I like the Pacers prediction a lot. Getting Mathurin back, a year older and wiser for Haliburton, Siakam getting a full training camp, young guys showing what they learned in the playoffs. They're not listed with the Celtics, Sixers or Knicks as real contenders in the East but I think they're gonna be right at the top all year and go deep in the playoffs again. Health issues aside of course.
More realistic than being top-2, but I think top-4 is still a bit much.
Indy feels like the Hawks from a couple years back. When they went to the ECF.
Pacers played the Bucks without Giannis and the Knicks without like 12 of their players.
With relative health throughout I can't see the top 4, Bos is Bos/NY, Phi improved/Mil has Giannis, Dame a top 5 player & top 25ish guy. W/o injuries they'd likely lost to Mil this yr & haven't gotten any better, they have the "worst" best player of the 5 & have huge match-up issues with Giannis/Joel while NY/Bos both have at least 3 very good to great defenders to throw at Hali.
They're much closer to Orl/Cle/Mia imo & would have a hard time with any of them, Orl has the size to disrupt their offense & bully their defense.
Cle has the best player in the series but don't have anyone to guard Hali so it should be a better match-up likely Indy's best.
Mia always gives teams trouble healthy & have the best player in the series with a couple guys to guard Hali depending if the resign Caleb/Highsmith.
Finally! I was starting to think everyone on here lost their damn mind! Lol.
Indy being top-2 means being better than at least two of BOS/PHI/MIL/NYK.
Two of those teams got better this offseason. Boston stayed the same - which is fine for a 64-win team that won it all!! MIL still that Giannis dude. Who will STILL BE IN HIS 20s to start the season.
Yea I can't see it if all of them are whole, idt they'll be significantly better than last yr b/c they haven't improved much & they aren't good defensively which limits their ceiling. 6 east teams have a better best player some by a lot Phi/Mil/Bos & more complete 2 way players on most too, they'll likely be about 5th or 6th seed again. It took everything they had to beat NY & the Knicks lost impact players in 3 games straight not mentioning they improved with Phi who just got another 3&D wing to match up even better with them. It's easily Bos/Phi/NY then Indy/Orl/Cle/Mia/Mil in no order imo
The difference between the Pacers and Hawks is that the Pacers built the team around Haliburton and the Pacers have a lot of talented youth that should make at least minimal improvements.
The Hawks took a few talented players and put them around Young but did nothing to compliment his play style.
I just wrote mostly the same thing.
I think the Pacers make the playoffs, but let us not forget that Indy was the #6 seed this past season. Philly was the #7 seed. With Embiid missing a few months.
The two teams finished with the same amount of regular season wins.
Everything is assuming health, but it would be genuinely surprising if the Pacers finish with a better record than BOS, MIL, PHI OR NYK.
So, we're already down to the #5 seed. Are we SURE IND is better than CLE and ORL?
As a Pacers fan I think a huge part of that was their complete inability as a younger less mature team to consistently mop up bad teams, and close games. Their record vs above .500 teams and the top of the league was excellent. What killed momentum and gave bad habits was the weirdo losses to Portland, Washington, or Charlotte etc. If they can just handle their business better which I think is probable with another year of growth from young players, plus playoff bruises, I can easily see 53-55 wins next year and a top 3 seed. Call me biased but that's my genuine take. NY is better on paper, Boston is better period. Other than that I like our chances.
Assuming health, MIL and PHI are better as well.
Which is my only point.
Indy will be lucky to match their regular season win total next season.
Will I be rooting for them to knock the Knicks and Celtics out of the playoffs? YES!!
Milwaukee was healthy for the majority of the year last year and limped into the playoffs record wise under Doc. I see no reason to believe they're going to be better when they're an older team who will be a year older, and made no meaningful changes.
Why are so many playing stupid on here?!?
Is this a joke that I'm not getting?!?!?
Giannis!! Dude is still in his 20s!!!!
I easily expect Giannis and Dame to have better chemistry in their second season together.
Neither team made a move. Fair. So, if healthy, nothing about my opinion will change.
Not to be outrageous, but the Giannis/Dame combo is more talented than the Hali/Turner combo. \*ducks in case god unleashes his wrath for such a crazy comment.\*
this isnt 2 on 2 your best 2 vs my best 2.
Its 82 games
Can you get quality minutes out of your 12th 13th man?
Can 2 way players get minutes?
or does your rotation go like 8 or 9 deep and have
The Pacers are IMO just built for the regular season. They 100% know their identity, and stick to it. They're adding Siakam, and Mathurin, and potentially Walker too.
Also the Pacers really seem to adjust and adapt to missing key pieces, part of this is because they have such a well defined identity offensively and they move the ball soo well with a bunch of solid scorers, couple great shooter. They get a lot of good - great shots. Open corner 3s, easy cut lay up.
Milwaukee definitely has the better 2 players. But what about 3,4,5,6,7,8,9
Also this is less a bet on pure talent but rather a team.
Milwaukee with Dame and Giannis still hasnt been what people were anticipating or at least Mke fans. It was a pretty radical shift with neither guy playing with someone who was the guy for an offense.
Also Brook is not going to age well, he has already regressed just last year.
Hornets trade Lamelo at the deadline, or at the very least, they realize Miller is the future (instead of Ball), and their media people begin to push the Lamelo trade rumors. He’s consistently missing too many games due to injury.
I can see it, but I can't see anyone giving great value for a guy who plays 30 games a year with a max contact. And his brother had major injuries that has seemingly ended his career early.
How do hornets rebuild without getting great value from him?
Yeah the haul wouldn’t be all that great, but it would be better than having 30+ million tied up in a guy that doesn’t play. If they could get 2 vets and 1st, or 2 1st and an expiring contract, I’d be content. They should probably prioritize picks over players.
I think they could get the Lakers interested in something, maybe snag Reeves and Christie from them. It’s not gonna be a star player so they might as well fill out the roster with quality support guys.
As for the rebuild: Trade Melo to let Brandon and Miles lead the way and grow together. Hope that Mark Williams, Nick Smith Jr, Pok, and Leaky, progress and become a part of the core group. Pray. I really don’t know past that, this team is so fvcked.
Isn’t it unlikely Bridges stays on the hornets at this point? It sounds like they won’t even agree to pay him, so what are they going to do with the money after dumping Lamelo’s contract? What free agents are coming to Charlotte? Brandon Miller has 3 years before they need to extend him, Mark Williams has another couple as well and so far doesn’t look like he’s going to be demanding massive money anyway.
I’m not a hornets fan, so this is looking at it from the outside, but it seems like having a potential perennial All-Star signed long term but injured while your team tanks and gets high draft picks is not the worst thing in the world. He’s not playing so there’s plenty of opportunity for the other young guys anyway. Remember Curry had similar ankle issues at the start of his career and figured it out. I get it’d be a lot more frustrating as a fan, but hoping Lamelo finds a way to stay healthy seems like the best bet for the Hornets. Move on later if they see they’ll run into cap issues, but I don’t see how they’d benefit from getting off his contract right now.
