Jason Timpf is joined by The Athletic's Sam Vecenie to break down the biggest contenders ahead of the NBA season. Jason and Sam discuss whether the Celtics and Thunder have separated themselves as the top tier of teams, if Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets are receiving too much disrespect, whether Luka Doncic and the Mavericks are legitimate threats for the title, how LeBron James and the Lakers will fare with JJ Redick as their new head coach, and much more!

Timeline:

4:00 - Introduction

6:00 - Teams outside top tier with a realistic shot to win the title?

8:45 - Pelicans are flawed

18:00 - Pushback on Jason’s defenses of Knicks and Nuggets

22:30 - Boston is clear #1

29:00 - Have the Nuggets peaked?

38:00 - Wolves better than Nuggets?

48:00 - Julius Randle’s impact for Wolves

56:30 - Does Dallas have enough firepower to compete with top tier?

01:04:00 - Luka has reached LeBron’s level on offense

01:08:00 - Takeaways from Lakers under J.J. Reddick

01:17:00 - New look offense from Bucks

01:28:00 - Coach Bud working wonders for Suns offense

01:37:00 - What to expect from Sixers

01:41:00 - Why do Pacers underachieve on defense?

01:43:00 - What Sam’s been working on

(Timestamps may vary based on advertisements.)

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