Pre-mature Division Champs & Chumps
Posted: Fri Aug 25, 2017 2:28 pm
We all know NBA Champs and awards like GM of the Year are crowned in the off-season before the regular season even starts. But very often divisional crowns are overlooked as a "participation trophy". However, as we have seen with the intense history of division races in the Pacific, the division formerly known as the Midwest, and the Central, division battles bring a little extra life to the league and the regular season. With the realignment, divisional foes and rivalries have shifted and some of the shine may have faded. I would like to take this chance to put the spotlight on each division's best and worst teams... because who doesn't need a chip on their shoulder?
The Atlantic Division
Champ
New York Knicks
This division is brutal. Historically one of the worst divisions in the league, this could possibly become the most balanced and therefore most unpredictable. However, I am going to roll with the reigning Atlantic champ to continue his reign this season. He's returned his team from last season, albeit with a few tweaks. John Henson lost a toe in a surfing accident while spending his offseason in Mexico after cashing in during RFA, and we have yet to see how this will impact his play on the court. They also dealt rising PG Chet Dooley. With Jeremey Lin having a great offseason and looking poised for an all-star type season, Chet was a convenience. In return they brought in Gary Harris from division foe, the 76ers. Harris looks to be a great offensive and defensive addition to this Knicks squad and really gives them the flexibility on the wing to be a nightmare for opposing squads. Despite the division being very even, the Knicks are just head and a bit of shoulders above the rest of the division and will come out on top when all is said and done.
Chump
Boston Celtics
This was incredibly difficult to pick, but I'm going to go with the lack of depth that will be the stake driving down the Cs to the bottom of the division. Elite PG John Wall and 2 competent bigs would be fantastic had there been some wings of value added in the off-season. The Celtics added a nice guard in the draft, but he still is going to need some time to grow into his role on this team. Without a legitimate #2 scoring option, the Celtics will be at the bottom of the division, and could offensively be at the bottom of the league.
The Central Division
Champ
Chicago Bulls
This off-season's biggest spender and winner comes out on top of the Central Division this season. The Bulls have depth at every position and are down right scary to match-up against. Goran and Hawes' contracts may look bad a few seasons from now, but this season is all that matters for me. Look at what the addition of Hawes did for the Kings last season. This Bulls squad has by far more talent around him. He will be one of the more dominant centers in the East and possibly the 3rd best player on his team. Oladipo and Dragic bring such a dynamic 1-2 punch on both the offensive and defensive sides of the court, and with their size, who knows what the matchups will look like.
Chump
Cleveland Cavaliers
The firesale already started this offseason when Al Jefferson was moved for Aminu and Illysova. Before he even got to town, Illysova was told to not bother with looking for a home, as he wouldn't be there for long. More importantly, the relationship between the Cavs front office and Chris Paul is icy at best. The organization is heavily shopping him around the league, but teams are waiting it out for the price to drop. The point guard has been visibly frustrated with the lack of talent around him, and when Jefferson moved on, he voiced his disgruntled feelings on social media: "#Bereaveland". It was deleted moments later, due to an internet backlash by many Japanese-Americans that took this as a mockery of the sound/letter mixup between Ls and Rs. Chris Paul's agent refused to take any questions. This media circus called the Cavaliers will continue to spiral as the season progresses.
The Southeast Division
Champ
Atlanta Hawks
Look at this team. Not much needs to be said. The deepest team in the league. Clear cut Southeast champs. 2 players on this 15-man roster have less than green potential and 4 have less than green current ratings. Fans call his front court "The Woods" since they are mostly green and tall AF, not to mention people get lost in there. Needless to say, this team is stacked. Harden, Randle, Middleton, Green, Noah, Robinson, Gasol, Kaman, Afflalo, Davis. I think this team's 2nd unit could maybe even win this division (more on this in a sec).
Chump
Everyone Else
The Magic are interesting, but their squad may require a little more time to develop and come together. They could emerge as the best of the bunch by the time this season is over. Meanwhile, in Miami, Lebron and a bunch of no bodies is pretty much sim Lebron living the past life of IRL Lebron's 1st stint in Cleveland. The Wizards are putting together a team full of big men, but with the league now, that is like that kid who is starts collecting pogs when everyone else has moved on to Pokémon cards. The Bobcats are still the Babecats in that they'll need another 4 years to be ready to make a splash. This will be an easy 14 wins for the Hawks this season (allowing for a couple flukey wins).
The Northwest Division
Champ
Oklahoma City Thunder
Man, I would've never predicted this in the off-season after they struck out big time in round 1 and traded CJ McCullom. I wanted to put the Timberwolves here (sorry Raby), but here I am after looking at the Thunder's camp and team post trades. They managed to get Danny Green on a steal of a trade. They brought in some decent depth in round 2 of RFA. They have a very balanced starting five and some nice players on that second unit. I'm excited to see what this team does this season, and for that reason, I have them poised to win the division. Exciting stuff for this small market team!