It makes no sense for the hornets to trade him (essentially sell low) and he and Miller are guys that would be very complimentary to each other if it worked out.
The team isn’t a move or two from being contenders. Getting off his contract and getting some mediocre assets is just a dumb move.
It’s a great fit, but when you don’t play it doesn’t matter how good you are. Have you paid any attention to the clippers since they got kawhi? What did keeping him do for that team? He’s much better than Melo will ever be, and that team didn’t get shit out of being patient with him. So many teams and fans are perfectly content to just hope and pray every year that THIS is the year their star actually plays basketball. That’s why so many teams are stuck in limbo with no hope. Hell with that.
This comparison makes absolutely no sense.
The clippers are a win now team and the hornets are still rebuilding.
Kawhi is 33 years old with a degenerative condition.
LaMelo is 22 (almost 23 tbf). At this point the hornets best option is to hope he gets over the ankle injuries. Trading him for nothing does nothing for them
Disagree for sure. There is no franchise that would trade LaMelo after what he demonstrated. If anything, I would argue that the Hornets have been intentionally extending his time out from ankle injuries to tank harder, and LaMelo is going to have an all star season after Hornets decide they're done tanking and let him play
Wishful thinking, and as a fan I would much rather prefer you be right over me here, I just don’t see it. why would they choose to stop tanking this coming year? End the tank the year after the weakest draft ever? If they were that focused on tanking they certainly wouldn’t want to stop now with the class coming in next year.
It also doesn’t help his case that we’ve seen his brother go through constant ankle problems as well. I wish it was all a charade but all signs (to me) are pointing in the other direction. Believe me, I was over the moon excited about the Lamelo pick when it happened. I just think he has fragile dainty ankles
1. Lonzo has been held out the past few seasons because of knee issues, totally different animal.
2. Lamelo is only 22.
3. They've definitely been shutting down Lamelo when he could play. There's nothing to play for so why risk longterm issues? It's not about tanking for a particular player.
4. The Hornets have new ownership, GM, and coach, everyone wants to stop losing now.
Lonzo’s issues started at his ankles and worked it’s way up. That’s how those things go.
Only 22 and already constantly injured
3 and 4 completely contradict each other. “There’s nothing to play for” but the team wants to win because they’re under new management? It can’t be both. If they were so worried about winning now then they damn sure wouldn’t be sitting melo for no reason, they’d be trying to win.
Memphis is a top 4 team in the West. They have a lot of talent and Marcus Smart is gonna be so hungry. If they are healthy this season watch out. Hopefully they can make a move for a good defensive center like Clint Capella but I really like them as a sleeper. Especially in the playoffs.
I'm surprised this would be a high variance prediction because I expect the same.
They have a great system, developed their young players for a year in that system and the stars are coming back. Very deep too. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if they were 2/3.
I wouldn't be surprised if the Celtics had the #1 seed in the East next season.
See, it's not bold or edgy to say teams will do things that they've literally already done.
Memphis was the #2 seed in their last non-shooty season.
It would surprise me Memphis finishes #2 or #3 just because they aren't that good.
Fully expect them to be a playoff team. But, to be even #3 means they finish the regular season better than at least two of DEN, MIN, OKC and DAL.
They made the move for Edey because they knew they could deal with his weaknesses. There is no point in a Clint Capella when you have the defensive talent they have.
They rather bring in the best screener and rebounder they can for the center because that’s what they need.
They are a matchup nightmare for a lot teams that can’t punish them, and they are surprisingly adaptable in offensive style now.
I think with Edey they are a top 4 seed still
I’ll give a pistons hot take since that’s my team. I think we can contend for a play in spot. Yeah that’s sad to be excited for but we’ve been a shit team for years now. Bickerstaff isn’t going to be COTY or anything but if he can have decent rotations he’s already way better than Monty, who was starting G league guys. THJ and Tobias are solid vets who can give us 15-20 a night. We also barely played Cade and Ivey together. Duren is still 20 years old. Ausar is 21. Holland is 18. I’m really excited to see what Fred Vinson can do to improve their shooting. Lonzo went from 32% to 37% from 3. Imagine if Ivey could get to that.
we could easily just be a bottom 3 team in the east again. But I’m somewhat optimistic about this season
I like this prediction. It's bold, and while unlikely, it's possible. Especially when you consider that 2 of ATL, BKN, CHA, CHI, DET, TOR, and WAS have to make the Play-In or better (assuming the typical playoff teams remain).
DET has the makings of a decent roster (or at least the potential for that), but is in dire need of shooting, defense, and good coaching. Hopefully these off-season changes can help some of these young guys develop.
I think we made a lot of addition by subtraction moves. Hayes, Livers, Wiseman were statistically some of the worst players in the nba and they all had spots in the rotation. I just really wish we got a defensive center in FA. We still have 25 million in cap space so I hope we can trade for someone. Brook Lopez would be perfect. These guys are just so young and have barely played together. There’s no cohesion. They all have so much potential individually, but as a team, we just haven’t seen it as much.
Was just talking about Brook on the Pels sub. I agree that the good version of Brook the last few years is a perfect fit for so many teams as the highly sought-after big who can anchor a defense and stretch the floor.
But he really regressed this past year, most likely because he requires good POA defenders on defense so he and Giannis can do their things protecting the paint. But they didn't have that this past year when they lost Jrue.
Unless Holland or someone else unexpectedly carves out a role like that, I don't really know that DET has the defensive personnel conducive for Brook to excel in his own role. Which would mean the overall defense still wouldn't be as good as it otherwise could be.
I definitely agree he regressed but we just need centers. Duren really struggles defensively and a vet center would be perfect to mentor him. Isaiah Stewart is like 6’8 and not a true center. I think Ausar is the perfect POA defender. Dudes a beast at everything besides shooting lol. If he can be even just an average shooter, he’s going to be special.
I saw we just signed Malik Beasley too on a very good deal. We already have 3 new players who are vets and probably our best 3 point shooters immediately. I’m excited to see actual floor spacing next to cade/ivey.
Derek Lively starts taking 4 3's a game and is nick named the light skin Myles Turner. He then makes 5 3's in 1 game and does the Antonie Walker Shimmy.
For the West, Warriors miss the playoffs entirely, not even play in. They're forced to truly blow it up instead of the recent half measures and band aids. Too many other younger, more athletic, good teams. They had to fend off the Rockets last season just to lose the play in.
Mavs
Thunder
Nuggets
T Wolves
Clippers
Kings
Lakers
Grizzlies
Pelicans
Suns
Plus Rockets are getting better. Who are the Warriors beating out for the play in spots?
The rockets are a huge threat to push the warriors out of the play-in, I agree. Clippers and Nuggets are probably expected to regress but I doubt either team is in the play in range yet.
