Pelicans - W Denver - L @ Clippers - L @ Lakers - W @ GS - L Memphis - W Denver - L @ Dallas - W @ Denver - L @ Lakers - W Spurs - W 6 - 5 or [we might steal 1 win from the Nuggets ---- 7-4]
FWIW - I think if we get 5 wins in the next 11, that's not a bad start to the season given the teams we have played to start the season. If we are nearly 1/4 way into the season and sitting at .500 and nearly halfway to our TOTAL season win totals last year - that's an incredible start to the season.
Pelicans - W Denver - L @ Clippers - W @ Lakers - W @ GS - L Memphis - W Denver - W @ Dallas - L @ Denver - L @ Lakers - W Spurs - W So what is that 7-4 I don't see Denver Sweeping us. I have concerns about Sweeping the Lakers Rocket River
I think we're going to win all eleven, but I don't expect them to keep beating every team by 25-40. I'm not unreasonable. They'll only beat about 4 of those teams by 25-40. The rest they'll beat by 15-25.
I'm starting to get anxious about how optimistic this board has become. Usually that's followed by an avalanche of negativity because the players didn't live up to optimistic expectations. What is it about message boards that makes groups so bipolar? The defense will come and go, they won't get better every single game, they will screw up some games and 3 of the 4 wins we have are against teams missing their top scorer. We have played an EXTREMELY easy schedule thus far, regardless of what kind of wins were projected for those teams before the season. If Anthony Davis was playing, our offense would have been worse and our defense would have been worse. The offense I'm sorry to say is NOT very good. I'm telling you this right now as we sit in the top 10 offenses in the NBA: our offense will not be good this season. It will be around 20th in the NBA which is well below average. Udoka's Celtics offense lacked spacing and underutilized 3pt shooting while allowing way too many mid range jumpers - that offense was excellent because of talent rather than coaching. It's the one area Udoka has to improve actually. He's excellent with culture, defense, transition, unselfishness, shot selection. Basically modern offense is the one area he still has to prove himself - which is why the Warriors blew him out of the water with arguably a less talented team. Please try to have an internal standard that does not sway heavily based on what happened recently. I feel like we went from ULTRA negative to ULTRA positive way too fast. The standard qualifier "As long as they can somewhat maintain this" is your biggest enemy. They will NOT maintain this level of offensive success. Veteran teams will be much stronger in the second half. The defense will get studied and scouted. I know we will get better at some things, but many things are totally unsustainable. We have been extremely lucky with many things and luck is temporary. I'd rather an overly optimistic fanbase than a pessimistic one, but I'm just trying to alert you to the fact that you will disappoint yourself if you hold them to these standards. We had a good run of games, let's enjoy that. I recommend Udoka and the Rockets' approach: don't get too high or too low about results and just focus on the next game or next play.
I’m predicting 4-7 which is way better than I would have predicted coming into the year. It is still a brutal schedule. If we do better than that, I will be thrilled. 10-15 first 25 would be a great outcome for this team and we would be in great position for the play-offs when the schedule gets more reasonable. Having 4 practice days before we hit the road may help us in those first 3 road games. It is going to be interesting if we can keep up the defensive intensity on the road where the refs will definitely be working against us and there is no home crowd egging us on.
Pelicans L Denver W @ Clippers L @ Lakers W @ GS L Memphis W Denver L @ Dallas W @ Denver L @ Lakers L Spurs L 4-7
Looks convincing, I think this is a stretch where they win a lot and they will struggle against mediocre teams on the road during Christmas time and January. 0-3 mostly on the Road 4-0 at Home That is going to be a stark contrast of Home Vs Road. But there is an off chance that Udoka can counter every team.....which is insane.
Pelicans - W - with all their injuries, us at home, finding our groove, should be not that hard to continue the streak. Denver - L - even with Murray out, they are still the champions. Jokic and Gordon are just too much to handle. @ Clippers - L - I feel we will be competitive in this, but they pull away in the 2nd half. @ Lakers - W - another W, even if AD is back. @ GS - L - I'm torn on this one, this might be the most winnable of the Ls if we can contain at least one of their shooters and our bench shows up. Memphis - W - should not be too hard. Denver - W - somehow we do get it done at home. @ Dallas - L - just too much @ Denver - L - at home, they will kill us @ Lakers - L - revenge game for them Spurs - W - revenge game for us I'm expecting 5-6, but it's hard to say. I do think we will come back to earth against the healthy and more serious competition, though not expecting many blow outs, save Denver and maybe the Clippers / Warriors.
