Ty's 2024-2025 NBA Preview: Title Favorites Division

Welcome to day six of my 2024-25 NBA countdown. Today I have the top five teams in my countdown. Tomorrow I will do my postseason predictions, including awards and Wednesday will be my men's NCAA basketball preview. Anyway, let's get to the top five teams.

At 5 I have the Philadelphia 76ers. The 76ers won the offseason. They got the biggest prize of all. Paul George is now a 76er. I know he has a hyperextended knee right now, but by all accounts, he should be good to go at the start of the season. George is a perfect fit with this team. He will add late game scoring and very good defense. This was a great move. Joel Embiid is going to scale back all the games he has played during the regular season since he became an all NBA player. I think this will help him out. He will be able to go all out all the time and he shouldn't get hurt nearly as much. I love this move and it should help keep him on the floor more often than not. Tyrese Maxey has vaulted into an upper tier caliber NBA player. He is such a good scorer, he fits wonderfully and he has gotten better every season since he has been in the league. Kelly Oubre Jr returned and he has looked very good since he joined Philadelphia. Kyle Lowry will be a very good, very pesky backup guard. They got Caleb Martin at one hell of a deal. He is a wonderful role player and he is gritty as hell. They also signed Reggie Jackson and Eric Gordon. The 76ers have been making solid moves to get great vets to add to their roster. They also signed Guerschon Yabusele, who was awesome in the Olympics. The 76ers made excellent offseason decisions and they could reap the rewards. They need to stay healthy.

At 4 I have the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder are ahead of schedule. They were the number 1 seed in the West last season, and they will probably be there again this year. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is elite. He is going to win an MVP, maybe even this season. He has elevated his play every season, and I don't see that changing anytime soon. Lu Dort is a tank of a defender and he can shoot, well he can shoot sometimes. Getting Alex Caruso for Josh Giddey was a total robbery of the Bulls. Caruso is an upgrade in every possible way for the Thunder. Chet Holmgren shocked me and a bunch of other people when he played all 82 games last season. I don't see a repeat of that, but he is a pretty darn good rim defender. He does still need to bulk up though. Jalen Williams has taken a few steps each season. I now expect him to take a leap. He has all the tools to be a great second or third option on this team. Isaiah Hartenstein is going to add toughness and rebounding. He should be a nice change of pace for this team from Holmgren. Isaiah Joe is a pretty good shooter. Cason Wallace is fast as hell. The Thunder are young, good and ready to make the jump to a finals favorite. They're that good.

At 3 I have the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Timberwolves are a threat to the Thunder, and all other West teams for that matter. Anthony Edwards is awesome. He is one of the best young players in the league. He has confidence and the ability to crush in the NBA, which he is already kind of doing. AE is one of my favorite players in the league. He is endlessly watchable. Rudy Gobert is a head case, but the dude can play defense. He is big and strong and can move. He is the best rim protector in the NBA. Mike Conley has fit in quite nicely as the head vet in the league. He is constantly mentoring the younger dudes, and they seem to love it. Jaden McDaniels is an elite defender. He is as lockdown as they get in the league. Naz Reid is coming off a Sixth Man of the Year award, and he will get more responsibility now, which he can definitely handle. They got Donte DiVincenzio and Julius Randle in the KAT trade. This is a good deal for all teams. Randle brings scoring and DiVincenzio brings space and shooting. And I really like the Rob Dillingham pick for depth. The Timberwolves are relevant, they have a superstar and they are fun as hell to watch play basketball.

At 2 I have the New York Knicks. When doing this countdown I couldn't believe that I had them ranked this high, but here we are. Jalen Brunson is a superstar. All he needed was the correct amount of minutes and a front office and coaching staff that believed in him. He got both with the Knicks. They got Karl Anthony-Towns in the aforementioned trade. He is going to do pretty well with this team. He is a solid defender, he loves to shoot and he has a past with Tom Thibodeau. They also acquired Mikal Bridges via trade this offseason. He adds a ton of what they need. He is a shooter, a slasher and a very good defender. OG Anunoby, when he is healthy, is a very good Swiss army knife of a player. He is one of the best defenders in the NBA. Josh Hart does it all. And he never leaves the floor. Mitchell Robinson is hurt yet again. But, when he is on the floor, he is a strong rebounder and defender. Precious Achiuwa and Jericho Sims are nice backup bigs. And Miles McBride had a pretty good playoff appearance last season. The Knicks are a very good basketball team. They have a very well constructed roster. They have pretty much everything they need to win big this year.

And finally, at number 1 I have the Boston Celtics. I don't think this is a surprise to anyone. They're the best team in the league and they return pretty much everyone. Jayson Tatum is one of the most underappreciated stars in the league. He is a willing and good defender. He is an excellent scorer. His passing has gone up a level. Tatum does it all. He needs the proper credit. Jaylen Brown was amazing in the playoffs and he seems to play with a chip on his shoulder. He has gotten so much better every year. That should terrify opposing teams. Al Horford has fit in nicely as the calm vet on the team. He also has become a pretty damn good 3 point shooter over the past couple seasons. Kristaps Porzingis is hurt, no surprise, but when he is on the floor he helps this team go. I was wrong about his fit. It works. Derrick White is a great shooter and a wonderful defender. He is the ultimate role player. Jrue Holiday is the best perimeter defender in the league, and when his shot is falling, he is lethal. The bench is good enough to keep the team afloat in their limited minutes. The Celtics should be favored to win it all again this season. They have it all and they have it all coming back. They're the best team in the NBA by a wide, wide margin.

That's it, that is my 2024-25 NBA countdown. I hope you all enjoyed it. I cannot wait for the season to tip tomorrow. 

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.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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Ty Ranks the 2023 - 2024 NBA Teams - Good Band Playing in a Bad Venue Division

Day three of my preseason NBA countdown gets us into the playoff team mix today. As I continue this countdown I am getting more and more excited about the upcoming season.

At 20 I have the Chicago Bulls. This team needs to pick a lane. They should probably rebuild, but they seem to want to stay in the play in mix. They are also older, so I am kind of confused as to what their long term plans are. I am a fan of DeMar DeRozan. He has been a solid player his whole career and he continues to put up solid numbers. I think DeRozan will not be fully appreciated as a player until he retires. Zach Lavine is still here and he can still score in bunches. He doesn't have the hops that he used to, and he is not a very good defender. But, the guy can score. I don't know that he will finish the season with the Bulls, but they have him for now. Lonzo Ball is out all season and that is a bummer. Alex Caruso has never been able to find the guy who he was with the Lakers. Coby White is an okay enough player, but his talent hasn't really translated in the NBA. Andre Drummond likes to make wild proclamations, and while he is a good rebounder, he doesn't do much else. Ayo Dosunmu is a good backup but he starts too often here. Jevon Carter could easily take his spot. Nikola Vucevic is still around, but he just seems like a warm body at this point. And I wonder if Patrick Williams will ever put it together. As I said, I think they should rebuild and get young, but if they keep this core together they will be a 35-38 win team and might be out of the play in conversation.

At 19 I have the Toronto Raptors. This is another team in the same vein as the Bulls. I don't know what their plan is, but I have to think they may be better off rebuilding. Pascal Siakim is the best player on their team. I like Siakim a ton, but take that statement as you will. He is a decent scorer and defender, but he is not much of an outside shooter. And his contract is up after this season. Scottie Barnes is really good. I know he took a step back last season, but he is too talented to be down for long. I hope they let him run the show this season. OG Anunoby may be more of a trade chip than anything else right now. He is a very solid all around player, but I don't get the obsession. Jakob Poeltl got a contract this offseason, but I don't get the appeal of him. He is fine, but not great. Gary Trent Jr is an okay enough bench scorer. Jalen McDaniels was a nice offseason signing. I am not a humongous fan of the Gradey Dick draft pick. I don't have a ton of faith in him. And Dennis Schroeder can bring some veteran leadership, while rankling some people the wrong way. Toronto will be a tough out, and they could push 40 wins, but not many more than that.

At 18, my first playoff team, I have the New Orleans Pelicans. This is purely based on availability with this team. If they are healthy they could be a top 10 team. Unfortunately they are barely ever healthy. Zion Williamson is unguardable. He also looks to be in shape. But how many games will he play? How effective will he be on defense? Can he stay on the floor for 30 minutes a night? There are a lot of questions surrounding him. Brandon Ingram had a tough FIBA and I am curious to see how he performs after that. He is also in a contract year, so I am genuinely curious how he plays. Jonas Valincunas is an okay enough big man, but he is a dinosaur at center. He will bruise you and try to beat you up, but he is going to find it tough to guard the younger faster players. Herb Jones is already hurt. I haven't heard much from Larry Nance Jr this offseason. Trey Murphy may be in for a leap. Jose Alvarado is a very menacing defender, but I wonder if his bit is up. CJ McCollum can still score, but I wonder if he is more concerned with his duties as president of the players union. Then it is a grab bag of players. The Pelicans were in the top 3 after the first quarter of last season, and then injuries ravaged this team. I want them to stay healthy so I can see what they are fully capable of this year.

At 17 I have the Dallas Mavericks. This team is totally different from what they were two seasons ago. They only have one dude, Luka Doncic, from that team that played significant time. Doncic is a good player, I just despise watching him play basketball. He is whiny, a ball stopper and bores me with his methodical play. He is a younger James Harden. Kyrie Irving is a space case. He never seems to have his head fully into basketball. Grant Williams started to miss games last season due to a coach's decision. I think a change of scenery may help, but I also wonder if, when he played, it was due to Boston's system. Seth Curry is back and I have no feelings either way about them signing him. Jaden Hardy should get ample playing time this season. Dereck Lively Jr was a good pick, but he is raw. He needs time. Tim Hardaway Jr, as much as I root for him, has regressed. They signed Dante Exum. He is a very good defender, but he is a ZERO on offense. Omax Prosper has serious potential, as long as he gets on the court. And Maxi Kleber and Dwight Powell will split the center minutes. Whoopdedoo. The Mavericks are an oddly constructed team, but they do have two great backcourt players. I wonder how many wins that will result in though because they play no defense.

The final team for the day, at 16 I have the OKC Thunder. The Thunder may be the most fun team to watch all year long. I have high expectations for them too. They really came on strong last season, and I think they will only build upon that. Shai Gilgeous Alexander is a burgeoning star. He is going to be a perennial MVP candidate. He is such a good point guard and he is only going to get better. Jalen Williams had a real shot at rookie of the year last season and he has looked great in preseason so far. Josh Giddey is getting a little stronger and a little nastier. That is good for him. I'm curious to see how Chet Holmgren does. He is soft, but he did get bigger this offseason. He was kind of worked by Webayama the other night though. Cason Wallace looks really good. They have ambitions to play guys like Tre Mann, Isaish Joeand Lu Dort big minutes. Time will tell on that. But this team has been building through the draft, they have picks for days and they have a very solid core of guys. The Thunder are going to be legit in two to three years. But they will show another step this season.

That is it for today. Comeback tomorrow for the next five 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.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

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Ty's 2022-2023 NBA Season Preview - Thunder, Spurs, Jazz

The NBA season is just over a week away, and you know what that means. It is time for my preseason NBA countdown. I remember how wrong I was last year when I picked the Nets to win it all. I will try to not make that mistake again. As always I will go from 30-1, pick the playoffs, award winners and do a men's NCAA basketball preview in a few weeks. Without further ado, let's get to the countdown.

At 30 I have the OKC Thunder. This team is in full rebuild mode. They have made that quite clear with the moves they have made the past few seasons. It also helps the tank job they will do that Chet Holmgren is already done for the season. This foot injury is one of the many reasons why I was so down on Holmgren coming into the draft last year. He is too skinny for his frame. He is going to get bullied by all of the vets that play center. He needs to get thicker and get tougher. But we won't even know what kind of player he is until next season. I adore Shai Gilgeous Alexander. He is awesome. That was a tremendous trade pickup by the Thunder. SGA could be an all star this season, as long as he plays a good amount of games. Lu Dort got paid, he is a good defender and he is getting better at his jumper. He is going to be very good for a long while. Then the roster just kind of falls off. Josh Giddey is fine, but he feels like a role player at best to me. I'm sick of hearing about Aleksej Pokusesvki. He has "been on the cusp" for too long now. He is what he is. Aaron Wiggins is a deep bench guy. Jaylin Williams could be solid, but he is a rookie. Darius Bazley is long and athletic, but hasn't put it together yet. Derrick Favors needs a trade. Kenrich Williams is good, but I want him to play for a good squad. And this has to be Trey Burke and Marquese Chriss' last shot to stay in the league. The Thunder are bad. But, they are bad on purpose. SGA and Dort will be fun to watch, but this team is not going to win more than 25 games this season.

