Jesse D. Garrabrant / Getty Images

Evan Turner killed it on Sunday night. The numbers: 20 points (on 9-15 shooting), 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 block, 1 memorable moment after a frantic sequence, and 1 undeniably endearing postgame soundbite.

It was a great watch. Sure, he made some mistakes – a few botched defensive possessions, a couple of turnovers, and one airball I’d like to forget – but this game was exactly what Sixers fans were waiting for. He made aggressive moves and quick decisions, just like he did when dominating at Ohio State. It was what we could easily call a breakout performance, but we won’t.

Turner followed this up by scoring 10 points on 3-8 shooting last night. He started strong, hitting a corner three, a midrange jumper off a hard dribble to his right, and a second midrange J after a spin that made Clark Kellogg exclaim, “My goodness!” But after taking a flagrant foul from Dahntay Jones, he basically disappeared. He played meaningful minutes in a good win, but those minutes felt nothing like those he played on Sunday. And that’s okay.

This Pacers game reminds us that Evan is still a rookie, one who was correctly described as “shamefully gun shy” in December. And while it would be convenient to see modest showings like this eliminated rather than limited, it’s rewarding to catch a few flashes of brilliance before brilliance becomes the norm.

We should celebrate inspiring games and promising stretches. We should cherish all the firsts in bright young careers. But if we believe our guy’s got stardom in him, we should treat each impressive night as evidence, not proof, that he’s going to let it out.

The potential star in my hometown is DeMar DeRozan, which means I sometimes find myself in discussions about what his peak might be, whether or not he can be a franchise player, and what we should reasonably expect from him next season. His scoring totals warrant these questions, but it’s foolish to act like we’ve seen enough to answer them. What we have seen, though, is progress. We’ve seen the results of a willingness to work and a very obvious increase in confidence.

A year before reading articles with “Turner” and “problem” in their titles, I was yelling at my laptop whilst reading about the Raptors’ apparent need to start Antoine Wright over DeRozan. Now, I’m enjoying his emergence as a go-to scoring option. Seeing him break out the Kobe spin I saw him testing in Summer League could not make me happier, and when I hear that he wants the ball in crunchtime, I’ll admit that I’m a little proud, as someone who’s believed in him from the day he was drafted. But, what’s DeMar proven this season about his place in the league? Has he “turned the corner?” With a PER of 13.9 and a long way to go with his handles, defense, rebounding, and three-point shooting, I can’t say he has. But I can question what exactly “turning the corner” means.

A partial list of players/teams who came up when I searched my RSS reader for “turned the corner,” along with the aforementioned Turner and DeRozan: J.J. Hickson, LaMarcus Aldridge, Roy Hibbert, Rodney Stuckey, James Harden, the Lakers, the Magic, Darko Milicic, the Pacers, and the Heat.

The fact that the word “inconsistent” could be applied in most instances here should be instructive. It sounds great to say players or teams have “made the leap” but in reality they’re jumping around until they’re (hopefully) somewhere near their desired destinations. And as for the one guy on that list who does seem to have transformed himself overnight, we must note that the shift took place years after we thought it would.

Development in anything is a product of more reps, more responsibility, more opportunities to screw up and learn from those screwups, and, eventually, more confidence. Improving in the NBA is about slowing the game down, thinking less, and fearlessly doing the things that have been practiced thousands of times. In Lee Jenkins’ phenomenal SI feature that you’ve likely read multiple times by now, Derrick Rose is described as having turned the corner to superstardom. By embracing the challenge of being the MVP, ceasing to defer to others, and finding his killer instinct, Rose has become, in Brian Scalabrine’s words, a motherfucker. All the moves he used on his buddies at 1 A.M. at the Bulls’ practice facility are now being unleashed on the poor, helpless point guard defenders in the pros. But does that mean he’ll play like an MVP every night? Do the thousand of threes a day in the summertime and the much-improved three-point shooting we saw for most of this season mean that his game has changed forever? Evidently, no, as he’s made just 12 of his last 68 three-pointers and still routinely has nights where he only attempts three or four free throws.

I point this out not to put a damper on Rose’s unbelievable season – he’s unquestionably evolved from where he was in his first two years – but rather, to emphasize that he’s still, as writers and players line up to declare him the league’s Most Valuable Player at age 22, very much a work in progress. And this is the way it should be, for just as some of us don’t want the game to be too easy for anyone, climbing the ranks of the league’s elite shouldn’t be easy, either. We don’t want to miss any of the steps along the way.

