Each offseason Tim Bontemps polls a group of NBA coaches, scouts and executives on a wide range of subjects. This time he collected 18 entries, so the outcomes are removed from common, however they do give a very good cross-section of the league vibes. (Facet be aware: I ponder if anybody is monitoring how correct these items are after the tip of the season.)
Half 1 | Half 2
I discover these polls to be attention-grabbing throughout the board, however I admit to having a Boston Celtics bias, so let’s concentrate on the outcomes associated to the NBA Champs.
Who had the NBA’s greatest offseason?
Most voters went with the 76ers or the Knicks, however the Celtics truly received 2 votes on this class. Boston did re-sign or prolong nearly all their free brokers and extension eligible gamers (some on discount offers). Positive they locked in an enormous tax invoice, however that’s value of getting the most effective roster within the league.
The Sixers actually grabbed the highlight by nabbing the most effective free agent of the offseason. Given Paul George’s age and harm historical past, will probably be attention-grabbing to see how lengthy it takes for that contract to look extra like a legal responsibility than an asset. Nonetheless, they’ve a brief window to compete with Joel Embiid they usually received him the most effective teammate he’s ever performed with.
The Knicks made their very own headlines by opening a NYC Villanova Alumni Affiliation chapter of their stadium. In fact the price of these strikes was shedding standout heart Isaiah Hartenstein to the Thunder (extra on them quickly).
Who’s the NBA’s greatest participant proper now?Who would be the NBA’s greatest participant in 5 years?Who would be the 2024-25 NBA MVP?
I’m grouping these all collectively as a result of they’re all form of other ways of asking the identical common query. Neither Jayson Tatum or Jaylen Brown obtained any votes for the primary two classes however Tatum did get 2 MVP votes.
Jokic received far and away probably the most votes for greatest participant with 15. Victor Wembanyama received 12 of the votes for greatest participant in 5 years. Each are very logical decisions and no person else received any greater than 2 votes. It could be very arduous to make a case for Tatum being higher than Jokic proper now and all indicators level to Wemby taking up the league sooner quite than later. So I don’t put an excessive amount of inventory into Tatum not displaying up in both listing.
The MVP race could possibly be attention-grabbing. SGA received 7 votes, Doncic received 5, then 3 gamers tied with 2 every (Tatum, Anthony Edwards, and Jokic). Facet be aware: No Giannis???
From Bontemps:
Tatum picked up votes on the energy of Boston’s title and the expectation he’ll proceed to be the most effective participant on the league’s greatest crew, whereas these selecting Jokic are voting for a historic MVP run. A fourth award in 5 seasons would transfer him into a particularly unique group — solely LeBron James and Invoice Russell have finished it.
Tatum has finished every part he can to earn the respect of voters and followers, together with doing the one main factor they mentioned he couldn’t by successful the NBA title. No one can take that away from him and he deserves each victory lap he takes. Nonetheless, it looks like there’s nonetheless extra he has to show to the league earlier than he’ll be thought-about Most Priceless.
This most likely deserves its personal column, however it’s attention-grabbing that Tatum can’t appear to “win” right here. He’s confirmed earlier than that he can put up big stats for a contending crew; however he received knocked for not successful all of it. Then he does the proper factor by sacrificing stats to place his crew excessive to win the title; then he will get knocked for not being dominant each night time.
I can see a path to Tatum successful MVP. The Celtics have already got the shine of being the defending champs. They’ll be with out Porzingis for a very good portion of the season, so maybe Jayson will probably be leaned on extra closely. He additionally carries a heavy playmaking load when groups are forcing the ball out of his palms. If he can simply hit the next share of his 3 pointers, he may bump up his scoring whereas sustaining all the opposite good issues he does on the courtroom (rebounding, defending, making the proper subsequent play, and many others.).
Then once more, voters are fickle of us and who is aware of what narrative they’ll gravitate to this coming season?
Which crew will win every convention in 2024-25?
The Celtics received 13 of the 18 votes. No one else received greater than 2. Nearly everybody appears to grasp that Boston is the most effective crew within the East. I’m simply going to imagine that the 5 different voters are haters or biased in opposition to the Celtics.
Who will win the 2024-25 NBA title?
The Celtics received 8 votes, beating out the Thunder that received 7 (no person else received multiple). I do know that the Nuggets misplaced a key performer and Jamal Murray doesn’t look fairly proper just lately, however I’m a bit shocked at how rapidly they’ve been written off. Additionally, I do know that the Mavericks represented the West within the Finals, however that appeared a bit flukey to me personally.
I can actually see the logic behind the Thunder. They tied for probably the most wins within the West final 12 months they usually added key items in Caruso and Hartenstein. Plus their youthful gamers are a 12 months older with playoff expertise underneath their belts. They’ve a deep, hungry, proficient crew that performs with poise. I may actually see them popping out of the West and giving the Celtics a run for his or her cash.
Nonetheless, …Celtics in 6.
