Ty's 2017-2018 NBA Preview: Grizzlies, Clippers, Trailblazers
/Two quick hits before I get back into my 2017-18 NBA countdown today.
First, I was going to write a whole article about how I am embarrassed to be a Michigan Wolverines football fan, but I slept on it, and I am not. I'm embarrassed how they played this past Saturday, and they need to not be so god damn predictable on offense, but I have come to the realization, with the youth and John O'Korn at QB, they will be worse than mediocre on offense all season. They were horrendous on Saturday night, and I feel like that will continue to be the case the rest of the season. I'll hit more on it when I do my mid season checkup. But, instead of sitting here and airing out frustrations about the Wolverines, I had an epiphany watching them. While they are great on defense, they are going to struggle the rest of the year because their offense is so far behind. I picked them to win 10 games this year, they look more like a 7 or 8 win team. And this talk of Harbaugh being a poor coach or bolting for the NFL is getting real annoying. If he wants to leave, fine. If he wants to stay, great. But every year I am sick of hearing all the "experts" say that, "this is the year Harbaugh bolts for the NFL". Give it a rest until he does leave. Enough Wolverines football talk.
The other quick thing I mentioned, I saw "Blade Runner 2049" last Friday and it is amazing. I'm not going to spoil anything because this is a movie that everyone needs to see in the theaters. With that being said, it lived up to my very high expectations. The tone, the visuals, the music, the writing, directing and acting, the graphics, everything about this movie is perfection. Please do yourselves a favor and go see this exceptional movie. It may be almost 3 hours long, but it never felt like it was. Go now and see "Blade Runner 2049".
Okay, the quick hits are out of the way, lets get back to the NBA preview. We will finally get a playoff ready squad today.
At number 18 I have the Memphis Grizzlies. I pored and pored over where to put this team. They have been really good to great for the majority of my twenties and early 30's. But, they lost a ton of key players this offseason. Tony Allen, Zach Randolph and Vince Carter are all gone. I know those guys are old, but they were some of the most important glue guys to the "grit and grind" style they play. They do still have Mike Conley Jr and Marc Gasol though. Conley Jr has turned himself into a premiere point guard. It was so hard for me to see this, because of where he played college ball, but damn is he good. He gets the big guys involved, he runs the offense perfectly and he has turned himself into quite the scorer. Marc Gasol is one of the better big guys in the league too. He is an exceptional passer and can fill it up too. He is also underrated as a defender in my opinion. But, after those guys, it gets murky and that is why I don't see them as a playoff team this year. Chandler Parsons will get hurt. He always does. His contract is dreadful for this team too. Ben McLemore is going to love being away from Sacramento, and I even wrote how I liked the signing, but he is what he is in the NBA. He is wildly inconsistent. Andrew Harrison could be good, but he hasn't shown it yet. JayMychal Green has the makings of a decent player, and with more playing time, he could get there. Mario Chalmers is back, but he is toast, especially after tearing his ACL. Tyreke Evans is too much of a ball stopper and not good enough of a shooter to do that. They drafted Dillon Brooks and Ivan Rabb, but I don't see how they get much time with the other guys on this roster. I feel bad for Conley Jr and Gasol. They are good, but if things start out rough I could see the Grizzlies blowing it up and trying to trade them to contenders. I still like this team, but they need an entire new identity, and that will be tough to find.
At number 17, just outside of my playoff teams, I have the Los Angeles Clippers. I do not get the hype surrounding this team. They lost a ton from a group of players that never really achieved much of anything anyway. They lost Jamal Crawford, JJ Redick and, most importantly, Chris Paul. That is brutal. How is DeAndre Jordan going to fair without Paul? I think it will be disastrous for him. I know Crawford is most likely done, but who will be his replacement for instant offense? Lou Williams? Isn't he the same player? Wesley Johnson? He isn't that good of a pro. Danilo Gallinari? How long until he gets hurt? Oh, that's right, he punched a guy in a Euro League game, and he is already hurt. What about Redick's replacement? I think he is pretty overrated, but Austin Rivers as his replacement, bull shit. Rivers might be a solid defender, but he is a horrid shooter and an all around bad offensive player. Blake Griffin is the point forward, and the face of the franchise now. But, he isn't one tenth the guy that the Clippers think he is, LeBron James. Griffin is incredibly overrated, and how long until he gets hurt? He will miss time again this year. You can bet on that. I do not like Patrick Beverly's fit on this team. I like Beverly's game, but he will not thrive off the ball, and Griffin is going to be the primary ball handler on this team. Sam Dekker is of no consequence in the NBA, and the same can be said for him on the Clippers. Jawun Evans and Sindarius Thornwell were good picks, but will Doc Rivers even play them? He didn't play Brice Johnson hardly at all last year, and he is a full year behind the rookies from his class. I do not see this team staying healthy, and even if they do, I do not see them being a 44 or 45 win team like some others do. They are, at best, a .500 team.
The final team for today, the first "playoff" team, is the Portland Trailblazers. The Trailblazers play no defense at all. They are really bad on that end of the floor. But, when you have Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, you can outscore enough teams to win enough games to push to the playoffs. Hell, they made it last year with those 2 as their only threats. Where the Trailblazers struggle is the front court. I love how well Jusuf Nurkic played after he was traded, but he needs to do that for a full year before I fully buy in. He also suffered a rough injury in their first round playoff appearance. Meyers Leonard is trash. Why this dude is still in the league, and not in the G League or overseas, is baffling to me. Al Faroq Aminu is a pretty good player, and if you forget about him on offense he can score. He is not a horrible third option. Evan Turner just doesn't fit with this team. He had a good thing going in Boston, but he got a big contract, and I can't fault him for taking the cash. He just is way too ball dominant, and that doesn't work on a team with Lillard and McCollum. Noah Vonleh is a bust. He was all hype and has been no production. Maurice Harkless is a fine 8th or 9th guy, but he plays too many minutes on this team. Zach Collins was a so so pick. I do not like that they took him that high when he really didn't prove himself until tournament time. I do like the Caleb Swanigan pick though. That kid has had to work extra hard for everything in his life, and his work ethic is unparalleled. He will be a great grinder in the NBA. The Trailblazers are not great by any stretch of the imagination, but they won 41 last year, and Lillard and McCollum will only get better. I could see them winning 43 or 44 games this year to just get in to the playoffs and get swept by the Warriors.
That's it for today. Come back tomorrow for the next 3 teams. Nothing but playoff level teams from here on 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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