Surprise Team of the Season

[BigKAT]

Previous Winners:
2016 - Minus four starters - Trail Blazers
2015 - 17 wins to 41 wins Bucks.
2014 - Phoenix Suns go for 48 wins and several speeding tickets
2013 - Nuggets go to 57 wins after Iggy Trade, notch 15 straight wins at one point.


So who you guys got for the 2017 Seasons?

Emphasis on surprise.

I want to say Wolves, but It won't be a surprise because I really do expect them to at least contend for that 8th spot.

So I'll go with the Houston Rockets. I think that team is going to be far better then people think it will be. Maybe even top 4 in the West.

[Smoke117]

I wouldn't count the Rockets doing well as a surprise...high scoring offensive teams do well in the REGULAR SEASON. I'll say the Bulls...since most people think it's going to be a complete debacle. I think they are going to find a way to be decent-good. 45-50 wins. Dwyane Wade is also my favorite player so I'm a bit biased in this regard. :confusedshrug:

[BigKAT]

I wouldn't count the Rockets doing well as a surprise...high scoring offensive teams do well in the REGULAR SEASON. I'll say the Bulls...since most people think it's going to be a complete debacle. I think they are going to find a way to be decent-good. 45-50 wins. Dwyane Wade is also my favorite player so I'm a bit biased in this regard. :confusedshrug:

I'd love seeing the bulls do well. (I'm rooting for a good ECF this year after 3 years of Lebron messing around)

But yeah. It does seem to me like the lack of shooting will butcher this team.
Hope you're right.

[Smoke117]

I'd love seeing the bulls do well. (I'm rooting for a good ECF this year after 3 years of Lebron messing around)

But yeah. It does seem to me like the lack of shooting will butcher this team.
Hope you're right.

I'd put my stock behind the Hawks then...I think they're going to be pretty damn good. Oh I thought you said team...but yeah, Hawks and Celtics are likely to be the only other teams that really make some noise in the East...and the Raptors I suppose, but we already know they can't do shit vs the Cavs. I would definitely put money on the Hawks being the biggest threat to the Cavs.

[kurple]

Denver


Every player looks much improved from last year. And those who didnt play last year looks great too (Murray, Wilson Chandler, Hernangomez).

Just need to find a way to defend the 3


Mudiay - Murray - Jameer
Harris - Barton - Murray
Gallo - Chandler - Beasley
Jokic - Hernangomez - Arthur
Nurkic - Faried - Stokes (still not nailed on)


All of Murray, Barton, WC and Faried could win 6th man. And the Nurkic/Jokic lineup has looked amazing in preseason

[BigKAT]

Denver


Every player looks much improved from last year. And those who didnt play last year looks great too (Murray, Wilson Chandler, Hernangomez).

Just need to find a way to defend the 3


Mudiay - Murray - Jameer
Harris - Barton - Murray
Gallo - Chandler - Beasley
Jokic - Hernangomez - Arthur
Nurkic - Faried - Stokes (still not nailed on)


All of Murray, Barton, WC and Faried could win 6th man. And the Nurkic/Jokic lineup has looked amazing in preseason

It appears as a team that can do well with a good coaching system in place.
Talent wise they are not inferior to last years Celtics (Gallo + Faried = Isiah imo)

So yeah, it boils down to if Mike Malone can really find the right system.

[I<3NBA]

Knicks.

no one expects them to do anything.

[AirBonner]

Knicks.

no one expects them to do anything.
And they won't. They will lose more games this year.

[BigKAT]

And they won't. They will lose more games this year.

Often times, 'Win Now' teams without a real superstar crash hard when trying to give up their future for the 'now' rather then cultivate talent the right way.

We've seen it with Brooklyn lately in 2014,
And Phoenix a season ago when instead of going young they traded for Knight, and signed Chandler. Hopefully Booker and Bender will make things interesting for them.

