They went on an 18-6 run under Woodson with a depleted roster against stiff competition. They didn't have Lin for many of those games. They are going to be 6th seed at the very least. The East is not as strong as the West.
Expectations for Motie should be tempered somewhat. But Motie has a couple things on Jonas right now that will cause him to have more success, at least initially. 1. Motie has an offensive aresenal. Jonas has none. 2. Motie is probably going to be backing up at center and playing the 4 a lot. That's a lot different from a low-post guy like Jonas who is primarily a defender having to go up against elite big men every night.
if Wade starts slower recovering from injury, if the Celtics have a few injuries like they had over the last few years, maybe even #1 seed in the East. There are 'ifs', but the Bulls have been the only "seed focused" contender in the East lately, and they'll be worse. The Heat and the Celtics care about getting healthy to the playoffs more. While the Pacers are relatively young and deep. It's pretty likely the East is 3-5 teams in 52-58 win range this year, in which case the Pacers may end up at the top.
Projected Standings Playoff Teams: 1. Miami Heat 2. Indiana Pacers 3. Chicago Bulls 4. Boston Celtics 5. New York Knicks (+Kidd,-Lin,-Landry,+Camby,-Jeffries) 6. Brooklyn Nets (+DWill, +JJohnson, GWallace, Lopez) Fighting for last spots: 7. Philadelphia 76ers (+Bynum,-Brand,+NYoung,-LWilliams,) 8. Washington Wizards (+Beal,+Okafor,+Nene,-McGee,-Blatche) 9. Milwaukee Bucks (+Ellis,-Bogut,+Dalembert,+Ilyasova's breakout season,+JHenson) 10. Atlanta Hawks (-JJohnson) 11. Cleveland Cavaliers (Kyrie Irving is going to explode: 23 ppg+?) 12. Toronto Raptors (+Lowry,+Fields,+Bargnani's health) Losers 13. Orlando Magic (-DH,+Afflalo,+Harrington) 14. Pistons 15. Bobcats No reason to think that our pick is going to be great next year. I don't see the Raptors being better than 7-11.
We will be getting a top 8 pick this upcoming draft. I think the standings will go Miami Indiana New Jersey Philadelphia Boston (only because they will play their best coming playoffs, otherwise they would be #2) New York Milwaukee Chicago Washington Atlanta Everyone else. I think Washington has a much better season this year than last. Toronto will still be bottom feeders even with Lowry + additions. The only teams they are for sure better than are Bobcats, Detroit, Orlando. Teams that have improved: Miami, Phily, New Jersey, Washington. Teams that have gotten worse: Chicago, Atl, Orlando.
I highly doubt Rockets keep both picks this coming season. They will either package both picks for a higher pick or trade the lower of the 2 for a nice asset. Unless Rockets make a big 3 for 1 trade involving some of our rooks/Patterson/Morris they are not going to keep both picks. (Unless Morey feels there is star talent at the spots of the picks)
Toronto currently has the 2nd worst record in the league at 3-11. They are on pace for a Top 3 pick, since it's protected OKC would have to wait another year. OKC's would be jumping for joy if Toronto landed the #4 pick! Potential #4 picks: Shabazz Muhammad, James McAdoo, Tony Mitchell <br><br><br>
His situation reminds me of Austin Rivers being rated so high then dropping as the season progressed. He's still rated at #3 or #4 on most draft boards. I know Perry Jones III was projected a top 10 pick last season and almost fell out of the first round.
Muhammad isn't dropping past #3 people. He's in one of the least stat-friendly offenses in CBB, under Howland. He's not getting much of a chance to handle/create, so he's mostly getting his shots on finishes or catch and shoot looks. He's still putting up 17/5 in 27mpg AND he's still getting in shape. To say he's free-falling down boards is stupid, especially when you consider that many of the other "top-10" players haven't impressed. And he's NOTHING like Austin Rivers or PJ3. Rivers lacked the IQ or physical tools, but made it off of pedigree and flash, while PJ3 had significant questions about motor/mentality. Muhammad has both great physical tools and mental approach.
Marcus Smart http://www.nbadraft.net/players/marcus-smart Lol OKC might draft this kid to replace Harden, all the while keeping Lamb
