Well, folks, the regular season is just over two weeks away, and though you may be caught up in the MLB Playoffs, the recent start of the NHL season, or the NFL season, this is very exciting. With all of the shakeups that took place in the offseason, roster turnover that we have never seen before, this will be a historic year for the league.
New Weapon
We start with the new shot that Houston guard James Harden seems to want to use, that coaches have been tweeting about, saying they’d bench players if they use it. The new move that the Bearded One is looking to add to his arsenal is a one-footed fall-away three-pointer.
He is able to get this shot off with relative ease, but it is one that does not really add much to the arsenal. The only time that shot would actually come in handy is if he needed to create a large amount of space against a shifty defender.
He did average 36-6-7 a season ago and is still looking to get better, yet this is not going to make his coaches or teammates happy, especially when he passes up an open teammate to fire it up.
Lakers Debut
Over in Laker Land, Anthony Davis and LeBron James finally played their first game together, and it went extremely well. The rapport between LA’s two stars seems to be very strong, while they rolled out a starting lineup that we might see from them on opening night (regardless of Kyle Kuzma’s health).
It was LeBron, Avery Bradley, Danny Green, Anthony Davis and JaVale McGee. They have two rim-protectors this way and strong defensive players who can also knock down the jumpers (McGee has improved in this area) on the floor all at once.
This is a team with impressive depth, but if they rolled out this starting lineup, it could do some serious damage.
KD Officially Out
Not that this will come as any kind of a surprise, but Kevin Durant was officially ruled out for the year for the Nets, as expectations will now likely soar to the highest heights the team has seen since the Jason Kidd-Richard Jefferson days when they went to two NBA Finals. Kyrie Irving has been talking a big game, speaking about he, KD, and the team’s other addition, DeAndre Jordan, all coming to the Nets with the goal of finishing their careers there.
Stop for a second and think if you have heard Irving make a statement such as this before. Nevertheless, the prospect of an NBA title is as real in Brooklyn as it has ever been, beginning with the 2020-21 season. This season is for KD to see what he will be joining next year.
Murray Ready
Huge news in San Antonio as Dejounte Murray should be ready to go for opening night after a torn ACL cost him all of last season. He was looking explosive in their preseason opener, and this gives the Spurs’ backcourt some incredible depth.
They have great shooters in Marco Belinelli and Bryn Forbes, along with Patty Mills. Murray should pair well with likely starter Derrick White to form a great tandem of lengthy, versatile players. Murray has a bright NBA future, while White got to compete with Team USA over the summer.