But yeah, Knicks seems like a 44-45 Win team at best, and 25 win team at worst. I'm leaning towards the worst, though I love porizingis and Noah, I think that the coaching might be the deciding factor, Jeff Horneack is a solid coach, but time will tell if he can arrange this well.

[Bosnian Sajo]

Lakers, not being biased either. Luke Walton has completely changed the culture for the better in LA, think of the young GSW when looking at the Lakers.

Dlow - Steph
Clarkson - Klay
Deng - Iggy
Randle - Green
Mozgov - Bogut
Ingram - Barnes
Zubac - Ezeli

Luke is trying to duplicate what happened in Golden State, and we might just have the right pieces. Deng and Mozgov were specifically signed to play the same type of roles Iggy and Bogut have (had, for Bogut). D'angelo has become a lights out shooter and Clarkson has been known to get it done. Randle is handling the ball more and playmaking, just like Green. Ingram is the question mark, but wasn't that Barnes too when the whole thing was just getting started with the splash bros?


Warriors weren't a playoff team instantly, people. Steph missed the playoffs his first 3 years in the league. Just remember I said it :lol

[Smoke117]

^^ Mozgov is garbage defensively compared to bogut...and lol at comparing randle to green...lol at this whole damn post frankly.

[tamaraw08]

Denver


Every player looks much improved from last year. And those who didnt play last year looks great too (Murray, Wilson Chandler, Hernangomez).

Just need to find a way to defend the 3


Mudiay - Murray - Jameer
Harris - Barton - Murray
Gallo - Chandler - Beasley
Jokic - Hernangomez - Arthur
Nurkic - Faried - Stokes (still not nailed on)


All of Murray, Barton, WC and Faried could win 6th man. And the Nurkic/Jokic lineup has looked amazing in preseason

Yup, plus I think Mike Malone is one of the most under rated coaches in the league.

[Uncle Drew]

Lakers, not being biased either. Luke Walton has completely changed the culture for the better in LA, think of the young GSW when looking at the Lakers.

Dlow - Steph
Clarkson - Klay
Deng - Iggy
Randle - Green
Mozgov - Bogut
Ingram - Barnes
Zubac - Ezeli

Luke is trying to duplicate what happened in Golden State, and we might just have the right pieces. Deng and Mozgov were specifically signed to play the same type of roles Iggy and Bogut have (had, for Bogut). D'angelo has become a lights out shooter and Clarkson has been known to get it done. Randle is handling the ball more and playmaking, just like Green. Ingram is the question mark, but wasn't that Barnes too when the whole thing was just getting started with the splash bros?


Warriors weren't a playoff team instantly, people. Steph missed the playoffs his first 3 years in the league. Just remember I said it :lol
You must be trolling?

[AirBonner]

^^ Mozgov is garbage defensively compared to bogut...and lol at comparing randle to green...lol at this whole damn post frankly.
This. Lakers have NO DEFENSE :oldlol:

[NugzFan]

Lakers, not being biased either.

:oldlol: right.

[Annyong!]

My surprise team picks:
Lakers, Knicks, Kings, or 76ers

[Doranku]

Well aside from the Lakers since 90% of this forum are 15 year olds who get personally offended whenever someone says something good about them, I'm gonna go with the Mavericks.

Seth gonna tap into his brother's genes, Wesley Matthews gonna be the sharpshooter we all know he can be, Harrison Barnes isn't going to be a steaming pile of shit like he was in the finals, Dirk gonna Dirk, and Bogut is gonna play that Chandler role to cover up Dirk's weak defensive skills.

[AirBonner]

Well aside from the Lakers since 90% of this forum are 15 year olds who get personally offended whenever someone says something good about them, I'm gonna go with the Mavericks.

Seth gonna tap into his brother's genes, Wesley Matthews gonna be the sharpshooter we all know he can be, Harrison Barnes isn't going to be a steaming pile of shit like he was in the finals, Dirk gonna Dirk, and Bogut is gonna play that Chandler role to cover up Dirk's weak defensive skills.
Anyone over the age of 15 thinking the Lakers are going to be good this year are straight up retarded.

