Harten: Apart from the Nuggets, the Thunder no longer have any opponents! The Clippers are not convinced! Where are the Lakers?

Last season, the Thunder's performance was brilliant. They swept the Grizzlies with an absolute advantage of 4-0 when they made their debut in the playoffs, and then had a wonderful seven-game battle with the Nuggets in the second round, eventually defeating their opponents and entering the Western Conference Finals. In the finals, they easily defeated the Timberwolves with an excellent performance of 4-1, and finally faced the Pacers in the finals, and finally won the championship through a tiebreak final. All of this achievements have made the Thunder famous this season and become an existence that cannot be ignored in the league, while Alexander is the core figure in the team, and his outstanding performance this season is impressive.

Thunder's starting center Harten has been popular recently and has participated in Paul George's podcast. On the show, he talked about the Nuggets’ strengths. He said: "Jokic's performance is really amazing. The Nuggets' tactical style and their experience are unparalleled. They have experienced many challenges and training in previous games. Their experience makes us feel that even if we handle every detail almost perfectly, we still have a chance to lose the game. In contrast, when facing other teams, our feeling is: as long as we can achieve our own high-quality performance, it is a guarantee of victory." This candid evaluation not only reflects Harten's recognition of the Nuggets' strength, but also reflects the Thunder's confidence in themselves.

In addition to the Nuggets, Harten said that the Thunder will be more at ease in the competition with other teams. Their strength is undoubtedly quite strong. In the past summer, the Thunder not only successfully retained the team that won the championship, but also spent 822 million US dollars to lock in the team's new third young master. Their contract lasted until the 2030-31 season, which made the Thunder's future promising. In NBA history, this is the highest amount invested in three players, and this decision also declares that the Thunder's reconstruction will no longer be a short-term behavior.

Considering that the Thunder will continue to have Alexander, Jaylen Williams and Chet Holmgren in the next six years, all three players are in their growth stages, and their growth will inject a steady stream of energy and passion into the team. Therefore, in the next few years, the Thunder will most likely become the top team in the West and dominate the season stage.

The well-known NBA reporter Sam Quinn analyzed the strength of the Western Conference team. He classified the Thunder as the "unique" team, showing recognition of its strong performance. The Rockets and Nuggets are closely followed, while the third level includes strong teams such as the Lakers, Clippers and Timberwolves. He also pointed out that if the two veteran teams, the Lakers and the Clippers, encounter injury crisis, the Spurs, whose strength is gradually increasing, are expected to take the opportunity to rise.

Of course, the Nuggets mentioned in Sam Quinn's analysis cannot be despised. During the offseason, they successfully traded Michael Porter Jr. to other teams through active reinforcement, introducing Cameron Johnson, and also bringing back Bruce Brown, and even adding Valanciunas and Hardaway Jr. to the lineup. Jokic's performance is still exciting. Although the Clippers are older, their immediate combat power is still strong. As long as they remain healthy, especially Leonard's physical condition, the team can still create threats on the field. On the Lakers, despite losing Finney Smith, Pelinka was particularly flexible in the buyout market, successfully introducing Ayton and Smart, and signed Laravia in the free market, while cutting Milton and Goodwin. In this way, the Lakers have almost strengthened their lineup while retaining their main lineup, replacing old players with new members, hoping that they can attract more victory.

The Lakers' current 14-man roster also shows the team's strength and depth: the inside has Ayton, Hays and Kleber, the forward line includes James, Hachimura, Vanderbilt, Laravia and others, and the back line is Doncic, Reeves, Vincent, Smart and Brownie. With the further improvement of the roster, the team still has a place to be filled. Who will eventually fall into the highly anticipated reinforcement? It remains to be seen that the Lakers can write a legend in the new season?