Illustration by Anya Chytrowski
On Tuesday, October 17, the National Basketball Association (NBA) began its 2017-18 season. With the new beginning, a common question throughout households was, “________ plays for that team? Since when?” With an offseason packed with blockbuster trades and major free agency moves, it’s going to take time for many casual followers to get used to the new shaken up rosters.
Even with the teams’ rosters changing so much, many expect the results to be the same as last year in the Western Conference. Even after a shaky start to the season, the Warriors are expected to recover for a stellar defense of their NBA title. The Eastern Conference is a very different situation, with an exciting battle for the top spot gearing up.
One of the most glaring changes over the offseason was the migration West. Thirteen of the top fourteen rated players in the league last year now play in the Western Conference. Four Eastern Conference all-stars from last season moved to the Western Conference before the 2017-18 year. The Western Conference was already the more dominant conference, with a 54.7% win rate against the East last year, so these trades have led many to believe that the West will be even more dominant this year.
In the Western Conference, the Warriors are primed for another dominant year. While they haven’t looked convincing so far and there are other elite teams in the West, the Warriors’ roster is on another level, as evidenced by their performance last year. A common phrase in sports is that defense wins championships, and with reigning Defensive Player of the Year Draymond Green lining up alongside blocks leader Kevin Durant and well known stud Klay Thompson again, scoring against the Warriors is going to be going to be a challenge. On the offensive side of the ball, the Warriors have arguably the best shooter of all time in Stephen Curry, his partner in crime Klay Thompson who is an amazing spot up shooter, and also NBA finals MVP and all around superstar Kevin Durant.
That being said, chinks in the Warriors’ armor have been exposed in the beginning games. The team appears to be mentally fatigued, and other teams give the Warriors their best game every night. The Warriors seem to be lacking mental toughness, but having turned around periods like this before, fans shouldn’t be alarmed just yet.
The teams that will realistically attempt to challenge this so called ‘super team’ in the West are the Portland Trail Blazers, the Oklahoma City Thunder, and the Houston Rockets who have crafty passer Chris Paul. The Thunder pose the biggest threat to the Warriors after a big offseason, although they too are off to a lackluster start. The team traded for all-stars Paul George and Carmelo Anthony, who add star power and skill to a team that is already passionately led by reigning MVP Russell Westbrook. However, with so much change in so little time, the team has yet to gel and play at an elite level.
This seasons’ early surprises have been the Grizzlies and the Clippers, who are both high in the standings.
In the Eastern Conference, it is fair to say that there has been a large shake up. In a widely unexpected move, Kyrie Irving was traded from the reigning Eastern Conference champion Cavaliers to the Boston Celtics for Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder, Ante Zizic, and a first round draft pick. Although the Celtics were beaten in the Eastern Conference Championship series last year, their regular season first place finish demonstrates their team strength before acquiring all-star point guard Kyrie Irving. The Celtics used the cap space they cleared by offloading so many players in their trade with the Cavaliers to splash out on free agent Gordon Hayward, signing him to a contract worth over $120 million over four years. Soon after the deal was announced, it was found that Thomas will be injured until around the All-Star break, which put the Cavaliers back on the hunt for that important position. The signing of Dwayne Wade onto the Cavaliers will reunite him and Lebron James for the first time since 2014, when the two players lost in the NBA finals while playing for the Miami Heat.
Overall, the forthcoming NBA season is shaping up to be another amazing one. It will be captivating to see players in new jerseys. The shaken up rosters will prove to make this NBA season as exhilarating as ever.