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***2021-2022 NBA Season Thread***

RonArtest15

By RonArtest15
in The Tailgate

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Lombardi's_kid_brother

Lombardi's_kid_brother

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East

 

1. Miami - but I think they are going to run out of gas in the playoffs. They are not deep have logged insane minutes for three years.

2. Chicago

3. Indy

4. Knicks

5. Nets - I think this team will take forever to gel if it actually does gel.

6. Detroit

7. Cleveland - they have at least one big move to make

8. Wizards - they do too

 

 

West

1. Houston - I honestly don't know who else to pick here.

2. San Antonio

3. Clippers

4. OKC

5. Portland - they are going to be sneaky good, I think

6. Memphis

7. Golden State

8. New Orleans - I don't think there is that much difference among teams 7 through 11. So I went with the most top heavy team.

Edited by Lombardi's_kid_brother
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RonArtest15

RonArtest15

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I'll bite.  The East looks possible, but your West is nutty (to me).  

 

Why would you have Denver ahead of San Antonio or Golden State?  Denver just gutted the team, losing its coach, its GM and its best player (Igoudala), and Galinari will miss most of the season.   Denver will always win a lot at home because of the high altitude, so their record is always a little inflated, but not that much.

 

San Antonio was a single shot away from winning a ring a few months ago.  Yes, they are going to all get old and retire one day, but it hasn't happened yet.  Smartest, best coached team in the league.

 

And why would Utah be on the list at all?   They lost Jefferson and Millsap and Mo WIlliams, and are completely young and untested.   They will struggle to win 30 games this year, but the future is very good.   Minnesota and Dallas will both be much better than Utah this year.

 

Going out on a limb myself, I might look for Portland to jump onto that list, somethere between 5 and 8.

 

I'll go with

 

1) San Antonio

2) Houston

3) Clippers

4) OKC (Westbrook's new injury is devastating and they are not deep)

5) Memphis

6) GS

7) Portland

8) Minnesota (ok, maybe Denver)

 

Man, my west DOES suck...LOL....well, my prediction of where Utah would fall.  I honestly had no clue that Milsap went to Atlanta, and I forgot that Big Al was in Charlotte. 

 

I'll keep my top 7, but I'll throw Portland in there at #8.  As always, health is the key for them.

 

I honestly believe that the Spurs will fall in the 6-8 range in the West.  Age will catch up with them and I think Pop will be resting his guys more during the regular season than what we've seen before. 

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Lombardi's_kid_brother

Lombardi's_kid_brother

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Man, my west DOES suck...LOL....well, my prediction of where Utah would fall.  I honestly had no clue that Milsap went to Atlanta, and I forgot that Big Al was in Charlotte. 

 

I'll keep my top 7, but I'll throw Portland in there at #8.  As always, health is the key for them.

 

I honestly believe that the Spurs will fall in the 6-8 range in the West.  Age will catch up with them and I think Pop will be resting his guys more during the regular season than what we've seen before. 

 

Even though Leonard turned into a superstar in the Finals? That team is going to start three all stars, is still deep, and is still the best coached team in the league. How is Golden State better than them?

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RonArtest15

RonArtest15

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Even though Leonard turned into a superstar in the Finals? That team is going to start three all stars, is still deep, and is still the best coached team in the league. How is Golden State better than them?

 

Kent.Bazemore.

 

Them falling in that 6-8 range is solely based upon Pop REALLY giving guys like Manu/Tim/TP plenty of rest.  Almost coasting during the regular season.  They'll know what they're doing and I'm sure will make another splash in the playoffs.  That being said, at some point (may even happen this year), age WILL catch up with them.  You can only outrun father time for so long. 

 

If Golden State can keep their health, I don't see how it's so far fetched that they finish w/ a better regular season record than the Spurs.  I'm more curious about Mark Jackson's coaching in his third year.  He's my guy, but I thought he was destined to fail when he was initially hired.  He's proving me wrong so far. 

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Lombardi's_kid_brother

Lombardi's_kid_brother

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Kent.Bazemore.

 

Them falling in that 6-8 range is solely based upon Pop REALLY giving guys like Manu/Tim/TP plenty of rest.  Almost coasting during the regular season.  They'll know what they're doing and I'm sure will make another splash in the playoffs.  That being said, at some point (may even happen this year), age WILL catch up with them.  You can only outrun father time for so long. 

 

If Golden State can keep their health, I don't see how it's so far fetched that they finish w/ a better regular season record than the Spurs.  I'm more curious about Mark Jackson's coaching in his third year.  He's my guy, but I thought he was destined to fail when he was initially hired.  He's proving me wrong so far. 

 

I don't think he is going to coast them to a lack of home court advantage in any round.

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Predicto

Predicto

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Even though Leonard turned into a superstar in the Finals? That team is going to start three all stars, is still deep, and is still the best coached team in the league. How is Golden State better than them?

 

They aren't (and neither is Denver, Memphis, and probably the Clippers and OKC)

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Going Commando

Going Commando

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What is Westbrook's new injury? I didn't hear about it.

I need to move them down then. Let me go with:

1.) Spurs

2.) Rockets

3.) Thunder

4.) Clippers

5.) Grizzlies

6.) Warriors

7.) Lakers

8.) Blazers

I feel pretty good about that top four. Not feeling it as much with the Warriors or Grizzlies, but I figured I'd go with the flow and put them where they were last season. I think the Lakers make the playoffs and I think it'll be a three team race for the final spot between Dallas, Minnesota, and Portland.

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Predicto

Predicto

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What is Westbrook's new injury? I didn't hear about it.

