2015-16 NBA Season Preview

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Players Acquired: Monta Ellis (free agency), Myles Turner (draft), Chase Budinger (trade), Jordan Hill (free agency), Glenn Robinson III (free agency), Joseph Young (draft), Rakeem Christmas (trade), Toney Douglas (free agency)

Players Lost: Roy Hibbert (trade), David West (free agency), C.J. Watson (free agency), Luis Scola (free agency), Donald Sloan (free agency), Damjan Rudez (trade), Chris Copeland (free agency) 

In the past three seasons, Frank Vogel’s team has lived and died by the phrase ‘defense wins championships.’ In their two runs to the conference finals in 2013 and ’14, the Pacers had the top ranked defense in the NBA. On the offensive side of the ball, however, Indiana has been in the bottom third of the league over the past three seasons.

This may explain the sudden shift in personnel for the Pacers, who brought in offensive-minded Ellis and let two of the top defenders in the league go (Hibbert and West). 

The Pacers decided to address a major need in the draft and selected Texas Longhorn center Myles Turner. The Big 12 Freshman of the Year looked solid in NBA Summer League play averaging nearly 19 points per game. Turner will be given a lot of opportunity to prove himself and considering the team around him, has a chance of winning Rookie of the Year. 

On a quick side-note, two former Wolves are hoping to revitalize their careers in Indiana. Glenn Robinson III has a lot of people intrigued by what his athleticism can bring to the team, and Chase Budinger will play an important role coming off the Pacers’ bench. 

Will the switch from a defensive powerhouse to an offense-first team, work?

Losing two starters and two key bench players is never a good sign for a team who finished six games below .500 last season. If the Pacers can stay healthy and George’s transition to power forward goes as planned, Indiana will be a competitive team. 

Although the Pacers were without George in their two matchups against the Wolves last season, they still managed to win a game. In order for Minnesota to take home two victories this time around, they will need to win the critical one-on-one matchups. Andrew Wiggins vs. George and Karl-Anthony Towns vs. Turner will be important and also fun to watch. The odds are in the Wolves favor if they can keep Ellis and George at bay, considering the Timberwolves are significantly deeper than the Pacers. 

With George’s swagger back in the mix, I see the Pacers squeaking into the 8th seed. George looks great, Turner has a big upside and Ellis is a scoring machine. Indiana still plays in the East, which means even a losing record could give them a playoff birth. If a big name gets injured, however, the team’s lack of depth will be exposed and it will be another disappointing season inside Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Paul George’s back will be sore after carrying his team to the playoffs.

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2015-16 Season Preview Extravaganza | Is Indiana A Playoff Team With Paul George?

Players Acquired: PG Cameron Payne (draft), C Dakari Johnson (draft), F Tomislav Zubic (trade)

Players Lost: G Jeremy Lamb (trade), G Luke Ridnour (trade)

Last season will be remembered as the season without Kevin Durant for Thunder fans. Durant had multiple fractures in his right foot that ended up forcing him to miss the first 17 games of the season, the last 21 games and a few sprinkled in the middle.

In total, Durant played just 27 games. Most teams without their best player would go straight to the lottery. Most teams don’t have a Russell Westbrook to go with their best player, though. Westbrook proved that he’s the team’s 1B. In 67 games, Westbrook led the league with 28.1 points per game to go with 8.6 assists and 7.3 rebounds. To say he was unstoppable in the second half of the season would be an understatement. Westbrook was unbelievable.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. The Thunder finished 45-37 and the New Orleans Pelicans squeaked by them for the eighth seed in the Western Conference. This ended with the Thunder firing Scott Brooks and hiring former Florida coach Billy Donovan.

The Thunder enter 2015-16 with a healthy Durant and Westbrook, something that scares the hell out of every team in the Western Conference.

A few other observations on the Thunder heading into 2015-16:

Will Donovan be able to handle Durant and Westbrook?

It seems easy enough to do. There are worse things than having two top-5 players on one team. But with Durant, Westbrook and even Kanter, you’re looking at three players who generally need the ball offensively to have the most impact.

In college, Donovan was the man in charge. If a player was out of line or not playing the type of ball Donovan wanted, he found himself on the bench.

Good luck doing that with Durant or Westbrook.

Again, there are far worse situations to be in as a first-year coach, but it is still a very interesting dynamic to keep an eye on throughout the season.

The Wolves were 0-4 against the Thunder las season, losing by an average of 16.5 points per loss.

