IT’S A WARRIOR MENTALITY
Super teams aligned in hopes of challenging defending champions
This NBA season has an assumed destination, and it ends in the Bay Area.
But even with a Golden State Warriors dynasty in the making, the NBA still offers more twists than Kawhi Leonard’s hair.
All paths might well wind up in Oakland, but each offers unique scenery to make the ride enjoyable.
Super teams are being formed to challenge the defending champion Warriors, although they will have to climb several rungs to reach Golden State status.
The title favorite may fit the status quo but little else did with stars switching squads like a deck of 2017 AllStar cards getting shuffled.
Seven of February’s AllStars changed NBA teams this summer with five jumping conferences, four going from East to West (Carmelo Anthony, Jimmy Butler, Paul George and Paul Mill-
sap). Kyrie Irving and Isaiah Thomas switched jobs and Gordon Hayward was the lone Eastbound All-Star.
The results revamped star groupings that will at least prove interesting, if not intimidating. The Boston Celtics teamed Irving, Hayward and Al Horford. The Oklahoma City Thunder added George and Anthony to bring an end to Russell Westbrook’s one-man show.
“I don’t want to hear fans crying anymore about Kevin Durant [leaving Oklahoma City],” said TNT analyst Reggie Miller, an 18year Indiana Pacers star, when asked about George’s trade request. “I get why the guys want to form super teams to compete with the Warriors. That’s the only way you can beat them is forming a super team.
“It’s business, and there’s just a lot less loyalty these days as opposed to winning titles.”
More than one-fifth of last season’s NBA players will wear new uniforms this season — and not only because Nike took over the league account to put everyone in new duds.
The league simultaneously continues to skew younger with a promising, point guard-loaded rookie class.
The problem for rising teams is that Golden State remains young with its core (Stephen Curry, Durant, Draymond Green and Klay Thompson) starting the season in their late 20s — prime career range.
“They are all young … and they play the right way,” Miller said. “There’s no ball hog. There’s no sticking. It’s a beautiful game to watch. There’s back cuts. There’s proper screening. There’s fast breaks. There’s threes. And they play great defense. Great defense. I feel like I’m gushing over them. I wish there was another team that was like that.”
The Houston Rockets, who added nine-time All-Star point guard Chris Paul, would like to believe they’re close.
It’s not as if the Rockets ignored defense, either. Paul is not the defender he once was but still was respected enough to be on the all-defensive team and Houston also added versatile stoppers P.J. Tucker and Luc Mbah a Moute.
After leading the NBA in assists after moving to point guard last season, Harden gives up some ball control to Paul.
It is a variance of the camaraderie-in-the-making awkwardness that the Washington Wizards overcame with guards John Wall and Bradley Beal.
The Rockets’ pairing seems more about abundance than dilemma for an offensive savant such as Houston coach Mike D’Antoni, whose team opens the season Tuesday at Golden State.
“I think the challenges are those challenges that come with high expectations and then the sharing aspect that goes along with adding another great player into your mix,” ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy said. “So sharing the ball, the responsibility, the credit, the blame. But there’s no doubt that the addition of Chris Paul makes them a much more dangerous team in the playoffs.”
Paul’s trade to Houston and Oklahoma City’s acquisitions of George and Anthony make noise while the San Antonio Spurs keep playing tough.
Considering the spotlight on other top teams, this might be a most valuable player season for the two-way brilliance of Leonard. San Antonio is a 61-win team that added Rudy Gay, albeit possibly a different version after a torn Achilles.
“I think he’s going to be dynamic in that Spurs lineup,” ESPN analyst Mark Jackson said. “That’s a team that I would not want to face at any point, no mat- ter who I was.”
The Eastern Conference is not as deep but the tension is thick at the top, where after meeting in the conference finals the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics swapped point guards after Irving asked to be traded.
The ensuing discord has been subtle entering Tuesday’s Celtics-Cavaliers game at Cleveland.
LeBron James calls Irving “the kid.” Irving relished being in a “real, live sports city.”
There are other dynamics, including Thomas’ perpetual shoulder chip getting heavier, but Thomas is sidelined until midseason because of a hip injury.
The Celtics finished first in the East last season but dramatically changed their look, giving coach Brad Stevens more talent for his maestro work on the whiteboard.
“Even if Cleveland is totally heathy,” Van Gundy said, “I think Boston is far better equipped this year to match up effectively against Cleveland than they were last year. They are huge on the wings.”
It does not take contention for teams to be fascinating. The Miami Heat, Denver Nuggets, Portland Trail Blazers and Utah Jazz all offer hope that their teams are getting better.
Some of the most talented teams are also some of the youngest. How high will Giannis Antetokounmpo launch the Milwaukee Bucks, especially once Jabari Parker returns?
Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers is a must-watch and a must-Twitter follow. He also could be the best NBA center in his first full season for the 76ers, who bring two rookie-of-the-year candidates into the fold.
The gifted play of the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Karl-Anthony Towns gives argument to Embiid’s bull rush on the NBA’s top center spot. His team could enjoy the league’s best turnaround this season with All-Star guard Butler aboard.
“This will be a young, exciting team to watch,” TNT analyst Chris Webber said. “But I want to see them grow offensively. Last season, they were one of the most frustrating teams to watch offensively. The ball sticks. It doesn’t go side to side. It’ll be interesting to watch their growth. They should be running people off the court.”