Full-Court Press

This is part 2 of a 3 part series. To see part 1, click here.

Warriors

New Player	Position	Games Played	Age	MPG	PPG	RPG	APG	STL	BLK	TS%
Willie Cauley-Stein	C	81	26	27.3	11.9	8.4	2.4	1.2	0.6	56.6%
D’Angelo Russell	PG	81	23	30.2	21.1	3.9	7.0	1.2	0.2	53.3%

From their Finals performance to Free Agency, the Warriors suffered multiple losses this off-season. Their list of former players includes Demarcus Cousins, long time bench anchors Andre Iguodala and Shaun Livingston, but their biggest loss consists of the 7-foot scoring-hole left in their hearts by Kevin Durant’s departure. For the cherry on top, with Klay Thompson’s ACL injury suffered in Game 6 of the Finals, the 2 guard is scheduled to be out until after the All-Star break. Despite their losses taken, because of their off-season moves, the Warriors have things to look forward to in Willie Cauley-Stein and D’Angelo Russell.

Although not as big of a name as others, Willie Cauley-Stein could prove to be an underrated pickup for Golden State. The Warriors have had a fairly similar situation like this before in Javale McGee: both are athletic 7-footers that can run the floor, both are good roll-men off of screens, and both are inconsistent with different quirks that prevent them from being a better player. For McGee, you have his athletic asthma, along with a few clips from Shaqtin’ a Fool showing him being clumsy and having mental lapses, leading to costly, but entertaining plays. For Cauley-Stein, he is known for having lackadaisical defense, averaging only 0.6 blocks last season despite being an extremely talented athlete. The biggest difference between the two, however, is their age. McGee is 5 years older the Cauley-Stein (31 years old vs. 26 years old), and he improved greatly on the Warriors, despite not being in his physical prime. With Cauley-Stein being 26, he has more time to start new, revitalize his game, and fulfill his potential, and him being on the Warriors will help him with these objectives greatly.

After being traded to the Nets by the Lakers in 2018, the 23 year old D’Angelo Russell had his career best season, blossoming into a great player and MIP candidate in Brooklyn, and with multiple 40 point outings, high assist games and clutch moments, it is hard to argue against. Russell is a great young offensive player, showing his scoring and shooting prowess, as well as his ability to find teammates, all of which can be improved upon even more in this upcoming season. Trading an injured Kevin Durant for him, the Warriors have a chance to develop Russell into an even better player by surrounding him with the best players he’s played with. Adding his growing skill set to established greats like Curry, Thompson and Green, the Warriors with D’Angelo Russell’s development will be a team to keep an eye on.

Jazz

New Player	Position	Games Played	Age	MPG	PPG	RPG	APG	STL	BLK	TS%
Bojan Bogdanovic	SF	81	29	31.8	18.0	4.1	2.0	0.9	0.0	61.3%
Mike Conley	PG	70	31	33.5	21.1	3.4	6.4	1.3	0.3	56.9%

Within the past few years, the Jazz have had a young team that fights for playoff spots. The results have been middling, the farthest they’ve gone being the WCSF. With their core of Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, the Jazz looked to improve this off-season, and they accomplished it with multiple players, the biggest names being Bojan Bogdanovic and Mike Conley.

Bojan Bogdanovic, despite being not as big of a name as a Westbrook or even Mike Conley, could end up being a very important pickup for the Jazz. With Oladipo succumbing to injury last season, the Pacers as a whole rose to the Occasion to make the playoffs, including Bogdanovic. He ended up with career high averages, including a near 4-point jump in PPG from last year. Bogdanovic has proven himself as a solid defender and an efficient shooter and scorer when needed, which will help open the floor and give more space to operate for the Jazz’s main perimeter players in Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley.

Coming off a career high in PPG, Mike Conley, as strange as it sounds, has been known to be underrated for his whole career. The former Grizzlies star Point Guard has been considered a tier below elite, not earning an All-Star or All-NBA selection in his 11 year career. Despite the lack of accolades, Conley’s well-rounded game will be very useful to balancing out the Jazz.

His versatility is displayed well on offense, where he can play many roles. Conley is a good pick and roll player, who is able to take advantage of having shooters, and is used to having a good big as his screener (Marc Gasol, Zach Randolph, and now Rudy Gobert). Conley is also a good scorer, who can spread the floor with his shooting from both spot up positions and coming off screens to get open, as well as being a solid finisher in the paint, including a unique right-handed floater, despite being a lefty. For defense, Conley has proven his worth, winning a 2013 2nd team All-Defense award, as well as being a key player on the defensive minded, “Grit ‘n Grind,” Memphis Grizzlies teams. The Jazz, being a defensive minded team lacking offense, will benefit greatly from both Bojan Bogdanovic and Mike Conley, and could be the pieces to a deep playoff run this coming season.