[swagga]

denver
orlando
mavs/okc by not collapsing.

[Kawhi]

Well aside from the Lakers since 90% of this forum are 15 year olds who get personally offended whenever someone says something good about them.
This has little to do with just naming the Lakers. You're allowed to think they will be the surprise team of the day. But comparing them to the Warriors is nuts, since neither of their 15 players come close in terms of quality nor playing style. Saying Randle and Green are alike, just because Randle likes to handle the ball is a complete joke. If only Randle could defend, pass and shoot as well as Green. Don't even get me started on the Russell/Curry and Clarkson/Thompson comparisons.

[Papaya Petee]

It'll be Chicago. They will win 50 games this year.

Rondo is playing like he's got something to prove. Wade looks like he's improved his outside shot and Jimmy Butler is at the point in his career where his most dominant years are coming around.

Watching their team play in preseason the ball movement looks great. Only question is outside shooting.

I hope Whiteside leads the Heat to a good record, but at the same time I'm hoping we get a high draft pick and use the salary space to sign an all-star player next season to catch a quick rebuild.

Also, Lakers, Nuggets and Bucks could surprise a lot of people.

[Annyong!]

denver
orlando
mavs/okc by not collapsing.
Who did Mavs lose that would lead to them collapsing? Because they added Barnes and Bogut, so I didn't think they were expected to collapse.

[BigKAT]

It'll be Chicago. They will win 50 games this year.

Rondo is playing like he's got something to prove. Wade looks like he's improved his outside shot and Jimmy Butler is at the point in his career where his most dominant years are coming around.

Watching their team play in preseason the ball movement looks great. Only question is outside shooting.

I hope Whiteside leads the Heat to a good record, but at the same time I'm hoping we get a high draft pick and use the salary space to sign an all-star player next season to catch a quick rebuild.

Also, Lakers, Nuggets and Bucks could surprise a lot of people.

I really see that happening.
Pat Riley's been pulling hats out of his ass for the past 11-12 years.
I can really see him lure someone big but it depends on a few factors.

-- Goran Dragic needs to prove he's a borderline All-star (2014 season)
-- Hassan Dragic needs to be An All star center
-- Winslow needs to prove he's got potential

If all this happens, this is a team ripe for landing a Superstar/Star player looking to contend.

Probably Blake Griffin/Hayward in Free agency will be the main targets.
Though Hayward/Dragic/Whiteside could be decent and all

Thing about Pat, he doesn't go for decent, that dude is looking for the homerun, and that's only possible on the trade market in the next few years unless GSW is a complete meltdown and either curry or kd want out.

About your bulls prediction, I've stated more then once that I want to see East Powers rise, and the Bulls have a soft spot in my heart since their gritty post-rose-injury years.

Hoping for the best, expecting the worst.

Go wolves.

[smoovegittar]

And they won't. They will lose more games this year.

You're either on some strong medication, or you don't know jack shit about the sport. I don't care how you feel personally about NY - hell, I freakin' hate your garbage franchise.

Not only will the Knicks win more games this season... they're gonna give everyone in the East a good run for their money.

Get over yourself and go back to your LeBron slurping.

[JohnMax]

Detroit
Orlando
Houston
Golden State

Former OKC players being underutilized will be the story of the season.

[AirBonner]

You're either on some strong medication, or you don't know jack shit about the sport. I don't care how you feel personally about NY - hell, I freakin' hate your garbage franchise.

Not only will the Knicks win more games this season... they're gonna give everyone in the East a good run for their money.

Get over yourself and go back to your LeBron slurping.
Rose and Noah are worth 15 losses. Get over yourself and your patchwork of a shit team :facepalm

[Sakkreth]

Okc Wcf

[smoovegittar]

[QUOTE=AirBonner]Rose and Noah are worth 15 losses.

