SneakerReporter Top 30 NBA Teams: #12 Portland Trail Blazers

SneakerReporter Top 30 NBA Teams: #12 Portland Trail Blazers

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by | Oct 11, 2019 | Featured, NBA

We’re at 12 days on our countdown to the NBA Season, and today we got a first look at the new Brooklyn Nets square off against the Lakers in China. Staying on track, however, today we’re discussing our twelfth spot on the SneakerReporter Top 30, the Portland Trail Blazers.

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12. Portland Trail Blazers: Can Portland the momentum of last season’s Playoff run to blaze through the competition once again?

Portland is coming off quite an impressive season last year; a season in which they ranked 3rd in the Western Conference with a record of 53-29. They also had an impressive run in the NBA Playoffs, with a convincing 4-1 first round victory over the Thunder, and grueling yet exciting 7-game series against the 2nd seed Denver Nuggets, only falling to the 1st seed Warriors in the Western Conference Finals. The Portland Trail Blazers have solidified themselves as a strong contender in the Western Conference, and they believe that this is the year that they’ll seriously contend for this year’s title.

The Trail Blazers have revamped their roster in hopes of surrounding their core in Lillard and McCollum. They managed to add some very solid players from around the league, most notably Hassan Whiteside, Kent Bazemore, and Pau Gasol. For years the Blazers have been looking for a third scoring option and this year have many different options in terms of scoring the ball. All the additions that the Blazers made are solid offensive options, which is scary for other teams. It was rare for opposing teams to shut down both Lillard and McCollum in the same night, and only to add more options for scoring will make things more difficult for teams on the defensive side of the floor. Speaking of defense, the Blazers have also upgraded on the defensive end of the floor by adding Hassan Whiteside into their rotation. Also adding Pau Gasol and Kent Bazemore, the Portland frontcourt has also become a problem, in addition to their already dangerous backcourt. They’ve added a lot of length and size during their off-season, which is something that the organization had last season as well, but perhaps were seeking to rebuild the supporting cast.

Although this Blazers team appears dangerous on paper, the issue is on the intangibles of the game. They lost 7 players on their roster through trades and signings, and have obtained six new players. Despite acquiring more veteran talent, it still may take some time for this team to truly come together and really make a Playoff push. The Blazers will really have to establish an identity this season, considering that they’ve essentially made a lot of moves to both their starting five and bench players. Realistically, however, it seems that the Blazers, mostly in part by franchise point guard in Damian Lillard, excels in rallying his team together, so there really may not be much to worry about for the Blazers this upcoming season.

Personally, I’m excited to see this team play. This Blazers backcourt has been something to watch ever since they’ve entered the league, and it seems as if they’re only getting better. The team overall has made very big strides in terms of overall ability, but the biggest obstacle lays in front of them, in a very stacked Western Conference. I can’t see the Blazers not making the Playoffs again this season, but it goes without saying that it’ll be even more difficult to get through all the way to the Finals.

 

 

Oct 11, 2019 No Comments
OKC Thunder Dominate New Zealand On Their Way To 2-0 In The Preseason (110-84)

OKC Thunder Dominate New Zealand On Their Way To 2-0 In The Preseason (110-84)

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by | Oct 11, 2019 | Featured, NBA

The Thunder came out clicking on all cylinders against New Zealand tonight. Steven Adams of the Oklahoma City Thunder wanted to dominate early against his countries team. Steven came out and set the tone for the Thunder in this one and established himself in the paint early. If Steven can play like this throughout the season NBA teams will be in trouble. In a day and age where people think the center position isn’t important enough in the All-Star Game Adams makes it look good. Adams has been a monster in the preseason so far for the Thunder and has been able to work on his pick and roll with Chris Paul. The Thunder need to continue using their defense to translate to the offense as they made it tough on the New Zealand team from the opening tip. Steven Adams had 19 points and 10 rebounds on the night and was able to do the majority of his dominant stat line in the first half. The New Zealand Breakers shot 41% percent from the field and the Thunder’s length made it challenging on the night. The one bright spot in the game for the Breakers was the game of Robert Loe who scored 19 points for them. Robert was able to shoot and drive to the basket while gliding in the air through Thunder defenders. Former OKC Thunder training camp player Scotty Hopson also helped with 15 points for the Breakers.

