Ty Ranks the 2023 - 2024 NBA Teams - Watching Your Favorite Act Perform in a Stadium with 100,000 of Your Closest Friends Division

Welcome back to my preseason NBA countdown. This is the final day of the countdown. I will be giving you my top five teams heading into the season. I'll do awards and postseason predictions tomorrow to wrap it all up. Now, to the final five teams.

At 5 I have the Philadelphia 76ers. I don't know that a team with this much offseason turmoil is deserving of this high of a ranking, but the team on paper is very, very good. They have really good, star players. Hiring Nick Nurse was a home run as well. This team is stacked, if they stick it out. James Harden is still here, much to his chagrin. He is becoming more and more of a baby, but when he is dedicated and trying hard, he is a 25 ppg guy and a double digit assist guy. Joel Embiid is the reigning MVP. He is the best big in the NBA. He is as smooth as it gets on offense and a total menace near the rim on defense. Embiid is awesome, except for the playoffs. He needs to stay healthy during the playoffs and perform better. Tyrese Maxey is an up and coming star. He is on the path to being an all star. He is also a knockdown shooter and excellent shot creator. Tobias Harris is solid. He may not be worth his contract, but he is steady. I also watched him live twice last year and was super impressed. PJ Tucker is still a very feared defender, but he is an absolute goose egg on offense. De'Anthony Melton proved to be a great offseason addition last year. Danuel House Jr can still shoot a bit too. They also revamped their bench this offseason. I think Patrick Beverly will prove to be a good vet to have in the locker room. Kelly Oubre will bring extra offense. Mo Bamba can give five or six decent minutes a night. Danny Green looks okay. The 76ers have a very good team. Their season will all depend on how they come together, but they have the talent to win, and win big.

At 4 I have the Phoenix Suns. The Suns went for it all last season and ate it hard against the eventual champs. They decided to make some changes this offseason. Devin Booker is still here and still awesome. He is fast becoming one of the top players in the NBA. He is very good. Kevin Durant will have a full season with Booker now and hopefully he doesn't get hurt in warmups again. He is still an upper echelon player on both ends. They moved on from Chris Paul and went out and got Bradley Beal. Beal is a good player. He had big moments in Washington. I am still concerned how he fits here, but either way he brings scoring. Then they decided to make more changers. They got Jusuf Nurkic in a trade. He is not as good as Deandre Ayton, but if he is on the floor he will set hard screens. Eric Gordon brings three point shooting. So does Yutu Wantanabe. He has made a mark for himself in the NBA. Bol Bol will be interesting here if he plays at all. Keita Bates-Diop may start, but he will be a screen setter as well. Grayson Allen is here, but who cares. Damion Lee and Josh Okogie stuck around, which will help with some continuity. The Suns have a weird roster, but they will score in bunches. They need to hope for health since they are so top loaded, and if that happens, they will be lethal.

At 3 I have the Boston Celtics. This team almost fully changed their roster and yet they look even better than they have the past couple years. Jayson Tatum is awesome. He is elite. He is one of the best overall players in the NBA. He may be the future face of the league. Jaylen Brown, while solid, is not as good as Tatum. He is not as dependable either. But he got paid and I wonder if the security of his massive contract will let him play more freely. Derrick White is a very good perimeter defender and 3 point shooter. Al Horford, while old, is still one of the better big man defenders in the NBA. He can slow down almost any other center. The Celtics went out and traded for Kristaps Porzingis. He had a career year last year. If he can stay on the floor he may put up very big numbers. They also got Jrue Holiday who may be the best perimeter defender in the NBA. He can also bring extra scoring. And guys like Oshae Brissett, Lamar Stevens and Wenyen Gabriel are better bench guys than they had last year. The rich changed, got richer and got better. The Celtics are going to win a ton of games this year.