If you’re a fan of Evan Turner, realize that if Rose is allowed to have rough nights, your rookie is definitely allowed to have rough nights. Perhaps what we saw Sunday was a glimpse of what’s to come as he gradually matures into the all-around Villain Philly envisioned when it picked him second in the draft.

AP Photo/Mary Altaffer

In the fourth episode of the podcast, I discuss several Eastern Conference teams with Julian and Wagman. It should be noted that we recorded this on Monday night, before AI and the Sixers thankfully snapped their horrible losing streak. I attempt to defend Nate Robinson, Wagman is shocked by Larry Hughes’s recent performance, and we all discuss Rudy Gay potentially joining Dwyane Wade in Miami next season. And yes, I messed up when talking about Rajon Rondo’s “dirty” plays last season – he hit Hinrich, not Rose.

Click here to listen to the podcast.

Jesse D. Garrabrant/Getty Images

Allen Iverson vs. Denver, Dec. 07, 2009: 11 Pts, 5 Reb, 6 Ast.

_

FreeDarko: “Pro basketball is not 22 Pts, 6 Reb, 4 Ast.”

See that up there – Iverson kissing the floor? That’s one hell of a moment. It’s a moment I thought I’d never see and I’ll cherish it forever. And I know I’m not alone.

I had a couple of friends over last night and, as they were talking about whatever it was they were talking about, my eyes were glued to the screen for AI’s re-introduction. I sat on the floor, right up close to the TV, and excitedly yelled “He’s kissing the logo! He’s kissing the logo!” the same way I nightly yell about incredible dunks and blocks. This is, undeniably, childish behaviour. You should know that I routinely exhibit childish behaviour while watching basketball games – you might laugh at how I stand up when it goes down to the wire because somehow it makes me feel more connected to the game, or how I jump around and grin like an idiot whenever DeMar DeRozan hammers home a dunk, but it’s involuntary. It normally doesn’t hinder my ability to analyze the game – I still see how plays are developing and think about matchups and strategies, even if I look like a mindless fanboy. As I sat up close to the TV last night like I did when watching AI as a rookie, though, I wasn’t doing much of that. I can’t offer you much in the form of analysis, aside from telling you that Iguodala was amazing, Dalembert seemingly blocked every third shot in the first half, and the speedy Ty Lawson was great and caused the not-yet-in-shape AI some problems. These are things my grandmother could probably have told you if she was watching. Last night, I was just like every Iverson fan in the Wachovia Center. Every play, my eyes were on AI. When he had the ball in his hands, time slowed down. When he picked up his second foul on a questionable call, I was furious. It was all about him.

I felt the energy in that building coming right through my TV. I could sense Allen’s nervous anticipation and the excitement of the crowd before the tip. I truly didn’t care what his numbers were, or that he seemed a bit tentative, rusty, and unsure of the plays/defensive schemes his team was running. My guy was having fun. He was playing hard. He was smiling at people he recognized from his last go-round in Philly. He was soaking in the love from the standing-room only, sold-out crowd. It’s no coincidence sports columnists in both Philadelphia and Denver called Iverson’s return a “smash(ing) success”. Just as his brief retirement felt so terribly wrong, this felt exactly right. AI back home, playing against his former teammates from Denver? Perfect. Obviously, I would have loved a win, but that hardly matters to me today. What matters is AI is in Philly, Kobe is in L.A., and Steve Nash is in Phoenix. Just like in 1996.

The 1996 Draft is not only one of the very best drafts of all time; it has a personal significance for me. As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve been a devoted basketball fan for as long as I can remember. When these guys came into the league, I was learning more and more about the game. I was playing ball all the time and I had a few friends who were almost as into it as I was. I could argue about things such as if the Raptors made the right decision in drafting Marcus Camby (I thought they did; everyone else seemed to think they should have taken the high-scoring Shareef Abdur-Rahim). I could watch these guys play, often in person (I know, spoiled), and then imitate their moves on the court. When I was practicing my AI crossover at 10 years of age, I had no idea that a handful of these faces would become the faces of the NBA in the post-Jordan era, but I felt a connection with these rookies because I got to see them from the beginning.

So, with that in mind, here’s a text message exchange I had two weeks ago:

Me: Apparently AI is retiring and I want to cry.

_

Friend: Omg. Noooooo. Childhood over.

