One Question For Each NBA Team In The 2024-25 Pacific Division

The NBA season is around the corner, and to preview the upcoming year, our group of experts has been asked to think of one question for every team.

Here it is for the Pacific division!

Golden State Warriors: Do they still have a championship fastball?

Considering these teams have been linked for the past half-decade because of similar offensive styles, it’s funny to think this year’s Golden State Warriors share a lot in common with the Miami Heat (which we previewed last week).

Like the Heat, the Warriors are a pretty deep team on paper. There is the remaining old guard in Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins, Kevon Looney, and Gary Payton II. The young kids in Brandin Podziemski, Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, and Trayce Jackson-Davis. And the newbie free agent additions in De’Anthony Melton, Kyle Anderson, and Buddy Hield.

But also like the Heat, there are questions as to whether this dynasty still has one great push left in them or if they are merely a relic of a bygone era. Do they have the ceiling to truly compete with the NBA’s heavy hitters?

Unlike the Heat, the Warriors still have a five-man unit with “championship indicators”. That’s defined as a lineup that features most/all of a team’s best players, has played at least 300 non-garbage time possessions together, and has a plus-nine or higher point differential per 100 possessions.

According to Cleaning the Glass, the lineup of Curry, Podziemski, Wiggins, Kuminga, and Green played 488 non-garbage time possessions together, and posted a plus-12.5 point differential. Not too shabby.

But that was last year. A handful of teams (the Oklahoma City Thunder, Dallas Mavericks, Philadelphia 76ers, New York Knicks, to name a few) got better. Can the Warriors keep up with the arms race they kickstarted a decade ago? –Mat Issa

Los Angeles Clippers: How far can a defense-first identity carry them?

The Clippers no longer have the championship-level ceiling they did for the past five seasons when Paul George and Kawhi Leonard were leading the team. With George now in Philadelphia and Leonard sidelined indefinitely because of another knee issue, the Clippers will have to rest their laurels on 35-year-old James Harden and a group of scrappy, defensive-minded role players to stay competitive in a daunting Western Conference.

It’s going to be an uphill battle. Even at his age, if Helio-Harden is running the show, there will be open shots created for the likes of Norman Powell, Terrance Mann, Derrick Jones Jr., and Nicolas Batum. That list doesn’t “wow” you by any means, but they could be dynamic defensively.

With Ivica Zubac manning the middle and a ton of switch-able wings along the perimeter, the Clippers can put the vise grip on opposing offenses to win games. Will it be enough to get them into the Play-In and, potentially, the playoffs to NOT give up a lottery pick to the Oklahoma City Thunder?

As always, that ceiling will come down to the healthy and availability of Leonard. –Es Baraheni

Los Angeles Lakers: Can JJ Redick push the right buttons from Day 1?

Through 50 games last season, the Los Angeles Lakers were toiling away in mediocrity. At 25-25, they were ninth in the West and only a game ahead of the 11th-seeded Houston Rockets. Then, Rui Hachimura was inserted into the starting lineup and helped transform the Lakers’ attack. They ended the season 22-10, sporting the third-ranked offense over that span, and claimed the West’s No. 7 seed, which secured them a first-round duel with the Denver Nuggets.

Despite closing the year excellently, Los Angeles lost in five games against one of the West’s best, a daunting matchup resulting from their pedestrian first 3.5 months. Former head coach Darvin Ham struggled with rotations, took far too long to decide an ideal starting group, and his aggressive defensive scheme didn’t seem to aptly complement the roster.

As the West remains loaded, the Lakers did not alter their roster or rotation much. They are banking on healthier seasons from Jarred Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent, as well as youngsters like Max Christie and Dalton Knecht making waves; those are their “free agent” moves. Hiring Redick as head coach was their most notable offseason signing.

Redick is a first-time NBA head coach. Can whatever schematic and rotational identities he establishes help ignite Los Angeles off to a quicker start than 2023-24?

LeBron James and Anthony Davis remain superb. Austin Reaves is very good. The starting five is flush with spacing, ball-handling and versatile scoring. I’d expect the offense to flummox opponents again. The defense is susceptible at the point-of-attack, but a little more discipline on the perimeter and trust of Anthony Davis inside could trend this group closer to above average.

