NBA's What to Watch: Heart of the Preseason Edition
The NBA is back!
Well, maybe not all the way, but preseason play is close enough. After a summer spent scrounging for hoops in summer leagues, at pro-ams across the country and in FIBA's Olympic qualifying tournaments, anything resembling NBA basketball might as well be an oasis smack dab in the Sahara.
Until the 2015-16 regular season tips off on Oct. 27, we'll be lapping up all we can from the league's latest round of glorified scrimmages across the globe.
In truth, the preseason has something for everyone.
For the early risers, there are the Michael Jordan-inspired meetings between the Charlotte Hornets and Los Angeles Clippers in China. Fans in Canada can catch native son Andrew Wiggins and the Minnesota Timberwolves against the Toronto Raptors in Ottawa in Oct. 14. For those who want a glimpse of the international game, there's the Orlando Magic's trip to Brazil to take on Flamengo on Oct. 17.
For everyone else, here's a look at the week ahead in the Association.
Biggest Storylines
Thompson Takes His Time
The longer Tristan Thompson remains out of contract, the more his holdout resembles Brian Fantana's Panda Watch...without all the excitement of live bears, anyway.
Thompson's agent, Rich Paul, and the Cleveland Cavaliers front office have been at odds at the negotiating table.
A quick recap: Thompson's camp pushed for a max contract (five year, $94 million), the Cavs countered with a five-year, $80 million offer for their restricted free agent, Paul suggested his client would settle for three years at $53 and now the original qualifying offer (one year, about $6 million) is no longer on the table.
The standoff has gone on long enough to force LeBron James, who shares an agent with Thompson, to give his two cents on the situation.
"The last thing you need is a distraction when you try to make a championship run. And we have that right now," James said recently, via the Akron Beacon Journal's Jason Lloyd. "It’s unfortunate for both sides that we’re going through it right now as a team."
Meanwhile, the Cavs are riddled with injuries. Kyrie Irving, Kevin Love, Iman Shumpert and Timofey Mozgov either are or have been dinged up to some degree in camp. As Grantland's Zach Lowe wrote, the lack of healthy bodies could play to Thompson's advantage:
"Paul can plausibly look at all this and say, “You need Tristan to win the title, and you need him right freaking now.” The Cavs won’t have the cap space to sign a big-money replacement for Thompson this summer if he bolts, and they probably never will as long as LeBron, Love, Irving, and key supporting players are in town on huge contracts.
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The Cavs have enough talent to hold their own in the East while their constituents lick their wounds. But a meeting with the meaty Memphis Grizzlies on Monday will test what little depth the Cavs have left up front.
Pelicans Pushing the Pace
Many a head was scratched after the New Orleans Pelicans parted ways with head coach Monty Williams, despite winning 45 games and qualifying for the playoffs last season. Most of those heads were unscratched once the Pelicans picked Alvin Gentry, who most recently served as Steve Kerr's offensive guru in Golden State, to turn their team into the latest adherent to Mike D'Antoni's "seven seconds or less" philosophy.
As Sports Ilustrated's Rob Mahoney revealed, Gentry and his staff have pounded the idea of pushing the pace into their players' heads at every turn in training camp:
"Pelicans players are prompted about running the floor in film sessions, on the practice court, and in casual conversation. Drills are executed at full speed and scrimmages played with an 18-second shot clock (Gentry says that when his team really needs a kick, he’ll drop it to 15).
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Small ball figures to be a prominent part of the Pelicans' repertoire this season—even more so now that two of the team's top centers (Omer Asik and Alexis Ajinca) are sidelined for several weeks apiece. Those circumstances have forced Gentry to experiment with smaller lineups, according to the Advocate's Scott Kushner:
"While Gentry didn’t give specifics, the shortage of big men mean power forward Anthony Davis is likely to spent significant minutes at center, allowing the Pelicans to load up on guards and wings surrounding him. With so many shooters and playmakers on the floor, it could boost the Pelicans’ offense to lethal levels while sacrificing some defensive and rebounding ability.
