What makes a good regular season team nowadays?

[StrongLurk]

Similar to last year in the West, some of the best teams were actually lower seeded/play-ins.

The Mavs, Suns, Lakers, and Warriors are the 7-10 seeds this year, but most people still think of them as better than the high seeds like the T-wolves, thunder, kings, pelicans, etc. So what makes a good regular season team nowadays? Is it literally just teams with the best combination of young talent and 3-ball spamming?

[Duffy Pratt]

Similar to last year in the West, some of the best teams were actually lower seeded/play-ins.

The Mavs, Suns, Lakers, and Warriors are the 7-10 seeds this year, but most people still think of them as better than the high seeds like the T-wolves, thunder, kings, pelicans, etc. So what makes a good regular season team nowadays? Is it literally just teams with the best combination of young talent and 3-ball spamming?

We will see if they are better. I think that there is too much confidence paced on the sheer aggregation of offensive firepower, without regard to chemistry, depth, or defense. That, and too much emphasis on aging star power. Maybe in a shorter run one of these supposedly better teams will go far. A lot will depend on who is healthy at the time.

[Jasper]

James (dead beat playoff player) Harden

He can make himself and a team look like champs during the regular season , and disappear in the playoffs.

[Duffy Pratt]

One other thing: the wolves, thunder, kings and pelicans are all very small market teams. People would throw Denver in with them if they hadn’t won last year. Lakers and Warriors are the biggest attractions in the League even though they are thoroughly mediocre.