At 29 I have the San Antonio Spurs. I adore Greg Poppovich. I think he is the best coach to ever coach the game of basketball. He is a genius. And the fact that he told people to not bet on the Spurs this season makes me appreciate him that much more. They are going to do everything they can to get the 7'4 French kid. I do like the Jeremy Sochan pick. He is a modern Dennis Rodman who can shoot the ball. But he is very, very young. Keldon Johnson is a solid player, but he is not the guy you want to be your top guy. Jakob Poeltl is slow and plodding and an okay rim protector. I would not be shocked if he gets traded during the season. Joshua Primo is very talented, but again, he is so young. Tre Jones is very average. Josh Richardson is washed. Devin Vassell is a fine player, but he should be coming off the bench. Romeo Langford has not lived up to the hype he had coming out of high school. Doug McDermott is just a shooter, nothing more. Malaki Branham was a homerun pick in my opinion, but he needs time to develop. Zach Collins cannot stay healthy. The true fact is, this team is not trying to win. They want the French kid, and with this roster, that may very well happen.

The final team for the day, at 28 I have the Utah Jazz. The moment they got beat by the Mavs in the first round you knew this team was going to rebuild. Quin Snyder bounced. They traded Rudy Gobert as quickly as they could. They got a great deal for Donovan Mitchell. Bogan Bogdanovic is now in Detroit. Mike Conley will soon be traded. As will Jordan Clarkson. That leaves this team with lots of unproven young guys, or guys trying to revitalize their careers. Colin Sexton will get a shot to lead a team. I really like Sexton, but he has to really show up this year. He got paid and he will be a first option. This is exactly what he wanted. Walker Kesseler is a rookie who will get abused in the post. Malik Beasely is a fine scorer, but he will be asked to do too much on this team. Rudy Gay should get traded relatively soon to a contender. Udoka Azubuike will probably start, and that should be fascinating to watch. Nickeil Alexander Walker should get a real chance to prove he can play in the league. Jared Vanderbilt and Jared Butler will be fun to watch shoot a ton. Lauri Markkanen is definitely washed. Talen Horton Tucker is probably relishing the fact that he will be the second option. And the jury is out on rookie Ochai Agbaji. I loved his game in college, let's see if it translates. The Jazz are going to be very, very bad this year. They know that and are going to run out a bunch of dudes who will be trying to prove things. Anything more than 25 wins would shock me.

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.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

Ty's 2021-2022 NBA Preview: Thunder, Pistons, Rockets, Magic

The NBA season is about two weeks away. I know it seems like it just ended, and it did, but the league is getting back on their regular calendar. The pandemic has made everything crazy, and the pro sports leagues are just trying to get back on track. With that, I'm going to start my NBA countdown for the 21-22 season today. I'll do this just like I do my other leagues, going from who I consider the worst to the best. I'll do four teams a day and end it with a full prediction blog. These are some of my favorite blogs to write because I love the NBA so much. Okay let's get to it.

At number 30 I have the Oklahoma City Thunder. This is all exactly what they have wanted. When they traded Harden, couldn't re-sign KD and mercifully traded Russell Westbrook, they had a full rebuild in mind. The good news for the Thunder is they have a billion draft picks and Shai Gilgeous Alexander to build around. SGA is awesome. He is a future all star. He has all the tools to build a team around. This kid is legit. Lu Dort is a hounding defender. If he can start to shoot some he could be a solid starter. Darius Bazley showed flashes last season. Derrick Favors is a fine vet to have on a young team. Outside those guys it is kind of rough. Josh Giddey can shoot, but he is a rookie. Alex Pokuusevski is super raw. Mamadi Diakite can block shots, but doesn't do much else. Ty Jerome isn't that good. Isaiah Roby and DJ Wilson do not see the floor. The Thunder are not good now, but if they keep SGA, get Lu Dort to expand his game and cash in on some of their picks, they will be a threat in about 3-4 years.

At number 29 I have the Detroit Pistons. They have Cade Cunningham. He looks like he should be the real deal. He was a great scorer his one year in college and looked good in summer league. They also have Saddiq Bey. He is proving to be a solid all around player. If he can hone his shot he could be very good. Jerami Grant is a really good player and betting on himself totally paid off. He is doing loads of good things for this team. But that seems to be where the "good" of this team stops. Josh Jackson is a bust. Hammidou Diallo is an awesome athlete, but he is way too out of control. Luka Garza is trash. Killian Hayes is completely unproven. Corey Joseph is old. Trey Lyles has never been able to stick anywhere. Isaiah Livers is coming off an injury in college. The Pistons are in a tough spot. They need time to rebuild. Cunningham, Grant and Bey are a solid core, but they need tons and tons of help.

At number 28 I have the Houston Rockets. I think they knew they were going to be in a tough situation when they traded Harden last season, but they did get a slew of picks and they have a ton of future leverage just like the Thunder do. Jalen Green looks every bit the part of a future star. He got great experience while playing for G League Ignite last year. He went toe to toe with Cunningham in summer league. He was on fire until he got a tweak in his leg and sat out the rest of the games. Kevin Porter Jr looked so much better after spending some time in the G League last season. He has bounced around a bit, but the talent has always been there. He should continue to grow. Alpernon Sengun has been on everyone's mind since summer league, where he shined, and I'm excited to see how he plays in real games. After these 3 the team falls off a cliff. John Wall will not play for them this season. Eric Gordon will also most likely be traded before the season starts, or very soon after. Avery Bradley has already left the team. Usman Garuba was a popular pick, but he is so raw. I'm not as high on Christina Wood as other people are. He seems like a good stats on a bad team guy. He is empty calories. Jae'Sean Tate showed flashes, but I need to see more. David Nwaba is incredibly raw. I think the Rockets will be fun to watch because of Jalen Green, but this team will not win more than 25 games all season.

The final team for the day, at number 27 I have the Orlando Magic. I was a fan of them finally blowing it up last season to rebuild. But the rebuild is going to take some time. Cole Anthony has the goods, but he needs time to develop into a true NBA point guard. Mo Bamba simply cannot stay healthy. Ignas Brazdekis is a G League guy. Wendell Carter Jr has the skill, but it has not translated well to the NBA yet. We all know about the Markelle Fultz saga, and while he has looked better in Orlando, he still can't shoot. Johnathan Issac is more focused on not getting vaxxed than playing basketball. RJ Hampton hasn't lived up to the hype and Gary Harris has crashed back to Earth after one good season. Robin Lopex and Terrence Ross are well past their prime. As is E'Twaun Moore, What the Magic need to do is keep Anthony as their point guard, let Jalen Suggs play the 2 and work Franz Wagner in to be their star defender and 3 point shooter. Build off those three and hope that some other players hit or that they get good draft picks. The time had come to rebuild, but Magic fans are going to have to be very patient again. That may be worrisome, but that is where this franchise is right now.

That's it for today. Come back tomorrow for the next four 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.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing. 

Ty's 2020-2021 NBA Preview: The Worst of the Worst

As wild as it seems, the next NBA season starts in 15 days. We are two weeks away from the season.

This is wild to me, but I am stoked. I love the NBA, I loved the bubble, I am stoked to see some of the rookies that were drafted, want to see some of the guys that switched teams and am just happy that pro basketball is back. They proved they can do a season during this pandemic, and while I am sure they will run into some problems, I do not envision the NBA having the same issues as the NFL or MLB or college sports. The people in charge know what they are doing, and they have already laid out a 158 page rule book for the upcoming season. The pandemic is still raging, with no signs of slowing down any time soon, but I think the NBA can pull this off again. I am also a big fan of the 72 game sprint, with no all star game or any other distraction.

With all this being said, I am going to do my traditional NBA season countdown of teams, from worst to best. I love doing this. I will do five teams a day, explain why I have them where I do and after I am done counting all the teams down, I will do predictions, including awards, possible stoppages and my finals pick. Let's get to it.

Coming in at 30, the bottom of the barrel, I have the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs just don't seem to really have a plan right now. They have talent, but it is young and they have too many similar players. They also totally whiffed on the John Beilein hire. I do think JB Bickerstaff is a solid head coach, but he doesn't have much to work with. Collin Sexton and Darius Garland are good, but not that good. They aren't guys to build around. I am a big Sexton fan, but he is very inconsistent. Garland looked like a guy that barely played in college last season. Kevin Love clearly wants out, and he is older. Larry Nance Jr is hyper athletic, but he isn't really anymore than a dunker. Andre Drummond is in purgatory there, and I think he wants out. Isaac Okoro is an okay pick, but he doesn't move the needle for me yet. And the rest of the roster has older vets that haven’t done much. Guys like Matthew Dellavedova, Javale McGee, Thon Maker and Dante Exum fill out the roster. Sure, a couple of them have rings, but it has nothing to do with them. The Cavs will be a lottery team yet again.

At number 29 I have the Detroit Pistons. I mean, I trashed the Cavs roster for having older vets, but the Pistons make that look tame. Derrick Rose is the point guard. He is good, and has improved, but I have to imagine he will be gone soon. Blake Griffin is the 4, but he has lost his explosiveness, and he is now a guy teams don't want to trade for. Jahlil Okafor just signed there, but he has never figured out the NBA. He should have played in a different era. Josh Jackson, who I absolutely loved when he was in his draft, has been a total bust. And this has to be something like the tenth team Trevor Ariza has played on. The Pistons have some youth, but it isn't team building youth. Sekou Dembouya has some skills, but he barely sees the floor. Svi Mykhaliuik has already been traded three times, and he has been in the league for 3 years. I like the Saadiq Bey pick, but he may not get enough playing time to flourish. And poor Zhaire Smith can't seem to catch a break. The Pistons may be the least desirable team in the NBA right now. They are better than Cleveland because Derrick Rose proved he is on his way back, but just barely better.

At number 28 I have the OKC Thunder. I know they were a playoff team, and they pushed the Rockets to seven games last season, but they offloaded two of their best guys. I understand why, but still, losing Chris Paul and Steven Adams is going to take a toll. I love love love Shai Gilgeous Alexander, and he has gotten better each of his two seasons. Now we will have to see how he does as the main guy every night. He is going to have the keys to run this offense. Lugentz Dort was a revelation in the bubble as a defensive force. But he is not a great shooter, and he will have to guard the other team's best guy every night. That takes a toll. Andre Roberson came back last year, in the bubble in fact, but he looked like a shell of himself. Hamidou Diallo is a freak athlete, but that is it. He isn't much of a shooter or defender. Darius Bazley can hit threes, but he will be a starter on this team. And while it is nice to have Danny Green and George Hill, they aren't Chris Paul and Steven Adams. The Thunder are going to take a major step back. But, they have SGA and a gang of draft picks. They won't be down for very long.

At number 27 I have the New York Knicks. Now, I usually pick on the Knicks with just cause. But, I actually like the direction they could be headed in. I am not a fan of the Tom Thibodeau hiring. But maybe it will be better since he is just the coach. He is not the GM like he was in Minnesota. I also love the pick of Obi Toppin. I think pairing him with Mitchell Robinson is going to make their front court a very formidable one, especially if Toppin can play semi serviceable defense. Robinson can take care of the rest. But after that, this is where they fall off for me. RJ Barrett proved he could score, but he takes far too many shots, is inconsistent and not a willing passer yet. Kevin Knox is not nearly as good as I thought he would be. He is actually, according to statisticians, one of the worst players in the league. Frank Ntilikina is a solid defender, but he is a mess on offense. Dennis Smith Jr, another player I really rooted for as a rookie, has never really found his place in the league. Julius Randle is a good scorer, but nothing more. Signing Austin Rivers and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist was so ho hum I actually forgot they were on the team until I did some research. The Knicks are a ways away from being relevant again. But, if Toppin and Robinson find a way to coexist and share the court, they could be a duo that older stars might want to come play with. The Knicks have two guys that they can build off of. The only question, or questions, will it work, and will they be willing to wait? Time will tell.

My final team for the day, at number 26, I have the Chicago Bulls. I saw some rankings that had them as high as the late teens, and people are praising the Billy Donovan hire, which I agree is a solid hire, but this roster leaves a TON to be desired. I really like Coby White, and I think he has the tools to be an all star. He just needs to have a coach that will let him play through mistakes. After him though, I am not sold, at all, on this roster. Zach Lavine is their "guy", but he is so average to me. He is an excellent leaper, and his jumper has gotten way better, but he shows no effort on defense, and he is clearly not a player to build a roster around. Lauri Markanen had a solid rookie year, then got hurt and really struggled last year. I feel like last year is more indicative of the type of player he will be. Wendell Carter Jr never got the chance to be himself under Jim Boylen. Maybe Donovan changes that, but Carter has got to get that killer instinct back. I am not a big fan of the Patrick Williams pick. He is very talented, but also very raw. I also do not want to see him take minutes away from Wendell Carter Jr. And in looking at the rest of the roster, it is very blah. At least when Donovan took the Thunder job he had a player of Russell Westbrook's talent. He doesn't have any player near his level, and the vets are total also rans. Otto Porter Jr and Noah Vonleh and Denzel Valentine and Daniel Gafford and Thad Young, those names just don't jump off the page. Billy Donovan has his work cut out for him, and so does Coby White. I think those two will be fine, it is the rest of the roster that worries me, and should worry Bulls fans. They are not a playoff team yet, as some have predicted.

