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The preseason has started and a group of players looks really weird in their new uniform. This means that it is the preview of the season. Let's see how each team in the NBA should measure its success in 2018-19. For some teams (ie the most talented), it's simple: not to succeed in the playoffs would be catastrophic, or not to advance in a specific round would empty the season sense. For others, it 's more complex, organizations looking for specific areas of improvement or clarity on what they build exactly.
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We will start by touring the Western Conference.
Come back Thursday, we will go to the East Conference.
Dallas Mavericks
The ideal scenario: Luka Doncic wins rookie of the year, Rick Carlisle, coach of the year and the Mavericks mingle for a playoff spot, giving Dirk Nowitzki has the chance to play meaningful games again before retiring. The organization has become serious with the signing of DeAndre Jordan, and, if Dennis Smith discovers some things, it could be one of the most improved teams in the league. More than any other scenario, it will be interesting to watch how Doncic and Smith coexist – Dallas hopes this duo will define its next era. In fact, qualifying for the playoffs should not be the norm in the first year of their partnership; respectability should suffice.
Denver Nuggets
Here is a team that must make the playoffs. Denver has not been there since George Karl and Andre Iguodala were there, and this series was supposed to end last season. The Nuggets need Paul Millsap to stay healthy, Jamal Murray to keep up the momentum and the entire team to commit to improving his defense. This disaster has been a disaster for years and its biggest initiative this summer – add Isaiah Thomas – does not exactly solve this problem. (In addition, a more assertive touch on the part of the selfish star towards a fault, Nikola Jokic, would be lovely.)
Golden State Warriors
This one is simple: win a new title. Preferably, the Warriors will perform this task while having more fun than last season, which Steve Kerr described as a hard blow and one of the hardest of his four years of training. Golden State hopes that the experience of Cousins DeMarcus will energize everyone and help the star center to restore its reputation. With speculation on Kevin Durant, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson, who may be looking elsewhere, any hint of discord will be dissected even more than usual.
Houston Rockets
The composition of the team seems a little worse than a few months ago, but that could change the playoffs here. The Rockets are always looking to defeat the champions, and success would mean that Carmelo Anthony is a million times better than Oklahoma City. Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute do not miss too much and stay healthy throughout the match. playoffs. If Clint Capela also participated in the All-Star Game, the competition would be ridiculous in the West. Basically, Houston's job is to return to the finals of the conference and give Golden State a chance, just like last season.
Los Angeles Clippers
Maybe you want the Clippers to decide to tank, especially because almost nobody in the West does it. Looking at their list of players, it's obvious that they want to be very good. It could be an annoying team to play if Patrick Beverley and Avery Bradley remain in good health, and there is a reason for all Internet basketball fans to love Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The additions of Mbah a Moute and Marcin Gortat mean that there is a lot of veteran talent here, and it will be interesting to see if Doc Rivers can quietly reunite his team for a playoff series while the world is focusing on the next. team on this list.
the Los Angeles Lakers
On one side, the Lakers have a group of good young players and are now employing a man who has participated in eight consecutive finals and whose average is 34-9-9 with a 62% real shot percentage. playoffs. On the other side, it's the West, their rookies as independent agents were weird and, at the very least, there will be a period of adjustment during which the coaching staff will calculate his rotation and the players – including LeBron James – will determine their roles. It's not right to call it an elite team simply because James is on the list, but nobody involved wants Los Angeles to fight for his playoff life in March and April . The Lakers must find a relatively fast cohesion, in order to avoid an extremely stressful regular season. If that is their choice in the playoffs, just winning a round should be considered a feat. Really, Michael Beasley was warned when he decided to be as careful as possible when Dave McMenamin from ESPN asked him on the ceiling of the team.
Memphis Grizzlies
The goal of the Grizzlies should be to make everyone feel stupid to sleep on them. To do this, they will have to stay relatively healthy, to make sure that the second unit does not bleed points and – of course! – make the playoffs again. Mike Conley and Marc Gasol are still good enough to form the basis of a strong team and Jaren Jackson is the most exciting player that they have added for years, but if that turns out to be a other BLA bla season, derailed by injuries, the management will finally have to blow everything up and start again. The key is to have a good start, so commercial rumors have never appeared.
