NBA All-Around

This offseason has been insane. This man has now teamed up with Chris Paul to form the newest superteam in Houston, and just got a huge contract extension  (So look for Houston to be a contender for at least the next few years). Not only did Paul go to Houston, but Jimmy Butler went to Minnesota, Paul George went to Oklahoma City, and Gordon Hayward went to Boston. The Eastern Conference lost some of its talent, and now the two conferences are even more unbalanced. The Western Conference is now full of powerhouse teams, such as Golden State, Houston, and now even Minnesota. In this article, I'm going to go ahead and rank these teams based on how well I think they'll perform next season. 1.Golden State Warriors Honestly, who can compete with Golden State? They're coming off a championship run, they have 4 All-Stars (including 2 former MVPs and a Defensive Player of the Year), and they just got even better . The Warriors added Nick Young, Omri Casspi, and Jord...

In 2015, the Warriors won the NBA Finals and took the Larry O'Brien Trophy home to Oakland. In 2016, LeBron James and the Cavaliers came back from a 3-1 deficit to win a championship for the city of Cleveland. In 2017, the third episode of this historic rivalry will begin on June 1st. Will the team led by arguably the best shooter in NBA history (and 2-time MVP) in Stephen Curry and a prolific scorer (and 1-time MVP) in Kevin Durant prevail? Or will they be offset by one of the greatest players of all time (and 4-time MVP) LeBron James and his partner in crime, Kyrie Irving? Let's find out using  WhatIfSports's NBA SimMatchup Basketball Tool , which allows for simulations of real NBA games, with play-by-play summaries of every single one. Note: This simulation is the outcome projected by the NBA SimMatchup Tool, not my predicted outcome. Game 1 (Oracle Arena) This game had many lead changes, with the score being 58-53 at the half. However, Curry and Du...

Kevin Durant left Oklahoma City, a move which made the Warriors' fans ecstatic, left Thunder fans devastated, and the rest of the NBA furious. With Durant's departure, people are saying the Thunder have no chance of going to the Finals. However, Russell Westbrook disagrees, and so do I. Here is why I believe Russell Westbrook is going to have the best season of his career and win the MVP award along the way. 1. Westbrook's Mentality Russell Westbrook is known to be one of the most aggresive, reckless players in NBA history. Westbrook is one of the most competitive players of all time, and now, the fire has been ignited. With the pressure to prove that he can succeed without Durant, to prove that he is one of the best players in the NBA, and to prove that the Thunder are more than just a mediocre team, Westbrook will thrive. He will compete like he never has before, and that's scary. Personally, I believe that Westbrook, who is already one of the fiercest players in...

With the addition of Kevin Durant, the Warriors have become a "superteam." They've created one of the best lineups in NBA history, with arguably the two best shooters of all time in the backcourt, a superstar in Kevin Durant at small, and Draymond Green, the triple-double machine, at power forward. Thinking of past superteams, I think of LeBron James and the 2012-13 Miami Heat. Not only was their roster headed by one of the greatest NBA players of all time, they added a superstar Dwyane Wade, as well as the talented Chris Bosh. Not only that, they had Ray Allen coming off the bench, who is also one of the greatest shooters in NBA history. So which superteam wins? The one with potentially the best scoring lineup in NBA history, or the one headed by one of the greatest players of all time, backed up by a strong bench? Let's find out. We will be using  WhatIfSports's NBA SimMatchup Basketball Tool , which allows us to simulate games between NBA teams, also prov...

On June 19th, 2016, history was made. The team with the best regular season record in NBA history lost in the NBA Finals at the hands of LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. However, since that day, a lot has changed. Both teams have made moves in the offseason, with the most notable move being the Warriors acquiring superstar Kevin Durant, making them better than ever. If the Warriors and Cavaliers square off in the NBA Finals in 2017, can LeBron James still pull off a victory against Durant and the Warriors? Let's find out. We will be using WhatIfSport's NBA SimMatchup Basketball Tool , which allows us to simulate games between NBA teams. We will simulate a best of 7 series between the Warriors and Cavaliers. I have updated both teams' rosters to resemble their 2016-17 season rosters. Note: This simulation is the outcome projected by the NBA SimMatchup Tool, not my predicted outcome. Game 1 (Oracle Arena) The first game takes place in the Warriors' home ...

Kevin Durant, the #1 free agent this offseason, is a player which every team wants on their roster. This season, Durant averaged 28 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists a game. Durant is only 27 years old, and these next few years is when his talent will peak. So which team will Durant be on at the beginning of next season? Who will win the Kevin Durant Sweepstakes? Oklahoma City Thunder The Thunder, the team Durant is currently a part of, also want to keep the superstar. If Durant stays with the Thunder, he will make more money than he would with any other team, since the Thunder can offer him a 5-year maximum contract, allowing him to make more than $30,000,000 in each of the last two years of this contract. However, money does not seem to be Durant's priority; winning a championship does. Can the Thunder win a championship? If Durant is there, the answer is yes. Russell Westbrook is an All Star point guard, who almost averaged a triple double (24 points, 10 assists, and 8 reboun...