That does it for day one. This rules. Come back tomorrow for the next five 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.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing. 

Ty's 2019-2020 NBA Preview: Suns, Bulls, Thunder, Mavericks

Day 2 of my NBA countdown has done usual suspects that fall low on my list, but also a new team that is trying to rank it seems.

Coming in at number 26 I have the Phoenix Suns. I proclaimed them as my new favorite team, but after this offseason, I may have to jump ship. I don’t get some of the moves they made. Why did they sign Frank Kaminsky? Couldn’t they get more fit Josh Jackson? What is going on with that front office? The Suns have a good amount of problems right now. That being said, they still have Devin Booker, and that dude can score. He is a walking bucket. But isn’t he just a poor man’s Brad Beal? He could go for 30 a night, but will it really matter? I still have high hopes for Deandre Ayton. I think he can be really good if he fully buys in. Yes he was a rookie, but he looked lost and preoccupied at times last year. He also got eaten up by bigger centers. I still have faith in him though. I think Ricky Rubio was a solid signing, they just gave him too much money. Booker could thrive with a point guard like Rubio, but Rubio has never really lived up to the hype. He’s been solid, but never great. I also am not a fan of them letting TJ Warren leave as a free agent. They need guys like him. Guys like Kelly Oubre are good and well for a solid game here and there. But, he’s not consistent like Warren. The Suns have 2 really solid building blocks, but they have a ton of work to do. And they need to win if they want to keep Booker.

At number 25 I have the Chicago Bulls. This may seem far too low for some, I’ve heard some people say they can push for the playoffs, but i think that says more about the East than the Bulls. They have okay players, but that’s it, they’re just okay. Zach Lavine is not a guy you want to build around. He’s an average scorer, an excellent leaper and a so so defender. That’s it. Lauri Markanen can shoot, but he’s soft. Kris Dunn is a bust. I love Coby White, and I want him to be good, but it will take time. Wendell Carter was playing okay, but he got hurt. I just feel like the Bulls have far more questions than answers. And, if they do make the playoffs, I’d be stunned. They still seem a ways off.

At number 25 I have the OKC Thunder. This is another team that I don’t know what they’re doing, but smart people, smarter than me about the NBA, seem to think they could push for the playoffs. I say no way, especially in the West. The Thunder need to fully embrace the rebuild. Their stars are gone. All of them. They’ve moved on. And I know they acquired Chris Paul in the Westbrook trade, but he’s old and has been on the decline for the past couple years. And, I don’t think he’ll be on the team come All Star break. Same goes for Steven Adams. I don’t think he’s going to want to be around on a team that’s rebuilding. He’s getting to the back end if his career, and for a player that’s been in the playoffs every season, I think he will want to keep that streak alive. What this team needs to do is give the keys to Shai Gilgeous Alexander. Build around him. He’s young, he’s good and looks like a team leader. He had big moments last year in LA, and looks ready to take the next step. You can pair any number of the other young guys, like Terrance Ferguson for example, with SGA, and start a rebuild from there. They also have about a million draft picks in the next couple drafts. The Thunder are in a perfect position for a good rebuild. Take that route, use picks, trade old vets for more picks and younger players and be ready to be a threat in 3 or 4 years. That’s what I would do anyway.

My final team for today, coming in at number 23, I have the Dallas Mavericks. Here’s another team that will win 35-40 games, but are just not ready to compete in the West. Not yet anyway. Luka Doncic was every bit as good as advertised. Now he just needs to keep it up. Keep getting better, stay in shape and improve the little things. The Mavs traded for Kristaps Porzingis last year, of which he played zero games, and they seem to think he will come out on fire this year. I think it’s going to take time for him to get back to his good days with the Knicks, and don’t forget, he was accused of sexual assault this past offseason. Some people may have forgotten that, I didn’t. Outside those 2 guys, this team is cobbled with an odd mixture. Tim Hardaway Jr is still there, and he will have a 25 point game here and there, but he’s much more prone to scoring 12 points on 3 of 15 shooting. JJ Barea is somehow still in the league even though he seems like he’s 60 years old. Boban is on the team, but he’s more of a spectacle than a player of circumstance. They have the less talented Curry. Courtney Lee is there to shoot threes and be trade bait. Jalen Brunson is fine, but he’s a bench player at best. And Justin Jackson left Sacramento, where he was a non factor, to come ride the bench here. The Mavs will win games, and Luka is legit, but I don’t but them as a playoff team. They have work to do, but they’re on the right track.

That’s it for today. Come back tomorrow for the next 4 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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Now We are Waiting on Russell Westbrook's New Team

On Monday I talked about Kawhi's decision, and my opinion of the current state of the NBA. I talked a bit about the Clippers not only getting Kawhi, but also getting Paul George. I mentioned that I had heard rumors that the Thunder were now exploring trades for Russell Westbrook. Today I want to talk about my feelings on that, and which team, or teams, I think would be a good fit for him.

First off, my thoughts on the idea of trading Russ away from OKC. I think the time has come for both parties to move on. Russ has done all he can do for that team and that city. He ran the show when it was him, KD and Harden. When Harden left, he changed his game to play with KD. Some people don't agree with this, they are wrong. KD is an iso guy, and the fact that Russ was so important to watch while on defense, he made it easier for KD to get his. Then KD left, and all Russ did was lead a terrible cast of players, with a new coach, to the playoffs, won the MVP and averaged a triple double. Again, idiots will say he was a stat hunter and only cared about himself. I say, he absolutely had to do this in order for that particular Thunder team to win.

Then they acquired Paul George and Carmelo Anthony. That did not work out, but they still made the playoffs, and Russ and PG seemed to like one another. They liked one another so much, Russ convinced PG to sign a deal with OKC that offseason. Last season, one of Russ' worst, as far as stats go, the Thunder made the playoffs again, Russ averaged a triple double for the third straight year, and helped PG become an MVP candidate, before he got hurt. But, they lost in the first round again, and it was all blamed on Westbrook.

Then the Kawhi stuff happened. I mean, what else, sans winning a title, can Russ do for the Thunder? He has really given them his all, has played through injury, willed this team back to the playoffs constantly, kept them afloat when KD left and is a blast to watch play. So, I think, if he wants one final chance to be on a competitive team, he has earned that right.

This leads me to which teams I think would be good fits for him. One, I would love, LOVE, to see him go to Phoenix. Sure, they aren't a title contender, but to replace Ricky Rubio with Russ, and put him next to Devin Booker, and an athletic big like Deandre Ayton, that would push them to a possible playoff team, even in the West. He would sell tickets there as well. Also, Phoenix could take on the last 2 years of his contract because they have so much young talent that is clogging spots for other players. They could make this deal happen, and I wish they would.

I like the fit with Chicago. He could go there, be a stop gap for Coby White, who I think is going to be really good, and help a team with Zach Lavine, Lauri Markenan and Wendell Carter definitely get into the playoffs in the East. The Bulls also have guys with easy contracts to trade, and they have picks.

Detroit was odd for me at first, but I think sending him there for Reggie Jackson and Luke Kennard, plus picks, would make the Pistons fun. Russ and Blake Griffin, along with Andre Drummond could be a devastating pick and roll combo. And put him next to Derrick Rose, while not a great shooting back court, it would be explosive. I also think he would love to play for Dwayne Casey.

Then, my final team, the Miami Heat. I know the Thunder already have some of their picks, and trading Russ there would possibly take the picks out of the lottery, but they could get a good return of players, that they can turn into picks, and teaming Russ with Jimmy Butler could be a match made in heaven. Those 2 are cut from the same cloth, they will rip your will out of you, they would look cool as hell in those Miami vice jerseys, and Erik Spolestra has already shown he can coach mega stars to titles. Jimmy Butler and Russ may not be the duo you need to win a title, but in the East, who knows. I would love to see them playing against the Celtics or 76ers or Bucks. They would throw the hell down. This is what I hope, and want, to happen for Russ. I think it is almost too perfect.

Anyway, whatever what happens to Russ, I hope he gets a chance to compete, and that people stop blaming him for everything that has happened in OKC. It is not his fault. He has stayed tried and true to that team, and he can now do what he wants. He has earned that. I am fully team Russ.

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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The Utah Jazz Have a Fan Problem

What in the hell is happening in Utah.

In the past week the fans of the basketball team, that go to games, for them banned for life for racial epitaphs spewed in Russell Westbrook's direction. This is highly disturbing to me, and a whole lot of other people. I mean, I am a rabid fan of all things University of Michigan, but I have never wished harm or said unthinkable things to their rivals. I have never been driven to racism because of an outcome of a game. I have never acted so egregiously that I have had to remove myself, or been removed from a stadium, or even watching in the comfort of my own home. So, why do these 2 assholes in the recent news think it was okay to do what they did.

The first incident I heard about was all stemmed around Westbrook being filmed saying that he would mess up the dude and his wife. I was taken aback, but then I heard the whole story. All I knew at first was what Westbrook said, and the interview with this racist ass where he played the victim. Only after reading the full story did I know that this moron was hurling racial epitaphs and that he told Westbrook to "get on your knees like you're used to". That is appalling. That is unsettling. It is frightening to hear that some people think it is okay to say something like that. It is simply wrong. No one deserves to be talked to in that manner, especially in the 21st century. After reading this, then hearing it for myself, I was fully on Westbrook's side. I have zero problem with what he said to this man and his wife, or whoever that lady was with him. In fact, I wish he took it further. Had this turned into a "Malice at the Palace" type situation, I would have fully understood. Just because Westbrook is a pro, who's team happened to be handing it to the Jazz that night, that doesn't give you the right to say whatever pops into your tiny little head. To sit that close to the players is a privilege, and this jerk totally deserves his lifetime ban for what he said.

The NBA really needs to look into player safety a bit more. I say that because after this story came out, more reports came out of fans doing similar things, or putting their hands on players. That is not cool at all. That is dangerous. Players have come out in big time support of Westbrook since the incident, as expected. And they have all said pretty much the same thing I am saying today. They stand with Westbrook. They want more protection. They want the fans that sit courtside, right next to the opposition's bench, to follow some kind of rules or conduct code. Even Donovan Mitchell, a Jazz player, has come out and said how wrong this whole thing is, and how it doesn't, or at the very least, shouldn't, portray the entire fan base.

Well, I just saw today that another Jazz fan got a lifetime ban, calling Russell Westbrook "boy", in last year's  playoffs. Two things, why do they hate Westbrook so much, and maybe this is what the majority of Utah's fan base is. Maybe they are a bunch of racist assholes. Maybe they don't care at all about a human being's feelings, and they think they are entitled to say whatever they want because they have fancy seats. The fact that is has happened twice in the past calendar year is not a one time thing, it is a trend, and a trend that might have been started in the early 90's. And to aim it at Westbrook, I just don't get it. Sure, he can be a divisive player, but the dude plays with so much heart and grit and gives it all he can every night, I respect the hell out of him. While you may not like him, you should at least respect him. You shouldn't be yelling racist nonsense at him.

I was so high on the Jazz before the season started. But, after hearing all this stuff recently about their fans has made me happy that they aren't as good as I thought they might be. And I know that the players have nothing to do with the fans. I do not wish them ill will. I'm just happy that their punk ass fans are going to see their beloved team get beat in the first round of the playoffs. The asshole fans deserve this. They stink, and I hope more of these racist idiots get lifelong bans. This is disgusting and disturbing. I totally side with Westbrook on this. He is right, the Jazz fans are very, very wrong.

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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The Love for James Harden and the Hate for Russell Westbrook Makes No Damn Sense

Two years ago I felt like I was one of the people driving the Russell Westbrook for MVP debate.

What he did that season, with the roster that was put around him, was astounding. The fact that, a season after losing KD mind you, he averaged a triple double, with his best teammate being Steven Adams, was one of the most MVP worthy things I have ever seen. He was must watch TV that year. I watched more Thunder games than usual that year just to see what Westbrook would do. I have said, to people that will listen to me, I would not enjoy playing with him, but I LOVE watching him play. He is a whirling dervish of athleticism. It's like the most insane ballet that you could ever watch. And while he's not the greatest shooter, he is really bad in fact, the way he created shots for himself and others was awesome. To see a 6 foot guard rebound like that, again, amazing.

