Looks like the NBA season is gonna start Dec 22. The official vote with the NBA and NBAPA will be Thursday Nov 5. How exciting that is Kings fans. How will the new season look? A tale of two NBA’s? Buddy to Boston? Draft to free agency hours apart. It’s a very exciting time to be an NBA fan. Doug Christie would be an amazing assistant coach.

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2018-2019 Record                 Home Record               Road Record

        48-34                                     32-9                            16-25

2019-2020 Record                 Home Record               Road Record

         27-36                                     16-14                            11-22

Fun Facts for the season

-The Spurs are the only team to make the playoffs every season in the 21st century and are tied with the Syracuse Nationals/Philadelphia 76ers for the longest consecutive playoff appearances in NBA history with 22

-The Spurs’ five highest-paid players from this past season are all over the age of 30: DeMar DeRozan (30), LaMarcus Aldridge (34), Rudy Gay (33), Patty Mills (34) and Marco Belinelli (34)

-The Spurs are having trouble keeping up with the trend of increased 3-point attempts per game as they have been ranked in the bottom five in that category for the last five seasons (28th in 2019-20, 30th in 2018-19, 27th in 2017-18, 25th in 2016-17 and 26th in 2015-16) after not being ranked outside of the top 18 since the 1999-2000 campaign

-The Spurs have two talented young point guards in Dejounte Murray and Derrick White but have struggled to play them at the same time as the two guards only logged 102 minutes together this season; 19 two-guard lineups on the Spurs logged more minutes together this season than Murray and White

-LaMarcus Aldridge was on pace to play in the fewest regular season games since the 2013-14 season as he had already missed 10 out of a possible 63 games (.841 percent of games)

-Since the All-Star break, the Spurs appeared to be willing to play their young players more as Dejounte Murray, Trey Lyles and Derrick White were the three highest ranked fantasy players on the team during that stretch (8/9-cat per-game value)

For a closer look at how the season has gone, be sure to check out our Season So Far series. The Spurs’ entry can be found right here.

Rosterable in 12-team 8/9-cat leagues (per-game value)

-DeMar DeRozan (4th round/4th round)

-LaMarcus Aldridge (4th round/3rd round)

-Dejounte Murray (6th round/6th round)

-Derrick White (12th round/11th round)

Showed flashes of fantasy value in 12-team 8/9-cat leagues (per-game value)

-Trey Lyles (8th/6th round since Feb 1)

Rosterable in standard points leagues

(This is Yahoo’s standard scoring system, we’ll be using them as a reference for the rankings but obviously things will be different in your league if you use a custom scoring format or play on ESPN/CBS/Fantrax)

-LaMarcus Aldridge (4th round)

-DeMar DeRozan (5th round)

-Dejounte Murray (8th round)

Flashes of value in standard points leagues:

-Trey Lyles (7th round since Feb 11)

-Derrick White (9th round since Feb 11)

Predicting standard league relevant players for 2020-21 season

-DeMar DeRozan (all formats)

-LaMarcus Aldridge (all formats)

-Dejounte Murray (all formats)

-Derrick White (8/9-cat)

Potential for standard league value for 2020-21 season

-Derrick White (points leagues)

-Trey Lyles (all formats)

-Lonnie Walker (points leagues)

Upcoming Notable Free Agents

-DeMar DeRozan (player option for $27.74M in 2020-21)

-Marco Belinelli (unrestricted)

-Trey Lyles (team option of $5.5M, partially guaranteed contract of $1M)

-Jakob Pöltl (restricted)

-Bryn Forbes (unrestricted)

Key Additions

-N/A

Key Departures

-DeMarre Carroll (waived)

Upcoming Draft Picks

-2020 first round pick

-2020 second round pick

-2021 first round pick

-2021 second round pick

-2022 first round pick

One of the more exciting storylines was to see how Dejounte Murray would fit next to Derrick White. White grew significantly last season while Murray was sidelined with a torn ACL, and this season would be an opportunity to see two of the Spurs’ promising young talents play together.

