Post by FectaDEEZ on Mar 8, 2017 11:51:08 GMT -6
Part 2 and finishing with the best. The class of the league both in tanking and in winning.
Tanking with the best of them
Memphis Bobcats
Just take a look at this roster. Its a thing of tanking beauty. No shot blocking bigs? Check. Bigs who shoot a lot? Check. Mediocre rookie PG? Check. The one bright spot for this team is Keith Van Horn who looks like a future stud at SF with a great TC and good preseason. KVH is good but will not hold this team back from losing 70 plus games.
Prediction 8-74 number 1 odds.
Washington Bullets:
Kn has done everything he can to lose as many games as possible. Acquiring Beeftank, Boucher a bunch of other scrubs. His only problem, and its a good one is that Tim Duncan is a freak and will be good enough to win 12-15 games by himself.
Prediction: 15-67 Top 5 pick
Miami Heat
I think they are still tanking ? Ben Simmons is a stud who should be good enough to help them win some games and D. Fox is showing some promise as a nice compliment to Simmons. The Heat drafted for the future taking HSer Captain Jack and his raw potential and D/R big Kelvin Cato. Simmons and Fox put them above the Bullets and Bobcats but they are still missing a third piece and are likely 2 years away from being back in compete mode.
Prediction:20-62
Mid Lotto
Not tanking, but not winning anything
Orlando Magic
They want to tank but its hard to move Shaq and CP3. Shaq is a good big but comes with a hefty contract and Paul is a mediocre PG who comes with a hefty contract and doesnt score enough. Shaq is too good to tank with and Paul is just good enough to not suck. Outside of these two their isn't much to like here unless Korver gets PT and becomes the next Jimmy Chitwood.
Prediction 39-43 not making the playoffs and finishing with a late lotto pick.
Chicago Bulls
They seem to be stuck in no man's land. Drummond is good I guess, Bibby is alright, Beal is alright and that pretty much sums up the Bulls. They are alright. No young superstar to build with, too much salary to sign anyone in the near future and too good to get a high draft pick, which I dont think matters because they traded them all anyway. The Bulls need to figure out what they are doing and who they are.
Prediction 41-41 fighting for the 8 seed.
Atlanta Hawks
Similar situation as the Bulls but with a brighter future since they own their picks. Diogu was an interesting signing, he had a lot of win shares but he is a big who shoots and doesnt block shots which makes 9 million and rising a lot to invest him. Pierce is alright but is probably suited to be a teams third best player and not the leading man on a winning team. Pierce and Floyd make them competitive but not winning anything .
Prediction: 43-39 fighting for the 8 seed.
Milwaukie Bucks
Granger, Brooks and Monta will score a lot of points and it will be enough to make them competitive. But the Buck's front court leaves a lot to be desired, as a former Charles Oakley owner I can attest to the fact that he sucks. Robert Strong is 4 years past his prime and doesnt block enough shots to have an impact. After thinking about this more maybe I have them too high ? I'll be rooting for them because they have Pac 12 player of the year and Oregon great Dillion Brooks though.
Prediction
44-38 maybe playoffs?
Could maybe win a playoff series, but probably not.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Epstein is always solid at PG and they added CWebb at C to help with their D/R. But where is the scoring gonna come from outside of Ellie and Epstein ? Kliezia is not the man he once was and no one else on that team is a threat to put up 25 any given night. That duo does enough to get them in the playoffs but unless something crazy happens I see them bowing out in the first round.
Prediction: 46-36
First Round Exit
Indiana Pacers
Patrick Ewing is the best C in the league and is force on the boards and on D. Pairing him with Bynum has given the Pacers arguably the best twin towers in the league. Unfortunately this isn't the 1970s and you need more than bigs to win. AC Green is a sold wing who plays good D but he doesn't score enough to be a superstar and their is no other wings who serve as a threat. With the lack of scoring they cant be a favorite to win it all.
Prediction 50-32 first round exit.