There’s no easy answer for how to beat the Thunder. If there was, well, they wouldn’t have had a winning record for the last six seasons.

Oklahoma City is going to be hosting a series in the first round of the playoffs, barring any major injury. I just don’t see how a team with Westbrook, Durant, Kanter, Ibaka and even Dion Waiters doesn’t win at least 55 games in the Western Conference.

I know how stacked the West is, but this is a team that’s done it before. I see this team advancing to the Western Conference Finals. And then, who knows?

Stopping Durant and Westbrook? Sounds like a freaking nightmare.

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2015-16 Season Preview Extravaganza | Don't Sleep On The Thunder

Players Acquired: F Chris McCullough (draft), F Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (draft), F Juan Vaulet (draft), F/C Andrea Bargnani (free agency), G Wayne Ellington (free agency), G Shane Larkin (free agency), F/C Willie Reed (free agency), F Thomas Robinson (free agency), G Donald Sloan (free agency), G/F Dahntay Jones (free agency), F Quincy Miller (trade)

Players Lost: G/F Alan Anderson (free agency), F Mirza Teletovic (free agency), F Mason Plumlee (trade), F Earl Clark (waived), G Darius Morris (waived), G Deron Williams (buyout)

The 2014-15 Nets were the definition of an “eh” team. Brooklyn finished 38-44 overall, good for eighth in the Eastern Conference. Surprisingly, the Nets pushed the Atlanta Hawks to six games before falling in the first round.

The team made some interesting moves in the offseason. It re-signed Thad Young and Brook Lopez to big contract extensions. Those moves made it look like the front office was prepared to win now.

But then the team traded Plumlee and acquired rookie McCullough and Hollis-Jefferson. What direction is this team headed in?

A few more observations from last season:

This team has young players like McCullough, Hollis-Jefferson, Markel Brown and Ryan Boatright. The Nets are hoping that these players are part of their future. But then there are also win-now guys like Andrea Bargnani, Johnson, Young and Lopez.

It’s kind of a weird team as far as balance go, but given how poorly Brooklyn has handled its roster over the years, that’s expected.

Either way this team probably won’t crack the top-eight in a weak Eastern Conference.

The Wolves were 1-1 against the Nets last season, and that’s when they were at full strength with Ricky Rubio leading the way.

It wouldn’t be far off to say this Wolves team could sweep the Nets in 2015-16. The biggest threat for the Nets is Lopez. Rookie Karl-Anthony Towns will be tasked with guarding him. It will be important for Towns to stay out of foul trouble and not fall for pump fakes. Lopez isn’t incredibly strong, but he has elite post moves.

The Wolves play in Brooklyn on Dec. 20 and host the Nets on March 5.

The Nets seem to be doing the right thing by getting younger and finally getting rid of Deron Williams. With that being said, the Nets are probably lottery bound this season. Unfortunately for Nets fans, Boston has Brooklyn’s next three first-round picks.

 The trade to Boston will forever haunt this team. 

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2015-16 Season Preview Extravaganza | Are The Nets In Full Rebuild Mode?

Players Acquired: C Kendrick Perkins (free agency)

Players Lost: G Jimmer Fredette (free agency), C Jeff Withey (free agency), Toney Douglas (waived)

For those of us outside of New Orleans, the only reason why we watched the Pelicans was to see Anthony Davis in action. And you can’t really blame us.

Davis did things both as a 6’10” player and a 22 year old that we’ve never seen before. He ended this season averaging 24.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, 2.9 blocks and 2.2 assists per game – all career highs. 

The Pelicans were 39-29 with Davis on the floor and just 6-8 without him.

Their 45-37 was good enough for them to sneak into the playoffs, edging out Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder for the eighth seed.

While it was nice for New Orleans to advance to the postseason for the first time since 2010-11, playing the Golden State Warriors was a death sentence. The Warriors swept the Pelicans, which ultimately led the front office to relieve coach Monty Williams of his duties.

The team brought in Alvin Gentry from Golden State of all places and fans are hoping he can mesh Davis with Tyreke Evans, Jrue Holiday (if he plays), Eric Gordon and Omer Asik a little better.

A few other observations from the 2014-15 season:

Center Alexis Ajinca is out for the beginning of the season with a back injury. The rest of the bench is spread pretty thin. There’s Alonzo Gee, Luke Babbitt and Quincy Pondexter. None of those guys exactly scream, “sixth man!”

