THE GOLDEN RULE
Contenders make big moves in order to chase down Warriors, but good luck stopping champs
THE LYING began in earnest Monday.
That’s when 28 teams conducted media day, the unofficial start to the NBA season. Everyone was perky, upbeat and vowed upgrades. Everyone liked the look of the assembled team, which has a chance to win a title. They were lying. “It’s not uncommon this time of year, everyone’s optimistic,” Minnesota coach/ president of basketball operations Tom Thibodeau said.
Can we just fast-forward to spring and align somebody from the East against the defending champ Warriors and be done with it?
The Warriors say they want to do exactly what they did last year, when they beat Cleveland in five Finals games.
“Just do more of it,” Kevin Durant said.
With basically the same guys and some new imports on the bench.
“Because of the way we play, everybody touches the ball,” Stephen Curry said. “Everybody is involved. Everybody should be a threat when they’re on the floor.”
Figure the Warriors won’t be invited to the White House next year, either.
Almost symbolically, the Warriors are ahead of the field. They held media day Friday along with Minnesota because both play in the preseason Global Games.
Former coach/ current TV analyst Jeff Van Gundy stressed the obvious recently, claiming “2018 is a wrap, let’s start talking about 2019” because of the Warriors dominance. Van Gundy saw a parallel with the Michael Jordan Bulls back when he was Pat Riley’s Knicks assistant.
“As a coach or as a team, you don’t believe what I said,” Van Gundy said. “The Jordan teams had it a lot harder. There were more competitive teams obviously that could have beaten them. We never thought we didn’t have a good chance. Also I don’t think teams feel the same way as outsiders. I may feel that way, but I don’t think Houston feels that way or San Antonio or Cleveland.”
The expected Warriors repeat represents one major 2017-18 storyline. There are more: the future of LeBron James in Cleveland, where he may reunite with Dwyane Wade; the present of Kyrie Irving in Boston; attempted super teams in Houston and Oklahoma City; on-the-rise Minnesota and Milwaukee. Locally, there is the continued progress of the Nets, the remake of the Knicks.
See, things actually did and will happen in the NBA outside of the Carmelo Anthony saga. Stuff to watch:
1. At least LeBron James can afford L.A. real estate.
Speculation says LeBron James leaves Cleveland after this season. Fo r mer Pos t columnist Peter Vecsey wrote James “unequivocally” will bolt for the Lakers.
“I think he leaves and he goes somewhere and he can always point back to, ‘Guys, I came back and gave you everything I have. We won a title but now I have to move on. You traded one of our top players …’ ” said one rival executive. “And if they have success, it’s a whole other story.”
2. Don’t worry, Kyrie. If it doesn’t work, Boston fans are so forgiving.
Kyrie Irving wanted out of Cleveland and got out of Cleveland. He wanted his team and wanted out of James’ shadow, He’s got his team, devoid of LBJ. Now we’ll find out if it works. The Celtics are stacked, but there is no James, the one guy who makes any team a contender. If the Celtics, with only four players back from their No. 1 Eastern seed team, flop in the playoffs, it’s on Irving. If they flop against Cleveland, he’ll have the mental health hotline on speed dial. Oh, and LeBron? He said Monday he had no idea why Irving wanted out and noted, “I tried to do whatever I could to help the kid out.”
Forget help Oct. 17 when the Cavs and Celts open in Cleveland.
3. Folks are excited about the Sixers. Wait, the SIXERS????
Yup. Young talent abounds. The key word is young. The next key word is health.
“We’ re excited about the future, but we’re also realistic,” general manager Bryan Colangelo said.
The excitement starts with center Joel Embiid, who “if healthy, is as good as there is,” according to one scout. Embiid was limited to 31 games by injury last season. Then there are Markelle Fultz, whom the Sixers traded up to select first overall, and Ben Simmons. There’s a catch.
“We’re going into a season with two No. 1 picks who have never played an NBA game,” Colangelo said. “The high-level talent is there. The question is, ‘ Are the health and experience there?’ ”
The Sixers tried answering the experience issue by importing vets J.J. Redick and Amir Johnson.
“It ’s , ‘Are we ready to take the next step?’ when everyone wants to ask, ‘Are they going to the playoffs?’ ” Colangelo said.
