09/10 NBA Predictions |
09/10 NBA Predictions |
Aug 10 2009, 12:41 PM
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#1
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All-Star Group: Administrator Posts: 2,704 Joined: 14-March 06 Member No.: 43 |
I know it's a little early, but the off-season is winding down and there's nothing else to talk about before football starts anyways.
What teams do you think are going to be legit threats? Who are your sleepers? Who is going to underachieve? What players are due for a breakout? |
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Aug 10 2009, 06:48 PM
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#2
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6th Man Group: Members Posts: 721 Joined: 21-April 07 Member No.: 781 |
just gonna put my playoff teams down:
EAST: 1. Magic - I'm not sure if they are planning on starting Pietrus at the 3 or not, but a line-up of Nelson/Carter/Pietrus/Lewis/Howard might be the best all-around team in the league outside of Boston. Assuming Nelson fully recovers from his injury and their bench can keep the ship afloat, I think this team has a very good shot at the #1 seed if everything works out. 2. Celtics - With Baldy McTechnical and Shelden Williams on board, this team is loaded with forwards. Even if KG goes down early I don't think they will miss a beat. The only thing I question is their guard depth. I think if they keep their geezers off of the trainers table and keep a tight leash on Rondo and Wallace, they will be up here come May. 3. Cavaliers - Without Lebron playing 45 minutes a game this team is a fringe playoff team... Their bench is slightly improved from last year by adding Anthony Parker and Jamario Moon, but its still pretty terrible. I really hate putting them up here but adding Shaq was a good move. 4. Hawks - They are keeping their roster intact. Horford should get better but in my book Marvin Williams is still an underachiever. Jamal Crawford probably won't ruin what should be an easy run at this seed but this team doesn't make the conference finals. I think Jeff Teague will make a big impact coming off the bench. 5. Raptors - I think at this seed you are already entering 'best-of-the-worst' territory. Adding Jarret Jack I think will pay big dividends. He played pretty well on a terrible Pacers team last year and I wouldn't be suprised if he took a large chunk of minutes from Calderon. I think DeRozan is a bust. He's not a great shooter and he strikes me as somebody with attitude problems. Bargnani, Bosh, and Turkoglu will be this teams only offense unless someone else can step it up. Defense will be a question mark. 6. Heat - This team only goes as far as Wade takes them. 7. Bulls - We will be back, but at what strength i'm not sure. As long as we can win the games we are supposed to win we should be in. 8. I'm going to go with the nets here. I think the players they got in the VC trade will pay off. Alston coming off the bench and Lee starting at the 2 ahead of T. Williams. Along with Lopez this will probably be an exciting team to watch run by Devin Harris |
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Aug 11 2009, 07:47 AM
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#3
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Leading Scorer Group: Members Posts: 1,285 Joined: 5-July 06 Member No.: 193 |
just gonna put my playoff teams down: 8. I'm going to go with the nets here. I think the players they got in the VC trade will pay off. Alston coming off the bench and Lee starting at the 2 ahead of T. Williams. Along with Lopez this will probably be an exciting team to watch run by Devin Harris Not a chance. They missed they playoffs by 5 games last year and got worse this year. No VC, no Anderson. All their hopes will be on youngsters that haven't figured out how to play individually or as a team. Couple that with that fact that a majority of the other teams in the east made moves that will make their teams better. Of the non-playoff teams last year, the Wizards, Raptors, & Pacers should all be significantly better and I don't think we can rule the Bobcats out since they are coached by Brown. I know you are high on the Nets young talent but even if they materialize it will take at least another year. |
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Aug 11 2009, 11:30 AM
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#4
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6th Man Group: Members Posts: 721 Joined: 21-April 07 Member No.: 781 |
