Around the Association
By: Kyle Williams
Tags: NBA, Los Angeles Lakers, Stephen Curry, Atlanta Hawks

(TheUndefeated.com)

The NBA is back on December 22nd. It feels like just yesterday we watched LeBron James on the podium in Orlando talking about he wants his respect too. Since then, a lot has changed, but It’s time for the Lakers to defend their throne. However, there are many exciting subplots to look forward to during the opening week of the season.

Can Atlanta take that leap: Atlanta enters the 2020–21 season with playoff hype for the first time since they mutually parted ways with Mike Budenholzer. The Hawks signed Rajon Rondo, Kris Dunn, Danilo Gallinari, and Bogdan Bogdanovic, and the trade for Clint Capela. The additions were meant to help alleviate the 34.9 usage rate that their young superstar, Trae Young, had last season. Rondo showed that he had some ability left in that body of his in the playoffs. The 14-year veteran averaged 8.9 points and 6.6 assists in the bubble with 40 percent three-point shooting. Rondo will help run the offense when Trae Young is off the court.

The big signing is Danillo Gallinari. Gallinari is a great scoring option at the forward position. At 6–10, Gallinari is a knockdown shooter at 40 percent shooting from downtown. Gallinari is best suited to play the four, where he can use his shooting ability to threaten defenses and attack slow-footed forwards off the bounce. It’s going to be interesting to see how Gallinari fits with the core group of Collins, Reddish, and Hunter. The Hawks have added talent, and It’ll be interesting to see how Coach Loyd Pierce handles the rotation to get the most out of the team.

The second act of the Bay Area: Klay Thompson’s unfortunate Achilles tear put the title hopes of the Warriors at bay, but the Warriors still have high expectations. Though Draymond’s title or bust remarks are admirable from a competitive standpoint, the Golden State Warriors don’t fit into the current title picture. However, they still have a ton of intrigue surrounding them. They’re the newest team to talk themselves into the Andrew Wiggins experience.

Wiggins is in a role that’s better suited than the franchise-changing player he was billed as coming into the league. Now, Wiggins is a passenger instead of a driver. He’s expected to use his athletic gifts to impact the game offensively and defensively. In preseason, Wiggins has shown the inconsistency that made him so maddening as a player. In the first two preseason games, Wiggins combined for 20 points on 35.4 percent shooting. Wiggins also seemed largely uninterested on defense during the first two games. The second game showed why the infuriating aspect of Wiggins’ career. The 5th-year forward was active defensively and showcased the innate shot-making ability of his. Kerr has said that he’ll stagger Stephen Curry and Wiggins so that there is always one shot creator on the court.

How will Wiggins play in a lesser role? Will he still be an inefficient, non-defending player on a max contract? Or will he improve upon his 44 percent career efficiency? There are also questions surrounding the shooting on the rest of the team besides Stephen Curry. When asked about the team’s shooting, Kerr said:

“It’s an area of emphasis for us this year. Not necessarily how many 3s we take, but just getting a little better spacing on the floor. That naturally should lead to more 3s, but I don’t really know how that’s gonna look. I don’t have a number in mind,” from NBC Sports Bay Area.

The Warriors are seventh in the NBA in three-point attempts per game through their three preseason games and 15th in three-point percentage. That’s about right for a team full of guys not known for their accuracy from deep and a far cry from the last healthy season where they were eighth in three-point attempts and third in three-point percentage.

Good news for the Warriors is that Curry looks like Curry. There’s a big to be determined among the rest of the roster.

Certainty was one of the constants of the dynastic era. Now, the uncertainty of the Warriors is what fuels their intrigue.

How quickly does LaMelo turn the Hornets into a League Pass team?: Well, with the pass LaMelo Ball threw yesterday, he might’ve already made the Hornets appointment television. Ball’s are impressive for an NBA veteran, let alone a rookie who turned 19 four months ago. Ball’s ability to put the ball wherever he wants will create wide-open shots for his teammates. Combine his innate passing with the high-flying aerobatics of Miles Bridges; there will be numerous highlights from Charlotte this year.

Adding Ball has caused the Hornets to play at a faster pace. It’s just preseason, but the Hornets are playing at a pace of 108.13, which is substantially higher than their 2019–20 pace of 96.24, which ranked last in the NBA.

In addition to Ball, the Hayward acquisition should help an offense that finished third-to-last in offensive rating (105.9). Hayward’s averages of 17.5 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.1 assists were his highest since he hurt his ankle on the opening day of the 2017–18 season. Hayward isn’t the all-star player he once was, but he can still be a complimentary piece.

