So... Alright - 2024 NBA preview with Geoff

Episode Date: October 15, 2024

Geoff runs down how he thinks each team will fare going into the 2024 NBA season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Metrolinx and Crosslinx are reminding everyone to be careful as Eglinton Crosstown LRT train testing is in progress. Please be alert as trains can pass at any time on the tracks. Remember to follow all traffic signals. Be careful along our tracks and only make left turns where it's safe to do so. Be alert, be aware, and stay safe. So I know last week we talked about our homework, we talked about listening to those bands from the Forgotten Firsts that we discussed all of the important groundbreaking original early all-female rock and

I guess rock groups and to that end I have made a playlist for us If you haven't had a chance to do it yourself, it's called Forgotten Firsts on Spotify Should be public under my name Jeff L. Ramsey I haven't had a chance to really pour through it and pick out my favorite songs yet But that's something that we can work on in the background and talk about in a future episode what I do want to talk about today is It's time for the yearly NBA preview where if you don't care about sports the next 25 minutes might be a little dry for you

I will try to make it as non sports like as possible and if you do like when I talk about sports I will try to make it as sports like as possible. I have I've been I'll be honest with you I After winning the NBA championship the Boston Celtics won the NBA championship I don't know if you're aware this last season, their 18th championship, number one in teams in the history of the NBA. They've no one has won more championships than the Boston Celtics. Eighteen, no matter how many championships the Lakers tries to collect from previous iterations, it still only comes up to 17.

Not 17 in Los Angeles, I might add, but 17. Celtics have obviously 18. Regardless, I will say usually the off season is pretty busy for me. I've got summer league. You've got preseason. You've got trades. You've got the draft. You've got endless speculation you read. But after winning the title, I had to take a break.

It was a long season. It's been a long. It's been a long couple of seasons, honestly, and I hit some pretty serious basketball fatigue, and so I. I'm happy to say that did not translate to the WNBA, which I have no fatigue for. By the way, the WNBA finals, I believe, are set for tomorrow night, Thursday, October 10th. Don't quote me on that.

By the time this comes out, that'll be in the past anyway. But it is New York Liberty versus Minnesota Lynx. I. Pick New York to win. I absolutely thought that they were going to revenge their loss to the Aces last year. I was equally sure Connecticut was going to make it to the finals. I'm so fucking surprised they shit the bed last night. And kudos to Minnesota, who played a hell of a game.

I was switching back and forth between that and playoff baseball, which is, by the way, where all of my fandom has has been sunk this summer. I have taken a break from basketball and I have transitioned into baseball and hot dogs. The two go well together. I have watched every playoff game or at least had it on in the background Thus far wild card and now into the proper playoffs. It has been so much fun I can't fucking believe the Padres beat the shit out of the Dodgers again last night. It's 2-1 I'm feeling real bad for the Dodgers right now and their payroll and I, oh man,

if they can't pull it off with Freddie Freeman and Shohei Otani, I mean I know he's not fully healthy and he's not pitching, but still, he's got the fucking one of the two best bats in baseball, you know, and he's had an insane offensive season and Mookie Betts and, Walker Bueller looked rough last night I know he's had two Tommy Johns anyway This is me getting into the weeds about the wrong sport

The point is I've been super into baseball and really enjoying that and I've I've actually started collecting cards again I don't we haven't talked about this But I took a break during the whole rig and roll with rooster teeth going under and starting the new company I just didn't need the distraction. I didn't need to spend any dumb money. And it also gave me some time to step away from this. Collection that has ballooned into this monster that I can't quite wrap my head around and help me wrap my head around at least my portion of of it,

which may sound weird, but what I personally am into and want to collect, I have figured out and decided and everything else becomes fodder for the break show or to get for giveaways or to liquidate and get rid of and sell on eBay or throw in a fucking dumpster. There's a I'd say like 80% of the stuff I have I don't want. I want to maintain the regulation collection. I want to figure that out. But right now I'm focused on my collection and kind of getting that under wraps, which it turns out,

here's a lot of tangents today. Here's what I've settled on. I collect Boston Celtics basketball cards, but not in a I want to get every set from every brand every year or anything. I just, if I see them and I like them, I want them. I want to collect every Marcus Smart card. I will continue to do that.

That is on hold right now because I just, I have so many and they're not particularly expensive and so I'm just taking a little break from collecting my Marcus Smart cards right now, but I'm still very into Marcus Smart in the collection. That's like the weird nebulous thing, right? If I see Celtics, I'll buy them. I collect them.

