NBA Offseason Power Rankings - CBS Sports

[Guest]

Decent. Think Atl is #2 and Detroit will be a lot better than that but not bad.

 

DET hasn't done anything to suggest they'll be much better though.  Reggie will be exposed with increased minutes and (perhaps more importantly) a higher role on opponents' scouting reports.  KCP will be ok.  Stanley Johnson will be MKG-ish and is a rookie so I'm not expecting much.  Ilyasova is vastly overrated as a stretch-whatever.  His best years are long behind him.  Drummond will have some good games and some not-so-good games.  Can't be counted on offensively at all.

[Dejay]

I'll got the playoff teams in this order for now:

Cavs (top dog, big cheese, the head honcho)

Hawks (if healthy and clicking, as good as anyone in the league)

Bulls (see Hawks, Atlanta)

Whiz (one of, if not the best backcourt in the league; Pierce will not be there to bail them out in the end, though)

Bucks (very good defensive team and will make trouble all year long; why they traded for MCW is still a mystery to all)

Raptors (DMC helps but until they prove otherwise, they're the beneficiaries of playing in the Sunbelt Conference of the NBA)

Heat (very good starting lineup when healthy but the Falcons have more depth than they do)

Pacers (I trust Paul George more than anyone on the Celtics, Tragic, or Nets' roster)

Now as far as records are concerned, I'm going to go over with that 46.5. I pussied out on betting on the over last year and I am NOT making that mistake again. I don't think they'll get to 60 wins but 52-58 isn't out of the question. In fact, it's expected, barring injuries of course.

I also think that the Hawks and Bulls will fight tooth and nail for the 2nd seed, with the Hawks getting it based upon having a slightly softer division to deal with (wanna butt heads with the Cavs, Pacers, Bucks, and Pistons every other night like Chicago does?). Plus, they're breaking in a new coach. They're going to need a minute to gel together with him (remember the Cavs last year?) before getting their sea legs under them. But you can book the Hawks' and Bulls' dance tickets for a great second-round matchup if the favorites hold serve, with the 2nd seed having a juicy Game 7 on their homecourt.

We'll see how wrong we are in a few months. Makes for interesting conversation though...

[Gray Mule]

I see the 76ers as the most improved team in the east.  Not that good, but the most improved.

If you win 20 games one year and 30 the next, that's a HUGE step up.

 

They are of that school that says, "Let's get in the lottery so we can get that super star and win

it all, year after year."  We have Hawk fans who have wanted to go that route.  See how well

it's working in Philadelphia!

 

Before you bash too hard, remember this.  As horrible as they were last season they can improve

quiet a bit and still not be very good.

 

[Guest]

My West rankings (hey, we gotta know who we'll be facing in the Finals) ...

 

1. SA - Not sure SA will allow themselves to drop much lower than 2 based on what happened to them last season.  Seeding (i.e. the regular season) matters 

2. GS - Won't win 60 but will still be a premier squad; Law of averages surely catches up to them this season.  They walked thru hell with gasoline drawers last season and never lit on fire

3. OKC - I'm not a believer in Donavan but there's just too much talent for them to drop much further than 3-seed level

4.  MEM - Ho-hum grizzlies do what they do ...

5. LAC - Talented but shallow depth and lockerroom issues hinder them; Doc is immensely overrated as a coach and is a boob of a front office man.  Got a fine a** daughter tho.  Mmm-hmm ... what was I talkin' about

6. HOU - McHale's excellent(hehe) coaching finally catches up to them; Harden has a back-to-life/back-to-reality season and gets less calls; still enough talent here to make playoffs though

7. Pels - Will be better but it won't matter much; ADavis forces trade to ATL.  Book it!

8. UTA - Will be dangerous, next step in their ascent ... playoffs

9. LAL - Kobe won't stay healthy but'll be around enough to make them respectable most nights

10. SAC - Surprise; Enough talent to appear better; Karl will get Carlesimo'd by an unlikely character  Who will it be?

11. PHX - Can y'all fire Hornacek and trade Bledsoe already; it's just not working

12. POR - Can't spell Lillard without a bunch of L's (c'mon, that's pretty good)

13. DAL - Just a shame to see Dirk go out like this.  The JJ Barea era begins?

14. MIN - Some talent here, just not enough

15. DEN - Just not a good team

 

king01 approved 

Edited July 16, 2015 by kg01

[NBASupes]

For me it's simple: 

 

1. ATL - Still top dogs as far as regular season goes. Lost DMC but gain Splitter, Edy and improved role players like Dennis. 

