Ty's 2017-2018 NBA Preview: Wizards, Bucks, Rockets, Thunder

On to day 8 of my NBA countdown.

Coming in at number 8 I have the Washington Wizards. The Wizards are a lot like the Raptors,  I like the Wizards back court way more. John Wall is one of the best point guards in the league. The dude can flat out fly. He is so quick with the ball in the open floor. He is an explosive dunker. He has kind of gotten himself a jump shot. He is a very good defender. I love everything about John Wall's game. I also love that the Wizards front office finally realized how great he is and gave him that enormous contract. Bradley Beal, when healthy, is a great scorer. He finally played, for him, a full regular season, and he was great in the playoffs. He is the perfect compliment to a player like John Wall. He doesn't need the ball all the time, and he can hit some open shots. He got so much better last season. His health is the biggest factor when determining how he will look, but if he can play as many games this year as he did last year, he is going to be an All Star. I'm a fan of Otto Porter Jr. He was looking like he was going to be a bust, but he turned all that around last year. He really showed he was worth the third pick when they took him, and his game got so much better. He is a very good open shooter and an okay enough defender. Marcin Gortat is there for the toughness he brings. He isn't a scorer, but he can rebound, play defense and he will put fear into opponents with some hard fouls. Kelly Oubre is turning out to be an okay player. He is kind of figuring it out, and he is the best bench player the Wizards have. Markieff Morris, just like his brother Marcus, is a pretty decent NBA player. Markieff can hit open shots, he plays defense and he brings it every night. What the Wizards lack, and what will be their downfall in the playoffs, they have no real depth behind Oubre. Ian Mahinmi is a waste of a contract. He was horrendous last year, hurt all the time and in the preseason, just look at how he got dunked on the other night. Tim Frazier was their "big" free agent, but he hasn't really done anything in the pros yet. Jodie Meeks is there, but his best days are way behind him. Mike Scott came over as a free agent too, but so what. The Wizards rely solely on their starting 5. Now, I love their starting 5, but they need some help on the bench, especially come playoff time. If they can get some real bench players, they could make some noise in the East. But, as I see them now, they are a 50 win regular season team and a first or second round out in the playoffs.

At number 7, and I am going way, way out on a limb for this team, I have the Milwaukee Bucks. First off, they have Giannis Antentekoumpo. He is amazing. He is freakishly athletic. He is so long. He has bulked up. He is a highlight reel every night. Once this kid gets a jumper, and he will, there will be no stopping him. He is next. He will be a perennial all star and always in the MVP conversation. Antentekoumpo is amazing. After Antentekoumpo, it gets kind of murky, but it is also filled with players that play within their limitations. Jabari Parker looked great last year until he got hurt, again. If he can stay healthy for 60 games or so, he and Giannis make up for a great tandem of forwards. Parker is an excellent scorer and a great floor runner. Malcolm Brogdon was a great surprise. Now, we get to see if last year was for real or a fluke. I like to think he is going to be a decent NBA player, so lets hope he continues to get better. Thon Maker showed some flashes last year, and he should frighten opponents if/when he starts to figure it all out. He is built like Giannis, only a bit thinner and not as polished yet. Khris Middleton is an underrated scorer. He, mush like Parker, gets hurt too often, but when he is in there, he gets buckets. He is good for anywhere between 18-22 points a night. Matthew Dellavedova stinks. Luckily for the Bucks, they can now rely on Brogdon and Middleton. If all Greg Monroe did was rebound and play defense, he'd be one of my favorite players. But sometimes he tries to do too much offensively. He is such a good rebounder and a good enough defender, that is all he should do. John Henson is a pretty decent vet. He is tall, can shoot and plays a little defense here and there. Tony Snell has gotten so much better since he was traded to the Bucks from Chicago. He is doing all the little things that help playoff teams continue to stay in the playoffs. I think DJ Wilson is a great fit with this team. He won't be asked to do too much, and he can team up with a guy like Maker on the second team and they can use their length and ability to stretch the floor to scorch other second units. The Bucks have one super star and a bunch of role players. In the East that is more than enough to challenge for a top 4 seed. This team will go as Giannis goes, and by all indications, that is up.