Unfortunately, the Spurs’ season so far has disappointed. They are currently 12^th in the Western Conference and are four games behind the 8^th-seeded Grizzlies. Even if the Spurs sneak into the playoffs, they haven’t played like a team that can extend a series to seven games and are more likely to be swept. The Spurs have had some great individual performances from Aldridge and DeRozan this season, but it hasn’t translated to success on the court.

Even the hopes of seeing White and Murray together have been squashed, as the players have only shared the court for 102 minutes this season. The Spurs may have taken this roster as far as it can go but looking at this season so far can give us an idea of how the team and its players could look moving forward.

LaMarcus Aldridge, the Ageless Wonder

LaMarcus Aldridge has kept Father Time at bay this season, putting up a classic stat line worthy of his standards at the age of 34: 18.9 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.2 threes and 1.6 blocks while shooting .493 from the field, .389 from deep and .827 from the line.

His scoring has dropped for the third straight season and his rebounds fell by 1.8 per game compared to last season. However, Aldridge’s 3-pointers made are a career-best, improving upon his previous career-high of 0.5 per game and 0.1 threes per game last season. As a top-6 member of Dan Besbris’ 2019-20 Old Man Squad, Aldridge is proving that it pays to be boring in fantasy.

Widely overlooked in fantasy drafts this season, Aldridge ranked 25/27 per game in 9/8-cat leagues and played 81 games in 2018-19 but was still falling to the fourth round in some standard leagues and had an ADP of 45.4 in Yahoo leagues. Aldridge has delivered in a big way for fantasy owners who trusted him this season, jumping 20 spots in 9-cat rankings from his ADP. He ranks 24^th per game in 9-cat leagues, keeping consistent with his 25^th ranking from last season. Even though his value stayed relatively the same, the wily veteran learned a new trick to keep his top-25 status, the long ball.

It looked as if the Spurs and Aldridge had given up on getting him 3-point attempts after shooting 10-42 during the entire 2018-19 season. To the delight of fantasy owners, Aldridge has increased his 3-point attempts to 3.0 per game which has offset some of the value he’s lost from his dip in points and rebounds. Based on his shot selection beyond the arc, there is reason to think he can improve his 3-point shooting moving forward too. Only 29 of Aldridge’s 156 three-point attempts this season have come from the corner. From the left corner this season, he has shot 10-of-21. If he can get more attempts from the corners, he will likely hit his threes at a higher rate and boost his fantasy value even more. This development will be critical to him staying relevant in the NBA and fantasy basketball.

Aldridge will be heading into the final year of his contract next season and will be age 36 if he hits free agency the summer after. As great as it is to watch LA consistently dazzle in the mid-range as a top-2 option on his team, it’s unlikely he will be in that role past next season. Whether he remains with the Spurs or leaves for another team, he’s going to have to adjust his game to fit the next chapter of his career. His best option to remain an impact player seems to be for him to develop into a stretch-four or stretch-five. He’s shown this season that he can shoot a good percentage from deep at high volume.

The ideal scenario would be that he could take a leap like Brook Lopez did later in his career. After never attempting more than 0.2 threes per game, Lopez shot 5.2 per game in 2016-17 and has never taken fewer than 4.4 attempts per game since. The high 3-point volume has kept Lopez inside the top-60 in 9-cat leagues despite his playing time diminishing over his career. On the court, Lopez is a great asset to the Bucks for his ability to stretch the floor on offense and anchor the paint on defense. Aldridge has similar skills and could fit this mold for the Spurs or another team. He’s not as good of a rim protector as Lopez, but he’s also more mobile and can guard power forwards which gives him more position flexibility.

Regarding his 3-point shooting, Aldridge has taken a step in the right direction this season, and his improvement in that area has raised his floor on the court and in fantasy leagues. If he remains on the Spurs next season, another top-50 season looks likely with potential for him to delight us again with a top-30 season.

