Hallelujah! The NBA regular season is almost here, only a few days away.
But before we get to the games that actually count, it’s time to review the best and worst of this preseason, which ended Friday night.
What were the most intriguing moments? Which rookies caught our eyes? And which contending teams should everyone be concerned about? To answer those questions and more, we’ll turn to three writers who follow the league closely: Will Guillory, who covers the New Orleans Pelicans; national writer Fred Katz; and Josh Robbins, who covers the Washington Wizards.
What was the most intriguing preseason moment, and why?
Will Guillory: It has to be the New York Knicks pulling off the blockbuster deal to acquire Karl-Anthony Towns just before the start of training camp. The intriguing storylines are everywhere with this deal.
Was going all-in on Towns the right move for a Knicks team that’s already invested so much in Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby? Did the Timberwolves give up on Towns too soon after their run to the Western Conference finals last season? Does this move make the Knicks a formidable foe for the defending champion Boston Celtics? How does Minnesota view Julius Randle’s fit with this team in the present and the future? Are the Timberwolves still good enough to compete at the top of a stacked conference?
Both teams may emerge feeling pretty good about how this deal affects their play on the court and their plans for building out their respective rosters. Ultimately, whichever team makes it further in the playoffs this year will look like the winner of the trade. However, the ramifications of this deal, both in the win column and the spreadsheets, will play out for years.
Fred Katz: Joel Embiid’s commitment to the long term.
The former MVP says he is no longer on a mission to play in 65 games, that he may never again participate in both halves of a back-to-back. The 76ers’ title hopes rest on his health.
GO DEEPER
How worried should Sixers fans be about Joel Embiid missing the preseason?
Come the spring, even if he’s able to compete, something is always ailing Embiid. Last season, when Philadelphia lost in the first round of the playoffs, it was the knee. This time, ambitions go beyond winning just one or even two postseason series.
Paul George, another veteran with All-Star status and an injury history, is in town. Capable role players line the margins. But the Sixers can’t win it all (or even some of it) if they don’t have the MVP version of Embiid in April through June. So far, he’s said all the right things. In six months, we’ll find out how much it matters.
Josh Robbins: I enjoyed seeing LeBron James call out the decision to send his Lakers all the way to Milwaukee for one preseason exhibition. As has been noted by ESPN, Crypto.com Arena is undergoing renovations, and all of the Lakers’ six preseason exhibitions were scheduled for venues outside of Los Angeles. But it’s one thing to play five of those exhibitions in Palm Desert, Calif., Las Vegas, Phoenix and San Francisco; it’s another thing to jet to Wisconsin. I know, I know — NBA players have access to travel perks and health experts that we can’t imagine. But even for some of the greatest athletes in the world, the cumulative grind of a preseason, regular season and postseason takes a toll.
LeBron’s willingness to invite criticism is what makes this interesting. Yes, he was complaining about what we’d call “a first-world problem,” but he was correct. If the primary goal of the preseason is to get teams ready for the 82-game grind ahead, then a team shouldn’t fly halfway across the continent for a single exhibition. Aside from overseas trips organized by the league — longtime preseason staples that help grow the game worldwide and foster goodwill — I’ll be eager to see if LeBron’s comment has any lasting impact on teams’ preseason scheduling decisions in the future.
LeBron James didn’t see the need for a long one-game road trip to Milwaukee, but will the point he made have any lasting impact? (Michael McLoone / Imagn Images)
Which rookie caught your eye, and why?
Guillory: Jared McCain may end up being a really interesting player for the 76ers if he can work his way into the regular rotation at some point.
After acquiring George and Caleb Martin in the offseason, Philadelphia has one of the most talented starting units in the league. But as always, the time when Embiid isn’t on the court — whether it’s because of an injury or when he’s resting during a game — will be highly scrutinized. The Sixers’ lack of bench production has cost them dearly in the past.
Philly has veteran guards Kyle Lowry, Reggie Jackson and Eric Gordon coming off the bench. They’ve all produced massive playoff moments during their respective careers, but they’ve also played a combined 47 seasons in the NBA. Heading into Friday’s game, McCain had made 38 percent of his 3-pointers in the preseason.
McCain took a hard fall in Philly’s game on Wednesday and was taken to a hospital to be evaluated for a concussion. It was a scary moment that may sideline him for a while. It’s something to monitor for a team already dealing with a few injury concerns going into the season.
GO DEEPER
Sixers camp observations: Paul George set to make debut, Jared McCain looks good
Assuming he gets back on the floor relatively soon, the pressure will rise once the real games begin, especially for a rookie on a legitimate title contender. If he can stay healthy and become a contributor in Year 1, it’ll be a huge win for Philly.
