Aside from a key injury – the loss of Fred VanVleet is a killer for the Rockets – and endless speculation – no, Jayson Tatum is not “superhuman,” as a national network suggested the other night – it takes Caitlin Clark-type vision to glean much of anything from the NBA preseason.
Luckily, with these new binoculars, I can see the terrain with the best of them.
And what I’ve seen this preseason – in small doses, mind you – are three teams that are going to surprise a lot of people this year.
That’s not necessarily good news for hardcore basketball fans, who have come to despise two of those franchises in recent years and believe the third team resides in Maine.
Let’s examine…
Boston Celtics
It took the new club about 11 minutes to answer one of the biggest questions of the preseason: Will the Celtics be demoralized by Tatum’s absence?
When Jaylen Brown commanded the basketball — previously banned with Tatum on the floor — and scored 15 points in a 33-22 season-opening surge, the answer was clear: Are you kidding? These guys will take inspiration from it.
Especially Brown, who has lived uncomfortably in Tatum’s immense shadow for the past eight seasons.
Brown clearly enjoyed his first experience without the chains. He’s been the driving force behind a Celtics pass-and-shoot offense that will replace — for a while at least — Tatum’s dribble-dominated repeat fest.
It’s already clear that the Celtics will be more of a team this season. Sure, one without Jrue Holiday, Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis, but they also retained a high-level complement to Brown in Derrick White and a true point guard in Payton Pritchard. And get this: They will actually put big men near the hoop and employ a defensive stopper who will make a difference now that Jordan Walsh has a shot.
Boston should be barely a .500 team this season, but that’s clearly the projection of someone caught up in the Tatum headlines and thinking he might be back by Thanksgiving.
The longer he is out, the more likely a 50-win season becomes.
Warriors of the Golden State
May 8, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States; Golden State Warriors forward Jonathan Kuminga (00) looks to pass the ball over Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert (27) in the first half in game two of the second round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images When the Warriors first took the court this month, it was against a Lakers team that had LeBron James and Luka Doncic on the sideline. Inspired by just seeing “Lakers” on the jersey, Golden State responded with a 24-15 opening post.
You see, while the Warriors were ridiculed for their handling of the Jonathan Kuminga debacle and the Lakers were applauded for not forcing the Dodger Dogs into Doncic, Golden State went out quietly and made one of the biggest additions of the offseason in Horford, a glue piece in the Celtics’ recent success.
In San Francisco, he’ll join Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler III to give the Warriors — get this — one of the best on-court defenses in the NBA. James and Doncic surely noticed from their front row seats.
Talk in the West this offseason has focused on the Thunder’s likelihood of a repeat, the Nuggets’ improved depth putting Nikola Jokic back in championship contention, the addition of Kevin Durant to the prime-time-ready Rockets and, of course, subtracting Doncic from the roster.
Dallas has a difference-making rookie, San Antonio is ready to release arguably the best player in the league, the Clippers have Kawhi Leonard (or do they?)… and let’s not forget the Timberwolves.
So where do the Stephen Curry-led Warriors fall? With Butler ready to take on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Horford and Green ready to double-team Jokic, suffice it to say: The goal in Oklahoma City and Denver this season should be to avoid the Warriors in the West Semifinals.
Because the Warriors, one Curry injury away from the Western Final Four with a lesser team a year ago, will be there.
Portland Trail Blazers
April 1, 2025; Atlanta, Georgia, United States; Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija (8) and Toumani Camara (33) react late in the game against the Atlanta Hawks during the second half at State Farm Arena. Mandatory credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images A funny thing happened when the Trail Blazers debuted last week…four Chauncey Billups clones were introduced into the starting lineup. Such is the athleticism of Holiday, Shaedon Sharpe, Toumani Camara and Jerami Grant, all of whom have clearly done their homework on the style of play that made their coach a five-time All-Star who defended his Hall of Fame induction.
Although no one noticed it, the Trail Blazers were one of the most improved teams in the NBA last season, going from 21 to 36 wins in Billups’ fourth season at the helm.
Add in Scoot Henderson, now mentored by Damian Lillard, and Deni Avdija and you have the makings of 48 minutes of the best perimeter defense in the NBA. And behind that, few teams offer bigger rim protection obstacles than Donovan Clingan and Yang Hansen.
Keep an eye on Sharpe, who the Trail Blazers wisely retained in the Holiday trade (dealing with Anfernee Simons instead). After improving from 9.9 points per game to 15.9 to 18.5 over his three seasons, he is the NBA’s next 20-point leader and likely a first-time All-Star.
Unfortunately, this Portland is in Oregon, not Maine, where the Trail Blazers would qualify to be a top six team in the East. Even in the West, where they were 12th last season, it wouldn’t be surprising if they surpass the Suns and Kings and secure a play-in reward in April.