 

Some of the players that stood out tonight for the Thunder were Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Hamidou Diallo, and Darius Bazley. Shai was able to continue his smooth game tonight against the Breakers as he had his shot and slashing to the paint working for him. Shai has shown a lot of leadership and has been leading the Thunder in scoring from the scrimmage to now. The way that his game just flows and translates in this OKC offense has been amazing. Shai has shown that he’s worked on his 3 point shot and also his floater too. Shai finished the game against the New Zealand Breakers with 18 points on the evening in 23 minutes. Hamidou Diallo has shown a lot of improvement this season so far as he’s showing everyone he’s more than just the NBA Dunk Contest Champion. Diallo has shown growth in his jumper and also defensively he’s been getting after all the opponents he’s guarding. Hamidou has been able to use his quickness to his advantage and it’s been on full display this preseason. If Hamidou can make the most of his minutes during the regular season he can be a huge piece to this second unit. Diallo finished the night against the Breakers with 16 points and had all the parts of his game working tonight.

 

 

The other player that was really impressive was Darius Bazley because he’s showing that he can hit the 3 pointers and he’s been defending at a high level. Bazley is the wild card for the Thunder because he can do everything from drive to the basket all the way to shooting outside. When Bazley has both the inside and outside game working for him you can see that he gets extremely confident in himself and it shows in his game. Bazley can be what Jerami Grant was to this team in the past and it’s only a matter of time before we get to see what this rookie is all about. Bazley finished with 12 points on the night and the Thunder were able to cruise to a victory against New Zealand with ease.

 

The Thunder will be playing against the Dallas Mavericks on October 14th in Dallas. Hopefully, this time around the Mavericks will play their starters and we can see the young OKC Thunder core against starter talent. In Tulsa, the Thunder faced the Mavericks but they didn’t play Luka Dončić or Kristaps Porziņģis. This should be a good test for the Thunder and they’re a division rival as well.

Oct 11, 2019 No Comments
Nike Zoom Freak 1s Get a New Colorway for Opening Night

Nike Zoom Freak 1s Get a New Colorway for Opening Night

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by | Oct 10, 2019 | Featured, NBA, Sneaker Releases, Sneakers

As the opening night in the NBA quickly approaches, there is no shortage of heat coming from its athletes. Back in July Nike drop the first signature shoe of League MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo dubbed the “Zoom Freak 1” as an homage to his nickname the Greek Freak. To celebrate the NBA return Nike Basketball is launching an upcoming “Opening Night” collection, which will include a “Noble Red” colorway of the Zoom Freak 1.

Nike Zoom Freak 1 Noble Red Opening Night BQ5422-600 Release Date

photo credit: atmos Tokyo

The logo highlighted with a gradient midsole and speckled reverse Swoosh and dressed in a Noble Red, Blackened Blue, and Bright Crimson color scheme. This colorway was originally spotted on the feet of Giannis’ brother during Nike’s launch event for the Zoom Freak 1 in Greece. 

Nike Zoom Freak 1 Noble Red Opening Night BQ5422-600 Release Date

Photo credit: atmos Tokyo

We can expect Giannis to be sporting this shoe opening week as the Bucks take on the Rockets in Huston on Oct. 24, at 8 pm. It is set to release in Japan on October 17th and globally on October 27th at select retailers and Nike.com price tag is set at $110 USD.

 

Oct 10, 2019 No Comments
SneakerReporter NBA Top 30 Teams: #14 Indiana Pacers

SneakerReporter NBA Top 30 Teams: #14 Indiana Pacers

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by | Oct 10, 2019 | Featured, NBA

We’re down to 14 days until the NBA Season officially commences, and we’ve gotten a taste of what some of the NBA teams are capable of during the preseason. Next up, however, at number 14, we’ve gotten the Indiana Pacers.

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14. Indiana Pacers: Will Indiana stay on pace for the NBA Playoffs?

The Pacers last season was a force to be reckoned with. They finished 5th in the Eastern Conference with a record of 48-34, making an early first-round exit to the Boston Celtics in the NBA Playoffs. Over the course of the off-season, the Pacers made a decent amount of roster changes, having players with sign with other teams as well as the announcement of point guard Darren Collison’s retirement.

In regards to the acquisitions the Pacers made over the off-season, they’ve brought on notable players around the league in hopes of filling the voids that were made with those who decide to leave. Bucks guard Malcolm Brogdon found himself in Indiana off a sign-and-trade, which really is an upgrade for the Pacers roster. Despite losing Bojan Bogdanovic to the Jazz, they’ve managed to pick up TJ Warren, TJ McConnell, and Jeremy Lamb as well, bolstering the roster with solid guards.

Despite the additions the Pacers have made, the most important part when talking about this team is the core that they have created in Myles Turner, Domantas Sabonis, and of course, Victor Oladipo. The Pacers and Pacers fans unfortunately saw Oladipo go down fairly early in the season, to which he would sit-out the year. Despite his absence on the court, the team managed to make the Playoffs, and although they did in fact not get passed the first round, with a healthy Oladipo, the Pacers are set on coming back stronger than years prior. With the core of the team that they have, and the additions of players that can play a good supporting role for the team, the organization is perhaps even scarier than last season.