Exactly. And I wasn’t anywhere near ready for that. Especially with the way it was going to happen. I’ve already had to come to terms with the whole Marbury thing – what if AI just vanished while he still had more to give? What if he had gone out with a whimper, unwanted and demonized? The man has said he was content to leave the game if he had to because he would focus all his energy on being a great husband and father, but I damn well would not have been content. And that’s an understatement. I realize that in the next few years I’m going to see the retirements of Kobe, Nash, and AI (along with KG, Duncan, T-Mac, and Vince), but I’d like this unfortunate inevitability to approach me slowly from a distance rather than darting out suddenly and punching me in the face. That’s what AI’s “retirement” felt like – you can say I was stupid and should have expected it all along, but I really never believed it would come to that until it did.

After hearing AI’s words on the subject, I trust that he was genuinely prepared to step away from the game he loves so much, even if he knew it shouldn’t have had to end that way. Not one other team, not even the pathetic Knicks, would give this man another chance, and he didn’t want to sit around in limbo. I hate that it took a Lou Williams jaw injury to make this happen, but I’m thrilled that it has happened. I can’t tell you with any certainty that this makes the Sixers a playoff team, or that Iverson will get the storybook ending we want for him, but at least there’s a chance. At least it didn’t end with a wasted season in Detroit and 3 games with the Grizzlies. At least we’ll always have last night.

“That’s the best feeling of it all, just being appreciated. That’s all you want as a person, when you have a relationship with somebody, you want to feel appreciated. And I do feel appreciated and that’s what drives me to just keep giving everything that I’ve got out there on the basketball court.” – Allen Iverson, post-game on Dec. 07, 2009.

I love this. This is why it’s so great he’s back home in Philly, the city that embraced him from the start and the city that is more than willing to give him a second chance. Last night, he played more minutes than he thought he would and he tried his best to contribute despite being more than a practice or two away from game shape. Say what you want about Iverson’s partying or his ego, but know that he gives everything he has in his heart when he’s on the court. Especially for those adoring Philly fans.

I am positively smitten with this year’s rookie class and Brandon Jennings has quickly become one of my favourite players in the league, but this J.A. Adande piece really bothered me. I’m definitely an Adande fan, but no argument could convince me that an Iverson retirement in November 2009 is “the natural order of things”. Iverson at 34 is not the same player as Iverson at 26, fine. But I still want to see him play against Jennings at 20. If he gets crossed over, that’s alright with me. I don’t expect him to dominate like he used to, but I want to see him battle against the likes of CP3, Deron, Rondo, Rose, Westbrook, Flynn, Lawson, and Wall. When David Aldridge asked him post-game about his eventual retirement, Iverson said, “maybe my fans will miss me, but the league won’t miss me.” And he’s right – the league’s future is in great hands. If the Sixers had never called, they’d still play the games and I’d still be watching. But goddamn, his fans would miss him. Brandon is fantastic, and I think he shares many of the qualities that made a generation fall in love with AI, but NO ONE can replace Allen for me and my generation.

At some point, Allen Iverson is going to walk away from this game for good and, a few years later, he’ll be inducted into the Hall of Fame as a Philadelphia 76er. When this happens, I’ll miss the hell out of him. I’ll reminisce about when he got drafted, when he crossed over MJ, when he climbed Marcus Camby’s back, when he battled Vince in the playoffs, when he stepped over Tyronn Lue, when he joined forces with Melo, when he cut his hair at All-Star Weekend, and, yes, when he came back home and kissed the floor. The great thing is that writing about this stuff doesn’t make me sad anymore because I know it’s not over yet. I can even look forward to seeing Iverson play in person in early 2010. Sometimes, things work out. Thank you, Sixers.

Remember how crazy the West was 2-through-9 last year? We knew no one would catch the Lakers, and we knew you’d have to win close to 50 games to make the playoffs, but we had no idea how everything would shake out in the end. There was one great team in the conference, a bunch of very good teams, and then a whole bunch of crap. No Western team won between 29 (Golden State) and 46 (Phoenix) games.

Well, the East is even crazier than that this year, but the action is all in the middle. I see three teams that should easily win more than 46 games as presently constructed and only two that might finish with fewer than 29. That’s almost what happened last season, but what’s even more interesting is that, if forced to predict team records this season, I’d argue that there are ten Eastern teams that could hover around the 40-42 win mark.

Here’s a look at the big clusterfuck:

Atlanta Hawks

2008-2009: 47-35. 10th in offense. 11th in defense.

