Top 2015-16 NBA season storylines

[insidehoops]

What do you think are the biggest storylines heading into the 2015-16 NBA season?

Ponder the championship picture, which teams are contenders, which teams added (or lost) a star, and any other issues that are worth paying attention to.

And when you list the top NBA storylines, naturally be sure to add your own commentary.

[Wally450]

In b4 2/7.

But seriously, how the Clippers do with the additions of Pierce and Stevenson.

Also, how the Kings do. Could be a darkhorse to make the playoffs in the West.

[TiagoSimoes]

the return of an healthy Thunder team, and KD contract year is also one of the main story lines imo.

Like wally said, how will the Clippers fair should be fun to watch.
GSW title defence(fluke or not?), and the improvement of David(and wiggins) are also interesting imo.

[Gileraracer]

Weak East, stronk West

Nothing changed.

[WayOfWade]

1. Warriors Repeat
2. Cavaliers Redemption/Health
3. Are the Clipperd Legit?
4. Spurs Continuity
5. Can Heat hang with Cavs?
6. Sacramento, you already know what's going on

There are many other minor stories, but these are the biggest

[ralph_i_el]

Wall attempting to get into the MVP convo. He showed a new-found ability to take over late in games last season, and that separates 50 win teams from contenders.

Beal playing for a max deal

Porter starting for the first time, seeking to redeem himself and shed the "bust" label.

3 hungry, talented perimeter players in Washington running the floor and playing nasty D

[Naero]

There's always an abundancy of enthralling off-season changes that keep me attentionally locked from the outset of the pre-season; here are mine—inclusionary for both media-discussive hot topics and my own curve-ball narratives:

Kevin Durant's health.

After missing most of last season due to a potentially career-debilitating injury in the Jones fracture, the NBA took a huge loss with his sidelining for me—especially due to the rate in which he was improving on both ends each season before the injury bug commandingly hit.

Having won MVP the prior season—a feat that required him to outperform a prime-age LeBron—he was on the cusp of seizing the BITW status IMO; now that is delayed by his season-sidelining injury, which has engendered many to ask whether or not he can even reattain the level of performance he had in that historical MVP season.

Entering the age-typical peak of his prime, this season could tip the scales with his legacy for better or worse depending on his health. His legacy is not just at crossroads; his future destination is as well, as he could be potentially leaving the already-established championship-contention culture of OKC if the new coaching staff doesn't mesh well in the first go-around.

LeBron: still unequivocally the BITW?

After having been consensually considered the best player for at the past four-plus years, he still continues to hold an iron clad on that status—at least from a reputational standpoint.

While the four-time MVP has seen a dramatic decline in his efficience and defensive efforts last season, he still is the media- and fan-consensus BITW; that was only reinforced with his finals performance last season, in which he used an obscene usage rating to maximize his productional output.

Now that he is coming off a fifth-consecutive finals appearance and is self-admittedly needful for more rest, will he manage to maintain the numbers he posted last season, which was considered a down year by his standards?

To me, there isn't a shred of doubt that LeBron will no longer play as the BITW; I see Anthony Davis or Kevin Durant taking the reigns on that status. Kevin Durant was already on the cusp of doing so, but people fell asleep on his uprising production as he was sidelined last season.

The real question to me is whether or not the media will espouse another player as the BITW—most likely Kevin Durant or Anthony Davis—or at least instill equivocality to the notion of the league-best player.

Billy Donovan: the right coach for OKC?

As the most porous hole for a team that's considered underachievers due to dry championship runs ever since the Durant- and Westbrook-led team became well-seasoned, I'm curious to see whether or not Donovan is the effectual upgrade over Scott Brooks needed.

Unfortunately for Thunder-fan predictors, NBA's history doesn't have the kindest history for trans-league (college-to-NBA) coaches; but the efficacy of Donovan and fellow college-to-NBA-rookie coach Fred Hoiberg will speak a lot in regards to whether or not that is only a misleading sample size, as they are both inheriting the most talented teams out of any coaches in that bracket.

In a contract season for the Thunder MVP and arguably league-best player in Kevin Durant, Donovan will easily have the most pressure on him coming into his NBA-coaching rookiehood.

Bucks: now an Eastern Conference Finals-contender?

Localistic bias is behind this; but with the fringe acquisition of Greg Monroe, it's hard not to be excited for the upcoming season for any Bucks fan.

It looks as if the deer finally have the right coach in Jason Kidd; now they are slowly accumulating the talent to complement him, and depending on the health and career prosperity of Jabari Parker, most of the pieces may already be in the fold as we speak.

Kobe's farewell tour.

Hate him or love him; many still are turning over a new leaf attitudinally, as this may be the last season the Lakers dons an NBA jersey. He may no longer have any meaningful legacy-enhancers within striking distance, after having already surpassed Michael Jordan's career-cumulative points in addition to making history by notching 30k career-cumulative points and 6k career-cumulative assists; but as the old platitude goes, "You don't know what you got until it's gone."

The developmental furtherance of Lakers guards.

Another bias-driven narrative, as I am a Lakers fan—albeit, one that is ambivalent about continuing that fandom after Kobe hangs it up.

While the Lakers will need a new coach and a few other holes to plug in with long-term personnel, it looks like they have amassed enough young talent to have solidified a playoff-contention nucleus down the road.

Jordan Clarkson, Julius Randle, and D'Angello Russell have been the obvious subjects of attention in this rookie- and sophomore-laden squad, but I feel that one of the most overlooked rookies of last year was Tarik Black. He has the grit on both ends and efficiency that the Lakers have been hurting for on the interior presence, and I've been faster to appreciate his contributions there than most, it feels.

First season in five years of no finals appearance for LeBron?

It's interesting to see any dynasty come to an end—even if it's as relatively rewardless as conferential championships in the tenuous Eastern Conference. The Eastern Conference may not have bolstered up dramatically within the off-season; but LeBron is on the downslope of his prime as he's self-admittedly fatigued from his five deep-post-season runs, and some Eastern Conference teams may have improved slightly enough that it's more than possible to get over the hump come playoffs time.

[FreezingTsmoove]

2/7 or nah