23 Intriguing Questions Heading into the 2017-2018 NBA Season

With the new season starting much earlier this year, NBA basketball is just a month away! With that being said there are some burning questions for teams, owners, and the commissioner that we can’t wait to see unfold in the next year. So let’s take a look at the 23 most intriguing questions of the 2017-2018 NBA season.

23. Will the Fire & Ice experiment work?

Without question, the Pelicans now have the two best big men in the league on the same team. Unfortunately for them, we are now in the analytics era. Three-pointers and free throws are king and the low post game is a dying breed. The 29 games that Boogie and AD played together were basically just a trial run, but it wasn’t anything to write home about. I get what the Pelicans are trying to do: they are zigging when everyone else is zagging, but I really don’t think this experiment is going to work out in the long run. If you were in charge of an NBA franchise and were doing a 30 team serpentine draft to rebuild a team from scratch, you wouldn’t ever think to take Al Horford with your first rounder and then come back and take like DeAndre Jordan in round two. It just doesn’t make sense (especially in the 3 & D era) You have to diversify your team, spreading your talent and salary cap spread out among all five positions. Having Cousins on the Pelicans is a luxury for them. Their wing players to start the 2017 season are Rajon Rondo and E’Twaun Moore, making them probably the worst perimeter team in the league. Having your two best players play basically the same position is a strange team dynamic, and they just don’t have any shooting around them whatsoever. I think this experiment is going to be a huge failure. (Boogie has never been on a 40 win team), I’m predicting that New Orleans finishes as the 10th seed in 2017 and Cousins leaves for L.A. in free agency.

22. What is a team of Ben Simmons, Joel Embiid, and Markelle Fultz going to look like?

I completely understand why Sixer fans are losing their minds in Philly. The City of Brotherly Love has some of the most elite, young talent all on one team that we’ve seen in a long time. I’m really excited to see these three guys on the court together. They are definitely going to be one of my go-to League Pass teams. ”The Process” is all about stacking assets and acquiring as much talent as possible (even if they play the same position: Noel, Okafor, Embiid) but I do have my concerns about the dynamics of this young core. I have this gut feeling that this team is a better team on paper than as an actual basketball team. For starters, their three young stars have played a total of 56 college/pro basketball games in the last 365 days. Embiid is the riskiest player in all of basketball right now, having played just 31 games in three seasons. One more injury and I think his career comes to a close (Humans just weren’t meant to be that big). Another big question and concern I have is I don’t know what position Ben Simmons plays. Is he a 3 or a 4? For some reason, he is allergic to any shot beyond 10 feet from the rim. I worry that he doesn’t have the shooting touch to make it as a 3 in the small ball era. There are also some reports suggesting that Ben Simmons shoots the ball with the wrong hand. His dad turned him into a lefty during his youth and shooting experts around the league think that his mechanics are terrible because he is not a natural born left-hander. I think the make-up of this team is a little strange, much like the Pelicans. I just don’t think all the pieces fit right together, but only time will tell with this young team. I can’t wait to watch them this upcoming season.

21. What will the NBA do to combat teams resting players?

Addressing this issue is the NBA’s number one priority heading into the 2017-2018 season. It is a polarizing topic that’s gotten the old timers riled up; calling today’s league soft. If you are a team like the Warriors or the Cavs you can still get the 1 or 2 seed by resting your stars 6 or 7 games throughout the season. So why wouldn’t you? The NBA can’t do anything about teams resting their players with rule changes. Even if they could, teams would just say “Oh Steph Curry has the stomach flu tonight” or “Klay Thompson has a migraine, can’t suit up” The NBA came up with a small change by moving the season up to the 17th of October to give schedule relief for back-to-backs. However, it is unlikely that even that won’t stop many teams from resting their stars. This is a tough issue that I don’t see having a clear-cut solution right now. We will see what Adam Silver does in the coming months because it really sucks for the fans.