4. Warriors vs. world.
The Wa r - riors can be beaten. The league just needs injuries and luck. No one wants injuries, so horseshoe and fourleaf clover sales are up.
“You hear t hose g uys, t he message they send is the team first. That’s important for us all to pick up on,” Nets GM Sean Marks said. “And we all know you’ ve got to be l ucky. You don’t just win a championship by being good. You’ve got to be lucky, too. And everybody that’s won knows you’ve got to stay healthy.”
Face it, the Warriors are lucky. They have Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, Durant and a bench that added Omri Casspi and Nick Young.
5. Rookies and the over/ under date for America officially hating LaVar Ball.
Lonzo Ball, the No. 2-overall pick by the Lakers, will get tons of attention for his on-court skill. He was a summer league MVP, which means as much as being the Sahara’s best swimmer. Most feel he’ll succeed. It won’t be easy.
“Ball is a good player, but he’s got a lot of pressure on him. The father’s an idiot,” one talent evaluator said. “With Golden State, Draymond Green is going to guard him and take him right out of the game. A lot of guys are lining up.”
Fultz will get a monster opportunity in Philly, and one rookie receiving rave reviews is Boston’s Jayson Tatum.
“He’s a very skilled, in the traditional sense, 3-man,” the evaluator said. “He’s got size, range, can put it on the deck. He’s a good player.”
6. Locally? Start the countdown to pitchers and catchers reporting.
Neither the Knicks nor Nets loom as playoff material. Both seek development. For the Nets, there is talent, hunger and as good a teaching /motivational coach, Kenny Atkinson, as exists in the league. The Kristaps Porzingis Knicks move on minus Carmelo Anthony.
“Brooklyn’s improved. D’Angelo Russell didn’t get off to a great start in L.A., played with Kobe, which is not easy. Had [coach Byron] Scott, who hates rookies,” one scout said, laughing at the thought Michael Beasley could adequately re pl a ce Anthony. “I want to know the basis for that. It’s not Beasley’s body of work. He’s been in the league for a while with a bunch of teams. A bunch of teams can’t be wrong. He can score in bunches, but he’s not better than Carmelo Anthony.”
7. The coldest cities could produce hot, rising teams.
Milwaukee in the East and Minnesota in the West could soar. The Bucks were seeded sixth last year but couldn’ t avoid the emergency room. Jabari Parker’s second knee surgery could nix him until Febru-ru- ary. Khris Middleton played 29 games. Giannis Antetokounmpo blossomed, becoming only thehe fifth player to lead his team in scoring, rebounding, assist, rebounds, blocked shots, steals — and letters in his last name.
Minnesota’s kids have veteranran leadership in Jimmy Butler. Andnd Minny imported vets Jeff Teague, Taj Gibson and Jamal Crawford. With studs Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins, there is a good starting five, depth for a terrific bench and real ho pepe Minnesota makes the playoffs for the first time since 2004. Towns has something else driving him.
“I made a promise to [the late] Flip Saunders that we would win and end the playoff drought,” Towns said. “I intend to keep that promise.”
8. Cohesion or confusion in Houston and Oklahoma ma City
The Rockets lastsea soon seemed primed to be a defensive nightmare. So behind MVP candidate James Harden, they averaged 40.3 3-pointers, which made even the Warriors seem gun shy. They added Chris Paul in the offseason and hope for a quick blend with Harden.. The Thunder have a Big 3 withh Anthony joining Russell Westbrook and Paul George.
“The key will be cohesion,” one assistant coach said. “How quickly the units learn to play together will determine a lot. But [neither] is better than the Warriors.”
George expects more than cohesion.
“We felt great eat about what we had previous to Carmelo being traded,” George said Monday. “But now by adding someone like Carmelo takes this team am to another level.” l.”
9. Wade and LeBron II? Wade ade and Miami II? ? Wade and Po op I?
Dwyane Wa de’s hometown Chicago thing didn’t work out. And d now, his buyout will be off ff icial. Where to go? Reports say ay Cleveland with LeBron, Miami (again), perhaps San Antonio maybe Oklahoma City, where they’re already trying to figure how to divide the ball three told the Associ he hoped to de arly as Mon with “a pur basketball decision.”