DeMar DeRozan Keeps Going, For Now

DeMar DeRozan hasn’t lost a step in fantasy leagues this season. As the engine of the Spurs offense, he’s averaged 22.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 1.0 steals while shooting 52.6 percent from the field and 84.3 percent from the line on 6.6 attempts per game. He’s remained consistent with the 21.2 points, 6.0 rebounds and 6.2 assists he averaged last season while improving his field goal percentage by 4.5 percent. After finishing the 2018-19 season ranked 43/38 in 9/8-cat leagues, DeRozan has posted rankings of 43/40 so far this season.

It’s worth mentioning he joined Aldridge as a member of the 2019-20 Dan Besbris Old Man Squad and is another example showing that it pays to target consistent players with a safe role in the middle rounds of drafts, even if it isn’t sexy. Despite being boring most of the time, DeRozan did break out for one of the juiciest stretches of fantasy value for a mid-round draft pick this season.

During the month of January, DeRozan elevated his play to put together one of his best months in a Spurs uniform. He averaged 26.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, 5.7 assists with spectacular percentages. DeRozan shot .561 from the field and attempted 9.4 free throws per game, converting on 90.1 percent of them. His true shooting percentage for the month was 66.0, 6.3 points above his season average. This high-volume efficiency had DeRozan in first-round territory in fantasy leagues, ranking 9/13 in 9/8-cat leagues for the month. He was the second-best fantasy contributor in free throw percentage, falling short of only Devin Booker in that category. DeRozan dominated the first month of 2020, but is that one month hiding signs that his fantasy value is trending down?

DeRozan’s fantasy value has dropped drastically since January. He’s ranked 71/65 in 9/8-cat leagues since the beginning of February, and his topple in the rankings is a direct result of his unsustainable shooting percentages coming back to earth. He hasn’t shot poorly during the recent stretch, shooting .493 from the field and .833 from the line, but the drop shows how much his fantasy value relies on high-volume, high-efficiency shooting from the field and the free throw line. He offers very little in the cash-counter stats, averaging 0.1 threes, 1.0 steals, and 0.2 blocks per game this season. Those numbers are consistent with his career averages, so there isn’t likely to be improvement in those areas. If DeRozan’s field goal and free throw attempts drop slightly from his numbers so far this season, he could fall out of the top-50.

A drop in attempts would impact his three best fantasy categories: points, field goal percentage and free throw percentage. DeRozan averages 6.3 free throw attempts per game for his career and has averaged over 5.6 attempts per game for seven straight seasons. He’s averaging 6.6 attempts this season at age 30, but it’s going to be difficult to keep racking up the trips to the line as he ages. Only two players over the age of 32 are averaging more than 5.5 free throw attempts per game this season and DeRozan is approaching that age. This combined with a likely decline in usage over the next few seasons will have DeRozan’s fantasy value trending down.

DeRozan will still have a high floor as a member of the Spurs and is someone to keep an eye on in fantasy drafts next year if people are sleeping on him again but expect a decline from this season. He is a good player to target in the middle rounds of drafts next season if you need help in scoring, field goal percentage and free throw percentage.

Dejounte Murray’s Return

After missing the entire 2018-19 season with a torn ACL, Murray headed into this season as the starting point guard for Spurs. There was a lot of excitement surrounding him, as someone who was already a great defender at his position and showed some promise as a playmaker during the 2017-18 season. So far this season, Murray has made slight improvements but has largely been held back by his limited minutes. Murray has only played 25.0 minutes per game this season, up just 3.5 minutes per game from the 2017-18 campaign. With that slight increase in playing time, he’s been able to make improvements across the board. He’s averaging 10.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.7 steals and 0.6 threes this season, compared to 8.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.1 threes in 2017-18.

His advanced statistics show signs of improvement too. He’s improved his true shooting percentage from 48.5 to 53.5 this season, driven by his improvements in field goal percentage (.475 this season) and 3-point percentage (.378 this season compared to .265 his previous season). His assist-to-turnover ratio has improved to 2.16 this season and he’s had a more positive impact on offense. His offensive rating has improved from 103.0 to 108.7 and his offensive box score plus-minus has risen from -1.6 to -0.5.

