1-Man’s Opinion on Sports–Tuesday “NBA-Roll That Basketball Out Onto The Floor”
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“NBA-Roll That Basketball Out on the Floor”
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The much anticipated NBA off season is over. and Tuesday preseason begins.
Virtually all the big player decisions have been made, and now we see who fits the best, and who has problems fitting in.
Storylines to watch:
LAKERS….LeBron James taking his talents to Tinseltown. Pick a storyline, and there are a couple. How quickly does King James make all the young Lakers around him, better? What will Brandon Ingram, Josh Hart, Lonzo Ball and Kyle Kouzma be like? And secondarily, the other four free agents they imported, Michael Beasley, Lance Stephenson, JaVale McGee and Rajon Rondo, will they be added talents or added problems to team chemistry?
TORONTO….All are smiling right now in Toronto, and the Raptors think they are an Eastern Conference power, now that Kawhi Leonard has arrived. Only question, does the quad injury that wiped out his 2017 season and his relationship in San Antonio, flare up in Toronto?
BOSTON…The devastating knee injury opening night to Gordon Hayward hurt the team, then Kyrie Iriving went down, and yet still this young team had a surprisingly strong season run into the playoffs. Now the forward and the guard are both back. Going to be good, real good.
HOUSTON….They’ve firepower in James Hardin and Chris Paul and now they add Carmelo Anthony. Will he start, will he come off the bench? ,Will he fit all things Mike D’Antoni wants? And will the Rockets play defense?
MINNESOTA…On paper they look so good. Inside the lockeroom they look torn apart. Jimmy Butler, the gifted forward wants to be traded, and could be anytime this week. They still have Karl Anthony Towns and Anthony Wiggins, but on paper doesn’t win on the court, especially with the turmoil that exists right now.
GOLDEN STATE…The rich get richer, and now DeMarcus Cousins, passion-fury-personality-ego-talent arrives. He’s in a contract year and will tow the rope that Steve Kerr gives him..He has gifts, the Warriors have riches, at least for another year. Could a team like this actually win 80-games in a season?
CLIPPERS…This looks the beginning of a major rebuild job. The big three, DeAndre Jordan, Blake Griffin, and Chris Paul are all gone. Trades could be coming, but think about this. They have 2-max free agent contract slots. One right now for Jimmy Butler, the other next summer for Kawhi Leonard. Patience will be needed to see if they can connect the dots on this.
76ers….The distractions are gone, GM-Brian Colangelo fired, and ailing guard Markelle Fultz shoulder healed. Now to make it come together, Joel Embid, Ben Simmons and Fultz. They look so young, but are so good. Do they need a couple of veteran anchors to locak all this down?
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CLEVELAND…LeBron has exited the Cavs a second time, never to return. They still have Kevin Love and young players, but not enough. At least King James got them a ring.
SAN ANTONIO…This has been a historical decade long run for Greg Popovich and San Antonio, but now it is all different. Kawhi is gone (Toronto), Tony Parker is gone (Charlotte), Manu Ginobli is retired (Spain), and the Duncan-David Robinson aura has never been replaced. Will be a very different winter in mid-Texas this year.
Going to be fun to follow, and it all starts today in the NBA..
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