The NBA preseason can be a bit of a tease in that it provides us with our first glimpse of this year’s rosters but at the risk of reading too much in to what we see in games that really don’t actually matter. Everything we see in the preseason has to be taken with a grain of salt but with the regular season right around the corner, there might be legitimate reason to be concerned about at least a couple of things that we have seen.
Here is a look at the biggest surprise letdowns of the NBA preseason.
Early Returns For The Spurs
It might be only the preseason but the San Antonio Spurs look like a team that is built to underachieve based on sky-high expectations after the team went out and signed LaMarcus Aldridge and David West over the summer.
Aldridge, West, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Kawhi Leonard are the core group that is supposed to give San Antonio one more championship run and they certainly have the potential to do exactly that. However, the early returns haven’t been pretty with the Spurs averaging just 90 points per 100 possessions so far. San Antonio has lacked chemistry and it could take time for both Aldridge and West to make it work as they try to learn Gregg Popovich’s system on the fly.
The talent is certainly there but don’t expect the Spurs to absolutely dominate their opponents from the outset as it could take time for things to come together after so many changes this past offseason.
Butler-Rose Saga Continues
Speaking of uncertain situations, the Chicago Bulls are dealing with one of their own that could become a major problem as the relationship between Jimmy Butler and Derrick Rose remains on the rocks. Rumors began to surface after Chicago’s playoff exit last year that the two did not see eye-to-eye and there was a report in the Chicago Tribune in which Butler said that he would, “try to keep my cuss words to a minimum, but it’s making me mad.”
The reality is that the Bulls need both players healthy and playing at a high level in order to have any shot at making some noise in the Eastern Conference this season but with the rumors continuing to circle, it’s clear that this relationship is a rocky one at best.
Tristan Thompson’s Holdout
This has nothing to do with what we have seen and everything to do with what we haven’t. Tristan Thompson has continued his holdout from the Cleveland Cavaliers, although it looks like an end is in sight. The Cavaliers have reportedly pulled their initial five-year, $80 million offer but with Kyrie Irving still injured and Kevin Love not at full strength yet, they bumped the offer up to $82 million.
Thompson has said he wants to return to Cleveland but clearly only if the price is right and while the Cavaliers can still win in the regular season without him he would certainly take some of the pressure off of LeBron James and company if he could play. The Philadelphia 76ers and Portland Trail Blazers are the only teams with the money to outbid Cleveland for Thompson’s services but the more likely scenario is that the two sides hammer out the final technicalities and he returns to the team some time in October.
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Unlucky In New Orleans
This could be the year where Anthony Davis leads the Pelicans to a playoff round win but in order for that to happen, they will likely need to finish higher than the eighth seed. That will become even more difficult in the already loaded Western Conference if they can’t stay healthy.
New Orleans has been very unlucky this preseason with Alexis Ajinca sidelined by a hamstring injury, Norris Cole suffering a high ankle sprain, Eric Gordon battling back spasms and Jrue Holiday expected to have a minutes cap as he works his way back from a stress reaction in his right ankle, and now Tyreke Evans is expected to miss up to two months with a knee injury.
Factor in that Omer Asik is expected to start the year on the injured list with Davis playing minutes at the center position, and it’s clear that the Pelicans have been very unlucky with injuries taking their toll this preseason.