So when major journalists, some I like, some I dislike, were saying that he wasn't deserving of the MVP I was floored. I couldn't believe it. I didn't know what else he had to do to prove that he was the MVP. A lot of these journalists actually pushed for James Harden that year. LeBron was mentioned a ton as well, but he always is. When I listened to them, or read why they felt this way, it made me even angrier. They called Westbrook a "stat hunter". They said he was bad. They called him selfish. They said he wasn't deserving because he only led the Thunder to a 6 seed and something like 45 wins that year. They said the first round series proved that he wasn't the MVP.

Well, one Mr. James Harden is currently putting up absolutely ridiculous numbers, with his 2 best teammates out injured right now, and these same journalists are praising him. They are talking abut him "carrying" his team. They are saying what he is doing is something they haven't seen since Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan. They are calling him the MVP. And while I don't refute that, I do think he has surpassed Giannis as the MVP, why does he get so much love doing almost exactly what Westbrook did 2 years ago, when they were all shaming him?

Here are the facts. James Harden is one of the most boring NBA players to watch. If Westbrook is a "stat hunter", Harden is a "foul hunter". That guy gets so many calls in his favor, calls that are absolutely and utterly insane, that is drives me up the wall. The other night he shot 27 free throws. Not the Rockets, Harden himself took 27 free throws. How is that more fun, or any better than what Westbrook was doing?

Also, lets compare the rosters were they currently are right now with the Rockets to the Thunder from 2 years ago. As I said, Westbrook's best teammate was Adams. He then had guys like Victor Oladipo, before he was a star, Domantas Sabonis, when he was a rookie, Kyle Singler, Nick Collison, Dion Waiters and Terrance Ferguson, among others. Meanwhile, Harden has players like PJ Tucker, Austin Rivers, Eric Gordon and Gerald Green. Oh, and Chris Paul will be back soon, and Clint Capela will miss a couple more weeks before he is back. I'd take that Rockets roster any day.

While Harden is putting up okay assist numbers, he is as selfish a player as there is in the NBA. I saw a stat the other day that said on his last 150 points, he has been assisted on 0 of them. You may read that and say, well no one is passing him the ball, false, he is dribbling the clock down and jacking up threes that somehow are going in. He is a ball stopper and he is a ball hog. The records also, at this same time 2 years ago when Westbrook was the MVP, are almost exactly the same. But where Harden gets credit, Westbrook got blasted. That is so unfair.

The biggest shit talkers are every single basketball writer and podcaster at The Ringer, especially their owner, Bill Simmons. Look, I get it, you guys very much dislike Westbrook. But you have got to stop making excuses for Harden because you like him. These guys and girls have trashed Westbrook since he won the MVP, but when Harden plays the exact same way, they love it. It is clear this company hates the Thunder. I mean, Simmons won't shut up about the Harden trade, which seems like a million years ago. He has KD on his podcast so much, that was one of the reasons I stopped listening to it. Simmons is a star chaser, except when it comes to Westbrook. Other writers at The Ringer always bring up how great Harden has been this past month, then I think they feel like they need to trash Westbrook just because they can.

The biggest indictment of this whole Harden Westbrook debate is something that Simmons and his buddy Joe House kept saying 2 years ago. They said anyone that voted for Westbrook as MVP was "basketball pervert". Well, if you guys thought we who rode the bus for Westbrook are "basketball perverts". what does that make you guys this year with Harden? I think that makes you, in your own words, "basketball perverts". Oh, and I cannot forget that Simmons said on "The Lowe Post" that he is more impressed by guys that average 27 points, 7 assists and 7 rebounds. I believe he called it "The LeBron". Well dip shit, Westbrook, and for that matter, your boy Harden, are averaging more in all three categories. How dumb are you? How out of touch do you have to be? What happened to you as a credible writer? I'd much rather have the guys that average a triple double, or 40 points per game.

While I think Harden, where we stand right now, is the MVP, I also think these journalists need to lay the hell off of Westbrook. It was 2 years ago. Harden won his MVP. And what Westbrook did hadn't been done since Oscar Robertson was in the league. Journalists are supposed to be unbiased, and a lot of you are being exposed now. Get over it. Westbrook deserved his MVP, and if Harden keeps this up, he will deserve it too. I just want you shills to admit that he is a pain to watch, that he is selfish and that he is a better scoring, but worse passing and rebounding version of Russell Westbrook.

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. 

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

The Sad End of Carmelo Anthony's NBA Days

This really looks like the end of Carmelo Anthony. Rumors are swirling that he is going to be cut from the Rockets any day now. He has not been good this year, last year, or really, the past 5 or 6 years. He is too slow on defense. He is not a good three point shooter. He isn't really that good of a mid range shooter. He can't get to the rim. He doesn't like to pass the ball. He needs space to create his shot, and right now, he cannot get that space.

I used to love Carmelo Anthony. I was a big time fan of his when he was in Denver. His game was so fluid and fun. He still wasn't a great three point shooter, or a defender, he's never been a good defender, not even in college, but his offense offset all that. He was lethal from mid range. He could get to the rim, thus get to the free throw line. He still wasn't much of a passer, but when he did, it was nearly pin point. Even when Carmelo pushed his way out of Denver, he was still a very legitimate threat his first couple of years as a Knick. Hell, the last time the Knicks were good was one of his first couple seasons there. They won 50 plus games and made, I believe, the second round of the playoffs.

But then he did an interview with ESPN The Magazine, and it was all about his brand and how much more money he has made since he left Denver for New York. I read this cover story, and what stood out most to me was how little he cared about winning. He talked mostly about himself, or his brand. He talked about how much he was going to get paid very soon. He talked about how he has big plans after basketball. No mention of winning a title, or making deep playoff runs. No mention of being an MVP and surrounding himself with talented players that could have helped him. No mention of the kind of coach he wanted to play for that could put the Knicks, his team, over the top. The story was I, I, I and money, money, money.

That is when it all flipped for me, and I think it flipped for him too. He became a lesser player. He started to get more vocal with teammates. He hated Tim Hardaway Jr after the Knicks drafted him. He basically insisted they trade him, and they did. He didn't like many other teammates he had in New York.

This caused the start of the mess that the Knicks are in now. The Knicks then went out and hired Phil Jackson as the GM, and we all watched that disaster unfold. The start of that disaster, giving Carmelo a max deal. They could not get any other players of clout because they gave all their money to Carmelo. The Knicks started to tumble. They drafted Kristaps Porzingis, and the 2 people who disliked that move most, Phil Jackson and Carmelo Anthony. Jackson called him soft, Carmelo was worried he was losing the team, even though he already lost it a few seasons prior.

The Knicks eventually fired Jackson and got rid of Carmelo. He went to the Thunder last summer, after they stunningly got Paul George, and we all thought this was going to be great. I was fully on board with this at the time. The best Carmelo has been Olympic Carmelo, and I thought that was what the Thunder would get. But, when asked in the offseason if he would be willing to take a bench role, he scoffed and demanded he start. That was the crack for me. I instantly lost all good will I had. He was washed about 5 years ago in my opinion, but he still viewed himself as a star, a first option. Russell Westbrook and Paul George are so much better than he is at basketball, but he didn't see it that way. He struggled mightily last year too. He wasn't that lock down three point shooter. He wasn't hitting mid range shots. He complained that he wasn't getting the ball enough. He was even worse on defense. It was a mess. But, due to George and Westbrook, the Thunder still made the playoffs. Then they crapped the bed. All three of their stars played bad, but Carmelo was the worst. He might as well have not even showed up, that was how unimportant he was in that first round series last year.

The buyout eventually came, as we all expected, and he signed with the Rockets, as we all expected. What made me laugh most was hearing the Rockets fans talk about how they were going to get the best out of him. That was the same thing the Thunder fans said. I was skeptical of this move from the start. They were replacing defensive guys like Trevor Ariza with Carmelo Anthony. Those 2 guys are the same player. In fact, I think, where we stand right now, Trevor Ariza is much, much better, especially on defense. Carmelo has been downright dreadful this year. He is not the player he was expected to be. He is not the shooter that can help the Rockets compete with the Warriors, or Bucks or Raptors or Celtics or even the Trailblazers. He had one good game, against the Nets early in the season, and it shocked me. That is how far he has fallen. What was once expected is now a shock. And after that Nets game, he somehow got worse from the field. Then the stories started to come out that the Rockets were going to "reevaluate" his spot on the team. Then some Rockets players said they were going to start preparing for him to be cut. The GM came out and said they hadn't made a decision yet, but that is a kiss of death. He also didn't play the other night with an "illness".

Carmelo is cashed out. I agree with Tracy McGrady, that he should retire. He is of no use to a contender anymore. Those teams are all set. Also, if he still thinks he is a starter, when or if he gets cut by the Rockets, he is going to have to go to a bottom dweller. He can go to Atlanta or Cleveland or, hell, I don't know any other bottom feeder that would want him. I have heard that the 76ers and Lakers have expressed interest of he is cut. I hope the 76ers don't do that, especially after trading for Jimmy Butler. They don't need those 2 head cases in their locker room. And the Lakers, that would just be hilarious. Yeah, sign Carmelo so guys like Brandon Ingram and Josh Hart and Kyle Kuzma lose valuable playing time so LeBron's buddy can put up pointless shots that he will most likely miss.

I once loved Carmelo's game, but now, it is sad to watch him play basketball. He is not the same guy. The game has passed him by. He is a shell of his former self. I feel bad for him. Let it go.

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. 

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Ty's 2018-2019 NBA Preview: Raptors, Thunder, Celtics

Today we enter the top 5. It would not surprise me if any of the teams I have today finish as the runner up to the Warriors in either the West Finals, or the Finals. These teams have stars, they know how to win and they are ready to win. Lets go.

At number 6 I have the Toronto Raptors. They soared up the rankings when they acquired Kawhi Leonard. Now, the whole trade, the Raptors trading the much beloved DeMar DeRozan, has been met with plenty of scrutiny, as it should have been. But, when you have a chance to get a healthy Kawhi, and you play in the East, I really can't blame them. What they did to DeRozan was shady as hell, but Kawhi, when healthy, is a much better overall player. He is one of, if not the, best defenders in the NBA. He is one of the few that can "shut down" LeBron. He can pretty much shut down anyone. He has also really improved his offensive game as well. He can get to the rim, he can hit jumpers and he gets to the line. It may just be a one year rental, but a motivated and healthy Kawhi is a player every team should want. And while they traded away DeRozan, and Jakob Poeltl, they still have a very solid roster around them. Kyle Lowry, for all his playoff short comings, is an all star guard. He is a good scorer. He plays solid defense. He is a willing passer, and now that he will control the ball, I think he will have one of his better years. I hope that translate to playoff success for him. Serge Ibaka is not the player he once was, but he can shoot from the outside, thus stretching the defense. But, he doesn't protect the rim like he used to and isn't a very good rebounder. OG Anounoby is a budding star. The fact that the Spurs tried real hard to get him should speak volumes. He is due to break out. I really like Fred Van Vleet. He is a great second point guard, he knows what to do on the floor and he is a great leader. Danny Green came over in the trade as well, and while he is in his early 30's, he can still shoot, and he plays solid defense. They still have Jonas Valenciunas, and while he is a good banger in the post, he doesn't do much else for the team. He might be their best rebounder, but that is about it. I do really like Pascal Siakim. He is young, has bounce, can play D and will learn to score. He has a future. I'm not crazy about the Greg Monroe signing, he is a lot like Valenciunas, but he does give them a solid option at the 5 off the bench. Delon Wright is a big, good scoring 2 guard. Norman Powell can shoot. And CJ Miles is a good vet. This team got so much better when they acquired Kawhi. He may help them exercise their playoff demons. And if he stays, this team can be a threat for years to come in the East.

At number 5 I have the OKC Thunder. Getting rid of Carmelo was the best thing they could have done. They also finally got rid of Kyle Singler. Also, Nick Collison finally retired. This team is a classic example of getting better by players leaving. Addition by subtraction if you will. Oh, they also have Russell Westbrook. While he is wildly frustrating to watch, and I would not want to play with him, he is an amazing basketball player. He goes 100 percent every night. He gives his all. He plays hard and tough. He is a former MVP. Westbrook might be, next to Giannis, the most athletic player in the league. Paul George decided to stick around, and I think that was a good move on his part. He is much better as the second option, and he is a great defender. He can also shoot the three pretty well now. And with a year of playing with him, and 2 off seasons together, I think he and Westbrook will click now. Steven Adams has not lived up to my personal hype, where I thought he might become one of the best centers in the league, but the dude is still a beast. He is as good a rebounder as their is in the NBA. He plays solid post defense and can score in the post. Other than that though, he doesn't do much else, and he is constantly in foul trouble. I like the addition of Dennis Schroder, as long as he doesn't think he is the first, second or third option. He will be great for the second unit, if he buys in, and when he gets to play with Westbrook, George and Adams, that could be a dangerous lineup. Andre Roberson is still not fully recovered from his ACL injury, but he will be back in a few months. When he comes back, he and George may be the best back court defenders in the NBA. Roberson just cannot shoot. At all. I love that they got Nerlens Noel on a one year, prove it to the league deal. He will give his all every night, and with his ability in the pick and roll, he and Westbrook or Schroder could be lethal. He is also a nasty defender. Jerami Grant sticking around was a low key great move. He is a do it all guy off the bench, and the Thunder needed him to stay. Alex Abrines showed glimpses of his outside shit last year. He will definitely get more looks. Raymond Felton is back, and while I like chubby pro athletes, it will be hard for him to find minutes on this team. Patrick Patterson didn't really play up to the contract he got last year, but he was hurt for a lot of the season. If he is right, and ready to play, he could have a decent impact on this team. I like the Thunder. I love that George stayed. This team should be much better than they were last year.

