By Dawson Oler
Hard for me to believe that the NBA season is back upon us.
With the amount of interaction teams and players have in today’s media, it
seems that every year there are more and more storylines to keep track of and
keep us interested at the start of the season. How will the Cavaliers be with a
fully healthy roster and seemingly intense chemistry? Will Steph Curry repeat
as MVP, or will James Harden or Anthony Davis swipe his crown? How will Durant
be after his injury-riddled 2015 season, and will this be his last year in OKC?
Are the Spurs really going to be a top NBA threat again? Can the Miami Heat stay healthy and make a run at the
Eastern Conference?
These are all questions we will not be tackling this week in
the slightest as we take on the bottom teams of the NBA. These are the teams
that have slim chances to make the playoffs in this season, even in the East.
Instead of focusing on each team’s best and worst case scenario, instead I will
give you the reason why these teams should be your new favorite team coming
into the upcoming season. We’re going to find the silver linings in each of
these team’s smelly garbage piles of a roster.
30- Philadelphia 76ers
In year three of Sam Hinkie’s
notorious “process” to acquire talent, things aren’t looking good for
Philadelphia. I’m not the first to predict Philadelphia to be the worst team in
the league coming into the season, but a little known fact is that they have
yet to finish as the league’s worst team. If we follow their statistical
approach, I’m likely going to be wrong putting them as last.
But have you seen their roster? It’s hard for anyone to predict the 76ers to have much of an impact this
season. I will always admire their dedication to this process. Philadelphia is
committed to purging itself of mediocrity in order to find the best talent they
can and build towards the future. Don’t count on that being the 2015-2016
season.
Why They Should Be Your New Favorite Team: Jahlil Okafor is poised
to be the best rookie in the NBA this year, and mixing his offensive skill with
Nerlens Noel’s defensive prowess will make for a compelling duo. Nik Stauskas
will also have a much better season now that he has left the black hole that is
the Sacramento Kings..
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29- Denver Nuggets
If you’re also tired of the
argument that the NBA features the same good teams year after year, point them
to the Denver Nuggets as an example of how quickly things can change. Remember
in 2013 when they traded a plethora of young talent for Andre Iguodala and were
suddenly a top 3 team in the crowded Western Conference? Well, after Curry had
his breakout performance in the first round that season, nothing has gone right
for Denver. After reports of players skipping shootarounds and two Ty Lawson
DUIs later, they’re looking like one of the worst teams in the league.
Question marks abound about Danilo
Gallinari’s health, rookie Emmanuel Mudiay’s readiness to start against NBA
point guards, and how long Mike Malone will put up with Kenneth Farried’s idea of defense,
but the Nuggets do have the most potential to rise from the cellar this season.
Playing in Denver gives them an advantage (they had the 2nd largest
difference in Winning % from home to road games last season) and Mike Malone is
a solid head coach who was fired for no reason last year (refraining from
slamming Sacramento’s front office again).
Why Should They Be Your New Favorite Team? Although Malone’s teams
aren’t usually the most fun to watch, it will be interesting to watch Faried
play for a competent head coach again. Also, who doesn’t love Danilo
Gallinari’s comeback story?
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28- Portland Trailblazers
Believe me, it pains me to see the
‘Blazers this low as much as anyone. Here’s a team who started two All-Stars,
two solid NBA starters, and a lockdown defender last season. It’s just not fair
what happened to them. After losing 5 of their top 6 players in one off-season,
this is the most questionable team in the league.
Of course Damian Lillard is one of
the most exciting young players and is set to have his true breakout season
this year, and Terry Stotts has done nothing but great things for Portland in
the past, but picturing them winning any more than 27 games is nearly
impossible. Like Denver, I don’t see Portland being a bottom-5 team for long
(especially if they are able to acquire a top college prospect next year in
either Ben Simmons or Jaylen Brown), but don’t expect to see Portland atop the
Northwestern Division heading into the playoffs.
Why They Should Be Your New Favorite Team: Terry Stotts is a crafty
head coach whose teams are fun to watch, and Damian Lillard can have his own
Steph Curry moments at times. This team reminds me of the 2011 Golden State
Warriors, and we all know how that turned out for them.
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27- Los Angeles Lakers
As a Laker fan, 2015 was a tough
season. With Kobe Bryant tearing a rotator cuff and #7 overall pick Julius
Randle breaking his leg in garbage time of his first NBA game, some points of
the season were simply unwatchable. To emphasize a point, there were times
during the season where Ronnie Price and Carlos Boozer were playing heavy rotation
minutes. In 2015.
