Teams looking to make deep playoff runs usually lean on building a roster with depth. The Suns? Fuh-get-uh-bout-it! While most teams are zigging with depth, Phoenix is going all-in with top-shelf stars Devin Booker and Kevin Durant now being joined by Bradley Beal. This new triumvirate of star power will pose a threat out West this year, even if they don’t have the depth of other top-flight teams.

Put it like this: They have three players who could easily combine for 90-plus points a night. Minimal contributions from others combined with a decent defense and you have a recipe for a good bit of regular season success. But the playoffs?

The Celtics wanted another stretch big to take some of the scoring load off its all-NBA wing tandem of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. And they got the man they wanted in Kristaps Porzingis,

one of the better shooting stretch bigs in the NBA. If they can remain a top-5 defensive team, the Porzingis signing could be just the move Brad Stevens needed to make in order to finally get the Celtics over the hump and win an NBA title, something Boston hasn’t done in 15 years.

When Bruce Brown was in Brooklyn, his play was so underrated. When he moved on to Denver for a bigger role but less money, Brown delivered strong play and was among the keys to the Nuggets winning the franchise’s first-ever NBA title. He got the ring in Denver, the money bag in Indiana and with it, the pressure - and the paper that comes with that pressure - to produce for a Pacers team that’s looking to re-enter the playoff picture.

His numbers won’t jump off the charts. But the energy, effort and ability to impact winning in a positive manner, will make him a fan favorite quickly and along the way, position Indiana to top-six status in the East.

It’s not unusual for there to be some collateral damage when a blockbuster trade is executed. That’s exactly what happened to Marcus Smart being dealt to Memphis, a move that Smart has admitted he cried about shortly after he learned he was on the move. But the silver lining for Smart is that of all the teams he could have been traded to, there really doesn’t seem to be a better fit for his game and his leadership, than the Memphis Grizzlies.

With Ja Morant serving a 25-game suspension, Smart will be able to make an immediate impact at both ends of the floor. And paring him up with another Defensive Player of the Year award winner in Jaren Jackson Jr., look for the Grit-and-Grind era of Tony Allen and company, to be back alive and well this season.

The numbers weren’t what you expected to see from Vanvleet in a contract year. But when you look at all the upheaval the Raptors franchise went through this season, you can forgive VanVleet for not exactly being the best version of himself. That should change in Houston, where he will be called upon to be more of a front-and-center leader not only because of his experience but also because of the three-year, $130 million contract he signed.

Houston isn’t built to win a championship, but any chance of them even sniffing a playoff spot this season will hinge heavily on the play of VanVleet.

Honorable Mentions: Grant Williams, Dallas; Gabe Vincent, Los Angeles Lakers; Max Strus, Cleveland; Joe Harris, Detroit.

A. Sherrod Blakely is in his Michael Jordan year (No. 23) of covering the NBA, and is also a full-time lecturer at Boston University.