RedDawg#8

That's easier for me to predict, because his touches and game overall compliment theirs. I am more curious/doubtful of Garland and Mitchell taking away from each other than I am Mobley. Big men historically thrive when paired with great guards. I think that Mobley has KG talent/potential. If we compare the Cavs to the 2008 era Celtics, Mitchell can be Paul Pierce as the iso, clutch shot maker, Garland is a lesser (but combined) version of Rondo's passing and Allen's spacing. Mobley can still be great next to those 2 if they play the right way. I think that Mobley is still a couple of years away from his peek however, and Mitchell may leave after his contract expires in 2 years, so it may all be moot anyway.

Not mad at that at all. He certainly cannot. But who can if we are being honest? Either way, we agree that the Cavs don't have what it takes to slow us down on the outside.

Just going to keep bumping until we consolidate or lock the other thread. JC’s catch-all does not need to be a trade watch thread. Hella disrespectful.

Toronto is a team that plays better than the talent on paper. I initially had them behind Chicago, but they are just too well coached and fundamentally sound. They certainly give us fits every time we face them. I would of put them ahead of Cleveland before the Mitchell trade. On talent they are like 10th or 11th, but their organization gets the most out of their talent. If Toronto had our roster, they would be a top 3 seed easy. Maybe even number 1. If we had Toronto’s roster we would be in the lottery.

I am a big fan of the collection of talent in Cleveland. I feel strongly that Evan Mobley is going to be the best player on that roster eventually. He is the only 2 way player they have and he is already dang good defensively with no real holes on offense, just raw. In the mean time, Mitchell and Garland are both straight buckets, and Mobley and Allen are an elite defensive duo. Matchup wise, we have the advantage in that they only have 1 strong perimeter defender in Okoro. One of Trae/Murray will always be able to go off. Not to mention, Dre will always have a smaller defender on him who likely is the weakest of their starters. This means that we will always have 2 favorable matchups to exploit on the outside. Cleveland would have to run a lot of zone to funnel guys to the teeth of their defense where the bigs are. On defense, Dre and Murray are good enough to bother Mitchell and Garland. Trae gets Okoro who is a self check. Allen is only a threat at the rim, where Capela is the best. Mobley is their best matchup on offense against JC, especially because he can score from everywhere. OO is the perfect defender against a player like Mobley. Chicago, Toronto, Miami, and Milwaukee didn’t really do anything to improve their rosters. Miami and Milwaukee may be good enough to sustain status quo, but Chicago and Toronto will likely take a step back. Boston got better but only marginally so now that Gallo went down. Philly is primed to take a leap. Like the Nets, they have the best top end talent with a chip and something to prove. My loose predictions: 1. Philly (top 3 guaranteed) 2. Boston (top 3 guaranteed) 3. Milwaukee (can swing from 1-6) 4. Brooklyn (can swing from 1-10) 5. Atlanta (I have us at 4 or 5, upsetting one of the favorites from last season) 6. Miami (they finish within a game of us. We potentially win division on tie breaker scenarios. I predict the biggest drop off of all contender from last season) 7. Cleveland (Can swing anywhere from 4-7) 8. Toronto (will make everyone’s life hard, all season long) 9. Chicago (too talented to suck, but not quite as good as everyone else) 10. Charlotte (too talented to suck, but not quite as good as everyone else)

Bump! Since JC is still a Hawk.

Oh look, did someone just bump a new John Collins catch all thread? One that doesn’t disrespect the fact that he is still Hawk, and has been a class act since day one? Would you look at that. JC, we appreciate you for everything you do for the organization on and off the court, including trying to play through injury to help us win games. Get healthy and come back ready to rock and roll next season. Here’s to all of the Hawks players on the roster having amazing seasons this year.

I seriously hate this thread resurfacing well after the fact that JC is here to stay for the foreseeable future. I do not think we need a trade watch thread specifically for JC anymore. No worries though, I know what I can do.

We are returning 4/5 of the starters. That’s not a lot of change to integrate (1) person in to the starting lineup. And those 4 returning starters have played years next to each other at this point. Bogi and OO both get to assume larger roles off the bench which is a good thing for us, especially in OO’s case. Consolidating plurality for better overall quality is a good thing and something to be expected as we inevitably cannot keep everyone forever. How we score is going to change. We will not have the safety net of long range shooters that can bail us out of otherwise poor possessions. Murray should provide a higher quality of looks, especially when Trae sits, that allows more possessions to end at the rim or the FT line, that will hopefully mitigate not always having a bunch of 3pt shooters on the floor together. One thing that cannot be overstated is the defensive impact of the transactions we made. We sent out defensive liabilities and brought in multiple guys who make their living on that end. Better defense lessens the need to score at the rate we are used to in order to win. It also creates easier scoring chances by speeding up the game and keeping us out of the halfcourt. The way we play the game is going to be a lot different than we are used to. It may seem scary now losing familiar faces, but we are better in the areas that we NEEDED to get better in. 1. Better Defense 2. Playmaking next to/outside of Trae 3. More minutes for key players, less overlap 4. More veterans in the locker room. 5. Putting top end talent next to Trae

With losing Gallo, the C’s essentially added Brogdon and lost a few bench guys, but are basically running it back next year, which isn’t a good thing historically.

