The NBA season begins Tuesday and there is so much to talk about before the Pelicans and Raptors tip off.
Here's a look at some of the under-the-radar aspects of the 2019-20 season from rotations you might not think about to potential Sixth Man of the Year contenders.
Under-the-radar teams, rotations, players
TEAMS
Utah Jazz — OK, they're only "under-the-radar" to anyone who doesn't pay attention to the entire NBA, because the Jazz have been to the playoffs each of the last three years after finishing fifth in the stacked Western Conference each season. But there may not have been a move that went more unnoticed than Bojan Bogdanovic signing in Utah, and there may be no move that will have a more quiet, gigantic impact than Mike Conley coming over in a trade.
Conley allows Donovan Mitchell to play off the ball, which makes him better, and Bogdanovic adds another layer of scoring to a team that really struggled to put the ball in the basket when Mitchell was off his shooting game last season. This team has a real chance to win the West and still no one is paying much attention.
Miami Heat — Any team that adds Jimmy Butler instantly becomes competitive, both physically and for the playoffs. The Heat needed to start anew after the first and second eras of Dwyane Wade, and Butler could be just the guy to do that.
Add Tyler Herro to the mix to give Miami some much-needed shooting and a bigger role for Bam Adebayo in the middle after the departure of Hassan Whiteside and this team is at the least interesting, at the most it's a contender for a top-four seed in the Eastern Conference.
PLAYERS
Bogdan Bogdanovic — Bogdanovic often gets lost in the shuffle on a team with good, young talent, but he is the sparkplug that makes the Kings' second unit go. He might not average 25 points a game, but he is more than capable of putting up a 25-point performance off the bench on a regular basis, and that probably is why the Kings reportedly are offering him a max contract extension as he will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season.
Jrue Holiday — It's hard to be "under-the-radar" if you're an All-Star and a two-time NBA All-Defensive team member, but everyone seems to forget about Jrue Holiday. He is now the alpha dog on a Pelicans team that lost Anthony Davis, and he is coming off of a career year. He easily could one-up himself this season and maybe even get the Pelicans fighting for a playoff spot with a good young core of Zion Williamson and Lonzo Ball now in the fold.
ROTATIONS
Thunder — The Thunder have been understandably written off after trading Russell Westbrook to the Rockets and Paul George to the Clippers, but this team could actually be pretty exciting this year.
After acquiring Chris Paul, the Thunder have an All-Star point guard who can get the ball to Steven Adams for some easy dunks in the pick-and-roll. Then adding guys like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who is a very exciting young player, and Danilo Gallinari, who has always been entertaining, gives the Thunder a very interesting starting rotation. Then add guys off the bench like Dennis Schroder and Hamidou Diallo and Oklahoma City fans certainly will have something to cheer for this season.
It should be noted though that is all on paper as the Thunder may try to move Adams and Paul as they try to rebuild, but for now the team actually looks like a fun one to watch early in the season. We'll see if that translates into wins though.
Hawks — No one will pay attention to the Hawks until they get a few more years into this rebuild, but like the Thunder, Atlanta has some fun pieces to watch and build around. Trae Young very well could have won Rookie of the Year last season, John Collins had an argument to be an All-Star and Kevin Huerter became a good rotation player by the end of the season. Add rookies De'Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish into the fold along with veteran Evan Turner and this team looks like it will be more competitive this season. We'll see how the depth does in the long run though.