Rockets

New Player	Position	Games Played	Age	MPG	PPG	RPG	APG	STL	BLK	TS%
Russell Westbrook	PG	73	30	36.0	22.9	11.1	10.7	1.9	0.5	50.1

The Rockets and Thunder have had a similar past 2 years: Both have MVP candidates on their teams who got help in the form of other all-stars via front office moves in an effort to win a championship. Although the Rockets had better regular seasons and went further into the playoffs then the Thunder, both teams ended up falling short of their goal of reaching the Finals, both teams ending their playoff runs each year in spectacular and historic fashion. This off-season, the two MVPs and former teammates are now reunited on the Rockets, but there is one big question: how will the offensive play styles of Westbrook and Harden mix?

Both Harden and Westbrook are high volume, high usage players. Per NBA.com/stats, both players took over 20 shots a game and ended up in the top 10 in usage rate among players who played at least 1900 minutes last season, Harden 1st (39.6%) and Westbrook 10th (30.1%), respectively. Both players are used to playing the Point Guard role, so who will play off-ball? With either at the head, you take advantage of each of their strengths. Harden at the PG allows you to have a ball handler with great court-vision who opens up the court with his efficient scoring everywhere on the court, and Westbrook playing off-ball more allows you to take advantage of his supreme athleticism in slashing and finishing at the rim. With Westbrook at the PG, you have a ball handler with great court-vision who can drive with great athleticism and a full head of steam to the rim, and Harden playing off-ball gives you a shooter on the wing, as well as a finisher at the rim. However, all of this is still limited by one major factor, which is Westbrook’s shooting.

Both players shoot the ball a lot, but the main difference between Westbrook and Harden is how efficient they were in their attempts. Per NBA.com/stats, not only is Harden more efficient than Westbrook in nearly every major spot on the floor, as seen in both shooting charts, but Harden also attempted more free throws at a better percentage than Westbrook (11 FTA at 87.9% vs 6.2 FTA at 65.6%). So no matter which role either player plays, the limiting factor for the Rockets will end up being how well Westbrook will shoot the ball this coming season.

With the NBA Season arriving in a month and a half, there are many topics to discuss before the start of the season. One of the biggest topics is the amount of off-season player movement that happened during the summer. This will be a 3 part series of articles, starting with the East and splitting the West into two different parts. Each will be listing off and analyzing certain teams with the most interesting player additions, showing their Position, Age, and averages/games played from last year.

Celtics

New Player	Position	Games Played	Age	MPG	PPG	RPG	APG	STL	BLK	TS%
Kemba Walker	PG	82	29	34.9	25.6	4.4	5.9	1.2	0.4	55.8%

Since Danny Ainge has been the GM, the Celtics have had a fairly good history for their front office, including their 2013 trade for 4 1st round picks, which helped them draft their current young talent and land players like Kyrie Irving and Al Horford, with whom they have recently part ways with. Despite young players greatly outnumbering the veterans, the Celtics have been competitive within the past few years thanks to their front office and coaching, which is in stark contrast to Kemba Walker’s old team, the Charlotte Hornets.

With a record of 263-377 since drafting Kemba Walker in 2011, his Hornet stint has not been one of glory. In that 8 year span, the franchise made history with the worst NBA win percentage of all time (7-59, 10.6%), made the playoffs only twice (last appearance being 2016), and besides Kemba, there is not that big of a list of good players, the best ones being Al Jefferson (All-NBA 3rd team in 2013-14, now retired), an older Dwight Howard (16.6 ppg and 12.5 rbg), Gerald Henderson and Nicolas Batum (solid role players at best).

This Celtics team will be the first team in a long time where Kemba is surrounded by a decent roster. They may not have as good of a lineup as teams like the Sixers or the Nets, but with their young players, their coaching and Gordon Hayward, it will be interesting to see how far Kemba Walker will take this Celtics team this season.

Heat

New Player	Position	Games Played	Age	MPG	PPG	RPG	APG	STL	BLK	TS%
Jimmy Butler	SG/SF	65	29	33.6	18.7	5.3	4.0	1.9	0.6	57.1%

Since the leave of Lebron in 2014, the Heat have had an interesting past few years. They have made the playoffs only twice since then, but they have been far from dysfunctional and have still been competitive in the playoff race. After Dwyane Wade left the Heat (who then came back eventually to retire with them) and Chris Bosh retiring due to blood clots, they have been lacking a big name star to lead the team, until now.

Jimmy Butler had an interesting past season.. Early in the season, he commanded a few headlines from wanting to be traded, to complaining about the passion of the younger players on the team, to sitting out of games due to, “General Soreness”, to rumors of showing up to a Timberwolves practice and dominating a scrimmage against the starters with the third stringers, to eventually being traded to the Sixers and having no other drama after that. Despite the events, Butler showed last season he is an NBA star and has the talent to back it up (when trying).

The Heat have been trying to land Butler since last season, and with him finally in Miami, he can be a big help to the team. His All-NBA defense, scoring and playmaking abilities is capable of bringing this team to the playoffs, but theres always the question of: will more drama ensue?

