BASELINE MAILBAG!

The reason I started this blog to was create a new way for my fans to engage with each other and be able to have their questions answered. The hopes with this mailbag is to answer any questions you have regarding the NBA. With this being the first Mailbag blog, I want to experiment and get as much feedback as possible on what you want out of this in the future. The first mailbag edition features 2 questions.

Question 1: "Who in the West has the best chance to dethrone the Warriors" via @BruceE_Johnson

- I think a lot of people see this question and immediately think no team has a chance at catching up to the Warriors. While this might be true, especially with them acquiring 4x NBA All-Star Demarcus Cousins, what the fans don't realize is there are a lot of factors that could put an end to the Warriors dynasty. The first team that I think has a shot at taking out the Dubs is the Rockets. While they did lose two key defenders in their rotation this offseason, they were still able to bring back the key pieces to that 65 win team. With the impending addition of Carmelo Antony, expect to see the Rockets be in the same position they were last year. The key in them finally taking down the Warriors though, resides in the health of Chris Paul. Chris Paul missing that Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals will forever be the biggest "what if" of the 2017 playoffs. The other team that I think a lot of people are sleeping on is the Nuggets. They just missed out on the playoffs last year, but with the excellent summer they had, expect to see good things next year in Denver. With a fully healthy Paul Millsap, an ex All-NBA addition in Isaiah Thomas, and hopefully a healthy Michael Porter Jr, expect the Nuggets to make some noise in the West.

Question 2: Is there a team you think will surprise people this season? via @AlanTaylorRadio

- Other than the Nuggets team I talked about in the last question, a team I think might surprise a lot of people this season might come to a shock to you. The Chicago Bulls have started to build a nice young core, that hopefully in the future, can be dominant in the East. While I don't expect to see the Bulls in the playoffs next season, I think 2-3 years down the road we could see them being a top 5 team in the East. With the addition of Parker and re-signing of Lavine this summer, the Bulls have one of the youngest starting lineups in the league. Dunn, Lavine, Parker, Markkenan, Lopez given the right coaching, could be an extremely exciting team to watch next season. They have more athleticism than almost all the teams in the league, I think it is just a matter of getting the full potential out of all those young guys now, before it is too late. Just make sure you keep an eye open for the Chicago Bulls next season.

While there was only two questions for this first edition of the mailbag, I am really excited to see this grow in the future, and can hopefully provide everyone with as much incite on the NBA as possible. If you ever want a question answered be sure to tweet at me (@baseline_hoops) and I will answer it to the best of my ability. Until next week!

-Baseline Hoops