We need at least one more star to make the playoffs. Right now we're probably back at the 14th pick or near it.
I think we make the playoffs. This team is young, but has the potential to be better than the last couple of seasons.
Point is...most, if not all know this. Of course this isn't a playoff team, sir. Who's saying otherwise?
For the first time since 08-09, I feel carefree going into the season. I have no idea what this team will look like on the court together, or how their chemistry will be. I wanted to tank for so long, but since we finally have a young star, I have no problems with the team anymore. If they win and make the playoffs, great. If they come up short and land the 14th pick again, meh. If they have growing pains and end up with a top 10 pick, awesome. This is gonna be a great season for me.
We will, unfortunately, be more mediocre than we were before. We don't need to be in the top-5 so bad anymore, though it sure would be nice.
I agree with this. On offense: I think our offense will be worse than last year. But with the Beard (especially compared to last year's K-Mart), it won't be a big drop off, if the new team can gel fast enough. On defense though, I think we're much better than last year. As discussed in the preseason thread: Asik has already show HUGE impact anchoring the defense. And replacing Scola by PPat/T-Jones is addition by subtraction on the defensive side. Harden although average is still a better defender than K-Mart. And Chandler Bang has one year of experience under his belt, so he will only get better. All in all, overall I think this new team is better than last year's team, _if_ they gel fast enough. So I don't think contending for a playoff spot is out of question.