This is where having a first-round pick last season would have helped them. Don’t be surprised if the Pelicans go out and trade for a solid bench player before this year’s trade deadline.

Minnesota was 0-4 against New Orleans last season, so not a lot of success was had.

The obvious answer to beat the Pelicans is to simply slow down Davis. In four games against the Wolves, Davis averaged 23.8 points, nine rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. Those numbers aren’t bad, but the Wolves certainly could have done worse defensively against him.

I see the Pelicans snagging the seventh seed. Davis is getting better and I think Gentry will be a perfect fit for this team. This team could be among championship contenders in three seasons if Holiday can stay healthy. That’s a big if, though.

Without Anthony Davis, this team would collect plenty of ping pong balls. 

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2015-16 Season Preview Extravaganza | What About Everyone Not Named Anthony Davis?

Players Acquired: G Terry Rozier (draft), G R.J. Hunter (draft), F Jordan Mickey (draft), Jonas Jerebko (free agency), F Amir Johnson (free agency), F/C David Lee (trade)

Players Lost: F/C Brandon Bass (free agency), G/F Chris Babb (trade), F Gerald Wallace (trade), G Zoran Dragic (waived), G Phil Pressey (waived)

It looked like the Boston Celtics were destined for the lottery in 2014-15. They traded Jeff Green and disgruntled point guard Rajon Rondo. Through Jan. 25, the team was 15-27. Instead of looking at the playoff standings, Celtics fans were probably dreaming of lottery balls.

The team traded for Isaiah Thomas via the Phoenix Suns on Feb. 19. Thomas wasn’t a fan of being one of 2,818 point guards on the Phoenix roster. With Thomas in the lineup, Boston went 15-7, including a five-game winning streak to end the season, helping clinch the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Celtics had a 40-42 record going into postseason play.

The Celtics were predictably swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round, but it looked like Danny Ainge’s squad was ahead of schedule, even it had no true star.

A few other positive notes from the 2014-15 season for the Celtics:

The Celtics go into the 2015-16 season with the playoffs on their minds, but aside from acquiring David Lee (who really didn’t play at all last season), they haven’t improved all that much. They are banking on some of the young players to progress in a hurry.

Can one of these first-round picks turn into a stud?

So here we are. The Celtics made a smart move in cashing in on first-round picks from the Brooklyn Nets a few years back, but if it ends in mediocracy, will it justify trading a franchise player like Paul Pierce?

The Wolves were 1-1 against the Celtics last season. In Minnesota’s 110-98 win on Jan. 28, the Celtics didn’t have Thomas yet, so it’s tough to know exactly how that will translate.

Rookie Tyus Jones will likely have the task of guarding Thomas off the bench. Jones struggled with speedy guards during Summer League, so it will certainly be a test for the former Blue Devil.

Kevin Martin led Minnesota with 21 points off the bench while Zach LaVine put up 17 as a starter. A sign of things to come? If the Wolves get production like that from their two shooting guards, it’s tough to see them losing both game. A split should probably be the goal here for the Wolves.

The Wolves will play the Celtics in Boston on Dec. 21 and at the Target Center on Feb. 22. To find tickets, click here.

If the Celtics do make the playoffs, I don’t see them cracking the top-7 again. I think they’ll fight the Orlando Magic for the eighth spot, and ultimately end back in the lottery, failing to make back-to-back playoff appearances.

It’s a fun story, but the Celtics need a star if they want to contend.

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2015-16 Season Preview Extravaganza | The Celtics Need Someone To Step Up

Players Acquired: G Justin Anderson (draft), F Satnam Singh (draft), C Samuel Dalembert (free agency), F Jeremy Evans (free agency), G John Jenkins (free agency), G Wesley Matthews (free agency), C JaVale McGee (free agency), C Salah Mejri (free agency), F Maurice Ndour (free agency), G Deron Williams (free agency), C Zaza Pachulia (trade)

Players Lost: F Al-Farouq Aminu (free agency), C Tyson Chandler (free agency), G Monta Ellis (free agency), F Richard Jefferson (free agency), G Rajon Rondo (free agency), F Amar’e Stoudemire (free agency), C DeAndre Jordan (kidnapped)

For Mavericks fans, the 2014-15 season will be mostly remembered for how much of a nightmare the Rajon Rondo situation was.

Before Christmas, the Mavericks traded Brandan Wright, Jae Crowder, Jameer Nelson, a conditional first-round pick and a second-round pick in 2016.