This right here proves you're just plain ignorant. You're gonna tell us all here that Calderon and Lopez gets us 15 more wins than Noah and Rose.

Must've been a pretty hard fall when you were young. Waste of an NBA fan.

[NBAGOAT]

no one's said them so i'll say hornets. they lost some pieces but their main guys and coaching staff which is great is still there and they won 48. Most people don't even have them above the Bulls or Knicks but they could be a dark horse for 50

[CuterThanRubio]

Orlando's bigs could potentially cause a lot of problems for small ball oriented teams, they should be one of the leaders in rebounding and that usually correlates with winning.

The Wolves are too hyped to be a surprise this year, if anything they will be a top disappointment if they don't live up to the expectations

[NugzFan]

Anyone over the age of 15 thinking the Lakers are going to be good this year are straight up retarded.

This

I'd be absolutely shocked if any laker fans here are older than 20

[Jasper]

5-8 in west or east is always kind of a toss up.

But my eye is on D-Howard in Atlanta.

No pressure whats so ever. HE LOOKS 100% healthy and the team is feeding him like he has a big hunger.

Yes they have been a playoff team for a while , but no one expects them to be a playoff team now... and I think they will surprise some people.

[EricGordon23]

Detroit or Denver

[Smoke117]

Well aside from the Lakers since 90% of this forum are 15 year olds who get personally offended whenever someone says something good about them, I'm gonna go with the Mavericks.


You're right...it's OUR fault you laker fans say stupid shit. :rolleyes:

[SwayDizzle]

deez hataz in for a real surprise when the lakers make the western semis

[BigKAT]

5-8 in west or east is always kind of a toss up.

But my eye is on D-Howard in Atlanta.

No pressure whats so ever. HE LOOKS 100% healthy and the team is feeding him like he has a big hunger.

Yes they have been a playoff team for a while , but no one expects them to be a playoff team now... and I think they will surprise some people.


My mindset on this subject is this,
If you feed Howard on offense, you'll get even better results on defense.
An invigorated an rejuvinated Dwight Howard is still the best Center in the league, if, if he shows that gorgeous playoff form he flashed in the Rockets run to the WCF.

He wasn't the dominant force he was, he'll likely never be.
But what is the track record of players rejuvinating their careers so far removed from their 'Best years' anyway?

Anyone can point to someone who did that lately?
This is still a guy who averaged 26 and 14 in the 14 Playoffs and 16/14 in their WCF run.

I think he's still got it.
I want to see All-Star Howard again, and the only way to see if that man still exists, is to feed him.

Good mention.

[Smoke117]

5-8 in west or east is always kind of a toss up.

But my eye is on D-Howard in Atlanta.

No pressure whats so ever. HE LOOKS 100% healthy and the team is feeding him like he has a big hunger.

Yes they have been a playoff team for a while , but no one expects them to be a playoff team now... and I think they will surprise some people.

https://media.giphy.com/media/glmRyiSI3v5E4/giphy.gif

[Bosnian Sajo]

This has little to do with just naming the Lakers. You're allowed to think they will be the surprise team of the day. But comparing them to the Warriors is nuts, since neither of their 15 players come close in terms of quality nor playing style. Saying Randle and Green are alike, just because Randle likes to handle the ball is a complete joke. If only Randle could defend, pass and shoot as well as Green. Don't even get me started on the Russell/Curry and Clarkson/Thompson comparisons.

I said they resemble the young Warriors, comparing Randle to Draymond when he was still on the bench....Randle right now is better than that version of Draymond.

Reading comprehension is a must if you wanna post on a message board, otherwise you'll continually misunderstand what people are saying. Comparing Russell/Curry is absolutely not ridiculous, have you seen Dlow's range??

[Bosnian Sajo]

Rose and Noah are worth 15 losses. Get over yourself and your patchwork of a shit team :facepalm

Easily the most ignorant poster here :facepalm

[Smoke117]

I said they resemble the young Warriors, comparing Randle to Draymond when he was still on the bench....Randle right now is better than that version of Draymond.

