Ty's 2022 - 2023 NBA Season Preview: Raptors, Timberwolves, Hawks
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Welcome back to my 22-23 NBA countdown. I hope you all had a good weekend. I do understand that the season starts tomorrow night, but when you go on a vacation a week before, you gotta do what you gotta do.
At number 15 I have the Toronto Raptors. I do not know where to put my finger on this team. I like Nick Nurse. I like the roster. They have guys that have a ring. They are gritty and play awesome defense. They do not have one guy that can beat you, they have several. But they are low on superstars. They don't have a ton of guys that can create their own shot. They play an older style of basketball, and against the better teams, that doesn't always work. I adore Pascal Siakim. I think he is finally healthy. I think he is ready to become "the guy" for the Raptors. He can score and play defense. I just want to see it be put all together this season. The time is now. Fred Van Vleet is awesome. He has been an all star. He got paid. He plays hard every night. He is just small. Scottie Barnes is a star in the making. He will take over this team in a few years. He is such a great modern day NBA wing player. He has all the tools. OG Anounoby has the potential, but he is either hurt or plays a little too scared. Gary Trent Jr is a perfect role player for this team. Chris Boucher has taken a little step back, but he has the tools. Thad Young found his way to the team, and he seems to add a little bit to every team he has played for. I like Precious Achiuwa. I think he is a very good backup center. I like his toughness. Khem Birch is very underrated. I love the Otto Porter Jr addition. And I like the Christian Koloko pick, but I don't think he will get a ton of time. I put very little stock in their preseason. This is a tough, grind it out team that other teams hate to play. You will leave Toronto bruised. They should be a playoff lock, especially in the East.
At 14 I have the Minnesota Timberwolves. The T'Wolves are on the come up. They had a breakout season last year. They remind me a lot of the Grizzlies from two years ago. They also went out and swung for the fences in the trade market. They traded away a good portion of their future to land Rudy Gobert. Gobert is great. He is the best defensive big in the NBA. He is a wonderful rim protector and can cover the perimeter when asked. I love this deal for Gobert. It is perfect. Karl Anthony Towns is one of the best offensive bigs that the league has ever seen. He is so smooth, can score in the post and he won the three point contest last year. He is an amazing offensive player. But he is not great defensively and he makes the most inexplicable fouls ever. He needs to clean it up on that end. Anthony Edwards is a star. He is so good. He has amazing hops and can create a shot from anywhere. He is incredible. D'Angelo Russell is a bust, in my opinion. But on this team they do not ask him to do much. His three point shot has regressed, but he can pass and get to the rim. I was bummed to see Kyle Anderson leave Memphis. I was even more bummed when he signed with Minnesota. Anderson is the perfect role veteran. Jaylen Nowell is solid. Taurean Prince can do some things on both ends of the court. Jordan McLaughlin gets run on this squad. They brought in Austin Rivers and he is okay. Wendell Moore is a solid rookie. The T'Wolves have the guys they just have to put it all together now. Gobert and Towns are going to be tough in the post.
The final team for the day, at 13 I have the Atlanta Hawks. This is a put up or shut up year for Atlanta. They were in the East Finals two years ago. And last year they were swept by the Heat as the 8 seed. The Hawks do not play much defense, but they went out and mortgaged their future for Dejounte Murray. I love this move. I love Murray. He is going to explode this year. He is going to blow up on the scene. Everyone is going to be gassing him up all year. He is going to show out. Trae Young is an awesome offensive player. He is so good at what he does. He is crafty and shifty and a pain to guard. He also plays zero defense. John Collins is still there, and I still like his game. He is a good rim runner and he can shoot. He is also okay on defense. Clint Capela continues to be great when he has a great point guard throwing him lobs. He should be better on defense, but he is still good. When healthy, Bogan Bogdanovic is a knock down three point shooter. De'Andre Hunter has all the potential to be the Hawks version of an incredibly poor man's Kawhi Leonard. He can get there. I like that they went out and got Justin and Aaron Holiday. They are siblings and solid vets. Onyeka Okongwu is a good backup center. AJ Griffin could get some run. The Hawks have a very likable roster. There are no guys who I actively root against. They should also be a lot better this year than last year. And I am a big time fan of the Murray trade. The Hawks should be a playoff lock.
That is it for today. Come back tomorrow for the next 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.