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Zurab Talakvadze
Now, the magic starts. NBA season is ready to let us through the flood and fire. The gates of Valhalla will once again be covered by the blood of heroes and let the holy war begin! NO prisoners in this bloodshed as always.
Angel City awaits. Lebron James is starting another journey, but this time as a co-star of always entertaining and hungry for immortality Lakers. Luka Doncic, a generational star and slimmed down assassin will be there for the King. They played together in the second half of last season and Lakers went just 15:8, but this time there will be no ifs for this juggernaut. Lebron is Lebron, so the comparisons to His Airness still arise. What Lebron needs to do, is reload the hunger in his ageless body to have a perfect chemistry with Luka and some newcomers along the way. Enter Markus Smart. Finally, healthy and motivated after a layout since leaving Celtics. Enter Deandre Ayton. A pivot built for Luka and man, there will be plenty of lobs and jams in this clubhouse. Ayton makes Lakers defense stronger, Smart makes them smarter and JJ Redick is entering his second year at the helm this team. This Lakers has the grit, has the firepower and some hunger as well. Lebron and Luka will deliver.
A Country for Old Men. This time, the sequel does not feature the brilliance of Joel and Ethan Coen, nor the immortal craft of Javier Bardem or iron face Tommy Lee Jones. This American neo-western thriller has some new co-stars. Enter Clippers. Enter the of the injured, but still deadly Kawhi Leonard. Enter the Beard. James Harden can make even Ivica Zubac look like an all-star player. Enter Some highly motivated newcomers in Bradley Beal, Chris Paul, John Collins and Brook Lopez. Enter the always injury-affected stardom of a team, that has one more championship ride along the way. The offense is deadly. The defense could be elite as well. Leonard is nearing the immortality and Clippers will be fun to watch and hard not to support. What is prioritized this time? The high seed in the deadly Western Conference or just the simple availability of the healthy veterans for the play off battles? We never know, but one thing is for sure: this team will click from the start.
One ball is not enough? Well, make it three at a time. Sacramento will be in the play offs, but these Kings are destined for an early exit. You count on the talent of Zach LaVine and he can highlight any given game on any given day. Zach is that good. You count on the ever active DeMar DeRozan and his jump shot. You count on Domantas Sabonis with his immense talent and experience. They just added Mr Westbrook to the mix and can we offer the league another countdown to extinction with those Kings? One ball will not be enough to make them happy. They still lack the depth and still rely too much on those bad jump shots to make everybody happy. LaVine and DeRozan did not cooperate well in Bulls and they still need some grit to be happy. German NT hero Dennis Schroder will have enough experience to share and Keegan Murray is a star in making, but still, this team is not there yet. Head Coach Doug Christie will have to give young fella Nique Clifford some more time to make this team gel. Time will tell.
The Spurs of the moment. This team will be clicking. This team will forget the Big Trio showtime and will try to reload quick. And, this team will rely too much on the magic of Victor Wembanyama. Who was on his way to be voted as the Best Defender before going down and missing the second half of last season. Spurs are for real will aim to get somehere around 45-47 wins to enter the play offs from deep and deadly West. De’Aaron Fox I finally healthy and ready to give Spurs a deadly-1-2 punch with Wemby. Stephon Castle will only get better and now you add to the mix Dylan Harper, who can click and defend like an elite from the start. Wemby is clearedto play from the start and this is a deep cut for the rest of the league. That thrombosis thing is (finally) over and this monster comes after season where he did average 3.8 blocks per game. He can easily ump that to 4 and Wemby will averaging over 20 points, 12 boards and some 4-5 dimes as well. The Beast is unleashed. Beware.
Nicola Show. What do you make of some tall guy averaging 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds and 10.2 assists per game? Just make him happier and surround him with more sharpshooters. Nicola Jokic is on his way of becoming the all time Top 10 player and the legacy is there. Jokic just can not be better. And Denver, fresh after giving OKC a fight for the ages before going down in Game 7, will deeper this time around. Nuggets did not hesitate and traded the always popular Michael Porter Jr. for another shooter Cam Johnson and thus, improved the roster around Jokic. They brought back the fan favorite Bruce Brown, retooled the second unit with Tim Hardaway Jr. and gave Jokic some needed space by signing Jonas Valanciunas. This team is destined for a deep run, but now, after West became Avengers battlefield, Denver will need some rested bodies along the way to be ready and willing in play offs. Jokic can easily average triple double again, but the rest should be hungry as ever to click in April and May. Jokic is just too good to miss the Finals again. And, this time again, he will need to go through …
The Champs. They are just too good, too young and dangerous. They are led by one of the smartest guys in the history of the game (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander) and they will get the rested and better second star in Jalen Williams, who had a hell of a play offs last year. We all discuss the magic Victor Wembanyama, but almost none of us tends to speak in a high volume about the brilliance of Chat Holmgren. The guy is unreal. The guy is a two way monster, that clears the space for Shai and gives much needed freedom to Jalen to operate on both ends of the floor. OKC had a historic season one year ago when they set the bar for point differential and they need to defend the title. Thunder are long on defense and deep on offense, while they provide some killer units in the process. They survived in the Finals, they outmuscled Denver and they learn fast. They can become the first team in the last seven years to defend the title, but the road will be tough to handle. Are they ready? They better do.
The rest. We mostly went through the West, but one team in particular stands out in the East as well. Here comes Orlando Magic. Where Paolo Banchero will have to play at another level to give his team a chance in play offs. He can average more than 25 points per game and be a better stopper. He should cooperate with Desmond Bane to give his team a better chance in the do or die situations. He and should assist more to give his team a better chance of surviving. Well, a better rebounding should help too. We can not forget the wisdom of Golden State, this time built around an even older core of Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green and added in the mix Al Horford. They will need bodies rested for play offs and will need more from that Kuminga guy. The Rockets just signed Kevin Durant. But lost the only real point guard Fred Van Vleet alomg the way. Tough pillow to swallow. Houston should get to 50-52 wins, but will need a miracle to have a realistic shot for a Finals.
MVP?
Finals? Denver beating New York 4:2. Finals MVP: Jokic.
