Not much hype about Toronto or Charlotte's year ahead...

[poido123]

Both ball clubs should see an improvement on last year.

For charlotte, the lance signing was one of the best bang for buck signings of the off season for a team that really needed a solid SG.

On Toronto, you have Jonas V who looks fit and ready for a big 3rd season in the league and Terrence Ross who should improve on his rookie year...

East looks much more balanced and we shouldn't be seeing any bucks v heat first round matchups anymore(no offense Milbuck).

[Jameerthefear]

Both ball clubs should see an improvement on last year.

For charlotte, the lance signing was one of the best bang for buck signings of the off season for a team that really needed a solid SG.

On Toronto, you have Jonas V who looks fit and ready for a big 3rd season in the league and Terrence Ross who should improve on his rookie year...

East looks much more balanced and we shouldn't be seeing any bucks v heat first round matchups anymore(no offense Milbuck).
The Bucks weren't in the playoffs last year. Are you trolling?

[dubeta]

Bulls basically stole all the hype this season due to their loaded team imo

[poido123]

The Bucks weren't in the playoffs last year. Are you trolling?


Making reference to the last 5 years where we have seen weak eastern conference depth.

One of those matchups included a bucks team with I think 38 wins. The best player was monta Ellis.

[mattvNJ]

Charlottes is definitely going to be making the playoffs. Al Jeff was outstanding last year. Hes phenomenal. Also the addition of lance to that team makes them that much more deadly on O.

Kemba - great last year, seriously underrated due to location hes played his career in.
Lance - gonna continue his progression.
MKG - very solid and YOUNG. potential still there
Zeller - ^^ similar but to a lesser extent
Al Jeff - All-star material and has been a stud and will continue if he stays healthy.

Only thing is their bench leave some to be desired. But they will be in the playoffs barring injuries. Hopefully this team can continue this trend and move onward with the bright future.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Raptors again will make the playoffs I seriously thought they were going to beat my nets last year. We just had some veteran presence that helped us move on. Theyre a great team and Toronto should be excited for whats to come. Love t-ross and lowry's game a lot.

[HylianNightmare]

Charlotte is gonna blow up

[livingby3's]

Hornets Raptors and Wizards all young teams awaiting that leap to happen. Their young stars about to take their game to the next level.

[Sakkreth]

Toronto should be 3rd seed, last season they were 3rd seed but east was weaker. They resigned every FA, improved on top of that with new signings and their core is young and should be even better this season, and last year after Gay trade they were on a pace for 58wins!

[TheMilkyBarKid]

Charlotte is an outside shot for ECF.
Stephenson may explode on this team and I don't think MJ would have a problem putting him back in line if he goes a little crazy. Also Clifford seems like a hardass, especially with Ewing backing him up.
Kemba is becoming more efficient and more of an actual pg.
Jefferson may be the best post scorer in the game.
MKG I freaking love, despite his jumpshot. His d and motor is something you want on any team.

Is it crazy to say this team has a decent chance of 50 wins?

[King Boozer]

Both ball clubs should see an improvement on last year.

For charlotte, the lance signing was one of the best bang for buck signings of the off season for a team that really needed a solid SG.

On Toronto, you have Jonas V who looks fit and ready for a big 3rd season in the league and Terrence Ross who should improve on his rookie year...

East looks much more balanced and we shouldn't be seeing any bucks v heat first round matchups anymore(no offense Milbuck).


I like CHA starting 5 a lot. Their bench might be a problem though. Not so much considering it's the East though, but in terms of going deep in the playoffs.

TOR kept their core. Will continue being good. Better? IDK, but Jonas V definitely has to step up to help them take that leap. Ross is entering his third year in the league btw. Haven't really ever payed much attention to him but he's 23 and seems to be in TOR's future plans.

Wizards, like some mentioned are looking stacked! Might possibly be the deepest team in the East from what i see on paper. Wouldn't be surprised to see them give MIA/CHI (who they beat in the playoffs last season) a run for that Finals spot. We'll see how Rose/Pau end up playing.

