[Grantland] Bill Simmons/Jalen Rose Analysis of NBA Teams ('13-'14)

So according to Bill, the East will be:

1) Bulls
2) Heat
3) Pacers
4) Nets
5) Knicks
6) Pistons
7) Bucks
8) Wizards

He has the West as:

1) Spurs
2) Clippers
3) Thunder
4) Rockets
5) Warriors
6) Grizzlies
7) Nuggets
8) Mavericks

Also, of note, he has the Blazers, T-Wolves, Lakers, and Pelicans all better than the 8th place Wizards of the East.

 

I agree with where we are in the west. Overall though I think we're better than Brooklyn.

Not having Miami at 1 is odd. If Beasley or oden are able to play at all Miami will be better than last year.

 

There's gotta be some controversy in these rankings to get other news outlets to pick this up (Not the bucks ranking, no one will cover that.)

I gotta say this though- The never say Die Bulls from last year + Rose? Certainly the most scary team this year.

 

They won 45 games in the East - basically any hard-nosed defensive team could do this.

 

Pretty good list. I'm not very high on the Nuggets myself. The only reason I could see them come close to making the playoffs is their home court advantage. Their players just don't fit with how Brian Shaw wants to play (get the ball in the post a ton). Gallo is out for a while. No Iggy. No Koufos. More McGee. Less Faried, more Hickson. Chandler only at 2 & 3 and not the 4, which is where he excels. Just don't see it. I'd probably predict the T-Wolves and Blazers to finish ahead of them.

I'm gonna watch a few more games, but as of right now I'd go:

1) Bulls
2) Heat
3) Nets
4) Pacers

1) Spurs
2) Clippers
3) Rockets
4) Grizzlies
5) Thunder
6) Warriors
7) Mavericks

The top-6 in the West probably will end up real close. Leaning towards the T-Wolves as the 8th seed. Not sure about some of those fring playoff teams in the East. Not impressed with any of them. Leaning towards Knicks as the 5th seed. Wizards and Hawks at 6/7, though the Hawks haven't looked good at all in the games I've watched so far. Not sure about 8.

 

they needed to add a segment of predicting a trade, i know they have flirted with it like the pelicans and bulls etc and they have clervoinent bill but a segment specific to trades would be nice.

 

The Bulls and Rockets were equal last year. They added Rose to an older team and we added Howard to a young team. They are the best team in the league, and we are only 8? Am I missing something here?

 

(1) There are only 4 good teams in the East. 5, if you want to count the Knicks. Lots of teams tanking and the middle of the pack teams appear to be worse than usual as well. The West is soooo much better, it's not even funny. Those wins against crappy East teams add up.
(2) The Bulls have no question marks like the Rockets do with their PF situation. Excellent 9-man rotation.
(3) The Rockets added Howard at a position of strength. Asik probably was the Rockets second best player last year. We don't know if Asik and Howard can co-exist for long stretches, which goes back to (2).

 

Bill is so damn hilarious.

 

If Bill thinks the Blazers are making the playoffs, and he's the one doing these rankings, then why does he have them ranked 9th?

 

Gih da people what they want!!!!!!!!!!

 

How do we know that they have the Rockets as #4? I have yet to see their season preview on them...

 

There's an animation on Grantland that shows all 30 teams in order of how Bill has them ranked.

 

i wonder why these stopped working on my tv from milwaukee onwards

 

Bill is too close to his inner old fart hopes and dreams.