2. CLE - Won the East and was great after the Mosgov trade. If Lebron would play 75-82 games, they would easily be #1. 

3. WAS/CHI/MIA/TOR/MIL- There all similar teams to me. 

8. NYK/BK/BOS- There all similar teams, just a tier below the 2nd tier. 

 

Tier 4 but could move up: 

DET/ORL/CHA/IND

Edited July 16, 2015 by NBASupes

[Guest]

My West rankings (hey, we gotta know who we'll be facing in the Finals) ...

1. SA - Not sure SA will allow themselves to drop much lower than 2 based on what happened to them last season. Seeding (i.e. the regular season) matters

2. GS - Won't win 60 but will still be a premier squad; Law of averages surely catches up to them this season. They walked thru hell with gasoline drawers last season and never lit on fire

3. OKC - I'm not a believer in Donavan but there's just too much talent for them to drop much further than 3-seed level

4. MEM - Ho-hum grizzlies do what they do ...

5. LAC - Talented but shallow depth and lockerroom issues hinder them; Doc is immensely overrated as a coach and is a boob of a front office man. Got a fine a** daughter tho. Mmm-hmm ... what was I talkin' about

6. HOU - McHale's excellent(hehe) coaching finally catches up to them; Harden has a back-to-life/back-to-reality season and gets less calls; still enough talent here to make playoffs though

7. Pels - Will be better but it won't matter much; ADavis forces trade to ATL. Book it!

8. UTA - Will be dangerous, next step in their ascent ... playoffs

9. LAL - Kobe won't stay healthy but'll be around enough to make them respectable most nights

10. SAC - Surprise; Enough talent to appear better; Karl will get Carlesimo'd by an unlikely character Who will it be?

11. PHX - Can y'all fire Hornacek and trade Bledsoe already; it's just not working

12. POR - Can't spell Lillard without a bunch of L's (c'mon, that's pretty good)

13. DAL - Just a shame to see Dirk go out like this. The JJ Barea era begins?

14. MIN - Some talent here, just not enough

15. DEN - Just not a good team

king01 approved

F*ck the Warriors...Curry broken ankle they finish 9th

[Guest]

F*ck the Warriors...Curry broken ankle they finish 9th

 

OMFG, you take that back and you take it back right now.  Calling for an injury is some bad juju.  We don't need that hanging over our team.

 

That may be worth a self-ban, Spud2.

[GrimeyKidd]

Just keep sleeping. Sleeping.Sleeping. 

[AHF]

OMFG, you take that back and you take it back right now.  Calling for an injury is some bad juju.  We don't need that hanging over our team.

 

That may be worth a self-ban, Spud2.

The only injury I'm calling for is that Dirty Dova gets someone rolling on him like he does to our Hawks.  That's just karma.

[Plainview1981]

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/powerrankings

 

Way early Power Rankings for next season. It's amusing that they have us ranked #9 overall, 3rd in the Eastern Conference. They have us behind the Cavs, which is understandable. But then they put Miami ahead of us, which is

 

 

This is what they say about us:

Even if they had brought everyone back, the odds weren't great for the Hawks to repeat their success of last year when everything came together. Losing DeMarre Carroll just exacerbates that. Still, they were a great regular-season team and added some great depth at center.

 

Very short-sighted analysis that they think a team going into year 3 of their program isn't going to repeat their success, not to mention see improvement simply because they are still a team growing together and improving both individually and in this system. But that's OK. It took the Spurs years and years before the pundits realized the Spurs knew more about building a program than the pundits do.

 

And now they say things like this about the #3 ranked Spurs:

The Spurs sacrificed continuity and depth for a splashy free agent, but everyone assumes this will work because it's the Spurs. Let me tell you the real reason this is going to work: It's the Spurs. Wait, dang it. Anyway, yeah, they'll be good this season.

 

This is what they say about the #2 ranked Cavs:

A full year together with a better understanding of one another and lessons learned in a tough playoff run. The Cavaliers are stacked and presumably healthy. The first year was a test run. This is the real run, and the Cavaliers look primed for it.

 

We were apparently lucky to be where we were and are supposed to take a step back; but the Cavs will be better after "a full year together with a better understanding of one another and lessons learned in a tough playoff run." I seem to recall that last year was our first year together with all of our starters too. But we're not supposed to improve simply from a full year together with a better understanding of one another and lessons learned in a tough playoff run. But Cleveland is. Right.. Also, they are presumably healthy now, which makes a big difference for Cleveland but apparently not for us...Hrrrmmm, why does this sound like hypocritical and biased journalism? Oh, I know.

 

BECAUSE IT IS!!!

 

 

 

*** This is a notation for the people that don't grasp analogies. No, I'm not saying the Hawks will be better than the Cavs next year, or even comparing our roster to theirs. The only comparison taking place is at a hypocritical journalist pointing out reasons why one club will make improvements from a year of playing together, and totally ignoring and discounting those very same reasons when talking about another club.

