Eastern Teams that could surpass us...

[Diesel]

Just a thought going through my mind.

Right now, this is how it was:

1. Chicago

2. Miami

3. Boston

4. Orlando

5. Atlanta

6. NY

7. Philly

8. Indiana

Here's what I see happening.

1. Miami will surpass Chicago.

2. We might be better than Orlando and Boston.

3. Out of no where comes Indy, NY, and Milwaukee.

Indy... why are they coming up? George Hill and Paul George. The two Georges. They are not through dealing yet, but with what they have, they will be competitive.

NY... Chandler will pay big dividens. The question is what will they do without a Shooter? They really want Crawford. But even with Landry Fields, they are scary.

Fear the Deer... Capn Jack is old. Their strength is Bogut and Larry Sanders. If Sanders makes a second year Jump... Fear the deer. Then on top of that you have Brandon J and Capn Jack. They might not be better than us, but it will be a fight.

Honorable Mention = Washington. Whoever is running things in Washington is shrewd. I don't think they can bank on him who shall remain nameless repeating his garbage time festival. However, their strength is Wall, with all those bigs. Now add Turiaf and Roger Mason Jr. Sounds like two Journeymen... but those guys are assassins. The funny thing is they got Chris Singleton and Jan Vessely. The maturation of those guys will make the difference for that team. They have done well by surrounding their young guys with vets. If they resign Nick Young, I can't help but believe that they will be in the playoffs.

So what it may look like after all is:

1. Miami

2. Chicago

3. NY

4. Atlanta

5. Boston

6. Milwaukee

7. Indiana

8. Orlando/Washington

This changes depending on what happens.

How do we stay so high...

consistency helps in a short season. Look where we were during the last lockout.

[Joker]

Indiana and NYK. Orlando should fall. But for different reasons. NYK for Melo and Indy for Mayo.

Edited December 12, 2011 by nbasuperstar40

[Randy]

Indy has done more. Added West and OJ Mayo. They are doing things, we'll see how it all works out, but they should start Hibbert, Granger and West up front. They have Collison, Hill and Mayo in the backcourt. They haven't lost much and added some talent.

[Buzzard]

Indy has done more. Added West and OJ Mayo. They are doing things, we'll see how it all works out, but they should start Hibbert, Granger and West up front. They have Collison, Hill and Mayo in the backcourt. They haven't lost much and added some talent.

That is still pretty weak defensively and their guards suck from a efficiency standpoint. Not saying they did not improve, but we should still be ahead of them at seasons end.

[Joker]

That is still pretty weak defensively and their guards suck from a efficiency standpoint. Not saying they did not improve, but we should still be ahead of them at seasons end.

Mayo can be an all star PG in the mold of a young Gilbert Arenas.

[WraithSentinel]

I still think we will stay around the 5 or 6 seed if the Magic keep Howard. If not then around the 4 or 5 seed. I can only see the Knicks surpassing us with the 76ers closely behind. Expectations are going to go up for Pacers and 76ers. Can they handle those expectations? If they can then there is a chance of them surpassing us.

[Buzzard]

Mayo can be an all star PG in the mold of a young Gilbert Arenas.

Memphis tried that last pre-season and it failed miserably. He does not have the handles or passing skills to play full time PG IMO, which is also why he was very expendable to the Grizzlies.

[Joker]

Memphis tried that last pre-season and it failed miserably. He does not have the handles or passing skills to play full time PG IMO, which is also why he was very expendable to the Grizzlies.

Summer league not pre-season and he's not that type of PG that Memphis wanted him to be. The wanted him to be a distributor when he's a scoring PG. We talked about this last year on this forum during the trade deadline. He has good enough handles and passing skills for a Gilbert Arenas type. Not to mention high bbiq unlike Arenas. The Grizzles didn't need him. He is not a good SG and they don't need him at PG when Conley is better for what they want than Mayo.

[Diesel]

Indy has done more. Added West and OJ Mayo. They are doing things, we'll see how it all works out, but they should start Hibbert, Granger and West up front. They have Collison, Hill and Mayo in the backcourt. They haven't lost much and added some talent.