Reading comprehension is a must if you wanna post on a message board, otherwise you'll continually misunderstand what people are saying. Comparing Russell/Curry is absolutely not ridiculous, have you seen Dlow's range??

Explain the Bogut and Mozgov comparison then? One has been a very good defensive player for years...the other is Mozgov. Besides, you say stupid shit all the time...this certainly isn't your first rodeo.

[Gatorade Sax]

A lot of people have said it already..Denver could easily be sneaky good. Of course much of it hinges on the health of Gallo.

I know it's only preseason but they handled Portland pretty easily yesterday with no one playing (Portland played Lillard and CJ).

Interested in how the Bulls, Wolves and Bucks look this year too. Any chance of NO breaking .500 any time soon?

[Bosnian Sajo]

Explain the Bogut and Mozgov comparison then? One has been a very good defensive player for years...the other is Mozgov. Besides, you say stupid shit all the time...this certainly isn't your first rodeo.


I got nothing to say to you, then. No point in having a discussion with someone who doesn't respect your opinion.


Peace.

[bobopenguin]

Nets.

go lin~ :applause: :rockon:

[PeroAntic]

Often times, 'Win Now' teams without a real superstar crash hard when trying to give up their future for the 'now' rather then cultivate talent the right way.

We've seen it with Brooklyn lately in 2014,
And Phoenix a season ago when instead of going young they traded for Knight, and signed Chandler. Hopefully Booker and Bender will make things interesting for them.

But yeah, Knicks seems like a 44-45 Win team at best, and 25 win team at worst. I'm leaning towards the worst, though I love porizingis and Noah, I think that the coaching might be the deciding factor, Jeff Horneack is a solid coach, but time will tell if he can arrange this well.
Then again it worked with Miami and Boston.

Knicks easily win 50 if Rose and Noah manage to stay fit.

[AirBonner]

Then again it worked with Miami and Boston.

Knicks easily win 50 if Rose and Noah manage to stay fit.
http://www.totalprosports.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/shaq-laughing-press-conference-shaq-gifs.gif

[bdreason]

Pistons top 4 seed.

Blazers miss the playoffs.

[Dr. Cheesesteak]

interesting stuff being mentioned here...

Anyway, I have a bunch of surprise/disappointing teams to list. I guess it really depends on what is truly a "surprise" (if ppl are picking TWolves to make a big jump, then is it really a surprise?). I'm tempted to agree w/ some that Pistons will be top 4 or 5 seed, but first month or so is w/o RJax. That's enough for a 2-3 game swing in the L column, which is possibly enough to push them to 6-7 seed, imo.

Anyway, here's some surprising things I'm predicting. I'll give OP my "THE SURPRISE TEAM" pick after, if i need to narrow it down:

- TWolves make playoffs
- Nuggets make playoffs
- Knicks make playoffs
- Blazers miss playoffs

I guess my main pick would be TWolves. Right now I have them actually winning the division over Utah. 50+ W's. They have 3 stars about to all break out to be superstars, an elite HC, KG still being the vet, great role players, tons of depth, etc.

edit:
ok, I may have the Northwest division winner at just 45~47 W's. Easily the deepest division (all 5 teams capable of making playoffs, imo), could just beat up on each other enough to all finish over .500, but have no 50-game winner.

[livingby3's]

Bias pick, Suns. Lots of wildcards, the chance to surprise is definitely there

[wally_world]

Hawks

Gonna be the 2nd best team in the East although many have already counted them out. Dwight is a better fit on this team than Horford, and they are still being coached by a top 3 coach in the L.

[NugzFan]

I said they resemble the young Warriors, comparing Randle to Draymond when he was still on the bench....Randle right now is better than that version of Draymond.

Reading comprehension is a must if you wanna post on a message board, otherwise you'll continually misunderstand what people are saying. Comparing Russell/Curry is absolutely not ridiculous, have you seen Dlow's range??

