Does anyone else think the j*zz (as much as I hate to admit it) are going to bump someone on this list out of the playoffs with a surprise #6/7/8 seed? I think, barring any superstar injuries, the top 5 in West are a lock to make the playoffs, and will probably claim all Top 5 seeds in some order 2 teams are going to replace Blazers and Mavs from last year (OKC being 1), and I can easily see Utah passing the likes of Memphis, NO and Phoenix all at once to claim the 6 seed out of nowhere Similar to the way the Hawks flew by 4-5 teams out East last year to 60 wins and #1 seed from out of nowhere In the much more competitive West, I really don't see any way Utah's ceiling is higher than #6, but who saw OKC missing the playoffs this time last year? They won 21 of thier final 32 games That's a 0.656 W% over the final 40% of the season Over a full season, that would have been good for #6 seed in West last year with NEW seeding format for this season I think the starting frontcourt of Gobert/Favors/Hayward could rival Spurs (TD/LMA/Kawhi) as the best in the conference Adding Booker and Lyles off the bench might give them the deepest frontcourt in the league (if everyone pans out) Losing Exum for season is a major blow, but if the coaching staff can coax a decent, productive 3man backcourt rotation from the mix of Burks/Burke/Hood ... ? PHX took a step back this offseason ... NO has Davis and a new coach, but never seems to stay healthy ... MEM is still searching for the perimeter scorer to put them over the top while their core continues to age ... All that young size and talent up front could become a nightmare for the generally small front lines of the modern NBA
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Gentry: Notion of AD becoming a three-point shooter is overblown. Free to shoot some, "but he's not gonna become Steph Curry."</p>— Brett Dawson (@BDawsonWrites) <a href="https://twitter.com/BDawsonWrites/status/647204736630853632">September 25, 2015</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Yes. They have a great frontcourt. However let's see how Burks fits in. Also Exum is not a blow at all because he was useless last year. Hayward is the playmaker and ballhandler over there. I don't take the late season record so seriously tho because a lot of the teams were either saving their strenghts for the pos or tanking already. IMO they will make the pos but so will NO and Memphis. The change will be okc and jazz in.
I agree the final 3 in West will be NO, MEM & UT ... Do you think they have a chance to pass either of those two and claim #6? At this point, if I have homecourt in 1st round, I think I'd much rather face Pels in a matchup next spring than having to play possibly 3 RD games in Utah Memphis' experience would still make me prefer a matchup with the j*zz in a playoff series Also because they have Tony Allen to lock onto Harden 40 minutes a night, and Utah has no one like him on perimeter But I'd much rather have Dwight/DMo try to match up with old, slow Gasol/ZBo than young, quick Golbert/Favors
I wouldn't be surprised at all if we have the best record in the leauge. All them injuries and we were the 2nd seed. Add in Ty Lawson? Lol let them keep sleeping
they sure got a chance. With teams young as the Jazz and NO most things depend on internal improvement that can't be predicted well. If AD comes out and starts shooting like Durant (I won't put anything past him) NO can go even higher seed lol. But NO will have Holiday on minutes restriction till January and as far as Memphis go it will depend on how is ZBO holding up at his old age. Gordon has a contract year so who knows. The Jazz had found last year a chemistry after January but now with Burks and by neccesity Burke back as the starter they may face problems. Because Burks will demand touches and will take more the ball out of Haywards hands. And the perimeter defence will go down too. Ingles was perfect for his role.
Power rankings are worthless but I kind of agree on this list. Although I just dont think OKC is better than us, I would switch those two spots. They are going to be a force but dont think they are better than us.
Putting the Rox at 6-7 makes sense to me since although the Rox had the 2nd best season in the L they unfortunately bombed in the WCF, maybe if they gave the champs a better fight they would've been ranked higher. 1. GSW is the class of the league. 2. Cavs have Lebron aka best player since MJ/Dream. 'Nuff said. 3. Spurs are the best team in the L IMHO if they're 100% healthy, how exactly can you beat a starting 5 of Duncan/LMA/that dude at SF/Manu/Parker? Only thing that can derail them is injuries or fatigue due to lack of depth. 4. Clips - overrated IMHO, but understandable since they didn't lose anyone and actually added a ton of depth which was their weakness last year. 5. OKC- Durant is the only player I know who can be better than LBJ in the current NBA and he has a good supporting cast in WB and Ibaka. Personally I think the Rox should be 4rth but you can make a case for 4-6, at this point they're all interchangeable IMHO.
I think after G.S./Cle/SA - it's razor thin 4-6. Those 3 teams. OKC could be so good, Clips could finally have their Depth, and Houston finally has their PG. It's going to be an interesting season.
Any of the top-6 can win it all, with Memphis possibly being a 7th (with some help from injuries/matchups). I don't think this is underrating us. The top-3 should be the Warriors, Cavs and Spurs in some order. One is the defending champs, who killed it last year, return nearly everyone, are still young, and are only in Year-2 with their new coach. One is the runner-ups, who looked as good as anybody when healthy to end the year, have the best player in the game, return everyone, and start Year-2 with their new group. And the last is the old vets who've been at or near the top of the league for 1.5 decades, added a top-15 player, and still have the best coach and HOFers to boot. That said, the Thunder, Rockets and Clippers aren't far behind, and might be right there with the top-3 based on talent alone. I personally would rank the Clips at #6, with them having the most combustible roster (and FO) of the bunch. Both us and OKC have injury questions, but I think we're deeper and better equipped to handle potential injuries. My Tiers: The Favorites: Spurs, Cavs, Warriors The Contenders: Rockets, Thunder, Clippers The Dark Horse: Grizzlies Solid Playoff Teams: Bulls, Pelicans, Raptors, Heat, Wizards, Jazz, Bucks 50/50: Pacers, Mavs, Suns, Knicks, Pistons Mediocre: Celtics, Hornets, Lakers, Magic Just Plain Bad: Kings, Nuggets, Wolves, Blazers, Nets The Sixers: Sixers
Depth considered ratings of every position: PG position: Rockets, Thunder, Clippers, Spurs SG position: Rockets, Spurs, Clippers, Thunder SF position: Thunder, Rockets, Spurs, Clippers PF position: Spurs, Clippers, Thunder, Rockets C position: Spurs, Rockets, Thunder, Clippers #1 Rockets #2 Spurs #3 Thunder #4 Clippers
Being a little to bias here. Have we forgot that montiejunas had a major injury and he's not even cleared to play. Who knows when he is going to play and will come back fully healthy.
