Most Interesting Lineups to Watch This NBA Season
The NBA season is inching closer as teams settle in training camp. The offseason came and went but the league changed as a whole in a short span of time with the help of the draft and free agency. We also witnessed a few blockbuster moves that involved superstars Russell Westbrook, John Wall and Chris Paul.
The Crossover picked the most interesting teams to watch this 2020–21 NBA season.
Chris Mannix – Brooklyn Nets
Talent trumps all, right? We’re about to find out. On paper, the Nets are the deepest team in the league, with an ex-MVP (Kevin Durant) who has looked like the ex-MVP in recent months, per those who have seen Durant play; an All-NBA point guard (Kyrie Irving); and a bench loaded with All-Star level talent. But will it all fit? Irving tossed out his first in-season distraction, refusing to speak to reporters during the NBA’s virtual media week (an aside: the NBA looks toothless if it lets that one slide. No one cares how media does its job. I get that. But the NBA has media rules, which should be followed.) And Irving has played on a deep and talented team recently, in Boston, and it didn’t go well. Will this situation be any better? Will Irving work with Spencer Dinwiddie and Caris LeVert better than Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown? Will Steve Nash be the coach who can bring it all together? Brooklyn has championship talent. Having that level of chemistry will determine whether they win one.
Michael Rosenberg – Golden State Warriors
This was the obvious answer before Klay Thompson got hurt, but it's still the answer for me. I want to see if Draymond Green is the same player, if Steph Curry returns to play out-of-his-mind, pre-KD form, and whether James Wiseman and Andrew Wiggins are part of the solution. The Warriors have been the most interesting franchise in the league in the last few years. There are a lot of potential outcomes for them this season.
Jeremy Woo – Portland Trail Blazers
It sounds like there’s a pretty real chance the Blazers start Robert Covington and Derrick Jones at forward this season, which in theory gives them the best defensive backline they’ve had in the Damian Lillard–CJ McCollum era. If Jusuf Nurkić continues his incredible run of form from the bubble, which I think felt pretty real, there’s a window for these guys to push hard for the conference finals and see what happens. Gary Trent and Rodney Hood should lead a fairly solid bench. I don’t know if it’s enough to beat the Lakers or Clippers, but this could be a top-four seed in the West assuming health.
Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated
Ben Pickman – Philadelphia 76ers
As I wrote a few weeks back, I came away from the offseason very impressed with how new 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey reworked the franchise’s roster. He successfully traded Al Horford to the Thunder in exchange for Danny Green and Terrance Ferguson and later flipped Josh Richardson and the No. 36 pick for sharpshooter Seth Curry. Philadelphia’s struggles from behind the arc at times plagued the roster last year with the five-man group of Horford, Richardson, Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and Tobias Harris taking the most three-pointers of any Sixers group that appeared in at least 10 games, but shooting just 34.9%. Expect Philadelphia’s most-used lineup to see a marked improvement this year as merely swapping in Curry and Green for Horford and Richardson should make Philadelphia’s offense significantly more dangerous from deep. As ESPN’s Paul Hembekides noted on Twitter recently, Simmons led the NBA in kickoff passes per game last season (17.8%) while Curry led the league in catch-and-shoot three-point percentage (49%). Rookies Tyrese Maxey and Isaiah Joe should be capable three-point shooters and 23-year-old Furkan Korkmaz saw his three-point percentage jump from 32.6% to 40.2% last year and should remain a part of the team’s rotation. The lack of three-point shooting was often a limitation of Philadelphia last season, but with a reworked cast around its three biggest stars, don't be surprised if the Sixers’ offense jumps from the near league-average mark it finished last year and, in turn, helps the Sixers finish in the top half of the Eastern Conference.
Michael Shapiro – Atlanta Hawks
Will the Hawks return to the playoffs after their offseason spending spree? Atlanta shelled out a combined $132 million for Bogdan Bogdanović and Danilo Gallinari this offseason, adding some serious scoring punch around Trae Young. And the two wings aren't the lone additions joining Atlanta.
Former Rockets center Clint Capela will make his Hawks debut in 2020–21, and he'll be joined by rookie big man Onyeka Okongwu. Head coach Lloyd Pierce will have plenty of options in his rotation, with intriguing young talents John Collins, DeAndre Hunter and Cam Reddish joining the offseason additions. The Hawks still sit a healthy tier below the true contenders for the Eastern Conference crown. But there's enough talent on hand for Young to reach the playoffs for the first time in 2021.
Robin Lundberg – Brooklyn Nets
The team I'm most interested in seeing post-free agency is the same one I would've taken before it, the Brooklyn Nets. James Harden speculation aside, I think we are all interested in how Kevin Durant will look coming off the Achilles injury. Not to mention how he and Kyrie Irving will play together. Then there's first year head coach Steve Nash. That team has everything ... interesting personalities, star power, the New York media, and both disastrous and championship possibilities. So when it comes to storylines, no team in the NBA is as interesting going into the season as BK.
