As the dust settles on the 2018 NBA offseason’s biggest moves, we’re left with a slew of questions about this new basketball landscape. We saw one of the most talked-about draft-day trades in recent history for Luka Doncic, plus a trade saga unlike any other over Kawhi Leonard. (And then, you know, LeBron.) These are the topics we can’t stop thinking about as we bide our time till the 2019 season.
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2018 NBA Offseason: Are We Sure …
The offseason established a host of new story lines across the NBA that require closer inspection. Throughout August, we’re giving second thoughts to the most intriguing ones.
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August 31, 2018
Are We Sure … That We’ve Already Seen the Best of the Oklahoma City Thunder?
After two straight seasons of first-round disappointments in the postseason, the Thunder reemerge with one of their deepest rosters ever. With several notable key additions (and subtractions), perhaps this is the season a Russell Westbrook–led team will break through.
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August 29, 2018
Are We Sure … That the Bucks Aren’t a Finals Contender This Season?
Giannis is a year wiser and stronger, and Milwaukee just got him the ideal coach to take his game to yet another level. Even in the top-heavy Eastern Conference, that might be enough to make serious noise this season.
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August 28, 2018
Are We Sure … That We Shouldn’t Call It the South-least Division?
The Wizards are the only Southeast Division team that really tried to get better this offseason, and they did so by adding … Dwight Howard. What the heck is going on down south, and could it possibly be any worse?
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August 27, 2018
Are We Sure … That the NBA Hasn’t Passed Pat Riley By?
For two decades, the league’s Godfather figure has consistently kept Miami’s name in championship discussions. But in this strange new world of team-building that he helped usher in, can the Heat rise again?
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August 24, 2018
Are We Sure … That the Cavs Will Bottom Out?
Cleveland may have lost the best player on the planet … again. But unlike in 2010, these Cavs have enough left over to stay relevant in the East.
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August 22, 2018
Are We Sure … That Utah Isn’t the West’s Second-Best Team?
The Jazz sat out of the free-agent arms race, but the team they had last season may be good enough to emerge as the biggest challenge to Golden State
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August 20, 2018
Are We Sure … That the Lakers Won’t Trade for a Star This Season?
LeBron James and the Lakers front office are preaching patience, but if recent history has taught us anything, the non-King players on the team shouldn’t get too comfortable
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August 17, 2018
Are We Sure … That DeMarcus Cousins Won’t Ruin the Warriors?
Golden State may have formed an NBA Megazord … or created a whole new set of problems for itself
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August 15, 2018
Are We Sure … That the 2018-19 Pelicans Will Be Worse?
New Orleans’s offseason doesn’t jump off the page, but it might not matter. This could be the year Anthony Davis will enter the discussion about best player in the NBA, and the Pelicans will go as far as their superstar takes them.
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August 13, 2018
Are We Sure … That Devin Booker Is a Franchise Player?
The Suns made Booker the first max player of the 2015 draft class. Can he live up to the expectations that come along with all that cash?
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August 10, 2018
Are We Sure … That the Trail Blazers Need to Break Up Their Backcourt?
Portland has resisted any rallying calls to trade either Damian Lillard or C.J. McCollum. But has a deal become inevitable after a first-round playoff loss?
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August 8, 2018
Are We Sure … That the Rockets’ Championship Window Hasn’t Already Closed?
Chris Paul knows a thing or two about missed opportunities—he’s experienced them throughout the course of his career. Given how the West has shaped up, Houston’s place at the top of the conference might not last much longer.
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August 7, 2018
Are We Sure … That the Lakers Will Make the Playoffs?
LeBron James immediately changes the Lakers’ trajectory. But does his new team have enough to make it to the postseason in his first year in the deeper Western Conference?
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August 6, 2018
Are We Sure … That Markelle Fultz Can’t Be the Third Star in Philly?
The Sixers didn’t sign a star free agent and are instead hoping that the enigmatic former no. 1 pick can be their third star player alongside Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. Will Fultz realize his potential or will this be another lost season?
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August 3, 2018
Are We Sure … That the Raptors Aren’t the Favorites in the East?
Toronto took a big risk trading for Kawhi Leonard, but it could give the Raptors the edge they need to earn that elusive NBA Finals berth
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August 1, 2018
Are We Sure ... That the Hawks Know What They’re Doing?
Passing on Luka Doncic for Trae Young has put Atlanta’s rebuilding process under the microscope