Ty's NBA Preview: 76ers, Pistons, Celtics
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Welcome back to my preseason NBA countdown. We are to my final six. That means today you get three teams, tomorrow the final three and then on Wednesday I will do my predictions. That means Thursday will be my men's NCAA basketball preview and predictions. We are getting to the end of my preseason NBA stuff, and I am stoked that the season has started.
At 6 I have the Philadelphia 76ers. The 76ers changed their team around quite a bit, but this time I think it is for the better. They added LeBron James. He is one of the best to ever do it. He brings everything to this team that they may need, and maybe even some stuff they don't. Sure, the helicopter and the outside stuff may be annoying for a bit, but what he helps this team with cannot be understated. He is an exceptional passer. He can play multiple positions. He can score if needed. He still has the ability to run and dunk when he needs to. LeBron is awesome, he chose this team and he will only help them be better when he is on the court. They also traded for Jaylen Brown. This is a massive upgrade over Paul George. Brown plays like George, but he is younger and even more violent and plays better defense. Brown is also going to be out to prove how good he is, and that the Celtics were wrong to get rid of him for very little. Joel Embiid is still here. He is far often too hurt nowadays. But when he is on the floor he is a space eater in the best way possible. He also has a great elbow jumper and he has always been a very good defender. He seems to be a little more locked in this season as well. But he has got to stay on the court for this to all work out. Tyrese Maxey is awesome. He is already a top 20 player in the NBA. He can score at will when needed. He is also a capable defender. Maxey should be the focal point of this team, especially on offense. He is the best young guy they have, and this team should go how Maxey goes. VJ Edgecombe is already an awesome slasher and runner. He loves to get up and down the court. He wants to dunk on everyone's head. He is quick and eager and will get the best looks of his life playing for this team. They went out and got Dean Wade to play defense and shoot threes, and they also acquired Anfernee Simons to be the microwave scorer off the bench. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is the classic vet that LeBron likes that the team signed to appease him. KCP can also still score a bit. Labaron Philon Jr was a nice draft pick. Adem Bona is going to have to be the backup center now too, with Hukporti getting hurt. The 76ers fully revamped their team. They got LeBron and LeBron is almost always in the playoffs. There's going to be expectations, but if the 76ers can stay healthy-ish, which is a humongous if, this team can make some serious noise in the East this season.
At 5 I have the Detroit Pistons. I don't get the offseason hate with this team. They won 60 games last season, and while they may not win that many games, I fully expect them to be in the mid to low 50's range this season. Cade Cunningham is awesome. He is the new generation's star point guard. He can get to the rim at will, he is an excellent passer, he plays hard on defense and his shot is coming along quite nicely. Cunningham is living up to the hype so far. Jalen Duren finally signed an extension this offseason, and he looked pretty damn good until he got hurt last night. He is already a great rim runner, pick and roll partner and rebounder, and it looks like he has been working on his jump shot this offseason. He needs to perform way better in the playoffs, but he is a regular season stud. Ausar Thompson is a hellacious defender and he is key to this team's success. He is not a very good shooter, but maybe his best asset in the NBA will be his awesome defense. Ron Holland cannot find real minutes. It felt like a reach when they took him fifth overall a few years ago, and maybe they will trade him this year. Daniss Jenkins is a very good backup point guard and he had some really nice moments in the playoffs last year. Kevin Huerter and Duncan Robinson are only here to make threes. Robinson is a slightly better defender, not by much, but their jobs are to hit the three ball. Paul Reed is a decent backup big. I like that they added John Collins and Isaiah Joe this offseason. Collins is a solid rim runner and Joe can shoot and defend. The Pistons are in a good spot, especially since they re upped with Duren. I think they need to be better in the playoffs, but for right now the Pistons are a very good regular season team with a top tier point guard.
The final team for the day, at number 4 I have the Boston Celtics. The Celtics traded away a core piece to their team this offseason in Jaylen Brown, but they have added key players and they get Jayson Tatum back fully healthy this season. I know he had a less than stellar opening night, but he has found his scoring niche the past two games and he looks to be almost all the way back. I want to see him succeed because he is from Saint Louis. He has always been a great shot creator and shooter, and with his knee seemingly one hundred percent, I think he will get back to himself sooner rather than later this season. Paul George is here in place of Jaylen Brown, and that does not excite me much at all. But George has looked decent in the first 3 games, his shot looks okay and he is trying hard on defense. While I think they will sorely miss Brown, George will be fine for a bit in his place. Payton Pritchard is a three point shooting machine. He doesn't do much else, but he is key to how they play and run their offense. Derrick White is still a solid playing, but his shot really fell off last season. He needs that back to be the true three and d guy they traded for a few seasons back. Luka Garza and Neemias Queta form an okay 1-2 punch in the front court, but they both kind of got played off the court in the playoffs last season. So, to cover up this issue, the Celtics went out and signed Mitchell Robinson. Robinson is one of the best offensive rebounders in the league, he is a great pick and roll player that can rim run and he plays his butt off when he is on the floor. Mike Conley is a nice vet to have. They wouldn't trade Hugo Gonzalez for Giannis, so I guess they think very highly of him in the front office. And I think they will be happy with their draft pick from this season, Chris Cenac Jr. The Celtics are a very good team that is getting their best overall player back fully healthy this season. They will win a ton of games and be a pain in the playoffs, as per usual.
That's it for today. Come back tomorrow for the top three teams in my opinion in the NBA.
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.