At 2 I have the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bucks made the deal of the offseason. I fully understand that they traded Jrue Holiday and Grayson Allen, two starters from last season's team, but they got Damian Lillard. Lillard brings everything they need on offense. He is a knockdown shooter, can create and can get to the line. He will also give Giannis an open lane. Speaking of Giannis, Antetokounmpo is the best basketball player in the world. He is a do it all machine and he is very good at almost everything on both sides of the floor. Khris Middleton, if healthy, will get crazy wide open looks playing alongside Giannis and Lillard. He will be astonished at how open he will be. He is also a very solid defender. Brook Lopez is one of the best defensive players in the league and he can really shoot the 3. Jae Crowder is back, and I think with a more defined role he will look like his old self. Bobby Portis is one of the best bench and role players in the NBA. Pat Connaughton, if he can get out of his own head, can stroke the three and be a defensive menace. I love that they brought in Cam Payne to backup Lillard. And I am very curious to see MarJon Beauchamp get some run. He crushed in summer league. The Bucks are a very good team who got much better by adding Lillard. I cannot wait to watch them play this season.

My number 1 team going into this season should be no surprise. The number 1 team is the Denver Nuggets. They have it all and are coming off a dominant playoff run that ended in a title. They were barely even pushed. Expect more of that this season. Nikola Jokic is a great basketball player. I'm sick of all the coverage and love and how people like the "curmudgeon" he is, but the dude can play. Jamal Murray is very awesome. I think he will finally get on the all star team this year. I feel like he is really going to announce himself super loud this season. Aaron Gordon fits perfectly here. He is a great pick and roll guy, he is their best defender and he can still jump out of the gym. Michael Porter Jr is almost unguardable from the perimeter and he is a solid shot creator. But he is always hurt and kind of took a step back last season. Christian Braun played a nice bench role as a rookie. I'm sure he will get more minutes. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope continues to produce and win wherever he plays. Reggie Jackson seems to have finally bought into being a backup and it fits for him. Peyton Watson should get more time this year. Zeke Nnaji is an interesting player. And Justin Holiday was a solid pickup. The Nuggets should be overwhelming favorites heading into the season. They have pretty much everyone back and they are ready to go.

That is it for my countdown. As I said earlier, tomorrow I will have my postseason predictions and my awards predictions. The regular season is almost here everyone. 

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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Ty's 2021-2022 NBA Preview: Heat, Warriors, 76ers, Nuggets

Welcome to day six of my 2021 NBA countdown. We are in the top 10 now. These are the real good teams, the teams that have a real shot at the title if things go their way.

At 10 I have the Miami Heat. I loved their offseason. They got a great fit in Kyle Lowry. He will be added seamlessly to this lineup. He can run the offense, he will be a total menace on defense, he can score and distribute, he is in a great situation. I do not care that he is "old" in NBA terms. This is a great fit. Jimmy Butler is fast becoming one of my favorite players and people. He is a beast, he works his tail off, he is so much better than he has ever been in the NBA and he is hilarious. Jimmy Butler bet on himself in Minnesota and Philadelphia and it totally paid off for him. He was right and he has proven that tenfold. Bam Adebayo is also becoming one of my favorite players. In fact, besides Ja, Adebayo is probably my favorite player. He is so fast and quick and big and strong and plays so well. He is going to be an all star soon. Duncan Robinson has made it and now he got paid. He is a specialist, but what he does, shoot threes, he is one of the best in the league. He is a true sniper. Tyler Herro could have a bounce back season. He apparently put on some muscle, worked on his shot and everything coming out of camp seems to point to him getting better this offseason. Victor Oladipo is coming off another injury but he took a one year deal and he has to go out and prove he is as good as he used to be. He is a good slasher and cutter and plays solid defense. He just has to show that he is still able to do that. Getting PJ Tucker from Milwaukee makes this team even more of a nightmare on defense. Tucker adds zero on offense, but he is still an upper tier defender. Markieff Morris is tough and nasty. And Udonis Haslem is back as a player/coach essentially. Miami has a very good team that is going to be an elite defense. They will make some noise.