You might wonder why these guys are on the list, as they had home court advantage in the playoffs last season. They’re also the only team on this list that was above-average on both ends of the court last season. Plus, they’ve got continuity – in re-signing Mike Bibby, Zaza Pachulia, and Marvin Williams, they’ve kept their core intact. Adding Joe Smith and Jeff Teague should improve their bench, too. Still, I see a couple of reasons why they could slip back in the standings. First, there’s the Jamal Crawford signing. At first glance, this seems like a positive move. He is, if only slightly, a better player statistically than Filp Murray, the man he is replacing. However, he is allergic to defense. Murray isn’t great at that end of the court either, but I’d rather have him out there than Jamal. Additionally, Murray was only out there for 24 minutes a night, which is what he’s been used to as a sparkplug scorer off the bench. Crawford has been accustomed to a more prominent role and has received significantly more minutes than that since 2003-2004, which leads me to question how this will work out. There are two potential problem scenarios here – having a bad defender on the court for too long, or having an unhappy Crawford cause problems in the locker room. In addition to all this, I see a second challenge in the way of Atlanta getting back to 47 wins, one that faces all of the teams I will cover here: other teams have improved. Atlanta went 26-7 against the other nine teams on this list last season and I believe this will be a significantly more difficult thing to do this time around. Even if they are still the best of the group, there is a smaller gulf between the Hawks and the teams who finished beneath them in the standings last year, one that might not make up for the fact that they are clearly a couple of notches away from being an elite team. Unless their young talent and/or coach Mike Woodson provides the club with improvement from within, expect a step back.

Miami Heat

2008-2009: 43-39. 20th in offense. 11th in defense.

If Jermaine O’Neal plays like he did in the first half of the decade for Indiana, and he manages to stay on the court, this team can improve. Reading the reports in Miami might make you seem optimistic about this, but I’m here to remind you that this is the same exact stuff we heard in Toronto last year. I truly hope Jermaine will be more than a half-decent jump-shooter and shot-blocker this season, but I remain very, very skeptical. Even if Jermaine O’Neal remains average, though, shouldn’t Mario Chalmers and Michael Beasley improve enough to add some wins? I’m not sure. Chalmers is a nice piece but I don’t see him being much of a game-changer this season. Beasley is more interesting – this is an extremely talented kid that deserves a bigger role than he had last season. If they park him on the block and give him the ball, he can score at will. With more minutes and more touches this season, he could help the Heat win more games. I’m worried about him, though, because Erik Spoelstra is going to try to play him at the 3. This is not his position. He’s going to struggle to guard 3s and he’s going to have a tougher time scoring. If they don’t get more offense out of Beasley and O’Neal, I think they could drop in the standings even if Wade turns in another MVP-level season – the drop-off on the defensive end from Marion/Moon to Beasley/James Jones/Q-Rich is huge.

Philadelphia 76ers

2008-2009: 41-41. 19th in offense. 13th in defense.

This team has some good players and a good coach, but there’s no way to know if they’re going to put it together, or put it together in time to really make a mark. They struggled integrating Elton Brand last year – we knew it would take some time to integrate a traditional post player into their athletic, fast-paced, turnover-causing attack, but didn’t think it’d be so difficult that everyone seemed relieved when the team’s best player was sidelined with an injury. Since last season, they’ve lost their starting point guard in Andre Miller and haven’t done much about it. Sure, he was lazy at times, but he was solid and, no, Jrue Holiday is not a replacement. This season we’ll see some improvement from Philly’s young guys, we’ll see a lot of Andre Iguodala handling the ball, and we’ll (hopefully) see a much more effective Elton Brand than we saw for bits of the 2008-2009 regular season. With the time it’ll take for this team to properly learn Eddie Jordan’s offense, though, and its still-obvious lack of shooters (even with Jason Kapono on the roster), I find it difficult to imagine them separating themselves from the pack in the East.

Chicago Bulls

2008-2009: 41-41. 14th in offense. 18th in defense.

Having John Salmons and Brad Miller around for the full season will help. So will having Luol Deng back. It even seems like Taj Gibson can contribute. So, why am I not projecting a big leap? Well, for one, they lost Ben Gordon. Complain all you want about his shot selection and his defense, but he is a very, very good player who the Bulls haven’t replaced. Before you scoff at the contested jumpers he puts up, realize he is an incredibly efficient scorer – his TS% of 57.2 is absolutely an elite number for a shooting guard, on par with that of Brandon Roy and Dwyane Wade. I’m not going to argue that he is a great defender, but Scott Skiles was able to effectively mask his defensive deficiencies for years. Please don’t think of Jannero Pargo as an adequate replacement. Still, with improvement from Derrick Rose, Tyrus Thomas, and Joakim Noah, this team might have the highest ceiling of any on this list. To finish at the top would require a fantastic coaching effort, though, and with Vinny Del Negro at the helm I am definitely not counting on it.

