Goeiedag, enchantée and welcome to this week's episode of Eight 2 Four presents: All-NBA Team of the Week. The Finals are in full swing. The first week belonged to the Suns, winning both their home games and really pointing out the Bucks’ sore points. Not surprising, Giannis has been incredible but he doesn’t get any support from his team. Without his team mates stepping up, Giannis will miss out on a first title. On the other side, Booker and Paul have not missed a beat yet. They can travel to Milwaukee with confidence, and if they can steal a game there, the Phoenix Suns will likely end up as the NBA Champions. In our show today we are not elaborating about the Finals, there are heaps of other NBA podcasts available that will. Instead, we look forward to next season and discuss 5 teams that have the potential to surprise everyone next season. Obviously, we’ve left out teams like the LA teams, Brooklyn, the Hawks, the Jazz and Denver as we’re all expecting that these teams will be up there next season. This is our All-NBA Team of the Week.
PICK #1
Our first pick of the week is the Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizz are renowned for bringing in the right players to suit their team culture, through drafting or trading. Jaren Jackson Jr, Ja Morant, Brandon Clarke, Dillon Brooks, Desmond Bane, Grayson Allen, I mean, I could list the whole roster here. The organisation comes off a fantastic year, barely losing against the Jazz in the first round of the Playoffs. They ended up with the 17th pick in the draft, a deep draft, so they should be able to get a decent plug and play player to suit their roster. Their role players are popular around the league so trade talks will be high in Memphis and they might be able to improve themselves there. Triple J will be available for training camp and the start of the regular season, giving the team a chance to improve their chemistry even more. All signs are pointing in the right direction for the Grizzlies.
So what is the sealing for this young team? Hard to say at this point. It really depends on how Ja and JJ find each other on the court. Off the court, they are friends, the whole roster are friends, and get along really well. On the court, the return of Jackson Jr caused some troubles in the roster to fit him back in. Together, this could be a Kobe-Shaq 2.0 at its peak. A feisty guard, not scared of anyone in this league and a big that can shoot from anywhere. But, as high as the sealing is, so low is the floor. I believe that in Memphis, they would be happy if they can turn this into a ‘90s Jazz situation. Two superstars that make it to the Finals regularly but can’t convert. For a small market franchise, that would be spectacular.
PICK #2
Our second pick of the week is the New York Knicks. Believe it or not, I think that making it to the Playoffs was the worst thing that could happen for the Knicks. They are ahead of schedule and if their history is anything to go by, they are ready to make a win-now move. Rumours are flying around that the Knicks are preparing packages to lure Damian Lillard, Chris Paul, Kawhi Leonard, and any other superstar who might be willing to spend a weekend in New York. They have the cap space, so the potential is there to add a superstar to the roster. The problem lies with what they will need to give up to sign these players. In most cases, RJ Barrett is named as the coin to secure a great player. But, they will need RJ on their roster to support these players.
It is no secret that Thibodeau got more out of this roster than what most thought possible. He turned Randle into an All-Star, RJ was given the freedom to learn and improve, Quickley was the steal of last years’ draft and they brought in Derrick Rose as the ultimate vet to teach these guys how to win. They were scrappy, and it worked. But I don’t believe that this is a roster you can just add a superstar to and away you go. I think the Knicks are in a similar situation as Brooklyn was in a couple of years ago. You have a decent roster but add a superstar (or two) and you have to change the whole roster. Not one of those Brooklyn players is left on the roster except for the injured Dinwiddie who expressed he will decline his player option. As much as they hate it, the Knicks need to look at their neighbours as an example of what happens when you add a superstar. My advice? Give it another year with this roster, show the league that you are for real and maybe you’ll sign a superstar on a discount next season. Or risk it all, and chances are you won’t even make it to the Playoffs next year because the roster isn’t strong enough.
PICK #3
Our third pick of the week is the New Orleans Pelicans. More than any other team in the league, The Pelicans have reached a stage of do or die. Their star, Zion, is unhappy and wants to leave according to the rumour mill. He might be the first player who refuses to sign a rookie extension, because if there’s 1 player that can replace that money with endorsements, it would be him. So the Pelicans are in a rush to build around Zion. They fired coach Van Gundy after the 1 season and are still looking for a replacement, they are scrambling to find money to keep Josh Hart and Lonzo on the roster, they are strongly considering trading the number 10 pick in the draft for some veteran presence and whatever else they need to do to keep Zion happy. At this point, I think they would consider shifting the franchise to New York, just so Zion can play there in a Pelicans uniform.
But in all seriousness, the Pelicans are yet again confronted with an unhappy superstar. After Chris Paul in 2011 to the Clippers and AD in 2019 to the Lakers, they want to avoid the Zion trade of 2021. All eyes will be aimed at New Orleans this season, whether they like it or not, and they can surprise us either way. The head office decisions could turn out really well, and the Pelicans make it to the Playoffs or it could be a total disaster and Zion will leave as soon as he can. For the sake of the league, I hope that the Pelicans sort it out because more small markets winning and making the Playoffs can only improve the league.
PICK #4
Our fourth pick of the week is the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers had a disappointing season. The roster didn’t get along with the coach, who was fired at the end of the season, and they missed out on the Playoffs. The Pacers missing the Playoffs is pretty rare, they only missed out 6 times in this millenium. A lost year for Sabonis and Brogdon, who saw Oladipo leave during the season as well. Getting LeVert in return is not something to sneeze at but fitting him in is a different story. Hopefully new coach Carlisle will be able to get this roster back on track during the offseason. The Pacers definitely deserve their spot in the top 8, but the overall strength of the Eastern Conference is rising and they’ll need to fight for it.
But Carlisle is a fantastic coach, someone who is very stable and will be an asset for an organisation that prides themselves on stability. It shouldn’t be difficult for the Pacers to find their form from early last season, when both Sabonis and Brogdon were potential All-Star players. With the pick in the top 15, they can add some young legs to their roster and with some smart moves, they could even challenge some of the better teams in their Conference. I believe the Pacers will be much better next season, and definitely a team to take into account when you start to make your predictions on Playoff spots next year.
PICK #5
Our fifth pick of the week is the Dallas Mavericks. I really wanted to slot this one in even though I’m sure most people expect Dallas to be up there next season. Luka has proven to us, yet again, that he is an incredible player and doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. The thing I am worried about for Dallas, is that they might surprise us in a negative way. There are a few factors in place here that could cause this franchise to implode next season: bad blood within the front office after the drama that took place during the Playoffs, a new head coach in Jason Kidd who still has everything to prove and most of all, a unicorn problem with Kristaps Porzingis. If KP and Luka can find each other on the court, they could carry the Mavericks to another title, as long as Cuban can improve the roster slightly. But if KP and Luka keep struggling on and off the court, this will wreak havoc in the Dallas franchise.
A simple solution would be to trade KP. But if you trade him now, you won’t get much back for him. He started the season well, but he got injured again and what he brought in the Playoffs just wasn’t enough. My best bet is that you give it another run at the start of the season and try to trade KP when his stock is high, running the risk that it could go wrong, having to trade him at even lower value. Best case scenario, of course, is not having to trade him at all. Maybe Kidd can find the secret sauce between his 2 best players and turn them into the two pronged attack they could be. If he can manage to do this, the Mavericks have a rosy future ahead of them, if not, it could be the beginning of the end of even simply keeping Luka on the team. Lots at stake in Dallas for the upcoming season.
This is our All-NBA team of the Week. Please share our podcast and give us 5 stars. If you have any questions, you can contact the show on eight2fouroffice@gmail.com. Thank you for listening, ballers out!
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