I like them, you know? And Marcus Smart, of course. But then baseball, I collect tops. I collect top series one, top series two, tops update. If they do an opening day or a Christmas release, I will consider it, but that's it for baseball, except for Allen and Ginter. I will also collect Allen and Ginter every year then that's it

Basketball I collect nba prism and nba optic and that is it i'm done with every other set out there I may switch over to tops Basketball when they get the license as a matter of fact i'm sure I probably won't have a choice But then i'm just gonna set build every year I will set build that year's NBA Prism and NBA Optic and all my money and effort will go into filling those sets through boxes and packs because I know it's inefficient,

but it's just a fun thing to do and it's a fun way to do it. And I have had so much inventory that I've been going through and I've been able to fill, I'm going through 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 tops right now, series one, two, and update, and then also any of the, like I said, the opening days or the holiday sets I have. And I've got a lot of complete sets

and damn near complete sets on most of them. So I had a lot more than I realized, and it's been so much fun to fill it out. And I feel, and I'm bindering cards, I never thought I would be a binder kind of guy, but it's so much easier and takes up so much fun to fill it out and I feel and I'm bindering cards I never thought I would be a binder kind of guy But it's so much easier and takes up so much less space and it's so much prettier and anyway So that's what I'm doing

I'm sitting here at night while baseball's on and I am just Going through my entire collection and pulling out the stuff that I know I want and everything else goes on and do a different pile That I'll figure out what the fuck to do with down the road with y'all and the break show and eBay or whatever else. Also, not what we're talking about today. God damn, we are talking about an NBA preview. Anyway, I've been so distracted with baseball and largely because of baseball cards in the playoffs, I haven't spent a lot of time looking at and digesting the upcoming NBA season. I have done it a little bit.

I've done it like your average sports person's an amount, but not like I normally would. I have done it a little bit. I've done it like your average sports person's an amount, but not like I normally would. So I will admit being a little ignorant or a little less prepared going into this than in previous years. Although I will say last year I did predict the Boston Celtics would win the NBA championships. And they did in 19 games. They won 16 and three in the playoffs after winning the division by 14 games.

I want to say. One of the statistically strongest, most dominant seasons a team has had in the history of basketball. And I'm here to tell you right now they will be repeating they will be doing it again this year. They won't win by 14 games, they'll win by 6 I say somewhere in the neighborhood of 6 games and they won't go 16-3 or whatever in the playoffs. They'll go 16 and. Eight or nine, but they are going to win the championship. I'll go ahead and give you a quick breakdown on every team. The Celtics got better.

People aren't going to recognize that they got better, but they did. And here's how they got better. They maintained the damn near the entirety of their staff. They maintained every single piece that matters. I'm not entirely sure how the roster is gonna shake out at the bottom end going into the season with Baylor Shireman as our rookie. And I know we've got, he's got a lot of potential

and they like him a lot, but we also picked up Lonnie Walker in the off season, which is a huge pickup that people, I think are undervaluing. But Lonnie Walker's fucking great and, which is a huge pickup that people I think are undervaluing. Lonnie Walker's fucking great. And he's going to be great for us. The only problem is trying to find places to play him, right? Which is the same situation we have a Jaden Springer right now.

Another good guard who we just don't have a ton of room for. And there's a bit of a log jam. We've got some some good younger talent and then also like fresh rookieish talent. Jordan Walsh would be going into his second season He he had well, it's too early to tell with him. Honestly JD Davidson. I think this will be his third season He barely played his first two seasons spent a lot of time in Maine. I Don't know about him He's got a he seems to have a lot of energy and a high motor and he kind of reminds me of Aaron Neesmith, who we had similarly his first three seasons.

We couldn't figure out what to do with him. We couldn't give him the minutes. He we ended up dealing him. He he's in Indiana now. And every time he plays us, he turns into God damn Michael Jordan for 32 minutes and scores like 24 points on us. I don't want to create another Aaron Neesmith situation. I'm not saying I want Aaron Neismith back on the team or anything, but I definitely think that we just didn't have room for him.

And he was able to thrive somewhere else and has a fucking chip on his shoulder about it. I don't want to find ourselves in that situation with J.D. Davidson as well. But I just don't know. There's I mean, Jalen Brown. Actually, let's go through the depth chart. How about that? Like at point guard, we have Drew Holiday with Peyton Pritchard as a backup. That's another reason we're going to get better. He made a leap in the playoffs last year.