Rockets didn’t make a ton of moves other than being a year older with their young guys and drafting the best shooter to help their awful spacing which may make Sengun an even bigger threat if the pick pans out immediately. I doubt Houston is gunning for 50 wins yet, but they’ll make enough improvements to surpass Golden State
I agree that Warriors will be bottom 5 - I thought they would end up 10-11 last year but was just off. It is incredible how bad the bottom 7 in the East are, while in the West only the Blazers and Jazz are tanking. I am hoping the Spurs can also surpass the sliding big teams -the Warriors for one, and Lakers and/or Clippers or Suns if these aging rosters get some bad injury luck.
I have no idea when the spurs will become competitive. They’re needing to avoid the Lebron in Cleveland scenario where they’re immediately too good with Wemby that he never gets good draft picks, and he’s not quite as good as young Lebron so that helps, but I think San Antonio will be patient for at least another 1-2 years
I mean, the Warriors are in control of most of their firsts throughout the remainder of the decade, right? They haven’t done anything that warranted giving up multiple firsts.
When you’re saying ‘truly blow it up’, are you saying they’ll push Draymond out for everything he’s worth? I can’t see that happening to Steph at all.
Dame is more comfortable with the bucks and isn’t as distracted from a divorce. He and Giannis mesh well together and the bucks are the one seed in the east
Houston rockets will take a huge leap forwards. Sengun plays league average defense along with his Jokic like offense. Jalen Green is more consistent and averages 22PPG. Jabari smith takes a leap forward and becomes a nightly 16p/10r. Amen and Cam show hope. Reed Sheppard shows glimpses off the bench.
Rockets are the 7th seed with 47 wins
With the right move and forward player growth Houston or Orlando could give the big boys a run for their money. I don't expect either team to win a chip this year but they should both be ultra competitive when healthy.
Amen Thompson might be the truth. He reminds me of Russel Westbrook a decent bit, but with potentially higher BBIQ. He could be a top 5 wing defender by his 3rd or 4th year. Extremely athletic with a quick first step on offense with crafty finishes and electric bounce for impressive dunks. Main issue is his 3pt shooting, but with the high ceiling on the rest of his skill set I'm not sure it's going to matter.
That's my two expectations for this year. Those two teams should be really fun to watch and I expect Amen to emerge over the course of the season as the Rockets true draft gem out of the bunch with Sengun.
I am a diehard rockets fan and we are at least 2 years away. But yes I agree with most of your assessments.
I’d say amen having a higher BBIQ than Westbrook is an understatement. I also think he has a higher ceiling because of his length, defense, and humility.
I’m biggest on a Reed cam amen Jabari lineup
Reed is interesting as his off ball movement and elite shooting are darn enticing, but he seems like a 6 man to me. If he can play elite defense though he might be able to crack the lineup.
I was being nice with the bbiq comment lol it's definitely a good bit higher.
lol at BBIQ.
Yeah the 2 big question marks are PG and Center - I love Sengun but centers that are below avg defense are hard to build around. I hope I’m wrong and he is league average next year
I didn’t get to watch a lot of Rockets games this year but I was blown away by your comment, you think Amen has a higher potential than Russell Westbrook did at the same stage. I always imagined his ceiling was prime 3&D guy but from sounds of it I’m underestimating his potential
This is my favorite one. I'm a big fan of IQ and think this'll be a likely outcome for the level of play he has this season. I think the only way TOR really sneaks into the playoffs is by way of eliminating a higher-seeded team in the Play-In - I might guess MIA or MIL, if those teams deal with injuries towards the end of the season again.
Toronto's depth is HELLA shakey look at their roster. Its hollowed out. Barnes and Iq both are going to have to put up alstar numbers to sniff the playin let alone play offs
Brandon Miller makes an All-Star team.
In the last ~40 games of this season, he averaged 20 on 46/37/84 splits while taking 8 3PAs per game at 6'9.
He definitely has a jump in him if the stars align.
Pistons will improve significantly, making the play-in but losing. The players will attribute this not just to the new brain trust but especially to their new head coach. Having a coach who is not just there for the money and actually cares about the team will increase the team's morale. I want this to be true so bad for Cade's sake. Poor guy will be in year 4 next year but has never had a winning season yet.
I think Sharpe's ceiling is way lower than most people think. Hes destined to be a Malik Monk, J Crawford type 6th man. Except I dont buy Sharpe's efficiency I think the will be a volume scorer and slowly each year the hype will die.
I think differently. Before he got his first injury last season he was averaging over 20 ppg on very good efficiency. Once the abdominal injury came it affected his play and we saw his ppg drop down to 17 before the blazers decided to shut him down.
I believe Shaedon shows a feel for the game that isn’t common for players his age. Everything just seems so easy for him. I’m not going to put a hard cap on what he can be because who really knows but it’s easy to see why people are high on him. We will see if his efficiency is for real or not. I have a feeling it will be
Nuggets will be a play in team next year. With their lack of depth, all it’s gonna take is one injury to Murray (which he has every single year without fail) and they can drop a bunch of games in a quick period of time. The West is going to be way too stacked again next year for Jokic to carry Gleaguers for weeks or months at a time.
Hold up so Aaron Gordon and mpj are back to being g leaguers? One of the all time talents being compared to mj sometimes can barely make the play-in in his prime because his second star might be injured? The narratives go crazy for this man.
Some people say MPJ and AG benefit in ways they wouldn’t get on other teams from the Joker….they aren’t G league talents but they aren’t AllStars either…..
Don’t yall think nowitzki in his prime with this current team would atleast be better than a play in team. Like where do yall actually rate jokic all time?
You put words in people’s mouths just to have something to be upset about. Nobody said MPJ and AG were gleaguers. Use some common sense for 2 seconds. When those two are the 2nd and 3rd best players on your team, (when Murray is out) followed by 9 bench players, you’re not going to do too much in the West. Just how it is. Everyone but you understood that.
I mean bro isn’t that the same for every team? Take lillard out and doesn’t Giannis have a similar team. We all know Giannis with mpj and Aaron Gordon is definitely not a play in team. Take out maxey and before pg embiid still making the playoffs. Like what is your point.
No, that’s not a relevant comparison at all. I’m telling you why Denver most likely won’t have a spectacular record next year. You’re… fishing for a “gotcha” that isn’t there.
1. Dame and Maxey don’t get hurt every single year like clockwork and miss 30+ games. Nobody is “counting” on them being hurt most of the season.
2. we’re not talking about the Bucks or Sixers being a play in team. We’re talking about the Nuggets and what they’ll likely have to deal with next year.
I would prefer they did, but let’s be real what move can they realistically make? Unless they move MPJ, nobody they can realistically get is going to be much of a game changer. I wish there was a way for them to get Derozan
I’m not doubting that one bit, but hindsight is 20/20. I think he can take a noticeable step forward but I’m not going to count on that as something to keep the Nuggets above water (in the likely event that Murray is missing chunks of time)
Definitely feels possible.. FVV and Brooks are great dawgs to have in the playoffs. All hinges on how much progress Jalen Green makes. Sengun looks like the truth.
