Name your 2 breakout players and teams

[Arizona_Sting]

Pick one player and one team from each conference you think will surprise and why.

East:

Player- Aaron Gordon: Think he could end up the third best sophomore next year behind Wiggins & Parker. Orlando could surprise some people with all that young talent this year.

Team- Orlando… going with that core of Oladipo, Vucevic, Harris, Gordon, Payton, Hezonja, Frye, etc. I think this could be the year things start to come together for them. Maybe not playoffs this year, but by next year at the very least I think they're gonna make that jump. This year they're going to establish an identity to build up to that level.

West:

Player- CJ McCollum: Portland will start him and they're gonna need scoring outside of Lillard so I can see him putting up 16+ PPG and winning most improved player of the year this season easily. Most of you might say "who"? But when this thread pops up in April you'll be like damn Sting is smart.

Team- Suns (jk not really) I'm going with the Jazz. Gobert and Favors is one of the best big man duos in the NBA and Hayward is on the verge of becoming a star, I really like that team. Burks was out all of last year basically and now he'll be back to add some shooting. Lack of a veteran could cost them & with Exum out for the year they may struggle to get that 8th seed but I give them a slight edge over my beloved Suns at the moment.


So Utah and Orlando are the next wave of young teams to take that next step this year imo.

 

[Arizona_Sting]

Surprisingly bad in each conference:

West: Mavs- They're gonna suck.

East: Pacers- Gonna rely on PG13 too heavily and have zero bigs. Ellis was a nice pickup and Hill is a solid role player but that team won't make the playoffs this year. UNLESS PG13 plays out of his fucking mind and Myles Turner finishes top 5 in ROY.

 

[Bolts]

I agree with all of the surprise players and teams(at least the good ones), but I'll pick some other teams and players instead.
East:
Otto Porter- Replacing Pierce, had some good moments in the playoffs last year and will have a bigger role this season.
Pistons- They won't have Jennings to begin the year, but they got some good young players like Drummond(22), Stanley(19), KCP(22), and Reggie Jackson(25). Not as good as the young core in Orlando, but I think they're good enough to get a lower seed in the East....even if that's not saying a lot.
West:
Burke- Gobert is the obvious choice on the Jazz but I'll say Burke because he'll have to do more with Exum now out for the season.
Kings- Got much better depth this year, improved their shooting with Marco and defense with Kosta and WCS. Also have a full training camp and season with Karl. Need a lot to go right for them to make the playoffs, but I think it's actually possible which hasn't been the case for a while.

 

[CitySushi]

West
Player: TJ Warren. Everytime I've seen him play, he just gets buckets. With Marcus Morris gone, it opens up significant time at the backup 3 spot. I can see him by the end of the season with a starting job. He's a really solid player and I think he'll come into his own this year with consistent playing time.

Team: Denver Nuggets. I think they have a real shot at the 8th spot in the West, along with Utah. They're not as bad as they seemed to be last year. It will depend on the progression of Nurkic, Faried coming back on strong, and Chandler and Gallo staying healthy. I think Mike Malone is going to have a real positive impact on that team.

East
Player: Two players I agree will have good seasons are Otto Porter and Aaron Gordon. Since both of them have been mentioned I'll go with Marcus Smart. I think he's going to have a big uptick this year in his production and confidence. David Lee will be a big mentor to him and I think you'll see that translate to the court.

Team: Orlando. I really don't like may teams in the East and I think they'll have the best shot of improving due to the youth of that team. Worst case, they're going to be super exciting to watch. I've moved them up on my (imaginary) League Pass rankings.


Disappointments:
East
Team: Charlotte Hornets. Every year I think they're going to take a step forward and become a real player. Every year, I'm disappointed. This year, I'm betting against them. I like addition of Batum, but with MKG down, their depth takes a real hit.

West: Phoenix Suns. I think signing Chandler in the off-season was a mistake. The real challenge for them will be lack of depth in a loaded Western Conference. Their starting 5 is good enough to compete with anyone, but they really are only 7 deep. Also not sure how the whole Morris situation will pan out.

 

[HurricaneDij39]

Teams:

Orlando Magic - I don't think a Scott Skiles-coached team will ever win a championship, but he has a history of turning talented underachieving teams into playoff teams

Phoenix Suns - For the first time in this millennium, they finally have depth to go along with their immense talent.