20. Can Russell Westbrook and Paul George coexist this season?

I’m sure there is an actual statistic somewhere in the depths of basketballreference.com, but I don’t even need to look it up. I know for 100% fact that Westbrook had the ball in his hands more than anybody in NBA history last season. Westbrook had always been the deputy to Sheriff Durant in OKC, but last year he was given the key to the city and never looked back. He won the MVP, averaged a triple-double, got a lot of airtime and media attention and made a ton of money with Jordan (even though they lost in the first round of the playoffs) This was by far The Brodie’s best season and the most fun he’s had as a player. I’m not convinced he is ready to give up being “the man” in OKC. Now don’t get me wrong. Paul George is not a better player than Westbrook, and he isn’t going to overtake the throne or anything. However, I just think the guy who criticized C.J. Miles for not giving him the last shot in a playoff game isn’t going to mesh well with the most ball-dominant player in the league. Westbrook quite literally carried that team last year, and I think he really loved being the guy who OKC would lean on. I’m sure PG13 isn’t too thrilled about playing with Westbrook this upcoming season. I don’t think Russ is a lot of fun to play with (he scared KD away basically) There will definitely be some growing pains between these two, even if it is just for one year.

19. How does Brooklyn dig themselves out of this hole and embark on the toughest rebuild in NBA history?

The repercussions of the KG-Paul Pierce trade have sent the Nets franchise into the stone ages. I know in hindsight that trade looks like the worst in NBA history, but at the time it didn’t seem like that bad of a deal. The Nets ended up with a lineup of Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce, KG, and Brook Lopez. They won a playoff series and nearly made it to the Eastern Conference Finals. They also couldn’t foresee those picks winding up being top 3 picks. When they made the trade, they assumed those picks would be in the 10-15 range. The Nets barely won 20 games last year and they lost their would-be 1st overall pick to the Boston Celtics. Not only that, but they lose next year’s first-round pick (most likely top 3) to Boston AGAIN. Before the D’Angelo Russell trade, they had exactly 0 assets to build around for the future. I think Sean Marks is a really good GM, and he is going about this rebuild the right way. The Nets strategy is very clear right now: take on terrible contracts like Mozgov, Crabbe, & Carroll in exchange for first-round picks. They have very few big contracts on the books, so they may as well take on some cap while accruing first rounders. If you polled every player in the league and asked him to rank teams 1-30 on where they would like to go as a free agent, Brooklyn would likely be #30 on almost every player’s list. If you can’t attract players in free agency then the only way to gain assets is through the draft. This is truly going to be the toughest rebuild in NBA history. How do you rebuild a team when you have no first round picks in the top 10 and players don’t want to come to play for your team? It’s going to be a long time until Brooklyn is relevant again. I’m very interested to see how they try and dig themselves out of this hole, but they are going about it the right way.

18. Are we going to see the 11-30 Heat or the 30-11 Heat next season?

The Heat were the feel-good story of the NBA last season. After starting out as virtually the worst team in basketball, they made an incredible turnaround from a .250 win team to a .750 team in the second half of the season. They did so with basically just Hassan Whiteside, Goran Dragic, and the rest were D-Leaguers and role players…heck Hassan Whiteside was a D-Leaguer too. Going into the season, most fans believe we’re going to see the 30-11 team that figured it out throughout the course of last season. However, let’s not forget that this team was also on track for the 1st overall pick in January with the same exact roster. The big question for next season is: can James Johnson, Dion Waiters, and Josh Richardson play at the high level that they did last year? Another intriguing question is: what are we going to see from Justise Winslow? Before he got hurt, they made a concerted effort to give Winslow the ball and have him play point forward. It failed miserably. The Heat played much better after he went down, so how is he going to fit in on this team? The East is so terrible that Miami can walk into the 5th seed, but if everything goes as planned I think the Heat could make a nice playoff run in 2018.