Three surprises of the season:
Grizzlies fight for a top 4 seed with a really good defensive roster and a reformed Morant
The Nuggets start the year dreadfully with Jokic carrying a roster of rookies. They make a massive move to trade MPJ and possibly even Murray at the all-star break in the hopes of not floundering Jokic’s prime. The new look Nuggets look good but limp into the playoffs as a play-in team.
The Thunder have an amazing season and grab a 1 seed with close to a dozen games remaining. But ultimately lose to the Rockets in a surprise upset as they don’t have a true star or center to deal with Sengun and a break rookie Sheppard.
This leads to a west where a 8 seed Rockets 7 seed Nuggets 6 seed Grizzlies and 5 seed Mavs all make the second round.
Bucks become a play-in team next year. They were awful after hiring Doc and their core isn’t getting any younger while having little secondary scoring. In addition, the top of the east is only going to be better next year with Bridges on the Knicks, PG on the 76ers, Celtics running it back, and teams like the Cavs, Magic, and Pacers gaining valuable playoff experience.
I gotta few actually Moose Moody with more opportunity starts show real signs of being a valuable two way player
With additions to the Pelicans roster they become a top 4 seat in the west BUT are still eliminated in the first round
Scoot Henderson has a bounce back season and starts to look like guard we all expected him to be
And by the trade deadline the Rockets trade some of there youth for a win now player such as a Devin booker
There is actually no reason to think Moody isnt already a great 3 and D role player.
In college he was great, played a huge role, shot 40% from 3 and guarded multiple positions with his freaking 7'1 wingspan
On that roster with a lack of depth at SF moody cannot be viewed as a SG/ warriors have like 6 guards.
1 poinght guard and like 5 combo or SG.
Also I think Kyle anderson will be very good with the Dubs, he fits what they do.
- Lakers miss the play in Games.
Both LeBron and AD will miss 20+ Games.
- Rockets make the playoffs
- Philly will be no better than the 5th seed.
- Suns win 50+ games
- Luka will miss 25+ Games.
Cade Cunningham takes a big leap and averages 26/9/5 and the Pistons scrape play in with around 35 wins, this will be the first season he will have proper spacing and the ECF is weak
Feel like the Pelicans are going to surprise people, if they can get a proper center I think they can push for 50 wins, one of Trey Murphy or Herb get all star shouts shouts - assuming BI is traded
One of if not both of the Clippers and Warriors will miss the play in
Magic get 1 seed in the eastern conference
SGA MVP
Thunder wins championship in 7 vs Knicks
Cam Thomas Scoring title
Jaden Hardy MIP
Derrick Lively all-def 1st team
Charles Bassey has an breakout 20/20 game
Bold? The small market era takes off: Both LA teams, Phoenix and Golden State don't make the Playoffs, and Durant requests another trade, but there are no takers. Denver just survives the play-in game against San Antonio to clinch the 8th seed. Houston takes 7th.
Meanwhile perennial 4th quarter chokers Sacramento and New Orleans both finish in the rop 6 with DeJounte Murray and DeMar DeRozan providing the closing they needed. Memphis grinds it's way back into contention together with our new alphas Minnesota, Dallas and OKC who are the only 60+ win team in the West.
Out in the East Kenny Atkinson is exactly what was needed to unlock the Cavs gauntlet while Orlando shows just how far you can get with great defence. The Pacers are also no joke and the revival of Wiseman is the cinderella story of the year. New York has too many mouths and can't secure home court advantage in the first round. Philadelphia finds out you can't buy chemistry and finishes 6th. Meanwhile Doc Rivers keeps the Bucks hoovering around .500 barely surviving the Playins to take the 7th seed and another great surprise in the East is the revival of the Raptors who take the final playoff berth. Miami has traded a disgrunted Butler at the trade deadline and has started a soft reboot as they didn't make it out of the playin tournament.
I think the warriors floor is playing 500 basketball and that if they make a move for Lauri or else get an actual big man they could be a 4/5 seed
I don’t see pacers being a top 2 seed but I would put them on the same level as the magic and are definitely better than the Cavs
I think Cavs/clippers both fall off a cliff and Darius garland will be moved
I don’t have Celtics going b2b and think they could be upset in round 2 depending on match ups
Spurs will be a disappointment and Pop retirement talk gets louder. They finish 13th in the West, as Ja/Memphis bounce back to be at least play in contenders in a stacked West.
Maxey is the most impactful player on the 6ers.
Immanuel Quickley averages 20+ppg and is in the MIP discussion
Ja will have a terrible season ending injury that puts his whole career in jeopardy.
Pacers will be a top 3 seed and 1st round exit
The Hawks assuming health will be much better this year and fighting for a top 6 spot. Trae will be more efficient, JJ will take a leap and be a 20/9/5 guy and Zac will be a plus defender and a solid 38% 3pt shooter and avg bout 15/6
The Spurs make a massive all-star deal for a PG after Castle looks really good defensively but dreadful offensively
They make the pivot to him being a defensive wing/2-gaurd and send out an absurd package for Cade Cunningham, LeMelo or maybe even Curry (if things in GS fall apart)
The move brings them from a play in team to an almost a contender, but it caps their future possibilities of a dynasty.
Bucks get bounced in the first round again. Doc rivers master class failure + dame defence inabilities + aging roster = upset by a supposed lesser team 💎
I like the Pacers prediction a lot. Getting Mathurin back, a year older and wiser for Haliburton, Siakam getting a full training camp, young guys showing what they learned in the playoffs. They're not listed with the Celtics, Sixers or Knicks as real contenders in the East but I think they're gonna be right at the top all year and go deep in the playoffs again. Health issues aside of course.
I think top 4 for the Pacers is realistic but they need to demonstrate more consistency to be considered top 2 in the regular season.
More realistic than being top-2, but I think top-4 is still a bit much. Indy feels like the Hawks from a couple years back. When they went to the ECF. Pacers played the Bucks without Giannis and the Knicks without like 12 of their players.
If they can get better at defense, they are right with the Knicks and Sixers, for sure
In the memory of Barkley: If my aunt had stones, she'd be my uncle.
We were the 15th best defense after the all star break.
Nembhard absolutely balled out in the playoffs also. He deserves more touches.
With relative health throughout I can't see the top 4, Bos is Bos/NY, Phi improved/Mil has Giannis, Dame a top 5 player & top 25ish guy. W/o injuries they'd likely lost to Mil this yr & haven't gotten any better, they have the "worst" best player of the 5 & have huge match-up issues with Giannis/Joel while NY/Bos both have at least 3 very good to great defenders to throw at Hali. They're much closer to Orl/Cle/Mia imo & would have a hard time with any of them, Orl has the size to disrupt their offense & bully their defense. Cle has the best player in the series but don't have anyone to guard Hali so it should be a better match-up likely Indy's best. Mia always gives teams trouble healthy & have the best player in the series with a couple guys to guard Hali depending if the resign Caleb/Highsmith.