My final team for the day, coming in at number 4, I have the Boston Celtics. This team is loaded. In fact, the reason that aren't in my top 3, they might be too loaded. They have very good players at all positions, but it may be hard for Brad Stevens to find minutes for everyone. Kyrie Irving is back from injury, and he should be the face of this team. He is a wizard with the ball he can score from anywhere and he has won a title. He is also on the last year of his contract, so I expect a big year out of him. But, the Celtics also have Terry Rozier and Marcus Smart, both of whom are point guards. Rozier is a fan favorite, and he is also in the final year of a contract. Will he see the minutes he needs to get paid next offseason? I don't think so, unless Irving gets hurt. Smart didn't get the big offer he was hoping this offseason, so he had to come back. Will this light a fire under him, or will he mope? Also, he is probably the third best point guard on this roster. He is the best defender, by a wide margin, but Rozier and Irving are much, much better on offense than he is. Gordon Hayward comes back. I am not a fan of his. I think he is wildly overrated. He is also a fan of the current "government", and a religious weirdo, so I am fully out on him. But, he is back. But, Jayson Tatum played fantastically in his absence, he is younger and he is not coming off a devastating injury. Who will Stevens go with in crunch time? Will he pick the kid he recruited in high school and coached at Butler, Hayward, or will he go with the younger and more crowd pleasing Tatum? That will be a tough call for him. Jaylen Brown is easily the most athletic guy on this team. He can also shoot the three. He also plays defense. The fact that people don't mention him that much when they talk about this team blows my mind. He has future all star written all over him. He is also, without a doubt, the best 3 they have on the roster. No one else is even close. Al Horford is probably the smartest player in the NBA. He may be boring, but he is exactly who the young players need. He makes the right decision every time. He knows exactly where to be and when. He is a great interior defender. He made Joel Embiid vanish in the playoff last year. Horford is great, but he is older. That is why I love that they took Robert Williams in the second round. He will greatly benefit from learning from Horford. I also love that Semi Ojeleye is learning from him too. Honestly, Ojeleye is a younger, and stronger, version of him. Marcus Morris is a great vet, but I kind of feel like he will get lost in the shuffle of the amount of talent on this team. Aron Baynes is strictly there for toughness and nothing else. And Daniel Thies is a pure scorer off the bench. The Celtics have loads and loads of talent. They are also a popular team to take over the East. I want to see how Stevens creates time for all these players. He proved me very wrong last year, and I expect him to now. But, you never know. It will be interesting.

That's it for today. Come back tomorrow for the final three. The NBA season is almost here people. Time to get excited.

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. 

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Why Would Any Team Sign Carmelo Anthony?

With pretty much all of the big time free agents signed, and the Kawhi Leonard story getting more and more bizarre and strange everyday, there is still one player available, or soon to be for that matter, that is currently getting some buzz, and I want to give my 2 cents on him as well.

The player I speak of is Carmelo Anthony. While he isn't technically a free agent yet, the reports from everywhere say that the Thunder will let him leave. They will save a ton on the luxury tax and shed a player that just didn't fit right with the team last year. Carmelo Anthony, bless him, still thinks that he is a big time player. He still thinks that he is a number one, or at the very worst, number 2 option on a team. He still thinks his mid range game is formidable. He still thinks that he should be the last guy taking the shot at the end of the game. That is all very cute, but that is all very wrong.

Carmelo Anthony's best days are far, far behind him. He is beginning to look a lot like a has been. While he was never as dominant as Shaq was, the end of his career is beginning to resemble it. Shaq thought he was basically a hired hand going from town to town to bring them a title. After leaving Miami, he went to Phoenix to team up with Steve Nash. That was a disaster. He then went to the Celtics, maybe trying to help them regain some glory. That was worse than Phoenix. He even teamed up with LeBron in his first go round in Cleveland, and that was just plain sad. Shaq may be the greatest center to ever play the game, but the end of his career was horrible. Carmelo Anthony isn't 1/10 the player Shaq was, but, as I said earlier, the similarities are shocking.

Carmelo was a great offensive player while in Denver. He was electric and fun to watch, and he led that team further in the playoffs than they had been in a long, long time. He then forced his way out and demanded a trade to the Knicks, when he could have just signed there as a free agent. But, to his credit, the Knicks were a playoff team in his first couple years, and won 50 games a couple times. He made Madison Square Garden games a must watch for awhile. The Knicks attracted big name players and teams for primetime games on ESPN and TNT his first couple years in New York. Stars always play out when they come to the Garden, but when the Knicks are a good team, they play even better. At first, Carmelo to the Knicks was okay. Then it all fell apart. The sign and trade crippled the Knicks ability to really sign anyone of significance, and they started to truly become an awful basketball team. Carmelo just started to hoist shot after shot after shot after shot. They had no real solid rookies because they never had any real draft picks due to the trade. Oh, and when they did have a "high" pick, late teens, early 20's, they wasted it. Then Phil Jackson came aboard and just destroyed the team he played for in the NBA. He signed Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose to ludicrous contracts. He hired Jeff Hornacek, a coach that likes to play space and pace, and forced him to coach a team with one ball dominant guy. The only decent thing Jackson did was a mistake, he admitted as much, and that was drafting Kristaps Porzingis.

Last offseason, when Carmelo desperately needed a change of scenery, the Thunder traded for him. They figured they would get Olympics Carmelo to be the floor spacer for Paul George and Russell Westbrook. At the time, I loved this move. I figured Carmelo would love it too. But then he scoffed at coming off the bench during a preseason interview. He said he wasn't going to play any different. He was basically saying that he wasn't going to change, it was going to have to be George and Westbrook that would have to change. Well, as we all saw last season, it was a disaster. He was bad. The Thunder were, maybe, the most disappointing in all of the NBA last year. Carmelo looked sluggish. His shooting was awful. He disappeared at times, especially when he felt he wasn't getting enough touches. Oh, and his defense was truly awful, even for him. It just never worked out.

So, I was kind of surprised when he opted in, until I saw that he was opting in for 20 plus million dollars this upcoming season. Then it all made sense. Carmelo is not in the game to win titles, he wants to get paid. And that is fine, and that is his right. But now that he is about to be let go, and free to play anywhere next year, I have had to laugh at his preferred teams to go to. The 2 main teams are the Lakers and Rockets. I would absolutely love to see him sign with either one of these teams because I am not a fan of either one of these teams.

If he were to go to the Rockets, and Chris Paul is angling super hard for him to come there, and his contract is outrageous too by the way, how does he fit in with that team? Yes, he used to be able to shoot, but just look at last season. Also, would he be Ariza's replacement? Ariza actually plays solid defense, and at this point in their careers, Ariza is a better player. Also, would he be happy being the fourth, possibly fifth option in Houston? He wasn't happy being third in OKC. In Houston he would be behind Harden, Paul, Capela, Eric Gordon and maybe even Luc Mbah A Moute. How would that sit with him? How would he act in the locker room and with the media? Oh, and didn't we already see the disaster that was Carmelo playing on a Mike D'Antoni team a few years ago? We did, and it was terrible. This would be a poor signing.

Then we have the Lakers. As far as needing shooters, it makes sense. The Lakers have no shooters whatsoever. They gave LeBron a ton of money, and he deserves every penny. But, he is not a great outside shooter. He doesn't have to be. But, they have signed guys like Rajon Rondo, Lance Stephenson and Javale McGee. None of those guys can shoot the ball. They currently have Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma and Brandon Ingram on their roster. Ingram is the best "shooter" of the bunch, and he hit just above 35 percent from three. So, adding Carmelo would make sense. But, I say again, look at how poor he was last year as a shooter. Also, how would he feel being a fifth or sixth option on this Lakers team? How would he feel having to defer to guys that are a decade younger than he is? I feel like he would hate it. The moment that Luke Walton puts in Kyle Kuzma over Carmelo, we all know he'd lose his god damn mind. I'm sure he wants to team up with LeBron, but would this version of Carmelo be any better than what we saw last year with LeBron and Jeff Green? Hell, I feel like Jeff Green, right now, is a better basketball player than Carmelo. If he were to go to the Lakers, I feel like he would look like an older version of what we saw with Jae Crowder while he was in Cleveland last year. But, the Lakers are the team I want him to go to because I think it would be absolutely hilarious. It would be a total wreck, and I would love every single second of it.

Carmelo Anthony is washed up, and I feel like everyone knows it, except for him. I'm very curious to see where he ends up, but I already know that he will be a non factor wherever he is. Get that money while you still can Carmelo. Hopefully he gets it from a team with no title aspirations though.

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. 

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Help Ty Find a New NBA Team

I come to you all today asking for help.

Last night I was watching summer league basketball because there is no other sports on to watch. This part of the summer is my least favorite sports time because all that seems to be on is baseball, and baseball is boring as shit. So while I watched the Spurs summer league team dismantle the Hawks summer league team, side note, Trae Young has been dreadful his first 2 games, I was stuck trying to figure out who is my new team.

When I was a kid I was a big time, die hard, Seattle Super Sonics fan. That was my squad. I loved Gary Payton and his brashness and amazing defense. I enjoyed the hell out of Detlef Schrempf. I liked when they signed Xavier McDaniel, every team in the 90's needed that enforcer. I even liked Sam Perkins. But, it got no better than Shawn Kemp. He was, by far, my favorite NBA player. I loved his thunderous dunks, his rebounding, his physicality and his overall skill. He was a big dude that could move fast. He was amazing to watch in his prime. Some of his dunks are truly breathtaking. He and Payton were my guys. I had both their jerseys. I had the newer Shawn Kemp jersey when the Sonics changed their logo a bit. I had Shawn Kemp's shoes. I pretended to be him on the court. I rooted so hard for the Sonics. I really loved that team. They were not Wolverines football level, but they were probably my second favorite team. And even when Kemp, Schrempf, Perkins and Payton all moved on, I still rooted for them. I was one of the people stoked when they took Nick Collison. Things got even better when they drafted KD. Hell, I was even on board with them taking Jeff Green. The team was awful, but I still watched them whenever I could, and rooted hard for them.

The NBA then moved the Sonics, in a very, very controversial move, to Oklahoma City. Though I was skeptical at first, Seattle really does deserve an NBA franchise, it is a crime they still do not have one, I eventually gave in and became a Thunder fan. I liked KD, I liked Nick Collison, and in the next 2 drafts they would end up taking Russell Westbrook and James Harden. And soon after those guys, they would begin to develop Serge Ibaka, who many forget, he was good while with the Thunder. So, I became a Thunder fan. I started to buy t shirts and shorts with their logo on it. I was too old for jerseys, so they were out of the question. But, I still had plenty of NBA apparel that had the Thunder logo on it. Then they got real good real fast. I mean, they played the Heat in the Finals in, what I believe, was KD's fourth year in the league. I was astonished. I bought in even harder after that. Sure, they let Harden go, but as I have said before, no one knew he was going to become the guy he became. They still had KD and Westbrook, and they were good and fun. I loved watching them play. Even with Scotty Brooks as their head coach, the Thunder were always a threat. And, I bought into this new basketball of space and pace. I had never seen anyone like KD, someone that big that could shoot that well, and Westbrook gave me the hyper athletic and reckless play fix that I had been missing since Kemp left the Sonics.

Then, KD left. I immediately dropped the Thunder as my team. He was my guy and he went and joined the 73 win Warriors squad. The move hurt, but in hindsight, and 2 years removed, I get why he did it. I still love watching Westbrook play, but he is much too frustrating to be the guy that makes me want to stick with the Thunder. I do have mad respect for him for sticking it out there. That is a class move. But, I felt like a man with no team. I said, on the podcast and site, that I was going to be a Timberwolves fan, I like their young talent, but they are a mess and just no fun to watch. I learned that the hard way.

