SB Nation Reacts: 2021-2022 NBA season kickoff edition

The NBA season is here, folks, so that means it’s time for our SB Nation Reacts polls to kick back into high gear. We have a plethora of league-wide questions and responses to review centered around some predictions for the upcoming year, so let’s get to it.

Our first question asked about the NBA Finals, and which of last year’s participants — the Milwaukee Bucks and the Phoenix Suns — voters felts would be most likely to make the championship round again this year. Here are those results:

I agree with this sentiment. The Suns, while a nice story, were certainly a surprise team in the Finals. They’re still a good squad, but Chris Paul is a year older, the West looks tougher, at least on paper, and it’s going to be a slog making it out of that group.

The Bucks, on the other hand, have been title contenders for a while now and have a two-time MVP leading the charge. They’re the pick out of those two teams.

Next, we asked the NBA voters at large and also the Los Angeles Lakers voters the same question: Will the Lakers regret the Russell Westbrook trade?

I also agree with these results. And I think that percentage is a little low. I understand L.A.’s desire to stack their roster. But personally, I don’t see too much of a worse fit around Lebron James and Anthony Davis than Westbrook. L.A.’s two stars need shooters around them. Russ is one of the worst shooters in the league and needs to be in charge to be his most successful. How’s that going to work with James around?

Things were a little different for Lakers fans.

Because of course. Self-important delusional Lakers fans gonna be self-important and delusional. Nothing to see here, moving on.

Our next question was again asked of league-wide voters and a fan base, this time, the Philadelphia 76ers. We asked: Who do you side with, Ben Simmons or the 76ers? As most of you are aware, Simmons was basically ostracized from the team after his horrid postseason performance last year. The 76ers have been trying to move him, but Simmons wants no part of the franchise in the meantime. Here’s what the national voters thought:

I side with the 76ers here too. They’re trying to move him in earnest. They’ve built a team around Simmons and Joel Embiid. Show up, do your job, perform well, and Philly is much more likely to move you. Though I do understand why Simmons wouldn’t want to be there. As a native-Pittsburgher, I wouldn’t want to play in Philly either. And Philly fans are notoriously hard to please and will sellout players on a dime. As evidenced by this:

Now that’s impressive. Even for Philly.

Lastly, we have one final question asked league-wide and of a particular fan base. Should the Golden State Warriors trade all their young assets in order to go all-in this season? Here’s what the national voters had to say:

I went the other direction. I said no. I think Golden State’s window has passed, even if they traded some assets. I’d prefer to hold on to my youngsters.

And it seems the majority of Dubs fans agree with me (hey, there’s a first time for everything; I once received death threats to me and my family during the 2018 Houston-Golden State playoff series):

That’s it for our NBA kickoff edition. There will be plenty more polls this season, so make sure you SIGN UP FOR REACTS to join in on the fun!