Players:

Brandon Knight, Phoenix - Pure scorers are a rare commodity in today's NBA, and now he moves to a more-natural 2-guard position. He just needs to stay healthy...

Stanley Johnson, Detroit - Stan Van Gundy is a good coach, but this team is devoid of talent. They're going to be bad, and will have no choice but to play Johnson big minutes.

 

[CitySushi]

Teams:

Orlando Magic - I don't think a Scott Skiles-coached team will ever win a championship, but he has a history of turning talented underachieving teams into playoff teams

Phoenix Suns - For the first time in this millennium, they finally have depth to go along with their immense talent.

Players:

Brandon Knight, Phoenix - Pure scorers are a rare commodity in today's NBA, and now he moves to a more-natural 2-guard position. He just needs to stay healthy...

Stanley Johnson, Detroit - Stan Van Gundy is a good coach, but this team is devoid of talent. They're going to be bad, and will have no choice but to play Johnson big minutes.

Interesting, I see the opposite. I like Bledsoe and Knight, but they don't have any reliable backup guards behind them. Really not impressed at all by Price or Goodwin and Booker is an unknown at this point. They have Len and Warren as two legit backups. Teletovic is on the fence for me and I think Warren is the better option and both play a similar position. I don't think the Suns can sustain winning at a high rate having Bledsoe and Knight having to play 40 minutes a night.

 

[Arizona_Sting]

Interesting, I see the opposite. I like Bledsoe and Knight, but they don't have any reliable backup guards behind them. Really not impressed at all by Price or Goodwin and Booker is an unknown at this point. They have Len and Warren as two legit backups. Teletovic is on the fence for me and I think Warren is the better option and both play a similar position. I don't think the Suns can sustain winning at a high rate having Bledsoe and Knight having to play 40 minutes a night.

They have tons of depth man, sorry but you're wrong. At center they have a center good enough to start on their bench in Len, then at PF with Morris, Teletovic (stretch 4) plus Leuer they are set there… then at SF with Tucker for defense and TJ Warren for buckets (love your call on him breaking out, he would be my pick but I wanted to take someone not on my team) we have a good combo at SF, SG we have Knight, Booker, Goodwin and Sonny Weems, each bring something different to the table. Then PG we got Bledsoe, Knight, Price and Goodwin.

IMO, this is the deepest and best team we've had in years.

 

[Arizona_Sting]

Teams:

Orlando Magic - I don't think a Scott Skiles-coached team will ever win a championship, but he has a history of turning talented underachieving teams into playoff teams

Phoenix Suns - For the first time in this millennium, they finally have depth to go along with their immense talent.

Players:

Brandon Knight, Phoenix - Pure scorers are a rare commodity in today's NBA, and now he moves to a more-natural 2-guard position. He just needs to stay healthy...

Stanley Johnson, Detroit - Stan Van Gundy is a good coach, but this team is devoid of talent. They're going to be bad, and will have no choice but to play Johnson big minutes.

Yeah, Stanley Johnson is going to be a stud.

 

[HurricaneDij39]

They have tons of depth man, sorry but you're wrong. At center they have a center good enough to start on their bench in Len, then at PF with Morris, Teletovic (stretch 4) plus Leuer they are set there… then at SF with Tucker for defense and TJ Warren for buckets (love your call on him breaking out, he would be my pick but I wanted to take someone not on my team) we have a good combo at SF, SG we have Knight, Booker, Goodwin and Sonny Weems, each bring something different to the table. Then PG we got Bledsoe, Knight, Price and Goodwin.

IMO, this is the deepest and best team we've had in years.

I was a fan of Sonny Weems during his brief stint in Toronto and was glad to hear he's going to get another go-around in the NBA.

 

[tducey]

Not so much for players but Orlando and Sacramento are my 2 breakout teams.

 

[CitySushi]

They have tons of depth man, sorry but you're wrong. At center they have a center good enough to start on their bench in Len, then at PF with Morris, Teletovic (stretch 4) plus Leuer they are set there… then at SF with Tucker for defense and TJ Warren for buckets (love your call on him breaking out, he would be my pick but I wanted to take someone not on my team) we have a good combo at SF, SG we have Knight, Booker, Goodwin and Sonny Weems, each bring something different to the table. Then PG we got Bledsoe, Knight, Price and Goodwin.