I need to move them down then. Let me go with:

1.) Spurs

2.) Rockets

3.) Thunder

4.) Clippers

5.) Grizzlies

6.) Warriors

7.) Lakers

8.) Blazers

I feel pretty good about that top four. Not feeling it as much with the Warriors or Grizzlies, but I figured I'd go with the flow and put them where they were last season. I think the Lakers make the playoffs and I think it'll be a three team race for the final spot between Dallas, Minnesota, and Portland.

 

 

Westbrook had to go back under the knife because his knee surgery had complications.  The problem is supposed to be minor, but it means that he will miss the first month of the season at least, and its hard to see how he will be in game shape when he gets back. 

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Going Commando

Going Commando

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I don't think Houston finishes ahead of the Spurs LKB. Death, Taxes, and the Spurs winning 70% of their games. Houston isn't quite to 70% yet IMO. I think their one more piece away from that tier.

They need to do something with Asik and probably Lin. If they deal those two for expiring contracts, then I'm pretty sure they'll have max money to offer this summer. Or very close to it. Then they can bring in a third big time player and truly cement themselves as THE elite team in the West.

A team like the Wizards would be interested in Asik probably. They've got lots of expiring money in Okafor (14.5 million) and Ariza (7.5 million) but Okafor is injured. Wouldn't get much on the court from him this season, but it might be worth it to clear all that cap space this summer. Ariza they could use.

There's probably a PG needy team that could use Lin. Indy? New York? Hell, what about OKC?

But the issue with Asik and Lin that is going to limit trade partners, is that they still have a ton of real dollars owed to them in the final year of their contracts because of the weird rule that their contracts were negotiated under. I think each is owed nearly 15 million next season. So paying like 23 million dollars for either one is going to scare some owners off. Particularly a cost conscious owner like Ted Leonsis. It'd be very hard to deal Asik and Lin together for one big expiring contract to anyone but a rich owner who won't mind paying them 30 million dollars next season.

And dealing Lin requires you to get a starting caliber PG back in return, on a good contract or an expiring. Otherwise you've got to go ahead with Patrick Beverly, which I think would hurt their ability to contend for a high seed this year.

So Houston might handicap themselves this season in order to position themselves better to be true contenders after this summer.

But I think that has to be your strategy if you can't get back useful players on expirings for Asik and Lin. If they got a big time forward, they could be incredible. Kevin Love would just be unfair, though I don't think he'll be available until after next season. If then. Dirk? Dirk is loyal to Dallas now but Harden + Dirk + Howard could absolutely win a championship next year. Probably be the favorite. Perfect mix of players and personalities. Another good one would be LaMarcus Aldridge, but would require a trade of some sort. Hell, what about Pau Gasol?

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Going Commando

Going Commando

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Westbrook had to go back under the knife because his knee surgery had complications.  The problem is supposed to be minor, but it means that he will miss the first month of the season at least, and its hard to see how he will be in game shape when he gets back.

That's the first knee surgery on a pro athlete that had complications I can remember. That really sucks. Losing your star PG for extended time at the beginning of the year can be horrible. Like 0-12 and 5-28 horrible.

I tentatively put them at third, but I could see the season spiraling out of control early and them having to dig their way to a mid to late seed the rest of the way. They've got Durant, and Ibaka is a very good player now. But I don't see them having a Chicago-like ability to just power through injuries. Brooks sucks. The rest of the roster around Durant and Ibaka isn't anything special. They won't fall apart like the Wizards did, but I could see them hovering around .500 early.

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Going Commando

Going Commando

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LeBron is sort of right about KG and Pierce.  They got traded though.  But they clearly wouldn't have stayed if they weren't under contract and they were happy to be dealt.

 

KG and Pierce are full of **** anyway.  They're assholes who like to run their mouths, everyone around the league knows it.  They were great players though.  

 

LeBron is the spokesman for Miami, and for the league as a whole really.  But I'd love to see Ray Allen talk some **** to those guys for himself.  They acted like children to him even though he did nothing wrong and helped get them both a ring.

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sherrardsd

sherrardsd

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I think they issue they had was him going to their rivals, not the fact that he left. That being said, they acted like children.

LeBron's comments don't make any sense to me.KG and Pierce were traded...Allen left on his own terms. I'm sure Paul Pierce would've liked to retire a Celtic, so it's slightly different.

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Going Commando

Going Commando

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Nerlens Noel is not expected to play this season.

 

This season the 76ers have one of the worst rosters I've ever seen.  There is a legit chance they go 10-72.

 

They're going to have like two, maybe three players worthy of playing more than 10 minutes a game in the NBA right now.  I've never seen such a baldly anticompetitive strategy from a team before the season even starts.  

 

They don't deserve Wiggins.  I hope Toronto dumps Rudy Gay and deals DeRozan and wins the lottery and gets Wiggins.

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RonArtest15

RonArtest15

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Why doesn't Philly "deserve" Wiggins?

 

I think SM is alluding to purposely tanking to try to get the #1 overall.  Let's be serious here.  Picks 1-3 next year will be all franchise guys...however, whichever team gets the #1 overall is hitting the jackpot.  Wiggins is the most hyped (supposedd) #1 overall pick since LeBron was at SVSM. 

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Going Commando

Going Commando

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Hibbert probably should have won DPOY last season.  Probably would have if Paul George wasn't such a visible defensive force.  That's not a bold prediction.  He is already playing at that level of quality.

 

What would be a bold prediction is saying Brook Lopez will win it.

 

Or conversely, saying that Hibbert will score like 18 PPG and be the East's starter at C in the AS game.

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