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

[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.