He is going to continue to make the leap. He is a great fucking, great fucking guard and could probably start on some lower tier teams in the NBA and is only going to continue to get better. We have Derek White at shooting guard. We have Jalen Brown at small forward. We have Jason Tatum at power forward and then Al Horford and Chris Stapp's Pazinga's Sharon the center with Luke Cornett and Xavier Tillman as our backup. We also have Neemus Kata in there.

We have Jordan Walls. We have Jaden Springer. I already said we have J.D. Davidson. We have fucking Lonnie Walker. We have Sam Houser, who's like Vinny the microwave Johnson in 2024 when he gets hot from three We're only gonna get better at Every facet Joe is only getting better and more comfortable as a coach The problem is the rest of the NBA is definitely getting better as well. So here's where I'm putting it Celtics finished we'll do the East Celtics finish first

Obviously, I don't think there's any any confusion about that. I don't think any any disagreement there. Second is going to be the New York Knicks. They continue to get scarier. Everybody is freaking out right now because they picked up Carl Anthony Towns. I agree. It's going to be really interesting. Julius Randall was a polarizing kind of guy. There's reports where he's either good in the locker room or terrible in the locker room.

And there's, you know, there's a lot of injury concerns there. But then Carl Anthony Towns is fucking always hurt. So and he doesn't play defense, but he's a phenomenal offensive player. And he's definitely going to put Horford and poor Zingas and Embiid to work defending him, which is gonna be a new wrinkle that we'll have to deal with against the Knicks. They lost Hartenstein, that is gonna hurt him,

but they picked up fucking Mikhail Bridges too, who is low-key very fucking good. I never understood why the Suns got rid of him in the first place, but we'll get to Brooklyn later. Brooklyn's just a dumpster fire right now, so they dealt them and their loss is clearly the Knicks win. So here you have a team that was already pretty goddamn good last year and they upgraded

from Julius Randall to Carl Anthony Towns. They picked up Mikhail Bridges. They lost Hardenstein. They're gonna be better and they're not gonna be good enough to beat the Celtics, but they're gonna be better. I'll put third place will be the Philadelphia 76ers. I think that's pretty clear. These three teams, Celtics, Knicks, and Sixers

are an echelon above the rest of the East. And it's not even close. Let's see, 76ers lost Tobias Harris. That's kind of a bummer, but they picked up Paul George, Caleb Martin, the ghost of Eric Gordon. Reggie Jackson is still kicking somehow. And Andre Drummond. Boy, that's a. That's a who's who of who mattered in 2017, huh?

But that being said, Paul George is still phenomenal in a huge upgrade, and they're going to be fucking good. And apparently, Embiid has slimmed down and has decided to accept coaching and the idea of protecting him and keeping him healthy throughout the season. So if they can make it to the playoffs with a fully healthy roster, they're going to be very good. I have no concerns that the Celtics wouldn't beat

them though that's fucking 76ers are our bitch the every issue we have with the Miami Heat the 76ers have with us I'm gonna put number four a lot of people are saying the Pacers I don't think so I think they're very good but I think the Cavs are gonna be better this year. Now that Donovan Mitchell, I think, figured out that there is not a place for him elsewhere, clearly the Knicks don't need or want him. He's suddenly really happy in Cleveland

and really loves the role. So maybe the Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell thing will get sorted out. Then obviously still waiting for Evan Mobley to take that big leap offensively to match his tremendous defensive ability. If he does that, they're gonna be a really tough team. They're already gonna be a really tough team.

I think that they finished fourth. The Milwaukee Bucks everybody's forgetting about because Dame is even older and Chris Middleton is even older. And they're not picking anybody up in the off season anytime soon, but they still have Giannis and Lillard will finally, supposedly he went into last season out of shape because he was scared he was gonna reinjure himself

in the off season. And so he kind of intentionally didn't get in shape before the NBA season. Sounds ludicrous, I know, but Damien Lillard is known for having a pretty insane work ethic. So I'm gonna give him the benefit of the doubt on that. But if we have a Lillard rebound year with Ayanna still in his prime year,

the Bucks are gonna finish maybe fourth, but I think fifth behind the Cavs. Pacers are gonna come in right behind them. They didn't get any worse. They didn't get any worse. They didn't really pick anybody up. They didn't lose anybody worse. They didn't get any worse. They didn't really pick anybody up. They didn't lose anybody. Tyrese Halliburton was injured the second half of the season