Chump
Portland Trailblazers
I actually don't think this team will be bad. I just think this division is pretty stacked with talent and balanced teams. It's the western conference's equivalent to the Atlantic. So many solid teams here that someone is going to have to take the bottom of the division. I know it's easy to say, but if I you had told me these exact same names 2-3 seasons ago, I would've been calling them Division Champs... hell, NBA Champs. However, this long-in-the-tooth squad might lack just enough offense to keep them from beating teams like the Nuggets and Jazz.
The Pacific Division
Champ
Golden State Warriors
Western Conference's splashy team award winner gets the crown. Their defense is SCARY. Their offense is scary enough. Acquisitions of Lowry, Gay, and Beverly (in addition to homeboys Jordan, Gobert, and Stark) make last season's chump the pre-season champ. It's crazy to watch the Warriors GM turn tides like this in a single off-season and really does require a tip of the hat. Good job, sir. Good job.
Chump
Sacramento Kings
While the Warriors got the crown here, the Kings get the sword (right in the bunghole). The Kings have plenty to be excited about; just don't count this season as one of those "plenty". GM NOLa's famous phrase comes to mind "It's not a rebuild, it's a reset". That's exactly what this is. The Kings have a lot of great young talent growing on that roster. The acquisition of CJ McCullom was a fantastic move for them, and he will be a great fit next to forever-rookie Jeff Duren, whenever he takes the court (Ben Simmons timeline though, may be never). Spencer Hawes catapulted this team into contention last year, but being unable to retain him in the offseason left them in a precarious spot. The Kings decided to take a small step back in order to take a large leap forward in the coming seasons.
The Southwest Division
Champ
New Orleans Pelicans
1st time, long time, every time Southwest Division champ looks to repeat and pretty much brought back the same squad, sans Ron Artest. They look SCARY good coming into the season and will more than likely be not only winning this division, but in the running for NBA Championship claims yet again. There only concern is lack of a shooting guard, but as we have all season, GM Nick Malone has a penchant for making a trade, good or bad. However, fans are trusting him a lot more lately after some of his more savvy moves in recent seasons (Blake Griffin, Ron Artest).
Chump
VanMemphis Grizzlies
Times are tough for Grizzlies fans, and they don't look like they'll be getting better this season. The Jimmy Butler/Kawhi Leonard/Rajan Rondo experiment didn't go exactly as planned, and now it looks like they just need to patiently wait out this storm and rebuild through the draft. It will be interesting to see if any of their big contracts get moved this season as other squads look to make the push. Time will tell.
The Atlantic Division
Champ
New York Knicks
This division is brutal. Historically one of the worst divisions in the league, this could possibly become the most balanced and therefore most unpredictable. However, I am going to roll with the reigning Atlantic champ to continue his reign this season. He's returned his team from last season, albeit with a few tweaks. John Henson lost a toe in a surfing accident while spending his offseason in Mexico after cashing in during RFA, and we have yet to see how this will impact his play on the court. They also dealt rising PG Chet Dooley. With Jeremey Lin having a great offseason and looking poised for an all-star type season, Chet was a convenience. In return they brought in Gary Harris from division foe, the 76ers. Harris looks to be a great offensive and defensive addition to this Knicks squad and really gives them the flexibility on the wing to be a nightmare for opposing squads. Despite the division being very even, the Knicks are just head and a bit of shoulders above the rest of the division and will come out on top when all is said and done.
Chump
Boston Celtics
This was incredibly difficult to pick, but I'm going to go with the lack of depth that will be the stake driving down the Cs to the bottom of the division. Elite PG John Wall and 2 competent bigs would be fantastic had there been some wings of value added in the off-season. The Celtics added a nice guard in the draft, but he still is going to need some time to grow into his role on this team. Without a legitimate #2 scoring option, the Celtics will be at the bottom of the division, and could offensively be at the bottom of the league.
The Central Division
Champ
Chicago Bulls
This off-season's biggest spender and winner comes out on top of the Central Division this season. The Bulls have depth at every position and are down right scary to match-up against. Goran and Hawes' contracts may look bad a few seasons from now, but this season is all that matters for me. Look at what the addition of Hawes did for the Kings last season. This Bulls squad has by far more talent around him. He will be one of the more dominant centers in the East and possibly the 3rd best player on his team. Oladipo and Dragic bring such a dynamic 1-2 punch on both the offensive and defensive sides of the court, and with their size, who knows what the matchups will look like.
