What's new
By:

The West Conundrum

HermanG

HermanG

Well-Known Member
2025 Award Winner
Can all these things be simultaneously true?
  • Spurs improve their record after adding Wemby
  • Rockets improve after adding FVV+Brooks+Amen+Cam
  • Jazz improve after adding Collins, Keyonte, Hendricks and Sensabaugh (and also by not tanking the rest of the way next season)
  • OKC improve after adding Chet and Wallace
  • Lakers improve after all their applauded offseason moves
  • Suns improve after adding Beal (plus Durant wasnt there full year)
  • Nuggets stay as class of the conference
Thats 7 of the 15 teams in the West who are very realistically expected to improve or hold their record. The only one we really expect to fall right now are Blazers, but they already finished bottom 3 in the West last year so its not like they can "make much room" for those on the rise.

Even if you dismiss 1 or 2 from that list being true it still raises this question:
Where does that leave the other teams... Grizzlies, Kings, Clippers, Warriors, Wolves, Pels and Mavs?

All those teams have expectations attached to them, and apart from maybe Grizzlies and Kings the rest of them have some major future concerns going forward if they fall to make way for the teams on the rise. So the question is:
Who or what gives in?
 
Just about every year there is one young team that breaks through in to the top 4. I'm going to guess that team is OKC this year. There is always one old team that slips, not sure who that will be this year.
 
ONE LOVE said:
I think we’ll be bad 1 more year.

We have a lot of new & young talent who aren’t quite ripe yet.
Click to expand...
Do you think our record will be worse than last year? If not, then it doesnt change the situation.

There are still teams bound to fall, some might actually fall very hard if they bleed wins against all the rising teams.
 
fishonjazz said:
I say even though spurs and rockets improve, they still suck.
Click to expand...
Yet you think they improve, which will take wins away from somewhere. Where do you think those wins come from?

Their projected win totals are lowest in the West atm (tbf Blazers line is not set).. but they are up 8.5 and 9.5 wins from their finishing records last year.

Thats a lot of wins off the books from other teams.
 
Also it might be mind of a stretch to say we improved cuz we drafted a bunch of rookies and added a player who has gotten worse every year.

What's better to have for immediate wins: Malik Beasley, Jared Vanderbilt, and Mike Conley or who we just added?

If the Jazz got better it's primarily because of internal improvement (Lauri making another leap, big 2nd year from Walker, THT being consistent , Sexton staying healthy, Fonteccio getting comfortable, Ochai growing into his role) or Collins really improving outside of Atlanta.
 
HermanG said:
Do you think our record will be worse than last year? If not, then it doesnt change the situation.

There are still teams bound to fall, some might actually fall very hard if they bleed wins against all the rising teams.
Click to expand...
Yes i think it will be worse.. pretty unlikely we’ll replicate last year’s hot start with all the young guys.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page
Back
Top