Chieftain Thanksgiving 2018 | Page 7

No Debate: Warriors Win it All However, NBA Eastern Conference is up for grabs By D Shaffer Chieftain Staff Much like the 2017-18 NBA Season, there isn’t much debate about who will be taking home the Larry O’Brien Championship trophy in June. The Golden State Warriors decided to make a move for Demarcus Cousins, who took a massive pay cut, hoping to make their Finals run even easier than it was before. If you like the Warriors right now, then I hope you’re a lifelong fan, because hopping on the Warriors bandwagon right now is the easiest ride in the world. Despite the Warriors making most NBA fans dislike them even more, there was one other big transaction that stands out to fans. DeMar DeRozan and Kawhi Leonard swapped teams -- Kawhi to the Raptors and DeMar to the Spurs -- and they have both gotten off Blake Griffi n is off to a hot start to very hot starts. barely played in college. The Nuggets Recently, too, the 76ers acquired look like a serious contender in the West Jimmy Butler, who whined about the Timberwolves until they decided to deal moving forward. On the opposite end, the Houston him out for Dario Saric and Robert Cov- Rockets have gotten off to a horrible ington. He will likely contribute heavily to the already strong roster of the Sixers; start, considering how good they were last year (65-17), and it’s probably be- the addition of Butler makes the 76ers a cause they acquired Carmelo Anthony. heavyweight in the Eastern Conference. Carmelo seems to destroy team chem- With all that being said, there have istry wherever he goes now, so it is no been some surprises in the young surprise to see him hurting the Rockets’ season. In the Western Conference, the Denver Nuggets have been per- forming extremely well under the leadership of Champions Nikola Jokić and Golden State Warriors Jamal Murray, who are both putting up nearly 20 points MVP per game. They Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks also have a strong veteran presence in Paul Millsap, Most Improved Player and people forget they have Isa- Bobby Portis, Bulls iah Thomas and Michael Porter, Jr., Rookie of the Year the 2017 Gatorade High School Player Trae Young, Hawks (right) of the Year who NBA Awards B R OTHE R R IC E H IG H S C H O O L C H I E F TA I N P AGE 7 record. Rumors are that the Rockets will waive Carmelo, so stay tuned. In the Eastern Conference, the Rap- tors have been nearly unstoppable under Leonard’s leadership. But the main story in the East is the Milwaukee Bucks. Giannis Antetokounmpo has gotten better every year he’s been in the NBA, and he is offi cially asserting himself as a top-3 player in the league this season. The East will be extremely fun to watch this year, as there is really no certainty as to who will make it to the Finals, unlike the West. Unsurprisingly, our Pistons have gotten off to yet another mediocre start. Maybe it’s the fact that they traded away half the team for Blake Griffi n, who has been very good so far this year. Considering that he has a contract that expires after the 2021-22 season and he is already 29, Griffi n’s return on last year’s blockbuster trade looks question- able at this point. But he has defi nitely impressed so far. The team as a whole has not been very good. Reggie Jackson thinks he runs the offense, but he is probably the third-best option, which hurts the team’s chemistry. Andre Drummond has been the same as he always has been: a strong rebounder but an incon- sistent scorer. Reggie Bullock has been pretty good, but Glenn Robinson III, whom the Pis- tons acquired in the off-season, has been very average. The Pistons will probably fi nish around .500 and squeak into the Playoffs, consid- ering there are only three or four teams competing for a top seed in the Eastern Con- ference, making it easier for the Pis- tons to potentially get an 8-seed. N O V E M B E R 2018