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We enter the season after the one where the Warriors blew a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals. Durant's a snake, Wade's a Bull, Bogut is a Maverick, Rose is a Knick and probably didn't abuse that attention-seeking woman, and there are a lot of good players and teams out there, but the best four teams from the previous regular season still look to be the cream of the crop.

Cleveland (57-25, champions) will remain contenders for as long as LeBron and Kyrie stay together, San Antonio (67-15) lost Duncan but signed Pau Gasol, Toronto (56-26) lost Scola but signed Sullinger, and the Warriors (73-9) blew a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals, then signed Durant. So overall the top four have either remained functionally intact, or in GSW's case, gotten even better like wtf how is this even legal under the salary cap rules pls nerf.

So the questions heading into the season are;

> Can the Warriors go 74-8 having acquired another superstar, or was the previous regular season just an outlier?

> Is there a surprise title contender in the mid-pack? Maybe the Clippers can finally break through and make a conference final. Maybe Charlotte can make a run if MKG stays healthy and Hibbert can find his feet again after a poor season. Perhaps the Celtics have assembled the pieces they need with Horford and Brown joining the ranks...

> And can the 76er's even manage to put 5 players on the court each game with all the injuries their franchise has suffered and continues to suffer? Please get well soon Simmons...

Last edited by Jay (OTT) at 10/23/2016 3:55:51 AM

As a raptors fan, I did not think I would ever see someone call them a top 4 team. I still disagree with the statement anyway. When will I finally like my team?

Let's not forget that the Raptors won 56 games, made the Eastern Conference Final and took that series to 6 games last season.

Whilst Biyombo, Johnson and Scola are players Toronto probably would've liked to keep, it's not like they are big impact players in the league. What Toronto has gained and retained is a team with several good, relatively young players who could be even better this season with experience, and if even one of the draftees or walk-on's can be a sleeper and perform well, Toronto has a good chance of establishing themselves as the 4th best team in the league, especially with OKC now crippled.

With that said there are several teams with the potential to crack the top four alongside GS, Cleveland and SA. Aside from those I have already mentioned, Atlanta can't be counted out, especially not if Dwight can rewind time to his Orlando days. Memphis have signed Parsons and only lost Barnes, whilst Ennis also had a great bunch of games for NOLA towards the end of last season. Perhaps Houston's overhaul could also pay dividends, as Anderson and Gordon are both solid jump shooters, whilst Harden can be an MVP candidate if only he were to put some fecking effort into his defence.

A lot of ifs and maybes floating around the league ahead of the opening tip. Going to interesting to see which of these ifs can turn into a reality.

I think the GSW are fragile
The news this week about Greens dn Kerr in the lockers last season paints a less than rosey picture in paradise.
The loss of bogut I think is also underestimated.

Also same with cav's.....Della-Vedova loss throughout the regular season I think will hurt them enough that their regular season record will be impacted.

I think horford will be a bust in Boston, Bulls might be ok? Knicks actually have a pretty good team in NY now, depth would be an issue, Miami no, Portland will drop I feel, OKC will be interesting to watch, Charlotte meh, Detroit might pick up but probably not to championship level, Utah might be good but same as Detroit.

Clippers might finally pull it all together this season? Chris Paul, Jordan, Griffin, still a pretty good trio. I'd put money on them as a smokey.

Yeah and I think raptors will be down. Win/loss might only be a slight dip but they will be hurting bad in the playoffs.

The only hope is that Demarre Carroll is healthy, Nogueira can replace 80% of Biyombo and Norm/Jonas continues to improve. I have given up on Ross.

I think the GSW are fragile

He knew https://watch.nba.com/game/20161025/SASGSW?isPost=true

Dey got blown the fug out :O. Spurs crashing boards harder than Vito ten Brink* all game. Durant and Green the lone bright spark in an otherwise horrific display on the glass for GSW.

*ten Brink leads the ABBL in rebounds with 15.6 per game.

Toronto was lucky last season. They played pretty badly in the playoffs but someone how still managed to make the conference finals.

The Pacers or the Trail Blazers should have a good chance of rounding out the top 4 or 5.

If the Clippers dont do well this season, watch CP3 bolt in free agency.

Anthony Davis must be playing NBA 2k MyCareer on Hall of Fame. He still gets his because he's a player vs the CPU and a beast, but his team-mates can't hit jack because of slider cheese.

EDIT: Raptors weren't that far way from taking one off the Cavaliers, even if their final steal that set up the 0.3 prayer for OT was an uncalled foul. Maybe they won't win 56 games again but they can be a dark horse for the title if Sullinger can come back before too long.

Last edited by Jay (OTT) at 10/29/2016 4:21:07 AM

Have you watched the Raptors play playoff games before? Their offence is not built for it.

Play-off basketball is still basketball, and this year especially has taught me that there's no such thing as a certainty in sports. So you can't say with any certainty that the Raptors won't win the title, just that it's an outside chance.

I am willing to say it