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That's not an ideal tradeoff, in light of where New Orleans left off. According to NBA.com, the Pelicans sported the league's ninth-best offense and ninth-worst defense.
Both of those units will be put to the test on Monday, when the Pelicans take on another squad in the midst of an offensive makeover, the Chicago Bulls, at the United Center.
Games of the Week
Minnesota Timberwolves at Toronto Raptors, 10/12 at 7:30 p.m. ET
The last time Andrew Wiggins visited his hometown of Toronto on behalf of the T-Wolves, he scored a sturdy 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting in just under 32 minutes during a 105-100 loss to the Raptors. He won't likely play that much at the Air Canada Centre this time but could put on a better show.
That's the benefit of being a second-year stud with a Rookie of the Year award under your belt, as opposed to a doe-eyed debutant.
If at first Wiggins and the Wolves don't succeed against the Raptors in T-Dot, they can always try, try again during their rematch in Ottawa on Oct. 14.
Houston Rockets at Golden State Warriors, 10/15 at 7:00 p.m. ET on TNT
You know there's something juicy about a preseason game when it gets national coverage. That's certainly true in the case of Warriors-Rockets. These two teams faced off in the Western Conference Finals, when Golden State took four out of five games from Houston.
While the Dubs largely stood pat this summer after taking home the title, the Rockets went out and reloaded, with Ty Lawson as the most notable addition to their roster. This will be Lawson's first opportunity to see if he can be the one to wear down Stephen Curry, the reigning MVP.
"I’m not saying, 'Oh, I’m going to stop Steph,' but just make him work harder at the other end," the former Denver Nuggets stalwart said, via Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski. "I saw that in the Cavs series, too. He wasn’t really working at the other end.”
Injury Watch
Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls
According to the Chicago Tribune's K.C. Johnson and Chris Kuc, Rose is due to return to physical activity on Oct. 14. He's been out of commission since Sept. 29, when he fractured his left orbital bone after colliding with Taj Gibson in practice.
In the meantime, Rose has been getting home-schooled on tweaks to the team's offense, with new head coach Fred Hoiberg playing the part of personal tutor.
"We've added probably three sets, three actions, from when Derrick was here that first day," Hoiberg said, via the Chicago Tribune. "He was in great spirits, a great mood. He's itching to get back here. ... He just can't do anything right now to get his blood pressure up."
Kevin Love, Cleveland Cavaliers
At long last, Love is back in action for the Cavs. He returned to practice on Saturday, less than sixth months after having his shoulder yanked out of its socket by Boston's Kelly Olynyk. Love could be back on the court for Cleveland as soon as Monday, when the Cavs host the Memphis Grizzlies at Ohio State.
D'Angelo Russell, Los Angeles Lakers
Russell, the No. 2 pick in the 2015 draft, bruised his butt during the Lakers' 117-114 overtime loss to the Utah Jazz. The Ohio State product sat out L.A.'s 105-97 defeat to Toronto in Ontario, California, on Thursday.
Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder
When Kevin Durant isn't busy editing the Players' Tribune or trading shade with Stephen A. Smith, he happens to be pretty good at putting a ball through a hoop...in case anyone forgot.
For his first on-court act since suffering another setback in his foot in late February, the 2013-14 MVP chipped in 15 points on 5-of-8 shooting and four assists in 22 minutes during the Oklahoma City Thunder's 122-99 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
"I felt great," Durant said, via ESPN. "I think it was a little different. I haven't been in my routine in a while as far as going to shootaround, taking my nap, getting to the game. So all that stuff was different. But once I got on the court, I felt right at home."
Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks
Unlike Durant, Anthony didn't get to return from injury against another NBA club. But his first performance coming off knee surgery had to be encouraging to Knicks fans nonetheless.
Anthony poured in a team-high 17 points on 8-of-10 shooting in just 20 minutes during a 100-81 win over Brazil's Bauru.