On the flip side, Murray’s defensive rating has fallen drastically from 98.7 to 113.8, which has made his net rating worse this season compared to the 2017-18 season. The Spurs’ defense has had a similar drop in defensive rating over that stretch, so it appears to be just as much the fault of the team as it is Murray’s individual performance on defense. He still looks like a player with All-Defensive Team upside and will be a solid building block for the Spurs if he can continue to improve on offense. To do that, he’s going to need to improve as a facilitator and 3-point shooter.

It’s difficult to succeed in the NBA without a point guard that is a threat from deep, so Murray will need to increase his attempts from the 1.6 per game this season if he is going to be the main facilitator for the Spurs of the future. If he can improve in that area he will be a 9-cat darling with his contributions in other categories. Murray is a great rebounding point guard and grabs steals in bunches, and it’s not unreasonable to think Murray could average 6.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals given starter’s minutes. Even if he can just mildly improve in other areas, he could be a player that posts averages of 14.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.0 threes while shooting around 45 percent from the field. That’s a sneaky fantasy line that could put him inside the top-50. He isn’t far off from that mark this season, ranking 71/72 in 9/8-cat leagues.

The path to better fantasy value is there. If he makes the few tweaks mentioned above, he could be a top-50 player for multiple seasons. Go get him in dynasty leagues if you’re building for 2-5 years from now.

Derrick White Stalling Out

Derrick White had a lot of momentum heading into the 2019-20 season. He broke out in the second half of the 2018-19 season, posting top-75 value in 9-cat leagues from the start of January through March with averages of 12.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.9 blocks while shooting .491 from the field. He fared well with his first meaningful role in the playoffs too. Although he was inconsistent, he broke out for a 36-point performance in a game 3 win over the Nuggets, adding five rebounds, five assists and three steals on 15-of-21 shooting.

Despite the momentum, White has been limited this season as Gregg Popovich refuses to play him alongside Murray and favors Patty Mills and Bryn Forbes ahead of him in the rotation at times. These rotation decisions have limited White to 24.1 minutes per game this season, which has prevented him from taking a step forward in his development and has stunted his fantasy value. He’s averaging 10.4 points, 3.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 0.9 blocks on .459 shooting from the field this season. He’s been able to post rankings of 125/136 in 9/8-cat leagues with those numbers, but it’s a noticeable step in the wrong direction after his great finish to last season.

White still has the same stat profile as last season. He has great efficiency for a guard and adds spectacular out-of-position blocks, which makes him a great fit for a H2H team punting assists. He doesn’t play as a ball-dominant player, so the assists are unlikely to be a strength for him at any point in his career. However, if he can get to 14.0 points per game, his other stats will be enough to provide a 9-cat friendly fantasy profile. He’s shown flashes of it this season when given the opportunity.

White had 14 points, seven rebounds, nine assists, two steals and four blocks in the Spurs’ last game on March 10^th with Murray out of in the lineup due to injury. Mills is still under contract next season and Forbes will be an unrestricted free agent after this season. Even if the Spurs don’t bring back Forbes, White will have to fight with DeRozan, Murray, Mills and Lonnie Walker IV for backcourt minutes if the roster stays as it is. Hopefully the Spurs find a way to get White on the court more moving forward.

For fantasy purposes, he has a great fantasy profile, but minutes are the most important stat in fantasy and he’ll need to get more before he can be considered a must-roster player in standard leagues.

Opportunity for Change

The Spurs’ disappointing performance this season highlights the need for improvement in this roster. Aldridge and DeRozan, who have a 26.4 and 23.6 usage rate this season so far, respectively, can’t lead a team to a title at this point in their careers and the Spurs don’t have the necessary assets to get an elite talent to add to their best two players. Both players have one year left on their contract and the Spurs could be staring down the path of a rebuild for the first time in over 20 years if they don’t improve next season.

The potential for these drastic roster changes make the Spurs a high-priority team to monitor for fantasy basketball in the coming seasons. Tracking teams in these situations ahead of time can give you an edge on other fantasy GMs by knowing who on the roster stands to benefit from a transaction. Think of the fantasy value that has opened up in Memphis and Detroit the past two seasons as a result of major roster overhaul.