Having said that however, it’s only right for some sort of skepticism to be had. It is without question that the Pacers have some very good players on their team, but they may be lacking in experience. The Pacers roster is filled with notable names as we’ve previously stated, but these names are also very young, with the oldest player on their team is 30-year old Justin Holiday. We as NBA fans can only speculate at this time, but soon enough we will see how the team stacks up against the rest on October 22nd.

Oct 10, 2019 No Comments
Andre Drummond aiming for Max Contract

Andre Drummond aiming for Max Contract

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by | Oct 9, 2019 | Featured, NBA

With the preseason just getting underway for Pistons fans in Detroit, some fans still seem hung up on the looming press over Andre Drummond’s Free Agency next summer. Drummond, 26, has a player option of $28.8 million for the final year of his contract, but if he opts out he will become a free agent summer 2020.

Early this summer Drummond hinted at his excitement for his upcoming free agency, and how excited he is for the whole process. The All-Star center has never been a free agent, and is looking forward to the experience. This started rumors of a possible departure from the 7-year Pistons center.

He is coming off the best season of his career averaging 17.3 PPG on a league leading 15.6 RPG. Drummond recently addressed these issues on Tuesday after the Pistons’ preseason opener. Drummond made it clear that he’d very much like to stay in the Motor City, but on a Max Contract.

“(Max salary) is the way (Gores) sees me and that’s obviously the way anyone will see himself as a basketball player. With the hard work and dedication that you put in each day, no player should feel like he’s not a max player,” Drummond said. “Every player should feel like they’re worth that sum of money because of the hard work and blood, sweat and tears you put in every day.

“The work you put in, you should be rewarded for it; it doesn’t matter whether it’s me or a rookie. Everybody feels they should make the maximum amount of dollars to play the sport they’re playing.”

Seems like both parties have reached an understanding and hopefully we’ll be seeing number 0 suited up in that Pistons jersey for next season. For now, hopefully fans can focus on this season, and making that playoff push.

Oct 9, 2019 No Comments
SneakerReporter NBA Top 30 Teams: #13 Toronto Raptors

SneakerReporter NBA Top 30 Teams: #13 Toronto Raptors

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by | Oct 9, 2019 | Featured, NBA

We’re officially less than two weeks, 13 days, out from the NBA Season and we’ve been getting our fair share of pre-season basketball so far. 10 teams went into battle today in some very exciting games. However, we’re moving onto our 13th spot on the Sneaker Reporter NBA Top 30, the Toronto Raptors.

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13. Toronto Raptors: Can the 6ix reassert themselves as reigning NBA Champions?

 

 

The Toronto Raptors came off a historic season last year, earning their first NBA Championship in league history. The off-season for the Raptors was not as great, however, losing Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green to the Clippers and Lakers, respectively.

Despite having slight roster changes this off-season, it heavily impacts how the roster operates, especially due to the fact the Leonard held the biggest effect on the organization. This does not, however, mean that the Raptors are not in a position to succeed this upcoming season. With a very successful breakout season for Raptors forward Pascal Siakam, there seems to be a lot of potential upside for the organization. Also with the addition of newly acquired players such as Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Stanley Johnson, the Raptors hope to fill the scoring void with a multitude of different options. Although there seems to be some overhang on the organization of Leonard and Green leaving, most seem to forget that the roster is still very solid without them. Marc Gasol, Serge Ibaka, Fred VanVleet, and Kyle Lowry are all very good players in their respective roles, and without Leonard in the line-up are given more opportunities to lead their team to victory.

Realistically, it’s hard to replace a franchise player, especially if that player is Kawhi Leonard. His abilities on both ends of the floor is what really separates him from a lot of other players in the league. So although the organization has made many additions in hopes of carrying that load, it’s hard to expect immediate success for this team. Losing Danny Green is a bit of a harsh blow as well, losing efficient scoring off the bench as well as an overall vocal leader for the team. It will be interesting to see, nonetheless, to see who on the Raptors roster steps up to try and fill the shoes of two players anyone would love to have on their respective team.

Looking at the big picture of this entire organization, the Raptors are still a very good team. It goes without saying, however, that their odds in repeating themselves as NBA Champions has decreased a fair amount. It should also be said that this doesn’t necessarily mean that there’s no chance we’ll see the Raptors contending for the title, for it seems almost certain that they can at least make the Playoffs again this year. Whatever the case may be, the Raptors have many young players that they can and should focus on developing if they won’t to put themselves in a similar position as they did in the 2018-2019 season.

Oct 9, 2019 No Comments