We all thought the NBA season was over, but it isn’t. The 2016 NBA championship between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors averaged 20.1 million viewers for ABC, making it the most-watched NBA Finals since 1998. A few days after the Cavs celebrated their Game 7 victory, the NBA draft was held. Now, with the free agency period in full swing, the NBA is again dominating local and national coverage. In particular, there are three teams that have made huge headlines over the past few weeks.
Golden State Warriors – Several NBA personalities like Charles Barkley have come out and called Kevin Durant a coward, a quitter and someone who can’t lead his team. Last season, the Oklahoma City Thunder lost in the Western Conference Finals to the Warriors in 7 games. Durant has since joined the Oakland-based team. The Warriors went 73-9 last year and have now added a four-time scoring champion in Durant. This is going to be one of the greatest offenses in the history of the NBA; just take a look at these per-game averages:
PG: Stephen Curry- 30 points, 5.4 rebounds, 6.7 assists, 90% FT shooting, 45% from three.
SG: Klay Thompson- 22 points, 87% FT shooting, 42% from three.
SF: Kevin Durant- 28.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 50.5% from the floor, 89% FT shooting.
PF: Draymond Green- 15.5 points, 9.9 rebounds, 6.0 assists.
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The Warriors also added Center Zaza Pachulia (8.6 points and 9.9 rebounds per game) and Power Forward David West. While I don’t think the Warriors will win more than 73 games next year — Head Coach Steve Kerr will want to rest his team for the long playoff run — they have one of the most potent offensive teams ever assembled. GS will get to a 3rd straight finals.
The New York Knicks – After coming off a second straight season not making the playoffs, Phil Jackson was extremely aggressive during free agency. The Knicks signed two Guards, Derrick Rose and Brandon Jennings; Shooting Guard Courtney Lee and Center Joakim Noah. The team now has a complete roster with solid players at every position. If healthy, the Knicks could win 50 games this season, a great sign for a franchise that has one playoff series win since 2000. As it stands, they should be a top #4-5 seed come playoff time.
The Chicago Bulls – The internet exploded when it was announced that Dwyane Wade is signing with the Chicago Bulls. The contract is a two-year deal worth $47 million. Wade and free agent Rajon Rondo join Small Forward Jimmy Butler in Chicago’s backcourt. I’d like this deal if it were the year 2010, but both Rondo and Wade are on the decline of their careers. The biggest problem with this combo is that neither Wade nor Rondo take three pointers. Rondo made 62 threes in 2016, and Wade made only 7 three pointers all season. Just to compare that to an average player, Cleveland Cavalier backup Point Guard Matthew Dellavedova made 98 three pointers in 2016. Does the move make the Bulls a better team? Yes. But they are by no means a championship contender!
These three teams all have different goals for the upcoming season. Anything less than a championship for the Warriors would be considered a failure; The Knicks want to get to the playoffs and the Bulls want to just be competitive and sell tickets. This is why the NBA has become a topic of conversation for 9 months out of the year.
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