Hoops Rumors Polls

The final wave of NBA experts’ predictions for the 2019/20 season are still a week or two away, but a general consensus has already formed on the Western Conference’s playoff picture. The most commonly-held belief is that the West’s top eight teams in ’19/20 will look pretty similar to last season’s group, with the Lakers entering the mix and the Thunder dropping out. In other words, the following eight teams are viewed as postseason favorites:

• Denver Nuggets
• Golden State Warriors
• Houston Rockets
• Los Angeles Clippers
• Los Angeles Lakers
• Portland Trail Blazers
• San Antonio Spurs
• Utah Jazz

The playoff odds set by sports betting sites align with this consensus. Over at Bovada.lv, for instance, oddsmakers consider the Spurs the most tenuous playoff contender of the above group, but even San Antonio has -300 odds. In other words, you’d need to risk $300 on the Spurs making the playoffs in order to net a $100 profit.

While it may look as if the Western Conference has a clear-cut top tier of eight teams, it’s dangerous to assume that everything will play out like we expect. Every year, an NBA prediction that seems obvious in the preseason gets blown up a month or two into the season. It’s certainly possible that these eight teams are the ones left standing in the spring when the playoffs begin, but it’s just as likely that an upstart club or two cracks that top eight. There’s no shortage of contenders, with the Kings, Mavericks, Pelicans, Timberwolves, and Thunder among the Western teams that could surprise.

Of course, if one or more of those presumed lottery teams sneaks into the playoffs, that means at least one of the eight favorites will miss out. We want to know which of those eight teams makes you the most nervous and is most likely to miss the postseason.

Are you skeptical about the Spurs’ ability to extend their playoff streak as DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge get older? Do you think the Warriors have enough depth to withstand the loss of Klay Thompson for most of the season? Are both L.A. teams for real, or could potential health or chemistry issues sink one of them? How about the Trail Blazers — with Jusuf Nurkic out and many of their veteran wings not returning, can they continue to thrive? Are the Rockets susceptible to a down year if James Harden doesn’t go supernova like he did in 2018/19?

Vote below in our poll and then head to the comment section below to share your thoughts on which of the West’s presumed top-eight teams looks the most vulnerable.

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As our recap of the NBA’s 2019 coaching changes shows, six teams conducted searches for permanent head coaches this spring. One of those teams stuck with its interim coach, as the Timberwolves opted to give Ryan Saunders an extension. However, the other five brought in new coaches. Here are the five new head coaches who will be on the sidelines for the 2019/20 season:

• Cleveland Cavaliers: John Beilein (former Michigan head coach)
• Los Angeles Lakers: Frank Vogel (former Pacers/Magic head coach)
• Memphis Grizzlies: Taylor Jenkins (former Bucks assistant)
• Phoenix Suns: Monty Williams (former Sixers assistant / Pelicans head coach)
• Sacramento Kings: Luke Walton (former Lakers head coach)

The Suns and Kings worked fast to fill the newly-opened spots on their respective benches. Sacramento zeroed in on Walton particularly quickly, reaching a deal to hire him just two days after firing Dave Joerger in April. Williams, meanwhile, was Phoenix’s top target and agreed to become the Suns’ new head coach even before his playoff run with the Sixers was complete.

Both Walton and Williams will take over young Western Conference rosters looking to take a step forward in 2019/20. Walton initially faced a similar task in Los Angeles when he presided over a young roster headlined by the likes of Brandon Ingram, Lonzo Ball, and Kyle Kuzma, before the Lakers acquired LeBron James and the job description changed. As for Williams, he appeared to be a top target for the Lakers, but chose to join the lowly Suns instead, signaling that he sees potential in the team’s young core of Deandre Ayton, Devin Booker, and Mikal Bridges.

After missing out on Williams and Tyronn Lue, the Lakers opted for Vogel, who has enjoyed success as a head coach in the past. While his stint in Orlando was forgettable, Vogel led the Pacers to consecutive appearances in the Eastern Conference Finals in 2013 and 2014. The Lakers will be looking to make a similar run this season.