The move didn’t just not work out, it was a freaking disaster. In his 46 games with Dallas, Rondo averaged 9.3 points (lowest since rookie season), 6.5 assists (lowest since 2007-08) and 4.5 rebounds (lowest since 2010-11).

The chemistry clearly wasn’t there with his teammates and it most definitely wasn’t there with head coach Rick Carlisle.

The Mavericks were 26-20 with Rondo and 24-12 without him.

The team ultimately was dominated by the Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs. Houston won 3-1 and Rondo didn’t appear in the final three games of the series.

Dirk Nowitzki continued to be Dirk, averaging 17 points per game and 5.8 rebounds per game while shooting 38 percent from the 3-point line. But he did play less than 30 minutes per game (29.6) for the first time since his rookie year in 1998-99. The team also had solid contributions from Monta Ellis (18.9 PPG) and Chandler Parsons (15.7 PPG), but Ellis is in Indiana now and nobody is quite sure when Parsons will be back in the lineup after undergoing knee surgery.

The team has plenty of obstacles to overcome after losing Ellis and Chandler in free agency paired with the injury concerns to Parsons and Matthews. This team doesn’t look like a 50-win team right now.

Can the team hold its own until Parsons and Matthews return to the lineup?

Without those two, the starting lineup probably includes Jenkins, Raymond Felton, Anderson, Nowitzki and Dalembert.

Parson’s return is unknown and Matthews probably won’t be ready until at least December. The Mavericks will have to avoid the bottom of the Western Conference if it plans to compete for an eighth seed in a loaded Western Conference.

Minnesota was 0-3 against Dallas last season. The Wolves will play the Mavericks four times this season, Jan. 10 and April 3 at home and Jan. 20 and Feb. 28 on the road.

It obviously all depends if the Mavericks are at full strength. The lineup listed above looks like one the Wolves could beat. But adding Parsons and Matthews to the mix not only bolsters the starting lineup, it gives the team depth. Carlisle is a smart coach and will adjust to whatever he’s given.

The Wolves should aim to split this series. Chances are the offense will run through Nowitzki (as it has since some of you were born) and rookie Karl-Anthony Towns will have the task of guarding him once Kevin Garnett subs out. He’ll need to stay down on pump fakes otherwise he’ll be out of the game in a hurry.

In my preseason predictions which mean absolutely nothing, I have the Mavericks sliding to 10th place in the Western Conference, missing the playoffs for just the second time since 2000.

Leapfrogging them in the standings? Kevin Durant and the Thunder. Anthony Davis and the Pelicans. And… Gordon Hayward and the Utah Jazz.

Rebuilding could be closer than Mark Cuban thinks. 

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2015-16 Season Preview Extravaganza | How Will The Pieces In Dallas Fit?

Players Acquired: G Rashad Vaughn (draft), F Chris Copeland (free agency), C Greg Monroe (free agency), F Marcus Landry (free agency), F Caron Butler (trade), G Greivis Vasquez (trade), F Shawne Williams (trade)

Players Lost: G/F Jared Dudley (trade), F Ersan Ilyasova (trade), C Zaza Pachulia (trade)

In his first season as the Bucks head coach, Jason Kidd worked wonders, winning 41 games, earning the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference.

We found out that Khris Middleton is very good, and he got paid for it after averaging 12.7 points per game last season. Giannis Antetokounmpo is more than just the Greek Freak. He averaged 12.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.6 assists and one block per game during his sophomore season.

This was all without No. 2 overall pick Jabari Parker, who tore his ACL after just 25 games into the season.

The team’s leading scorer was shoot-first point guard Brandon Knight, but the front office decided to gamble, bringing in Philadelphia second-year guard Michael Carter-Williams in exchange for Knight.

It was a risky move being that Carter-Williams was more of a passer than a scorer. He’s not a great shooter at all, but ended up being solid for Milwaukee in 25 games, averaging 14.1 points and 5.6 assists per game. However, he did shoot just 14.3 percent from the 3-point line.

The Bucks hope that Kidd can transform MCW into a better point guard. Remember, Kidd struggled shooting early in his career as well.

They ended up getting the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference and faced off against the Chicago Bulls in the first round. Milwaukee fell 4-2 in the seven-game series, including a 54-point Game 6 loss. But in the end, it was a successful season for a team that won just 15 games the season before.

Parker played just 25 games last season before tearing his ACL. In those games, Milwaukee went 13-12, so about on par with how the Bucks finished the season.