IMO, this is the deepest and best team we've had in years.

I'm absolutely open to being wrong. Like I said I think Warren is going to have a very nice year and I like Len too. I think you guys have good depth in the front court, but not sold on the back court, backups. I just fear Bledsoe and Knight being asked to do too much and getting burned out towards the end of the year. Price is a journeyman who is more a 3rd stringer than backup. Weems hasn't been in the league for years. Goodwin hasn't lived up to his potential (which I thought he was going to be a real player). Booker is probably your best bet for a contributor because he can flat out shoot, but he's going to have ups and downs as a rook.

I could be wrong, which I've been known to be here and again. I just think in order to win games, the Suns are going to need extremely big games from each of their starters.

 

[Terashi]

East:

Jeremy Lin - Although it is just the preseason, Jeremy Lin has shown some levels of comfort not seen during his years in Houston and LA. I think his role as a backup and being able to truly facilitate the offense from his position and not relegated to a spot up shooter like when Harden was the main ball handler in Houston. He looked quite good, but as I said, it is just the preseason. If he holds to form though, that contract is a true bargain for the Hornets.

Charlotte Hornets - They'd make it to the playoffs and have a winning record [East playoff team with a winning record, ha!]. They have a solid roster, and decent pickups in the offseason to make a splash in the East and avoid LeBron in the first round.

West

Rudy Gobert - He will get it done this year. He already showed glimpses of his potential and with an offseason to develop his skills and his body, he should be ready to take the next step forward.

Utah Jazz - Gobert and Favors really turned up during the second half of the season for the Jazz and just made it happen for them. I feel that with a year to jell even more, they might just make a run at the playoffs just as the Mavs are about to fade.

 

[Clayton]

Can I say the Eastern Conference is going to break out and be better than last year?

 

[CitySushi]

Can I say the Eastern Conference is going to break out and be better than last year?

You can. You would be wrong though.

 

[Clayton]

You can. You would be wrong though.

I don't think so. Cleveland will be better. Miami probably has too much hype but they'll be better. Chicago could go either way. Raptors and Wizards should both be decent. Bucks could be the next big thing but probably still a year away.

West looks boring*. Top 4-5 teams are pretty much locked in to those spots. I could see Memphis dropping to 5-7 spot and Phoenix rising to a 5-7 spot. Not sold on Utah but they should be 7-10 along with Dallas.


*The best teams in the West will be anything but boring, though

 

[CitySushi]

I don't think so. Cleveland will be better. Miami probably has too much hype but they'll be better. Chicago could go either way. Raptors and Wizards should both be decent. Bucks could be the next big thing but probably still a year away.

West looks boring*. Top 4-5 teams are pretty much locked in to those spots. I could see Memphis dropping to 5-7 spot and Phoenix rising to a 5-7 spot. Not sold on Utah but they should be 7-10 along with Dallas.


*The best teams in the West will be anything but boring, though

Oh I agree with Cleveland, Miami and Chicago. After that there's a real drop off. Wizards and Raps should be equal to what they were last year. Bucks improving but still untested and very young. There's been no real improvement in the Eastern Conference as a whole, which I thought you were eluding to.

 

[OregonDucks]

I'll just do teams..

East - New York Knicks

West - Portland Trail Blazers

 

[Ragingcroc]

Every knows about Stanley Johnson but I really think Reggie bullock is going to breakout. He has looked really good in the preseason as a 3 and d wing guy.

 

[SFGRTB]

I'll just do teams..

East - New York Knicks

West - Portland Trail Blazers

Can the Blazers "breakout" if they were the 4 seed last year?

 

[SFGRTB]

Surprisingly bad in each conference:

West: Mavs- They're gonna suck.

East: Pacers- Gonna rely on PG13 too heavily and have zero bigs. Ellis was a nice pickup and Hill is a solid role player but that team won't make the playoffs this year. UNLESS PG13 plays out of his fucking mind and Myles Turner finishes top 5 in ROY.

I don't think that's all too surprising. I have them at the very bottom on the West. They are going to get destroyed defensively, and they don't have the fire power to come back on offense to compete in the West. Plus they are starting the year with Williams, Mathews and Parsons injured. Wouldn't be surprised if Harris and Parsons are traded at the deadline.