#16
|
|||
|
|||
Quote:
Gordon should bounce back as it was just his ankle and he's young. Sometimes those ankles don't heal right though (Grant Hill). I think everyone felt bad for the dude, because he's put in they years at Utah to put himself in a winning situation and only lasted 6min into the season. |
#17
|
|||
|
|||
Quote:
|
#18
|
|||
|
|||
Quote:
Regardless, against every team who is not the W's, you can always hide one weak guy, especially if you have long switchy dudes like PG, Roberson and PatPat. Melo will never have to do more than guard the 3rd best player of the other team's wings and 4s. Looking at last year's D rating stats, OKC were 12th, 2.8 pts/100 out of 3rd. 5 of the teams above them lost good to great defenders and didn't really replace with equivalent talent(Indiana/George, Atlanta/Millsap, Utah/Hayward, LAC/Paul, Boston/Crowder and Bradley). OKC meanwhile replaces 3 defensive catastrophes (Kanter, McBuckets, Sabonis) with plus and neutral guys. The communication and rotation were on point last night - granted, its the Knicks. I don't think it's unreasonable to say they will be top 3, but I guess we will see. |
#19
|
|||
|
|||
Quote:
But he seems like a guy unable to really play well with others and stay locked in on both ends of the floor for 82 games. And they'll need that in the West because its such a buzzsaw. Course, even if they're just flat defensively year over year, what he gives them offensively is light years ahead of last year's (admittedly awesome) Westbrook hero ball project. Hat's off to Presti for going all in on this. Like Houston, I'm fascinated to see what happens. |
#20
|
||||
|
||||
Ankle and tibia.
But the report I saw last night suggests he'll still be back in time to play this season. Unlike Jeremy Lin... |
#21
|
|||
|
|||
Quote:
anyone see the double ejection last night? |
#22
|
|||
|
|||
Meanwhile, under everyone's radar, Toronto is developing a second unit that could very well (finally) push the team to the next level. They're athletic and exciting, with a real sting to the defence. Two of the third-year players the Raps have been grooming for the past two years are turning into solid contributors (Norman Powell and Delon Wright), and this year's rookie, OG Anunoby, is looking like a stud of a power forward, but with three-point shooting in his arsenal. Not to mention Jakob Poeltl, a smart Austrian 7-footer showing some surprising shot-blocking athleticism.
It's gotta be the Raptors back in the conference finals with Cleveland this year if DeRozan keeps playing his game and Lowry stays healthy and doesn't get worn down. Boston was over-hyped even with Hayward and Kyrie in the line-up, but now with Hayward out they're a one-series-and-done playoff team. Cleveland and Toronto are known quantities expected to go deep into the playoffs, but the really intriguing teams will be Milwaukee and Washington. Will be fascinating to see what they do, including whether the Greek Freak fulfills the expectations that everyone is heaping on him this season. The West is boring save for OKC. |
#23
|
||||
|
||||
.... ..
. Last edited by cadence90; 07-21-2018 at 12:24 AM. |
#24
|
|||
|
|||
Quote:
greek freak could make a run for MVP this year based on how he's playing, but it's too early to tell. the suns are loaded with young talent that can't quite execute on the big stage yet. we'll see if a new coach will help them with that. |
#25
|
|||
|
|||
Quote:
Kyle Lowry's playoff vanishing act is as predictable as the changing of the seasons at this point. Given they're 2-8 against the Cavs the last two years in the playoffs, and never looked like they'd seriously push the Cavs, and are still coached by Dwane Casey, I'm not holding my breath. But maybe LeBron breaks a leg or something? Weirder stuff has happened. |
#26
|
|||
|
|||
Quote:
|
#27
|
|||
|
|||
What's going on there? There's some real talent on that roster. The Bulls would gladly take Bledsoe off their hands.
|
#28
|
||||
|
||||
.... ..
. Last edited by cadence90; 07-21-2018 at 12:24 AM. |
#29
|
|||
|
|||
I wouldn't count on the Bulls doing anything to get better. They are in full on tank mode before the lottery odds flatten out next year. Same with the Suns, and they will be moving Bledsoe. Nice job by him killing any leverage though.
|
#30
|
||||
|
||||
.... ..
. Last edited by cadence90; 07-21-2018 at 12:24 AM. |
|
|