Definitely nice to see the East moving upwards this off season for sure. :applause:

[rufuspaul]

One problem for the Hornets is the glut of shooting guards. Lance, Henderson, Neal, Taylor and Hairston are all primarily 2 guards although Hendo and Taylor can play some at the 3. We lack depth at the 4 and 5 with Vonleh being injured as well as inexperienced and we could use a 3rd center behind Big Al and Biz.

Current Lineup:

Walker, Roberts, Pargo
Stephenson, Henderson, Neal, Taylor, Hairston
Kidd-Gilcrest, Taylor, Henderson (?)
Williams, Zeller, Vonleh
Jefferson, Biyombo, ?

[Optimus Prime]

I made a post a while ago about being on the Charlotte bandwagon. Lance was just what they needed...some offense and just a little bit of crazy.

Toronto...meh. I don't think much has changed. They kind of snuck up on people last year, so they might not duplicate that success this year. On the other hand, the East is terrible, so playoff seeds 3-8 are up for grabs by any team that can put competent NBA players on the floor.

[SamuraiSWISH]

Charlotte could be good, depending on Stevenson's mental capacity.

[Sakkreth]

I made a post a while ago about being on the Charlotte bandwagon. Lance was just what they needed...some offense and just a little bit of crazy.

Toronto...meh. I don't think much has changed. They kind of snuck up on people last year, so they might not duplicate that success this year. On the other hand, the East is terrible, so playoff seeds 3-8 are up for grabs by any team that can put competent NBA players on the floor.

So when Toronto gets 3rd seed you will say they snuck up on people again ? :facepalm

[Optimus Prime]

So when Toronto gets 3rd seed you will say they snuck up on people again ? :facepalm

It's the East. :facepalm

Outside of Cleveland and Chicago*, none of the other teams are serious contenders. You're basically just fighting for seeding to avoid the Cavs and the Bulls for as long as possible.

:kobe:

*With a healthy Derrick Rose, of course.

[Nastradamus]

Both ball clubs should see an improvement on last year.

For charlotte, the lance signing was one of the best bang for buck signings of the off season for a team that really needed a solid SG.

On Toronto, you have Jonas V who looks fit and ready for a big 3rd season in the league and Terrence Ross who should improve on his rookie year...

East looks much more balanced and we shouldn't be seeing any bucks v heat first round matchups anymore(no offense Milbuck).

Toronto likely won't regress, but they lack star power and a go to scorer. I love Lowry, Derozan is solid and JV is on the way up. Amir is criminally underrated for what he does too. THey aren't a real contender though

Charlotte probably isn't either, but they could get there if Lance takes the next step. Vonleh was a steal,but they might regret not adding Dougie Mcbuckets, as they badly need shooting and scoring from the SF spot. They have a nice group though with Jefferson scoring down low and Clifford doing a great job of coaching defense. Kemba has to step his game up. They also have like 4 SGs now, so they'll have to clear that up a bit. MKG is the new Tony Allen, pre injury.

[rufuspaul]

This is a contract year for Biz and quite honestly unless there's a lot of improvement I doubt the Hornets will sign a qualifying offer. He's a great guy and an above average defender but he's such a liability offensively that it negates whatever he can provide on the other end. I foresee some trades going down possibly packaging Biz with one of our guards (Henderson).

[T_L_P]

Excited for the Hornets.

Raptors peaked.

[Kungfro]

Excited for the Hornets.

Raptors peaked.
Derozan - 25
Valanciunas - 22
Lowry - 28
Amir - 27
Ross - 23
Patterson - 25
Vasquez - 27

I'm not really expecting a major leap from last year, but I don't see why they couldn't improve on last season.

[rufuspaul]

Derozan - 25
Valanciunas - 22
Lowry - 28
Amir - 27
Ross - 23
Patterson - 25
Vasquez - 27

I'm not really expecting a major leap from last year, but I don't see why they couldn't improve on last season.