At number 6 I have the Houston Rockets. The Rockets got better this offseason. I'm still not too sure of how Chris Paul and James Harden will coexist happily, but they got better. Paul is one of the best point guards ever. He is so good at running an offense, and I think he will be fine in Houston. James Harden was a revelation last year. He looked so good. Hopefully that is the guy the Rockets get this year, and not the guy from 2 seasons ago. I am a big Clint Capela fan. He is an excellent rim runner and I love his tenacity on defense, which this team needs since they are not that good on that end. Eric Gordon was healthy all last year and he won Sixth Man of the Year. He was a great bench scorer and a knock down three point shooter. If he stays healthy, expect more of that this year. Same with Ryan Anderson, except he isn't as good as Gordon, and the Rockets want to trade him. Nene is still a good NBA player. When he went down in the playoffs last year, the Rockets missed his toughness and inside presence. He needs to be in this lineup for this team to succeed. The other guy the Rockets got this offseason, PJ Tucker, will bring some added toughness along with Nene. I still am not too sure how he fits, but he is a consummate pro, and the guy will do the dirty work with a smile. Every contender needs a player like that. Trevor Ariza is still there and he is still another three point threat. His defense has tailed off, but the dude can still shoot. I like Tairk Black on this team. This was another move to make this team tougher. They got pushed around a bit last year, but with Black, Tucker and Nene, that won't happen as much. Luc M'Bah A Moute is gone from the Clippers, and I think he will have much more fun playing with this group of guys. The Rockets are going to be a good to great regular season team. You don't add Chris Paul and get worse. But, both Paul and Harden have been the ultimate playoff chokers. Will that change this year? In the hyper competitive West? We will have to wait and see.

My final team for today, coming in at number 5, is the OKC Thunder. Tell me another team that had a better offseason? I'll wait. Cant think of one? That's because the Thunder got Paul George and Carmelo Anthony and offloaded Victor Oladipo's contract and traded away three players that they couldn't play in the playoffs last year. Oh yeah, Russell Westbrook is still there too. I mean, Westbrook, George and Carmelo, that is one hell of a big three. Paul George, while not KD, is a perfect fit next to Russ. He doesn't always need the ball, can score when open and attack the rim, is one of the best defenders in the league, and he is in a contract year. He is going to be awesome this year. Carmelo, if he plays like Olympic Carmelo, will get so many open looks he won't know what to do with himself. This is one of the best places he could have been traded to. Russ will have to taper down his work load, something I think he will be fine with, but don't expect him to not go 100 percent every night. He will continue to play his ass off and the Thunder will benefit from that. Now, it will take a little bit of time for these three to figure it all out, but when they do, watch out. The Thunder also have Andre Roberson. Yes he is a horrendous shooter, but give all of his shots to Anthony or George, and let him focus on what he does best, play defense. He and George will be able to lockdown legit back courts by themselves this season. I love this pairing. Steven Adams is going to be able to rebound and kick all year long. He is a guy that doesn't care about stats, and on this team, that is perfect. The thing that should worry Thunder fans, they do not have a great bench. It is okay, but not great. Alex Abrines is a fine player, but he still needs time to develop. Their draft pick, Terrance Ferguson, who knows. In his tapes he looked great, but when you talk to some people that scouted him, they say he comes and goes sometimes. I do love the idea of Patrick Paterson as their sixth man. He is a real good all around player and they got him on a great contract. He is their best bench player. Jerami Grant, while hyper athletic, I just don't see him as a great talent. Raymond Felton, he is too old and only getting slower. Semaji Christon and Josh Huestis are more likely to be in the G League when the season starts. Same with Dakari Johnson. There is no denying how much better and how surprising the Thunder got this offseason. You don't add two great players and not expect to get better. As I have said, it may take 15-20 games, but when the Thunder's new big three figure it out, they are going to be awesome. I could honestly see them push for the 2 seed in the West.

That's it for today, come back tomorrow when I am back to just three teams.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

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