With the season starting next week, let's run through the 83 most important questions for this upcoming year, starting with a certain Atlanta sophomore…
1. Can Trae Young shoot at least 35% from 3-point land?
2. Was trading Luka Doncic worth it for Young/De'Andre Hunter/Cam Reddish?
3. How good can Kemba Walker be with legitimate help?
4. Can Kyrie Irving and his hero ball seamlessly fit into Kenny Atkinson’s pace-and-space share-the-ball offense?
5. What happens if it doesn’t and he starts acting up again?
6. How good can the Nets be if their four best players can’t play more than 60 games?
7. Will Charlotte set the NBA record for lowest attendance in one season?
8. Has anybody in the Hornets front office addressed why the Hornets didn’t trade Kemba Walker at the deadline knowing they weren’t going to pay him in the offseason anyway?
9. Are the Bulls sneaky good?
10. Was their signing of Tomas Satoransky the most underrated addition of free agency?
11. Will Benny the Bull either intentionally or accidentally disrupt a play at least once this season?
12. What is the over/under date for when the Cavaliers trade Kevin Love?
13. Do Cavs fans still watch Game 7 highlights before going to bed?
14. Will the Mavericks ever start Kristaps Porzingis and Boban Marjanović at the same time?
15. What is that lineup called?
16. Will somebody on the Nuggets ever want the ball with the game on the line?
17. Wait a second, what if Michael Porter Jr. is actually good?
18. Has there ever been an NBA team guaranteed to finish in eighth place more than the Detroit Pistons?
19. At what point does the world realize the only reason Andre Drummond averages a double-double is because he can’t finish at the rim?
20. What kind of numbers does Steph Curry have to put up to win MVP?
21. Are we sure the Warriors are finally dead? Or is this akin to The Viper taunting The Mountain in "Game of Thrones"?
22. Can D’Angelo Russell successfully change from being a ball-dominant guard specializing in high screen-and-rolls into a catch-and-shoot guard?
23. Is Golden State’s bench one the worst units of all time?
24. Game is on the line: Who gets the last shot in Houston?
25. If James Harden calls for an isolation play, what exactly is Russell Westbrook doing?
26. If the Rockets experiment stumbles out of the gate, does everyone blame Mike D’Antoni or the players?
27. Is Russell Westbrook content with being Robin to Harden’s Batman?
28. Will Myles Turner ever fulfill his destiny of being the second-best big man in the East?
29. Has a team ever reminded you of 90's NBA more than the 2019 Indiana Pacers?
30. Can you convincingly argue that T.J. Warren will ideally replace Bojan Bogdanović without getting fruit thrown at you?
31. Are we sure that Paul George's surgically-repaired shoulders won't inhibit him?
32. Ivica Zubac is the only true center in the Clippers rotation. Will that come back to bite them in the playoffs?
33. What is the plan for perimeter shooting if Landry Shamet hits the sophomore wall?
34. What happens if Point LeBron isn’t working?
35. Is Anthony Davis still made of glass?
36. How does Kentavious Caldwell-Pope keep getting contracts?
37. Is Danny Green the most important player on the team not named LeBron James?
38. What is the leash length on Frank Vogel?
39. If Jaren Jackson Jr.’s usage rate is not north of 35%, then what exactly is the Grizzlies' plan on offense?
40. What constitutes a successful rookie campaign for Ja Morant? Is it Rookie of the Year or failure?
41. It’s not a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when’ Chris Paul gets traded to Miami, right?
42. Can we please get a camera in the huddle when Erik Spoelstra draws up the game-winning play for Dion Waiters and not Jimmy Butler?
43. If Giannis is able to improve his 3-point percentage to 35%, is he the undisputed best player on Planet Earth?
44. How much will the loss of Malcolm Brogdon affect this offense?
45. Will Aron Baynes ever get revenge against Giannis?
46. What exactly will the Bucks do if Brook Lopez’s 30-foot bombs stop going in?
47. Will the paramedics be called in to assist a player who challenges Giannis at the rim at any point this season?
48. What must be done to make Andrew Wiggins live up to the hype?
49. Would he accept wearing a shock collar every time he attempts a contested fadeaway out of the post?
50. What’s the next thing that needs to happen to make Karl-Anthony Towns the best center in the league?
51. Is it just me or is Josh Okogie a dark horse candidate to win the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award?
52. What happens when defenses realize Zion Williamson can’t shoot and start going under all the screens?
53. Will Zion be able to bully NBA players in the paint the same way he did in college?
54. Will anyone in the Pelicans starting lineup shoot better than 30% from 3 this season?
55. At what point do we give up on Brandon Ingram being the next big thing and realize he’s simply Wes Johnson with better hands?
56. How many games will the Knicks win solely because other teams just don’t care?
57. How hot will the seats of David Fizdale and Steve Mills get if the team is a joke again?
58. What are Fizdale’s rotations going to be? Does he do hockey shifts with vets and the five young guys?
59. Should RJ Barrett run with the starters or dominate possession with the second unit?
60. When will people realize Mitchell Robinson blocks more opposing 3-point jump shots than anybody in history?
61. Wait a second, are the Thunder actually good?
62. Will Chris Paul throw a trade demand tantrum before the deadline?
63. Is this it for Markelle Fultz?
64. What does Mo Bamba have to do to get back into the rotation?
65. Why did Doc Rivers not let Tim Duncan on his plane?
66. Is Ben Simmons a top-five player if he ever develops a respectable jump shot?
67. Who not named Joel Embiid is going to get the 76ers a bucket in a one-possession playoff game?
68. Who were the Phoenix Suns bidding against for Ricky Rubio's services?
69. Are we sure the Portland Trail Blazers improved?
70. If De’Aaron Fox’s usage rate isn’t north of 35% this season, who are we blaming for this blasphemy?
71. Have we ever seen a team more committed less to defense and more to outscoring teams than this year's Sacramento Kings?
72. Does Gregg Popovich have a kinky fascination for mid-range jump shooters?
73. Does anyone in Toronto even care if this team isn’t good?
74. When does Masai Ujiri pull the plug and trade everyone on the roster not named Siakam/Anunoby?
75. Hold on: Is Utah the best team in the Western Conference?
76. Is it too late for Mike Conley or can he still be the floor general responsible for carrying a team to the Finals?
77. How many shots per game should Donovan Mitchell actually be attempting?
78. For the love of all that is holy can we please get one full season from Dante Exum without him getting hurt?
79. What will happen to John Wall’s speed once he returns?
80. Should he even come back this year?
81. Hold or fold Bradley Beal before the deadline?
82. Should the Wizards just feed Rui Hachimura until he can’t eat anymore?
83. Is Ian Mahinmi making $15 million for a third straight season a top-five NBA finesse?