Finally! I was starting to think everyone on here lost their damn mind! Lol. Indy being top-2 means being better than at least two of BOS/PHI/MIL/NYK. Two of those teams got better this offseason. Boston stayed the same - which is fine for a 64-win team that won it all!! MIL still that Giannis dude. Who will STILL BE IN HIS 20s to start the season.
Yea I can't see it if all of them are whole, idt they'll be significantly better than last yr b/c they haven't improved much & they aren't good defensively which limits their ceiling. 6 east teams have a better best player some by a lot Phi/Mil/Bos & more complete 2 way players on most too, they'll likely be about 5th or 6th seed again. It took everything they had to beat NY & the Knicks lost impact players in 3 games straight not mentioning they improved with Phi who just got another 3&D wing to match up even better with them. It's easily Bos/Phi/NY then Indy/Orl/Cle/Mia/Mil in no order imo
I’m actually betting on the reverse. Pacers to not make playoffs. Trae Young Hawks vibes.
The difference between the Pacers and Hawks is that the Pacers built the team around Haliburton and the Pacers have a lot of talented youth that should make at least minimal improvements. The Hawks took a few talented players and put them around Young but did nothing to compliment his play style.
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I just wrote mostly the same thing. I think the Pacers make the playoffs, but let us not forget that Indy was the #6 seed this past season. Philly was the #7 seed. With Embiid missing a few months. The two teams finished with the same amount of regular season wins. Everything is assuming health, but it would be genuinely surprising if the Pacers finish with a better record than BOS, MIL, PHI OR NYK. So, we're already down to the #5 seed. Are we SURE IND is better than CLE and ORL?
As a Pacers fan I think a huge part of that was their complete inability as a younger less mature team to consistently mop up bad teams, and close games. Their record vs above .500 teams and the top of the league was excellent. What killed momentum and gave bad habits was the weirdo losses to Portland, Washington, or Charlotte etc. If they can just handle their business better which I think is probable with another year of growth from young players, plus playoff bruises, I can easily see 53-55 wins next year and a top 3 seed. Call me biased but that's my genuine take. NY is better on paper, Boston is better period. Other than that I like our chances.
Assuming health, MIL and PHI are better as well. Which is my only point. Indy will be lucky to match their regular season win total next season. Will I be rooting for them to knock the Knicks and Celtics out of the playoffs? YES!!
Milwaukee was healthy for the majority of the year last year and limped into the playoffs record wise under Doc. I see no reason to believe they're going to be better when they're an older team who will be a year older, and made no meaningful changes.
Why are so many playing stupid on here?!? Is this a joke that I'm not getting?!?!? Giannis!! Dude is still in his 20s!!!! I easily expect Giannis and Dame to have better chemistry in their second season together. Neither team made a move. Fair. So, if healthy, nothing about my opinion will change. Not to be outrageous, but the Giannis/Dame combo is more talented than the Hali/Turner combo. \*ducks in case god unleashes his wrath for such a crazy comment.\*
this isnt 2 on 2 your best 2 vs my best 2. Its 82 games Can you get quality minutes out of your 12th 13th man? Can 2 way players get minutes? or does your rotation go like 8 or 9 deep and have The Pacers are IMO just built for the regular season. They 100% know their identity, and stick to it. They're adding Siakam, and Mathurin, and potentially Walker too. Also the Pacers really seem to adjust and adapt to missing key pieces, part of this is because they have such a well defined identity offensively and they move the ball soo well with a bunch of solid scorers, couple great shooter. They get a lot of good - great shots. Open corner 3s, easy cut lay up. Milwaukee definitely has the better 2 players. But what about 3,4,5,6,7,8,9 Also this is less a bet on pure talent but rather a team. Milwaukee with Dame and Giannis still hasnt been what people were anticipating or at least Mke fans. It was a pretty radical shift with neither guy playing with someone who was the guy for an offense. Also Brook is not going to age well, he has already regressed just last year.
Hornets trade Lamelo at the deadline, or at the very least, they realize Miller is the future (instead of Ball), and their media people begin to push the Lamelo trade rumors. He’s consistently missing too many games due to injury.
I can see it, but I can't see anyone giving great value for a guy who plays 30 games a year with a max contact. And his brother had major injuries that has seemingly ended his career early. How do hornets rebuild without getting great value from him?
Yeah the haul wouldn’t be all that great, but it would be better than having 30+ million tied up in a guy that doesn’t play. If they could get 2 vets and 1st, or 2 1st and an expiring contract, I’d be content. They should probably prioritize picks over players. I think they could get the Lakers interested in something, maybe snag Reeves and Christie from them. It’s not gonna be a star player so they might as well fill out the roster with quality support guys. As for the rebuild: Trade Melo to let Brandon and Miles lead the way and grow together. Hope that Mark Williams, Nick Smith Jr, Pok, and Leaky, progress and become a part of the core group. Pray. I really don’t know past that, this team is so fvcked.
Isn’t it unlikely Bridges stays on the hornets at this point? It sounds like they won’t even agree to pay him, so what are they going to do with the money after dumping Lamelo’s contract? What free agents are coming to Charlotte? Brandon Miller has 3 years before they need to extend him, Mark Williams has another couple as well and so far doesn’t look like he’s going to be demanding massive money anyway. I’m not a hornets fan, so this is looking at it from the outside, but it seems like having a potential perennial All-Star signed long term but injured while your team tanks and gets high draft picks is not the worst thing in the world. He’s not playing so there’s plenty of opportunity for the other young guys anyway. Remember Curry had similar ankle issues at the start of his career and figured it out. I get it’d be a lot more frustrating as a fan, but hoping Lamelo finds a way to stay healthy seems like the best bet for the Hornets. Move on later if they see they’ll run into cap issues, but I don’t see how they’d benefit from getting off his contract right now.
It makes no sense for the hornets to trade him (essentially sell low) and he and Miller are guys that would be very complimentary to each other if it worked out. The team isn’t a move or two from being contenders. Getting off his contract and getting some mediocre assets is just a dumb move.
It’s a great fit, but when you don’t play it doesn’t matter how good you are. Have you paid any attention to the clippers since they got kawhi? What did keeping him do for that team? He’s much better than Melo will ever be, and that team didn’t get shit out of being patient with him. So many teams and fans are perfectly content to just hope and pray every year that THIS is the year their star actually plays basketball. That’s why so many teams are stuck in limbo with no hope. Hell with that.
