The Top 10 NBA Storylines Headed into 2018

The Top NBA Storylines Going into 2018

Its the start of the NBA season! Okay, not really, it has been going on for a few months now, but for some fans, the season doesn’t start until Christmas. For all those fans or for the ones that have been paying attention, but maybe just not as close until now, I thought I would count down the Top 10 storylines heading into the 2018 season.

We have already had multiple trade rumors. One of the best rookie classes since maybe the LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwayne Wade draft. We have had some of the “super-teams” struggling early, only to find their stride of late. And, we have had all the drama that surrounds a guy whose name rhymes with Gonzo Fall. All that and more in my Top 10 NBA storylines headed into 2018…

Is LeBron James to L.A. Still a Thing?

All the talk this offseason was how LeBron James and Paul George were both going to end up with the Lakers next season, and somehow team up with Chris Paul and/or Klay Thompson to form another West Coast super team.

The talk on this has died down some, and with James’ Cavs playing so well now with Isaiah Thomas due to be inserted into the fold soon, maybe the talk is all but dead.

The Lakers are starting to show promise with their young stars starting to play up to their potential, namely Brandon Ingram who had the “bust” tag thrown around a little in his rookie season. Bringing in James, George and either Paul or Thompson would mean the Lakers would have to give up a ton of their assets. I don’t know if they would be willing to do that.

There is, however, the chance that this same scenario could happen with the other L.A. team, the Clippers. The Clippers coach Doc Rivers is no stranger to dealing with multiple alpha dog players on the same team, having coached the Celtics’ big three of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce. They already seem intent on moving DeAndre Jordan, who would be the likely casualty if this super team were to be built.

To answer the questions, “Is the Lebron to L.A. still a thing?”

“In a word…”

“No.”

However, it could become a thing if the Cavs struggle at any point this season or if the Isiah Thomas experiment fails. The talk is dead now, but it could rear its ugly head again before the seasons over.

Will the New Orleans Pelicans Try to Trade DeMarcus Cousins?

This has been a rumor since…well… the first day of the trade that brought the man they call Boogie to New Orleans in the first place. No one was sure how it would work with two dominant big men on the same team in an era where teams are going small more often than not.

Cousins is a free agent after this season, will he resign with the Pelicans, or try free agency? Can the Pelicans afford to wait to find out? Will the Pelicans be good enough to entice him to stay?

The Pelicans are hovering right around .500 and could sneak into the playoffs as an eight or seven seed, which is more than Cousins ever had in Sacramento — but is that enough?  Or do the Pelicans move him, the only real asset they have outside of Anthony Davis and maybe Jrue Holiday, to try to get some more pieces to build around Anthony Davis?

Unless Cousins walks into the GM’s office and tells him explicitly that he wants to be in New Orleans next season, I think they have to trade him. They have no way to make this team better for at least another season. They have no assets to dangle as trade bait, and they’ve traded away their draft picks to the Kings to get Cousins.

Their only course of action is to trade him and get some draft picks and/or young players that could help this team grow around Anthony Davis. And then hope and pray Anthony Davis can stay healthy long enough to take this team to the next level. Bleacher Report did an article of some of the potential places the Pels could try to trade Cousins, and all of them would be a long-term approach to having a better team in two-three years.

The Spurs are Still the Three-Seed in the West Despite Not Having Kawhi Leonard. Are They a Title Contender With Him Back?

Listen to a few of these names; Pau Gasol, Rudy Gay, Dejounte Murray, Kenny Anderson, Tony Parker… I could go on, but does this sound like a team that should be the three-seed in the West? It’s amazing to me the job that Greg Popovich has done to do to keep his team in contention with a bunch of spare parts plus LaMarcus Aldridge.

Leonard is back in the lineup and is slowly being worked into the rotation, and the question is, “Is this team, with an average age of 28 years (one of the older teams in the league), still a contender in the West?”

“Yes, as long as Greg Popovich is the coach, this team can contend”

Now, there is a difference between “contending” and “being favored”, but Leonard is a game-changer on both sides of the court. The Spurs were up 25 points on the Warriors in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals last season before Leonard got hurt. They ultimately lost that game and eventually were swept by the Warriors in four games, but what could the Spurs have done had Leonard been healthy? We will never know… unless they meet again this year in the playoffs.

Are the Knicks Really Better Without Carmelo Anthony?

Carmelo Anthony had only two seasons over .500 during his Knicks tenure — the first two years he was there. After that, it was four straight sub .500 seasons until finally being traded this offseason to the OKC Thunder. As it stands now, albeit only 30 games into the season, the Knicks are over .500 and would be the 8th seed in the East if the playoffs started today.

“Are the Knicks actually better without Melo?”

“Yes, yes they are.”

They may not have as much “on paper” talent as some teams, but without Melo, they are more of a team then they were with him. He was a black-hole on offense. Once the ball got into to his hands, it rarely left. And, don’t get me started on his defense — if we can call it that.

Going into 2018, it will be interesting to see if the Knicks can continue their solid play and stay above .500. They would likely be a first-round exit, but it would be better than what they were the last four years with Melo and Phil Jackson.

The Cavs Early Struggles Have Turn to Dominance, but Can They Beat Golden State?

On November 9 the Cavs were 5-and-7 and four of those seven losses came in consecutive games to the Nets, Pelicans, Knicks and Pacers. Not exactly NBA royalty. The media were all over this story, everything from, “The Cavs won’t even make it to the Conference Finals” to “LeBron James already has one foot out the door.”