Reading your posts makes my head hurt. Is this the delusional thinking laker fans need to survive because facing reality would make them want to kill themselves?

[Dr. Cheesesteak]

Hawks

Gonna be the 2nd best team in the East although many have already counted them out. Dwight is a better fit on this team than Horford, and they are still being coached by a top 3 coach in the L.
Yeah, i'm surprised by the few (not many...?) who are low on the Hawks. I have them at #3 seed...

[Bosnian Sajo]

Reading your posts makes my head hurt. Is this the delusional thinking laker fans need to survive because facing reality would make them want to kill themselves?

Yep.


Glass is always half full, sucka.

[BigKAT]

interesting stuff being mentioned here...

Anyway, I have a bunch of surprise/disappointing teams to list. I guess it really depends on what is truly a "surprise" (if ppl are picking TWolves to make a big jump, then is it really a surprise?). I'm tempted to agree w/ some that Pistons will be top 4 or 5 seed, but first month or so is w/o RJax. That's enough for a 2-3 game swing in the L column, which is possibly enough to push them to 6-7 seed, imo.

Anyway, here's some surprising things I'm predicting. I'll give OP my "THE SURPRISE TEAM" pick after, if i need to narrow it down:

- TWolves make playoffs
- Nuggets make playoffs
- Knicks make playoffs
- Blazers miss playoffs

I guess my main pick would be TWolves. Right now I have them actually winning the division over Utah. 50+ W's. They have 3 stars about to all break out to be superstars, an elite HC, KG still being the vet, great role players, tons of depth, etc.

edit:
ok, I may have the Northwest division winner at just 45~47 W's. Easily the deepest division (all 5 teams capable of making playoffs, imo), could just beat up on each other enough to all finish over .500, but have no 50-game winner.

Solid post all around.
But, a few things my friend.

1. KG is no longer our revered Vet. He left, retired, worked out with Blake Griffin. I hope he sticks around the young wolves because I love his influence. But he is no longer part of the team.

2. Nuggets make the playoffs. I've heard that alot lately in this forum. And on this thread in particular. This is perhaps the oddest, ballsiest prediction people are making here. Especially since other then two solid big men and a PG with potential that has yet to show it in droves, they don't have much. I guess people are high on Mike Malone (I am too) but I still don't see this as a playoff team.

3. Blazers missing the playoffs. Wouldn't be much of a surprise. Honestly I think the Evan Turner/Fetsus Ezeli addition wasn't their best call. I really, really, really like Mason Plumlee. I liked him in his brooklyn days when he shared the frontcourt with AK47 on his rookie year after Lopez went down, and I really liked him going all Point-Center in the playoffs that was boss as shit. But I think that logjaming him and Crabb with two near max players is a big mistake. Also something about Turner irks me. He doesn't do anything bad per say, and seems like a solid starter on most teams, but he has that Brandon Knight/Rudy Gay feel to me (good stats but team will underachieve)


That's it. Thanks for contributing to the topic my friend.

[MrFonzworth]

Philly wins 50 games. Embiid & Saric lead the ROY race.

[tamaraw08]

interesting stuff being mentioned here...

Anyway, I have a bunch of surprise/disappointing teams to list. I guess it really depends on what is truly a "surprise" (if ppl are picking TWolves to make a big jump, then is it really a surprise?). I'm tempted to agree w/ some that Pistons will be top 4 or 5 seed, but first month or so is w/o RJax. That's enough for a 2-3 game swing in the L column, which is possibly enough to push them to 6-7 seed, imo.

Anyway, here's some surprising things I'm predicting. I'll give OP my "THE SURPRISE TEAM" pick after, if i need to narrow it down:

- TWolves make playoffs
- Nuggets make playoffs
- Knicks make playoffs
- Blazers miss playoffs

I guess my main pick would be TWolves. Right now I have them actually winning the division over Utah. 50+ W's. They have 3 stars about to all break out to be superstars, an elite HC, KG still being the vet, great role players, tons of depth, etc.

edit:
ok, I may have the Northwest division winner at just 45~47 W's. Easily the deepest division (all 5 teams capable of making playoffs, imo), could just beat up on each other enough to all finish over .500, but have no 50-game winner.