This comparison makes absolutely no sense. The clippers are a win now team and the hornets are still rebuilding. Kawhi is 33 years old with a degenerative condition. LaMelo is 22 (almost 23 tbf). At this point the hornets best option is to hope he gets over the ankle injuries. Trading him for nothing does nothing for them
Disagree for sure. There is no franchise that would trade LaMelo after what he demonstrated. If anything, I would argue that the Hornets have been intentionally extending his time out from ankle injuries to tank harder, and LaMelo is going to have an all star season after Hornets decide they're done tanking and let him play
Wishful thinking, and as a fan I would much rather prefer you be right over me here, I just don’t see it. why would they choose to stop tanking this coming year? End the tank the year after the weakest draft ever? If they were that focused on tanking they certainly wouldn’t want to stop now with the class coming in next year. It also doesn’t help his case that we’ve seen his brother go through constant ankle problems as well. I wish it was all a charade but all signs (to me) are pointing in the other direction. Believe me, I was over the moon excited about the Lamelo pick when it happened. I just think he has fragile dainty ankles
1. Lonzo has been held out the past few seasons because of knee issues, totally different animal. 2. Lamelo is only 22. 3. They've definitely been shutting down Lamelo when he could play. There's nothing to play for so why risk longterm issues? It's not about tanking for a particular player. 4. The Hornets have new ownership, GM, and coach, everyone wants to stop losing now.
Lonzo’s issues started at his ankles and worked it’s way up. That’s how those things go. Only 22 and already constantly injured 3 and 4 completely contradict each other. “There’s nothing to play for” but the team wants to win because they’re under new management? It can’t be both. If they were so worried about winning now then they damn sure wouldn’t be sitting melo for no reason, they’d be trying to win.
I agree with this. I think they embrace the tank race
This exact logic would have had curry traded over Ellis
Memphis is a top 4 team in the West. They have a lot of talent and Marcus Smart is gonna be so hungry. If they are healthy this season watch out. Hopefully they can make a move for a good defensive center like Clint Capella but I really like them as a sleeper. Especially in the playoffs.
I'm surprised this would be a high variance prediction because I expect the same. They have a great system, developed their young players for a year in that system and the stars are coming back. Very deep too. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if they were 2/3.
I wouldn't be surprised if the Celtics had the #1 seed in the East next season. See, it's not bold or edgy to say teams will do things that they've literally already done. Memphis was the #2 seed in their last non-shooty season. It would surprise me Memphis finishes #2 or #3 just because they aren't that good. Fully expect them to be a playoff team. But, to be even #3 means they finish the regular season better than at least two of DEN, MIN, OKC and DAL.
Clint Capela is absolutely washed at this point unfortunately
They made the move for Edey because they knew they could deal with his weaknesses. There is no point in a Clint Capella when you have the defensive talent they have. They rather bring in the best screener and rebounder they can for the center because that’s what they need. They are a matchup nightmare for a lot teams that can’t punish them, and they are surprisingly adaptable in offensive style now. I think with Edey they are a top 4 seed still
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I’ll give a pistons hot take since that’s my team. I think we can contend for a play in spot. Yeah that’s sad to be excited for but we’ve been a shit team for years now. Bickerstaff isn’t going to be COTY or anything but if he can have decent rotations he’s already way better than Monty, who was starting G league guys. THJ and Tobias are solid vets who can give us 15-20 a night. We also barely played Cade and Ivey together. Duren is still 20 years old. Ausar is 21. Holland is 18. I’m really excited to see what Fred Vinson can do to improve their shooting. Lonzo went from 32% to 37% from 3. Imagine if Ivey could get to that. we could easily just be a bottom 3 team in the east again. But I’m somewhat optimistic about this season
I like this prediction. It's bold, and while unlikely, it's possible. Especially when you consider that 2 of ATL, BKN, CHA, CHI, DET, TOR, and WAS have to make the Play-In or better (assuming the typical playoff teams remain). DET has the makings of a decent roster (or at least the potential for that), but is in dire need of shooting, defense, and good coaching. Hopefully these off-season changes can help some of these young guys develop.
I think we made a lot of addition by subtraction moves. Hayes, Livers, Wiseman were statistically some of the worst players in the nba and they all had spots in the rotation. I just really wish we got a defensive center in FA. We still have 25 million in cap space so I hope we can trade for someone. Brook Lopez would be perfect. These guys are just so young and have barely played together. There’s no cohesion. They all have so much potential individually, but as a team, we just haven’t seen it as much.
Was just talking about Brook on the Pels sub. I agree that the good version of Brook the last few years is a perfect fit for so many teams as the highly sought-after big who can anchor a defense and stretch the floor. But he really regressed this past year, most likely because he requires good POA defenders on defense so he and Giannis can do their things protecting the paint. But they didn't have that this past year when they lost Jrue. Unless Holland or someone else unexpectedly carves out a role like that, I don't really know that DET has the defensive personnel conducive for Brook to excel in his own role. Which would mean the overall defense still wouldn't be as good as it otherwise could be.
I definitely agree he regressed but we just need centers. Duren really struggles defensively and a vet center would be perfect to mentor him. Isaiah Stewart is like 6’8 and not a true center. I think Ausar is the perfect POA defender. Dudes a beast at everything besides shooting lol. If he can be even just an average shooter, he’s going to be special. I saw we just signed Malik Beasley too on a very good deal. We already have 3 new players who are vets and probably our best 3 point shooters immediately. I’m excited to see actual floor spacing next to cade/ivey.
True, I somehow forgot about Ausar. If he carves out minutes as a starter (I think he should), he'd be awesome to pair with Brook.
Derek Lively starts taking 4 3's a game and is nick named the light skin Myles Turner. He then makes 5 3's in 1 game and does the Antonie Walker Shimmy.
Bold. I love it.
For the West, Warriors miss the playoffs entirely, not even play in. They're forced to truly blow it up instead of the recent half measures and band aids. Too many other younger, more athletic, good teams. They had to fend off the Rockets last season just to lose the play in. Mavs Thunder Nuggets T Wolves Clippers Kings Lakers Grizzlies Pelicans Suns Plus Rockets are getting better. Who are the Warriors beating out for the play in spots?
Clippers will miss the playoffs and one other team will miss because of injuries.
And that other team will be the pelicans
Plot twist. Zion plays every game and has never been healthier in his life.
It definitely could be
The rockets are a huge threat to push the warriors out of the play-in, I agree. Clippers and Nuggets are probably expected to regress but I doubt either team is in the play in range yet. Rockets didn’t make a ton of moves other than being a year older with their young guys and drafting the best shooter to help their awful spacing which may make Sengun an even bigger threat if the pick pans out immediately. I doubt Houston is gunning for 50 wins yet, but they’ll make enough improvements to surpass Golden State
I agree that Warriors will be bottom 5 - I thought they would end up 10-11 last year but was just off. It is incredible how bad the bottom 7 in the East are, while in the West only the Blazers and Jazz are tanking. I am hoping the Spurs can also surpass the sliding big teams -the Warriors for one, and Lakers and/or Clippers or Suns if these aging rosters get some bad injury luck.