and never really looked the same after he did the fucking splits. I don't know if you guys saw that injury. If you haven't, look at Halliburton's splits injury. He, oh man, it hurts to replay it in my mind. So they're very good, but I just think that some other teams are making leaps. Right behind them, I'm gonna put the Orlando Magic,

and I think they have the highest potential to leap, even higher, hell of a ceiling on that team. If, for God's sakes, if Paolo Banquero and Franz Wagner both figure it out in the same year, they're gonna be, that's like, they're gonna be unstoppable. Those two guys have so much potential between them. Plus the addition of KCP, Cantavious Caldwell Pope, who is a veteran and a great locker room guy

is really gonna help give them some leadership that they, I think, desperately need. I think that they thought they were gonna get that from Joe Ingalls and maybe it didn't work out and he left in the off season Feeling pretty good about them behind them are Miami Heat who cares? Caleb Martin's gone Delon writes gone. I don't know that that matters Jimmy Butler's a year older Tyler heroes another year and to be in Tyler hero Jimmy Butler's a year older Tyler heroes another year and to be in Tyler hero BAM out of bio is very fucking good

So I think they're middle of the pack. I'm gonna put the Hawks right below them Addition by subtraction on those guys I think they're gonna have a bit of a rebound year because they got rid of Dejante Murray who is a very very very good player Who they picked up from San Antonio and they have now sent to New Orleans. He, by all rights, he and Trey Young could not play together, did not seem to like each other and are both very ball dominant. But you also just hear a ton about how De'Jonte Murray is kind of a bad locker room guy.

And so I think that they will have a better season without him and I think that he is gonna they will have a better season without him. And I think that he is going to find himself in a better place in New Orleans. Sadiq Bey also left, man. I love Sadiq Bey. I really hope he finds his place in the NBA. He deserves it. He's a good player. Behind them, I'm going to put are you still with me?

Is this boring? Should I speed this up? I'm going to put the Hornets. They were terrible last season, and I'm putting them ahead of a bunch of teams this season. But I really do think that with Lamello finally healthy and Brandon Miller, who was quietly becoming of he's getting eclipsed by Wimby and all these other rookies. But Brandon Miller is really fucking good. And he played pretty well last year.

And if he takes a leap this year as well, I think that the Hornets could see themselves in. I really do. I think that the Hornets could see themselves in. I really do. I think that they could see themselves in play in territory. I don't know if they'll get there, but I think they have just as much of a chance as, say, Toronto, who what do you say about? They picked up Davion Mitchell. They lost Gary Trent Jr. That team is just seems to be since the title, just in this forever churn of middle of the pack that they don't seem to be no move they make seems to to raise or lower them in the rankings.

Behind them, I'm going to put the Bulls they picked up Josh Giddy, who had become unplayable in a very, very talented Oklahoma city. Hopefully he'll have a bit of a rebound in Chicago. That being said, they have lost so much Chicago. They lost Alex Caruso in the giddy trade. They lost Amar Rosen. They lost Drummond.

I don't know how much of a loss that is, but I don't know what that team is, but it's not good. I'll tell you that. I'm gonna go with the Pistons next I also think the Pistons have a higher ceiling than I'm putting him here currently at 13th on the list. They picked up Toby Harris, they picked up Malik Beasley, they picked up Tim Hardaway Jr. who I think is cooked but is still a locker room guy, they picked up Paul Reed, they lost Quinton Grimes. Another addition by subtraction, Monty Williams is out as head coach,

who I just by all, great coach, but just by all rights didn't wanna be there. I think he only took it because they offered him so much money he couldn't say no. And good for him for getting that money, but it was clearly not a good fit. So JD Bickerstaff is in. He has to do a better job. So JD Bickerstaff is in. He has to do

a better job. They have to improve. I think they're going to be I think they won 14 games last season. Yeah, they're 14 and 68. That would be I'm going to put them somewhere at like 2526 games this season. And I'd love it if they do better than that. But we'll see below them is just the absolute bottom of the barrel, dog shit basement of the East. It's the Brooklyn Nets. They lost the only bright spot on the team they had,

McHale Bridges. I guess that's not fair. Cam Thomas is interesting. I think they have DFS too, Dorian Finney Smith. They have been Simmons. This could be the Ben Simmons rebound here, right? Every year could be the Ben Simmons rebound here. They also picked up Bojan Bogdanovich and Zaire Williams.