New York Knicks
It's stupid to bet against Jimmy but that is what I am doing. Jimmy is good, Butch is good but I dont see a third option that propels them into a playoff victory and while in the past Eric has been able to put together some good bigs from the scrap heaps I dont see it this year. No third option and no good bigs lead the Knicks to a possible first round exit.
Prediction: 54-28
Nets
In their current form I would not put them here and it could be my biggest mistake. Essentially all they have right now is Tyron Lue and a bunch of mediocre players but the AD trade and other moves have given them the ammo to make a big move.
Prediction they make a move and finish 56-26
Contenders
76ers
If he holds onto Theus there is enough scoring here to have one of the best offenses in the league. Another x factor is whether or not he holds onto Bosh who I believe is poised to take a leap and become one of the better defenders in the league.
Prediction 57-25
Toronto Raptors
I might be putting them too low. They had a helluva of an offseason signing Sam Jones and trading for Gil. That is probably the best backcourt in the league and then with Fultz coming off the bench and a young T-Mac at the 3 they have the scoring. My only concern with them is their front court. Their is some young talent their and Chriss had an amazing training camp but without an established D/R big I have some concerns about the run they could make.
Prediction 58-24
Boston Celtics
The second team from the east to take a huge leap this year. Darko has showed a lot of promise, Josh Jackson has shown a lot of promise. Those two along with the core he already had dump probably could have made the playoffs. But he didn't stand pat, he acquired one of the best bigs in the league in AD and signed James Worthy to play SF. A starting 5 of Darko, AD, Worthy, Jackson and Dennis Smith is great and I expect them to win for years to come.
Prediction 59-23
Charlotte Hornets
Probably not good karma to pick my own team first, but what can I say ? I'm confident. Rudd, Carter and Detlef make for arguably the best trio in the league and fill it up. One of the biggest weaknesses last year was perimeter D and with the addition of Phegley as the 6th man that should improve a lot. The one question mark with this team is who is gonna play along side Pau? Elmore is alright, Skoal is unproven and raw and could shoot too much. A move there needs to made or else this prediction could look foolish.
Prediction: 63-19
Tanking with the best of them
Memphis Bobcats
Just take a look at this roster. Its a thing of tanking beauty. No shot blocking bigs? Check. Bigs who shoot a lot? Check. Mediocre rookie PG? Check. The one bright spot for this team is Keith Van Horn who looks like a future stud at SF with a great TC and good preseason. KVH is good but will not hold this team back from losing 70 plus games.
Prediction 8-74 number 1 odds.
Washington Bullets:
Kn has done everything he can to lose as many games as possible. Acquiring Beeftank, Boucher a bunch of other scrubs. His only problem, and its a good one is that Tim Duncan is a freak and will be good enough to win 12-15 games by himself.
Prediction: 15-67 Top 5 pick
Miami Heat
I think they are still tanking ? Ben Simmons is a stud who should be good enough to help them win some games and D. Fox is showing some promise as a nice compliment to Simmons. The Heat drafted for the future taking HSer Captain Jack and his raw potential and D/R big Kelvin Cato. Simmons and Fox put them above the Bullets and Bobcats but they are still missing a third piece and are likely 2 years away from being back in compete mode.
Prediction:20-62
Mid Lotto
Not tanking, but not winning anything
Orlando Magic
They want to tank but its hard to move Shaq and CP3. Shaq is a good big but comes with a hefty contract and Paul is a mediocre PG who comes with a hefty contract and doesnt score enough. Shaq is too good to tank with and Paul is just good enough to not suck. Outside of these two their isn't much to like here unless Korver gets PT and becomes the next Jimmy Chitwood.
Prediction 39-43 not making the playoffs and finishing with a late lotto pick.
Chicago Bulls
They seem to be stuck in no man's land. Drummond is good I guess, Bibby is alright, Beal is alright and that pretty much sums up the Bulls. They are alright. No young superstar to build with, too much salary to sign anyone in the near future and too good to get a high draft pick, which I dont think matters because they traded them all anyway. The Bulls need to figure out what they are doing and who they are.