Am I the only one here who thinks Utah is over rated?:confusedshrug:
George Hill acquisition is big but they have a coach who hasn't proven that he can take this team to rack up wins vs average teams.
Gobert is a great rim protector but right now, he doesn't have a great offensive game. Exum might show flashes but most of their players will be average at best except for Hayward..
As I predicted a few months ago, TWolves might be battling for the 3rd seed in the West, thats how good Thibs is plus his young great players around him.

[tamaraw08]

Pistons top 4 seed.

Blazers miss the playoffs.

:eek:
I understand Portland over achieved last year but actually miss the playoffs?
But if Memphis is really healthy and Dallas over achieves, then yes, I see the Blazers missing the playoffs.

[Captvic]

Hawks will do damage in the east. CAW CAW

[tamaraw08]

Solid post all around.
But, a few things my friend.

1. KG is no longer our revered Vet. He left, retired, worked out with Blake Griffin. I hope he sticks around the young wolves because I love his influence. But he is no longer part of the team.

2. Nuggets make the playoffs. I've heard that alot lately in this forum. And on this thread in particular. This is perhaps the oddest, ballsiest prediction people are making here. Especially since other then two solid big men and a PG with potential that has yet to show it in droves, they don't have much. I guess people are high on Mike Malone (I am too) but I still don't see this as a playoff team.

3. Blazers missing the playoffs. Wouldn't be much of a surprise. Honestly I think the Evan Turner/Fetsus Ezeli addition wasn't their best call. I really, really, really like Mason Plumlee. I liked him in his brooklyn days when he shared the frontcourt with AK47 on his rookie year after Lopez went down, and I really liked him going all Point-Center in the playoffs that was boss as shit. But I think that logjaming him and Crabb with two near max players is a big mistake. Also something about Turner irks me. He doesn't do anything bad per say, and seems like a solid starter on most teams, but he has that Brandon Knight/Rudy Gay feel to me (good stats but team will underachieve)


That's it. Thanks for contributing to the topic my friend.

Let me just say that for Denver to advance, Gallinari needs to be as productive.
Did you know Barton's PER was 16.0 last season? Gordon Hayward's career Per is 16.9.
Harris and Murray look very promising too.
The overall development of their 2 young bigs plus Harris with the veterans contributing should help them be good this year.

[NugzFan]

The nuggets really need to make a consolidation trade soon. We really have too many rotation quality players and not enough minutes to go around. We can barely field an actual "garbage time" lineup.

[BigKAT]

Let me just say that for Denver to advance, Gallinari needs to be as productive.
Did you know Barton's PER was 16.0 last season? Gordon Hayward's career Per is 16.9.
Harris and Murray look very promising too.
The overall development of their 2 young bigs plus Harris with the veterans contributing should help them be good this year.

Barton's a PG at heart, isn't he?
And Murray's a 1, or 2 as far as I understand.

They have 3 young prospects at G, and two great prospects at C.

Who do you think they should go with?
I hear Murray's speciality is scoring, and Mudiay is considered the Offense-Runner potential.

Anyway, I love Gallo and honestly I'd love to see him traded to a playoff team, His team (Italy) beat mine in the Eurobasket Knockout Stage (Israel) and the guy was freaking good. Didn't get to watch him as much on the regular season, as I didn't get a season pass and Nugs weren't on National TV that much.

[tamaraw08]

Barton's a PG at heart, isn't he?
And Murray's a 1, or 2 as far as I understand.

They have 3 young prospects at G, and two great prospects at C.

Who do you think they should go with?
I hear Murray's speciality is scoring, and Mudiay is considered the Offense-Runner potential.