I think they won like 30 games last season. They're going to win like 20 this season. They're going to be very bad. And the only team that's going to be worse than them is obviously the Washington Wizards, who are going to win gonna win about 15 games this year, I think. Their big pickups are Alexander Saar, that poor kid. Whatever, welcome to the NBA. And Malcolm Brogdon, who, I feel so bad about Malcolm Brogdon.

Played for the Celtics for a year. Seems like by all accounts a really wonderful dude. One rookie of the year and sixth man of the year in his career both really really amazing titles to win hard to win hard to win rookie of the year and six men of the year honestly let's talk about that rookie of the year is a starters award and six men of the year is a Starters Award and Sixth Man of the Year is a Bench Players Award. And he has just been so beset by injuries that he just gets bounced around and around

and around the NBA. And that's one of those dudes where I just, it just sucks because he seems like a good guy. He seems like a guy that people liked and like playing with. And when he plays, he's fucking amazing. But the rub on him is if he plays for more than about 22 minutes a game game his body will break down He just can't handle it over time. So you can only you can only use them for 20 minutes a game which puts them on the bench

unfortunately, and it's just just a Just a shame I hope I hope that he finds a home in Washington and is able to stay healthy and and play some meaningful basketball because I think he's a great dude. But that'll do it for the East. Where are we on time? Is this so fucking boring?

I'm sorry if this is so fucking boring. You got to email me Jeff at what? Email me at Eric at JeffsBoss.com and say like this is the worst episode you've done. Don't ever do it again or say like, no, it's fine. You can give me some feedback because I genuinely don't know. I'll go faster in the West because I know it less because I care about it less. OK, so for the West and please take into consideration that I am less prepared than usual, so my hot takes may not be quite as hot

or quite as correct as they would have been in the past. But I'm getting back into it. I'm full steam ahead. It's just the fucking baseball playoffs are so good and they're taking up so much of my idol attention. Okay, easily best team in the West, at least for the regular season is going to be the Oklahoma City Thunder.

They're gonna win the division pretty handily. I think there were 57 and 25 last season. It's gonna be hard to win 60 in the West this year if any team can do it, it's them. I'm gonna say they'll do it though. I'm gonna say they're gonna be right there. 59, 60, 61, right around there. They picked up Alex Caruso in the off season.

NBA champion Alex Caruso, who is going to give this incredibly talented young bench a little bit of what they need, which is a little bit of locker room presence, a little bit of a NBA vet presence, and from a dude who's not that old, a dude who can still connect with that young generation, a dude who still wears a headband and dunks,

but has won an NBA title next to LeBron James. That is invaluable to have on your team. They also picked up Isaiah Hartenstein who if he can stay healthy is gonna be a huge huge addition for them Obviously last Josh Giddy. He was doing nothing for them the last season So I don't think that's much of a loss at all. They are just going to continue to get better SGA is going to continue to get better. He is the best guard in basketball. I don't think that's even in question at this point. And Jalen Williams will continue, both Jalen Williams will continue to get better,

but Jalen Williams will definitely continue to get better. And that's a team of all stars. You're going to watch an NBA All-Star game four years from now, and three or four people on the court will have been on this team or will still be on this team Gonna go ahead and do a Lot of people are saying the nuggets for number two. I don't think so. I think it's gonna be the Timberwolves first off the Minnesota Timberwolves picked up Julius Randall and

Dante DiVincenzo in that trade from the Knicks. That's going to low key be a big addition for them and not as big as Randall, obviously. And also it's the you know, they lost Kat. They lost a lot of offensive firepower in Kat. But the Kat and Go Bear thing was just weird. They started to figure it out clearly at the end. But and I know it hurts to lose Kat, but Kat was also like. end. But and I know it hurts to lose Kat, but Kat was also like, he's a dude who has made some of the weirdest and dumbest decisions on the court I've seen in the last 10, 15 years. This is befuddling mistakes he makes on the court sometimes when he's like when he's in his head, right? And I think without Kat and and sort of some of the drama that surrounds Kat, it's going to be interesting to see how that works in New York.