Barring injury I would expect them to be as good if not better than last year. The Nets were lucky to get passed them in the playoffs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-ojnCMq-t8

These 2 teams match up well. Always fun to watch.

[red1]

Second round is the goal for the year. Conference finals would just be icing on the cake.


Barring injury I would expect them to be as good if not better than last year. The Nets were lucky to get passed them in the playoffs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-ojnCMq-t8

These 2 teams match up well. Always fun to watch.
I remember that. Boss moment for kemba.

[NuggetsFan]

Excited for the Hornets.

Raptors peaked.

Raptors are far from peaking. They've got a solid young core and they probably don't peak until Jonas hits his stride and gets going alongside Derozan. He's 22 right now, only his 2nd season last year and improved on his rookie year. Not absurd to think he can be a 18/10 type big man at some point.

Last year was the start for the Raptors.

[Young X]

Excited for the Hornets.

Raptors peaked.How have the Raptors peaked when their core is the exact same as it was last year + more (playoff) experience? Plus the east is worse than last year too. Top 3-4 seed in the east next year.

[StrongLurk]

Wow, big Bobcats/Hornets fan here and I didn't like the Lance signing at all. Seriously, Kemba Walker dribbles the ball pretty much more than anyone in the league and is a chucker. Then you add Lance's dumbass as his backcourt partner...another guy who dribbles too much who won't mesh well with Kemba. MKG is honestly a long way from being a good player, dude didn't improve AT ALL last year. Don't get me started on Zeller.

Al Jefferson is the only real good thing on the Hornets, who are obviously going to be first round playoff fodder again this year.

[Legends66NBA7]

Excited for the Hornets.

Raptors peaked.


Derozan - 25
Valanciunas - 22
Lowry - 28
Amir - 27
Ross - 23
Patterson - 25
Vasquez - 27

I'm not really expecting a major leap from last year, but I don't see why they couldn't improve on last season.

I wanted to do each roster in an age comparison for next season:

Hornets

Jannero Pargo (35)
Al Jefferson (30)
Gary Neal (30)
Brian Roberts (29)
Marvin Williams (28)
D.J. White (28) - He's an FA.
Gerald Henderson (27)
Jeffery Taylor (25)
Kemba Walker (24)
Lance Stephenson (24)
Bismack Biyombo (22)
Cody Zeller (22)
P.J. Hairston (22)
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (21) - It's his birthday tomorrow
Noah Vonleh (19)

Average age (25.7)

Raptors

Chuck Hayes (31)
Tyler Hansbrough (29)
Greg Stiemsma (29) - It's his birthday tomorrow
Lou Williams (28)
Kyle Lowry (28)
Greivis Vasquez (28)
James Johnson (27)
Amir Johnson (27)
Landry Fields (26)
Patrick Patterson (25)
DeMar DeRozan (25)
Will Cherry (24)
Jordan Hamilton (24)
Terrence Ross (23)
Jonas Valanciunas (22)
Lucas Nogueira (22)
Bruno Caboclo (19)

Average age (25.7)


Now, even if we take out the some of the fillers and stay to each core/future.

Walker (24) / Roberts (29)
Stephenson (24) / Henderson (27)/ Hariston (22)
MKG (21)/ Taylor (25)
Williams (28) / Zeller (22) / Vonleh (19)
Jefferson (30) / Biyombo (22)

Average age (24.4)

Lowry (28) / Vasquez (27)
DeRozan (25) / Williams (28)
Ross (23) / J.Johnson (27) / Caboclo (19)
A.Johnson (27) / Patterson (25)
Valanciunas (22) / Nogueria (22)

Average age (24.8)


If the Raptors have peaked, the Hornets have peaked.


How have the Raptors peaked when their core is the exact same as it was last year + more (playoff) experience? Plus the east is worse than last year too. Top 3-4 seed in the east next year.

Why do you say the East is worse ? I thought the biggest reason that the East was weak last year was because of the numerous injuries for teams. If that happens again, that could possibly be true, but as of now I don't see it worse. I would agree it's not significantly better, but I would lean towards that.