At least Russ defense compared to Harden that literally just watching enemy to score on his face. Harden is not contributing the way he score during his stay on Rockets and OKC.
His attitude is already a pain in the ass while he should playing as a leader due to his seniority.

There’s a lot of PG out there that contributes both offense and defense while cost less dollar than him. He is just being paid high due to his performance not to the current one. I believe only few years of continuous performance like this will surely put him to Russ spot.

I wouldn't go that far.  In years past like back with the dream team yes.  The world has caught up with the US.  While I think they would win it with their top players it's not that they would win in the finals by 40 against another top nation.

The 1992 dream team with Jordan, magic, ewing, malone, etc etc only won by 32 in the finals and that's when the US really dominated basketball.  

Look, the USA probably has a solid shot with their upgraded lineup, but to say there's zero chance of them losing? That's just crazy talk, man. It's like a major diss to all those other countries that have been stepping up their basketball game just to compete with the USA. And let's not forget, Germany proved themselves big time in the FIBA World Cup recently by taking home the gold.

I get it, on paper, the USA's roster looks stacked, but we'll only know if they're truly unbeatable once they hit the court.

Remember, LeBron James is getting up there in years, still awesome, but not the same as before. Same goes for Steph Curry. It's all about strategy, and if the USA's nailing threes, you can bet other countries have their own tricks up their sleeves.

So, let's chill a bit on the USA hype, alright? Getting too pumped up and then seeing them lose? That's a tough pill to swallow, just like what happened to China against the Philippines in FIBA WC and Asian Games.

That's some serious hype going on. I mean, Lillard just joined the team, so it's a bit premature to expect them to dominate right out of the gate. We're still in the 'let's-see-how-their-chemistry-works' phase. Even though they're both superstars, there's no guarantee they'll click seamlessly.

If the public's buying into that and there are betting odds for it, I'd say that's a potential trap waiting to happen.

Next year and not this season? Why is that? If we are talking about the first year that Giannis and Dame will be a team mate, I'm seeing more than 50+ games winning and be on the top of the East, because that's what the Bucks has been before on top of that division.

@Ziskinberg - Yes, as a Filipino what the Gilas team did to the Asian games is close to miracle, down 20 point against the Chinese, down like 5-7 points with less than 2 minutes to go, they were able to win and go to the Finals and win the Gold against Jordan.

I urge everyone to check that one out on how the Gilas make a huge comeback, it's worth to watch.

If there are any changes, I don't expect them to be that significant. I mean, with a bunch of superstars on Team USA, you probably won't even notice. Those guys are all in, and it's a different ballgame this time. They're on a mission, you know? After that embarrassment at the FIBA World Cup, they're itching for redemption in the Olympics. They want to remind the world that Team USA is still the cream of the crop in the basketball business.


Like I mentioned, it won't really shake up the odds. Team USA is still gonna sit tight as the big favorite.

Teams that have high chance ro be first seed or even win the championship do not really e d up with under 50 results. Its quite important to remember that most seasons its closer to 60 than under50. I believe a 55,5 over/under makes a lot more sense without a doubt. It could be a lot more reasonable for you to have something that can do something much better. Bucks may look great but being good in regular season and being champions are two very different things, reason for that is simply its their first year ever but I believe that we are going to end up with easier season but harder playoffs. In the end it will definitely be something ok and not a big deal at all. I still wonder what lakers will do, barring any injuries Lebron may have his last ever chance to win something, if they dont, he may never win one ever again

55-60 wins is my prediction. At their start, there might be some problems due to both Lillard and Giannis trying to create chemistry but we all know these two players can also make their own plays so it's not like they need to be Stockton and Malone. All they need is other players working their defense while they are the weapons for the offense.

Oooh, that sounds inviting. And we have the same prediction.
Let's not forget they still have Brook Loper and Khris Middleton so if the play is not working with Lillard then they could just switch members and try to use their old plays while they are still creating chemistry with Lillard in different ways. i.e. Practice.
Oh, and their new head coach is Adrian Griffin who I think will have a different type of leadership and not be too focused on Giannis only which was done by Coach Bud.

Let's round it of to 49 games. 49 games? Like are you kidding me? ESPN's prediction is sh*t.
They have Giannis, they have Dame, they have good defenders in Lopez, Portis, Crowder, they still have a 3rd shooter in Middleton. How can this type of roster win only 49 games. Are they saying that they will only get to at least the 4th-8th spot in the East?

They've been the top team multiple times in a few years, and for me, they just got better offensively with the acquisition of Dame. Yes they lost an all-around player in Jrue, but having a sharpshooter in Dame can give headaches to other teams. He extends the defense of their opponent's teams because of his efficiency in three-point shooting, and because of this, Giannis will experience double teams lesser times than the usual, and we know how he bullies his defenders inside the paint right.

If there's one thing that makes this prediction realistic, that's injuries. If Lillard "AND" Giannis unfortunately gets injured, and no one can step up, that I will agree to ESPN's prediction, but aside from that, I agree with what you said that they might get close to 60 wins or even higher.

With the teams in the east yeah I can't see a world where the Bucks don't hit 50 wins.  Just too much talent not to.  Might be some rust to start the season but once those 2 get rolling, they will most likely be favorites in every game.  Just want the season to start gonna be a fun year.