OKC – didn’t play well, but showcased a lot of depth. However, I’m not sure that any of their players truly improved and they didn’t add any major pieces. Chet had a good stat line, but I’d say that he had two good streaks with a lot of mid in between. The double teams of SGA to force someone else to shoot is a model for other teams to follow, though. I think Houston would’ve won that game with some moderately competent point guard play and less dumb KD plays at the end of the game. OKC is a top 3-4 team, but they feel more reachable than last year. I also think their whistle in Game 1 was a little different than last year, in that it wasn’t as forgiving of their antics.

Houston – Without FVV, they’re going to be a mess. Amen Thompson took a lot of outside shots, but seemed to get down on himself when he kept missing.They’ll rise or fall with that outside shot. KD worked way too hard in Game 1, and he really can’t be your first or second best player to truly compete in the West. Houston probably wins if Thompson was able to play later into Q4 and OT. Still, it’s hard for me to see that team as a true top 4 threat, though I’ll say that Sengun played a great game and shot that 3 ball with a lot of confidence.

Lakers – A mess. I actually had a chance to see them at a live practice that a friend of mine invited me to. Luka/Lebron didn’t participate and my impression then of the rest of the squad was that this team lacked real talent outside of Austin Reaves. Ayton struck me with this ‘i really don’t know about that guy’ vibe and it showed. They’re so bad defensively and they just lack quality without Lebron covering up and patch working around all of their flaws. I don’t see that team making the top 6.

Warriors – Really savvy and better balanced starting 5 w/Kuminga, but they lack size in the middle, and I don’t think they have great depth. They will beat a lot of bad and tired teams and get to 50 wins but they are not better than OKC/DEN/LAC.