Katz: Ryan Dunn is not my pick for Rookie of the Year. But he is the rarely seen readymade elite rookie defender. He is staying in front of his man, poking basketballs away from opponents. Phoenix better make room for him in its otherwise veteran rotation.
GO DEEPER
Suns’ Ryan Dunn, with an improved jump shot, could end up as the steal of the draft
The skepticism comes on the other end, one of the reasons I felt he was the ideal answer here. Dunn fell to No. 28 in this past June’s draft because of questions about his shooting. He made only 20 percent of the few 3-pointers he attempted at Virginia last season. Through four exhibitions, this has not been the same guy; he’s shooting 44 percent on 27 3-point attempts. It’s just the preseason. It’s a small sample size. But he’s also more confident taking them than ever before.
On one preseason play, he ripped the basketball away from Pistons guard Cade Cunningham, whom he had suffocated the entire game, dribbled upcourt by himself, then pulled up for a long ball from the top of the key. It swished through the net. The world may have questions about Dunn’s jumper, but clearly, if he’s rising for shots like that, he doesn’t.
Robbins: The breadth and overall skill within Zaccharie Risacher’s offensive arsenal have impressed me. The draft’s top pick averaged 16.0 points in his first two preseason games, and he’s scored in a wide variety of ways: on 3-pointers, off cuts, transition buckets and off the pick-and-roll. I like how he seems to play at his own pace and doesn’t let opponents speed him up. And while he’s not a high-flier who’ll jump out of the gym, he plays with some flair nonetheless, as his between-his-legs pass shows.
Based on the preseason, which veteran player seems primed for a turnaround?
Guillory: Buddy Hield has believed he’s just as good as Klay Thompson his entire career and now he gets to step into the Klay Thompson role on the actual Golden State Warriors.
I say that somewhat facetiously, but Hield has been an elite 3-point shooter in terms of volume and accuracy most of his career. Now, he gets to play in an offense that’ll feed into everything he does well — off-ball movement, transition scoring and high-volume 3-point shooting. Steph Curry and Draymond Green will produce a ton of open shots for him, and they’ll never have to worry about him turning any of those looks down. Before Friday, he shot a sizzling 48 percent on 31 3-point attempts this preseason.
Other than one great half in the playoffs, Hield’s move to Philadelphia last season turned out to be a major disappointment. This situation should be a much better fit for his skills. If he can hold his own defensively, he should be a big part of the rotation for this team.
Katz: I’ll cheat on this question and answer with more than one person: everyone on the Memphis Grizzlies
Yes, I could have answered this question by mentioning only Ja Morant, who missed most of last season after a suspension and then injury. But the rest of the Grizzlies, once the league’s up-and-coming team, didn’t experience the greatest luck, either. Desmond Bane sat out half the schedule. Marcus Smart missed three-quarters of it. Brandon Clarke spent the year recovering from a torn Achilles. A once-dominant team lost 55 games.
Morant isn’t the only one back. So are Bane, Smart and Clarke. Zach Edey enters as maybe the league’s most curious prospect, especially after he torched the Indiana Pacers earlier this week, going for 23 points in 19 minutes and sinking hook shot after hook shot over the outstretched arm of Myles Turner, a premier shot blocker.
If Morant can recover the Grizzlies’ hyped-up transition attack, if he can set up the offense so it’s just scary enough in the halfcourt, which has always been an inconsistency in Memphis, then not only is Morant back in the picture as one of the world’s greatest point guards, but also the Grizzlies are one of the West’s most dangerous squads.
Robbins: How many comebacks is this for Ben Simmons now? Seems like a lot. But in Brooklyn’s win over Washington on Monday, the former No. 1 pick showed some tantalizing flashes of his best old self, slicing through a defense with ease. He scored 11 points in 13 minutes.
He even took a charge. Not bad at all for someone who most recently underwent back surgery in mid-March.
Back injuries are notoriously fickle, so I’m making no guarantees that Simmons will remain healthy. But at his best, he’s one of the league’s most versatile, and most valuable, defenders. The Nets won’t contend for a playoff berth, but that doesn’t make Simmons any less interesting. He’s only 28. He still can have many more seasons ahead.
What did you see from a contending team that might be concerning?
Guillory: I wouldn’t call the New Orleans Pelicans a contender to win the West, but there has to be some concern about this new-look roster going into the season with very little in-game experience together.
There’s already a lot of uncertainty surrounding how this team will operate night to night without a traditional center in the starting lineup and with a new starting point guard — Dejounte Murray — running the offense.
The biggest reason for optimism is that Zion Williamson looks to be in a great place mentally and physically. He seems poised for a huge season. However, the trio of Williamson, Murray and Brandon Ingram didn’t play together at any point this preseason. Trey Murphy III has been sidelined the past few weeks, and he probably won’t be ready to start the regular season after suffering a hamstring injury early in training camp.