Detroit Pistons

2008-2009: 39-43. 21st in offense. 16th in defense.

Do not count on the Pistons finishing 21st in offensive efficiency next season. With Ben Gordon, Charlie Villanueva, and Chris Wilcox joining Rip Hamilton, Rodney Stuckey, Tayshaun Prince, Will Bynum, and Jason Maxiell, new coach John Kuester has plenty of scoring options to work with. Kuester is the man who re-worked the Cleveland Cavaliers’ offense last season, when they jumped from the league’s 19th-best offensive team to its 4th-best. Even though they’ve been absolutely great in previous years, Allen Iverson and Rasheed Wallace hurt the Pistons on both ends of the floor last year. The long jump shots and sub-par defense we saw from these two last season is the reason we have the term “addition by subtraction”. Detroit fans should be expect a much more functional locker room than the one Michael Curry dealt with last season, plus potentially one of the league’s top offenses. This is all good stuff. There’s a reason I’m not expecting an enormous jump in the standings, though: defense. Charlie V. and Ben Gordon will be huge boosts on the offensive end of the floor, but these guys will never be mistaken for defensive stoppers. Same with Wilcox. They’ve brought Ben Wallace back, but at this point in his career I’d argue that Kwame Brown is a more useful defensive player. I would be very impressed if Kuester managed to keep this club at around the league average next season, that’s what it would take in order to move into the upper echelon of the conference, even if these Pistons are up there with Portland in terms of offensive potency.

Indiana Pacers

2008-2009: 38-44. 17th in offense. 19th in defense.

I’m not going to tell you that the Pacers are more talented this year. They’re not – swapping Marquis Daniels, Rasho Nesterovic, and Jarrett Jack for Dahntay Jones, Tyler Hansbrough, and Earl Watson shouldn’t get any Pacers fan excited. Here’s the thing, though: these downgrades don’t prevent Indiana from winning a few more games than last year. Brandon Rush had a killer end of the season, Roy Hibbert was already a very effective center in his rookie campaign, and T.J. Ford is better than what he showed last season. I’d bet on all of them being more consistent this season. You have to hope that T.J. can stay healthy and Hibbert will cut down on the fouls, but the potential is there for 3/5ths of the Pacers starting unit (at least until Mike Dunleavy returns) to show considerable improvement. In addition to this, Danny Granger will continue the ascent to stardom that got him an All-Star berth and the Most Improved Player award in 2008-2009. I’m not fond of the Pacers’ overall plan or long-term outlook, but I won’t be at all surprised if they’re in the thick of the playoff hunt next season. I’d encourage you to pay attention to this team even if they’re not, though, as Jim O’Brien’s club played at the 3rd-fastest pace of any team last season and were a ton of fun to watch.

Charlotte Bobcats

2008-2009: 35-47. 27th in offense. 7th in defense.

The Bobcats wanted that 8th seed last year more than perhaps any franchise I’ve ever seen. Eschewing the bottom-out-and-get-draft-picks plan, coach Larry Brown pressured management into acquiring veterans Raja Bell, Boris Diaw, Vladimir Radmanovic, and Juwan Howard in the hopes of having the Bobcats’ most successful season yet. To his credit, he technically did that, as the Bobcats had previously never eclipsed the 33-win mark. Brown managed to impart his defensive wisdom on the young and old on the roster, making Charlotte one of the league’s best defensive teams by the end of the season. While I think none of this was/is in the best interest of the team’s future, I expect the Bobcats will make another charge at a low playoff seed in 2009-2010. This time, the vast majority of the key players are already used to Brown’s coaching style and this could translate into a few more wins. It’s a shame they took a step down by trading the solid Emeka Okafor for the chronically-injured Tyson Chandler, but they gained some ground by adding some much-needed wing scoring in Flip Murray and Gerald Henderson. If their defense sustains and they make some strides on the offensive end (a good start would be increasing D.J. Augustin’s minutes), then they’ll be in the mix.

Milwaukee Bucks

2008-2009: 34-48. 23rd in offense. 11th in defense.

