'The Full 48' Podcast: David Aldridge Doesn't Think Spurs Are Title Contender
TNT analyst and NBA.com columnist David Aldridge joins Bleacher Report's Howard Beck to offer a comprehensive preview of the 2017-18 season.
Throughout the conversation, Aldridge discusses the top teams in each conference, which squad he's irrationally high on and which franchise he's not buying into.
Aldridge also names the player who is most likely to be traded by this year's deadline.
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Highlights
On Who Lands the Final Playoff Spot out East
I think Detroit will be in the mix for that eighth spot because they're bringing most of that cast back. But yeah, I think it's them and Philly and, you know, somebody always—somebody you don't expect gets in there and makes a go of it. For the life of me, I don't know who that would be amongst the other teams in the East because I think they're all pretty bad (laughs). So I will imagine Detroit and Philly will fight it out for that last spot.
On Naming Warriors as the Title Favorite...Again
How do you find a formula for beating them four times? I don't know. I don't see it. I don't know how it's possible. They're too complete a team—it's not just the offense, which is unreal. It's the defense too; they are a really good defensive team.
With [Kevin] Durant evolving defensively, they're so difficult to solve, and by the time you've solved them, they've put 130 on the board.
On Which Teams Round Out the West Behind Golden State, Houston, OKC and San Antonio
I think Memphis, Denver, Utah, Minnesota—to me—are the four teams I would say would be the next group.
On Which Team He's Irrationally High On
To me it's Portland. I just really like [Jusuf] Nurkic. I think he is such a load to handle offensively. He just really is a creative guy. ... He just makes Portland really hard to guard, and we all know how good their backcourt is, but until that trade, they really could not get any scoring in the paint and he changes that immensely.
I just think Nurkic really changes the dynamic of the Blazers going forward as a team that can compete, and if you give [Damien] Lillard and [C.J.] McCollum a chance to win at the end, they're gonna win their share of games at the end. ... He's just a guy that makes that team make sense.
On Which Team He Isn't Buying Into
We say this with an asterisk because it's not that I don't think they're going to be good—they're obviously going to be good. My point is: I don't think San Antonio is a real title contender.
So pencil them in for their 50 regular-season wins like always, because that's what they do down there. But there's just, to me, I just think there's too many questions. You don't know what [Tony] Parker's health is going to be. ... I don't mind Rudy Gay. ... But [Kawhi] Leonard, out for the preseason with this injury...if this is an injury that he still hasn't gotten through from last season, that makes me worry.
We know who the 8,000-pound gorilla is in the West, and I just look at their group, and I don't see them beating that 8,000-pound gorilla.
On One Player Who Could Be Traded This Season
To me, I think Phoenix has to trade [Eric] Bledsoe. It's not gonna work. He doesn't want to be there; they have a whole bunch of point guards there; it's not like they're going anywhere. Bledsoe's a pretty talented guy, and I just think at the end of the day, it would serve his and their interest for him to move on.