17. Who takes home Rookie of the Year in the most stacked draft class since ’03?

This class had so much talent and was so loaded that I actually tuned into some Summer League games this year. The ’03 draft was stacked, but was extremely top heavy and didn’t have a lot of depth. This class, from top to bottom, had talent in all areas of the draft: Dennis Smith at 9, Monk at 11, Jordan Bell at 38. This draft had a ton of firepower all across the board and there is really no clear favorite for rookie of the year (Don’t forget Simmons is eligible for ROY) Vegas odds has Ball +200, Smith Jr +300, Simmons +375, Tatum +500, Fultz +1000. It’s a total crapshoot, especially when injuries to starters come into play. Maybe some playing time opens up for guys like Josh Jackson or John Collins. Because of this rookie class, I’m going to be tuning into a lot of random Kings, Sixer, and Suns games on League Pass just to see a couple minutes from the next wave of NBA talent. Hopefully, the 2017 draft class can make up for all the lack of talent in last year’s class.

16. Who is the primary ball handler in Houston now?

Behind Danny Ainge, Daryl Morey is the smartest GM in basketball. “Morey Ball” a.k.a. taking a ton of 3’s and layups has turned a team of Harden and a bunch of misfit wing players to the 3rd seed in the Western Conference. Houston had an excellent season last year. They had a 6th Man of the Year, coach of the year, and would have had an MVP if Westbrook averaged 9.9 APG. I love what Morey has done for this franchise. All other 29 teams are trying to copy his formula, but this move puzzled me quite a bit. What Houston did here was to put themselves into basically an anti-New Orleans situation. They now have a great playmaker in Paul, but he also plays the exact same position as Harden. Houston now has two of the three most ball-dominant players in the league on the same team. Harden was an amazing playmaker and distributor for HOU last year, leading the league in assists, so why go out and get Chris Paul if you’re trying to compete with the Warriors? Why not upgrade at SF or PF instead, getting a player who can defend Durant, not another distributor. I would have liked to see them go out and get PG13 or Carmelo. I just don’t think Paul and Harden can play together considering there is only one ball on the court. Another thing…the Rockets set a league record for 3’s in a season and Morey wants even more 3’s in 2017. However, it just so happens that Chris Paul’s bread and butter throughout his career has been an impeccable mid-range game, something that Morey despises. This trade just doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. As with these other new mash-ups of players, I will definitely be tuning into a few Houston games in October to see how these two mesh.

15. Is it time for the NBA to consider moving the three-point line back?

Mark Jackson said it best, “Steph Curry’s the MVP. He’s a champion, but to a degree, he’s hurt the game. And what I mean by that is I go into these high school gyms, I watch these kids, and the first thing they do is run to the 3-point line. You are not Steph Curry” The analytics era is here, and there’s no looking back. Teams are taking three-pointers at an alarming rate. The Rockets just set the NBA record for threes made and attempted in a single season, and Morey wants them to take even MORE in 2017. The Cavs had to make a Finals record 25 shots beyond the arc just to get one win in the Golden State series. You look at a team like Minnesota. 10 years ago, a team with talent like Butler, Wiggins, Towns, Teague would have been a lock for the 3rd or 4th seed…but not in today’s NBA. Daryl Morey showed us that a team of James Harden, Lou Williams, Eric Gordon, Ryan Anderson can be way more effective by just driving and kicking out for open 3’s (Coincidentally the Rockets put up 153 points in a non-OT game against the Wolves last year) We’ve now come to a point where big men like Brook Lopez and JaMychael Green are honing their shot just to keep up with the ever-changing times. This issue is down towards the bottom of Adam Silver’s to-do list. Yet when you watch a regular season NBA game now, it’s nothing more than a 3-point and FT contest with a mixture of some transition game. It’s becoming a tad bit boring just seeing these incredible athletes take jump shot after jump shot. If the NBA continues to go towards this 3-point barrage (which it will) I think Silver will have to think about widening the court and moving the arc back to about ~25.5 feet. The NBA’s competitive advantage is that they have the best athletes in the world posterizing each other and making incredible passes, not pulling up from deep with 17 seconds left on the shot clock.