The rebuilding Cavaliers and Grizzlies took their time with their respective searches, and both choices were a little surprising. There was a belief that Cleveland would be targeting a young, up-and-coming assistant to oversee the team’s rebuild, and while John Beilein has a strong track record in player development, the 66-year-old doesn’t exactly fit the bill of a young up-and-comer.

Jenkins, meanwhile, enters the 2019/20 season as perhaps the most anonymous head coach in the league. An assistant in Atlanta and Milwaukee under Mike Budenholzer, Jenkins doesn’t have any head coaching experience at even the G League level, so the 35-year-old will be thrown in the deep end in Memphis this season. It will be fascinating to see how he responds.

With the regular season around the corner, we want your opinion on this year’s head coaching changes. Which of these five new head coaches do you think will have the most short- and long-term success with his team? Which hire did you like most? Are there any you particularly disliked?

Vote in our poll, then head below to the comment section to weigh in with your two cents!

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Promising young rookies enter the NBA every season, but few come with the sort of fanfare that Zion Williamson has. The Duke forward is the kind of prospect who comes along once every few years, following in the footsteps of former No. 1 overall picks like LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Given the hype surrounding him – and the expectations facing him – it’s no surprise that Williamson will enter the 2019/20 season as the overwhelming favorite to win this year’s Rookie of the Year award. The 19-year-old is in position to put up numbers immediately on a Pelicans team that has playoff aspirations, with no veterans ahead of him on the depth chart at the power forward spot.

Williamson’s Rookie of the Year chances are buoyed by the fact that 2019’s draft class wasn’t considered particularly strong. While plenty of this year’s draftees should turn into successful pros, the ’19 class lacks the star power that other recent rookie classes have had. It would be a surprise if three NBA newcomers have the type of seasons that last year’s Rookie of the Year finalists – Luka Doncic, Trae Young, and Deandre Ayton – did.

Still, there are players who will push Williamson for Rookie of the Year honors. Sports betting site Bovada.lv lists the Pelicans’ forward as a -130 favorite (you’d have to risk $130 to win $100), with fellow top-three picks Ja Morant (+350; risk $100 to win $350) and RJ Barrett (+550) viewed as the primary challengers. Darius Garland (+1800) and Coby White (+1800) are among the players in the next tier of Rookie of the Year contenders, along with 2018 draftee Michael Porter Jr. (+1600).

With Mike Conley no longer a member of the Grizzlies, Morant should get a chance to take the reins and assume control of the rebuilding franchise right away, and while he may experience some growing pains, he’ll have the opportunity to have some big games. Developing Barrett will be a priority for the rebuilding Knicks too, despite the fact that the team invested heavily in veteran forwards in free agency.

Porter is an intriguing dark horse candidate — like past ROY winners Ben Simmons and Blake Griffin, he’ll have the advantage of having spent a year with an NBA team already, perhaps giving him a leg up on a competition. But it will be difficult for him to carve out a significant role on a deep, talented Nuggets roster. That shouldn’t be a problem for Garland, as the Cavaliers seem likely to jettison some of their veteran talent during the season to clear even more minutes for their youngsters.

Williamson may be the frontrunner, but he’ll have to produce and – perhaps more importantly – stay healthy in order to take home the hardware next spring. Davis, arguably the last No. 1 pick to enter the NBA with this sort of hype, took a year to develop into the impact player many were expecting out of Kentucky. Though he has a streak of six consecutive 20/10 seasons now, AD averaged a modest 13.5 PPG and 8.2 RPG in his rookie year in 2012/13, losing out to Damian Lillard in the Rookie of the Year vote.

What do you think? If you were placing a bet on the 2019/20 Rookie of the Year winner, would you pick Williamson or the field? Which player do you think will be the biggest threat to Zion in this year’s ROY race?

Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section below to share your thoughts!

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