Anyway, I love Gallo and honestly I'd love to see him traded to a playoff team, His team (Italy) beat mine in the Eurobasket Knockout Stage (Israel) and the guy was freaking good. Didn't get to watch him as much on the regular season, as I didn't get a season pass and Nugs weren't on National TV that much.

Barton is actually 6-6 and is listed as a SF by espn and other sites plus he is not really a passer at 2.5 assists/gm
Murray, Harris and even Mudiay is listed 6-4 or taller so they can all mix match at the back court and bec there's no smalls now posting up like Payton or Cassell, I don't see them having problems defending the SGs.

[Sportal]

This year could be the most interesting year of basketball for a while tbh. There are so many teams that I'm interested in seeing, at least for the first half of the season.

The teams that have added talent to their play-off teams:

Boston, Hawks, GSW, Pacers..

How will OKC, Bulls, Knicks turn out.

How will the rookies pan out, how will the teams with young talented players do.

A lot of stuff to watch this year, that is for sure.

What I am most interested in this season:

Wolves (KAT, Wiggins, LaVine, Dunn)
Lakers (Russell, Ingram, Randle, Clarkson)
Embiid/Simmons
OKC
Dwight Howard
Celtic
Knicks
GSW
Chicago...

Too much.

Oh, but to answer the question......... Whoever finishes above the Cavs in the East. Celtic/Hawks/Pacers.

[Dr. Cheesesteak]

1. KG is no longer our revered Vet. He left, retired, worked out with Blake Griffin. I hope he sticks around the young wolves because I love his influence. But he is no longer part of the team.
Ahh, I forgot about that :banghead:



2. Nuggets make the playoffs. I've heard that alot lately in this forum. And on this thread in particular. This is perhaps the oddest, ballsiest prediction people are making here. Especially since other then two solid big men and a PG with potential that has yet to show it in droves, they don't have much. I guess people are high on Mike Malone (I am too) but I still don't see this as a playoff team.
Yeah, it's mostly b/c of Malone. Having seen a lot of him here in Sac for his short time here, I know he can coach. But that Nuggets roster is deep. Extremely young, but deep. I think so deep, I'm actually picking Jamal Murray to be a bust, but that's neither here nor there.

What grabs my attention most is Mudiay possibly breaking out to All-Star status, Jokic and Nurkic being the best starter-backup C combo in the league(?), and then the depth of Fareid, Galo, Barton, Chandler, Harris, Jameer, their 1st rnd rooks, etc.

I'm not completely invested in picking them as a playoff team (my FINAL picks will be next week) since they're so young and the West has a lot of veteran and/or star-occupied teams. But for now, I have them making it. There's a group of 9 (maybe even 10?) teams in the West or so that can all be fighting for 5 playoff spots.



3. Blazers missing the playoffs. Wouldn't be much of a surprise. Honestly I think the Evan Turner/Fetsus Ezeli addition wasn't their best call. I really, really, really like Mason Plumlee. I liked him in his brooklyn days when he shared the frontcourt with AK47 on his rookie year after Lopez went down, and I really liked him going all Point-Center in the playoffs that was boss as shit. But I think that logjaming him and Crabb with two near max players is a big mistake. Also something about Turner irks me. He doesn't do anything bad per say, and seems like a solid starter on most teams, but he has that Brandon Knight/Rudy Gay feel to me (good stats but team will underachieve)
Yeah, I agree completely. I thought last season was a flash in the pan to begin with, but w/ the additions as well as them basically keeping everyone, that could affect minutes, chemistry, playcalling, etc, all for the worse.

I suppose it just comes down to the definition of "surprise". Objective, statistical sways in the W-L column from the previous season? The commonality of "surprise" predictions? How easily predictable they can be? Cuz you're right, Blazers missing playoffs shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. But if they decrease their W's by 10 or so, and if that's the biggest change of any team, then I suppose by definition it'd have to be a "surprise"?