On paper, this team has so much talent on the perimeter that it should be able to compete against most teams on any given night — even if a few pieces are missing. But the players need time to jell and establish some kind of chemistry on both sides of the floor.
With the West being so hyper-competitive from top to bottom, New Orleans can’t afford to fall into an early hole in the standings.
Katz: I am not sounding the alarm bells for the Nuggets. I am not ruling them out of contention or even insinuating they can’t finish with the best record in the Western Conference. They lost their first four preseason matches. Who cares? Those don’t matter.
Yet, they’ve dropped games in ways that make me wonder about how they will hold up during the times that matter most one or two or three rounds into the playoffs.
Denver’s bench has always been its largest question mark. It’s weaker now. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope heading to Orlando creates a domino effect: Christian Braun steps into the first unit, weakening the reserves in the process.
When three-time MVP Nikola Jokić plays, the Nuggets can throttle anyone. Even during a 1-4 preseason, they were plus-15 while Jokić was on the court. But when he was on the bench, even after removing the one game he sat out, which the Nuggets lost by 30, they were minus-43. It’s a familiar theme, and concerning.
Robbins: In addition to Philadelphia and Denver, mentioned by Fred, Oklahoma City is dealing with a hand injury to key free-agent signee Isaiah Hartenstein.
But I’m going to go with Minnesota here. I still admire the Timberwolves’ talent after the blockbuster trade, but a trade of this magnitude will require a significant adjustment period because Julius Randle is such a high-usage player.
He’s a three-time All-Star, and that high usage isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Still, his arrival will require time for everyone involved to acclimate to each other early in the season, and in the ultra-competitive West, any adjustment period could prevent a team from securing a top-two seed. Remember, last season Oklahoma City and Denver led the West with identical 57-25 records, while Minnesota finished just one game back.
Yes, Towns is a high-usage player, too. But in the East, I think the Knicks will have more margin for error than the Wolves will have in the West.
Who might contend for Most Improved Player Award based on the preseason?
Guillory: I’ll be keeping an eye on LaMelo Ball early in the season.
Ankle issues have resulted in him playing a combined 48 games over the last two seasons. It’s made the Hornets an afterthought for most casual fans. However, if Charlotte can keep Ball and second-year guard Brandon Miller healthy most of this season, this team will be a highlight factory. Having a first-year head coach with a ton of potential like Charles Lee will also bring some excitement to the building.
If Ball shows more maturity in his game and focuses more on doing the little things that’ll help the Hornets be a potential Play-In contender, it’ll remind people just how talented he is. It’s easy to forget, but this dude has already shown he’s an All-Star-caliber point guard when he actually plays. Being able to share the court with a talent like Miller will only make him better.
Katz: Scottie Barnes.
Forget about the numbers — even Barnes finishing one rebound short of a triple-double against the defending champion Celtics earlier this week. Instead, check on the way Barnes moved.
He’s scoring in all types of ways. He’s pulling up and spotting up from 3. He’s attacking closeouts, taking a dribble inside the arc, then firing up midrange shots. He abused undersized defenders in the post, on one play spinning around his right shoulder to bank in a lefty hook. The play was smooth, as was his passing.
During the preseason, Barnes has played at a different pace than we’re used to seeing from him. He rushed the ball up the court after receiving inbounds passes. Possessions that could have trickled into boring, halfcourt offense instead sped into fast breaks. Barnes darted up the court and found cutters four seconds into the shot clock. Sometimes, he pulled up from 3.
Maybe Barnes was particularly energized against the Celtics. Maybe he got a good night’s sleep. But the Raptors are trying to play fast, and Barnes is executing on it. If he can sustain this type of pace for a full season, the league had better watch out.
Robbins: Jaden Ivey’s fallen off the national radar after Detroit picked him fifth in 2022. That’s more a product of the Pistons’ woeful records in 2022-23 and 2023-24 than Ivey’s play, which has shown promise.
This preseason, Ivey’s efficiency was too good to ignore, averaging 15.0 points on 61 percent shooting from the field.
Sometimes what’s more important than scoring averages and shooting percentages during a preseason is how a player gets his buckets. The more variety, the better, because once opposing defenses game-plan to take something away, you need to shift to a Plan B or a Plan C or even a Plan D. Ivey’s so fast and explosive that he can always pile up points in transition if the Pistons get stops. This preseason, he’s also scored on push shots, catch-and-shoot 3s, feet-set 3s and midrange jumpers. Young NBA players often make their biggest individual jumps during the offseasons immediately following their rookie seasons or immediately following their second seasons. Year 3 should be Ivey’s best yet, making him an ideal Most Improved Player candidate.
(Top photo of Naz Reid and Karl-Anthony Towns: Vincent Carchietta, Imagn Images)
