Basketball, yes, finally.

I will write about 6 teams in two posts, randomly generated, and then trade talk. Here is the order: Raptors, Magic, Clippers, Thunder, Pacers and Knicks, all done by a random number generator.

Raptors: 7th in East. This is such a good roster. Kawhi Leonard was just a really good boost to send them to the Finals and win. Kawhi Leonard is criminally overrated, yeah, great defender, good scorer, ferocious muscles but he’s just a cog in a machine, not like LeBron to the Lakers, Cavs, and Heat. Yes, I know, after I said Tom Brady was washed, he went out and won his 7th Super Bowl as if saying, “HA, that’s for you, Yulian!” They are 7th in the East only because the East has emerged with some really big underdogs, like the Pacers and Knicks. Kyle Lowry and Fred Vanvleet make for the most underrated backcourt in the NBA. Vanvleet could play both guard spots but mostly plays the 2 even though he handles the ball really well and does so throughout the game. Kyle Lowry hasn’t really gotten much attention from the media because ESPN and SportsCenter mostly covered the NFL up until about a week ago and BleacherReport turned into OnlyLameloBallReport. Lowry is a productive scorer, not anything amazing because they do have a three headed monster (that’s he’s a part of) and they’re all pretty equal. Pascal Siakam could be moved to small forward, he has everything OG Anunoby has and more. That would free space for Aron Banes to come to PF and Chris Boucher to C. I love Chris Boucher, he is 6’9” and he rebounds like a 7’1” center and can shoot like a SF. Nick Nurse is an amazing coach, last year’s COTY and I love his style. The only flaw I see in this team is their bench. It’s weird, it doesn’t sit right with me. They have shooters but everyone needs to have one solid bench player to play through or a nine man rotation (so one starter is on the floor at all times), but even though the second one is harder, just get a good bench player. My prediction: 8th in the conference.

Orlando Magic: A good team, with a lot of hidden gems, whatever they shed in the offseason didn’t matter because the season is what sucked for them. So say they have been plagued by injuries would be an understatement, Jonathan Isaac, one of the most fun players to watch in the NBA, out for the season. They are playing without Markelle Fultz, Aaron Gordon and Cole Anthony. And, for the moment, without Evan Fournier, their role player shooting guard. They are playing with Michael Carter-Williams, a bust in the 2013 NBA Draft at PG, Terrence Ross, Dwayne Bacon, Gary Clark, and the only bright spot on this team, Nikola Vucevic. At full health, this team is amazing, but, realistically, no Jonathan Isaac, so, their only liability is SF, and that’s huuuuuuuuuge. Dwyane Bacon and James Ennis III cannot, I repeat, cannot play SF for the rest of the year, haul someone in, Magic – at every position except 1 and 5. There’s not much more Vucevic can do, 23 PPG and 11 boards per game are outstanding. He’s not fast, he’s not obligated to pass the ball around and he isn’t a real Joel-Embiid-type-build, but he’s your only superstar. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him leave Orlando at the end of the season, because Orlando doesn't really suit him. My prediction: They horribly miss the playoffs.

LA Clippers: High hopes for this team at the beginning of last season, yeah, they got to the playoffs, so did the Nets (last year). They’re 21-9, steep decline incoming, though. Paul George and Kawhi Leonard are out (when I’m writing this 2/18) and, looking at their roster, that was the system that was everything they played through. Patrick Beverley, Reggie Jackson, and a fading Lou Williams are the backcourt for the Clippers. Lou is having one of the worst seasons in his career, Reggie Jackson was never a real sparkplug and Patrick Beverley’s defense is fading too. It’s almost as though everything’s against the Clippers, oh wait, it is. Not to worry, though, the two superstars aren’t out for too long. Serge Ibaka hasn’t been playing well, compared to his Toronto days and Nicolas Batum was never amazing. The system relies so heavily on Kawhi Leonard and Paul George (in my opinion, I still think the Patriots’ system relied more heavily on Brady than here), that they’re slipping and falling. Rebuild mode? Not yet. Do something the Rockets did so perfectly? Not yet, next year (seems I use that term quite frequently in my blogs). Prediction: 5th in West.

More tomorrow.