Ty's 2022-2023 NBA Season Preview - Thunder, Spurs, Jazz
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The NBA season is just over a week away, and you know what that means. It is time for my preseason NBA countdown. I remember how wrong I was last year when I picked the Nets to win it all. I will try to not make that mistake again. As always I will go from 30-1, pick the playoffs, award winners and do a men's NCAA basketball preview in a few weeks. Without further ado, let's get to the countdown.
At 30 I have the OKC Thunder. This team is in full rebuild mode. They have made that quite clear with the moves they have made the past few seasons. It also helps the tank job they will do that Chet Holmgren is already done for the season. This foot injury is one of the many reasons why I was so down on Holmgren coming into the draft last year. He is too skinny for his frame. He is going to get bullied by all of the vets that play center. He needs to get thicker and get tougher. But we won't even know what kind of player he is until next season. I adore Shai Gilgeous Alexander. He is awesome. That was a tremendous trade pickup by the Thunder. SGA could be an all star this season, as long as he plays a good amount of games. Lu Dort got paid, he is a good defender and he is getting better at his jumper. He is going to be very good for a long while. Then the roster just kind of falls off. Josh Giddey is fine, but he feels like a role player at best to me. I'm sick of hearing about Aleksej Pokusesvki. He has "been on the cusp" for too long now. He is what he is. Aaron Wiggins is a deep bench guy. Jaylin Williams could be solid, but he is a rookie. Darius Bazley is long and athletic, but hasn't put it together yet. Derrick Favors needs a trade. Kenrich Williams is good, but I want him to play for a good squad. And this has to be Trey Burke and Marquese Chriss' last shot to stay in the league. The Thunder are bad. But, they are bad on purpose. SGA and Dort will be fun to watch, but this team is not going to win more than 25 games this season.
At 29 I have the San Antonio Spurs. I adore Greg Poppovich. I think he is the best coach to ever coach the game of basketball. He is a genius. And the fact that he told people to not bet on the Spurs this season makes me appreciate him that much more. They are going to do everything they can to get the 7'4 French kid. I do like the Jeremy Sochan pick. He is a modern Dennis Rodman who can shoot the ball. But he is very, very young. Keldon Johnson is a solid player, but he is not the guy you want to be your top guy. Jakob Poeltl is slow and plodding and an okay rim protector. I would not be shocked if he gets traded during the season. Joshua Primo is very talented, but again, he is so young. Tre Jones is very average. Josh Richardson is washed. Devin Vassell is a fine player, but he should be coming off the bench. Romeo Langford has not lived up to the hype he had coming out of high school. Doug McDermott is just a shooter, nothing more. Malaki Branham was a homerun pick in my opinion, but he needs time to develop. Zach Collins cannot stay healthy. The true fact is, this team is not trying to win. They want the French kid, and with this roster, that may very well happen.
The final team for the day, at 28 I have the Utah Jazz. The moment they got beat by the Mavs in the first round you knew this team was going to rebuild. Quin Snyder bounced. They traded Rudy Gobert as quickly as they could. They got a great deal for Donovan Mitchell. Bogan Bogdanovic is now in Detroit. Mike Conley will soon be traded. As will Jordan Clarkson. That leaves this team with lots of unproven young guys, or guys trying to revitalize their careers. Colin Sexton will get a shot to lead a team. I really like Sexton, but he has to really show up this year. He got paid and he will be a first option. This is exactly what he wanted. Walker Kesseler is a rookie who will get abused in the post. Malik Beasely is a fine scorer, but he will be asked to do too much on this team. Rudy Gay should get traded relatively soon to a contender. Udoka Azubuike will probably start, and that should be fascinating to watch. Nickeil Alexander Walker should get a real chance to prove he can play in the league. Jared Vanderbilt and Jared Butler will be fun to watch shoot a ton. Lauri Markkanen is definitely washed. Talen Horton Tucker is probably relishing the fact that he will be the second option. And the jury is out on rookie Ochai Agbaji. I loved his game in college, let's see if it translates. The Jazz are going to be very, very bad this year. They know that and are going to run out a bunch of dudes who will be trying to prove things. Anything more than 25 wins would shock me.
That is it for today. Come back tomorrow for the next three teams.
Ty
Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.