Murray and White are two players that already show a promising fantasy profile and have a 20.5 and 17.5 usage rate, respectively. If Aldridge and DeRozan leave San Antonio through trade or free agency, Murray and White would be good bets to be mid-round players if they stay and soak up the minutes and usage left behind.

Other younger players on the roster worth watching are Jakob Poeltl and Lonnie Walker IV. Poeltl has low upside but could carve out late-round value in standard leagues as a specialist for rebounds, field goal percentage and blocks. The Spurs drafted Walker with the 18^th pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, but he hasn’t been given an extended opportunity yet. He spent much of his rookie season in the G-League and played 6.9 minutes per game in the 17 contests he appeared in. So far this season, he’s played 14.5 minutes per game in 53 games, averaging 5.6 points, 2.2 rebounds and 0.5 threes while shooting .434 from the field and .408 from deep. It’s hard to judge him on his limited playing time, but he’s a score-first player that would fit well next to Murray or White.

Dynasty-league GMs that are rebuilding for the future should pay attention to Spurs moving forward. Watching the moves that the front office makes and paying attention to the players on their roster can help you identify who you can get for a discount in your league, and the season so far suggests Murray and White fit in that category.

The Warriors’ dynasty is done, the Lakers and Clippers have added major starpower, the Rockets reunited old friends and the Jazz have finally added an elite point guard to the mix. That, and there’s plenty of young teams gunning to assert themselves, ranging from current contenders like Denver to up-and-comers like Sacramento and Dallas. Despite all the player movemnt this summer, the West reigns supreme in terms of quality and it figures to be a dogfight as teams jockey for playoff spots, let alone seeding.

True superteams may be gone for the moment but there are more than enough dynamic duos to tide us over in a season that figures to be pretty unpredictable.

Dallas Mavericks

Fifth and final starter

Delon Wright, Luka Doncic, Kristaps Porzingis and Dwight Powell appear to be locked in as four of the Mavs’ starters. The versatility of that group means that Dallas can go in a couple of different directions with the last starting spot.

If Doncic ends up playing shooting guard the Mavs have a few intriguing small forward options. Justin Jackson got the nod in the team’s first preseason game, but he’s never really emerged as an impact player despite providing passable, invisible minutes. Rick Carlisle favorite Dorian Finney-Smith has held down the starting role in the past but the Mavs may want to maximize his utility as a do-it-all bench option.

If shooting guard is the open spot and Doncic starts at the three, Tim Hardaway Jr., who is recovering from another stress reaction in his left leg, might be the choice. He would also be a valuable primary scorer for a second unit, however, and might not have the defensive chops to fill a complementary 3-and-D role alongside high-usage stars as a starter. Seth Curry or Jalen Brunson could start if the Mavs want a two-PG look, and Wright’s defensive versatility would make it a workable situation.

Denver Nuggets

What’s on the table for Will Barton?

This probably isn’t what Will Barton envisioned when he signed a four-year, $53 million contract. Elevated into the starting lineup, Will The Thrill’s 2018-19 season was marred by an early injury and he was unable to find a rhythm on a well-oiled machine of a Nuggets team after returning in the midst of a tight playoff race. That injury, of course, allowed players like Malik Beasley and Torrey Craig to step up and cement themselves as real contributors, which leads us to today.

Craig is rumored to be the favorite to start at small forward and is a nice defensive fit with Denver’s four obvious starters. While the competition is still on, Barton may be used in the super-sub sixth man role that led to his big contract in the first place.

The question for Denver probably lies further in the future – with cheaper alternatives in relative abundance, the Nuggets already over the cap and set to watch Jerami Grant, Beasley, Craig, Juancho Hernangomez and Mason Plumlee hit free agency, how much can they afford to allocate to Barton? Keep an eye on his deployment throughout the exhibition slate. The Nuggets undoubtedly believe in him as a player but there are plenty of other paths for the team to take if Barton can’t recapture his old form.

Golden State Warriors

How do the Warriors reshuffle their defense?

