What are the five biggest storylines of the NBA season which begins tonight?
You’ll find out soon enough.
Merry Hoopmas, from all of us here at Crossover Chronicles.
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SEAN WOODLEY
1 – The Thunder. New coach, Durant’s return from injury, the best and deepest supporting cast this team’s big three has ever had, Enes Kanter and Dion Waiters being perplexingly strange fits, and Durant’s looming free agency will have this team dominating the discussion all season.
2 – Who will come out of the Western Conference? The top six or seven teams in the West look more stacked than ever. How the standings and playoff matchups line up will be fascinating.
3 – LeBron James is going to be 31 in December, and the Cavs are loaded. Can Cleveland take advantage of a mediocre conference and capitalize on what is surely one of the last few years of LeBron’s prime?
4 – The Warriors were the darlings of last season and deservingly won the title to cap their all-time great season. Yet, they apparently feel disrespected, and have already begun to take on a more villainous identity than they ever did last season. Their attempt to re-emerge from the loaded West and repeat will be extremely compelling.
5 – Some super-young, off-the-radar teams have the opportunity to either become playoff-worthy, or at the very least, exceedingly fun to watch. Minnesota has two number one picks who will play a ton of minutes, while the Magic, Bucks and Jazz are all smartly built and on the upswing.
JARED MINTZ
1 – Are the Warriors as good if not better?
Coming off a top-five season in NBA history, there’s no question everyone will give their best to top the Warriors. With that said, that’s a silly narrative; everyone was gunning for them last season and they were untouchable. Can they be AS good? That’s the big thing to look for here, because if they are, we could be watching the league’s new dynasty.
2 – Is this it for Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook?
Not to put too high a set of expectations on the dynamic duo, but it’ll be a shame if we get eight years of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, only for their peak achievement to be one NBA Finals appearance. Everything they’ve said leads you to believe the two wouldn’t want to play without each other, but in today’s NBA, every star player wants the opportunity to be wined, dined and coveted as a free agent. This upcoming summer is the best — maybe last — chance Durant will have for that, with the summer of 2017 being the same for Westbrook.
3 – How do the Clippers incorporate their offseason additions?
On paper, it sure looks like the Clippers upgraded their roster with the additions of Paul Pierce, Josh Smith, and Lance Stephenson. As much as Pierce seems to have accepted his role as the shit-talking, big-shot-taking veteran wing, Smith is still an unknown quantity less than a year removed from being cut by the Pistons, and Stephenson is coming off the worst season of his career after leaving Indiana. I’m most worried about Stephenson, who could be the perimeter playmaker and defensive stopper this team has been missing, or the guy who destroys team chemistry and sets the organization back.
4 – Who’s coming for the last few spots in the East?
Of all Eastern Conference teams to miss the playoffs last season, there’s been a lot of speculation that one of the Pacers, Pistons, Magic, and even the Knicks could play meaningful basketball games in late April this season. With the return of Paul George, it seems Indiana would be the frontrunner in that group, but Detroit and Orlando are two of the more intriguing teams in the league, as they’ve both been slated to make a jump after several years of bad basketball.
5 – Do Tony Parker and Manu have enough left in the tank for the Spurs to live up to expectations?
The addition of LaMarcus Aldridge makes the Spurs flat-out scary in the frontcourt, but I just don’t see how their backcourt will be able to play at a championship level if they’re heavily dependent on these two. I really like Ray McCallum, but I think the Spurs will miss Corey Joseph and Marco Belinelli a lot.
BRYAN GIBBERMAN
1. What’s going to happen with Kevin Durant? I hate this, but it’s a no-brainer. Durant’s free agency is going to hang over the league the entire season like the fly buzzing around your house which you can’t kill.
2. The Bulls’ frontcourt. New head coach Fred Hoiberg must deal with a potentially combustible situation. How are Joakim Noah, Pau Gasol, Nikola Mirotic, and Taj Gibson going to react to the various experimenting that will occur? Will one of them eventually get traded for much-needed guard depth?
3. George Karl versus DeMarcus Cousins. It sounds like the temperature has simmered for now, but is it going to get heated again? Maybe more than any other team, the Sacramento Kings need to get off to a good start.
4. Kyrie Irving’s knee. I’m not sure this is getting enough play right now. If the Cavaliers have any chance of competing in the NBA Finals against a team from the West, they need a fully healthy Irving.
5. Can the Knicks or Lakers show progress? Both teams are in similar places on opposite coasts. Can either look like they’re a reasonably run NBA team?
MATT ZEMEK
5 – The Warriors’ other players. Harrison Barnes, NBA Finals MVP Andre Iguodala, no-place-on-the-floor-in-the-Finals Andrew Bogut — how will they complement the Splash Brothers and Draymond Green? The answer to that question will shape Golden State’s title defense.
4 – Tony Parker’s motor and durability. The long-term health and explosiveness of Parker must be monitored closely by the Spurs. Better to be a six seed with a fresh and energized playoff Parker than a two seed with an utterly spent French point guard.
3 – Miami versus Chicago. If these are the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds in the East, which team will earn the right to lose to LeBron and Cleveland in the East Finals?
2 – The Clippers, trying to silence history. Until this franchise makes the West Finals, nothing else will truly matter. It’s put-up-or-shut-up time for Doc Rivers… either the coach or the general manager.
1 – Kevin Love and a playoff opportunity. Love didn’t get to chase his playoff dream last spring — not after the first round, at any rate. How he responds to playoff pressure this season will have a lot to do with Cleveland’s ability to end one of the great city-specific droughts in the history of sports
