The long, cold, dark summer months are finally over. The NBA tips off in just a few hours, and we’re all the better for it. Next time you read Basketball Poetry, we’ll be talking current basketball!
This is the last poetry I'll foist upon you until next season. Eastern Conference haikus (and an explanation for why the heck I do this every season) can be found here.
In no particular order:
Denver Nuggets
Sisyphus, task grows
Every year, a bigger rock
The toil, sigh, the toil
Key Question: What does the DeMar DeRozan experience look like?
The Nuggets keep getting just a little bit worse around Nikola Jokić and Jamal Murray.
Any hope for a change this year depends on DeMar DeRozan finding a way to integrate into a good team for the first time since the late 2010s1. His old-school midrange magic still draws fouls and wets buckets. There are thousands of these clips:
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The Nuggets will desperately want him to steady bench units, but that's only ~15 minutes per night. He’s indisputably a weird fit next to Jokić and Murray. Weird isn’t always bad! DeRozan will need to find a way to work offensively and survive defensively when he’s playing with the big boys. Denver’s season depends on it.
Utah Jazz
Seat belts, everyone
Prepare for takeoff. Landing?
Don’t worry ‘bout that
Key Question: Can Will Hardy coach a mediocre defense?
The Jazz will make it rain. A torrential downpour of points. I’m not entirely sure how the offense will be split between a bunch of high-powered scorers like Keyonte George, Darryn Peterson, Jaren Jackson Jr., Lauri Markkanen, Brice Sensabaugh, etc., but I have no doubt they’ll be prolific.
I hate to sound like a broken record, but I’m worried about the other end. Even when Utah had Walker Kessler on the floor in 2024-25 (the last time he played meaningful minutes), they were somehow in the 18th percentile defensively. Now, not only do they lack Kessler, but they also won’t have Jusuf Nurkić for at least a month.
Maybe it doesn’t matter. Utah will play competitive games for the first time in eons; that step forward is important. But if the Jazz want to fight for home-court advantage in 2027-28 and beyond, they need to build real defensive structure now and lay the groundwork for future success.
JJ Redick and Charles Lee are notable examples of recent coaches who have crafted perfectly acceptable defenses out of average-to-bad parts. Let’s see if Hardy can live up to his rep.
San Antonio Spurs
Know that Hydra meme?
With one goofy head of three?
That might be the Spurs
Key Question: Will their three-headed monster work?
I have no questions about Wembanyama. He’s awesome, and many people think he’s already the best player in the league even if he doesn’t improve (which he will).
Similarly, I have no questions about the support staff. Devin Vassell and Julian Champagnie are two of the league's best role players (and I wonder if that isn’t a little insulting to Vassell). Luke Kornet, Keldon Johnson, and Tobias Harris are savvy, confident vets who know their role. The Spurs even have a potential wild card in Carter Bryant, a betentacled Lovecraftian nightmare who wasn’t quite ready for primetime last season but could feature heavily this year.
No, my questions revolve around the guards. Coach Mitch Johnson has said Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, and De’Aaron Fox will all start together, at least at first. There are a few ways to read this: