Based on what i seen in the preseason, I think this team could finish 1st in the East.

[swanlee]

We looked pretty good kast orecseason as well.

I have faith in Quinn so I think we will be better then mid

 

[kg01]

1 hour ago, thecampster said:

Can you elaborate on what feel those flaws are?

 

Me personally (and I'm worried about this every year), I'm worried about our size/ability to be physical.

"I gotchu, boo." - BenJalen JohnSimmons 

[shakes]

41-41 again, 7th place.

 

Why would anyone think anything differently unless proven otherwise?

[shakes]

I can't truly comment on this until I go back and check out how we looked in Summer League.

[macdaddy]

12 minutes ago, shakes said:

41-41 again, 7th place.

 

Why would anyone think anything differently unless proven otherwise?

[NBASupes]

24 minutes ago, shakes said:

41-41 again, 7th place.

 

Why would anyone think anything differently unless proven otherwise?

Last year, everything went wrong till the play in game. I definitely think that's the floor if we go back to playing like we did last year, basically undo everything from the preseason and even the playoffs which I wasn't super hot on and go back to what we looked like in the RS. 

That said, I am doubling down on this team. Last year, I said 62 wins and they won 41 games. This year, I am going with 61 wins. I am doing the same with the Jazz where everything went right till they traded Conley, Vando, and Beasley. I had them at 18 wins right there with the Rockets, Pistons, Hornets without Bridges and the Spurs. Everything went right last year, and they won 35 games. I got them at 17 wins. 

I am doubling down on Utah and Atlanta. I am betting that everything goes right for Atlanta and the opposite for Utah. Everything goes right doesn't mean perfect, it just means you get the luck of the draw. Last two years, we haven't gotten the luck of the draw. Last year was the worst. The most talented team in Atlanta history by a mile. 41 wins. The most disappointing team since the playoff guarantee Hawks.

[Plainview1981]

Its possible that they could be some better last year, but if their not a contender it doesn't really matter that much. Atleast not to me.

[Diesel]

3 minutes ago, Plainview1981 said:

Its possible that they could be some better last year, but if their not a contender it doesn't really matter that much. Atleast not to me.

Spoken like a true fan...

 

[Diesel]

I do agree, from the playin as the starting point, til now, we have gotten better even with Subtraction.   The key to that better is coaching style.   I have said previous and reiterate now, Quin never put his system in last year.  He just coached from Nate's system and let Nate's people run the show.    Even from our first preseason game, we have seen a difference in how we play.   The ball doesn't stick, we applaud good defense, we look for the best shot, etc.  I think some of the moves we made last season will pay off now... i.e. acquisitions of Bey and DJ.   I think some of our young players are growing up... i.e. Jalen and OO.     I think our focus on movement in the offense will help some of our guys i.e. Clint and Dre.  So with us, our wins is based on our ability to grow/learn.

Are there teams that are that much better than us...  Yes.   Denver and Milwuakee to name 2.   Boston could be.  However, we have a strong advantage across the league.  Which will lead to a lot more wins than 41. 

 

 

[NBASupes]

5 minutes ago, Diesel said:

I do agree, from the playin as the starting point, til now, we have gotten better even with Subtraction.   The key to that better is coaching style.   I have said previous and reiterate now, Quin never put his system in last year.  He just coached from Nate's system and let Nate's people run the show.    Even from our first preseason game, we have seen a difference in how we play.   The ball doesn't stick, we applaud good defense, we look for the best shot, etc.  I think some of the moves we made last season will pay off now... i.e. acquisitions of Bey and DJ.   I think some of our young players are growing up... i.e. Jalen and OO.     I think our focus on movement in the offense will help some of our guys i.e. Clint and Dre.  So with us, our wins is based on our ability to grow/learn.

Are there teams that are that much better than us...  Yes.   Denver and Milwuakee to name 2.   Boston could be.  However, we have a strong advantage across the league.  Which will lead to a lot more wins than 41. 

 

 

Denver and Milwaukee are legit contenders and Atlanta isn't but the regular season is a marathon and Atlanta as the right ingredients to be a #1 seed overall. 

Denver and Milwaukee both sacrificed depth and RS success to go all in for playoff success. Atlanta just wants to have success in the RS first and worry about the next step when it comes. 

[Gray Mule]

DIESEL

Another + for this season - - Bogie opens this season as healthy!  We improve as our young players mature.  We just don't have a lot of really old players.  In fact, we're kinda young!

[Plainview1981]

Quote

Spoken like a true fan.

This is always a simplistic and silly take.

I've seen mediocre to mid-level from this team several times before. What's exciting about it?

There's nothing special about winning 45-50 games and getting thrown out in the first or second round. This franchise isn't trying to win a title. It's the same franchise with the same kind of management it has always had. Ressler is business as usual, management is boneheaded, and the roster is extremely flawed. Same shit, different year.

Edited October 25, 2023 by Plainview1981

[Diesel]

5 minutes ago, NBASupes said:

Denver and Milwaukee are legit contenders and Atlanta isn't but the regular season is a marathon and Atlanta as the right ingredients to be a #1 seed overall. 

Denver and Milwaukee both sacrificed depth and RS success to go all in for playoff success. Atlanta just wants to have success in the RS first and worry about the next step when it comes. 

I saw your WC predictions.   I think you're selling Denver short even though you got them as #2.  They are the returning defending champs.   RS, they are just as hard to beat as in the playoffs.  The only thing that can hinder them is injury.  You have to remember, they spent a season or two without Murray and MPJ and were still high playoff seeds.  Murray is a very good Robin... he's almost Nightwing. 

In that same way, I don't think that playoff basketball in the East is going to be that much different with the exception of Philadelphia and Miami.  Philly always play down in the playoffs and Miami always play up.   It's not how you're built because nobody can really explain Miami.   I think it's more about coaching and player grit.  Miami is one of the grittiest teams in the league and if you put them in a 7 game series, they can beat anybody with nothing.   Whereas US... we're undefined.   We've shown that we can be better than our regular season but that was under a different coach.   Still means that we have players with grit.   We just have to see about our young guys. 

 

 

[NBASupes]

7 minutes ago, Plainview1981 said:

This is always a simplistic and silly take.

I've seen mediocre to mid-level from this team several times before. What's exciting about it?

There's nothing special about winning 45-50 games and getting thrown out in the first or second round. This franchise isn't trying to win a title. It's the same franchise with the same kind of management it has always had. Ressler is business as usual, management is boneheaded, and the roster is extremely flawed. Same shit, different year.

So much went wrong in the last two seasons, especially last year. But I understand this perspective. 

[NBASupes]

16 minutes ago, Diesel said:

I saw your WC predictions.   I think you're selling Denver short even though you got them as #2.  They are the returning defending champs.   RS, they are just as hard to beat as in the playoffs.  The only thing that can hinder them is injury.  You have to remember, they spent a season or two without Murray and MPJ and were still high playoff seeds.  Murray is a very good Robin... he's almost Nightwing. 

In that same way, I don't think that playoff basketball in the East is going to be that much different with the exception of Philadelphia and Miami.  Philly always play down in the playoffs and Miami always play up.   It's not how you're built because nobody can really explain Miami.   I think it's more about coaching and player grit.  Miami is one of the grittiest teams in the league and if you put them in a 7 game series, they can beat anybody with nothing.   Whereas US... we're undefined.   We've shown that we can be better than our regular season but that was under a different coach.   Still means that we have players with grit.   We just have to see about our young guys. 

 

 

I don't know how I am selling them short. The bench is bad. This season is a marathon. It's hard to rely on Jokic to dominate for 82 games. 24 games in the playoffs, sure but 82 games, I don't believe that's their focus. It's going to be about seeding and keeping their key guys fresh so they don't have injuries when it matters most. Teams that overly care about the RS are the pretenders with something to prove and the fit is great. 

Miami is build for playoff Basketball. When you play Miami early on, you can see their special, then you play them in the middle of the season, half the team is hurt, they aren't always executing, shooting is tough for them but when you gotta play tough, the refs are more lean with the whistle, the coaching scheme changes matter more in the playoffs. That's why Miami could be 8th seed or GS can be 6th seed and still win it all. They are built for the playoffs. 

Sixers issue has always been health. They always have health issues when it matters most. That's a killer.  

Edited October 25, 2023 by NBASupes

[TheFuzz]

13 minutes ago, Plainview1981 said:

This is always a simplistic and silly take.

I've seen mediocre to mid-level from this team several times before. What's exciting about it?

There's nothing special about winning 45-50 games and getting thrown out in the first or second round. This franchise isn't trying to win a title. It's the same franchise with the same kind of management it has always had. Ressler is business as usual, management is boneheaded, and the roster is extremely flawed. Same shit, different year.

Winning 50 games means our assets are more valuable and we're a more attractive destination. I think the roster is "flawed" to some degree but it's more lack of top level talent than lack of versatility unless JJ/OO/Griffin pops.

Why do you feel management is boneheaded? I've been impressed with Fields

[Plainview1981]

11 minutes ago, TheFuzz said:

Winning 50 games means our assets are more valuable and we're a more attractive destination. I think the roster is "flawed" to some degree but it's more lack of top level talent than lack of versatility unless JJ/OO/Griffin pops.

Why do you feel management is boneheaded? I've been impressed with Fields

We've been there before. This franchise has not shown that it can get to the next level. I'm not going to even go on to rip the players in a way that I might have years ago.

They have lost talent. You have what was a largely mediocre season year.... What do you do in response? You lose talent and do lateral moves. They wait too long to trade Collins. They did nothing notable to make this roster better following that.

It boiled down to "We like our young guys".

Ok, but... There is nothing to suggest that the folks at the top are determined to get to the next level. 

The current players and the coaching staff are capable of going out there and doing better than last year, but they also got to overcome ho-hum ownership and management.

Edited October 25, 2023 by Plainview1981

[LucastheThird]

1 hour ago, Plainview1981 said:

We've been there before. This franchise has not shown that it can get to the next level. I'm not going to even go on to rip the players in a way that I might have years ago.

They have lost talent. You have what was a largely mediocre season year.... What do you do in response? You lose talent and do lateral moves. They wait too long to trade Collins. They did nothing notable to make this roster better following that.

It boiled down to "We like our young guys".

Ok, but... There is nothing to suggest that the folks at the top are determined to get to the next level. 

The current players and the coaching staff are capable of going out there and doing better than last year, but they also got to overcome ho-hum ownership and management.

I think it's more than "We like our young guys." Management spoke loud and clear last season; they feel they have the top-end piece to win a championship in Trae Young. The other pieces (GM, Coach, and other players) need to jump on board and fill their roles. Those who could not were let go and traded. 

The last time we had effective coaching, and all players filled their assigned roles without complaint, we went to the ECF. 

[LucastheThird]

I agree with @NBASupes. I expect our team to be on fire in the regular season. 

 

Our offseason moves started at the All-Star break last year. The unnecessary bits were moved, and everyone has had a half NBA season and full injury-free offseason to gel in Quinn's new philosophy. 

 

A slow start to the season should be considered a failure. 

[Final_quest]

55 minutes ago, LucastheThird said:

A slow start to the season should be considered a failure. 

Get ready because we have mostly away games to start the season.  Including the long west coast trip.