Ty's 2017-2018 NBA Preview: Celtics, Spurs, Cavs

Day 9 of my NBA countdown.

At number 4 I have the Boston Celtics. First and foremost, I believe that the Celtics might be the most overrated team in all of the NBA. But they are playing great in the preseason you say. They traded for Kyrie Irving and signed Gordon Hayward you say. They have a great coach you say. All of that is good and well, and I clearly think they will be a good team, I have them at fourth overall, but I do not buy the hype that they will dethrone the Cavs and beat the Warriors. First off, Kyrie is an otherworldly scorer. I have never seen someone in my generation that can slip and dive through cracks and spin the ball off the backboard perfectly and score almost every time. If his shot gets blocked, I am surprised. He is also a decent outside shooter. Kyrie is a wizard with the ball too. He is one of the best ball handlers I have ever watched. His offense is not debatable. Where he struggles is defense. He doesn't seem to care about that side of the ball. He will try from time to time, but I feel like he is always looking to see what he can do on offense. He is always thinking ahead, but not always in the best way. Kyrie will do wonderful things during the regular season, but come playoff time, he will learn the harsh reality of not playing with LeBron. I have a very hot take on the other "big" free agent signing the Celtics had this offseason. I do not think Gordon Hayward is a top 20 player in the NBA. He is good, but a guy to build a franchise around, no way. Joe Johnson was better in the playoffs last year than Hayward. Same thing for Gobert. George Hill going out hurt them more than if Hayward had gotten hurt. Hayward couldn't do anything against the Warriors. Dante Exum looked better at times than Hayward did. Hayward is a fine 4th or 5th option, but a franchise leader, no. I'm excited for guys like Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown finally getting a chance to start. Brown is an explosive athlete who will only get better with the extended playing time. Smart is an awesome defender, he lost weight this offseason and he appears to have found his college stroke from three. Al Horford is a fine forward. Nothing more nothing less. Marcus Morris is a solid player, but I'd much rather have Avery Bradley, who they traded for Morris. Bradley is a better shooter and defender. Aron Baynes does nothing to move the needle for me. He is big, a decent rebounder and an okay defender, but he hasn't been that good since he left San Antonio. Jayson Tatum appears to be a legit scorer, but I look at him like I do Kyle Kuzma. I want to see Tatum do it against the best the NBA has to offer before I anoint him the next great scorer in the league. Terry Rozier is a very good instant offense guy and he has earned his shot at 20 plus minutes a game. I do really like the Semi Ojelaye pick. That dude is big and strong and can shoot. Much like the hype that the Lakers and 76ers are getting, I say temper the expectations with the Celtics. They will be a very good regular season team, but they have 4 new starters and it will take awhile before they mesh. Also, we will finally get to see how good of a coach Brad Stevens truly is. He now has super star players, so lets see how he handles the egos.

At number 3 I have the San Antonio Spurs. I know, they are old and hurt and don't have anyone besides Kawhi Leonard. Well, that was good for 61 wins last year. I'm done counting this team out. They have the best coach in all of the NBA history. Yeah, I said it. And they have Kawhi. Kawhi Leonard is an amazing basketball player. The things he does on defense are downright amazing, and he has turned himself into a great offensive player. He is a guy you can rely on now. LaMarcus Aldridge has been a disaster since signing there. That much is true. But, he had a conversation with Poppovich, and by all accounts they aired everything out. Maybe this will help Aldridge accept his role on this team and he will play better. We will see. Tony Parker and Manu Ginobli are ancient in NBA terms, but Ginobli came up big in the playoffs last year, and Parker can still run the offense pretty well. Patty Mills is a very underrated, very good basketball player. He plays the way the Spurs play, and it is a thing of beauty. Pau Gasol is back, and while he was a bit down last year, I think he could have a much better season this year. He is no Tim Duncan, no one is, but if he can replicate some of his numbers, he will be worth every penny. Danny Green is a very good three point shooter and a great defender. I love Dejounte Murray. He is long and lean and athletic. He is so wiry and he is a great future replacement for Parker in a year or 2. They signed Rudy Gay. I'm kind of blah on this signing. But, if/when he comes back, I think he will be a decent addition. He can still score, and with some coaching from a great staff, I see Gay fully buying in. Kyle Anderson has been biding his time, and now, I think he is ready to take that next step to being a 20 minute a night guy for this team. The Spurs never have the biggest names, Kawhi being the lone exception, but as I said at the top, I'm done saying that this team is done. Poppovich is the best NBA coach ever, and as long as he is there, the Spurs will be in my top 5.

The final team for today, coming in at number 2, the Cleveland Cavaliers. Sorry LeBron, but you will finish second once again. But, LeBron is the best player in the game. Whatever team he is on, they will be either number 2 or 3 on my list. LeBron has more than lived up to the hype when he was drafted and he is just an incredible basketball player, and an even better person. LeBron James is all around amazing. The Cavs did lose Kyrie, and they replaced him with Derrick Rose. Yikes. Rose is not the player he once was. I'm curious to see how he reacts to playing with a guy like LeBron. Rose has always been "the guy", but not anymore. I know that, the Cavs know that and most of the media knows that, but I do not think Derrick Rose does yet. Dwayne Wade is back with his buddy, and he is one of the best 2 guards ever, but he is old, often injured and only plays about 50-60 games a year. He has also been a non factor in the playoffs the past couple years. They traded Kyrie for Isaish Thomas and Jae Crowder. Thomas is a great, great scorer, but he is an awful defender and he is hurt and will miss a ton of time this year. I am a big Jae Crowder fan. He has turned himself into a very quality NBA player. He can hit the open three and he is immediately the Cavs best defender. Kevin Love is going to be playing the 5, but I feel like Love is half the player he used to be. He shoots from outside way, way too much and he isn't the great rebounder he was in Minnesota. He will help stretch the floor, but other than that, what does he do? Tristan Thompson is now the sixth man, and he seems to be taking it in stride. I think this will be great for him because he will be able to come in, grab boards, hustle and get put backs. This is an ideal fit for him. JR Smith has ben pushed to the bench, and he isn't happy and I totally agree with him. Right now in their careers, I'd rather have JR Smith on the floor in crunch time that Wade. I never thought I'd ever say that, but I honestly feel that way. Smith has made a ton of clutch shots lately for this team, and being pushed to the bench so Wade can start next to LeBron is pretty crummy. Kyle Korver and Iman Shumpert are of no consequence to this team. Korver was horrendous in the Finals last year, and Shumpert was even worse. The Cavs drank the Jeff Green kool aid, and I would be shocked if he is still getting minutes halfway into the season. I'd be more shocked if he were still on the Cavs by midseason. Richard Jefferson is there, but he is more known for his podcast now than as a player. Same thing for Channing Frye. And why did they sign Jose Calderon? Don't they already have enough guards? The Cavs are great because LeBron is a once in a lifetime player. They will be able to easily coast through the East, and even though they got older this offseason, they will walk to the Finals, only to get beaten by my, and almost everyone else's number 1 team, which you will have to wait until Monday for.

Come back next week to see who it is, if you haven't already figured it out.

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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