Chump
Cleveland Cavaliers
The firesale already started this offseason when Al Jefferson was moved for Aminu and Illysova. Before he even got to town, Illysova was told to not bother with looking for a home, as he wouldn't be there for long. More importantly, the relationship between the Cavs front office and Chris Paul is icy at best. The organization is heavily shopping him around the league, but teams are waiting it out for the price to drop. The point guard has been visibly frustrated with the lack of talent around him, and when Jefferson moved on, he voiced his disgruntled feelings on social media: "#Bereaveland". It was deleted moments later, due to an internet backlash by many Japanese-Americans that took this as a mockery of the sound/letter mixup between Ls and Rs. Chris Paul's agent refused to take any questions. This media circus called the Cavaliers will continue to spiral as the season progresses.
The Southeast Division
Champ
Atlanta Hawks
Look at this team. Not much needs to be said. The deepest team in the league. Clear cut Southeast champs. 2 players on this 15-man roster have less than green potential and 4 have less than green current ratings. Fans call his front court "The Woods" since they are mostly green and tall AF, not to mention people get lost in there. Needless to say, this team is stacked. Harden, Randle, Middleton, Green, Noah, Robinson, Gasol, Kaman, Afflalo, Davis. I think this team's 2nd unit could maybe even win this division (more on this in a sec).
Chump
Everyone Else
The Magic are interesting, but their squad may require a little more time to develop and come together. They could emerge as the best of the bunch by the time this season is over. Meanwhile, in Miami, Lebron and a bunch of no bodies is pretty much sim Lebron living the past life of IRL Lebron's 1st stint in Cleveland. The Wizards are putting together a team full of big men, but with the league now, that is like that kid who is starts collecting pogs when everyone else has moved on to Pokémon cards. The Bobcats are still the Babecats in that they'll need another 4 years to be ready to make a splash. This will be an easy 14 wins for the Hawks this season (allowing for a couple flukey wins).
The Northwest Division
Champ
Oklahoma City Thunder
Man, I would've never predicted this in the off-season after they struck out big time in round 1 and traded CJ McCullom. I wanted to put the Timberwolves here (sorry Raby), but here I am after looking at the Thunder's camp and team post trades. They managed to get Danny Green on a steal of a trade. They brought in some decent depth in round 2 of RFA. They have a very balanced starting five and some nice players on that second unit. I'm excited to see what this team does this season, and for that reason, I have them poised to win the division. Exciting stuff for this small market team!
Chump
Portland Trailblazers
I actually don't think this team will be bad. I just think this division is pretty stacked with talent and balanced teams. It's the western conference's equivalent to the Atlantic. So many solid teams here that someone is going to have to take the bottom of the division. I know it's easy to say, but if I you had told me these exact same names 2-3 seasons ago, I would've been calling them Division Champs... hell, NBA Champs. However, this long-in-the-tooth squad might lack just enough offense to keep them from beating teams like the Nuggets and Jazz.
The Pacific Division
Champ
Golden State Warriors
Western Conference's splashy team award winner gets the crown. Their defense is SCARY. Their offense is scary enough. Acquisitions of Lowry, Gay, and Beverly (in addition to homeboys Jordan, Gobert, and Stark) make last season's chump the pre-season champ. It's crazy to watch the Warriors GM turn tides like this in a single off-season and really does require a tip of the hat. Good job, sir. Good job.
Chump
Sacramento Kings
While the Warriors got the crown here, the Kings get the sword (right in the bunghole). The Kings have plenty to be excited about; just don't count this season as one of those "plenty". GM NOLa's famous phrase comes to mind "It's not a rebuild, it's a reset". That's exactly what this is. The Kings have a lot of great young talent growing on that roster. The acquisition of CJ McCullom was a fantastic move for them, and he will be a great fit next to forever-rookie Jeff Duren, whenever he takes the court (Ben Simmons timeline though, may be never). Spencer Hawes catapulted this team into contention last year, but being unable to retain him in the offseason left them in a precarious spot. The Kings decided to take a small step back in order to take a large leap forward in the coming seasons.
The Southwest Division
Champ
New Orleans Pelicans
1st time, long time, every time Southwest Division champ looks to repeat and pretty much brought back the same squad, sans Ron Artest. They look SCARY good coming into the season and will more than likely be not only winning this division, but in the running for NBA Championship claims yet again. There only concern is lack of a shooting guard, but as we have all season, GM Nick Malone has a penchant for making a trade, good or bad. However, fans are trusting him a lot more lately after some of his more savvy moves in recent seasons (Blake Griffin, Ron Artest).
Chump
VanMemphis Grizzlies
Times are tough for Grizzlies fans, and they don't look like they'll be getting better this season. The Jimmy Butler/Kawhi Leonard/Rajan Rondo experiment didn't go exactly as planned, and now it looks like they just need to patiently wait out this storm and rebuild through the draft. It will be interesting to see if any of their big contracts get moved this season as other squads look to make the push. Time will tell.
