2022-23 Season Preview
What a wild offseason. So many storylines that are hinting at what could be a very, very entertaining season in the NBA. I’m going to try to hit most of them — or at least those most entertaining to me — in short excerpts. Let’s get started.
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Pat Bev in a Lakers uniform, he used to be one of my most despised players, but I don’t know, ever since he went to Minnesota and got that Play-In Championship ring he’s flipped the script and become one of my favorites…much like New York’s L train, he’s really grown on me. Oh, and he and Rusty are not best friends; I don’t buy that for a second. He’ll be personally cleaning out that man’s locker and sending him a rock the baby gif if that trade happens. And if Pat Bev doesn’t, I will.
And specifically for Rusty, he’s committing highway robbery this year; $47 million is on the books for this now aggressively amateur player. Unbelievable, but I digress, I can’t and won’t waste any more time on this guy.
The Brooklyn Nets, omg…Kyrie put it perfectly at media day, they’ve been a complete cluster f*** this offseason. To think these guys were considered favorites to win the chip last year with showing trips aces in KD, Kyrie and James Harden, to then being on the verge of complete disintegration is like seeing that coveted first class Delta ticket flipped into Spirit’s exit row. Just think about their new “Big 3”: 1.) KD trying force his way out or get management fired 2.) Kyrie…just I don’t know with this man anymore and 3.) Ben Simmons still afraid to step on the basketball court. AND now entering a season with Golden State as the defending champs; talk about getting rivered.
Ugh the Warriors though. So gross. Don’t get me wrong, basketball is beautiful and there’s no skirting around how great they are; and odds are, how much better they will continue to get. Steph is likely to maintain his elite form, Klay will be there for a full year, Draymond’s bought a brand-new backpack to start the school year and Jordan Poole is continuing to summon his Go Blue energy to solidify himself as a splash brother. However, this new story of Draymond punching Jordan Poole at practice is so wild. Did he steal his box seats to the Michigan / Michigan St game this month?
But moving on — The Portland Trail Blazers. It was almost too on brand for Shaedon Sharpe to injure himself within THREE minutes into Summer League play and look like he was going to miss the full year. I was watching that with my brother and cousin while we were on vacation over the summer and we just had to laugh hysterically because if we didn’t, we would have sobered up immediately and the last night of our vacation would have been ruined.
I’m at least excited to see us have a decent basketball team this year though. Dame is back and Downtown Portland will be buzzing on game nights again, and that is always a great scene. Play-In seed? I was recently in Vegas and put a little money on it; I’m optimistic.
Elsewhere in the Northwest Division? I still don’t understand how Minnesota and Utah fall in that region. Anyway, Rudy Gobert is going to go down as one of the most influential players in the history of the game. Not for his defensive skills combined with playoff failures, but for his upending of the trade market. Credit Utah though, they got a real Rolex for the price of a fake one. Oh, and Kevin Durant can thank Rudy and this new business school case study he’s created for keeping him in the marketing materials at the Barclays Center.
Donovan Mitchell to the Cavs. What just happened here? Did Cleveland finally become a team worthy of multiple nationally televised games without LeBron James in the lineup? I mean, I guess. Count on the New York Knicks to keep a pick-up team center stage in the mecca of basketball.
I’ve already mentioned the Lakers, but LeBron gets his own VIP section. More than anything, I’m hoping he is able to stay healthy for the full year; we have been beyond privileged to witness him play at such an elite level for going on 20 years and who knows how much longer it will last, so I’m just going to enjoy it while I can. The Lakers aren’t winning anything this year, and that’s totally fine. Everything is icing on the cake for LeBron at this point. And what a night it will be when he passes Kareem, my goodness.
All this is to say, basketball is back. The NBA on TNT is here again. Being on the East Coast, however, we unfortunately get the short end and must stay up pretty late for the second game of those double-headers, but I heard Midnights is something to look forward to this October.