Although the Lakers struck out
with big name free agents like Kevin Love and LaMarcus Aldridge this offseason,
improvements are coming. Roy Hibbert, Brandon Bass, and Lou Williams were
acquired along with drafting potential superstar D’Angelo Russel. Jordan
Clarkson (Western Conference Rookie of the Month last March) and Julius Randle
will have full seasons to work with, and if this team can stay healthy, they
are going to be at least somewhat
competitive.
Why They Should Be Your New Favorite Team: Is this even a question?
Now is the time to hop on the Lakers bandwagon and not have to deal with
intensive hate. Plus, who can hate a team with Nick (sorry, "Nicholas") Young on it? Combine that with the chance of this being Kobe’s final year and
the Lakers won’t be half-bad to watch this year.
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26- Minnesota Timberwolves
Any Timberwolves fan will remember
2015 as a bittersweet season. The sweet being watching the growth of Andrew
Wiggins, the dunk contest performance of Zach Levine, and the return of Kevin
Garnett; the bitter being leading the league in injuries, resulting in players
like Lorenzo Brown and Arinze Onuaku getting playing time.
Even though they’ll be healthy
this season, are we really sure that will last? Ricky Rubio, Kevin Martin, and
Garnett have a combined one healthy
season in each of the last four. Pekovic’s career high in games played is
65. While it’s optimistic to say
that Minnesota’s improved health will translate into wins, history would tell
us not to expect that. However, I’ve rated every team so far with a fully
healthy season in mind, so I will do the same for Minnesota.
Why They Should Be Your New Favorite Team: Don’t make this too
easy! Definitely the most young talent in one spot in the league, Wiggins, #1
overall pick Karl-Anthony Towns, and high-flying Zach Levine makes the T’Wolves
a can’t miss team of 2016. Get well soon, Flip Saunders.
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25- Brooklyn Nets
What’s going on in Brooklyn? After
limping to the 8th seed and giving Atlanta a tough 1st
round series, Brooklyn seems to be a total mess. There are positives, sure,
like getting rid of below-average point guard Deron Williams and starting the
season with a seemingly healthy Brook Lopez. But in comes Jarret Jack to
replace Williams, and when have we ever been able to count on Lopez? And with
their only consistent star Joe Johnson potentially on his way out after nearly
being traded over the summer to Cleveland, it’s hard to be excited for
Brooklyn’s upcoming season.
The
only thing Brooklyn has going for them is being in the worst division in the
NBA. With 16 games (20% of the season) being played against the Celtics, 76ers,
Knicks, and Raptors, and another 36 games being against other Eastern
Conference teams, it’s easy to start adding wins. Brooklyn will have a month or
two of solid NBA ball, but that’s all you have to look forward to.
Why They Should Be Your New Favorite Team:
If you can’t tell by the previous two paragraphs, there aren’t a lot of great
things going on in Brooklyn these days. So why would you pick them as your
favorite team this season? To echo Nets head coach Lionel Hollins, “I don’t know, man.”
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24- Orlando Magic
If there’s one statistic the
Orlando Magic could lead the league in, it’s potential. Their roster, top to
bottom, has more upside than any team in the NBA and they’re all healthy
entering the season. You may
wonder why I consider them a cellar-dweller and not in the mix for an Eastern
Conference playoff spot (which, let’s be honest, almost every team is in).
The reason is because that’s what
we have thought entering the season for the past three years without any
results. Tobias Harris, Nikola Vucevic, Victor Oladipo, and Evan Fournier have
all been poised to make a leap for some time now, and I don’t see this being
the season. I look for stretches in the previous season of dominant play, or
major stretches by key players, and besides Elfird Payton grabbing consecutive triple
doubles late in the season, this year will likely be another weak year for the
Magic.
Why Should They Be Your Favorite Team: Well, I could be completely
wrong. They have some freakish athletes and Victor Oladipo projects to be one
of the best two-way players in the game over the next few seasons, so why not?
I also look forward to the Scot Skiles coaching era in Orlando- he has proven
to be a good nurturer of young talent after his stints with Phoenix, Chicago
(rookies Luol Deng, Tyson Chandler, and Ben Gordon going on to become All-Star
caliber players).
Make sure you check back next week as we examine the teams
who are on the rise.
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