I expect the Warriors, Rockets, Thunder, and Spurs will take the top 4 spots, probably in that order, but maybe the Spurs will outperform again and maybe the Thunder or Rockets will have some adjustment pains and slip a bit. But I don't see any of those four teams falling out of the top four.
So the real question to me is what happens with the rest of the playoff picture in the West. Here are the contenders.
Wolves
Nuggets
Clippers
Pelicans
Blazers
Jazz
Memphis
Three of those teams aren't making the playoffs.
Four of those teams underwent significant changes in the offseason, and New Orleans and Portland made key additions of Cousins and Nurkic at the end of last year. Even Memphis had a decent amount of turnover. So there are a lot of question marks.
I expect us to be significantly improved and hopefully getting the 5th seed.
I expect the Nuggets to be really good. Millsap should help them on defense (they were first in offense, last in defense down the stretch last year), Gary Harris is coming into his own, and Jokic has become a total freak.
Big question marks in LA, but that team still has a lot of talent. Losing CP3 will really hurt them, but point Griffin could be fascinating, and I'm interested in whether Teodosic is for real. No matter what, that team will be really different this year.
The twin towers in New Orleans will be fascinating to watch. Statistically, they continued to dominate last year, but can they consistently win games, especially with that weak bench?
The Blazers have made the playoffs with a weaker lineup before, and they looked great with Nurk at the end of last year.
The Jazz may not make the playoffs, but they always seem to play above their talent level. Losing Hayward and Hill will hurt a lot, but Rubio should help them, they made some nice offseason signings, and that Mitchell kid looks like he could be really good.
Memphis. Who knows. But Conley and Gasol together are enough to make things interesting.
Best in the West Ranking
Re: Best in the West Ranking
Based on some highlights from the game the other day the Clippers may at least be worth watching. Teo was throwing some crazy passes.
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Q12543 [enjin:6621299]
- Posts: 13844
- Joined: Thu Jul 11, 2013 12:00 am
Re: Best in the West Ranking
SameOldNudityDrew wrote:I expect the Warriors, Rockets, Thunder, and Spurs will take the top 4 spots, probably in that order, but maybe the Spurs will outperform again and maybe the Thunder or Rockets will have some adjustment pains and slip a bit. But I don't see any of those four teams falling out of the top four.
So the real question to me is what happens with the rest of the playoff picture in the West. Here are the contenders.
Wolves
Nuggets
Clippers
Pelicans
Blazers
Jazz
Memphis
Three of those teams aren't making the playoffs.
Four of those teams underwent significant changes in the offseason, and New Orleans and Portland made key additions of Cousins and Nurkic at the end of last year. Even Memphis had a decent amount of turnover. So there are a lot of question marks.
I expect us to be significantly improved and hopefully getting the 5th seed.
I expect the Nuggets to be really good. Millsap should help them on defense (they were first in offense, last in defense down the stretch last year), Gary Harris is coming into his own, and Jokic has become a total freak.
Big question marks in LA, but that team still has a lot of talent. Losing CP3 will really hurt them, but point Griffin could be fascinating, and I'm interested in whether Teodosic is for real. No matter what, that team will be really different this year.
The twin towers in New Orleans will be fascinating to watch. Statistically, they continued to dominate last year, but can they consistently win games, especially with that weak bench?
The Blazers have made the playoffs with a weaker lineup before, and they looked great with Nurk at the end of last year.
The Jazz may not make the playoffs, but they always seem to play above their talent level. Losing Hayward and Hill will hurt a lot, but Rubio should help them, they made some nice offseason signings, and that Mitchell kid looks like he could be really good.
Memphis. Who knows. But Conley and Gasol together are enough to make things interesting.
Just a ton of parity in that next tier down. I think health will be a major factor since it seems like on paper these teams are all pretty even.
Re: Best in the West Ranking
Q12543 wrote:SameOldNudityDrew wrote:I expect the Warriors, Rockets, Thunder, and Spurs will take the top 4 spots, probably in that order, but maybe the Spurs will outperform again and maybe the Thunder or Rockets will have some adjustment pains and slip a bit. But I don't see any of those four teams falling out of the top four.
So the real question to me is what happens with the rest of the playoff picture in the West. Here are the contenders.
Wolves
Nuggets
Clippers
Pelicans
Blazers
Jazz
Memphis
Three of those teams aren't making the playoffs.
Four of those teams underwent significant changes in the offseason, and New Orleans and Portland made key additions of Cousins and Nurkic at the end of last year. Even Memphis had a decent amount of turnover. So there are a lot of question marks.
I expect us to be significantly improved and hopefully getting the 5th seed.
I expect the Nuggets to be really good. Millsap should help them on defense (they were first in offense, last in defense down the stretch last year), Gary Harris is coming into his own, and Jokic has become a total freak.
Big question marks in LA, but that team still has a lot of talent. Losing CP3 will really hurt them, but point Griffin could be fascinating, and I'm interested in whether Teodosic is for real. No matter what, that team will be really different this year.
The twin towers in New Orleans will be fascinating to watch. Statistically, they continued to dominate last year, but can they consistently win games, especially with that weak bench?
The Blazers have made the playoffs with a weaker lineup before, and they looked great with Nurk at the end of last year.
The Jazz may not make the playoffs, but they always seem to play above their talent level. Losing Hayward and Hill will hurt a lot, but Rubio should help them, they made some nice offseason signings, and that Mitchell kid looks like he could be really good.
Memphis. Who knows. But Conley and Gasol together are enough to make things interesting.
Just a ton of parity in that next tier down. I think health will be a major factor since it seems like on paper these teams are all pretty even.
Agreed. The wolves have 5 of the 13 players who played in every game last year. (Wiggins, towns, gorgui, Crawford, Teague) hopeFully that continues