Sixers

New Player	Position	Games Played	Age	MPG	PPG	RPG	APG	STL	BLK	TS%
Josh Richardson	SG/SF	73	25	34.8	16.6	3.6	4.1	1.1	0.5	53.6%
Al Horford	C	68	33	29.0	13.6	6.7	4.2	0.9	1.3	60.5%

Even though the Sixers season ended on a heartbreaking, yet spectacular note in Game 7 of the ECSF against the eventual champions, Toronto Raptors, overall their season was great for a young team. They gained the Eastern Conference 3rd seed with a record of 51-31, showed their young stars, Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid, are to be taken seriously, and even gained some mid-season help in Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris. This offseason, the Sixers lost two key players in trading Butler and JJ Redick no re-signing, but gained two other players that will improve the team greatly in Al Horford and Josh Richardson.

The 33 year old Al Horford has been in the league for quite some time. Drafted by the Hawks in 2007, signing with the Celtics in 2016, and now with the Sixers, the 12 year veteran has experience under his belt and despite his age, his play style can still be of great two-way help to the team. Horford might not be the quickest on his feet, but he has great defensive positioning and rim-protection to make up for it and will help a lot on defense. He is also a great fit for the Sixers offense, where he can be in the post, be the roll-man/shooter after setting a screen, stretch the floor, and even pass from the high post if needed. Horford’s skill set will need to be utilized for the Sixer’s team to win.

In contrast to Horford, Josh Richardson is a young two-way guard who was starting to come to his own with the Heat before being traded. Formerly just a 3&D wing, Richardson showed great improvement on the offensive end, creating scoring opportunities off the dribble for himself and others, while still being a good defender. The most attractive part for the Sixers, however, is how he fits with the Sixers core timeline for growth. Richardson is 25 years old like Embiid, only two years older then the 23 year old Simmons, and two years younger then the 27 year old Tobias Harris.

With the addition of Richardson, the Sixers now have an even better young core with veteran leadership from Horford. That starting lineup is one of the best in both the Eastern Conference and the whole league, and it will be exciting to see how far they will go into the playoffs this upcoming season.

Nets

New Player	Position	Games Played	Age	MPG	PPG	RPG	APG	STL	BLK	TS%
Kevin Durant	SF/PF	78	30	34.6	26.0	6.4	5.9	0.7	1.1	63.1%
Deandre Jordan	C	69	31	29.7	11.0	13.1	2.3	0.6	2.2	67.4%
Kyrie Irving	PG	67	27	33.0	23.8	5.0	5.9	1.5	0.5	59.2%

Similar to the Sixers in the past, the Nets have gone from a disaster of an organization, to a young promising team in a short period of time. Having just entered the playoffs for the first time since 2015, the Nets looked to make some big overhauls to the team to bring them closer to championship contention, and after this off-season, they look to be heading in the right direction in signing Kevin Durant, Deandre Jordan (to a lesser extent), and Kyrie Irving.

Even though he recently injured his achilles in the finals, the Kevin Durant sweepstakes was one of the biggest topics of the whole off-season, with multiple teams rumored to be in the hunt, including both New York teams. After some time for speculation (and the Knicks not wanting to give him a max contract), KD decided to sign with the Nets. Although we most likely will not see him play this season, Nets fans will have even more to look forward to in the future.

The Deandre Jordan signing may not be as big as the Kyrie or KD signings, but it is still important to discuss. The Former Lob City center became somewhat of a journeyman last season, finally signing with the Mavericks, who ended up trading him to the Knicks. The Nets signing Jordan would be considered a good pick up and nothing else in any other situation. However, the situation for the Nets happens to be a logjam at the center position, with Jarrett Allen already being on the team.

Allen and Jordan play the same position and role on a team. Both are athletic 7 foot centers, whose main jobs are to protect the rim and finish strong off the pick and roll, where both players have great examples of doing so. However, the 31 year old Deandre Jordan has 10 years on the young 21 year old Jarrett Allen. In the end, when you decide which to start and which to bench, it’s a choice between having an experienced veteran on the floor versus developing your future starting center. It has been reported that Jordan is fine with whatever is needed to win, so we will see who will be starting when the season comes.

After winning a championship with Lebron on the Cavaliers, Kyrie Irving has had an interesting stint with the Celtics. He left the Cavs in hopes to lead his own young team with potential, and it was an experience. Statistically speaking, Kyrie has been great for the Celtics, averaging great numbers while he was there. Kyrie’s leadership, however, has been middling. There have been times where he was frustrated with his team, and voiced his feelings to the press. Even so, teammates like Marcus Smart stood up for Kyrie, although admitting the dysfunction in the locker room. It will be interesting to see how he fits with this Nets team, as he is faced with almost the same situation again; traded to a team with young talent and potential. It is obvious that Kyrie has the playing ability to lead a team, but we will have to wait and see if he is able to lead the team while Kevin Durant recovers, or if he ends up with a mirror of his Celtics stint.

Same Faces, New Places (Part 2: Western Conference Part 1)

Same Faces, New Places (Part 1: Eastern Conference)