2015-16 NBA Regular Season

[DarthFed]

Any predictions on the year?  Similar to last year I think it is pretty wide open out West between the top 3 teams (Golden State, Spurs and Thunder).  The East is likely going to be Cleveland but it might not be a total slam dunk as Lebron is getting up there and the wear and tear has slowed him down from just a few years ago.

All that said I'm thinking it will be Spurs over Cavs in the finals.  Seeing the West with Spurs, Warriors, Thunder and possibly Clippers dueling it out should make for an entertaining year.

 

[britbox]

Who's your team Twisted?

I'm not a big NBA fan but watch it now and again... usually in the post season when the Lakers are doing well (obviously not that much recently). Also got a soft spot for the Warriors.

 

 

[Billie]

Man it is that time of the year,  NBA starts.  Of course I didn't follow the changes in teams so it will take me a couple of weeks to get the scoop.

The Spurs have one good and then one bad year.  So maybe they are due again this season.  I don't have any predictions until I at least see some of the action.   I just learned that Flip Saunders passed away and that KG is back in Minnesota.

I like CP3 and would like to see him win one, but I don't think he can play the whole season in top form.

Twisted (that is weird) LOL if you have time and know some of the big signings for NBA teams, feel free to post that here to help me out.

 

[Kirijax]

The new basketball season is getting ready to start! If you follow the NBA, who do you guys root for? Sadly I am an Orlando Magic fan. Things have been miserable ever since the Dwightmare Saga of 2011-12. We have a new coach in Scott Skiles and a very young team so probably no playoffs yet. Would actually be nice to get to 30 wins for the first time in four years. I'll root for two things, the Magic to show some improvement and for the Houston Rockets to fail so that Dwightmare will never have the pleasure of putting on a championship ring.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Isn't it the 2016 season?

I'm optimistic for my Thunder. They've finally gotten rid of Scott Brooks, KD should be back healthy, Westbrook was playing some of the best basketball of his career, and they've got their deepest roster yet. If they stay healthy they'll do major damage. A cracking opener against the Spurs. Can't wait.

Steph Curry seems to have picked up where he left off so the Warriors will be a force again. I'm not sure about Cleveland due to the health issues of Kyrie (out till January) and Lebron (back problems can be a bitch, especially since they can be recurring). They'll still come out of the East because well, the East is a joke, so that alone makes them one of the top 2/top 3 favorites.

 

[DarthFed]

2015-2016 season to be precise.  Since it will be 2016 Finals I suppose we can call it the 2016 season

@Britbox: My team is the Bucks.  They figure to be pretty good this year as they have a lot of good young talent and if Parker and/or Giannis ever get to superstar level (big if) they will become a serious contender especially with Lebron aging.  As for this year I'd be happy with a top 5 seed and winning a round in the East.  They were a 6 seed last year and this year they get Parker back and they signed Greg Monroe and I think the PG they traded for more than midway through last season (Michael Carter-Williams) is a better fit for the team than Brandon Knight was

Bulls-Cavs was a pretty solid game last night.  I think any game vs. Lebron is a much bigger deal for the Bulls than vice versa.  It will be interesting to see how Chicago does without the more defensive minded Thibs coaching them.

 

[DarthFed]

Man it is that time of the year, NBA starts. Of course I didn’t follow the changes in teams so it will take me a couple of weeks to get the scoop. The Spurs have one good and then one bad year. So maybe they are due again this season. I don’t have any predictions until I at least see some of the action. I just learned that Flip Saunders passed away and that KG is back in Minnesota. I like CP3 and would like to see him win one, but I don’t think he can play the whole season in top form. Twisted (that is weird) LOL if you have time and know some of the big signings for NBA teams, feel free to post that here to help me out.

A ton of moves were made in the offseason. I can't remember all of the big ones and I'm sure I'm forgetting some but the biggest winner figures to be the Spurs as they picked up LaMarcus Aldridge and David West. The Bucks got Greg Monroe.

Decided to cheat and look for a list: http://www.sbnation.com/2015/6/30/8860381/nba-free-agent-signings-tracker-2015-rumors

 

[Billie]

Wholly molly, both Aldridge and West are with the Spurs now?!  They have a lot of forwards then (assuming Timmy and Boris are still there).  With the baseball fever in Toronto gone, I might find more time for NBA now.

