Basketball This Week (Done) Quickly

Klay’s injury was obviously devastating.  It’s debatable how high their ceiling was with him, but kind of pointless to speculate at this point.   It’s an interesting team.  I will admit I don’t have a strong bead on where they will end up.  It’s a pretty bad team on paper.  And yet when I watch them, it kind of works.  And Steph looks good.    I dunno.  I know they aren’t a contender or a team likely to compete for home court, but I wouldn’t be shocked to see them in the middle of the playoff mix.  I also wouldn’t be shocked to see them completely wash out and finish with the worst record in the league.  I’m surprised anyone is able to take a firm stance on this team.  

This looks to be a development year for the Pistons.  I think Jerami Grant as a number one option may not work out too well (certainly looks pretty bad in preseason), but they w ill be happy to have him if they get a good draft pick this year.  With that being said, Blake Griffin, Derrick Rose, Wayne Ellington, and Grant finding his way certainly could compete for a spot in the East play in game.    Dark horse candidate for a Harden trade, although not one Harden would be very happy about. 

The Jerami Grant loss obviously hurts, but their core is still present and that playoff experience had to help.  I think MPJ is set to take another step though and he can definitely make up for some of that production.  I know some Nuggets fans were hoping for Bol Bol contribution, and it’s certainly possible, although I think he’s a player who could really have used a second summer league and a full training camp to really prepare him.

Kind of a weird offseason, but I do think they got better.  Josh Richardson and James Johnson will help improve their overall talent level, and Wes Iwundu was born to play for Rick Carlisle.  Ultimately though their fate probably rests on how quickly Porzingis recovers, which I feel like I say every year. 

So many guards!  This honestly could get pretty dark.  Maybe it'll be okay though.

A good draft.  Garrett Temple is an all right addition.  Overall I’m not sure what the direction is.  The trick may be their new coach managing to make the most of the talent that the last two coaches could not.   Ironically they actually probably could have used Kriss Dunn’s defense if they’re serious about the playoffs.   I dunno doesn’t seem like they did much.  

Hayward if healthy will certainly help them improve quite a bit.  The problem that this team has is it is still very young and if they’re competitive, it probably means they didn’t give LaMelo enough playing time.   But in a year where playoff revenue might be essential to making ends meet, they might have to stall that a bit. 

I wouldn’t expect much different from the last two years since they were without Hayward so often over that stretch.  Jeff Teague is a solid point guard, like the platonic average in the NBA, and a good insurance policy for Kemba.  Tristan Thompson still has some good basketball in the tank, although I worry may not actually see the floor a ton if the Celtics stick to their habit of going really small.

nteresting moves, combining pretty much all the veteran role players on the market with one of the youngest teams in the league, with arguably the hottest free agent dropped in the mix  It’s something that can break a lot of ways which might be why the pundits are so split on what will happen on the team.  I think a lot of this will actually rest on what sort of strides Trae makes.   If Trae’s passing continues to improve and his shot selection it’ll go a long way to the success of the Hawks.  I think at the very worst they should be in the play-in range.

I talk about all the trades, the draft, and Klay's unfortunate injury.