As you might’ve heard, the Warriors will look different this season. Though D’Angelo Russell won’t be a straight replacement for Klay Thompson on offense (something we’ll dig into more closely soon), the big questions come on the defensive side of the floor.

The Klay-Russell swap is a massive downgrade there, but Golden State will also be without Kevin Durant’s endless length and Andre Iguodala’s institutional knowledge. Sacramento soured on Willie Cauley-Stein because of his defensive lapses. A team whose defensive units used to move on a string will be decidedly different this year.

Add in the potential need for Golden State to work rest into Draymond Green’s schedule, and we might see some very funky lineups over the course of the season. Keep an eye on how players like Cauley-Stein, Alfonzo McKinnie and Jacob Evans hang on defense in the preseason, otherwise we might see Steve Kerr engage in some schematic retooling.

Houston Rockets

Do the Rockets have a real bench or just situational contributors?

The Rockets continue to swing big, this time swapping Chris Paul for Russell Westbrook. Although they continue to boast one of the league’s most talented backcourt, one can’t help but wonder whether the depth problem will rear its ugly head once again.

Last season Houston dealt with a number of injuries that left them severely shorthanded in the early going, and although the Westbrook-Paul exchange should generally ensure fewer missed games, the Rockets’ bench isn’t exactly a strength.

The group of Austin Rivers, Gerald Green, Gary Clark, Thabo Sefolosha, Tyson Chandler and Nene has plenty of weak spots. Though their minutes will be limited in the postseason, can the Rockets assemble a cohesive bench unit that can get them through the regular season without leaving the starters overtaxed? It’s easy to think of scenarios where each of those bench players can play an important role, but there aren’t a ton of second-unit groups that you can throw out comfortably in any matchup. Anyone who can turn in a strong preseason might be able to distance themselves from the pack for a team that’s dying for secondary contributors.

LA Clippers

Landry Shamet’s point guard minutes

Doc Rivers has cited Landry Shamet’s past work as a lead guard when discussing the fact that Shamet will play some point guard this season. The uncertainty of Paul George’s timeline means that the Clippers will be down one of their primary ball-handlers for at least the first few games of the year, and that’s not inconsequential on a team with one true point guard.

Lou Williams can handle some of those minutes behind Patrick Beverley but he’s better suited in a scoring role. The Clippers have already been forced to get a little creative, letting rookie Terance Mann play backup point guard in training camp as well as the preseason opener. If Shamet can play a capable PG, that would certainly ease the burden on everyone else. Any value that Shamet provides beyond spacing will count as a major win.

Los Angeles Lakers

What does Dwight Howard have left?

After a nine-game campaign and dwindling on-court effectiveness in the years prior, it’s safe to declare Dwight Howard a completely unknown quantity. The Lakers seem to be going out of their way to replace JaVale McGee after a surprisingly productive season, and the Howard move and reported camp battle is the largest affront in a series of decisions.

If Howard can still play, even in a 20-minute role, and that’s a big ‘if,’ he’ll give the Lakers an athletic rim-runner that provides a big boost on the glass. That’s not inconsequential for a team that had to add the ancient Tyson Chandler last season. If he can’t, it’ll be a lot of unnecessary drama for nothing. It should be interesting to see how Howard is used, and how much he can make of his time on the floor.

Memphis Grizzlies

Can Brandon Clarke force his way in?

Ever since the draft, Brandon Clarke has been impossible to ignore. He was borderline dominant in Summer League and has continued to impress throughout training camp, and the rebuilding Grizzlies have to be overjoyed with his play so far. If there’s one dark cloud on the horizon for Clarke it’s that Memphis has two frontcourt pillars in Jaren Jackson Jr. and Jonas Valanciunas locked into the starting five.

Although JV may not be a 30-minute per night player, he will start, and he will be a featured offensive player when he is on the floor. That, plus the presence of power forward types in Jae Crowder and Bruno Caboclo, will put playing time pressure on Clarke as he tries to carve out a role. That won’t be a monumental task given Clarke’s play so far and Memphis’ trajectory, but he can start to explore his ceiling quickly with a big preseason.

Minnesota Timberwolves

Robert Covington: Power Forward?

