DanA_TBDP 12 Report post Posted July 6, 2013 Josh Smith to Detroit which actually makes sense. If he is at all engaged it's a good defensive compliment to Monroe. And Denver's failures in the trade really go back to Gallo's knee injury. If that doesn't happen, things probably go differently for them. Just my .02. Re: Harris and Harkless, Tobias is better now but Moe's ceiling is incredibly high. Guy dropped 25 on Durant and 28 on Parsons last year, two playoff teams to boot. He showed flashes late of being a strong offensive threat and it's not like Ariza who scammed the rockets by hitting kickout threes from Kobe and Gasol. Harkless didn't exactly have stars setting him up. EDIT: Detroit wants to play Josh Smith at the 3. That's :panicworker: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OrlandoFeds 34 Report post Posted July 7, 2013 EDIT: Detroit wants to play Josh Smith at the 3. That's :panicworker:/> I think that's better than playing him at the four for them. Drummond needs to start in my opinion, his deserved it, reward him. Also Favors is really underrated. I'm glad his finally gonna get to play some serious minutes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HeHateMe 697 Report post Posted July 7, 2013 LeBron took his talents to Miami and Howard his drama to Houston. Houston with Howard will not beat a healthy OKC or Spurs They won't beat the Warriors (with a healthy Bogut) either. I'm sorry, but that starting lineup is strait video game good. Curry Thompson Iggy Lee Bogut With Harrison as your 6th man? Yikes. Iggy is exactly what the Warriors needed to get over the hump IMO. An all defensive player that can shut down the perimeter, exactly what the Warriors could not do last year. I know most people wont agree with me but I have the west: Thunder Spurs (I'm done counting them out) Warriors (If healthy, and that's a big if) Clippers Rockets Grizzlies I wouldn't underestimate what Doc can do for the Clips. And JJ give them another option (didn't really seem like they needed one) they can rely on from outside and to even play some point. If I need to explain my reasons for doubt towards the rockets I would be glad too, but most evolve around Dwight not being a true champion.It can't be overstated how important it is for a teams "super star" to have that DNA. Dwight doesn't. As for Harden, all I know is his colossal meltdown in the finals against the heat. It's the same things with Dwight that will always prevent him from winning a title: Stupid fouls, Stupid Technicals, Letting officials get him out of his game, poor free throw shooting, no go to offensive move, and turnovers when he puts the ball on the court. This isn't to say the Rockets won't be better, they will be. But the West is stacked and I have my concerns with the Rockets even when taking my deep deep hatred for dwight out of it. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
OrlandoFeds 34 Report post Posted July 7, 2013 (tho I would rather have someone other than Bogut) I think if that's your biggest worry, you're doing alright. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CTMagicUK 1,482 Report post Posted July 7, 2013 Warriors starting lineup is great (tho I would rather have someone other than Bogut), but they have to figure out how to fill the rest ofthe roster out. Jarrett Jack and Carl Landry are gone,and both were big parts of their playoff run Replacing Jarrett Jack will be key for them now. Speaking of Jack the Cavs really have made some serious strides for playoff contention. Irving Waiters Karasev/Bennett Bennett/Thompson Varejao With Tyler Zeller, Earl Clark and Jarrett Jack coming off the bench and likely playing decent minutes. That's a nice combination of youth and a couple of good vets. They're youth might hurt them a little but if everything goes right for them they can at least be an 8th seed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HeHateMe 697 Report post Posted July 7, 2013 I think if that's your biggest worry, you're doing alright. Bogut is so underrated. When that guy is healthy he's as good as any other center defensively in the NBA. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
HeHateMe 697 Report post Posted July 7, 2013 Replacing Jarrett Jack will be key for them now. Speaking of Jack the Cavs really have made some serious strides for playoff contention. Irving Waiters Karasev/Bennett Bennett/Thompson Varejao With Tyler Zeller, Earl Clark and Jarrett Jack coming off the bench and likely playing decent minutes. That's a nice combination of youth and a couple of good vets. They're youth might hurt them a little but if everything goes right for them they can at least be an 8th seed. 1 more team we can count on to be better than us. Now we just need Suns and bobcats to do some signings. Oh, and Pencil the Pistons in as a surprise team in the East. Their front court of Drummond, Monroe and Smith is nasty. If Caldwell-Pope plays as good as I think he will, with Brandon Knight at Point theirs a lot to like about that team if your a pistons fan. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fultz4thewin 2,464 Report post Posted July 7, 2013 One thing I don't like about Cleveland is,until we see otherwise, three of their 5 best players are guards. I wonder if we'll see jack, Irving, waiters lineups Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SiMON2g 5 Report post Posted July 7, 2013 One thing I don't like about Cleveland is,until we see otherwise, three of their 5 best players are guards. I wonder if we'll see jack, Irving, waiters lineups GS did it succesfully with Jack, Thompson and Curry. While that lineup is not defensively sound, it is very advantageous on offense. Can deffinately see the cavs playing small ball with those 3 and maybe bennet at the 4 and Zeller at the 5. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Murphy13 185 Report post Posted July 7, 2013 I actually think Suns aren't going to be as bad as some think. They won't make the playoffs, but if Bledsoe is as good as many here thought he was he is a good pickup and nice complement to Dragic. Alex Len and Gortat together are potentially better than many teams can offer in the frontcourt. Their depth and swing positioning could use some work but I would say at the least they are on the same field as us...which is at the bottom except for Boston, who at the moment appears to be the worst on paper to me at least. Philly of course is right there as well, but if by some miracle Bynum comes back to them (healthy) and Noel contributed at least half a season I could see them winning a few games more than the Celts. Lastly, I think Charlotte is going to win some games this year, I don't know if the playoffs are in the cards but I do think they have a strong front court with MKG/Zeller/Jefferson and a more than serviceable Kemba Walker. Gerald Henderson isn't terrible and some think Jeffrey Taylor will step it up in his sophomore campaign. If Ben Gordon can recapture a little of his scoring and Biyombo continues to be an above average defender (with MKG) I think they have a good mix of defense, running, and a little offense too. Playoffs are not out of the question for them.B Short story long, bottom five teams next season: Bos, Phi, Orl, Phx, Sac (wild cards Atl and Tor). If our players grow like they could we may be on the outside looking in, at the 7-8 range in the draft. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Secretly Space Jesus 670 Report post Posted July 7, 2013 Wait: since when is picking up Jarret Jack anything? He played well in the playoffs last year, but did that make everyone forget he's a 11/3/4 player for his career on average efficiency? A guy who got traded away for Jerryd Bayless TWICE? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Secretly Space Jesus 670 Report post Posted July 7, 2013 Also, the annual "Worst Free Agent Contract" awards race is off and running this year. Early favorites have to be Detroit giving Josh Smith 14m a year and Dallas giving Jose Calderon 7.25m a year. But watch out for that Milwaukee dark horse, Zaza Pachulia, who somehow managed to convince someone he was worth 5m a season. The mind boggles. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