Minnesota Timberwolves
Tom Thibodeau clearly wants the Timberwolves to resume the series, but it will be a very high benchmark for success, unless a miracle close to Jimmy Butler in their immediate future. In the current state of things, few people expect that they will get even decent value in exchange for their disenchanted star, which means that taking a step back is inevitable. That said, Karl-Anthony Towns has a chance to experience a career season. It's an opportunity for Andrew Wiggins to bring back his dubious many on what they've said about it. Minnesota will pay these two amounts a lot of money over the next few years. Everything else – novice intrigue, Tyus Jones' playing time, shots of Anthony Tolliver and James Nunnally – is almost trivial compared to the way they perform.
New Orleans Pelicans
Can pelicans show that the second round of last year was the beginning of something rather than an aberration? Elfrid Payton is in place of Rajon Rondo, Julius Randle is (in a way) in place of DeMarcus Cousins and the depth is still questionable. Let's see if this group can remain the fastest team in the league while reducing turnovers and improving the glass. If Anthony Davis is not part of the MVP conversation and Jrue Holiday is not part of the All-Star conversation, something is going wrong.
Oklahoma City Thunder
The Thunder must be a more united offensive team and there is no reason for it not to be an elite. Russell Westbrook catches up; Andre Roberson returning to his DPOY candidate form prior to the injury; Patrick Patterson bouncing; Dennis Schroder inserting; Nerlens Noel lying and Terrence Ferguson jumping would help everyone here. Perhaps, he would play faster and put more emphasis on the movement of the ball than ever before. Given his talent, Oklahoma City should at least try his luck to get home advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Another early exit would be really difficult.
Phoenix Suns
You should look at the Suns to see if Devin Booker turns into a real star and the rest of the list starts to make more sense. A good way to know if they have succeeded or not is to check the decisions of the management: write DeAndre Ayton at the top of the overall standings, negotiate for Mikal Bridges on the night of the draft, sign with Trevor Ariza as an open free agency, Negotiate for De-Anthony Melton and Ryan Anderson late in the off season – look in April. The idea was to make this team more competitive and more balanced. For coach Igor Kokoskov, the first year of his career however does not seem to be an easy task, as many variables will determine whether there is a good mix or a mess . Will Ayton be a useful player right away? Can Dragan Bender show he's ready to hang on this level? Where is Josh Jackson? Are they really will not trade for a leader?
Portland Trail Blazers
No one will be thrilled by another solid season (or better) of the Blazers. Their composition has barely changed, though, and the reception is in a strange place. It is clear that Portland is too dependent on his backyard to score and that Jusuf Nurkic is a player dependent on the match. The Blazers are more than competent, but they do not scare the elite, they are one of the worst transition teams in the league and they are still shocked by the summer spending of 2016. It remains again quality basketball here night at night. but this organization must show its fans that there is a path from good to excellent. That's all that happens during the playoffs.
Kings Sacramento
Ignore the ranking again. Sacramento must determine who is part of the future and who does not. A clue: Marvin Bagley, Willie Cauley-Stein, Harry Giles and Skal Labissiere can not all to be, even though his coach Dave Joerger threw the four big men on the ground at the same time in a pre-season match. Can Bogdan Bogdanovic and Buddy Hield play together? Can "Aaron Fox establish himself as the leader for whom he was appointed? It will be a good season if some of these young guys part ways and Sacramento begins to feel like playing for the first time in an eternal atmosphere. It's not just about players: the coaching staff has to use the season to experiment and the front office needs to determine where the team is going.
San Antonio Spurs
The old standards of the Spurs – to reach the threshold of 50 wins is a given, "to succeed" means to win a championship – can no longer apply. It would be quite a story if they just managed to maintain the feel from a normal team coached by Gregg Popovich. I want to see how DeMar DeRozan operates in their system and how young guards Dejounte Murray, Derrick White and Lonnie Walker look next to their new star. It's going to be drastically different without Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard, but Popovich will do everything in his power to make sure they're performing both goals in the same way as the Spurs.
Utah Jazz
Aim high. In good health, the Jazz could be the second best team in the West. To do this, they must maintain their defensive position, get the growth of Donovan Mitchell and the regularity of Ricky Rubio, Dante Exum again serving as a factor X for their rotation behind the scenes. Let's not forget that in a sample of 38 games last season, Utah posted the best defensive scores and the best points differential in the NBA. This is probably not a real competitor in the Warrior era, but it deserves to be seen as a superior level to the Western Conference teams who will compete for the very last places in the playoff picture. . Personally, I would like to see the Jazz among the top 10 offensives and speed things up a bit.
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