Gyp Rosetti
Banned
Minny lost quite a few players and have Rubio and Roy coming in off of major injuries too don't forget
I'd say this guy's got our number for sure!
- Thread starter carolinajazz
- Start date
Minny lost quite a few players and have Rubio and Roy coming in off of major injuries too don't forget
By "quite better" I mean better than last season's 26-40. I don't know where they fit in but a lineup of Pek, Love, AK, something, Rubio should produce. How good/bad do you think they'll be?
Gyp Rosetti
Banned
My gut tells me they're going to make the playoffs...and that we'll be on the cusp again.
carolinajazz
Well-Known Member
....personally, I see less defense in that starting 5 than even our own! Jazz should be able to score at will!
I expect some high-scoring fun to watch games between the Jazz and the Wolves this year.
TheSilencer1313
Well-Known Member
I'll bet you AK runs all over the Jazz.
BasedGhostPurp
New Member
I heard they are going to have Derrick Williams start at SF. Which would mean AK would be a backup. Seeing as the Wolves lost Randolph, Beasley, and Johnson; added Budinger(Who cannot play PF); And put D-Will at SF; They are going to need a lot of help at the PF position which is ironic seeing as PFs made up half of their team last year. So you just might get your wish.
theNBAnerd
Well-Known Member
agree with franklin about dallas -- they got a little younger but a lot less versatile, and that's been their calling card.
nobody's mentioning memphis. they appeared very legitimate last season and had a 51-win pace despite their best player missing a ton of games. mayo to bayless is probably a downgrade at 6th man, but other than that they're the same team as last year, just healthier.
until someone proves otherwise, i would consider the upper crust as OKC, SAS, LAL, LAC, MEM. second tier is (in some order) UTA, DAL, DEN, MIN, and maybe NOH. HOU, GSW, PHO, SAC and POR will occupy the cellar.
somebody may play better or worse than projected and cross the lines either up or down, but that's how i see the WC as of today.
nobody's mentioning memphis. they appeared very legitimate last season and had a 51-win pace despite their best player missing a ton of games. mayo to bayless is probably a downgrade at 6th man, but other than that they're the same team as last year, just healthier.
until someone proves otherwise, i would consider the upper crust as OKC, SAS, LAL, LAC, MEM. second tier is (in some order) UTA, DAL, DEN, MIN, and maybe NOH. HOU, GSW, PHO, SAC and POR will occupy the cellar.
somebody may play better or worse than projected and cross the lines either up or down, but that's how i see the WC as of today.
Gyp Rosetti
Banned
GS and Portland won't be in the "cellar."
theNBAnerd
Well-Known Member
depends on what we mean by the cellar. i mean they will not be in playoff contention. to me, that's the cellar.
* portland: a 35-win team last year (if we adjust for 82 games) who loses felton and kurt thomas, added jared jeffries, ronnie price and sasha pavlovic, plus two rookies. overpaid to keep batum. for that team to even sniff the playoff, lillard need to have a ROY type season and aldridge needs to play at an all-NBA level.
* warriors: a 29-win team (again, adjusted) who loses dorrell wright but adds carl landry, jarrett jack and rookie harrison barnes to a group of curry (injury prone, far from a pure point), thompson (raw, something of a one-trick pony), jefferson (nuff said), lee (only plays offense), bogut (injury prone) and biedrins (stiff). they need to add 15-20 wins to compete for a playoff spot, but they're suddenly paper thin on the wings and relying on two star players who have never been able to stay healthy (and one who is playing out of his natural position).
Well he is running like a young deer. That's seriously one of the best quotes I've heard from a basketball player in a long time.
Portland could knock on the door of the playoffs, but I'm not so sure they want to make the playoffs this year. They'll develop their rookies and be competitive much of the time, but I'm sure their management would like one more lottery pick to add to the mix for '13-'14.
theNBAnerd
Well-Known Member
i don't see it at all with portland, unless they have more moves up their sleeve. without felton, they're going to have a rookie starting at point guard -- always a shaky proposition. their starter at SG (don't call me wes) is a sub on most teams, and he's backed up by sasha freaking pavlovic. they spent 46M to make sure they have a decent starting SF, but they have nobody of any quality behind him. and with aldridge and hickson at the 4 (the one position where they're 2 deep), they'll have to start another rookie (leonard) at center.
golden state can at least trick itself into believing in curry & bogut's health, thompson's progress and a strong rookie year by barnes. but i just don't think portland has a shot at being decent.
C: leonard, jeffries
PF: aldridge, hickson
SF: batum, babbitt
SG: matthews, pavlovic
PG: lillard, smith
deep bench: victor claver, will barton, eliot williams
golden state can at least trick itself into believing in curry & bogut's health, thompson's progress and a strong rookie year by barnes. but i just don't think portland has a shot at being decent.
C: leonard, jeffries
PF: aldridge, hickson
SF: batum, babbitt
SG: matthews, pavlovic
PG: lillard, smith
deep bench: victor claver, will barton, eliot williams