He averaged 12.3 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game while shooting 49 percent from the field. Twenty-five games is a pretty small sample size, but he held his own and many thought that he had the early edge on Andrew Wiggins for Rookie of the Year.

It looks like the starting lineup for the Bucks will be Carter-Williams, Middleton, Antetokounmpo, Parker and Greg Monroe.

Parker hasn’t played in a preseason game yet and likely won’t until the second week of October, so we’ll have to wait before we see the former Blue Devil in action.

 The Wolves fell to the Bucks twice last season by an average of 15.5 points.

 The Bucks are a tricky team. There isn’t one true star on this team, but there isn’t a guy you can just ignore (besides Carter-Williams from the 3-point line).

There’s really no exact formula here. Just play solid team defense. This team could become scary offensively with Parker, who can stretch the floor, and Monroe down low.

The Bucks will be better than they were in 2014-15, but I have them sliding back in the standings, to the seventh seed.

My standings in East (1-8): 1. Cleveland 2. Chicago 3. Washington 4. Atlanta 5. Toronto 6. Miami 7. Milwaukee 8. Orlando

Don’t sleep on that Milwaukee and Chicago matchup, though. An upset is waiting.

If Jason Kidd can turn MCW into a shooter, watch out.

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2015-16 Season Preview Extravaganza | Can Milwaukee Make A Run?

Players Acquired: C Nikola Milutinov (draft), C Cady Lalanne (draft), F LaMarcus Aldridge (free agency), F David West (free agency), C Boban Marjanovic (free agency), G Jimmer Fredette (free agency), G Ray McCallum (trade), G Georgios Printezis (trade)

Players Lost: G Cory Joseph (free agency), F/C Aron Baynes (free agency), G/F Marco Belinelli (free agency), C Tiago Splitter (trade)

Another season, another trip to the playoffs. The San Antonio Spurs didn’t go away in 2014-15 (and they don’t look to anytime soon).

The team finished 55-27, good for the sixth seed in the Western Conference, which seems unfair. But that’s how good the freaking Western Conference is. Five players averaged 10.5 or more points, led by Kawhi Leonard’s 16.5 points. Tim Duncan will never, ever go away. He might play until 2089. He averaged 13.9 points and 9.1 rebounds at 39 years old, which seems illegal.

San Antonio matched up against the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round, because again, the West is freaking tough.

In a series that NBA TV will have on a constant loop one day, the Spurs lost in seven games, prematurely ending a season that probably deserved to go a little longer.

Tony Parker wasn’t the same player at the end of the season and in the playoffs. And that’s to be expected after 1,211 games (regular season and playoffs) in the last 14 seasons.

We thought that maybe the window for the Spurs that we’ve come to know and love was closing. Maybe Manu Ginobili and Duncan would retire.

But then the Spurs did exactly what you’d think the Spurs would do.

They signed the best free agent available. Which brings us to…

Aldridge is used to being the focal point in Portland’s offense. He took a bunch of midrange jumpers and tended to hold the ball a bit longer, slowing down the rhythm offensively. That’s not necessarily a bad thing when you consider how good Aldridge is at pretty much everything.

But the Spurs play with ball movement and hit 36.7 percent of their 3-pointers, ranking sixth in the league. There will definitely be talks of Aldridge taking a step or two back to turn his attempts into 3-pointers.

It’s also worth wondering how Duncan and Aldridge will play together. It probably won’t be a problem since Duncan has adjusted to pretty much everything throughout his career.

The Wolves were 0-4 against the Spurs last season, being outscored by an average of 22 points per loss, which isn’t pretty at all.

With the Spurs, there’s no clear guy to stop. Austin Daye scorched the Wolves at the Target Center last season, so yeah, anything is possible.

The first focus should be on Aldridge, but it will really be about team defense to slow down Gregg Popovich’s squad.

It’s hard to bet against the Spurs and those who have done it over the last 15 years don’t have much to show for it.

I see the Spurs getting the third seed, behind the Clippers and Warriors. They will get a first-round matchup against the Grizzlies and beat them in six. I then have them losing in the second round to the Warriors in seven games.

This is a total guess, obviously. This team has everything it takes to win a title, much like six other teams in the Western Conference.

Right when you think they’re done, nope. Can LaMarcus Aldridge get them another ring?

2015-16-season-preview-extravaganza-another-window-opens-for-spurs

2015-16 Season Preview Extravaganza | Another Window Opens For Spurs

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2015‑16 NBA Season Preview