 

[DarthFed]

It's well advised.  Basketball >>>>>Baseball

 

[Billie]

It’s well advised. Basketball >>>>>Baseball

Ha, maybe, but some of the baseball games were exciting and it helped that I finally figured out most of the rules. I tend to slack off at the beginning of an NBA season and then get into it in the 2nd half. B-)

 

[DarthFed]

I'm the same way regarding bball.  I don't get into it until after the NFL is done in February.  That is when teams are looking to make their move for playoff positioning so it is more entertaining to watch compared to early season games.

 

[Billie]

Spurs lost the first game of the season vs Thunder last night.  I see Thunder are still a 2-man show.  Raptors won a home opener.  What the heck happened to Lakers, I thought they were leading big last night before I went to sleep and now see that they lost by 1 to Timberwolves.  Knicks beat Bucks badly at home.

 

[brokenshoelace]

I see Thunder are still a 2-man show. 

Yes and no. Obviously, when you have Durant and Westbrook, it's going to be a 2 man team regardless of the talent surrounding them (unless you somehow have another top 5 player in there which wouldn't be realistic). However, the difference now is they have a little more versatility off the bench, particularly with Kanter, who provides them with an inside presence, has a great touch around the rim, can score in a way that the Thunder lacked before, and is good for a double double on a nightly basis.

 

[DarthFed]

Yes Kanter was a good pick up.  It should help them down low against the Spurs in particular.

Did I mention the West should be incredible to watch this year  The high expectations make me worry that somehow it will end up being crappy like last year which was anti-climatic.

 

[DarthFed]

Spurs lost the first game of the season vs Thunder last night. I see Thunder are still a 2-man show. Raptors won a home opener. What the heck happened to Lakers, I thought they were leading big last night before I went to sleep and now see that they lost by 1 to Timberwolves. Knicks beat Bucks badly at home.

Bucks were without Giannis who was suspended for a couple games to start the year for his glorious tackle of Dungleavy in the playoffs last year.  And I didn't realize this but Parker won't be back for at least a week or two due to the ACL from last year.  Makes me worry that this could become another Rose situation as he should be back by now.  Given those two were out it's reasonable to expect they'd lose, however the defense was horrible.  They got the Wizards tonight at home, should be another loss.

 

[Kirijax]

The Magic start off badly, losing their first three before surprising yesterday with a win over the Hornicans at New Orleans. Now today, they go into Houston and face Dwightmare. Would love to see them smear his what's-left-of-it dignity on the court and leave with a win. Go Magic.

Sorry, my mistake. Dwightmare has no dignity left.

 

[DarthFed]

Was able to catch most of that Golden State - LA Clippers game last night.  It is only the 5th game of the season for both teams but it carried playoff-style intensity since the teams hate each other so much.  It was a great game and served as a painful reminder of how we missed out on that Western Conference Final last year because LA somehow choked against the much lesser Rockets.  The Clips wouldn't have beat Golden State but it'd have been 6 or 7 electric games.

 

[Billie]

I watched part of that game as well, twisted, I assume Warriors won at the end (I fell asleep before it ended) LOL

I think Raptors are undefeated so far, that they beat Thunder in their home is even more surprising.

 

[DarthFed]

Bucks have rebounded well by winning 4 in a row.  Admittedly, their schedule to start the year has been very very soft but it's good to see Parker on the court again and they seem to have found the defense that made them a playoff team last year.  They have a lot of talent but are still very young so playing tough defense for 48 minutes is the "identity" of the team.  Still haven't made it to a game yet but will be going to a bunch over the holidays.

Other than that there aren't too many surprises so far aside from Detroit's start.  Golden State and Cleveland have come out ready to play and OKC and the Bulls have been underwhelming thus far.  But there are still like 500 games for everyone to get it together  B-)

One semi-bold prediction:  I think Golden State becomes the 2nd team to win 70.  They are going to make a serious assault on the Bulls record even with the West being as stacked as it is.  I will say 70-12 on the year.  It's crazy to think but they could possibly win 73 if they were playing in the East.

 

[brokenshoelace]

So anyone can offer a convincing argument as to why Steph Curry is not the best player in the world right now that doesn't revolve around a reputation Lebron acquired years ago? In fairness, it's a deserved reputation, but over the past 12 months, Steph Curry is playing the highest level of Basketball out of any player in the league.