Milwaukee Bucks
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton now have a full year of playing at the top of their respective games, Jabari Parker has had a full year of playing under his belt, and draft pick Thon Maker is thoroughly impressing in the Summer League. The signing of 30-year-old Mirza Teletovic gives them another perimeter threat other than Middleton, so the threat of his three-point shot will make teams undecided on whether to clog the paint or press out on perimeter players.
Also, with Jerryd Bayless gone, there is a hole at point guard, and that hole is one that Giannis intends to fill. At 6’11” with a guard’s skill set, he will be a matchup nightmare and will have more chances to slash to the rim with the ball. Although he is no Ben Simmons in terms of finding his teammates, if he can improve his court vision and passing, that will become another dangerous aspect of his game that defenses will need to prepare for.
The Bucks are one of the most dangerous, young, athletic teams in the league, and in the weaker Eastern Conference, they will certainly make some waves.
Minnesota Timberwolves
This is a team that has been looking to make the jump from being one of the greatest teams based on potential to one of the greatest teams in the league, period. Finally, Ricky Rubio gets some much-needed competition at the point guard position, and Kris Dunn will provide a more athletic, scoring-oriented presence at the one that Rubio does not bring.
Andrew Wiggins looked ready to become a star last season, and Karl-Anthony Towns was dominant inside. Add guys like Zach LaVine, Shabazz Muhammad, Gorgui Dieng, and Nikola Pekovic, the Wolves will have a lot of quality role players to look to when the young stars are not producing.
Finally, they made a great hire to bring in Tom Thibodeau as the Head Coach, so they will be ready to lock teams down on the defensive end, and with the athleticism and quickness they have on that end, there may be some low-scoring defensive battles over the course of the season.
Utah Jazz
It’s about time that these guys get good. They, like the Timberwolves, have been acquiring great, young talents in the past few years, but have yet to make the playoffs with this core of players.
Built upon budding stars like Gordon Hayward, Derrick Favors, Rudy Gobert, and Dante Exum, the Jazz should look to finally make the playoffs in the post-Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap era. Now that Dante Exum is finally healthy after his ACL tear at the beginning of last season and that Trey Lyles is looking dominant in the Summer League, the Jazz have many options.
They have three point guards who can be effective offensively in Exum, Trey Burke, and Raul Neto, and a four above-average big men in Gobert, Lyles, Favors, and the newly-acquired Boris Diaw, the mix of youth and experience will make the Jazz much harder to beat. Add that to Joe Johnson being there to mentor Hayward, Rodney Hood, and Alec Burks as well as get some good minutes, and the Jazz are suddenly one of the deepest teams in the league, which will help them greatly by the time the playoffs roll around.
New York Knicks
This is what Carmelo Anthony has been waiting for since his days in Denver. Even though it is not 2010 anymore, the Knicks have shown ambition in the market by acquiring Derrick Rose, Courteney Lee, and Brandon Jennings as well as horrifically overpaying for Joakim Noah.
With the majority of their new core of players on the wrong side of 30-years-old, health is the big factor for the Knicks. Brandon Jennings suffered a torn Achilles tendon a couple years ago, Rose has had chronic knee problems, and Joakim Noah has battled shoulder and knee problems recently.
If their stars can stay on the court and become even a fraction of their former selves, then the Knicks should be geared to make a playoff run in the East. They are in a strong division with Boston and Toronto being the favorites and the Sixers on the rise, but there is no reason that they should not be able to contend with the scoring prowess and experience of ‘Melo and the inside-out play of Kristaps Porzingis leading the team.
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