I have no idea when the spurs will become competitive. They’re needing to avoid the Lebron in Cleveland scenario where they’re immediately too good with Wemby that he never gets good draft picks, and he’s not quite as good as young Lebron so that helps, but I think San Antonio will be patient for at least another 1-2 years
The warriors are better than last year, I see them making 6th seed at least
I mean, the Warriors are in control of most of their firsts throughout the remainder of the decade, right? They haven’t done anything that warranted giving up multiple firsts. When you’re saying ‘truly blow it up’, are you saying they’ll push Draymond out for everything he’s worth? I can’t see that happening to Steph at all.
Dame is more comfortable with the bucks and isn’t as distracted from a divorce. He and Giannis mesh well together and the bucks are the one seed in the east
Houston rockets will take a huge leap forwards. Sengun plays league average defense along with his Jokic like offense. Jalen Green is more consistent and averages 22PPG. Jabari smith takes a leap forward and becomes a nightly 16p/10r. Amen and Cam show hope. Reed Sheppard shows glimpses off the bench. Rockets are the 7th seed with 47 wins
With the right move and forward player growth Houston or Orlando could give the big boys a run for their money. I don't expect either team to win a chip this year but they should both be ultra competitive when healthy. Amen Thompson might be the truth. He reminds me of Russel Westbrook a decent bit, but with potentially higher BBIQ. He could be a top 5 wing defender by his 3rd or 4th year. Extremely athletic with a quick first step on offense with crafty finishes and electric bounce for impressive dunks. Main issue is his 3pt shooting, but with the high ceiling on the rest of his skill set I'm not sure it's going to matter. That's my two expectations for this year. Those two teams should be really fun to watch and I expect Amen to emerge over the course of the season as the Rockets true draft gem out of the bunch with Sengun.
I am a diehard rockets fan and we are at least 2 years away. But yes I agree with most of your assessments. I’d say amen having a higher BBIQ than Westbrook is an understatement. I also think he has a higher ceiling because of his length, defense, and humility. I’m biggest on a Reed cam amen Jabari lineup
Reed is interesting as his off ball movement and elite shooting are darn enticing, but he seems like a 6 man to me. If he can play elite defense though he might be able to crack the lineup. I was being nice with the bbiq comment lol it's definitely a good bit higher.
lol at BBIQ. Yeah the 2 big question marks are PG and Center - I love Sengun but centers that are below avg defense are hard to build around. I hope I’m wrong and he is league average next year
I didn’t get to watch a lot of Rockets games this year but I was blown away by your comment, you think Amen has a higher potential than Russell Westbrook did at the same stage. I always imagined his ceiling was prime 3&D guy but from sounds of it I’m underestimating his potential
Immanuel Quickley will be in All star discussions and the Raptors will be a playoff team
This is my favorite one. I'm a big fan of IQ and think this'll be a likely outcome for the level of play he has this season. I think the only way TOR really sneaks into the playoffs is by way of eliminating a higher-seeded team in the Play-In - I might guess MIA or MIL, if those teams deal with injuries towards the end of the season again.
Toronto's depth is HELLA shakey look at their roster. Its hollowed out. Barnes and Iq both are going to have to put up alstar numbers to sniff the playin let alone play offs
Brandon Miller makes an All-Star team. In the last ~40 games of this season, he averaged 20 on 46/37/84 splits while taking 8 3PAs per game at 6'9. He definitely has a jump in him if the stars align.
Terance Mann is older than drew eubanks, Landry shamet, and Dennis smith jr.
Damn being older than Landry Shamet does not make sense in my head. But yeah, the Terance Mann one is extremely far off
Yeah that leap I dont see, like at all. That is wild though haha I thought he was like 24
Pistons will improve significantly, making the play-in but losing. The players will attribute this not just to the new brain trust but especially to their new head coach. Having a coach who is not just there for the money and actually cares about the team will increase the team's morale. I want this to be true so bad for Cade's sake. Poor guy will be in year 4 next year but has never had a winning season yet.
Shaedon Sharpe breaks out and wins MIP putting up sneaky all star level numbers
Pairs nicely with the Grant trade prediction
I think Sharpe's ceiling is way lower than most people think. Hes destined to be a Malik Monk, J Crawford type 6th man. Except I dont buy Sharpe's efficiency I think the will be a volume scorer and slowly each year the hype will die.
I think differently. Before he got his first injury last season he was averaging over 20 ppg on very good efficiency. Once the abdominal injury came it affected his play and we saw his ppg drop down to 17 before the blazers decided to shut him down. I believe Shaedon shows a feel for the game that isn’t common for players his age. Everything just seems so easy for him. I’m not going to put a hard cap on what he can be because who really knows but it’s easy to see why people are high on him. We will see if his efficiency is for real or not. I have a feeling it will be
Nuggets will be a play in team next year. With their lack of depth, all it’s gonna take is one injury to Murray (which he has every single year without fail) and they can drop a bunch of games in a quick period of time. The West is going to be way too stacked again next year for Jokic to carry Gleaguers for weeks or months at a time.
Jokic already carried a bunch of g leaguers to a 6th seed a few seasons ago
I’d argue the current west is harder and 6th is very close to play in (one game away iirc) last season
It is. And the nuggets roster this year is way, way better than it was 3 years ago. Seriously, check who was on the 2021-22 nuggets
Bryn Forbes and Austin Rivers were closers in the playoffs 💀 The carry job that Jokic did was insane.
Exactly. Barely any of those players are left in the league. Very few even play anymore. And it was only 2 years ago
That’s great. Look at their record that year, and look at the western conference standings this year. They would’ve been a play in team. Thanks.
You mean the 2021-22 nuggets? Well yeah. Of course they would. Fortunately the current team is better. Much, much better. Try again
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My guy went with variance: astronomical
The 7 seed had 49 wins last year.
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Hold up so Aaron Gordon and mpj are back to being g leaguers? One of the all time talents being compared to mj sometimes can barely make the play-in in his prime because his second star might be injured? The narratives go crazy for this man.
Some people say MPJ and AG benefit in ways they wouldn’t get on other teams from the Joker….they aren’t G league talents but they aren’t AllStars either…..
Don’t yall think nowitzki in his prime with this current team would atleast be better than a play in team. Like where do yall actually rate jokic all time?
You put words in people’s mouths just to have something to be upset about. Nobody said MPJ and AG were gleaguers. Use some common sense for 2 seconds. When those two are the 2nd and 3rd best players on your team, (when Murray is out) followed by 9 bench players, you’re not going to do too much in the West. Just how it is. Everyone but you understood that.
I mean bro isn’t that the same for every team? Take lillard out and doesn’t Giannis have a similar team. We all know Giannis with mpj and Aaron Gordon is definitely not a play in team. Take out maxey and before pg embiid still making the playoffs. Like what is your point.
No, that’s not a relevant comparison at all. I’m telling you why Denver most likely won’t have a spectacular record next year. You’re… fishing for a “gotcha” that isn’t there. 1. Dame and Maxey don’t get hurt every single year like clockwork and miss 30+ games. Nobody is “counting” on them being hurt most of the season. 2. we’re not talking about the Bucks or Sixers being a play in team. We’re talking about the Nuggets and what they’ll likely have to deal with next year.