Last night, while watching the summer league game, I asked my wife, she is a saint for watching with me, who I should root for. She doesn't know much about basketball, so she said what about the Warriors. She knows I like KD and Boogie. But, I just cannot root for that team. They are too stacked, and they are unbeatable. She asked me about the Spurs because she has heard me talk about Kawhi Leonard. But, with his whole situation in flux, I just can't, even with my love for Greg Poppovich. She ran out of teams after that because she knows I will never, ever root for the Lakers, even with LeBron. I asked my dad, he and my mom came over for dinner last night, and he said I should root for his team from his youth, the Bucks. I do really, really like Giannis, but I can't root for the Bucks. They are way too inconsistent and rough. I then retreated to my phone and took a bunch of "who should I root for in the NBA" tests. I took 6 of them, and 5 came back as the Spurs. The other team was the Heat. If Kawhi stays, I may be a Spurs fan, but that seems unlikely. And no way am I becoming a Heat fan.

So, I ask you, my devoted readers, who should I root for? My priorities for a team are few, but important. I like teams with young talent that plays well together, and they are on the rise. They do not have to be a playoff team yet, but they should be on the cusp. The team also doesn't need to necessarily have a mega star, but that doesn't hurt. I also love hyper athletic, almost freakish type of players. I'm talking guys that when you see them play, they do something that makes your jaw drop. And my final priority, no team in LA, or even California for that matter. I just can't with those teams. So please, flood my Twitter and Facebook and the website with your recommendations. I know the Warriors are going to win the title, so I need a reason to watch another team. Send your suggestions ASAP, and thank you in advance. I'm sure you all will help me find my new NBA team.

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. 

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Let's Talk About the Future of the Disappointing OKC Thunder

With the Thunder officially out of the playoffs, and their season done, I want to reflect on what happened.

I was extremely high on this team coming into this season. I thought that they were finally giving in and teaming up stars and paying money to put out one of the best teams in the league. They lost KD and James Harden because they were too frugal, but Sam Presti finally decided that enough was enough. He traded, shockingly, for Paul George and went out and got Carmelo Anthony. They lost what they, and me, considered dead weight in players like Victor Oladipo, Damontas Sabonis and Enes Kanter. They finally addressed what was so glaring last season, and they got 2 bona fide super stars to team up with Russell Westbrook. How could this go wrong? I fully bought in, and so did many other people.

Then the season started. The Thunder came out of the gates sluggish. I figured, it takes time to get these 3 stars acclimated to playing with one another, and they would steady the ship. Meanwhile, Victor Oladipo was playing the best basketball of his life in Indiana, Enes Kanter was putting up solid number with the Knicks and Sabonis was contributing to a surprisingly good Pacers team. But, like I said, I figured it would all even out soon. But, the Thunder still struggled and the 3 "dead weight" players I mentioned continued to play well, especially Oladipo. There were occasional runs by the Thunder. They would go on 4 or 5 game win streaks, but those would be immediately followed by losses to teams like the Magic and Suns. The Thunder played great against the best teams, the Thunder and Rockets, but terrible against the bad ones. It was frustrating to watch because this team had so much talent, but they just weren't figuring it out.

Eventually the Thunder got enough wins to push themselves into a decent playoff spot, but, by all accounts, the regular season was a big time disappointment. And no, I do not blame this all on Westbrook. I feel like he tried and tried to change his game to fit with Carmelo and George, it just never worked. When they were entrenched in that 4 seed, I assumed that this was their time to shine. I picked them to beat the Jazz and to give the Thunder a tough series. And after game one, I looked right. Paul George was locked in. Westbrook was playing great, and Carmelo had been relegated to his proper role as a floor spacer and three point shooter. Then games 2-6 happened. The Thunder lost any kind of rhythm they had in game one so fast, I felt like I got whiplash watching them play. It was a sloppy mess. They just couldn't figure it out, and that was what plagued them all season. And letting Donovan Mitchell go off like he did was so unlike the Thunder. Mitchell is great, I have written as much, but the Thunder should have been able to, at the very least, slow down a rookie. Game 6 was an absolute nightmare scenario for the Thunder. Carmelo Anthony looked like he wanted to be anywhere else, and he only took 7 shots all game. Paul George scored 7 total points on 2-16 shooting. And while Westbrook had 46 points, he needed 43 shots to do it. He turned into the Westbrook from last season, and that was not what the Thunder needed in an elimination game. I know he has taken the brunt of the heat from the media, but I say again, I don't singularly blame him. Game 6 was tough to watch, but he was pretty good for the rest of the series. I know he got roasted one game by Ricky Rubio, but that was a flash in the pan. He was solid and he was a good distributor until game 6. Paul George had that magical game one, but after that, he turned into the playoff Paul George we have all come to know. He was inconsistent on offense and didn't play his normal hard nosed defense. He was one of the guys that let Mitchell go nuts. And Anthony, my god was he just dreadful all around. This might be the worst that I have seen him ever play basketball. He was so, so, so bad.

Now that the season is done, the questions have become, what will this team look like next year? Westbrook will be there. He signed a massive extension, and he will, most likely, be a Thunder for his entire professional career. He is the guy there, and they will build around him. They will get their best defender back next year, Andre Roberson, but how good will he be coming of a torn ACL? He is also a horrid offensive player. Steven Adams will look incredibly dominant at times, then disappear or get hurt. He has the potential to be one of the better centers in the league, he just has to fully commit. Then there are the younger guys and the role players that no one knows what they will do for the rest of their careers.

And then we have Carmelo and Paul George. Carmelo Anthony is done. He is not even a viable bench option, even if he thinks he isn't a bench player. He has fallen, and he has fallen hard. If I were a team, a contending team, and I needed shooting, Anthony wouldn't even be on my list. He wasn't just awful in the playoffs, he was terrible all year. He seems to have lost it on offense, and he was never a defensive player. I used to love watching him, especially when he was in Denver, but man has he gotten bad, and what makes it even worse, he doesn't seem to realize it. He is destined, if he thinks he is only a starter level player in the NBA, to be on very bad teams that just need to sell tickets. I'm talking about teams like the Nets, Mavericks and the Magic. He is just not good anymore.

What about Paul George? 

Paul George is awesome. Paul George can play really well at both ends. Paul George has moments. But, I feel like he isn't a guy you can build around. He will never be a "best player on a title contending team". They tried it in Indiana and they couldn't get any further than the East Finals. Then, he was teamed up with Westbrook this year, and he deflected more often than take over. He has the ability to be a star, I just don't think he has the instinct. He is so much more suited as a Robin to someone else's Batman. Unfortunately, Westbrook wants to be Robin, Batman, the Joker and the Butler. That is what I love about Westbrook. So, you look at some places he is mentioned to go, and I only see it if he teams up with a true star player. Say he goes to the Lakers, he better hope they get LeBron James or Kawhi Leonard. I've seen the 76ers mentioned. I hope that doesn't happen for 2 reasons, I like what the 76ers are doing now, and he would be the best player by ability and seniority, and that won't work. Besides those 2 teams, I don't know where he could go to be second fiddle to another star. Maybe he and LaMarcus Aldridge could team up, but they both are playoff chokers. Maybe teaming him up with Damian Lillard would work, but probably not. That would make the Blazers exactly what they are now, a middling Western Conference playoff team. Maybe put him with Giannis in Milwaukee, but I think he would think he is better than Giannis, and the Bucks should be his team. I honestly don't know what George will do, and it kind of bothers me. He has all the tools to be a star, but where is that killer instinct I mentioned before? It comes and goes far too often.

When I look back at this particular Thunder team, I will always see what I considered the biggest disappointment of the 2017-18 NBA season. They were so much better than a mid 40 win team and a first round playoff out. They had 2 of the 15 best players in the league on their team, and they never figured it out. Billy Donovan proved he is a bad NBA coach. Sam Presti made an awful decision to trade for Carmelo. The Thunder took a big swing, a homerun swing, and they whiffed big time. This was the worst case for this team, and next year, they will look totally different. At least they still have Westbrook. He will always keep them in the conversation.

Ty

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

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

The SeedSing 2018 NBA Playoff Preview

The NBA playoffs are set, and the games kick off on Saturday. I'm am here today for my annual playoff preview. I'll go through the East and the West, pick a winner for each series all the way down to the finals. I will give my finals matchup, the winner and the MVP of the series. Tomorrow I will do all my awards, but today is strictly for just the playoffs. Alright, here we go.

In the East the seeding is as follows, Toronto is 1, Celtics 2, 76ers 3, Cavs 4, Pacers 5, Heat 6, Bucks 7 and Wizards 8. So, that gives us first round series of Toronto-Washington, Boston-Milwaukee, Philadelphia-Miami and Cleveland-Indiana. Truth be told, these are some good series. In the Toronto-Washington matchup, I am going with Toronto, but it will be tough. I know Washington is dysfunctional, everyone on that team seems to dislike John Wall, they have limped to the playoffs, they don't play great defense, but they will make it tough on Toronto. They have always struggled with this team because Wall and Beal give Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan all they can handle on both ends. But, I think the mixture of Toronto's bench and the mess that is the Wizards right now will give the Raptors the series in 6 games. They will be 6 tough games though.

In the Boston-Milwaukee series, it would be so much easier to pick if Kyrie Irving was still healthy. I'm still going with Boston, but Milwaukee, mostly Giannis Antentekoumpo, will make it hard. Giannis is a beast. He is an upper echelon star now. And, with Irving out, he is, far and away, the best player in this series. He can single handily win 3 games. The fourth one will be the problem. Also, Boston has Brad Stevens as head coach, Al Horford is still out there, Jaylen Brown is playing good basketball and Jayson Tatum seems to have gotten past the rookie wall. Boston will win, but it will take 7 games.

I love the 3-6 matchup of Philly and Miami. Miami can matchup with Philadelphia everywhere. Miami can play any style of basketball needed to win. Miami has more playoff experience. Miami has the much, much better coach. And, Joel Embiid may not play in the first round. But, Ben Simmons is on a whole other level right now. He doesn't seem like he is going to be taken down by the moment. He might be forced to shoot jumpers, but the dude can get out of that by driving and kicking. And, the shooters around him are hitting shots at the right time. Again, this will be a long, hard fought series, but I have fully bought into the 76ers hype, and I have them in 7 games, 6 if Embiid plays at all in the series.

Finally in the East's first round we have Cleveland-Indiana. This series could go a number of different ways. Cleveland can steam roll them. Indiana can muddy it up and make it a slog. Cleveland could decide to not play defense. Cleveland is almost as dysfunctional as Washington. Indiana was not even supposed to be here. They are young. They have surprised everyone this year. Now, I like the Cavs simply because of playoff LeBron. He will not allow his team to lose in the first round. If they do, he is gone. But, he will not let that happen, and I have the Cavs in 5. LeBron is just too good and he is great in the playoffs.

The second round will pit Toronto against Cleveland and Boston against Philly. Toronto is stuck with another team that they struggle with. Cleveland owns Toronto, and I don't see that changing now. Again, LeBron will impose his will, and the Cavs will outscore Toronto on their way to a fourth straight Eastern Conference finals appearance.

In Philly-Boston, I have to say, I love the 76ers. Irving is out, as previously mentioned. Embiid will be back 100 percent. No one on Boston can guard Ben Simmons. Philadelphia's shooters will be open. The Celtics just don't have the guys to compete this year. I have Philly in 6 in this series.

So that would pit the 76ers against the Cavs in the East Finals. The 76ers are way ahead of schedule, but this is where all the hype ends. Cleveland has LeBron, and LeBron will not allow his team to get beat by such a young team. These 2 teams played a great regular season game a couple weeks ago, but it was regular season. The game didn't really matter. LeBron will once again be in the Finals. That would make it 8 straight.

Now, the West. The seeding in the West is as follows, Houston 1, Golden State 2, Portland 3, OKC 4, Utah 5, New Orleans 6, San Antonio 7 and Minnesota 8. The matchups are Houston-Minnesota, Golden State-San Antonio, Portland-New Orleans and OKC-Utah. Houston will beat Minnesota, but it will be tougher than expected. I guarantee they wanted Denver because of their lack of defense. While Minnesota isn't much better, they do at least try on that end. Also, Towns is much better than Clint Capela. Jimmy Butler can give James Harden fits. But, Chris Paul will be there to help out Harden, Eric Gordon and Trevor Ariza will hit threes and the discrepancy in talent on the rosters is widely in Houston's favor. They are also having a "magical" year. The Rockets will win in 6 games, but it will be a bloodbath.

Golden State is going to blow the doors off the Spurs, and I love the Spurs. But, no Kawhi is going to kill them against he Warriors. And I know that Steph isn't playing in the first round, but KD, Klay and Draymond are all there. I also think the Warriors are playing possum right now, and I think they are going to come into the playoffs with their heads on fire. I have the Warriors in a sweep.