Exactly. If it’s so easy NOW, where are all the other guys that benefit from the new era? Oh right, still looking up at Trae’s numbers. Just because Trae doesn’t get the recognition he deserves that would make everyone feel validated in his achievements, doesn’t mean what he is doing isn’t still amazing.

A historic counting stat for a guy who lost 25 canceled games to the pandemic and another handful to Heath and Safety protocols. Games he was physically healthy enough and projected to play in. That’s approximately another 700 points and 250 assists to his resume that he will never get back.

Cavs have nothing at SF really but they may have the best rotation of Guards and Bigs in the East. PG: Darius Garland, Ricky Rubio, Raul Neto, RJ Nembhard Jr. SG: Donovan Mitchell, Caris LeVert, Dylan Windler SF: Cedi Osman, Isaac Okoro, Lamar Stevens PF: Evan Mobley, Kevin Love, Dean Wade Jarrett Allen, Robin Lopez, Isaiah Mobley

I don't know if pace has ever been a thing for Nate. I'm hoping that we are naturally just better on defense to where we organically have more transition scoring opportunities because I don't know that Nate will have that mind on his own. I have faith in him teaching/improving the defense.

We have too much untapped talent. I want an innovative guy that can also get his team to play for him. LP would have been great if he didn’t lose the locker room. Nate is organized and a calm presence. But he is not imaginative enough for me. That’s what makes Lue such a great coach. He isn’t afraid to mix up his lineups when he sees something during a game, even if it’s unorthodox. He finds the hole in the opponent and jumps all in. It will take Nate until midseason to figure out how to use Murray the right way.

Yeah, especially considering JC's initial offer was like 4yrs 90mil and he was a more productive player up to that point. Dre being offered more than Kev, less than JC is a fair starting point, and if he goes and balls out to earn more, great. But consistency is key. He would have a have a REALLY good year to end up north of 4years 100 mil.

Right, especially now Hunter wont HAVE to guard option A every single night, every single minute he is on the court. We can go with either on option A and the other on B as we see fit. It may still shake out that he gets the toughest assignment, but it isn’t a guarantee anymore. That will give him more energy to contribute offensively. Especially not having to chase PG’s anymore as that will likely always be Murray now.

Finally healthy + contract year = grab your popcorn

He lead the league in steals and deflections last year. He just needs to keep up what he has been doing. The media/masses love who they love, and the Celtics can do no wrong in their eyes.

**cough, DAME, cough cough**

The only thing that keeps me off the Jalen is a SF bandwagon is his general lack of perimeter defense. He is a 3 the same way Lebron and Tatum are 3’s. He has the offensive skillset to do it, but needs to switch on defense instead of chasing his man around screens.

I wouldn't say all that, a couple of the games were pretty close including game 5 lol

https://www.nba.com/news/nba-fantasy-top-150-rankings-nikola-jokic-leads-way-for-2022-23-season I got JC right at 10 based on the order in this list. Side note, Hawks have 7 guys in the top 150. GSW and BOS are the only other teams that can say that. According to them, Hawks go: 1.Trae (7) 2. Murray (31) 3. JC (59) 4. Bogi (100) 5. Capela (108) 6. OO (148) 7. Dre (150) Super side note; Huerter came in at 144 which would have given us 8 players in the top 150.

That list is all jacked up. Barnes was used mostly as a SF, how can he AND Siakam be top 10 PF’s? KAT is a PF next season, but he has been a C until now. AD is best as a center as well, but that’s another argument. Paolo should be really good, but you can’t put him top 10 before playing a regular season game. Harris is not better than JC as a PF. Randle is hanging on by a thread too. There some names lower on that list that I could make a case for too. Just overall not sold on these rankings.

Individually you’re right. But Ja and Luka both have size on Trae, which is what it is. Dallas and Memphis are not hindered defensively as a team because of their stars. They finished 6th and 7th in team defensive rating while we finished 20 spots lower. Trae’s poor defense contributes to a culture of bad defense on our roster while Luka and Ja can at least be hidden and not hurt their team as much. It’s easy to hide a 6’7 guy. It’s easy to hide a 6’3 guy with athleticism and long arms. It’s difficult to hide Trae night in and night out. He just has to play better on that end and compete.