14. Who is the Alpha Dog in Minnesota now?

It’s a tough call between Philadelphia and Minnesota, but heading into 2017 I think the T-Wolves are the most intriguing team to watch develop and grow. I know they haven’t made the playoffs yet, but Minnesota looks like a legit contender in the West. With the addition of all this new talent, it begs the question: “Whose team is this?” This will now be the third straight year that there’s a new “face of the franchise” in Minnesota. It started with Wiggins; then transitioned to KAT, and now most people view Butler as the new golden boy in Minnesota. They haven’t played a game together yet, but the talent on its own has the makings of a super team. They have a top 12 player in Butler, a top 15 player in KAT (only getting better), and a top 35-ish player in Wiggy. We’ve seen super teams mesh well (like the Warriors and ’08 Celtics), but we’ve also seen some teams butt heads and blow up (like the 2012 Lakers, ’97 Rockets, 1st year of the Heatles) There will definitely be some growing pains in this first year. It’s going to be fun to watch all these guys play together. We’ll see how well they mesh in the coming year.

13. Just how bad is the Eastern Conference going to be this season?

For about the last 20 years there has been a major imbalance between the conferences and in 2017 it’s at an all-time low for competitiveness between East & West. All the stars went West this summer: Paul George, Jimmy Butler, Millsap, and Brook Lopez. If Carmelo is traded they may as well not even have an all-star game this year. Basketball is the easiest sport in which to predict future standings in. So just looking at the rosters in the East, these teams will most definitely not be in the playoffs next year: Nets, Hawks, Bulls, Knicks, Magic, and probably the Pacers. So there are nine teams fighting for eight spots. Now I’ve never been a proponent of merging the conferences and having the top 16 teams make it. All the other leagues are split up by location. Just because there are a ton of incompetent GMs in the East, I don’t think the NBA should abolish the conferences. However, this imbalance of talent is having me rethink that argument a bit. A few years ago in 2013, the Phoenix Suns had a 48 win season and still missed the playoffs, while the Bulls locked up the 3rd seed in the East with the same amount of wins. It might even be more lopsided this year. Adam Silver has said that he doesn’t believe in merging the conferences, but maybe this season will change his mind.

8. How much LaVar Ball are we going to see this year?

7. Will Boston run into chemistry issues this season?

Boston was wheeling & dealing this summer as they acquired 11 new players that were not part of last year’s squad. 11 players is basically an entire roster! Boston’s entire starting five looks different besides Al Horford. You rarely see a shake-up like that, especially after a team makes it to the Conference Finals. Brad Stevens is a top 5 coach and one of the best minds in the game, but managing 11 new faces, personalities, attitudes, beliefs, etc. is overwhelming for anybody. Danny Ainge is trying to put the best team on the floor from a talent perspective, but he might be sacrificing the chemistry of the team in the process. The Isaiah trade sent a message to the players that I’m sure Danny did not intend: no matter what you have done for the franchise, you can be dealt just like that. Every single player on the Celtics was in trade rumors this off-season: Jae Crowder, Marcus Smart, Terry Rozier, even Jayson Tatum said he thought he was going to be a Cavalier. “You’ve been traded to….” is the last phrase any athlete wants to hear (unless you’re on the Nets) That can cause major tension between players and front office. Nobody’s job is safe in Beantown. In basketball, more than any other sport, talent usually wins. However, chemistry is no doubt second on the hypothetical ‘ingredients list’ of what makes a great team. There will no doubt be a microscope on Boston this entire season. We’ll see how the players handle it.