The Hornets can very well sneak into that play-in tournament. With how bad the bottom of the east is, the Hornets have a roster that will compete over the course of the season. LaMelo has that flair that forces you to tune-in.

The Bayou boys: Last season, the Pelicans were one of the most interesting teams in the league. The hype had been building since they drafted Zion Williamson with the first pick in the draft. After the blockbuster Anthony Davis trade, the Pelicans were left with Josh Hart, Brandon Ingram, and Lonzo Ball. Oh, and they also drafted Zion Williamson. Last season wasn’t the fun,up-and-down seven-seconds-or-less-esque team that many thought they’d be. The Pelicans left a bad taste in the bubble with the way The Pelicans also left a bad taste in the bubble with the way they were eliminated.

Out goes Alvin Gentry and in comes Stan Van Gundy. Though his presence will be missed on the TNT broadcast, Van Gundy will bring much-needed structure to a Pelicans team that needs it. The Pelicans lacked cohesion on offense and were just awful on defense despite their personnel suggesting that they could have been an average team.

The key to a successful season for the Pelicans starts and ends with Zion Williamson. The sophomore player who puts the power in power forward has to play. That’s really it. Williamson dealt with conditioning and a meniscus injury that cost him three months of the regular season. When Williamson played, the former Blue Devil was productive. Williamson’s relentlessness in the paint, combined with his outstanding second jump, aided him greatly in the paint. Williamson’s 8.9 paint touches ranked 11th in the NBA behind centers like Steven Adams, Nikola Vucevic, and DeAndre Ayton.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ib4GSAGmBnQ

This team will also be interesting to watch because of the Bledsoe and Adams additions. In a league that values shooting and spacing, the Pelicans are going in the other direction. New Orleans can easily lead the NBA in points in the paint, but will they have enough scoring? Will their defense improve upon the 111.8 defensive rating that ranked 21st in the NBA last season?

Challengers to the Throne: The Los Angeles Lakers are the defending champions and the favorites to repeat. They have revamped the roster in a major way. Out goes Rajon Rondo, Javale McGee, Avery Bradley, Dwight Howard, and Danny Green. In comes Dennis Schroeder, Montrezl Harrell, and Marc Gasol. The defending champions got even better a season after they were arguably the NBA’s best team from start to finish. Now the question is if they’re any challengers to the throne.

In the Eastern Conference, there’s Milwaukee and Brooklyn. Boston had a chance, but there’s a lot of concern surrounding Walker’s knee injury, and who knows if the Heat can replicate what they did in the bubble. Milwaukee improved this offseason despite the snafu that cost them Bogdan Bogdanovic. Swapping Jrue Holiday for Eric Bledsoe is a win on both sides of the court. After having two seasons as the number one seed with no finals appearances, the only way the Bucks can breakthrough and make the playoffs is an improvement from their Greek Freak.

Antetokunmpo has to find a way to score consistently against halfcourt defenses. Antetokunmpo isn’t adept at scoring from the post — he scored 0.92 points per possession from the post, which ranked in the 52.3 percentile. He’s not a good shooter from anywhere on the court. If the Bucks want to make the contender leap, then Antetokunmpo has to take a leap offensively.

Brooklyn has the talent offensively to come out of the east. Kevin Durant looks like he’s Kevin Durant again, but It’s important to monitor how he plays over the year. Kyrie Irving is back to using his flawless handle to get to his spots and pour in jumpers. In addition to Irving and Durant, the Nets have Spencer Dinwiddie and Caris LeVert, who can perform with the ball in their hands.

Defensively, the team may have issues. Their best defender is…Durant? Jarrett Allen? That’s going to be a problem. DeAndre Jordan, who is slated to start at Center, hasn’t been that same player that made two All-Defensive teams.

In the Western Conference, there’s one challenger; the Los Angeles Clippers. Though the Clippers were the butt of many jokes after blowing a 3–1 lead to the Nuggets, they still have the talent that should be enough for a championship on paper. But something seems off about this team. Their lack of a floor general is still a concern, and It’s yet to be seen if Paul George can live up to that Playoff P moniker that he bestowed upon himself. Yet with Ty Lue in charge, there’s a hope that he can get the Clippers to lock in more often, especially defensively.

With the NBA on the horizon, It’s good that the sport is back. The result isn’t as important as getting through this season as safely as possible.