And then it happened. They reeled off 13 straight victories and went 18-and-2 overall since losing to the Rockets November 9. James is once again playing at an MVP level, and would likely win it if the season ended today, Dwyane Wade has embraced his role off the bench, Kevin Love is doing Kevin Love things, and while the Derrick Rose experiment didn’t work out, they still have Isaiah Thomas coming back at some point in 2018.

But, are they good enough to beat the Warriors? Probably not, as long as the Warriors are healthy and at full strength, which brings me to my next storyline…

Why is No One Talking About the Warriors Injuries?

During the Warriors dominance over the last few seasons, they have been able to stay relatively healthy, but so far this season, that hasn’t been the case. Outside of Klay Thompson, every member of the “Big Four” has missed multiple games due to injury.

I know it’s early, and the Warriors would likely rest them anyway, but injuries have a way of breaking up chemistry and/or coming back to rear their ugly heads at the most inopportune times — like, say, in the playoffs. Steph Curry missed the big rematch with the Cavs on Christmas day and he finally made his return on December 30.

The Warriors are still winning and they may have enough firepower to survive in the regular season, but when it comes to the playoffs, it won’t be as easy to overcome these injuries if they can’t remain healthy. It’ll be interesting to see how 2018 goes for these Warriors in a season in which everyone has all but handed them the trophy already.

Can We Just Give Ben Simmons the ROY Award Now?

Ben Simmons has been everything he was hyped to be — and then some. He is averaging 17 points, nine rebounds, 8 assists, two steals and one block per game so far this season. One rebound and two assists away from averaging a triple double! If he maintains those numbers for the rest of the season and, god forbid, he does not get hurt, the trophy is his, hands down.

With that said, this rookie class may be one of the better classes we have had in a while. Donovan Mitchell has been a pleasant surprise in Utah, Kyle Kuzma is the best rookie in L.A., but even fellow Laker rookie Lonzo Ball is having a pretty good NBA rookie season despite what the media would have you believe.

Other guys, like Jason Tatum, Dennis Smith Jr. and Lauri Markkanen have all made significant contributions to their respective teams.

Unfortunately, for all rookies not named Ben Simmons, it’s a race to see who finishes second, but it’s a great race to watch, as these guys and a few I didn’t name, are all putting up impressive numbers.

The Oklahoma City Blunder. Have They Turned it Around?

If it wasn’t for the Cavaliers trade of Kyrie Irving to the Celtics, then what the Thunder did in free agency would have been all the talk. Not only did they land Paul George and Carmelo Anthony, but they also extended Russell Westbrook’s contract. The media were calling the Thunder the second best team in the West and thought they posed the biggest threat to the defending champion Warriors.

After 20 games, they were barely a playoff team and rumors were already starting to spread that the newest “Big Three” couldn’t play together. Rumors that Paul George could get traded to L.A. before the deadline. And rumors that Melo was a cancerous ball hog that was ruining team chemistry.

And then something clicked. They have gone 11-and-3 in their last 14 games, including four wins against potential Western Conference playoff teams after beating the Houston Rockets on Christmas Day.

This team will continue to be under a microscope with last year’s league MVP Russell Westbrook, Paul George and Carmelo Anthony forming one of the most unlikely “Big Three” in the league’s history. Can they become the team the media thought they’d be? We will have to wait and see.

Danny Ainge is Basketball Genius.

This isn’t really a question per se heading in 2018, but more of a statement. The Celtics were the No. 1 seed in the East last year and made it to the Eastern Conference Finals. That’s a pretty good team, right? Maybe they need a piece or two to build on that great season, right?

Danny Ainge looked at his roster and answered those questions with a resounding, “NO”.

There are only four players still on this Celtics team that was on the team last season. Let me say that again. There are only four players on the Celtics roster that were on this roster last year.

And what have they done with all these new faces? How about they currently sit at the No. 2 spot in the East and had a ridiculous 16-game win streak earlier this season?

I was very critical of Ainge when he made the trade that sent Isaiah Thomas to the Cavaliers to bring in Kyrie Irving. I felt that he gave up too much for a guy that was only a slight upgrade over Thomas.

I was wrong. Danny Ainge is a GM genius and I’ll be curious to see what he does next? Will he make any moves before the trade deadline? Or will he go after any of the top free agents this off-season? Either way, I will never question Ainge again.

Lonzo Ball’s Struggles to Live Up to the Hype, Can He Turn it Around in 2018?

Ball has had a very up and down season thus far. He has a couple of triple-doubles and/or near triple-doubles, but he hasn’t shot the ball very well with a paltry 35 percent from the field and he sometimes lacks aggressiveness on the floor.

He is finishing out his 2017 year in street clothes with a left shoulder sprain that will keep him out a few weeks. When he returns in 2018, the questions will return, “Can he live up to the hype?”

It doesn’t help that his teammate and fellow rookie, Kyle Kuzma, has soundly outplayed him so far this season. Truth be told, Ball is having a good rookie season — at least for any rookie whose last name is not Ball. He currently averaging 10 points, seven assists and seven rebounds on the season, which are far better numbers than last year’s Rookie of the Year point guard Malcolm Brogdon — but the hype and unnecessary pressure that his dad put on him this season, has led to everyone thinking he is terrible.

Hopefully, for his sake, sitting on the bench for a few games with an injury will allow him to re-center himself and have a better 2018. The Lakers are better than everyone expected and if Lonzo Ball can be what he was hyped to be, they might be a playoff team in 2018. We will have to wait and see….

Thanks for reading and we will see you in 2018!

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