Hoops Tonight - NBA Predictions: Lakers ALL-IN? Nuggets disrespect, Celtics & Thunder top threats

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.) #Volume Follow Jason Timpf on social: https://twitter.com/_JasonLT https://www.instagram.com/jtimpf15/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.