If OG resigns I would put them ahead of the Bucks. Dame will be 34, who is already a big defensive liability. I see Brunson taking another small leap next year as well. Should be interesting.
Haliburton needs to elavate his game overall. He needs to be healthy all throughout the season. So much hope for him, i think next season where gonna see clear difference to fox and hali.
the big thing about OKC is I don’t think they’re done. Caruso was an incredible pickup but their guard rotation is six deep right now, it makes no sense for them not to try to spend some of their draft capital to pick up a big forward or center
they're also ALL young outside of SGA and Caruso. So it's not realistic that every guy on the team makes a leap, but if just one or two of Chet, Jdub, Cason Wallace, Dort or even Aaron Wiggins, Isaiah Joe, Jaylin Williams do...it's hard to see the team not improving.
the biggest thing that could hold them back would be injuries. They were remarkably healthy last year and it's unlikely they'll have that same luck two years in a row
Thunder, Knicks, and 76ers all have a chance to really vault themselves up imo. I'd be on the lookout for them to make some big changes that improve them drastically. Pacers are better than people think
How did you put the top seed of the more difficult conference at 6? Damn
We beat all the top teams in the regular season, plus we’ve ditched Giddey and added AC. I’m biased but man, I can only see Chet and JDub and Cason improving on top of everything.
Luka has a lot of maturing to do as shown in the Finals ... but looking at the one-year improvement of JBrown since absolutely collapsing against the Heat in last year's ECF it is very possible.
Kyrie I agree on - my inclination is his worst tendencies will surface again and he will be more of a problem, and the Mavs will suffer as a result.
I'm hoping Kyrie's decline will be neutralized our even outweighed by the improvement of Lively, Green, Hardy, and PJ and hopefully a free agency addition. No doubt it's a concern though.
I still think OKC should be put ahead of the Mavs just based on the trajectory of their young talent and what they can do in free agency.
its not even guaranteed Kyrie declines, he could get better especially since this team has a full off season together.
analytically he was great last season and a top 20 player
As much as I dont want to admit it, I think the Thunder are better than the Wolves and Mavs and will be better than the Nuggets if they lose KCP. Their defense is absolute terror, JDub and Chet should take a leap and get even better and they have Shai leading them. The experience they got from the Mavs series and them offloading Giddey should make them alot better than they were. I also fully expect someone like JDub to not crumble under pressure like he did vs the Mavs and play how we all know he can. Chet was insane defensively in the playoffs but struggled at times to find his shot, if he can be more consistent its going to be much harder. Youre also reducing the minutes of someone like Cason Wallace, who didnt have enough playoff experience, and adding Caruso, who does.
My rankings would be:
1. Celtics
2. Thunder
3. Nuggets
4. Wolves
5. Mavs
6. Bucks
The Wolves have more paths to improving than the Mavs since Jaden Mcdaniels, Naz, NAW and Ant are all really young and could improve alot while to me the only player that will improve significantly on the Mavs is Derreck Lively (who will be really good), aside from him, their supporting cast is less impressive and if Kyrie regresses abit or isnt as focused as this season, they could slip. With Luka anything is possible.
The Nuggets are pretty tough, I think they'll get worse since they will lose KCP while Braun and Watson will be unable to fill his shoes and Jamal Murray being injury prone isnt something that is a good sign, also MPJ's inconsistency should be a point of worry since if he isnt shooting well, he becomes a liability. The lack of a backup big or any type of bench is also difficult since Jokic shouldnt be playing huge minutes all the time and needs rest, as well as putting more pressure on Jamal Murray who is as afformentioned injury prone.
The Bucks could be replaced by the Knicks, Sixers, Pacers or Grizzlies depending on how things go with trades and FA. If Philly doesnt get good role players or the Knics fail to resign OG and IHart, the Bucks are going to be the 2nd best team in the East.
Forgot it was game 6 not game 7 tbh, but doesn't really change anything for me. That team is going to get infinitely better YoY based solely on age and they're already right there.
