Two days ago, Ben Simmons announced that he will not play another game for the Philadelphia 76ers. Simmons knows that he could be fined heavily, if he does not join the team for start of training camp and the preseason. Training camp is set to start on September 27; and the NBA preseason starts on October 3. As the NBA season gets underway in another three weeks, there may not be a single team for Simmons to join. Will the 76ers change Ben Simmons mind, when the season starts? Doc Rivers, the 76ers head coach; thinks he has a way of encouraging Ben to come back to Philly. In the Western Conference, the stars in LA could be aligned for the Lakers franchise to be the heavy favorite to advance to the NBA finals. The Lakers traded for Russell Westbrook, and Dwight Howard is coming back to the franchise. Carmelo Anthony; Trevor Ariza; Wayne Ellington; DeAndre Jordan; Kent Bazemore; and Rajon Rondo joined the team in the offseason also. Malik Monk and Kendrick Nunn joined the Lakers, and they could be guards that come off the bench. Talen Horton-Tucker will join the team for another season, but the Lakers are being termed as 'LAARP.' The funny nickname is given to the team, as most of the players are 32 years old and aging. Back to the Eastern Conference, Brooklyn appears to be the favorite to make the NBA Finals. Kyrie Irving; James Harden; Kevin Durant; Joe Harris; and Blake Griffin should lead the team unless injuries run their season. Last year, the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Brooklyn Nets in a tight seven game series. Can the Bucks repeat as NBA Champions this year? Giannis; Khris Middleton; Jrue Holiday; and Brook Lopez will be ready for opening night as they get their 2020-21 nba championship rings. The Bucks play their first home game on October 19, against the Brooklyn Nets. In the last NBA Finals, the Phoenix Suns were up two to zero against Milwaukee before the Bucks won the final four games. This year, the Suns will look to rebound from their NBA Finals loss to Milwaukee. Phoenix will bring back Chris Paul; Devin Booker; Deandre Ayton; and Jae Crowder among other familiar players. The Suns will play in Footprint Center, which is the new name of their familiar arena. The Suns organization did not make a splash on NBA draft night, but they signed JaVale McGee as a potential backup to DeAndre Ayton. McGee will enter his 14th season with his eighth different team, over his journeyman career. In this penultimate paragraph, all NBA teams are scheduled to play 82 games for the regular season. The Toronto Raptors played all of their home games in Florida last year. But, Scotiabank Arena will be home once again for the Raptors. LaMarcus Aldridge retired at the end of last season, but he has been cleared to play in the NBA again. He has rejoined the Brooklyn Nets this offseason. In closing, what other players will make an impact this year? The Golden State Warriors will depend on the Splash brothers duo to guide them back to the playoffs. Klay Thompson will be back with the squad, as he missed the last two years due to various injuries. Maybe, Ben Simmons will join the Warriors in a trade at the beginning of this NBA season. If that process happened, it may hinder the Warriors playoff chances.
No comments:
Post a Comment