At 9 I have the Golden State Warriors. If they had a fully healthy Klay Thompson to start the season I'd probably have them in my top five. He will not be back until January so that is why they are here. Steph is the best shooter in the history of the league. He is pretty much un guardable. He can do it all and he is an all time great. He alone gets this team in the playoffs. Andrew Wiggins got vaxxed, finally, and while he is not as good as some thought when he was the first overall pick, he still brings value to this team. I am glad he got vaxxed, I just wish he wasn't such a baby about it. Draymond Green is still one of the best defenders in the league. He is also a very good facilitator and passer. He is nothing when it comes to scoring, but he is still elite at the things he does really well. Jordan Poole looks like he is going to take a leap. He looked great in the play-in, and he has been awesome in preseason games. Then it gets dicey for this team. Moses Moody and Johnathan Kuminga were both good picks, but I do not know where they are going to find minutes. Otto Porter Jr has not played in a year, looks to be out of shape, but people in Golden State say he looks good. Nemanja Bjelica can shoot, but he couldn't get minutes in Sacramento. Andre Iguodala is a finals MVP, a great player for the Warriors, but he is old. He is my age. James Wiseman can still be very good, but he needs to play through the run moments, and I do not know if Steve Kerr will be patient enough to let him. Juan Toscano Anderson has energy for days, but he is not much of a scorer. Kevon Looney cannot stay healthy. Damion Lee is a good shooter. And I like that they added Avery Bradley and Gary Payton Jr for defense. The Warriors have one of the all time greats, they should get Klay back and Draymond is still elite. They do need a ton of things to break their way, but they are still going to be in it until the end of the season.

At 8 I have the Philadelphia 76ers. Ben Simmons appears to be at camp, could be a full participant and may even play some games. I think he and his agent realized how much money they would lose if he didn't show up, and they want to up his trade value. Simmons is an otherworldly defender, but he has gone off a cliff in pretty much every other area of the game. I'd still keep him and see if they could figure it out, but maybe everyone involved is doing this to make a real trade. Joel Embiid is amazing. He is the best center in the league. He can do it all on both ends. He is elite. He is an MVP candidate. I just want him to play a full season. Matisse Thybulle is one of the best defenders in the league, and if Simmons does get traded, I could see him stepping into his role, with the exception of running the offense. Seth Curry has proven he belongs. He can shoot the hell out of the ball. Tyrese Maxey was so much fun to watch last season, and I could see him getting an expanded role. I like that they went out and got Andre Drummond for almost nothing. He could go out and feast on second units. He had moments in LA last year, and I could see that come back in Philly. Danny Green isn't as good as he used to be, but he can still shoot and guard. Tobias Harris may be overpaid, but the dude can fill it up. He is a solid NBA scorer. Furkan Korkmaz is a good bench player. And Shake Milton looks like he could take that next step to being the second unit's top scorer. Philadelphia is going to be good regardless of what happens to Ben Simmons. Honestly I do not see much of a difference if he is there or not. The 76ers are a 4 or 5 seed at the lowest.

The final team for today, at number 7 I have the Denver Nuggets. Full disclosure, they would have been number 3 if Jamal Murray was playing. He is not, probably won't for the whole season, so they land in the top 10 on my list. Nikola Jokic is the reigning MVP. He is a very good passer, he runs the offense, he can shoot and he is a nightmare to guard. Jokic is good. He is even better when he is in shape. Michael Porter Jr is a total dumbass and I am actively rooting against him. He's an idiot. He does not know what in the hell he is talking about. I do not care how good of a basketball player he is because every time he opens his mouth something idiotic comes out of it. Aaron Gordon got an extension, fit in great with this team last year and he looks like he is happy playing again. He can also still jump out of the gym, and people do not seem to realize how good of a defender he is. Gordon is great. Jeff Green keeps getting moved, but I like him on this team. He looked great in Brooklyn last year, and he will get more of a chance to play in Denver this year. Will Barton can shoot the ball, he just needs more shots. Austin Rivers has settled in as a role player. Monte Morris is another solid scorer. Bol Bol could be something if he got some real playing time. Facundo Campazzo is a hustler. Markus Howard was one of the best scorers in the NCAA for three years. And JaMychal Green is a good stretch big. The Nuggets are in their title window right now. They may have to pause for one season since Murray is out. But these guys are still young and good and can play. The Nuggets are a top five seed in the West for sure though.

That is it for today. Come back tomorrow for the next four teams.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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