That’s what it is, just came out on FanDuel. I just pounded the over, piggy back me before I move the lines.* *not financial advice
The line has gone down the last couple weeks, it had been 25.5 on a couple other sites. At 23.5 I think I take the over .... at 25.5 it's a much tougher decision.
I think that's right about where it should be. 23-25 wins is my guess. It seems like we're going to go into the season with MAYBE three guys who can legally drink. That's not a recipe to win a whole lot of games. Still, we have a lot more talent and our defense should improve, so I won't be surprised if we win 2-5 more games than we did last year.
Fools. On the minus side, swapping Wood for Tyty is going to lose a few games. Wood was our best player (by any metric) and Tyty is a rookie so likely a net negative player. On the plus side, I don’t think people here appreciate how bad Jalen Green was at the start of last season, which is why some of us were critical of him. The improvement he made the second half of the season was huge and if he can build on that this season it’s a major upgrade. Kpj improved his shooting and defense last year, and his scoring when Wood went out and his usage went up, if he builds on that this season that’s an upgrade. Second year Sengun with more minutes and more involvement in the offense is going to be huge, possible best player on the entire team. Christopher was also awful last year (while showing flashes), should be improved this year. Whatever Garuba gives us is a bonus because he didn’t even play last year. Jabari and Eason. Usually rookies are a net negative, like I have Tyty slotted, but like last season showed us, two way players with an emphasis on defense can make a impact right away. Think Mobley, Barnes, Wagner, Herb Jones, these were all positive(winning) players as rookies. Jabari and Eason fits that mold. Obviously they have future potential, but because of their defense I think they can help right away. Finally and most importantly, team philosophy. The past two seasons the team actively tried to tank, they tried to lose. They sat Wood and Gordon, their two best players, at the end of last season to ensure a bottom 4 record. The team will not do that this year. We know this because they went out of their way to avoid 2023 salary to maximize cap space, cap space which is useless if no FA wants to come to the worst team in the league three years running. That’s why it will be important to show we are a team on the rise this year. This is also why they hired a new set of assistant coaches, including vets like Lionel Hollins. They want to implement a culture, and playing style, they want the players to play the right way and play to win. Otherwise there would be no point in hiring these new coaches if they are still TRYING to lose, can do that with the old shty assistants they let go. They probably still won’t win a lot of games, but the losses will be organic, not from purposely sitting our best players. They may still have a bottom 10 record, but a +4 game improvement is easy money.
Over, there is enough internal growth in the young guys plus new talent drafted to move on up. Probably won't crack 30 though.
This. Very first line I saw last week was 27.5. I would have the under there, but at 23.5 I’m not sure. 25-57 just feels like our record this year.
Take the over. Look at KPJ and Green at the end of last year. Subtract Wood and his black hole no D. Add two young guys who play phenomenal D.
