights on Twitter.

This has been a long conversation, but I leave you with this. The NBA, despite all of the inevitability we sense in it, gives us great joy. Amazing athletes, colorful personalities, a diverse array of teams that can surprise you any given night. So what you really meant to ask was, “Why not watch?"

It was good chatting with you. So we’ll see you for Knicks-Cavs on opening night, right? Awesome.

Can you identify the shared last name of these NBA players?
SCORE:
0/49
TIME:
10:00
Jeff, Karl, Moses
Malone
Bill, Bryon, Cazzie, Campy
Russell
Gus, Buck, Mo, Cadillac
Williams
Glen, Cliff, David, Nate
Robinson
Jerome, Ray, Tony, Lavoy
Allen
Marques, Dennis, Vinnie, Larry
Johnson
Chet, Antoine, Kenny, Kemba
Walker
Bobby, K.C., Popeye, Sam
Jones
John, Ben, Gerald, Rasheed
Wallace
Carmelo, Greg, Joel, Karl
Anthony
Anthony, Desmond, Roger
Mason
David, Delonte, Jerry, Mark
West
Connie, Hersey, Tom, Juaquin
Hawkins
Aaron, Ben, Drew, Eric
Gordon
Courtney, David, Malcolm, Clyde
Lee
Derrick, Jalen, Malik, Rob
Rose
Mark, Jim, Phil, Reggie
Jackson
Rick, Brent, Drew, Jon
Barry
Donny, Donyell, Kendall, Vester
Marshall
Chris, Silas, Pierce, George
Paul
Brian, Horace, Gary, Harvey, Bud, Jerami
Grant
Butch, Fred, Vince, George
Carter
Baron, Dale, Walter, Anthony
Davis
Alan, Jerome, Cedric, Gerald
Henderson
B.J., Darrell, Curly, Hilton
Armstrong
Andre, Reggie, Oliver, Mike
Miller
Armond, George, Grant, Tyrone
Hill
Dell, Eddie, Seth, Stephen
Curry
Isaiah, Isiah, Kurt, Tim
Thomas
Slater, Kenyon, Kevin, Darrick
Martin
Byron, Dennis, Charlie, Mike
Scott
Freddie, Reggie, Rashard, Lloyd
Lewis
A.C., Jeff, Rickey, Sidney, Gerald
Green
Claude, Jason, Porter, Tyler
Terry
Larry, Mike, Frankie, Satch
Sanders
Earl, Lewis, Free, Scott
Llyod
Doug, Jason, Jarron, Mardy
Collins
Jim, Harrison, Matt, Marvin
Barnes
Aaron, C.J., Darius, Eddie
Miles
Mychal, David, Klay, Tristan
Thompson
Phil, Chris, Don, T.J.
Ford
Fred, Brian, Maurice, Jeff, Fatty, Jermaine
Taylor
Jerry, Maurice, John, Kalin
Lucas
Al, Richard, Cory, Dontell
Jefferson
Josh, Steve, Kenny, Jason, Randy, Phil
Smith
Chuck, Elvin, Jarvis, Steve
Hayes
Adrian, Blake, Eddie, Greg
Griffin
Slick, Meyers, Kawhi, Gary
Leonard
Troy, Jay, Calvin, Tod
Murphy

More must-reads:

Customize Your Newsletter

+

Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.