The Wolves are prepared to hand the starting shooting guard job to either Jarrett Culver or Josh Okogie, which will push everyone down a position. Barring a stunning bench demotion for Andrew Wiggins, that means we’re looking at Robert Covington opening the season as Minnesota’s starting power forward.

With the backdrop of Covington’s balky knees, it’s going to be a big challenge for a player who might need to add a little muscle to make it work in every possible matchup. Additionally, that might be suboptimal deployment for a player who has proven to be an All-NBA defender at the wing position. It’s at least a worthy experiment for a team that’s unlikely to make the playoffs while trying to find proper complements for Karl-Anthony Towns.

New Orleans Pelicans

Who loses out on the wings?

There’s an undeniable sense of excitement around the Pelicans this season as David Griffin has done his best to put together a roster that will thrive in an up-tempo attack. Though most of the attention has rightfully fallen to Zion Williamson, New Orleans is facing a bit of a logjam with all of their new acquisitions.

This is Jrue Holiday’s team, which means he’s locked into big minutes split between point guard and shooting guard. With Lonzo Ball in town, he’s likely to start at point guard, with Holiday opening games at the two. That figures to leave J.J. Redick out in the cold, unless the Pelicans opt to go super-small and move Brandon Ingram to the bench. Any way you slice it, someone who is used to starting will be forced to come off the bench. While you’re watching Zion jam on everyone, remember to keep an eye on Alvin Gentry’s rotations.

Oklahoma City Thunder

Andre Roberson

The Thunder have plenty of minutes available on the wings, which means that a healthy Roberson will have a great opportunity to reestablish himself as an elite defender. It has been over a year since he took the court thanks to a devastating injury and multiple setbacks, but his health could have a surprisingly large effect on the bottom half of the playoff bracket.

If the Thunder focus more on development than scrapping for a low playoff spot, Roberson’s presence can still help the team in a number of ways. Perhaps he plays himself into the team’s future plans, with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander likely to slide back over to point guard as soon as Chris Paul leaves town (if not before). It’s possible that Roberson becomes a sought-after trade target as the arms race develops, with contenders itching to acquire a lockdown defender. Above all else, it’ll just be good to see him back on the court – it’s hard to root against someone so close to the end of an arduous road.

Phoenix Suns

Power forward battle

The Suns and a faint sense of hope: a tradition like no other. Phoenix went out and added a real point guard, as well as one of the top coaches on the market. Forward progress is being made but there remain a lot of questions to be answered about the team’s power forward rotation, and while there are a couple sensible choices there are a few options that would be Classic Suns.

In all likelihood the job will fall to either Dario Saric or Mikal Bridges. Young, talented players with versatility and upside. Perfect! With Kelly Oubre Jr. at small forward, however, it’s going to be a cramped rotation with these three, who would all benefit from extended minutes. That’s all well and good but the Suns also reached on forward Cam Johnson in the first round, and the organization may force him onto the floor to try and prove outsiders wrong. Mix in talk that newcomers Frank Kaminsky and Cheick Diallo could play some power forward as well (with Deandre Ayton and Aron Baynes consuming the entire center rotation), and it quickly becomes a mess.

Saric and Bridges need as much playing time as possible, but will they get it? And who will get the lion’s share? If Saric can take advantage of Bridges’ knee bone bruise, he can right the ship after a rocky campaign split between Philly and Minnesota.

Portland Trail Blazers

Reworking the forward rotation

The Blazers surprised pundits yet again last season, making it all the way to the Western Conference Finals despite losing Jusuf Nurkic amidst an outstanding campaign. While Portland will always carry a chip on its shoulder, it’s tough to see them authoring a repeat performance – even if Hassan Whiteside shows up on his best behavior and blossoms. Though most of the talk is centered on the improvement of other teams, the Blazers have some serious questions to answer at the forward positions.

Between Al-Farouq Aminu, Moe Harkless and Jake Layman, the Blazers will need to fill 70 minutes per game and 167 combined starts, exclusively at small forward and power forward. The addition of Kent Bazemore figures to help, though he has a mixed track record of success as a small forward. In 2015-16, he played 79% of his minutes at SF and was solid with 11.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.5 threes per game on .441 from the field and a plus-2.3 net rating.