Not a chance. They missed they playoffs by 5 games last year and got worse this year. No VC, no Anderson. All their hopes will be on youngsters that haven't figured out how to play individually or as a team. Couple that with that fact that a majority of the other teams in the east made moves that will make their teams better. Of the non-playoff teams last year, the Wizards, Raptors, & Pacers should all be significantly better and I don't think we can rule the Bobcats out since they are coached by Brown. I know you are high on the Nets young talent but even if they materialize it will take at least another year. I don't think the bobcats are a playoff team. The wizards might be a good choice if they have a healthy Arenas all season long. Even if Brand is a monster this season without a PG and having an inconsistent Iguodala switching between the 2 and 3 i don't think the 76ers will be back in the playoffs this year. The pacers need another scorer to go with Granger's 25 a game. |
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Aug 11 2009, 01:57 PM
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#5
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Leading Scorer Group: Members Posts: 1,285 Joined: 5-July 06 Member No.: 193 |
I don't think the bobcats are a playoff team. The wizards might be a good choice if they have a healthy Arenas all season long. Even if Brand is a monster this season without a PG and having an inconsistent Iguodala switching between the 2 and 3 i don't think the 76ers will be back in the playoffs this year. The pacers need another scorer to go with Granger's 25 a game. Mike Dunleavy should be back so that should be enough scoring to help them improve. But I think their biggest improvement will be from Tyler Hansbrough and the hustle mentality he brings to the team. He might not have the best statistical rookie campaign but I think his presence will be felt in the W column. I also think Hibbert will be much improved this year. Hibbert Murphy Dunleavy Granger Ford or Murphy Tyler Dunleavy Granger Ford Either way those are very good well rounded starting lineups. I think they will miss Jack off the bench but Watson plugs most of that gap. As for the Bobcats you are probably right. I'm not sure how trading Okafor for Chandler is going to work out. I think it is critical that they keep Felton. Also, I'm not sure how Ajinca is coming along if he's coming along rather quickly it could be one of the reasons they traded Okafor. Maybe they want to give Ajinca increased playing time this year and keep Chandler under 30mpg so that he stays fresh and healthy. It's probably not likely but you never know. Or they could be planning to use Diop more this year. I'm not sold on Henderson but he might be able to earn the starting spot. If not, he'll be a big upgrade to their bench. This starting lineup should be pretty good. Chandler Diaw Wallace Bell/Henderson Felton/Augustin If they can keep Felton they'll be able to use Augustin in a big role off the bench. I think DJ will an improved player this year. Looking at their lineup they definitely have toughness. Bell/Henderson/Wallace/&Chandler are all above average defenders. Okafor may be a better player than Tyson but Tyson could prove to be a better fit for the up-tempo game that would work nicely with players such as Wallace/Diaw/Felton/Augustin/Henderson/Ajinca. Also, do you have no faith in BG and the Pistons? They still have plenty of talent to make a playoff push. The more I look at their roster the more I want to replace my playoff predicitons. They could be a very dangerous middle of the pack team. A top 6 seed is not out of the questions. If they can get the team to buy in defensively they could be on the verge of a quick rebuilding effort (though I think they are a superstar player away. Anybody interested in trading one of those for Prince/Hamilton? Is a T-Mac risk worth giving up Hamilton? If it pays off the Pistons could be a top 5 team that is extremely dangerous in the playoffs. I've long thought that T-Mac and Gordon should play together). Wilcox/Wallace/Brown Charlie V./Maxiell Prince/Summers/Daye Hamilton/BG Stuckey/Bynum Imagine how the team would look if they were successful in trading Hamilton & Kwame for T-Mac (assuming T-Mac stayed healthy). Wilcox/Wallace Charlie V./Maxiell Prince/Daye T-Mac/Stuckey BG/Bynum I think this is the type of team that would allow T-Mac to thrive. A BG/T-Mac combo would be sick since T-Mac does most of the ball handling. No defense would be able to guard both of them. T-Mac is an excellent passer that creates shots for everyone. He could lob the ball to Wilcox every now and then or hit Charlie V. in the corner for easy shots. And Prince could continue to post up smaller defenders and throw that ugly hook shot up. I think the team would be very dangerous. |
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