You’ve got to love Scott Skiles, at least for the first few years he coaches a team. Even though they were overmatched some nights last season, the Bucks always competed. Even with guys like Luke Ridnour and Charlie Villanueva playing major minutes, the Bucks maintained an above-average defense and avoided toiling in the league’s cellar. Now, though, after losing three of their best players in Villanueva, Ramon Sessions and Richard Jefferson, can they be better? I say yes. The most impressive part about what Skiles accomplished last year in Milwaukee was the fact that he did it with Michael Redd and Andrew Bogut missing more than half of the season. With these guys coming back, expect a big jump on offense. And even though the Bucks failed to make any headline-grabbing news this summer, they did add some pieces to try to make up for what they gave away. Hakim Warrick, Kurt Thomas, and Carlos Delfino can contribute right away and they hope to get contributions from Ersan Ilyasova, Brandon Jennings, Jodie Meeks, and Roko Ukic as well. All this, plus the presence of the defensive-minded, brilliantly-named Luc Richard Mbah A Moute! I must say, there are plenty of reasons to be excited about the Bucks.

Toronto Raptors

2008-2009: 33-49. 22nd in offense. 22nd in defense.

Kelly Dwyer was right when he said last year’s version of Jose Calderon was only at full strength for about a third of his 68 appearances. This is the single biggest reason why I expect the Raptors to make a jump from their terrible record last season. As a Raptors fan, it pained me to watch Jose last year. This guy who couldn’t move laterally, couldn’t turn the corner on the pick and roll, and couldn’t get the proper lift on his three-point shots was not the same guy I had seen running the point in TO the year before. The guy I had seen before was a danger to shoot at all times, ran the offense perfectly, knew when to attack, and made his teammates much better. Sure, he wasn’t an all-world defender, but he wasn’t a liability on that end, either. This All-Star-worthy version of Calderon is the man who I expect to be running the team this year, and this is why I project them to jump into the playoff picture. In Jarrett Jack, Rasho Nesterovic, Amir Johnson, and Antoine Wright, the Raptors have a much-improved bench and the addition of Hedo Turkoglu into the starting lineup alongside Chris Bosh, Calderon, and Andrea Bargnani could give Toronto one of the most potent offenses in the league. Hence, there is optimism in Toronto. Don’t believe the 50-win nonsense, though – this team is still too weak defensively and at the 2-guard spot to approach that number. That is, of course, unless Bargnani drinks some magical defense-and-rebounding juice and Jay Triano does a Stan Van Gundy-esque job of getting his weak defenders to play intelligent team D.

Washington Wizards

2008-2009: 19-63. 26th in offense. 29th in defense.

I’m sure you know that this is a completely different team to the Wizards of last year. With a healthy Gilbert Arenas and Brendan Haywood, last year wouldn’t have been the nightmare that it was. Add Randy Foye and Mike Miller to the lineup, plus the coaching of Flip Saunders, and you have a team that will likely make a bigger jump than any other in 2009-2010. With a starting 5 of Arenas, Foye/Miller, Caron Butler, Antawn Jamison, and Brendan Haywood, opposing defenses are in for long nights against the Wiz. The problem, of course, is that opposing offenses may be in for easy nights. As great as this Wizards team looks offensively, with the aforementioned top six plus Fabricio Oberto, DeShawn Stevenson, Nick Young, JaVale McGee, and Andray Blatche, they look bad defensively. I love Flip, but he is more of an offensive guru and I doubt there’s a coach in this league that could make this bunch into a decent defensive group. If he does, they’re better than most teams here. If he doesn’t, as I expect, well… What do you get if you’re league-best on one end and league-worst on the other? Another middle-of-the-pack club.

What does this all mean? Well, all of the above teams are flawed. Flawed enough that they won’t approach the win totals of Cleveland, Orlando, and Boston if those teams stay relatively healthy. It also means they all have talent, though, and they’re all capable of beating better Western Conference teams on a random night in February. We know that, with trades and injuries, things will change for these teams and how they rank in comparison to each other as the season goes along. When we near the end of the season, though, I’m sure it’ll be a right mess trying to figure out which teams will make it into the playoffs and which of those will be lucky enough to get the 4th and 5th seeds and avoid facing one of the aforementioned juggernauts in the first round. Sure, the vast majority of these teams won’t play a game in May or June, but they will provide us with some pretty damn good basketball during the regular season. For a guy will be flipping from game to game on League Pass every night starting in two and a half weeks, this is something to be excited about.