Personally, I believe that Yao's improvement, the addition of a real sharpshooter in Pike, and the implementation of a defined offensive system will net a 7 or 8 game improvement as we win the games we are supposed to and improve our home record. 51-31
Let's remember this thread, cuz it will be interesting to look back on at season's end.. Into the crystal ball I gaze, and I see... I see.. I SEE.. (drum roll) 55 Wins this season. There you have it.
Between 40 and 55 wins. I'll say 48. Wouldn't it be ironic if they won 43 games, but made the playoffs.
Every team in the NBA will finish with an identical 41-41 record, but the Rockets won't make the playoffs because 25 of their wins will come against the East...
San Antone (Has a SuperStar and a focused team to support him) Lakers (THis high on pure Talent) Dallas (Bad trade) Minnesota (Much improved this year) Sacramento (Missed their window, almost time to rebuild) Portland Pheonix Memphis Houston Denver Utah Golden State Clips Houston misses the playoffs again. I do not know that we are better than Memphis or Denver. Houston has a chance if they can bring it together, but they have the most question marks of any team in the league. <b>Griff</b>- What the hell is his deal? Can he pull it together? <b>Mobley</b>- Can he adjust to being the 3rd option and getting fewer touches? <b>Cato</b>- Can he maintain this level of effort for an entire season? <b>Taylor</b>- Will he be able to play at least 60 games? <b>Yao</b>- Will his stamina hold up? <b>Steve</b>- Can he adjust to the new coach and the ball feeding through the post? <b>Mooch</b>- Will he be in 2001 form or the slow dribble monster we saw last year. <b>Bench</b>- Lot's of new faces, can the get into the system? <b>JVG</b>- Can he address any/all of the above questions? I just can't say that we will win 50 games this year. I think it is going to be a rough start because there a lot of teams much more ready than we are. Even in the East. If we can "gel" by the new year we have a shot. <b>Utah</b> is going to be better than people expect. Sloan has a penchant for fundamental basketball and I see that team being disciplined and playing within their strengths. He doesn't have the Circus we do right now either. <b>Denver</b> will suprise because of Tskitishvili (7' 243lbs) and Melo. <b>Golden State</b> is better than last year in my opinion. They have a real PG and Dunleavy is apparently ready to play. Avery Johnson is as good as 1/3 of the coaches in the NBA and will help that team. The <b>Clips</b> will be more focused now with a couple of long term deals and a real coach. <b>Memphis</b> has a very talented squad and Posey is playing the consumate role player, doing all the dirty work and getting key steals, blocks, stops, and points. He is going to do very well there. Well that is where I see us standing. I am a big time Rocks fan, but I have to be honest, we have a rough road ahead of us.
44-38. I think the Rox will be significantly better this year than last year. However, the Kings, Lakeshow, Spurs, Mavs, and Wolves are all much better than the Rox. It will be difficult to improve much in the Win Loss category with the West so Top heavy.
the last time i remember this poll the average was about 45 i think. definitely lower than the numbers we've been getting time. I think 50 is possible, but I don't want to be disappointed so i'll say 46.
48-34. They'll lose some games they should win early because of too much "thinking about it". But I expect a strong 2nd half from this team.
47-35 Also, we'll be on a small losing streak leading to the AllStar break and have a slightly better 2nd half to finish the season off.
52-30, barring any major injuries. If that's not enough to get us into the playoffs, I don't know what will.