I don't disagree about them gaining talent. However, a short season works towards our benefit more. Plus, West is a bit overrated.

[Joker]

I don't disagree about them gaining talent. However, a short season works towards our benefit more. Plus, West is a bit overrated.

He's a good PF, I wouldn't say he's overrated.

[capstone21]

Just a thought going through my mind.

Right now, this is how it was:

1. Chicago

2. Miami

3. Boston

4. Orlando

5. Atlanta

6. NY

7. Philly

8. Indiana

Here's what I see happening.

1. Miami will surpass Chicago.

2. We might be better than Orlando and Boston.

3. Out of no where comes Indy, NY, and Milwaukee.

Indy... why are they coming up? George Hill and Paul George. The two Georges. They are not through dealing yet, but with what they have, they will be competitive.

NY... Chandler will pay big dividens. The question is what will they do without a Shooter? They really want Crawford. But even with Landry Fields, they are scary.

Fear the Deer... Capn Jack is old. Their strength is Bogut and Larry Sanders. If Sanders makes a second year Jump... Fear the deer. Then on top of that you have Brandon J and Capn Jack. They might not be better than us, but it will be a fight.

Honorable Mention = Washington. Whoever is running things in Washington is shrewd. I don't think they can bank on him who shall remain nameless repeating his garbage time festival. However, their strength is Wall, with all those bigs. Now add Turiaf and Roger Mason Jr. Sounds like two Journeymen... but those guys are assassins. The funny thing is they got Chris Singleton and Jan Vessely. The maturation of those guys will make the difference for that team. They have done well by surrounding their young guys with vets. If they resign Nick Young, I can't help but believe that they will be in the playoffs.

So what it may look like after all is:

1. Miami

2. Chicago

3. NY

4. Atlanta

5. Boston

6. Milwaukee

7. Indiana

8. Orlando/Washington

This changes depending on what happens.

How do we stay so high...

consistency helps in a short season. Look where we were during the last lockout.

I don't think NY is that good a team. Yes they have Amare and Carmelo but they don't have any defense except Chandler. Until last years playoffs Chandler was just an average player...I don't suddenly see him as a difference maker. Bibby as their point guard and the possible addition of Crawford makes them even worse defensivly. I am not impressed with their team at all. They need the right pieces to surround Amare and Carmelo and they are not doing that.

[lethalweapon3]

I wouldn't rule out Philly either, finally with a steady roster and coaching staff, despite no splashy new free agent additions so far. Their percentage record will be better than it was last year when they stumbled out of the gate (3-13, finished at 41-41). Evan Turner, Jrue Holiday, and Thad Young will continue to grow on a team that scared the Eastern Conference champs a couple times in the first round.

~lw3

[ATLSmith]

I'm optimistic. I'll go with:

1. Chicago

2. Miami

3. Atlanta

4. NY

5. Orlando

6. Indiana

7. Boston

8. Milwaukee

9. Washington

[capstone21]

I do like Philly and I agree that Indy is looking good with some potential interesting moves

[Diesel]

I still think we will stay around the 5 or 6 seed if the Magic keep Howard. If not then around the 4 or 5 seed. I can only see the Knicks surpassing us with the 76ers closely behind. Expectations are going to go up for Pacers and 76ers. Can they handle those expectations? If they can then there is a chance of them surpassing us.

The plus I see with the 76ers are the maturation of Evan Turner. The minus I see is... Nobody will be fooled by Holiday, Brand = Older/slower, and there will be some internal strife. Namely AI, Lou Williams, and the guys on the bench. Hawes = decent. But the main problem will be Brand over Thad Young at Pf. Brand slows down a team that can be fast. Young doesn't have goto moves. Before it's all said and done, I suspect that AI will be traded.

