These Teams Are Going Nowhere Fast
A year ago, plenty of people felt the Phoenix Suns, armed with Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal and Devin Booker, had a good shot at getting to the NBA Finals. But without a point guard or any of the tools needed to play strong team defense, they got swept in the first round of the playoffs by Minnesota.
They have largely the same roster as they had this past season, and thus, one should expect roughly the same results, especially in the regular season.
Minnesota took a big step forward, and it has a very strong and balanced roster. But like the Suns, it largely stood pat this offseason, and its roster isn’t perfect.
It has an aging starting point guard in Mike Conley, who will be 37 on opening night, and center Rudy Gobert tends to be a liability at times in the playoffs. It’s hard to imagine the Timberwolves having much, if any, real room for improvement.
One big takeaway for the Lakers is that there is no “dominant” team in the West. No one even closely resembles the Warriors from several years ago when they were at their best, let alone some of the memorable Lakers teams that won championships in the past.
Are today’s Lakers championship-caliber? Of course not. But those who feel they can do no better than reach the play-in tournament may want to take a closer look at the entire situation.
Besides, for the first time since perhaps the mid-1980s, the balance of power seems to be in the Eastern Conference right now.