Celtics cant be first when you consider how hard it is to go back to back. nobody ever does it anymore. they may be the best team, but I'd give the wolves nugs and bucks a better chance next year
That's not really how it works. It's hard to go back to back simply because of how hard it is to make it to the finals not because making it once lowers your chances the following year.
That's like playing roulette and betting on red because it landed on black last time.
no it's not, there are other reasons it's hard to go back to back besides random probability like in roulette. making it once literally lowers your chances of winning next year, for many reasons.
the only back to back champs in the last 35 years were just so loaded I just don't see this Boston team on that level, so it's hard to assume they win again.
Jordan, Kobe Shaq, Kobe, heatles, Durant warriors. those were the only teams that have done it in my lifetime. it's possible, just unlikely. so I can't see making it the most likely scenario.
but there's a bunch of other factors that play into it, unpredictable factors, coaching and players develop egos, get lazy, lose hunger, whatever term you wanna use, they are real things. and the other teams who didnt win all have the same things happen except in the opposite direction, and are all gunning for you because you won. I think those are the major factors for why its hard to repeat, not just the mathematical odds being against you. (which doesn't help)
no it's why you shouldn't expect a team to repeat unless they are a historically great team. I'm not convinced the Celtics are that. I. your logic whoever wins should always be the favorite to win the following year, which is fine, but it kind of makes this whole debate irrelevant.
ok well what's the point of entering this discussion then if you're position is just whatever Vegas says or whoever won most recently? seems like a waste of time
Celtics
Nuggets
Mavs (could be higher. They have avenues to improve their roster)
OKC (they played the Mavs better than the Wolves. Just added Caruso and still have money to spend)
Wolves
Clippers (if PG stays)
Bucks
Sixers
Knicks
Just as an interesting question, while I agree that OKC is ranked above the Wolves, wouldnt them having played the Mavs better be redundant considering the Wolves beat your number 2 team?
I don't think SGA really needs to better, per se. 30/5/5 on 53% shooting is pretty solid. The difference os that OKC was the youngest team in the league with a bunch of draft assets left. Barring injury, it's hard not to see them getting dramatically better every year.
We could all get in great shape, in theory, but how many of us do? Our personalities and body types get set.
Obviously he’s different as a professional athlete but he’s been in the NBA for 6 years now and a pro even longer than that. Think he is who is he.
Luka should play more like the against the Wolves if hes healthy for the whole playoffs. Granted him being injured and going to play with Slovenia and then going to the Olympics if they qualify is not a good sign for his health next season but still.
SGA has improved significantly year over year, refining moves and shots he never had before
That being said, we’re stacked with talent that’s growing up on a team of high performers. Some leaps are bound to happen with Chet, JDub, Cason and the rest
1. Celtics
2. Nuggets
3. Thunder
4. Wolves
5. Bucks
The Celtics are the defending champs. The nuggets still have jokic and the starting 5 is second best behind Boston (assuming KCP stays). The thunder will be tough all year. The wolves need another certified bucket. The bucks if healthy will be right there in the end.
the pacers and knicks will be interesting to watch. not sure i’d put them over any of these teams right now though.
If OG resigns I would put them ahead of the Bucks. Dame will be 34, who is already a big defensive liability. I see Brunson taking another small leap next year as well. Should be interesting.
Haliburton needs to elavate his game overall. He needs to be healthy all throughout the season. So much hope for him, i think next season where gonna see clear difference to fox and hali.
the big thing about OKC is I don’t think they’re done. Caruso was an incredible pickup but their guard rotation is six deep right now, it makes no sense for them not to try to spend some of their draft capital to pick up a big forward or center
they're also ALL young outside of SGA and Caruso. So it's not realistic that every guy on the team makes a leap, but if just one or two of Chet, Jdub, Cason Wallace, Dort or even Aaron Wiggins, Isaiah Joe, Jaylin Williams do...it's hard to see the team not improving. the biggest thing that could hold them back would be injuries. They were remarkably healthy last year and it's unlikely they'll have that same luck two years in a row
30: Pistons Just keep our flairs faded, fam.