Hopefully they can make a couple of moves to keep them near the top
I would prefer they did, but let’s be real what move can they realistically make? Unless they move MPJ, nobody they can realistically get is going to be much of a game changer. I wish there was a way for them to get Derozan
The way we view guys like Braun now vs in 9 months is probably going to be drastically different
I’m not doubting that one bit, but hindsight is 20/20. I think he can take a noticeable step forward but I’m not going to count on that as something to keep the Nuggets above water (in the likely event that Murray is missing chunks of time)
Knicks are the one seed with Boston missing KP. They are built for the reg season and Thibs doesn’t punt games.
There’s no world in which Terrance Mann does that. We all know what he is as a player at this point, and it isn’t that. Maybe tops out at 17 ppg
this jumped off the page to me as absolutely absurd
High variance, lol. Harden needs someone to pass to. If Kawhi misses any time this feels totally possible.
Wembanyama will be a top 5 MVP vote getter and the Spurs will be in the playoffs.
I like this one.
Houston will be a shocker in the playoffs. They will knock off someone unexpected. (6-8seed vs a 1-3seed)
Definitely feels possible.. FVV and Brooks are great dawgs to have in the playoffs. All hinges on how much progress Jalen Green makes. Sengun looks like the truth.
Three surprises of the season: Grizzlies fight for a top 4 seed with a really good defensive roster and a reformed Morant The Nuggets start the year dreadfully with Jokic carrying a roster of rookies. They make a massive move to trade MPJ and possibly even Murray at the all-star break in the hopes of not floundering Jokic’s prime. The new look Nuggets look good but limp into the playoffs as a play-in team. The Thunder have an amazing season and grab a 1 seed with close to a dozen games remaining. But ultimately lose to the Rockets in a surprise upset as they don’t have a true star or center to deal with Sengun and a break rookie Sheppard. This leads to a west where a 8 seed Rockets 7 seed Nuggets 6 seed Grizzlies and 5 seed Mavs all make the second round.
Bucks become a play-in team next year. They were awful after hiring Doc and their core isn’t getting any younger while having little secondary scoring. In addition, the top of the east is only going to be better next year with Bridges on the Knicks, PG on the 76ers, Celtics running it back, and teams like the Cavs, Magic, and Pacers gaining valuable playoff experience.
I gotta few actually Moose Moody with more opportunity starts show real signs of being a valuable two way player With additions to the Pelicans roster they become a top 4 seat in the west BUT are still eliminated in the first round Scoot Henderson has a bounce back season and starts to look like guard we all expected him to be And by the trade deadline the Rockets trade some of there youth for a win now player such as a Devin booker
There is actually no reason to think Moody isnt already a great 3 and D role player. In college he was great, played a huge role, shot 40% from 3 and guarded multiple positions with his freaking 7'1 wingspan On that roster with a lack of depth at SF moody cannot be viewed as a SG/ warriors have like 6 guards. 1 poinght guard and like 5 combo or SG. Also I think Kyle anderson will be very good with the Dubs, he fits what they do.
- Lakers miss the play in Games. Both LeBron and AD will miss 20+ Games. - Rockets make the playoffs - Philly will be no better than the 5th seed. - Suns win 50+ games - Luka will miss 25+ Games.
I literally agree with every point, well done sir.
Cade Cunningham takes a big leap and averages 26/9/5 and the Pistons scrape play in with around 35 wins, this will be the first season he will have proper spacing and the ECF is weak Feel like the Pelicans are going to surprise people, if they can get a proper center I think they can push for 50 wins, one of Trey Murphy or Herb get all star shouts shouts - assuming BI is traded One of if not both of the Clippers and Warriors will miss the play in
Magic get 1 seed in the eastern conference SGA MVP Thunder wins championship in 7 vs Knicks Cam Thomas Scoring title Jaden Hardy MIP Derrick Lively all-def 1st team Charles Bassey has an breakout 20/20 game
Lol some of these are definitely wild. Well done.
Cam Thomas just has the greenest of green lights and takes 35 shots a game lolol
Bold? The small market era takes off: Both LA teams, Phoenix and Golden State don't make the Playoffs, and Durant requests another trade, but there are no takers. Denver just survives the play-in game against San Antonio to clinch the 8th seed. Houston takes 7th. Meanwhile perennial 4th quarter chokers Sacramento and New Orleans both finish in the rop 6 with DeJounte Murray and DeMar DeRozan providing the closing they needed. Memphis grinds it's way back into contention together with our new alphas Minnesota, Dallas and OKC who are the only 60+ win team in the West. Out in the East Kenny Atkinson is exactly what was needed to unlock the Cavs gauntlet while Orlando shows just how far you can get with great defence. The Pacers are also no joke and the revival of Wiseman is the cinderella story of the year. New York has too many mouths and can't secure home court advantage in the first round. Philadelphia finds out you can't buy chemistry and finishes 6th. Meanwhile Doc Rivers keeps the Bucks hoovering around .500 barely surviving the Playins to take the 7th seed and another great surprise in the East is the revival of the Raptors who take the final playoff berth. Miami has traded a disgrunted Butler at the trade deadline and has started a soft reboot as they didn't make it out of the playin tournament.
A Butler trade would be wild.
I think the warriors floor is playing 500 basketball and that if they make a move for Lauri or else get an actual big man they could be a 4/5 seed I don’t see pacers being a top 2 seed but I would put them on the same level as the magic and are definitely better than the Cavs I think Cavs/clippers both fall off a cliff and Darius garland will be moved I don’t have Celtics going b2b and think they could be upset in round 2 depending on match ups
Spurs will be a disappointment and Pop retirement talk gets louder. They finish 13th in the West, as Ja/Memphis bounce back to be at least play in contenders in a stacked West.
Maxey is the most impactful player on the 6ers. Immanuel Quickley averages 20+ppg and is in the MIP discussion Ja will have a terrible season ending injury that puts his whole career in jeopardy. Pacers will be a top 3 seed and 1st round exit
The Hawks assuming health will be much better this year and fighting for a top 6 spot. Trae will be more efficient, JJ will take a leap and be a 20/9/5 guy and Zac will be a plus defender and a solid 38% 3pt shooter and avg bout 15/6
The Spurs make a massive all-star deal for a PG after Castle looks really good defensively but dreadful offensively They make the pivot to him being a defensive wing/2-gaurd and send out an absurd package for Cade Cunningham, LeMelo or maybe even Curry (if things in GS fall apart) The move brings them from a play in team to an almost a contender, but it caps their future possibilities of a dynasty.
I think Bucks win the east. They're quiet and probably locked in this time around. Don't think they'll do much again after this run though
Bucks get bounced in the first round again. Doc rivers master class failure + dame defence inabilities + aging roster = upset by a supposed lesser team 💎
The Sixers get the one seed after a year in which both Embiid and PG are healthy But they lose to a 4 seed