Minnesota Sports Forum

AbeVigodaLive wrote:

lipoli390 wrote:

CoolBreeze44 wrote:

khans2k5 wrote:

AbeVigodaLive wrote:I think Khans is shortchanging Indiana a bit.

It's not like Oladipo wasn't around for the first part of the season.

The East has four legit teams... that are as good as anybody in the West, sans GSW. Milwaukee, Toronto, Philadelphia and Boston are very good.

Indiana is pretty good. Granted... everybody else sucks balls to various degrees.

Those 4 teams are talented. Toronto is the only one of the 4 not in the top 10 of easiest schedules in the NBA. Indiana has had the easiest schedule in the league to date. Philly 21, Milwaukee 22, Boston 26, Indiana 30. So how many extra wins are they getting because of that fact? 3-4. I'm just saying their perceived conference strength is getting a little skewed because they just aren't playing as many trying and tough games that can grind you down as the season goes on.

You're right about the East not being as tough of a grind top to bottom. But whoever finishes first in the conference standings will have finished on top of 4 other really good teams. Better teams than I believe Golden State has to contend with at the top. I think Milwaukee, Toronto, Philly, and Boston are all better than the 2nd best team in the West. No shame in winning the East this year.

I'm impressed with what Indiana has done this season. They've gone much of the season without their best player, Oladipo. The Pacers are a good example of the difference coaching can make in the NBA. That said, I don't see Indiana among the elite teams in the NBA this season. Golden State remains in a class by itself. After that, I'd put Toronto, Philly, Boston and Denver in the next grouping. Then there are some very good teams, all in the West - OKC, Portland, Houston (if healthy). I agree with Kahns that strength of schedule needs to be accounted for. But I haven't looked at the specific wins and losses to know how much weight to give it when evaluating the top teams in the East. For all I know, some or all of those top 4 East teams have faired particularly well against the better Western Conference teams.

If that's the case... it also tells us how random finding a difference-making coach is... as well as WHEN a team finds that coach.

Consider Nate McMillan was decent or solid in two previous stints, but not difference-making enough to keep either gig. Even when Indiana promoted him, it was met mostly with "meh ok, coulda been worse."

McMillan has been known largely for one thing... playing at a slow pace. That didn't help defensively in his first 10 years at coach with the team finishing in the bottom half for defensive efficiency every season. But he has had some good offensive teams... which is interesting considering that even the Wolves shoot 3 more three pointers per game than the Pacers...

lipoli390 wrote:

AbeVigodaLive wrote:

lipoli390 wrote:

CoolBreeze44 wrote:

khans2k5 wrote:

AbeVigodaLive wrote:I think Khans is shortchanging Indiana a bit.

It's not like Oladipo wasn't around for the first part of the season.

The East has four legit teams... that are as good as anybody in the West, sans GSW. Milwaukee, Toronto, Philadelphia and Boston are very good.

Indiana is pretty good. Granted... everybody else sucks balls to various degrees.

Those 4 teams are talented. Toronto is the only one of the 4 not in the top 10 of easiest schedules in the NBA. Indiana has had the easiest schedule in the league to date. Philly 21, Milwaukee 22, Boston 26, Indiana 30. So how many extra wins are they getting because of that fact? 3-4. I'm just saying their perceived conference strength is getting a little skewed because they just aren't playing as many trying and tough games that can grind you down as the season goes on.

You're right about the East not being as tough of a grind top to bottom. But whoever finishes first in the conference standings will have finished on top of 4 other really good teams. Better teams than I believe Golden State has to contend with at the top. I think Milwaukee, Toronto, Philly, and Boston are all better than the 2nd best team in the West. No shame in winning the East this year.

I'm impressed with what Indiana has done this season. They've gone much of the season without their best player, Oladipo. The Pacers are a good example of the difference coaching can make in the NBA. That said, I don't see Indiana among the elite teams in the NBA this season. Golden State remains in a class by itself. After that, I'd put Toronto, Philly, Boston and Denver in the next grouping. Then there are some very good teams, all in the West - OKC, Portland, Houston (if healthy). I agree with Kahns that strength of schedule needs to be accounted for. But I haven't looked at the specific wins and losses to know how much weight to give it when evaluating the top teams in the East. For all I know, some or all of those top 4 East teams have faired particularly well against the better Western Conference teams.

If that's the case... it also tells us how random finding a difference-making coach is... as well as WHEN a team finds that coach.

Consider Nate McMillan was decent or solid in two previous stints, but not difference-making enough to keep either gig. Even when Indiana promoted him, it was met mostly with "meh ok, coulda been worse."

McMillan has been known largely for one thing... playing at a slow pace. That didn't help defensively in his first 10 years at coach with the team finishing in the bottom half for defensive efficiency every season. But he has had some good offensive teams... which is interesting considering that even the Wolves shoot 3 more three pointers per game than the Pacers...

It's often about fit -- Getting a head coach who fits with your personnel. My biggest beef with hiring Thibodeau was my view that he was a poor fit for our personnel, which consisted of young more offensive oriented players with personalities that I didn't think would respond well to Thibodeau. Nate is the sort of coach who will get a fairly decent team to overachieve. That's what he's doing in Indiana. But he wouldn't be my choice for the Wolves or for any team with championship aspirations.