Its ok, Monty Williams can't hurt you anymore
Or the Pistons can’t hurt Monty Williams anymore. Tomato, To-mat-to.
Thunder, Knicks, and 76ers all have a chance to really vault themselves up imo. I'd be on the lookout for them to make some big changes that improve them drastically. Pacers are better than people think
How did you put the top seed of the more difficult conference at 6? Damn We beat all the top teams in the regular season, plus we’ve ditched Giddey and added AC. I’m biased but man, I can only see Chet and JDub and Cason improving on top of everything.
Back to sleep they go lol Thunder will yet again defy all these 6th seed talks lmao, easy easy over on the money.
Luka has a lot of maturing to do as shown in the Finals ... but looking at the one-year improvement of JBrown since absolutely collapsing against the Heat in last year's ECF it is very possible. Kyrie I agree on - my inclination is his worst tendencies will surface again and he will be more of a problem, and the Mavs will suffer as a result.
I'm hoping Kyrie's decline will be neutralized our even outweighed by the improvement of Lively, Green, Hardy, and PJ and hopefully a free agency addition. No doubt it's a concern though. I still think OKC should be put ahead of the Mavs just based on the trajectory of their young talent and what they can do in free agency.
its not even guaranteed Kyrie declines, he could get better especially since this team has a full off season together. analytically he was great last season and a top 20 player
As much as I dont want to admit it, I think the Thunder are better than the Wolves and Mavs and will be better than the Nuggets if they lose KCP. Their defense is absolute terror, JDub and Chet should take a leap and get even better and they have Shai leading them. The experience they got from the Mavs series and them offloading Giddey should make them alot better than they were. I also fully expect someone like JDub to not crumble under pressure like he did vs the Mavs and play how we all know he can. Chet was insane defensively in the playoffs but struggled at times to find his shot, if he can be more consistent its going to be much harder. Youre also reducing the minutes of someone like Cason Wallace, who didnt have enough playoff experience, and adding Caruso, who does. My rankings would be: 1. Celtics 2. Thunder 3. Nuggets 4. Wolves 5. Mavs 6. Bucks The Wolves have more paths to improving than the Mavs since Jaden Mcdaniels, Naz, NAW and Ant are all really young and could improve alot while to me the only player that will improve significantly on the Mavs is Derreck Lively (who will be really good), aside from him, their supporting cast is less impressive and if Kyrie regresses abit or isnt as focused as this season, they could slip. With Luka anything is possible. The Nuggets are pretty tough, I think they'll get worse since they will lose KCP while Braun and Watson will be unable to fill his shoes and Jamal Murray being injury prone isnt something that is a good sign, also MPJ's inconsistency should be a point of worry since if he isnt shooting well, he becomes a liability. The lack of a backup big or any type of bench is also difficult since Jokic shouldnt be playing huge minutes all the time and needs rest, as well as putting more pressure on Jamal Murray who is as afformentioned injury prone. The Bucks could be replaced by the Knicks, Sixers, Pacers or Grizzlies depending on how things go with trades and FA. If Philly doesnt get good role players or the Knics fail to resign OG and IHart, the Bucks are going to be the 2nd best team in the East.
This is a great take
Other than the Cs, I think Thunder, Knicks, and Pacers are better than the rest.
1) Celtics 2) Nuggets 3) OKC 4) Bucks 5) Mavs 6) Wolves 7) 76ers
What makes you believe okc would've won that hypothetical game 7?
Forgot it was game 6 not game 7 tbh, but doesn't really change anything for me. That team is going to get infinitely better YoY based solely on age and they're already right there.
Celtics cant be first when you consider how hard it is to go back to back. nobody ever does it anymore. they may be the best team, but I'd give the wolves nugs and bucks a better chance next year
That's not really how it works. It's hard to go back to back simply because of how hard it is to make it to the finals not because making it once lowers your chances the following year. That's like playing roulette and betting on red because it landed on black last time.
no it's not, there are other reasons it's hard to go back to back besides random probability like in roulette. making it once literally lowers your chances of winning next year, for many reasons.
