Nba preview, Southwest division: Dallas favorita

Doncic, Williamson, Morant and Wembanyama. Southwest presents itself as an intriguing and uncertain Division, with young and spectacular stars, a poker of aces with few rivals looking to the near future. The five teams that will battle between Texas, Louisiana and Tennessee are not only ambitious, but prospective. The impression is that the best is yet to come for all of them, that this is only the appetizer of even more important challenges to come. Dallas emerged from the playoff battles of the Wild West last season so it starts ahead of the competition, with a blond Slovenian prophet to follow to get to the top of the basketball world, but beware that the hierarchies are more fluid than it might seem after the first look.

THE QUINTET – Doncic, Irving, THOMPSON, Washington, Lively. Prime riserve: DINWIDDIE, MARSHALL, Kleber, Gafford.

THE COACH – Jason Kidd (confirmed).

THE STAR – Nothing ever goes right with Doncic. He is asked for the moon. In America they massacred him after the Finals, as if having dragged a team well beyond its limits without the chassis to get to the end had been normal. Had to, even. He doesn’t defend enough, he’s overweight, too solo, they say. Meh. There is perhaps only one other Balkan talent better in the world than him with a basketball in his hand today: Jokic. And Luka is just 25 years old. In Slovenia they don’t fall for the trap: Doncic, first All NBA quintet in 2024, was even preferred to Tadej Pogacar as home athlete of the year.

ACQUISITIONS – Klay Thompson, the Splash Brother, Curry’s perimeter benchmate in Golden State, pouted, put his foot down and left California to look for someone who appreciates the twilight version of him. Thompson in, Derrick Jones out. The Mavs are stronger, right? Slowly, don’t run. Thompson by name, past and fundamentals is several categories above who he replaces, but will he be more useful on the board than Kidd? It’s not a given. He doesn’t defend like in the good old days anymore, so who defends on the outside? Spencer Dinwiddie is a slightly weaker return horse, Naji Marshall will be invaluable for his flexibility.

SEASONAL OBJECTIVE – Title. Because when you’ve just played the Finals, that’s the next step, of course. And Doncic and Lively are young, with enormous room for growth. But the 2024 playoffs were the perfect storm for Dallas.

THE QUINTET – MURRAY, McCollum, Ingram, Williamson, Mississippi. Prime reserve: Alvarado, Murphy, H. Jones.

THE COACH – Willie Green (confirmed).

THE STAR – Zion Williamson. Do you believe it? The No. 1 pick of the 2019 draft is the only lottery pick that year in the top 14 who has yet to play a playoff game. Never. Yet he remains a unique talent in terms of physical characteristics and type of game, with few antidotes. He must stay healthy and to do so, adjust his lifestyle off the pitch. He tries, it seems. Will he succeed?

ACQUISITIONS – Dejounte Murray is a reinforcement that automatically makes the Pels better than last season. And it allows McCollum to play in his natural role, as a scorer. However, Atlanta was willing to deprive itself of him because they didn’t imagine him being at the center of the project, playing as a complement to Zion and Ingram is his ideal size. Yves Missi, pick 21 of the 2024 draft, risks becoming the starting center. Role with sleeves too big for him. Valanciunas will be missed.

SEASONAL OBJECTIVE – Playoffs. They closed the 2023-24 campaign with an impressive record, 49-33, but, as in the semifinals of the NBA cup, at the best moment they collapsed, swept away 0-4 in the playoffs by Oklahoma City. They must grow in reliability.

THE QUINTET – Morant, Smart, Bane, Jackson, EDEY. Prime riserve: Kennard, Aldama, Clarke.

THE COACH – Taylor Jenkins (confirmed).

THE STAR – Ja Morant. He played just 9 games last season. The suspension, the injury, everything happened to him. Will it have taught him a lesson? He is 25 years old and has limitless talent, points in his hands, athleticism, vision of the game, but he must learn to understand the moments of the game without always going at a thousand miles per hour. To slow down for Edey, for the good of the team. If he does, he becomes a phenomenon.

ACQUISITIONS – Zach Edey. Canadian giant of 224 centimeters, the best university player of the last two seasons. He scores, he rebounds, he stops. But with his own rhythms, with a Jokic cadence. He may suffer on defense if taken to the perimeter, but what the number 9 pick in the 2024 draft can give is much more than he takes away.

SEASONAL OBJECTIVE – Playoffs. Last season was a debacle, the 27-55 record is testament to that. But it all went wrong. The horizons have changed: Marcus Smart returns from injury, Morant is now here, Edey has arrived. And GG Jackson promises well.

THE QUINTET – Van Vleet, Green, Brooks, Smith, Sengun. Prime riser: SHEPPARD, Thompson, ADAMS.

THE COACH – Making Udoka (confirmato).

THE STAR – Alperen Sengun. The 22-year-old Turk continues the tradition of the great international NBA centers. The third most improved player last season, he averaged 21 points while shooting 54% from the field. Just the beginning. In 12 months we could talk about it again by putting it in the same sentence with Doncic, Zion, Morant and Wemby.

ACQUISITIONS – Reed Sheppard. The guard called no. 3 in the 2024 draft, from Kentucky University, made a great impression in Summer League. Son of art, excellent instincts, enviable technique, the right mind to excel. He must grow as a playmaker, he has mainly played as a guard up to now. The shot ensures him space: ready immediately.

SEASONAL OBJECTIVE – Playoffs. Last season’s 41-41 record bodes well. Because Jabari Smith is ready to make the leap in quality and Sengun to become an All Star. But the competition in the West is tremendous and Jalen Green is pure talent, but not always reliable. So it lasts.

THE QUINTET – PAUL, Vassell, BARNES, Sochan, Wembanyama. Prime riserve: Jones, CASTLE, Johnson, Collins.

THE COACH – Gregg Popovich (confirmed).

THE STAR – Victor Wembanyama. Who else? The first call of the 2023 draft, then freshman of the year, at the Paris Games showed that he can make the difference even when the games count, not only when they are individual performances as happened to him in his first year at the Spurs, who were not competitive . An epochal talent, he must remain healthy and down to earth. Not easy when you jump as much as him.

ACQUISITIONS – Chris Paul. Yes, he is 39 years old. He sees the finishing line now. But it will be Wemby’s ideal springboard on the parquet and in the locker room it will help the many young Spurs understand what it takes to break into the NBA. At the CP3 workshop you just need to keep your eyes open to “steal” the tricks of the trade.

SEASONAL OBJECTIVE – Play-ins. Maybe that’s too much to ask. But with veterans Paul and Barnes in the quintet and Wemby improving game after game, the Texans seem to have rediscovered the physiognomy of a true team. Stephon Castle was a great draft pick. Not yet the shooter he will become, but he defends, is physical and competes.