Portland-New Orleans is going to be a good series, with very high scoring games. The Pelicans have no one that can stop Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum, but who do the Trailblazers have that can stop Anthony Davis? No one. He is going to EXPLODE in the playoffs. I'm so excited to watch him play. I'm excited to see Lillard and McCollum too. This is going to be the best first round series in my opinion, and I think the Pelicans will win in 7 simply because Anthony Davis is playing on a whole other level right now.

OKC-Utah is the second best series. These 2 teams couldn't be more different, and it will make for a fun matchup. Russell Westbrook is playing pretty great right now. But, he will find it hard to get open looks at the rim with Rudy Gobert down low. Donovan Mitchell has had an amazing season, but he will have to beat Paul George on defense. Steven Adams can stop Gobert down low, but Gobert can do the same to him. Carmelo has been dreadful this year, but maybe he turns it on for the playoffs. He hasn't been in awhile too. This is going to be a fun series, and I have OKC grinding out a 7 game series victory. Westbrook is too good, and Paul George is one of the better defenders in the league. I love Mitchell and Gobert, but they aren't ready just yet.

That gives us a second round of Houston-OKC and Golden State-New Orleans. Houston-OKC will be fun. OKC gets up for the better teams in the league, and they just beat Houston in a game, but Houston trounced them in the playoffs last year, and the Rockets didn't have Chris Paul last year. Also, Adams is way too slow to keep up with Capela, and Carmelo will be torched on defense. Chris Paul will finally make his first trip to a conference final in his career, as the Rockets will win in 6.

Golden State is again, much like their first round matchup, going to squash the Pelicans. Sure, AD will go off, but who is going to stop KD, Klay and Steph, who will be back? Oh, and Draymond too. This series will be a wash. Golden State in a sweep once again.

These outcomes will give us the much anticipated Houston-Golden State West Finals. And we all know how poorly Harden, Paul and Mike D'Antoni play and coach in the most important series. The Rockets will choke. Everyone wants to pick them. Everyone says they are finally ready to take the throne from the Warriors. Everyone seems to think that D'Antoni is doing a better job than Kerr. Well, D'Antoni's recent remarks, the whole "winning a title does not define how good this season was" said all I needed to hear. He is already bracing himself for when his team gets beat. Golden State will take their first 2 playoff losses, but I have them winning the series in 6.

This gives us a fourth straight Cleveland-Golden State finals. And, much like last year, Golden State is going to smoke them. I think they will sweep them out this year, and it won't even be that close. Golden State is so much better, they play defense, they will care and they will crush the Cavs to win their third title in 4 years. As far as the Finals MVP, I will go with Steph. It is his turn.

There you have it, my 2018 NBA playoff preview. I love this time of year.

Ty

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

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It is Now Time for Some Thunder Panic in Oklahoma City

Usually I am not one to worry about a NBA team only 20 games into a season. I said as much a couple weeks ago in a piece detailing the "hot" starts of teams like the Magic, Bucks and Clippers. I also said that people shouldn't be worried about some teams off to a "slow" start, like the Jazz, Grizzlies and Spurs. And, while some of those teams have fallen into place, the Clippers are trash and the Spurs are righting the ship, still without Kawhi Leonard, I do have to say that, if I am/was a Thunder fan, I'd be worried.

The Thunder have not seemed to figure it out, and they have 3 of the top 30 players in the NBA on their team. Where we stand today they are 8-12, and they could be much, much worse than that. I was extremely high on this team going into the season. I figured they could challenge for the second or third seed in the West. I was willing to put them in the Western Conference Finals. I assumed Russell Westbrook was only going to get better coming off an MVP season. Adding Paul George and Carmelo Anthony were both home run moves by the front office. Getting Westbrook to sign that massive extension was icing on the cake. But, a quarter of the way into the season, they have not even come close to playing how I envisioned them playing.

What is wrong in Oklahoma City? They play great defense. That all comes with Paul George. That dude is a solid defender. Probably one of the top defenders in the league. But, their offense is very lackluster, and they cannot close out games. Every time I check their box score on my phone, they seem to hold a decent lead going into the second half, and when I check it later to see the final score, they are always on the wrong end. I think their "big three" are having trouble meshing right now.

Right off the bat I have to say that I do not think this is all on Westbrook. I know that he is an easy target, and a lot of other writers seem to like to attack the way he plays. But, he is not the sole reason this team cannot close games out. He isn't playing the way he played last year, but he isn't playing like trash either. He is second in the league in assists. He is still scoring 20 plus points a game. And, he has put in effort on defense this year. So no, I will not put full blame on him because that is way too easy, and kind of hacky if you ask me. I will say about Westbrook though, he is not being as explosive as he should/can be. He is deferring to his new teammates to a fault. He is trying to hard at times to get Anthony, George and Steven Adams involved. He is the alpha on this team, and late in games, he needs to take over.

I think Paul George has fit in okay, but he is struggling with his shot right now. I've heard some people say that the Thunder are just stashing him in a corner and letting Westbrook dictate what to do, but I do not buy that. George isn't the type of player that would just be happy with sitting back and waiting for open shots. He is a rim attacker, and that allows his jumper to become open. Like I said, the problem with him is that his shot is not dropping right now. That is something that can be fixed, but it needs to happen now. They cannot get much further back in the standings before it becomes a devastating blow to their playoff hopes.

I don't know what in the hell Carmelo Anthony is doing. He is shooting nearly as much as he did in New York. He is not making many of those shots though. I have not seen him pass the ball once whenever I tune into a Thunder game. And his defense, well it is Carmelo Anthony, so defense is not really an option. I wanted him so badly to be Olympic Carmelo. He is the player of the "big three" that should be standing in the corner waiting for the pass for the open three. He is so deadly when he has time to set and shoot. He can also be hidden on defense on this team. He is literally there just to make open shots. He is not the first or second option anymore, and until he realizes that, the Thunder will continue to struggle.

The rest of the team, I think, is still trying it adjust to having these 2 new all stars. Steven Adams has not really lived up to the hype from a few years back when he looked like one of the best up and coming centers. He still gets rebounds and throws down some alley oops, but they need more from him. Alex Abrines is too young and too green for the NBA right now. Patrick Paterson, another free agent signing, is hurt. The rookie Terrance Ferguson, he is playing like a rookie. Their best bench player is Ray Felton, and that stinks. I like Felton, but he cannot be your best guy off the bench. That hasn't worked for any other team that has tried to do that.

What also irks me about their very slow start is some of the losses they have taken. If they were 8-12 with losses to the likes of the Rockets, Warriors, Spurs and Cavs, that would kind of be justified. But, they have losses to the Kings, Mavericks and just last night, the Magic. That should not happen with three players as talented as Anthony, George and Westbrook. That makes absolutely no sense to me.

I'm already preparing to eat crow for thinking this team would be great. Billy Donovan has proven to be a very low rent pro coach. He has been handed some of the best players in the world, yet he can't seem to draw up anything of value late in games. Westbrook needs to be more alpha dog and less, let me get the new guys involved. George, while killing it on defense, needs to start hitting his shots and being way more aggressive. And Anthony, he needs to be that lethal outside threat that this team lacked last year. They still have time, we are only 20 game in, but the Thunder have absolutely been the biggest bust of the first quarter of the season. Lets se if they can turn it around.

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. 

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Note to all the Podcasting Fanboys, The NBA Season is a Long Way from Being Over

I listen to a ton of podcasts, and most of those podcasts are sports related. I do love comedy podcasts, but other than that, it is either college football or the NFL, NCAA basketball and the NBA. Since the NBA started about 3 weeks ago, I have pretty much exclusively listened to NBA podcasts now. And 3 weeks into this season, these hosts of the podcasts I listen to need to chill the hell out. People are already, only after most teams have played, at most, 11 games, making outrageous claims.

I was listening to the Ringer NBA Show this morning, and one of the co hosts said that he thinks the Knicks will make the playoffs. After 9 god damn games. That is nuts. First off, it is only 9 games. They still have 73 games left to play. They have only won 5 of those 9 games. Yes, Kristaps Porzingis has been great so far, but I say again, it is 9 games. Also, who else do the Knicks have on that roster that can propel them to the playoffs, even in the East? Tim Hardaway Jr? Frank Ntilikina? Jarrett Jack? Enes Kanter? None of those guys, and I like Hardaway Jr and Kanter, are that great. So, no, I do not think the Knicks will push for a playoff spot. They are only 5-4, and I'd be shocked if they win more than 32-35 games this year.

Also, these same guys that are all over the Knicks, they crap all over the Pistons, who are off to a much better start, and more equipped for a playoff run, especially in the East. They say all the things about the Pistons that I say about the Knicks. They say it is just a fast start and that they will level out. They say they don't have any stars. They do not like the coach. They do not like the roster. That is everything I say about the Knicks. But, I like the Pistons much, much more. The Pistons do not have a Porzingis, but they have a pretty decent roster construct. I am a big Andre Drummond fan. He is a classic throwback big, and he is actually making free throws now. I don't like Reggie Jackson, but he is playing some good basketball right now. Avery Bradley has been an exceptional addition to the team. I do think they will be right around .500 when the year ends, but they are so much better than the Knicks, yet they do not get the same love.

Orlando is another team that people are saying can push for the playoffs. What? How? Who do they have? Frank Vogel is a good coach, but this team is not even close to playoff ready. Aaron Gordon is a blast to watch dunk, but isn't he just a poor man's Blake Griffin, without the jump shot? Elfrid Payton has not lived up to the expectations. He has been very subpar as a pro. Johnathan Issac is long and athletic, but he is still a rookie, and we will have to wait and see if his rail thin body can hold up for 82 games. The best thing about the Magic though, Johnathan Simmons. He has been a revelation since signing there this offseason. But he is not enough to make the Magic a playoff team.

These podcast hosts are already trashing the Cavs because of their "slow start". The Cavs are 5-6 right now, and they do look bad on defense. But, they have LeBron, and they will be just fine when it matters. In fact, if you look at the wins they have, they are good wins. Sure, losing to the Pelicans and Hawks isn't great. But, they have wins over the Celtics, Wizards and Bucks, all playoff teams. The Cavs roster is very poorly put together, but they have LeBron, and he is the best player in the game right now. He can turn it on when needed, and I am done being one of the people saying that this is the year that the Cavs take a slide. Hell, they only won 51 games last year and still made the Finals.

Same can be said for the Warriors. The Rockets beat them on opening night, and then they lost 2 more games after that. Since then, I believe they have won every single game that they have played. The Warriors are so god damn good that when they get beat it is jarring, but they will be just fine.

The Thunder are off to a "slow" start, sitting at 4-6. But, I said in my preseason preview that it would take a month or 2 for Carmelo, Paul George and Russell Westbrook to figure out how to play together. They are going to be just fine. In fact, I am pleasantly surprised at how much Russell Westbrook has been passing the ball. George and Carmelo are cold right now, but they will start to make shots, and this team will start to put together stretches of 5 wins in 7 games or 9 wins in 11 games. They are going to be a 50 plus win team by season's end.

The Spurs have started okay, but Kawhi Leonard has yet to see the floor. Same thing for Tony Parker. LaMarcus Aldridge has been playing very well, but he needs Kawhi and Parker. And when those guys come back, the Spurs will 50 plus games again.

I've heard a ton about this rookie class so far on these podcasts too. And while I think this class will go down as one of the greatest, people again need to chill the hell out. Markelle Fultz is hurt. People are already calling him a bust, but he is hurt. Something is wrong with his shoulder. Also, isn't this the way of the 76ers? Don't they always sit their top draft picks for, at least, one year? I think Fultz will be just fine. I believe he is going to be a decent NBA player with a 10 plus year career. Lonzo Ball seems to be on TV every night, and from what I have seen, the dude can pass, but he cannot shoot, dribble or play defense. He also looks very disengaged during games, especially when someone puts pressure on him when he has the ball. He can learn how to dribble and play defense, but that shot is trash. His form is straight garbage. He needs to work on that. He will be a quality player, but he is no franchise savior, and the ESPN's of the world need to stop putting the Lakers on TV all the time. They are not a good team. There are some other rookies that have been playing well so far, but time will tell. Donovan Mitchell seems to be putting it together. Lauri Markannen has completely surprised me with his scoring. DeAron Fox is so fast and such a good distributor. Dennis Smith Jr seems to have a highlight play every night. These guys are good, but lets give it a bit more time before we put these guys in the Hall of Fame, with the exception being Ben Simmons. He has been absolutely amazing. He is as advertised, and if he ever gets a jump shot, he will be great.

