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I think Maxey and Melton both take leaps this year under Nick Nurse

People are a little too high on Shai and Haliburton People are a little to low on Trae

I think both perceptions will switch a bit this season.

Anthony Edwards is a candidate. People are expecting the world this year. And he’s capable. But if he doesn’t put up….

whoever the best players are on the 9th and 10th seeded teams that miss the Playoffs out West after the Play-ins.

I think people are expecting big things of Haliburton and any stalling of progression this year after getting a big max extension is going to cause people to turn on him.

If the Thunder don’t make the playoffs convincingly this season, then I think people will start to turn on Shai

Devin Booker

People have unreal expectations for wembanyama right now. Some of them will definitely turn on him when he doesn’t put up 30/10 every game.

will be high on: pascal siakam

will be low on: FVV

I'm very surprised by the hype Poole is still getting, he may shoot a ton and score but it's not going to be efficient. He and Kuzma are going to look a ton like Rozier+Oubre did last year for Charlotte. They're great 4th options, not 1st and 2nd.

All I'm saying is Tatum isn't gonna have a godlike team around him forever

Haliburton if the Pacers aren’t a playoff team. This is way more predictive on my part, I think Bane will have a huge year numbers wise and people will begin to think of him as better than Morant, which I believe he already is.

It wouldnt surprise me if this is the year Dame takes a big step back. I dont think playing alongside Giannis will be quite as perfect a duo as everyone is making it seem

Definitely Shai. I think his stats will come back to earth a little, and if he makes the playoffs, I could see him struggling a bit due to his lack of three-point prowess and his heavy reliance on his albeit very good driving ability and midrange game

Jordan Poole

RemindMe! 1 year

People are low on Trae. He had a slump season with poor efficiency, and a poor showing in the playoffs.

But this year he has an actual coach with an actual offensive system, so in theory he will get more open looks and his FG% will go up, he will have more open guys and will have less turn overs, and he will have more energy to spend on the defensive end as well as a better defensive strategy around him(we saw an increase in defensive effort at the end of last season with Quinn, and that has reportedly been the hawks main focus). We also have some young guys who are looking very good, Hunter seems to be stepping into his role better, and should just have a much better team under Quinn overall.

Plus, Trae thrives under hate, and he has been getting tons of flack and he was snubbed from the FIBA team. With the Olympics coming up, Trae will have a chip on his shoulder to prove himself.

This will be his best season yet, by far.

I think Franz is a stud but people on here are a little crazy about him imo. I don’t really see that ability/potential to takeover games consistently that you need out of your #1. I think Paolo is firmly that team’s centerpiece moving forwards.

Low on, I’ll say Scottie Barnes. He plays out of control more often than I’d like but I think the kid is super talented and I’m excited to see the role he takes on without FVV.

I'm not sure about the LeBron fella. If I don't see at least 35+ PPG out of him, I'm just questioning the whole legacy.

Tyrese maxey, one way or the other. I think this will be the year ppl stop expecting him to be all star level talent, but maybe the opposite will happen.

I don't know how players can do, really a lot of stuff outside of what we can know, but some very swingy season are surely:

Bradley Beal - people mostly think that exchanging Chris Paul with Beal will catapult Suns onto some new level. It will be interesting what the results really are, and Beal individually will be commented the most as the new element and generally a guy that didn't play much winning basketball in many years, so for now it's just assumption at this point, based on his legendary ppg.

Ayton - some really think a lot of good of paying 33 million a year for Ayton, despite what everybody saw in the last playoff series. In Portland he will once again be priority, and if it doesn't bring something then I think no one will be admitting what they are saying about him now in a year.

Towns - he's been mostly good before 2022-23, but still Wolves cannot really show much for it, not like when Jimmy Butler came and immediately gave them their best time of the last 2 decades. Fans have been threatening that "with healthy KAT they'll be spooky". But he's gonna be a 28-year-old player that didn't even start his next max contract yet. This "healthy" season can move a lot for him in either direction.

Paul George, Kawhi Leonard - after this season, they have player options and can leave or secure a long-term extension. Lowkey, Clippers were still very good at full roster, so something really good can imaginably happen. If not, there'll be a lot of growing questions as the season goes on.

Lillard - a bit like Beal, he was traded for an actually important two-way player and is expected to bring the world. He actually had a great last season. But when 1st place is the expectation, the probability of disappointment is the highest. No longer can anyone say "Lillard just doesn't have a team, so what can he do....."

Ben Simmons - we all know what's up. Is he gonna be playing good basketball? That'd change a lot.

Ja Morant - I just feel like he's nothing now. People are already saying that Grizzlies are done for now, and Morant probably too. He is gonna come back, though, presumably. Was really good at basketball.

Jamal Murray - a god in 2023 playoffs. Either he plays up to his level regularly after the title or continues not to. Either way, opinion's gonna change.

Luka. I feel like the narrative will get more negative around him. The whining, the lack of defense, the hero ball ...

how about RJ Barrett, crazy I dont see what Thibs sees in him

Its always the really good ones that get turned on. Often get hyped, and the hype can last a bit long enough that people start to scrutinize the minor details to the point that every hops on that bandwagon. I hope it doesnt happen for him, but i forsee this potentially happening with Wembanyama.

Jalen Green better do more than shoot.

Paolo

Josh Green, this is his break out year, he's been under the radar but people around here have very little knowledge about what his game is & what his trajectory looks like.

Ayton is a good bet, I know he could be considerably better than in PHX, he really needed a change of scenery. He will be getting more touches & a much more responsibility, if he steps up to the task I think he will redeem himself. I think he also have a strong will to prove PHX wrong overall considering how unhappy he was there. Hard to say if he has the mentality for it though.

I've been big on KP for a long while and the only thing really holding him back has been his injury luck. It's important to know that essentially all of those injuries has been contacted related, it's not improbable at all that he'll have a pretty injury free season, just as with Wiz. He fits incredibly well in Boston & I think people will see him as a more impactful player for that team than Brown when we get a bit further into the season.

Shai and edwards are both stars that look really good, but probably won't "pass" anyone this year, thus their teams probably won't do much better than they did last season.

Ben Simmons. His stock is at its lowest, but there's a chance he plays like his old self.

People are going to remember how good Trae Young actually is this year

I’ve seen a lot of All-Star buzz around Paolo Banchero, but it seems like year 3 is when most guys make that jump