It's just going to allow Anthony Edwards to continue to take the reins and thrive and shine and get better and better. And I think that we haven't even come close to seeing that dude ceiling yet. So adding a good supporting staff and Diven Shinzo and somebody like Randall who needs the ball a little less and is a little more defensive minded. I think it's only going to help them. I think they lost Kyle Anderson. That kind of sucks. But even should just more than make up for that. Yeah, anyway, I said I was gonna do this faster and I don't feel like I am a third. I'm gonna put the Dallas Mavericks in. I know they just went to the NBA finals

and they just picked up Klay Thompson, but I don't think Clay Thompson is going to make a huge difference. I'll be happy to be proven wrong. I think that they are a good team and they're going to save it for the playoffs and the finals. And so I think if they wanted to compete for first, they could give Oklahoma City run for the money, but I just don't think they're built like that. I think they're going to be very happy to get third. I think you want to be in the top three.

So you get a home field advantage, at least in the opening round of the playoffs. You get a much weaker opponent. And then you you just figure out that you're better than everybody else in the playoffs and then prove it. Right. So I think they're pretty happy in third, maybe even fourth. I have the nuggets in fourth right now. Listen, a lot of people put the nuggets at second that I'm reading.

I don't think they got better. They picked up Dario Saric, who is okay. He's okay. They picked up Russell Westbrook, who, listen, I love Russell Westbrook, but I don't know why you would want that distraction on your team. I will say it seemed to work out well

at the Clippers at times, but I just, man, I don't know why you would want that distraction on your team. I will say it seemed to work out well at the Clippers at times, but I just, man, I don't know. They lost KCP, they lost Reggie Jackson, who at this point I would say is probably better than Russell Westbrook. So, and KCP is definitely the big, like if you're looking at Sarek, Westbrook, KCP, and Reggie Jackson as your additions and subtractions, the one that comes to mind is KCP and he's a subtraction.

So that's a bummer for them. And I also I'm a big Jamal Murray fan, but the Jamal Murray we saw in the Olympics was fucking scary. I don't know if that's if something was going on with him this summer. But if that's the Jamal Murray that shows up in the NBA this season, then the Nuggets, they're in some trouble. I'm gonna put them at fourth place.

Fifth place, Memphis Grizzlies. A lot of people are sleeping on the Memphis Grizzlies. Two years ago, they were fucking awesome. They were a buzz saw and nobody wanted to play them. And they were developing a reputation and they were fucking scary. And all they did was spend a year fully injured. There was so many people injured on that team, including my beloved Marcus Smart, including all the drama around John Morant.

But at the end of the day, all those dudes got healthy, and they picked up Zach Eady, who I'm telling you, from Purdue, Zach Eady, I'm telling you, is gonna be an NBA player And he's going to make a difference that dude will make he I don't think he'll win rookie of the year But he is going to immediately make a difference Maybe I'll be wrong, but I think that dudes got the right mindset the right attitude He's a fucking killer, and I think he's gonna fit in right on that team. It is the grind house in 2024

You're talking about John Morant, Marcus Smart, Triple J, Desmond Bane, Zach Eadie. Oh, fucking Gigi Jackson. That's right. Rookie surprise of the year last year. Gigi Jackson, Brandon Clark, Brandon Clark, Santi Adama is a good player. Like they got I forgot they have Scottie Pippen Jr. Yeah, man.

I'd watch out. I'd watch out for the fucking Memphis Grizzlies, they're going to be, they're coming back, they're pissed off, they feel like they have been disrespected by the league for a year and they're gritty, over performing young teams, so I'm putting them at, let's see, what's my math, one, two, three, four, five. That puts the Phoenix Suns at sixth. Listen, I think most people have them somewhere That puts the the Phoenix Suns at sixth. Listen.

I think most people have them somewhere in the three to four range. I don't care. I don't know what to tell you. That is a paper thin team. It's cool that they picked up Tias Jones in the offseason. I think that that helps a lot. I think losing Frank Vogel and replacing with Mike Budenholzer is. A lateral move. No offense to either coach. I think Frank Vogel is replacing with Mike Budenhouser is a lateral move. No offense to either coach.

I think Frank Vogel is a really good coach. I think Budenhozer is a good coach too. He got fucked in Milwaukee, but I don't think Budenhozer is better than Vogel. And I don't think that's where their problems are. Their problems are in the fact that they have an aging Kevin Durant and a very expensive and very fragile past his prime Bradley Beal and Devin Booker can't do it all. He can't be the only one healthy.

So they got to rely on guys like Nurkic and Grayson Allen and I don't know, Mason Plumlee. It's going to be a tough season for the Suns I think wouldn't be surprised now the only way the Suns will jump higher than what do I have Matt? One two three four six is if they make some sort of a midseason move Matt you should be a I wouldn't put it past them to make some sort of a big move in the in the midseason Before the trade deadline to course correct. I don't know what the fuck they're going to do. I don't know what assets they have to deal.