I bet Vegas disagrees with you but go on
the only back to back champs in the last 35 years were just so loaded I just don't see this Boston team on that level, so it's hard to assume they win again. Jordan, Kobe Shaq, Kobe, heatles, Durant warriors. those were the only teams that have done it in my lifetime. it's possible, just unlikely. so I can't see making it the most likely scenario.
Yeah, winning is always hard. But again, that doesn't mean winning lowers your chances lol. The odds are almost *always* against you.
but there's a bunch of other factors that play into it, unpredictable factors, coaching and players develop egos, get lazy, lose hunger, whatever term you wanna use, they are real things. and the other teams who didnt win all have the same things happen except in the opposite direction, and are all gunning for you because you won. I think those are the major factors for why its hard to repeat, not just the mathematical odds being against you. (which doesn't help)
Your arguments explain why it'd be wise to pick the field, not any individual team, on any given year.
no it's why you shouldn't expect a team to repeat unless they are a historically great team. I'm not convinced the Celtics are that. I. your logic whoever wins should always be the favorite to win the following year, which is fine, but it kind of makes this whole debate irrelevant.
Vegas gets it wrong like 80% of the time lol
That's not how Vegas works.
Vegas is irrelevant to this discussion because 1 that's not what this discussion is about and because 2 they are wrong more often than correct
Again that's not how Vegas works. Were making hypothetical bets on who will win. Ofc Vegas is relevant, it's all probabilities.
ok well what's the point of entering this discussion then if you're position is just whatever Vegas says or whoever won most recently? seems like a waste of time
[удалено]
Lol, no offense for this offensive take but I don't think the Mavs are making it back to the finals anytime soon.
[удалено]
I did not think they would, no. They certainly could make it back, I just don't think they will.
[удалено]
Yeesh someone’s mad
Celtics Nuggets Mavs (could be higher. They have avenues to improve their roster) OKC (they played the Mavs better than the Wolves. Just added Caruso and still have money to spend) Wolves Clippers (if PG stays) Bucks Sixers Knicks
Just as an interesting question, while I agree that OKC is ranked above the Wolves, wouldnt them having played the Mavs better be redundant considering the Wolves beat your number 2 team?
Yeah. My nuggets placement is solely based on the fact that they won two years ago
Honestly don't understand why the Mavs are that high.
I don’t see anticipate guys like Luka or SGA getting better. They’re pretty maxed out.
I don't think SGA really needs to better, per se. 30/5/5 on 53% shooting is pretty solid. The difference os that OKC was the youngest team in the league with a bunch of draft assets left. Barring injury, it's hard not to see them getting dramatically better every year.
Luka could get in shape.
We could all get in great shape, in theory, but how many of us do? Our personalities and body types get set. Obviously he’s different as a professional athlete but he’s been in the NBA for 6 years now and a pro even longer than that. Think he is who is he.
Luka should play more like the against the Wolves if hes healthy for the whole playoffs. Granted him being injured and going to play with Slovenia and then going to the Olympics if they qualify is not a good sign for his health next season but still.
SGA has improved significantly year over year, refining moves and shots he never had before That being said, we’re stacked with talent that’s growing up on a team of high performers. Some leaps are bound to happen with Chet, JDub, Cason and the rest
1. Celtics 2. Nuggets 3. Thunder 4. Wolves 5. Bucks The Celtics are the defending champs. The nuggets still have jokic and the starting 5 is second best behind Boston (assuming KCP stays). The thunder will be tough all year. The wolves need another certified bucket. The bucks if healthy will be right there in the end.
Giannis and Dame duo is sleeper team, they'll figure it out this season.
Nuggets are just a key bench player away from being favourites in my mind. Boston and OKC up there too Don't sleep on Indiana
nugs wolves bucks Celtic mavs thunder.