NBA Season 2017/2018

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NBA Season 2017/2018
Igor Djuricic

Glopinion by

Igor Djuricic

Oct 17, 2017

The 2017–18 NBA season will be the 72nd season of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, NBA fans of all ages, it is finally here. The beginning of the NBA season. With 213 transactions in July, 62 transactions in August, 98 transactions in September and 65 transactions (and counting) for the month of October, it is safe to say that the NBA Off-Season was one of the busiest in the history of the NBA.

The regular season will begin on October 17, 2017, earlier than previous seasons to reduce the number of "back-to-back" games teams are scheduled to play, with the 2017 runners-up Cleveland Cavaliers hosting a game against the Boston Celtics at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Christmas games will be played on December 25. The 2018 NBA All-Star Game will be played on February 18, 2018, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The regular season will end on April 11, 2018 and the playoffs will begin on April 14, 2018.

 

As many of them claim, it’s no longer a question as to who will win the NBA title; rather, how much beating can the Cavaliers take before succumbing against the mighty Warriors.

But before that happens, sports columnist and popular podcast host, Bill Simmons, would like to see whether the Warriors can break their record and win 75 games during the regular season. He was also wondering if the Warriors could write a new chapter in the NBA Playoffs – a perfect 16-0 run.

Former Knicks coach and ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy doesn’t want to entertain the idea of a sweep. However, he believes that no NBA team can beat the Golden State Warriors four times in one playoff series, practically suggesting that the championship is already in the bag.

The rationale to choose the Warriors over the Cavaliers is simply irresistible.

The Warriors went 16-1 during the NBA playoffs, losing only once in Cleveland during Game 4 of the 2017 NBA Finals. Yet the biggest thing is successfully bringing its main core intact, thanks to Kevin Durant.

Cavs' Most Important Addition Won't Be Dwyane Wade or IT

The Cleveland Cavaliers, who've represented the Eastern Conference in each of the past three NBA Finals, will enter the 2017-18 season with only LeBron James playing the same position within the team's starting five.

In prior years, JR Smith started next to James to help provide floor spacing, hit catch-and-shoot threes and guard the opposition's most dynamic offensive threat each night. With Smith relegated to the bench after the addition of Dwyane Wade, that role—the two-way safety net of a player—will belong to Jae Crowder.

Isaiah Thomas pulled all of the headlines upon his arrival to Cleveland, which comes with the territory of being an All-NBA talent. Wade is a first-ballot Hall of Famer who is reuniting with his best friend in James. Derrick Rose will have to shoulder point guard duties until Thomas returns and should have a usage rate north of 30. This could all leave Crowder as the forgotten man, but it's his addition—not Thomas nor Rose nor Wade—who allows head coach Ty Lue to move Kevin Love to the center spot, potentially giving the Cavaliers their own Death Lineup while taking a ton of pressure off of James.

"He's a guy who can shoot it and somehow guard every position," Love recently told Bleacher Report about Crowder. "He's going to be a safety net for all of us, being able to switch 1 through 5. He's a guy I'm going to enjoy going to war with."

And he's a guy who quietly will be the Cavs' most crucial addition throughout their whirlwind of an offseason.

2017-2018 NBA season predictions

 

 

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