Maybe there will be a market for Kevin Durant and they can figure out a way to flip him into a ton of talent and draft picks. But I just don't know. That's not going to that's not going to help him finish any higher though. So I don't know. I just don't know what they could deal to get better But I do think that they will be in the market to deal sometime before the trade line deadline Behind them. I'm putting the Golden State

Warriors who have picked up Kyle Anderson and Buddy healed and I think Anthony Melton went there too Yeah, I don't think they got better you look at like what did I say? And I think Anthony Melton went there, too. Yeah, I don't think they got better. You look at like what did I say to Anthony Melton, Kyle Anderson, Buddy Hield, and they lost Chris Paul, Clay Thompson and Dario Sarge. I mean, this is twenty eighteen. That's a hell of a loss in twenty twenty four.

I don't know what losing Chris Paul does to you. Wonderful floor general. Obviously, the point God great, great leader on a team, but you don't need a leader on a team when you've got Kerr and Curry, you know? You know what I mean? Like those are redundant qualities to have. Klay Thompson I think is gassed,

I'm happy to be proven wrong in Dallas, and Darius Sarich is, he doesn't really move the needle for me one way or the other. But then neither did D'Anthony Melt and Kyle Anderson or Buddy Hield is, Buddy Hield is surprisingly good. Yeah, I don't think that, I don't think that they're going to finish any higher than seventh. I just don't see it. I don't know how. Right behind them, who seem to be destined to live right behind them forever is the Sacramento Kings. We will see. We will see. Everybody is excited that they picked up Damar DeRozan in the offseason from the Bulls,

but they lost Harrison Barnes and they lost Davion Mitchell. And DeRozan's a good dude. He's good in the fourth quarter. He's a little bit older though. I just don't know. You don't know when a guy, how old is DeMartero? Let's see. Yeah, he's 35. 35 is not a good age for the kind of basketball

that DeMartero's in place. And so, as much as I love the Sacramento Kings and as fun as it was to see them have their moment Where they they really seemed to be taking the mantle as a as a playoff contender two years ago I I just don't know the West just continues to get better and I just don't know How they're gonna compete with that right behind them. I have the pelicans. They're an interesting one You can't really believe in them because they haven't let us believe in them much the last few years. But Zion is incredibly slim. He got in shape in the offseason, got healthy, took a lot of weight off his body to help his durability. Supposedly, they picked up to

Jean-Tay Murray, who is very good but considered locker room poison. However. I don't think he's going to have competition for his role in in New Orleans, and I think he's only going to help feed the Zion Williamson monster that could show up if he is healthy. It's going to be interesting. They lost a lot. They lost like Jonas found soon as and Larry Nance Jr. and I think Dyson Daniels are not much of a loss that is. And, uh, I feel somebody else, Najee Marshall, I think. But a good team, good players, going to be interesting.

If it works out with De Jean-Tay Murray, they're going to be a good team behind them. I have the Houston Rockets who think they are a playoff team. They are a deep, young team, have a lot of potential. Obviously, Eme Odoka is a good coach, good motivator. They finished 41 and 41 last year. They didn't really pick anybody up.

They didn't really pick anybody up. They didn't really lose anybody. They're just gonna be another year Matured and experienced into the league as a very very young team of very high draft picks who has a lot of potential and Is a big question mark for me, but I think they could be very good behind them I'm gonna put the Lakers. Man, Lakers aren't going anywhere. Big addition for the Lakers this year would be Bronnie James. And poor Darwin Ham, who just gets kicked

to the curb everywhere he goes. And I just, I feel so bad for that dude. JJ Reddick is the new coach. I like JJ Reddick a lot. I like the TikToks where JJ and LeBron talked basketball. I didn't watch that and think, that guy should coach the Lakers and LeBron. But here we are, here we are.

The Lakers are gonna be a fucking spectacle. It's all gonna be about LeBron and Brawny playing together. And then I imagine Brawny will end up in the G League really quickly. And we will begin to watch the love affair with JJ Redick sour if the If the team doesn't kick ass out of the gate, which I don't know how they can they haven't gotten any better I don't know they've gotten any worse, but every other team in the NBA has gotten better and they weren't fucking great to begin with Behind them the Clippers, uh What a sad Behind them, the Clippers.