Prediction 41-41 fighting for the 8 seed.
Atlanta Hawks
Similar situation as the Bulls but with a brighter future since they own their picks. Diogu was an interesting signing, he had a lot of win shares but he is a big who shoots and doesnt block shots which makes 9 million and rising a lot to invest him. Pierce is alright but is probably suited to be a teams third best player and not the leading man on a winning team. Pierce and Floyd make them competitive but not winning anything .
Prediction: 43-39 fighting for the 8 seed.
Milwaukie Bucks
Granger, Brooks and Monta will score a lot of points and it will be enough to make them competitive. But the Buck's front court leaves a lot to be desired, as a former Charles Oakley owner I can attest to the fact that he sucks. Robert Strong is 4 years past his prime and doesnt block enough shots to have an impact. After thinking about this more maybe I have them too high ? I'll be rooting for them because they have Pac 12 player of the year and Oregon great Dillion Brooks though.
Prediction
44-38 maybe playoffs?
Could maybe win a playoff series, but probably not.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Epstein is always solid at PG and they added CWebb at C to help with their D/R. But where is the scoring gonna come from outside of Ellie and Epstein ? Kliezia is not the man he once was and no one else on that team is a threat to put up 25 any given night. That duo does enough to get them in the playoffs but unless something crazy happens I see them bowing out in the first round.
Prediction: 46-36
First Round Exit
Indiana Pacers
Patrick Ewing is the best C in the league and is force on the boards and on D. Pairing him with Bynum has given the Pacers arguably the best twin towers in the league. Unfortunately this isn't the 1970s and you need more than bigs to win. AC Green is a sold wing who plays good D but he doesn't score enough to be a superstar and their is no other wings who serve as a threat. With the lack of scoring they cant be a favorite to win it all.
Prediction 50-32 first round exit.
New York Knicks
It's stupid to bet against Jimmy but that is what I am doing. Jimmy is good, Butch is good but I dont see a third option that propels them into a playoff victory and while in the past Eric has been able to put together some good bigs from the scrap heaps I dont see it this year. No third option and no good bigs lead the Knicks to a possible first round exit.
Prediction: 54-28
Nets
In their current form I would not put them here and it could be my biggest mistake. Essentially all they have right now is Tyron Lue and a bunch of mediocre players but the AD trade and other moves have given them the ammo to make a big move.
Prediction they make a move and finish 56-26
Contenders
76ers
If he holds onto Theus there is enough scoring here to have one of the best offenses in the league. Another x factor is whether or not he holds onto Bosh who I believe is poised to take a leap and become one of the better defenders in the league.
Prediction 57-25
Toronto Raptors
I might be putting them too low. They had a helluva of an offseason signing Sam Jones and trading for Gil. That is probably the best backcourt in the league and then with Fultz coming off the bench and a young T-Mac at the 3 they have the scoring. My only concern with them is their front court. Their is some young talent their and Chriss had an amazing training camp but without an established D/R big I have some concerns about the run they could make.
Prediction 58-24
Boston Celtics
The second team from the east to take a huge leap this year. Darko has showed a lot of promise, Josh Jackson has shown a lot of promise. Those two along with the core he already had dump probably could have made the playoffs. But he didn't stand pat, he acquired one of the best bigs in the league in AD and signed James Worthy to play SF. A starting 5 of Darko, AD, Worthy, Jackson and Dennis Smith is great and I expect them to win for years to come.
Prediction 59-23
Charlotte Hornets
Probably not good karma to pick my own team first, but what can I say ? I'm confident. Rudd, Carter and Detlef make for arguably the best trio in the league and fill it up. One of the biggest weaknesses last year was perimeter D and with the addition of Phegley as the 6th man that should improve a lot. The one question mark with this team is who is gonna play along side Pau? Elmore is alright, Skoal is unproven and raw and could shoot too much. A move there needs to made or else this prediction could look foolish.
Prediction: 63-19
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