 

Wade and Bosh haven't proven that they can stay healthy... I have a tough time seeing them ahead of the Hawks even though Whiteside does present a problem.

[Plainview1981]

I will be going all in if this ends up being the win total line for the Hawks this year.

 

http://gamingtoday.com/race_sports/nba/article/54866-Predicting_NBA_season_win_totals#.VaezWvm8p0Y

 

"Atlanta Hawks: (40.5 LY), finished 61-21: Last year’s top overachiever. Will be bigger with Tiago Splitter and Edy Tavares alongside Paul Millsap and Al Horford, but need point guards Jeff Teague and Dennis Schröder to take another step forward. Kyle Korver and Thabo Sefolosha returning to health also essential. Projected wins: 46.5"

 

They have the Heat, Raptors and Wizards projected at 47.5.  The Bulls and Cavs are also higher which puts us at 6th in the East.  These fools are clueless.  Just more disrespect towards us which works out very well for betting futures.

 

I don't know how Washington is going to be better than us. They haven't gotten better....Surely not enough to make up the 12-15 game lead that the Hawks finished with last year. That front line of Nene and MG is not getting any younger either... And I think the loss of Paul Pierce will be bigger than they think.

[Plainview1981]

Look at that division though.  They get 16 games vs Brk/Bos/Phi/Tor.  A lineup of Galloway/Afflalo/Melo/Williams/Lopez is good enough to win 35+ if they stay healthy.  That's one that I probably wouldn't bet big on but I would pick over before I picked under.

 

I don't see it. The Knicks should improve, but they'll still suck. 

[Plainview1981]

My East rankings ...

 

1. CLE - Have enough talent, best player in game, blah, blah, blah ...

2. CHI - Enough talent to have a really good regular season record

2a. ATL - Will be mid-50's in the W column

4. WAS - Wall/Beal will lead them to another good regular season record, that's about it.  As an aside, I'm freakin' sick of folks assuming if Wall's healthy they beat us last postseason

5. MIL - Will be about the same as last season but won't sneak up on folks anymore. Lack of reliable shooting will diminish Monroe's O.  Kidd (surprisingly) good coaching will lead them to just-above-.500

6. MIA - Won't be healthy but will win enough to make playoffs. Whiteside will be suspended again

7. TOR - Meh team.  Good enough to make playoffs, that's about it

8. ORL - Will be dangerous on any given night

9. BKN - Will be decent, may trade for Lawson, could be dangerous but bLopez/JoeJohn won't care enough for their record to be better

10. IND - George/Monta will have good stats, rest of team just not good

11. NYK - Melo will get paid regardless so ... meh

12. BOS - Same as ORL but less talent; not sure why y'all love Sullinger so much

13. CHA - Meh, meh, meh, meh, meh ... Kemba will herobawl them to another middling season before they realize he's an awful PG

14. DET - van Gundy bloom fades; Reggie becomes the new JoeJohn-level awful contract

15. PHI - May be better than DET recordwise but really who cares.  Starting PG is Isaiah Canaan(sp?) ... yikes

 

king01 Approved 

 

I mostly agree with this... I think the Bucks will be better than the Wizards with Monroe. That's team is going to be a pain in the ass to beat. I also think Boston gets to the playoffs again. I think 55 wins for the Hawks is too much. I think 50-52.

[Guest]

OMFG, you take that back and you take it back right now. Calling for an injury is some bad juju. We don't need that hanging over our team.

That may be worth a self-ban, Spud2.

Dang your dramatic...

[nitte]

I think it may be fun to compile our rankings here and check them at the end of next season. For me:

 

East:

1 Cleveland

2 Atlanta

3 Chicago

4 Miami

5 Washington

6 Milwaukee

7 Toronto

8 Orlando

9 Detroit

10 Boston

11 New York

12 Indiana

13 Brooklyn

14 Philly

15 Charlotte

 

West:

1 Golden State

2 Oklahoma

3 LA Clippers

4 San Antonio

5 Houston

6 Memphis

7 New Orleans

8 Utah

9 Dallas

10 Phoenix

11 Portland

12 Sacramento

13 Minnesota

14 Denver

15 LA Lakers

[Sothron]

Is D. Wright still a FA? He'd make a quality cheap signing that could potentially start at SF or at least be in the rotation

[Guest]

Dang your dramatic...

 

Tried to get you bant.  Didn't go hard enough I guess.

[Guest]

Tried to get you bant. Didn't go hard enough I guess.

Haha...why would you want me bant? I'm the one who keeps your sad little jokes barely alive...lol

Edited July 16, 2015 by Spud2Nique

[macdaddy]

Haha...why would you want me bant? I'm the one who keeps your sad little jokes barely alive...lol

 

I tink both of yous shuld be bant.

[Guest]

I tink both of yous shuld be bant.

Lol...what did I do?