It’s the holiday season! And even though we were just here, the NBA season is about to be underway. And with it, comes #TheNU presenting the 11th NBA Lightweight Report!
This will be a complicated season due to the coronavirus pandemic. As usual, the Lightweight Report is here to drop tasteful takes that will have to hold up for the entire season, because I’m not about changing things up after I make initial predictions:
NBA previewing does not require as much science. The NFL schedule is a significant variable in a team’s success. Everyone plays everyone in the NBA, so the best teams win. Alas, there’s the caveat with the “team” parts of things. In the NFL, teams (and their coaching staffs) are pretty much set for the season. In the NBA, things change constantly: Stars get traded, injuries and transactions can completely remake a team, and coaches and even general managers can lose their job with as little as a bad 16-game streak. Nobody is safe in the NBA!
Every NBA Lightweight Report ever
I hope to be around throughout the NBA season to lay out how each team is progressing after 16, 32, 48, 64 and …72 games. That’s right, the pandemic has shortened the regular season, and the NBA only released the schedule for the First Half of the slate. The Second Half may include postponed games from the First Half, and there’s a chance that some of those games don’t even get to be rescheduled! Not a great year for logistics. With that set, here are the expected dates for these reports:
- START (January 24)
- NEW YEAR (February 24)
- ALL-STAR BREAK/MIDSEASON (March)
- POST-TRADE DEADLINE (April)
- END (May 16)
For this Lightweight Report, we’re going back to the basics. I’ll share the grades for every team, by division. (Check the footnote here for the explainer!) 1
As for the individual teams! I have ranked them by Conference standing, and I will link out to the rotation chart that I spent the preseason threading together. Each team’s “lightweight report” will look like this:
We're 15 days away from real NBA time so we're gonna get into these changes here. Two a days for yas.
— Law Murray ? (@LawMurrayTheNU) December 7, 2020
Starting with the Golden State Warriors. The floor should be higher with Oubre, Bazemore, Wiseman and Wanamaker. Ceiling lowered with Thompson out. Center is a toss up for now. pic.twitter.com/rrTSiT5Jux
Finally, I have to acknowledge that most teams won’t have fans in the arena. And the Toronto Raptors are starting the season in Tampa, FL, due to the pandemic. The safety measures will result in some lonely buildings in what has been a lonely year. Hopefully this season stays on track.
| ATLANTIC | CENTRAL | SOUTHEAST |
| Raptors (#1E) | Bucks (#6E) | Heat (#2E) |
| Nets (#3E) | Pacers (#10E) | Wizards (#7E) |
| Celtics (#4E) | Bulls (#13E) | Hawks (#8E) |
| 76ers (#5E) | Pistons (#14E) | Magic (#9E) |
| Knicks (#12E) | Cavaliers (#15E) | Hornets (#11E) |
| EAST 7-8 PLAY-IN | EAST 9-10 PLAY-IN | EAST 8-9 PLAY-IN |
| WAS over ATL | ORL over IND | ATL over ORL |
| EAST QUARTERS | EAST SEMIS | EAST FINALS |
| TOR over ATL | ||
| MIA over WAS | TOR over BOS | |
| BRK over MIL | BRK over MIA | |
| BOS over PHI | ||
| BRK over TOR |
| NORTHWEST | PACIFIC | SOUTHWEST |
| Nuggets (#6W) | Lakers (#1W) | Mavericks (#4W) |
| Jazz (#7W) | Suns (#2W) | Spurs (#5W) |
| Trail Blazers (#12W) | Clippers (#3W) | Rockets (#10W) |
| Timberwolves (#13W) | Warriors (#8W) | Pelicans (#11W) |
| Thunder (#15W) | Kings (#9W) | Grizzlies (#14W) |
| WEST 7-8 PLAY-IN | WEST 9-10 PLAY-IN | WEST 8-9 PLAY-IN |
| UTA over GS | SAC over HOU | GS over SAC |
| WEST QUARTERS | WEST SEMIS | WEST FINALS |
| LAL over GS | ||
| UTA over PHO | LAL over DAL | |
| DEN over LAC | UTA over DEN | |
| DAL over SA | ||
| LAL over UTA |
| ROY CHA PG LaMelo Ball | 6MOY TOR SG Norman Powell |
| COY LAL HC Frank Vogel | EOY LAL GM Rob Pelinka |
| MIP LAL SF Kyle Kuzma | DPOY LAL PF Anthony Davis |
| MVP DAL PG Luka Doncic | FMVP LAL SF LeBron James |