These are the challenges and questions presenting Redick. How much of an upgrade is he over his predecessor in Ham and what is the tangible impact of that potential upgrade? It’s the predominant hope and bet the Lakers’ front office has opted for entering 2024-25.  –Jackson Frank

Phoenix Suns: Will a busy offseason cure last year’s ails?

After a letdown of a year that ended with a dismal 4-0, first-round sweep at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Phoenix Suns went to work. They fired one-and-done head coach Frank Vogel and replaced him with Mike Budenholzer. They signed Tyus Jones, Monte Morris and Mason Plumlee. They retained Royce O’Neale, Grayson Allen and Bol Bol. They drafted Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro, both or either of whom could factor into the rotation as rookies.

The Suns were plagued by many aspects last season, including poor wing depth defensively, a limiting shot profile offensively, shoddy bench options, and underwhelming center play. Their offseason moves could help remedy most of these shortcomings.

The 6-foot-8 Dunn is a heralded defender whose jumper requires substantial work — work that a 13-of-30 (43 percent) preseason clip may indicate is already materializing. If his offense is viable, he and O’Neale are a nice defensive duo to toss at opposing teams.

Jones’ addition slides the sharpshooting Allen to the bench, which is now headlined by him, Morris, O’Neale and Plumlee. They’re all veterans who can contribute to varying degrees (I am fairly skeptical of Plumlee, though) and fortify a previously lackluster reserve group.

Jones’ addition also may allow Devin Booker, Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal to all play off the ball more often. They’re tremendous off-ball scorers who didn’t enjoy as many reps as preferred to showcase it last season, especially Booker. Jones may be the table-setter necessary to shift away from such a midrange-heavy diet that hamstrung Phoenix’s offensive ceiling in 2023-24.

Couple that with the fact Budenholzer-led teams have finished top six in three-point rate during eight of his 10 NBA seasons, and there’s a chance the Suns launch far more long balls moving forward. Last year, they were 19th in three-point rate, 25th in rim frequency, and second in midrange rate. Any offense spearheaded by Booker, Durant and Beal will gravitate toward a midrange-heavy diet, but it still feels like there’s room for better balance to maximize this roster’s talent. Jones and Budenholzer can steer to a more optimal distribution.

The final looming question is how much improvements in those areas can paper over a tenuous center rotation. Plumlee, Ighodaro and starter Jusuf Nurkic are not up to par by contender’s standards. I’m not sure any of them should play more than 20ish minutes per game for teams with lofty aspirations. Maybe, the added talent elsewhere makes Durant-at-the-5 more palatable and the Suns can embrace a platoon come playoff time. But among the most pressing questions confronting Phoenix, this is the one with the fewest potential answers following its lively summer.

I expect the Suns to be better than last season because of their prudent moves. Whether they’re all enough to close 2023-24’s sizable gap between them and the West’s elite is far hazier, though. –Jackson Frank

Sacramento Kings: Will this be the year they break through in the playoffs?

The Kings have finally rebounded to basketball relevance for the first time in my conscious life. Following a Play-In loss last season, Sacramento hopes to return to the postseason (and more) after upgrading its roster this summer. DeMar DeRozan marks the franchise’s highest-profile free agent and a significant improvement on the wing from Harrison Barnes. They retained Malik Monk on a team-friendly deal, despite him receiving competitive offers elsewhere.

DeRozan’s creation and playmaking will boost an already strong Sacramento offense. Playing with arguably the most talented roster of his career, DeRozan should see easier looks than he has in some time. Alongside Domantas Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox, he should help the Kings return to a top-10 offense.

There’s no reason the Kings shouldn’t be an excellent regular-season team, assuming their injury luck improves. Sabonis will bludgeon teams on the interior and Fox should expand on a career shooting and defensive year. Sacramento has quietly built a notable young core, led by Keegan Murray and his dynamic scoring and point-of-attack defense. Keon Ellis has developed into a quality two-way starter.

We’re still yet to see whether Sacramento’s formula leads to playoff success. They’re still low on wings, especially defensive-minded ones. Can they hold up on the interior against elite offenses? Will DeRozan and Sabonis’ shooting limitations slow the offense? Regardless, the arrow points up for the Kings after a positive offseason and they should be one of the most exciting watches in the regular season. –Ben Pfeifer