Don't mind being ranked third but having the same record doesn't make much sense. Howard missed 40 games last year and we added an all star caliber point guard. I have us at 62-63 wins.
I do agree that thunder (if healthy) and warriors are our biggest threat out west but looking at our roster I can't help but think okc won't be better than us. I just think harden is clearly on the same level talent wise of durant, a lot better than Westbrook imo and Howard is a lot better than Ibaka. But we're like 10 deep while they only have 4 players I know Forsure would be in our rotation. Adams is not better than Capella imo so I don't know if he sees time. I give GSW the benifit of the doubt but I edpect regression from them only because their not going to win 67 games but their still the same team and damn good. I just like harden a lot more than curry and I think this year will show. Plus having bev back to be a pest and ty to apply pressure will limit curry effectivness. We might be the only team in the league that can do that to him we'll have to wait and see.
Thank god they picked us 3rd. Lord knows clutchfans would've went off and said f espn, the writers, and blah blah blah. Anyways good prediction and I agree with where they ranked us. I have us 3rd as well
Damn straight. This all assumes DH is healthy though. 1-5 the Rockets have a great starting lineup. Also, defense wins championships and hopefully this Rockets squad isn't one of those good on paper rosters that don't materialize due to lack of defense. If healthy and with a focus on defense the Rockets can and should make it to the finals.
I think the doubt is because OKC has a lot of questions about their team. Can KD return to his previous form and stay healthy? After such a high usage year for WB, can he go back to playing 2nd fiddle with KD on the floor again? Will Donovan be a good coach and able to handle a very talented team with such big expectations? With KD hitting free agency next offseason, will that affect the team's chemistry? Will there be enough touches for KD, WB, Waiters, Kanter and Ibaka? Even though OKC has 2 top 5-7 players on their team, they have two huge question marks in their starting lineup in Waiters and Kanter. Both are very talented but only seem to play one side of the floor. While I am weary about KD and WB, with Ariza and Beverley as very capable defenders for each, I'm not as scared. They still don't have anyone to stop Harden consistently or anyone that can match with Howard's athleticism. Plus, now WB has to work on defense with Lawson and our depth is better.
So many variables. The opinion of any 'expert' is about as viable as any of ours. There's not much to separate the upper group and it's going to come down to health (imo Warriors don't win that title without the amazing healthy they had plus the run of misfortune of all their playoff opponents) and chemistry/X factor whatever you want to call it. You need to have all your ducks in a row in April/May/June.
fair. i'd say: tier 1 (contenders): warriors, spurs tier 2 (hopefuls): rockets, clippers, thunder tier 3 (likely playoffs): grizz, pels, suns tier 4 (bubble): kings, jazz tier 5 (lotto): mavs, lakers, wolves, blazers, nuggs
With decent health, and Ty getting less than a 10 game suspension or non at all, we will win 60 plus games this year. That should win the division again, but it's definitely not guaranteed the #1 seed in the tough West.
I completely agree. Very fair placements in my opinion, but we never know since it's the West. I mean, last year, seeding was decided on the VERY last night of regular season so...
Hopefully this team stay healthy this next season, if so... might be the best team we had ever. I understand the 94-95 teams was good, but our bench, leadership, talent and skill is out this world on this current team.
Thing is for the rockets the grizzles are contenders, everytime they play them they get crushed.. I just wanted to add that ,, not being rude, but its usually true.
The Rockets were 2-2 against the Grizzlies last season and the only time they got "crushed" was super early in the season and Dwight Howard was banged up....he missed almost a month immediately after that game. Jones was also out that game, and DMo played poorly....kind of a lot had to happen in order for the Grizzlies to "crush" the Rockets.
And the other game was when the refs totally missed a foul on Zach that would have been free throws for Harden with less tHan a secone to go. We lost the game due to a Gasol fadeaway at the buzzer. NBA even admitted it was a missed call.
I really don't see us making that type of improvement in the win column. Even though we missed Howard and added Lawson, we really outperformed ourselves last year, a large thanks to Harden's brilliance. Honestly, I don't see any team winning more than 60 games in the West this year, including the Warriors, due to how much better the West has gotten and that the Warriors basically had the perfect season last year. Take into account the Thunder who only won 45 games last year should win around 53-57 games this year, so that's 8 to 12 losses spread somewhere, among other teams improving. I think 58 wins should be our goal this year. That should get us a top 2-3 seed and homecourt for multiple rounds of the playoffs.
I'm not that high on the Spurs. The have quite a few holes that people are overseeing due to the LMA aqusition. Firstly, can Duncan man the center position on a nightly basis? Can he hold guys like Dwight Howard, DeMarcus Cousins, etc. etfectively? Spurs lost their centers this offseason, along with their back up point guard and shooting guard. Spurs rely so much on their bench and they lost quite a few of their key bench players like Baynes, Joseph and Belineli. Can Pop rest his starters as much with a bench full of unproven guys or guys who have not been in the system as long? Will old timers Duncan, Parker and Manu hold up for another season? Parker is still the engine, yet he has been dealing with a lot of injuries in past years. Surely, beginning to breakdown. LMA isn't a perfect fit due to his tendency to take the worst shot in the game, and the fact that he needs the ball in his hands a lot to make his moves. Both not very Spurs, who wajt to take efficient shots and is best when the ball is moving quickly. How will and how long will it take the Spurs to properly adjust? How does Pop balance playing his best guys and getting them rest? Last year, the Spurs gave up games early in the season to rest guys and that caused them to miss homecourt and eventually led to them losing in the 1st Round. For me, the Warriors are the clear favorites and in a tier of the or own until proven otherwise. Next tier is the Rockets, Spurs, Thunder, Clippers and Grizzlies. Then the Pelicans, Kings, Suns and possible the Lakers (they have a near perfect season with everyone playing better than expected) So on and so forth.
