Tale Of Two Cities Case Analysis

Robin Lopez (center) just recently signed with the New York Knicks, leaving the team without its top interior defender. Robin Lopez is the most replaceable out of the group, however, he was a great contributor to this team. He rebounded well for them last season and played great defense, but the Blazers can still find a replacement.

While this is a team moving to a new city that recently hired a new head coach, there are several intriguing defensive pieces for Bradley to work with.

The 76ers will already improve with a lottery pick(Jahlil Okafor) starting for them next year. Jahlil Okafor was the third pick in the 2015 NBA draft and many consider him to be a potential All-Star. Pairing him with Nerlens Noel, who had an impressive rookie season, would give the Sixers a formidable frontcourt. They have the potential to be the next dynamic front court duo, similar to Tim Duncan and David Robinson.

As one of the leagues most exciting young team Gordon hopes to make a huge imprint on the Magic and take them back to the NBA playoffs.

The Heat brought back 11 players from last season and is hoping to build off of the second half of last season 30-11 record success.

All of that and the thought that the franchise made a lateral move at the draft is a bit premature and I'm partially to blame as well. I hadn't been too high on Jahlil Okafor in the pre-draft process, ranking him fifth on my big board, a decision the Sixers hope looks hilariously awful in just a few short seasons, playing up his defensive limitations and woes from the charity stripe and overlooking his deft footwork around the rim.

Going into the season we would not be surprised to see Cleveland against Boston. However, as the playoffs were set to start we thought that there was a very small chance that both the Celtics and the Cavaliers would face off in a rematch of last years Eastern Conference Finals. That thought was strengthened after the Cavaliers struggled into game 7 against the Pacers. Despite this so-called diversity that these two teams have had to experience, here we are with LeBron trying to extend his consecutive NBA Finals appearances to 8, and the Celtics to defy all odds once again and advance to the finals without there star player Irving.

The Rangers might be the biggest regression candidate this year. They are a perennial playoff team—they’ve

The Milwaukee Bucks continue to struggle at the start of the regular season. And it seems that they are going to rebuild early on and unload some assets. Rumors are now spreading that they will finally trade Greg Monroe this time and looks that he is on his way to the Boston Celtics.

Kaminsky, however, was not consistent with scoring and rebounding last year and that will have to improve. He more than likely will move into the starting lineup at center. Kaminsky will also need to step up the rebounding numbers as he only averaged 4 rebounds a game. This offseason it was reported that Kaminsky added some more muscle which will hopefully help him in the post this year. “Frank the Tank” showed flashes of being able to the shoot the short/mid-range jump shot and hopefully he has developed somewhat of a game in the low post. With Tyler Zeller backing him up or even possibly playing alongside of him with the second unit, his rebounding and scoring in the post will be needed. Kaminsky will also be looking to improve on the 41% FG shooting, which for a seven footer is fairly poor. This probably comes from fewer attempts near the basket and more jump-shots for a big man. Maybe Kaminsky adds to his strong showing in the playoffs last year as a confidence builder towards the regular season. The addition of Roy Hibbert along with starting power forward Marvin Williams should help provide the veteran big man leadership he will need going forward this

Starting guard Isaiah Thomas finished the game with a game-high 23 points and forward Evan Turner contributed with 17 points and team-high seven assists to lead the Celtics to its third straight win in a row.

His performance in Long Island caught the eye of the Mavericks' front office brass as they brought him in and signed him to a 10-day contract. Ferrell has not disappointed and proved he belonged in the NBA on Friday night. Against Portland, Ferrell led the charge on offense for Dallas, knocking down 9-of-11 from three-point range, en route to a career-high 32 points.

With the big offseason acquisition of Al Horford, the Celtics are hoping to change their recent playoff history; the last two seasons have been two one-and-done, getting swept by the Cavaliers and losing to the Hawks in six respectively.

The 76ers continues to struggle in the ongoing season. Losing their last 4 games, they are holding a 4-14 record and now at the bottom of the Eastern Conference division. It seems that they are decided to trade Noel to acquire a more capable player in return and could change their fortunes in the ongoing season.

4) Brandon Jennings - Having a legit starting PG is crucial to being competitive in the NBA but having a legit backup PG can lead to success into the playoffs. (Ask the Warriors). Brandon Jennings has been the heart of this team. Every time he comes off the bench the energy and flow of game changes immediately. Coach Hornacek needs to find better combinations of players to have on the floor with Jennings. He constantly wants to push the pace, which is a great change from the slow it down game that Melo and Rose want to