3. Is there a snow ball’s chance in Hell the Warriors don’t win the Finals?

On the “Against All Odds” podcast, Bill Simmons mentioned that before the season started he placed a bet on all 29 other teams besides GSW to win the 2017 NBA title. 29 against 1, and we all know how that turned out. When Durant decided to leave OKC and join the Warriors, Adam Silver even said that the move wasn’t good for the league (obviously because we know who is winning the championship for the next 3 seasons) The Cavaliers winning the title in 2016 could not have been a better situation for Golden State when it came to building a future dynasty. If not for Draymond Green‘s groin punch, the series would have been over in 5 games and KD would not have joined the defending champion Warriors. We mustn’t forget that Kevin Durant joined a 73-win team and GSW’s only real competition is San Antonio and Cleveland. Yet neither team did enough to improve this off-season. The only way Golden State does not repeat will be because of injuries. If I had to take a guess, I’d say there’s a 3-5% chance the Warriors don’t win the title this year. Even if they lost Curry or KD for an extended period of time, they have three other all-stars they can lean on.

2. Does the Kyrie-Isaiah trade change next year’s East standings at all?

As Jeff Sherman tweeted out, “NBA Title odds prior to Kyrie/I Thomas trade…. Cavs 4/1   Celtics 10/1   NBA Title odds after trade…. Cavs 4/1   Celtics 10/1.”  Vegas doesn’t think the trade made any difference for next year’s championship, and I’m of the same opinion. The Cavs got a really nice haul for Kyrie and finessed their way into a Brooklyn pick for the future. They replaced Kyrie with an all-NBA talent in Isaiah and got Crowder and Zizic in the process. Much like the last seven seasons, I am betting on whichever team has LeBron James on their squad to make it to the Finals out of the Eastern Conference. Looking at Boston’s team last year: Thomas, Bradley, Crowder, Olynk, and Al Horford was their starting five in the ECF. That’s not a very good lineup (may be a testament to how bad the East is) This year it will look a lot different: Kyrie, Brown, Hayward, Morris/Baynes, Horford. This is an improvement but still is not enough to beat Cleveland, and it’s sure as hell not beating Golden State. People forget that Boston was the 1 seed in the regular season last year, but even so, Cleveland nearly swept them in the Conference Finals if not for an Avery Bradley buzzer beater. I believe Boston will make it back to the ECF this season and could give the Cavs some trouble, but Cleveland still has LeBron and two other all-stars. So the Cavs and Warriors will most likely meet again in the Finals for the fourth straight year. However, if LeBron leaves this summer Boston (With all their assets and young talent) might have a monopoly on the East for years to come.

1. Is 2017 LeBron James’ farewell tour in Cleveland?

The biggest question of the 2017-2018 season is: where will LeBron go when his contract is up next summer? Most NBA fans believe he is going to L.A., but LeBron has not addressed the question and given a definitive answer. Cleveland is a total mess right now after getting embarrassed by the Warriors in 5 games. Of course, the team didn’t get much better this off-season and Kyrie didn’t want to play with The King anymore. Although LeBron said in the SI letter that he wanted to retire a Cav, the writing is on the wall for LBJ. A lot of writers and media members are speculating that he’s going to leave for L.A. next summer. James does live there in the offseason; it’s a much bigger market and his pal David Griffin got fired inexplicably, which I’m sure made his blood boil. LeBron can really do whatever he wants because he delivered on his promise and brought a title back to Cleveland. (Cavs fans will still be oh so salty if he leaves again) All LeBron cares about is winning. Nobody is beating Golden State for the next 2-3 years, so why would he leave the East to join Lonzo and PG13 in the West? The three of them just aren’t beating Golden State. He may as well coast into the Finals by dominating the East like he has every year for the past seven seasons. But of course, there are many factors at play, and only LeBron knows what his true plans are. However, I think the LBJ to L.A. noise is very real and if I had to bet my life on it I would say LBJ  & PG13 are both wearing purple & gold in 2018. We will see how this season goes for LeBron, but if this off-season was any indication, I think he finishes his career a Los Angeles Laker.

(Credit Tykes.co for images)

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