Milestone Tracker
There aren't many (if any) milestones worth noting in preseason. Instead, let's recap a few of the best performances from the first full week of games.
Paul George, Indiana Pacers
Maybe George won't mind this whole "playing power forward" thing after all. The former All-Star nailed six three-pointers in a row during a 20-point first quarter and finished Indy's 115-112 win over the Detroit Pistons with 32 points.
George admitted that his concerns with the positional switch weren't offensive ones but rather worries about battling with bigger, stronger foes defensively.
"I knew what the struggle was going to be," George said, via the Indianapolis Star's Candace Buckner. "It's an adjustment. We did some things that we changed up. We had Solomon (Hill) on the fours and C.J. (Miles) on the fours, and I was able to play my natural position defensively."
Stanley Johnson, Detroit Pistons
The Pacers needed every ounce of George's excellence to overcome the standout play of Johnson, Detroit's top rookie. The Arizona product piled up 26 points in his preseason debut.
Johnson, the No. 8 pick in the 2015 draft, showed off his strength and athleticism throughout, but it was his shooting stroke that made his explosion so noteworthy. Despite shooting a sturdy 37.1 percent from three in college, Johnson came into the NBA dogged by concerns about his long-range shooting.
One preseason game won't put all those questions to bed, but Johnson's 3-of-6 performance from beyond the arc against Indy looked like a step in the right direction.
Kyle Lowry, Toronto Raptors
A slimmer, trimmer Lowry has been setting the Association ablaze so far in the preseason. The Philadelphia native opened with 26 points on 7-of-10 shooting against the Los Angeles Clippers and followed that up with 25 points on 8-of-13 from the field against the Lakers.
However, Lowry missed Toronto's second preseason outing—a 95-87 loss to Golden State in San Jose—on account of a sore groin.
Jon Leuer, Phoenix Suns
Of all the talented bigs on the floor during the Suns' 102-98 win over the Sacramento Kings last week, it was Leuer who made the most noise. The Wisconsin product piled up 17 points and 13 rebounds in 19 minutes.
But while those numbers will be lost to history as soon as the regular season starts, Leuer's fast-break dunk over DeMarcus Cousins won't be.
24 Weeks of Kobe
How did Kobe Bryant announce his return to the NBA? In not-so-classic Kobe fashion: with a clank off the side of the backboard as part of a 1-of-5 shooting showing in the Lakers' 19-point loss to the Jazz in Honolulu.
The Black Mamba has shot much better since then. In the two games that followed, Bryant averaged 14.5 points on 50 percent shooting in about 22 minutes.
"It's coming, it's coming," Bryant said after a 105-97 loss to the Raptors in Ontario, California, via ESPN. "I'm still taste-testing some things, but I feel great."
As for the youngsters, the Mamba seems to like what he's seen so far from Julius Randle, who suffered a season-ending leg injury 14 minutes into his rookie campaign.
"He can rebound, push the ball, score, pass," Bryant said in praise of Randle, via the Los Angeles Daily News' Mark Medina. "He can do everything."
Sin City Report
Despite all their early injuries and ongoing contract squabbles with Thompson, the Cavs remain the odds-on favorites to win the 2015-16 NBA title, according to Odds Shark.
Cleveland may not be as strong a team overall as those fielded by the top contenders out West. But unlike the Warriors, Spurs, Thunder, Clippers and Rockets, the Cavs won't have to worry about outlasting so many championship-caliber squads in the weak Eastern Conference.
The simple fact is, you can't win it all if you don't get to the Finals first. And in the East, having LeBron James on your roster has been the best way to compete for the Larry O'Brien Trophy for five years running.
It's no wonder, then, that Oddschecker has James listed as the favorite to take home his fifth MVP trophy. As for Rookie of the Year, Denver Nuggets guard Emmanuel Mudiay has drawn the most betting buzz to date.
Josh Martin covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter.
