Andrea J. Collins
Very soon, the first tip-off will take place, and the new NBA season will begin. During the offseason, almost all the league’s teams made significant moves: some made substantial changes to their rosters, trying to plug holes, some completely rebuilt their teams, while others worked on preserving their leaders and the system that was already yielding results.
In this article, we will discuss two teams that are among the favorites in the Western Conference – the Phoenix Suns and the Golden State Warriors. Both of these teams made a few changes but have at least one significant signing. Most bookmakers who accept NBA betting offer the option to yükle their app to place bets from a mobile device.
Phoenix
After chaotic roster building during the previous season, the Suns began preparing for the new championship well in advance and executed several important and high-profile trades. For example, they parted ways with Deandre Ayton, who had been a thorn in their side for years. They managed to replace him with Yusuf Nurkic, who appears to be a perfect fit for the team, at least judging by his performance in preseason.
The Suns also traded for Bradley Beal, which seemed like a mix of a championship move and a panic move, driven by the idea that Phoenix needed to change something just for the sake of change. In this trade, they had to part ways with Chris Paul, an aging but experienced player who contributed significantly to the team. Now, just two weeks before the start of the season, Phoenix has an ideally packed starting lineup of 80% (Booker – Beal – Durant – Nurkic).
However, they lack a point guard (not just a starting one but anyone who can lead the team), which will create a significant imbalance between the starting lineup and the players coming off the bench. They have several players on the bench, whom they recruited simply because they were available for the minimum salary.
Adding to this is the new head coach, Frank Vogel, who already has a championship to his name with the Lakers in 2020. Perhaps he has a brilliant plan to lead this partially assembled or unbalanced team to a championship.
Golden State
In the summer, Golden State traded the young Jordan Poole (seemingly realizing that they overpaid him in his new contract) and signed Chris Paul. Paul is nominally the second point guard and the third guard in the team. This move raised numerous questions, and neither the players nor the coaching staff provided any hints about the answers.
Will Chris Paul come off the bench (just like Jordan Poole did)? Chris Paul stated that he is open to such a scenario, but we have yet to receive a clear response regarding whether Paul will play exclusively as a “sixth man” until we actually see how it works in a Warriors game. Chris Paul and Steph Curry are highly versatile players who, despite playing the same position, have different styles. Paul is a playmaker, the one who distributes the ball, and he does it exceptionally well (8.9 assists per game in the previous season, 10.8 the year before that). Curry, on the other hand, is more of a scoring point guard, who excels at putting up points. Theoretically, they could play together on the court, but this would raise the question of what to do with Klay Thompson and the forwards, who are also clearly necessary for the team (or at least someone needs to play defense).
How will Chris Paul fit in with Draymond Green, who previously didn’t particularly like him more than Poole did? Currently, things seem fine between the two. They communicate well and give interviews without hiding that they previously had some personal disagreements. But what happens if something goes wrong with the Warriors, like a tough losing streak or a painful defeat in a critical game due to someone’s mistake? Will the details of their nearly decade-long rivalry resurface and negatively impact the team? Is Chris Paul precisely what the Warriors needed to secure another championship?
The team has strengthened their scoring but also tried to bolster the frontcourt by signing Dario Saric. But is this enough, and will Chris Paul truly be the X-factor that secures the first championship for the Warriors in his career? In summary, of all the top teams this season, Golden State appears to be the most familiar yet simultaneously the least understood. The results and outcomes of their games could be highly unpredictable.