What a sad state of affairs the Clippers are. As you know, they lost Paul George. They lost Mason Plumlee. They lost Russell Westbrook. I don't know how much of a loss that is. They did pick up Chris Dunn. He's a good glue guy. And I just read the other day that Kauai's hurt.

And he might miss a little bit of the beginning of the season. Kawhi is always going to be hurt. Kawhi Leonard will never be healthy for a full season again for the rest of his career. He hasn't been in years and he won't be. That is now, for better or worse, James Harden's team. Do you remember what James Harden was like in the Houston Rockets when he was the team and he was taking 17 three pointers a night every night? That's what we're about to see in Los Angeles. Kawhi won't be healthy enough to be on the floor.

It is just gonna be Harden and you're gonna see old school ISO Harden. You to see that that lazy drive layup that always works. You're going to see that like I roll board step back three that sometimes works. And it'll be interesting to see. He's slimmed down to according to some reports and he's in he's in pretty good shape. It'll be interesting to see if James Harden can return to the James Harden he was in Houston, because I think that's what he set himself up for

or what he set up for in Los Angeles. That puts us at number 13. I'm going to put the spurs. I think a lot of people would say they will finish higher with year two of Wimby. They picked up Chris Paul, who will be good in terms of leadership. It'll be he and it'll be interesting, right? It'll be interesting. It'll be interesting to see how he and Pop get along.

And if they do, I think it could be really, really beneficial for the team and really provide a veteran presence that is invaluable. If he and Pop don't get along or there's any friction there Chris Paul won't be around very long I'll tell you that and Harrison Barnes, I think that I say Harrison Barnes or any if I didn't Harrison Barnes I believe they picked him up to Harrison Mars a good player. He's good glue guy

Solid they will be better Wimby will be better when we will be the best defensive player in the NBA this season and from here on out every season for probably at least the next eight years, but I don't think I don't think there are 22 and 60 team like they were last year, but they're like a 28 and Whatever the other side of that is 52 team 28 and 54 team Everybody wants to see Wimby in the playoffs and they want to see Return to San Antonio glory, but they're still a year or two off I don't think you're gonna see them finish much higher than 13 this season number 14. I'm gonna put the jazz

That is a team that does not want to win I I feel bad for Will Hardy. He is a fucking awesome coach. Lowry Markkinen is a really good player. I imagine they will probably deal him before the trade deadline. Wouldn't be surprised if you see him in Golden State or Phoenix somehow maybe. Probably Golden State, I would think. Seems like their kind of guy.

But the Jazz are allergic to success. I don't know what else to say other than that. And then the last place team barely an NBA team. Honestly, this year, Portland Trail Blazers. It's a shame. I love RIP City. It's a great place to see a game. I love the city of Portland. They have Shaden Sharp, who is fun to watch.

And for any Simons, I think Scoot Scoot Henderson is definitely going to have a better sophomore year than his freshman year, I would hope. But they're a. Bottom tier team in a really tough division, and I just they picked up Danny Avida. In the off season, but I don't really even know what to say. Every team above them is going to demolish them.

And there's not a lot of hope for Portland Trailblazers fans. And I feel for you and I feel sorry for you. And that is my NBA preview. That's how I think the teams will finish heading into the playoffs. I think that the, oh, I should give you the, who's gonna win the season, right? I'm gonna put it at the ZZ.

Probably gonna be a popular choice, but I'm gonna say that the Boston Celtics will defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder in. Six games. To win their 19th NBA title. There you have it. It's written in stone, internet stone, as it were. Boston Celtics will repeat and they will beat the Oklahoma City Thunder. And then for a song of the day, I have one for you. It's a band. I don and then for a song of the day.

I have one for you. It's a band. I don't think I've sung of the day than before. I hope not. They're called Black Eyes. It's this is an insane band, but this is an insane song. And I think that if you give it a chance, you'll find it to be very fucking fun. If you like high energy music, it's called deformative. And look, if you like two singers music it's called deformative and look if you like two singers singing at the same time but different lyrics you're

gonna love this song a lot of fun check out black eyes deformative and tune in next week when we will definitely not probably maybe talk probably won't talk about basketball but something non sports related But who knows and then email me at Eric at Jeff's boss calm if you have any strong opinions about whether I talk about sports Or not I really would like to know because I don't want to bore you guys to death But I do find it very interesting and compelling and fun to talk about so that'll do it for me. I'll see you next week All right.