Before we jump into the 2021-2022 NBA Season Preview, heres what’s happening in my echo chamber:
The San Francisco Giants are officially National League West Champions and are the BEST team in baseball. This team is an incredible concoction of veteran talent, no-name journey man, and consistent performers. It shouldn’t work, but oh boy, does it work.
This Giants team won a franchise-record 107th victory to top the 1904 New York team, and won their first division title since 2012. I’m not sure about you, but I am getting flashes of our 2010 team - let’s go orange and black!
However the playoffs go, I love this Giants team. They made us all believe. #SFResilient
The 2021-2022 Season is here and I can’t wait. Get your traeger hot, throw some ribs on, and kick back for basketball season. As a quick reminder, here’s what happened last season:
This offseason has been slammed with news. Ben Simmons continues to withhold from joining the 76ers and kissing millions goodbye. I mean this guy is a stud, but he also does stuff like this…
In last years playoffs, Simmons finished Game 7 with just five points. And it gets worse - he finished the playoffs shooting 25-73 from the charity stripe (worst rate in NBA postseason history). And in 56 fourth-quarter minutes, he took a total of three shots. Ouch.
I’m not sure what system or playing-style works for Simmons, but wherever he lands, he is going to put up BIG numbers and choke in the 4th.
““History Doesn’t Repeat Itself, but It Often Rhymes” – Mark Twain” - Michael Scott
Aside from Ben Simmons, other players are making headlines for not getting vaccinated . It’s really SIMPLE - GET VACCINATED.
On top of that, there was a fury of player movement in the offseason. Here are some of the highlights:
The Brooklyn Nets added tons of depth with the likes of LaMarcus Aldridge, Patty Mills (Go Gaels!), and Paul Millsap - fuck me. The best team in the league got better.
GSW added Andre Iguodala, Otto Porter Jr., and Nemanja Bjelica to fill out their 6-8 spots. Beautiful.
The LA Lakers added Carmelo Anthony, Russell Westbrook, and a whole bunch of other players who are past their prime. I can’t wait to see Melo and Westbrook blow up at each other on the bench.
Miami Heat added PJ Tuckers. This was a quiet, but I think amazing move by the Heat.
My League Predictions
East
Brooklyn Nets
Milwaukee Bucks
Philadelphia 76ers
Miami Heat
Boston Celtics
Atlanta Hawks
New York Knicks
Washington Wizards / Charlotte Hornets
West
Utah Jazz
LA Lakers
Phoenix Suns
GSW
Denver Nuggets
Dallas Mavericks
Los Angeles Clippers
Portland Trail Blazers
I really enjoyed this data by 538 on player predictions #sosciency
Top Tier Teams
The Brooklyn Nets are Vegas’ favorite right now. It’s hard to bet against the Nets. They have the best players in the world in Kevin Durant and then have a supporting cast of James Harden, Kyrie Irving.
They’ve even gotten better this offseason by adding much needed depth with the likes of LaMarcus Aldridge, Patty Mills, and Paul Millsap. This team is tuff.
If the core 3 can avoid injuries and Blake Griffin can continue his consistent play, the Brooklyn Nets are going to be title contenders throughout the year.
The Milwaukee Bucks are the people’s favorite. They are reigning champs and are bringing back much of the same roster. They lost PJ Tucker to Miami and this is going to hurt. But the combination of Holiday, Giannis, and Middleton is still intact and still hungry.
This quote from Giannis summarizes the heart and spirit of this team:
"I like being a hunter. I am not the best player in the world. I am telling you, i am not! KD, LeBron, Kawhi, Luka, Curry, AD might be. I am not. I am still hunting the All-Time Greats. LeBron is still the best player in the world".
Not much drama here. They are going to be consistently great.
The Los Angeles Lakers. It pains me to write this, but this team is solid. They are old, but solid. I don’t have them winning the Western Conference, because Lebron and AD won’t play enough games. It is ALL about the championship for this team. Lebron is getting old, AD is always hurt, and you need these two healthy for the playoffs.
The additions of Westbrook and Melo will help ease the scoring pressure off Lebron and AD. But I think the regular season presents lots of challenges for the Lakers.
How does this team play together? Will Westbrook drive Lebron crazy in the last minutes of the game? (The answer is definitely). And does Carmelo resort to becoming a blackhole on offense again? (The answer is probably - jab step jab step jab step).
The Utah Jazz and Denver Nuggets. I’m not going to write two separate sections on these teams, because they are boring. They are going to dominate the regular season, but they’ll fall apart in the playoffs. One of these teams will probably make it to the NBA Finals, but I think the Eastern Conference is better.
The Joker-Murray combination is amazing. And I think Joker wins the MVP this year.
Fun fact: The Utah Jazz shot the most 3pt shots last season and averaged 43.0 3pt Field Goals attempts per game last season. Who new the Jazz were so fun?
Jazz Hot Take - Gobert is the best defensive player in the league, but you can’t win a championship with him at center. Small-Ball forces Gobert off the court and I think the Jazz start using him less to close out games.
Everything starts and ends with Donovan Mitchell. If the Jazz hope to win the Championship, Mitchell needs to become a Top-10-15 player this season . I’m not sure that happens…
My Team
The Golden State Warriors are back. This may be one of the few years left for Curry, Green, and Thompson. Klay Thompson is coming back this season and returning from his achilles tear. I can’t wait.
The world is a better place when Klay Thompson is healthy:
In order to win this year, Curry needs to have another MVP-Caliber season, Green needs to learn to shot just marginally better, and Thompson just needs to stay healthy and shot corner 3s.
I like the moves the front office made this year by adding Otto Porter Jr., Iggy, and Nemanja Bjelica. And I like our two draft picks. This new group of players brings A LOT of depth and flexibility to our team (which we lacked last year). This will pay dividends during the slower parts of the season.
Wiggins is finally starting to look comfortable in his role and will be a huge asset this season. The scoring pressure will be eased off of him as Klay comes back too - I think this is a win-win for Wiggins and the GSW team.
This is a great video why #WeBelieve and #StrengthInNumbers is back baby.
Have a wonderful season to everyone in the 2021-2022 Sea Dog NBA Fantasy Basketball League. Y’all are my dawgs and I hope you all lose.