[Buzzard]

Summer league not pre-season and he's not that type of PG that Memphis wanted him to be. The wanted him to be a distributor when he's a scoring PG. We talked about this last year on this forum during the trade deadline. He has good enough handles and passing skills for a Gilbert Arenas type. Not to mention high bbiq unlike Arenas. The Grizzles didn't need him. He is not a good SG and they don't need him at PG when Conley is better for what they want than Mayo.

This is why it failed, his assist to turn over ratio is almost 1 to 1 for his career. Arenas is a little better at 2 to 1.25. Mayo looks great on paper, size, ppg, assist, and boards for a PG. But that does not make him a score first PG.

A 6th man like Jamal is what I see for him. But all-star? Not in his wildest dreams IMO.

[Diesel]

I don't think NY is that good a team. Yes they have Amare and Carmelo but they don't have any defense except Chandler. Until last years playoffs Chandler was just an average player...I don't suddenly see him as a difference maker. Bibby as their point guard and the possible addition of Crawford makes them even worse defensivly. I am not impressed with their team at all. They need the right pieces to surround Amare and Carmelo and they are not doing that.

There's an interesting thing... we haven't experienced it for a while...

When you have a true 7 footer that's good and a big PF, you will be a good defensive team.

Chandler was not great with the Bulls. He played next to an underacheiving Curry on a team that didn't stress defense. They also had him playing next to Sweetney, Fizer, and Songalia. Ham and eggers.

Then he goes to New Orleans and plays next to West. Not a bad offensive option but he's not really a defensive guy.

On to Charlotte and Boris Diaw. (we used Boris as a BU PG).

Amare is that Dude in NY who can rebound and block shots. D'Antoni is maybe not the defensive guy to get them in the mind of stopping people but watch Woody have them switching and bringing everything in to Chandler. Chandler will be swatting more shots than he ever has. I will guess around 2.3 per game. Moreover, if they keep some of these lesser known defensive players, they will be a strong defensive team.

[capstone21]

Chandler is not a shot blocker and like steals (he averaged 1.8 twice but every other season it was low)...blocking shots does not make you a good defensive player. He plays good positioning and that will be valuable in NY but with everyone else playing matador D he will be too busy trying to make up for their defincies.

[dlpin]

Here's what Vegas expects, in terms of dds of winning the eastern conference:

Miami Heat

-110

Chicago Bulls

+250

Boston Celtics

+500

New York Knicks

+1000

New Jersey Nets

+1200

Orlando Magic

+1400

Indiana Pacers

+2000

Atlanta Hawks

+2300

things will change based on what howard does.

In terms of wins,

the ranking is:

Miami 49.5

Bulls: 46.5

Boston: 41.5

Orlando: 41.5

Knicks 39.5

Hawks 35.5

pacers 31.5

sixers 30.5

Might be some good values there depending on how that matches up with your expectations.

[Joker]

This is why it failed, his assist to turn over ratio is almost 1 to 1 for his career. Arenas is a little better at 2 to 1.25. Mayo looks great on paper, size, ppg, assist, and boards for a PG. But that does not make him a score first PG.

A 6th man like Jamal is what I see for him. But all-star? Not in his wildest dreams IMO.

It didn't fail any particular reason other then he just didn't fit. I could less how much you want to play this out, I am telling you what guys like Tillery said as well as others close to the situation. He just didn't fit.

1. Memphis is a inside-outside team.

2. Gay has #1 option.

3. Conley is a top 3 pick who is a good PG and runs the offense the way you want an offense run.

4. Mayo is not a 6th man, he's not a good enough scorer at SG. He is not even an average SG, he's a below average SG. He played his best when he was matched up v. PG's and he was the #3 option on offense which he could do more. Jamal is only a great 6th man because he can score at will and he can play SG without having to play defense or smart. Mayo is smart, plays solid defense on PG's, uses his size to create his shot, and is extremely skilled. Jamal is none those, Jamal is an amazing scorer who does little else.

Assists ratios have to do with touches as well. If you touch the ball a lot, your Ast ratios will be higher no matter if you are Zaza or Mayo. Mayo will have a shot since Indy doesn't have a starting quality PG right now plus Indy doesn't have an #1 option on offense.