NBA season is upon us! By the time the next issue of The St. Louis American hits newsstands, the League will be in full force.
We’ve heard all summer about LeBron James’ excellent adventure to Los Angeles. We’ve also bantered about DeMarcus Cousins’ bouncing over to The Bay. For the most part though, the NBA’s big guns got stronger (with a notable exception being the Cleveland Cavaliers). Meanwhile, the basement dwellers bought at least a few weeks of hope courtesy of a shiny new class or rookies.
Outside of the star-laden super teams, which squads in the NBA will be must-see TV this season?
Milwaukee Bucks
Faithful readers will know that I’ve been on the Bucks bandwagon for a while. But this is the season where they will actually make a serious run in the East. Giannis Antetokounmpo is a year older and his game is a year colder. Expect the “Greek Freak” to finish Top 3 in MVP voting this season.
The reason the Bucks will be so exciting this season is due to the new coach, Mike Budenholzer. The former NBA Coach of the Year (2015) went 213-197 in five seasons with the Atlanta Hawks. Three of those seasons could be considered rebuilding years.
Former Bucks Head Coach Jason Kidd coached like a 7-year-old playing NBA 2K.
It appears that Budenholzer will let Anteto Giannis be Giannis. Khris Middleton is still the most underrated player in the league. Everybody else will let threes fly, defend and rebound.
Last season, the Bucks ranked 26th out of 30 teams in three-pointers attempted and three-point percentage. So far in the preseason, the team is ranked 13th in attempts and 8th in percentage. Even John Henson is knocking down shots behind the arc.
While the Celtics and 76ers are undoubtedly the favorites in the LeBron-less East, the Bucks will be a serious problem.
Dallas Mavericks
Dirk Nowitzki may very well need a walker soon, but even at 40 years old, he’s still a walking bucket when he’s one the court. The Mavericks future no longer hinges on the future Hall of Famer though. It’s all about the youngsters.
Luka Doncic has had unparalleled hype for a European player. He was named the MVP of the Euroleague, which is the second best league in the world. So far, the 6-foot-7, 218 pound playmaker looks legit. He can shoot, handle and deliver the rock with confidence. Plus he’s surrounded by enough solid veterans in Harrison Barnes, Wesley Matthews and DeAndre Jordan, despite the hype, he shouldn’t feel pressured to be the man every night.
If we’re talking excitement in Dallas though, it all starts with Dennis Smith Jr. The high-flying point guard open eyes last season with his explosive play and highlight reel dunks. It appears that DSJ has worked on his outside shot over the offseason. So far in the preseason, he’s knocking down three-pointers at 38.5 percent compared to just 31.3 percent last season.
It’s a small sample size, but if Smith Jr. can hover around 39-to-40 percent from deep, it’ll open up all kinds of lanes for his fantastic finishes. With all eyes on Doncic for most of the offseason, I fully expect Smith to come out motivated to prove that he’s a star in his own right.
Between the dime-dropping ability of Donic and Smith, other high-flyers like Jordan, Barnes and Dwight Powell could help make Dallas Lob City 2.0.
Denver Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets is the epitome of a boom or bust team. Last season, Nikola Jokic had a coming out party. Much of their success (or excitement) will depend on whether the team’s star players can stay healthy. Isaiah Thomas is another year removed from his hip injury. Michael Porter Jr. is one of the league’s most-talented rookies, but it’s unknown how long it will take for him to recover from back surgery.
Paul Millsap only played 38 games last season. He’s been around for a while now but is still a solid contributor when he’s on the court. Gary Harris averaged a career high 17.5 points per game last season. He also missed 15 games. Now he’ll get the chance to prove that last season wasn’t a fluke.
It appears though that the injury bug is the Nuggets’ biggest obstacle. But they’ll be hellacious when they’re healthy.
Conor McGregor got what he deserved
The internet erupted after Conor McGregor got choked out by Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229. Immediately after the fight, a brawl erupted both inside and outside the Octagon between Nurmagomedov’s team and McGregor’s team. The fighters were included in the melee.
The whole scene was similar to the NBA’s infamous “Malice in the Palace.” However, McGregor and the UFC got what it deserved.
All throughout the promotion of UFC 229, McGregor and his team launched bigoted attacks against Nurm Khabib and his team. McGregor routinely insulted his opponent’s country (Russia), his faith (Muslim) and even his father. McGregor even attacked a bus that Khabib was on back in April causing injuries to passengers on board and causing the fight to be delayed as McGregor resolved his legal issues.
The UFC stood by and said nothing. Even after the bout, it was rumored that McGregor’s camp hurled bigoted insult at Team Khabib. That resulted in more fists and feet flying with Team Conor on the losing end.
After all that drama, it was nice to see McGregor catch a couple of fades.
Follow Ishmael and In the Clutch on Twitter @ishcreates.