My final thought of the first 3 weeks in the NBA, Bill Simmons needs to chill the hell out on the Celtics. Yes, they are 10-2. Yes, Kyrie Irving looks very good. Yes, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum have been very, very good. Yes, Brad Stevens can coach. And yes, they have recovered quite nicely from Gordon Hayward's horrific injury on opening night. But, it is 12 games. They lost their first 2 games, and they have won every game since. But, what decent teams have they beaten? I know for a fact that they struggled a bit with the Lakers last night, before finally pulling away late. But again, it is 12 games. If you look at Bill Simmons Twitter feed, you'd think that they are getting ready to hang a banner already. They have the best record after 12 games, but I scream, IT IS ONLY 12 GAMES! They need to do it all year long before I buy in. This is the first time Jaylen Brown has been a priority player since high school. Jayson Tatum is a rookie who missed a ton of time his lone season in college. I don't trust Aron Baynes as far as I could throw him, and that isn't that far. The Morris twin is fine, but he is losing minutes to younger guys. And Kyrie, while he is distributing now, will he do that in critical games? I don't know. I watched him jack up an awful three in game 3 of the Finals last year, when he could have pushed for a 2 for 1 opportunity, or get the ball to an open shooter. Kyrie wants to be the guy to shoot the ball at the end of the game, for better or worse. Calm down Bill Simmons, and the entire Ringer staff for that matter, pertaining to the Celtics hot start. It is only 3 weeks into the year, and if I were asked who would win a 7 game series right now between Boston and Cleveland, I'd take Cleveland in 5 or 6 games. Just remember, the Lakers started 10-10 last year, and people thought they might push for the playoffs, and I think they won something like 15 games the rest of the year.

So while some of these teams are hot, and some are starting slow, it is an 82 game season, and nothing is decided after 3 weeks. Nothing at all. Chill out everyone, the NBA is a long, long season, and the Warriors will still be the champions at the end of the year.  

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. 

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

Ty's 2017-2018 NBA Preview: Playoffs and Award Predictions

With the 2017-18 NBA season kicking off tonight, god am I excited, I have one final preseason piece for everyone. As I promised yesterday, today I have all of my predictions. This will include my playoff teams from each conference, plus the playoff teams if they went with the 16 best records, the conference finals, the NBA finals, and all the award winners, including finals MVP. Anyway, lets get to it.

First off, I want to do the playoff teams from each conference. I will write them in order, counting from 1-8. I'll start with the East because it is so much easier than the West. The East is a joke. It was so damn easy to pick the 8 teams. So, I have Cleveland, Boston, Washington, Milwaukee, Toronto, Miami, Charlotte and Detroit ever so slightly over the 76ers. I have no faith in Detroit, I believe they were in the 20's in my countdown, but they are a better bet for the playoffs, in my opinion, this year than Philadelphia. But, it doesn't really matter. It is going to be Cleveland going to the finals. They will face either Boston or Washington in the East finals, but do not count out Milwaukee. I really feel like Giannis Antentekoumpo can will this team to some playoff wins, and I would not be totally shocked if the Bucks make the East finals. But, again, Cleveland will win the East with relative ease. They may have gotten older, but they have a better roster than any other team in the East, and they still have LeBron James. All that dude does is go to finals, and sometimes win them.

As far as the West, the 4 teams at the top were easy, but then it gets really difficult. There are about 7 teams vying for the 4 final spots in the West. As far as the seeds go, I have Golden State, OKC, Houston, San Antonio, Denver, Minnesota, New Orleans and Portland. This leaves out Memphis and the Clippers. Both teams have the talent to get to the playoffs, but I see too many things getting in their way. Memphis has no one outside of Mike Conley Jr and Marc Gasol. The Clippers best players are bound to get hurt. Danilo Gallinari is already hurt. Blake Griffin will get hurt. Patrick Beverly is bound to miss time. It always happens to the Clippers, so I do not see that changing at all this year. And while I think the Utah Jazz will play great defense, and really push for a playoff spot, the West is too good and they will miss out barely. As frustrating as it is to write, the Warriors will easily get to the Finals for a fourth straight time. They may go undefeated again on their way back to the Finals. As far as their Western Conference Finals opponent, I have them facing OKC. I am not too sure why, maybe I just want the Thunder to face KD, but I feel like, once the Thunder's big three figure it out, they are going to be very, very good. Chris Paul and James Harden will choke, they always do. The Spurs do not have enough behind Kawhi and LaMarcus Aldridge to really push. And the four other teams, the Warriors would dominate.

So we will have the inevitable Cleveland-Golden State finals for the fourth straight year. The funny thing too, even with my top 16 teams, which I will get to in a moment, I'd still have the Cavs and Warriors in the Finals. As far as just getting the top 16 teams in the playoffs, leaving the conferences and division winners and all that nonsense out, just flat out taking the 16 teams with the best records, I'd have, in order, Golden State, Boston, OKC, Houston, San Antonio, Cleveland, Washington, Denver, Minnesota, Milwaukee, Toronto, Miami, New Orleans, Portland, Utah and Charlotte. So, that gives 9 West teams and 7 East teams. I really struggled with figuring out who the 16th seed would have been. I went with Charlotte, but I really thought long and hard about the Clippers, again, I remembered their poor health and lack of any kind of solid guards, and Memphis, but I remembered they only have 2 great players, and a bunch of mediocre role players. But again, even with Cleveland being the team with the 6th best record, they would still face off with Golden State in the Finals. Both outcomes reveal the same result for me.

So, as far as the champ, it is the Warriors. They are going to easily win the Finals once again. They are too good and too loaded. They could even take some injuries to key guys, and they'd still walk to the title. The Warriors are too god damn good to be beaten. If they do not win the Finals I'd be shocked. They are that great. In fact, I think the Warriors will win 70 plus games during the season, and go undefeated in the playoffs and completely sweep their way to a title. The Warriors will be your 2018 NBA champs.

As far as award winners goes, lets start with the smaller ones first. For sixth man of the year, I'll go with Tristan Thompson. He has totally embraced his move to the bench, and I think he is going to be great off the bench for the Cavs. He is a perfect energy guy, and I think he will destroy second unit centers. I suppose 6th man of the year is probably the "smallest" award the NBA has. Now for the "big" ones. For coach of the year I have Jason Kidd. I love what the Bucks have going, and much to my surprise, a lot of that has to do with Kidd's direction. He has turned himself into a solid NBA coach, and with the way the Bucks are rising, I see Kidd getting another award to add to his trophy case. For rookie of the year I have Dennis Smith Jr. I love everything that Smith Jr has going for him. He is hyper athletic, he has great teammates, he will run the pick and roll to perfection with guys like Nerlens Noel and Dirk Nowitzki, and he is going to put up gaudy numbers because he will given the keys to the Mavericks offense. He is in an ideal situation for a rookie, and he has something to prove after "dropping" to 9th in the draft. For defensive player of the year I have Rudy Gobert. There is no better rim protector in the NBA, and he will be the best defender on one of the best defensive teams in the NBA. For Finals MVP I have Steph Curry finally getting his. He has won 2 regular season MVP's and 2 titles, but he hasn't gotten that Finals MVP yet. That changes this year. It is his turn after Andre Iguodala winning the first, and KD winning last year. And the final, and most important award, the regular season MVP, I have Kevin Durant. He is going to go off this year, and with a full season, a title and a finals MVP under his belt, he is going to win his second regular season MVP. I was going to go with LeBron, but I just feel like KD is going to tear the league apart this year. Hopefully this doesn't spell doom for him, seeing as David Johnson and Deondre Francois, my preseason NFL MVP and preseason Heisman winner, both went down with season ending injuries in week one of the NFL and college football seasons. I don't think anything bad will happen to KD though. He has suffered through enough injuries.

Anyway, I am so excited to watch the NBA kick off tonight. This is my favorite time of the year because now I have college football, the NFL and now, the NBA. There will always be some kind of sports event that I love on during almost every day of the week. What a great time to be a sports fan. Enjoy the NBA season everyone, and thanks for reading my preseason countdown and picks. I'm sure I'll have many pieces during and after the season, but this is how I see everything just a few hours before the actual season tips off. I cannot wait.

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. 

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

SeedSing is funded by a group of awesome people. Join them by donating to SeedSing.

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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How Good will Oklahoma City be Next Year Now that they Added Carmelo Anthony?

Carmelo Anthony finally, mercifully, got traded this past Saturday. This was a long time coming. I was at work, and the news buzzed that Melo had been traded. Naturally I assumed it was to the Rockets. That was all the talk for the entire summer, so I figured both teams finally pulled the trigger.

Well, it wasn't the Rockets. My next thought was the Trailblazers. I knew they were a long shot, but at the "eleventh hour", it seemed like a deal was in the works. If this was the destination, I was actually on board. I didn't think it would make them a title contender, but I loved the idea of a McCollum, Lillard and Anthony backcourt. There wouldn't have been much defense, but they would have scored a ton.

Well, it wasn't the Trailblazers. The next team I assumed was the Cavs. I read that he had opened up to being traded to a few new teams, and the one team that was number one on that list was the Cavs. He could finally unite with is buddy LeBron, and he would add some much needed scoring now that Kyrie Irving is gone. He could also make that team a little bit harder to defend. They would have been horrendous on defense, but they could have scored 120 a night.

It wasn't the Cavs though either. Much to mine, and almost everyone else's surprise, Melo was traded to the Thunder. The OKC Thunder pulled off two of the most unexpected, crazy moves of the summer. I was floored when they traded Victor Oladipo and Domantis Sabonis for George. I was SHOCKED when they got Melo for Doug McDermott and Enes Kanter! Absolutely shocked. I didn't see this coming at all. The Thunder were never, ever in the mix for Melo. No one mentioned their name, especially after they pulled off the Paul George trade. My hat goes off to Sam Presti and the Thunder organization for what they did this summer. They may only have this "big 3" for one season, but in the process they were able to unload terrible contracts, Oladipo and Kanter, an unproven rookie, Sabonis and a poor man's JJ Redick in Dougie McBuckets. If they do lose all three of these guys after one lone season, they will have a ton of money to spend on free agents.

But, lets deal with that topic next summer. I want to look at this current lineup that the Thunder will trot out there this season. There assumed starting 5 will be Westbrook, Andre Roberson, Paul George, Carmelo and Steven Adams. That is a pretty damn good starting 5, if they can mesh. That will be the biggest problem they will face early on. I read a stat a few days back that said that George, Westbrook and Carmelo were numbers 1, 2 and 3 in isolation plays last year. This is a classic case of, "there is only one ball" talk. They will have to learn to share the ball. I'm pretty confident that they will figure it out, but Westbrook will have the toughest transition. He is coming of an incredible season where we won the MVP and averaged a triple double. But, he did those things because he had too. He didn't have many weapons at his disposal. He has those weapons now, and he will have to learn to share the ball. I think that Paul George is a perfect guy to play next to Westbrook. George is an awesome defender. He is one of the better ones in the league. He is also a good scorer, and I think he will thrive playing off the ball. He had to do too much while in Indiana. Now, with Westbrook running the point, he can roam and find open spots. He will eventually score in bunches. I'm very curious to see how Melo fits in. He has been "the man" in both Denver and New York. Now, he is the third option. He is older, a poor defender, but he can fill it up. He can score and score and score again. He will get a TON of open shots on this team. With Westbrook and George being more of the driving type player, he will get a lot of catch and shoot chances. That is when he is at his best. That is what he does on Team USA, and he always shows out at the Olympics. He is old though, at least in the NBA. He will be a liability on defense. He may get mad at the lack of touches he will get. But, he is a top 20 NBA player, don't buy that stupid ranking that ESPN, or whoever did prior to this season.

As far as the other starters, Steven Adams will be needed for toughness and rebounding, which is what he does already. And Andre Roberson won't have to worry about shooting and can strictly focus on defending one of the better players on the other team, which he is best at. They both benefit from these 2 trades. As far as their bench, the Patrick Paterson signing is great, but he will lose some minutes to Carmelo. It's not a big deal, but they will need Paterson in the playoffs. Jerami Grant will get a chance at being the backup point and 2, and he should do well in short bursts here and there. Alex Abrines will be a minor scoring threat off the bench. Semaji Christon was awesome in Summer League. I'd like to see that translate to the NBA. And who knows with Terrance Ferguson, their first round draft pick. He is a great scorer, but no one really knows all that much about his overall game.

This Thunder team will be all about Westbrook, George and Carmelo, as it should be. I think this team, once they figure it out, will be very good. I could see them winning 50-55 games. I think they could be the 2 or 3 seed in the West. That all depends on how well James Harden and Chris Paul mesh. But, the Thunder will be better than the Rockets.

With all this being said though, it does not matter. They are still nowhere near the level of the Warriors. The Warriors are the best team, by a wide, wide margin, in the NBA. I love that teams are trying to pull in stars and band together to try and beat the Warriors, but all their best players are some of the best at their positions, and they are all in their primes. The Warriors are too good. But, I love this trade and I'm super excited to watch the Thunder again. I'm still sticking with the Timberwolves and Spurs as my new teams, but these 2 trades make the Thunder must watch basketball for me this year.

I'm still shocked they got Carmelo Anthony.

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. 

Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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