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Chasing the Warriors

To say the NBA off-season has been crazy would be like saying politicians sometimes exaggerate, as it'd be quite the understatement. With the Golden State Warriors having won the title two of the past three years, quite possibly being one technical foul away from three straight, the rest of the league is attempting to play catch-up. Heading into the coming season, and deservedly so, the Warriors will again be favored to reign supreme at season's end, but four teams (in particular) are certainly doing everything in their power to alter that fate: Boston, Cleveland, Houston, and Oklahoma City. Let's now run down these four teams' off-season acquisitions, how they look going into the 2017-2018 season, and how they stack up against the league-champion Golden State Warriors.

Boston Celtics
Off-season acquisitions: Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward, and Marcus Morris

Starting Lineup: PG Kyrie Irving, SG Jaylen Brown, SF Gordon Hayward, PF Marcus Morris, and C Al Horford

Projection: Like with any new "superteam" (if you want to call them that), it's going to take some time for this Celtics team to gel and for us to see on the court just how good they can be. They certainly have potential, but three of their top four leading scorers from last year are no longer with the team (Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley, and Jae Crowder), and it's going to take some time for newcomers like Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward, and Marcus Morris to find chemistry with one another and other teammates. With Irving's size and speed to the rim, I think this year's team will be more explosive offensively, but especially without Jae Crowder in the mix, they may struggle some with rebounding, and it's a question mark just how much of an upgrade Irving is on defense compared to Thomas. Having said that, if the team stays healthy, is able to play as well defensively as they have in years past under Brad Stevens, and exceed expectations in the rebounding game, they should again be near the top of the Eastern Conference standings, and could very well challenge Cleveland for the conference title. Unless a few unlikely things fall their way, however, I have a difficult time seeing them getting the best of the Warriors in the finals. If that match-up were to occur, I'd likely take the Warriors in 5.

Cleveland Cavaliers
Off-season acquisitions: Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Derrick Rose, and Dwyane Wade

Starting Lineup: PG Derrick Rose, SG Dwyane Wade, SF LeBron James, PF Kevin Love, and C Tristan Thompson

Projection: Of all four teams I'm analyzing, I see the most potential yet the most question marks with regard to the Cleveland Cavaliers. So long as they're healthy, LeBron James and Kevin Love will be the trustworthy constants on this team. This year's Cavs club also has more depth than I can ever remember, as the likes of J.R. Smith, Kyle Korver, Iman Shumpert, and even Jae Crowder will be coming off the bench. But the health of Derrick Rose, Dwyane Wade, and especially Isaiah Thomas is worrisome. In the best-case scenario, Thomas will be able to play in January. Wade always seems to play beat-up, his minutes have been gradually shrinking over the past few years, and while he's still a good player, his shooting percentage has fallen quite substantially over the past 2-3 years, to a career low of .434 last season. Like Wade, Derrick Rose is a risk as far as injuries are concerned. After playing a total of just 49 games between the '11-'12 and '13-'14 seasons, Rose has averaged to play 60 of 82 games the previous three years. While his shooting numbers improved last year, his ball distribution has fallen over the past four years, as he's averaged between 4.3 and 4.9 assists per game, compared to between 6.3 and 7.9 in his first four seasons. At this point in time, there are just a lot of ifs with this team. If Rose and Wade can stay healthy, if Thomas can come back in January and be effective, if the team can form a great chemistry, if the team can maintain this chemistry when Thomas returns, if, if, if... I like this team's depth and potential, but while I think, if they stay relatively healthy, they should be able to make it to another NBA Finals, I have a difficult time predicting they'll beat the Golden State Warriors. For the time being, I'd pick the Warriors in such a match-up in 6 games.

Houston Rockets
Off-season acquisitions: Chris Paul

Starting Line-up: PG Chris Paul, SG James Harden, SF Trevor Ariza, PF Ryan Anderson, and C Clint Capela

Projection: Of these four teams, Houston probably has the least amount of worry as far as chemistry goes. Their key off-season acquisition was former Los Angeles Clippers superstar point guard Chris Paul, who has averaged 9.9 assists per game throughout his career, with his low point being in his rookie season, where he averaged 7.8 dimes per contest. If it hadn't of been for Russell Westbrook averaging a triple-double last season, James Harden would have been the league MVP. Not many seem to realize this, but Harden was quite close to averaging a triple-double himself, as he averaged 29.1 points, 11.2 assists, and 8.2 rebounds per game last season. With the addition of Paul, it'll be interesting to see if Harden goes back to being the 5-assist man he's been throughout his career, or if he attempts to continue the trend he set last season. Either way, this will be a fun team to watch, and while I don't yet think they're ready to dethrone the Golden State Warriors, I feel more confident about them heading into this season than this next team...

Oklahoma City Thunder
Off-season acquisitions: Paul George and Carmelo Anthony

Starting Line-up: PG Russell Westbrook, SG Andre Roberson, SF Paul George, PF Carmelo Anthony, and C Steven Adams

Projection: I'm probably in the minority on this, but I honestly don't see what all the hoopla is about regarding the Thunder's off-season moves. Yes, Russell Westbrook, Paul George, and Carmelo Anthony have all been stars in the league, and Westbrook was fully deserving of the MVP award for his efforts last season, but while the team will likely be quite exciting to watch this year, I can't see them posing much of a threat to Golden State. The reason for that is the fact there isn't a shooter amongst this big-3. They're all scorers. Westbrook, even in his MVP season a year ago, only shot 42.5% from the field. For his career, he's shot 43.3% from the floor and 31.3% from 3-point range. Carmelo Anthony shot 43.3% and 43.4% the past two seasons, is a career 45.2% shooter, 34.6% from deep. While Paul George is a better 3-point shooter than either Westbrook or Anthony, he's still only a career 43.2% shooter from the field. I hate to say it, but I think Oklahoma City is going to be a major disappointment this season, as I can't see them challenging Golden State for the top spot, San Antonio for the #2 seed, or even Houston for the #3 seed. At best, I can see them entering the playoffs as the #4 seed in the Western Conference, and getting ousted by Golden State in the second round. Putting three big names together doesn't necessarily equal a great team, especially when those three big names have trouble shooting over 43% for a season.

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