The following year saw him take a step back with 58% of his minutes coming at SF, as he produced averages of 11.0 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.7 threes on .409 from the field with a minus-1.7 net rating. Bazemore has primarily been a shooting guard since, only appearing as a small forward in 4% of his minutes last season per Basketball-Reference.

The largely untested Zach Collins is expected to start at power forward, and teams will be targeting him as a perimeter defender early and often. Offensively, his .331 mark from distance falls short of Aminu’s .343 mark, and teams will probably dare him to become a volume 3-point shooter with Whiteside dominating the interior. Behind Collins and Bazemore are Rodney Hood, Mario Hezonja and Anthony Tolliver. Portland will be tested against the West’s all-world collection of small forwards and Terry Stotts might need to get creative.

Sacramento Kings

Trevor Ariza’s playing time

For the second straight season, Ariza has chosen to sign on with a team in the bottom half of the West. Last season you could make the case that he was trying to combine a big paycheck with his playing time needs, but this year looks like the beginning of a steep decline. The Kings have added a couple centers and re-signed Harrison Barnes to start at small forward, and Ariza will not be a threat to Marvin Bagley’s minutes at power forward.

Ariza has not averaged fewer than 33.9 mpg since an injury-plagued 2012-13 season, and was over 32.9 mpg in the three seasons prior to that. Unless Luke Walton shoehorns him into a rotation at the expense of younger players (which has caused rifts with Sacramento’s front office in the past), Ariza is going to have to accept a drastically diminished role. That can be a tough adjustment for a guy who can clearly still handle big minutes, as well as one who may be more of a natural fit at small forward than a higher-paid teammate. Keep an eye on how Walton juggles the forward group.

San Antonio Spurs

Poeltl Power

Jakob Poeltl’s season featured plenty of ups and downs. A training camp battle for the starting center spot didn’t go his way, and he would actually sit out three of the Spurs’ first six games, logging just 54 seconds in one of those appearances. Through the end of January Poeltl averaged 14.7 minutes per game. For a player who was thought of as the sort of cerebral hard worker that would fit the San Antonio system, it was a struggle.

Poeltl was able to gain some traction in the wake of Pau Gasol’s foot injury and subsequent release, averaging 19.7 minutes (and 1.3 blocks per game) from February onwards. Though he may always have trouble defending larger players, Poeltl has great rebounding and rim-protecting instincts and can move in space better than a lot of his peers. If he can hit the ground running this season it would be a big development for the Spurs, and it could even be his ticket to the starting lineup. Last season Poeltl averaged 3.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 0.2 blocks in 17.4 mpg through five preseason contests – let’s see if he can do better this time around.

Utah Jazz

Defensive drop-off?

The Jazz are undoubtedly a title contender after adding Mike Conley and Bojan Bogdanovic to round out what was already a strong core. They’re far more dangerous offensively and now have a number of ways to topple opponents rather than grinding them down on defense and leaning on Donovan Mitchell for scoring. Although Utah will still hang its hat on defense, this offseason did bring some changes that could leave the Jazz somewhat exposed.

That largely occurs at the power forward spot, where an effective thunder and lightning combo of Derrick Favors and Jae Crowder has been replaced by Jeff Green and some miscast players. Beyond Green, the most likely candidates to see meaningful minutes at the four are Royce O’Neale, Bojan Bogdanovic and Joe Ingles. Though Basketball-Reference credits Ingles with 66% of his minutes at the four spot last season, Bogdanovic and O’Neale check in at 4% and 2%, respectively. With rumors of Ingles moving to a sixth man role so Bogdanovic can start, that would put a pretty heavy burden on either the 33-year-old Green or a player who has extremely limited experience.

Quin Snyder is one of the league’s top coaches and there are few doubts that the Jazz will get it figured out, but the team’s defense might not be on autopilot this season. The preseason should be illuminating in terms of how that unit will need to adjust.