Are These Teams Improving or Getting Worse in the WC?

[Saint Cy of JFC]

Hornets should be a lot better too, just due to the fact that Paul should be healthy.

 

[twentytwo]

Hornets should be a lot better too, just due to the fact that Paul should be healthy.

I dunno; I think the Hornets will suck based on the fact that their whole team sucks and CP3 might lose motivation to play for a crappy team.

 

[Saint Cy of JFC]

I dunno; I think the Hornets will suck based on the fact that their whole team sucks and CP3 might lose motivation to play for a crappy team.

Doubtful, Paul is a competitor.

 

[Archie Moses]

A few stray thoughts on some of these teams.

Dallas: Don't underestimate the effect of time. Dirk Nowitzki is now 32. Kidd is now 37 and will turn 38 during the season. Jason Terry will be 33 by the time the season starts and his game is largely premised on speed. Shawn Marion just turned 32. Some or all of these guys will have significant statistical dropoff during the season. As much as we talk about the Spurs being ancient, Dallas' key players are actually just as old.

Blazers: One would think they'd be better this season simply because the injury bug has to be better than it was last year.

Denver: They actually have a lot of question marks in their frontcourt because Kenyon Martin and Chris Andersen both had knee surgery in June. If they take a long time to come back I wouldn't be shocked if Denver dug itself a big hole early in the season and had problems getting higher than the 6th seed as a result.

If I had rep to give, I'd give you positive rep for this post. Well, better luck next time.

 

[prodigy]

You forgot Thunder added Cole Aldrich in the draft. They are young and will continue to improve. I would worry about them more than some other teams.Spurs do seem to be getting quite old(Jazz sweep enough of a indication?), even though George Hill is a nice young player for them. I think the Kings maybe in a year or 2 will get back to being a playoff contender, I thought adding Cousins to go along with Evans will be huge. Can Portland stay healthy, if they can they are a serious contender. Dallas will still be good but probably not great.Houston's been pretty quiet lately, they are waiting for yao to come back but there is no guarantee he can stay healthy. Denver has a lot of unsolved issues off the court..

all in all i think the jazz are in pretty good shape compared to some of these other teams

 

[Darkwing Duck]

A few stray thoughts on some of these teams.

Dallas: Don't underestimate the effect of time. Dirk Nowitzki is now 32. Kidd is now 37 and will turn 38 during the season. Jason Terry will be 33 by the time the season starts and his game is largely premised on speed. Shawn Marion just turned 32. Some or all of these guys will have significant statistical dropoff during the season. As much as we talk about the Spurs being ancient, Dallas' key players are actually just as old.

Blazers: One would think they'd be better this season simply because the injury bug has to be better than it was last year.

Denver: They actually have a lot of question marks in their frontcourt because Kenyon Martin and Chris Andersen both had knee surgery in June. If they take a long time to come back I wouldn't be shocked if Denver dug itself a big hole early in the season and had problems getting higher than the 6th seed as a result.

Kidd's game is based off being savvy and staying out of the way on the three point line when he doesn't have the ball. I don't think his numbers are going to change this upcoming year.

Contrast that with Billups, who got old real fast for the Nuggets last year. That and the front court issues lead me to believe they'll win fewer games next year.

 

[ncoloradojazz]

You forgot Thunder added Cole Aldrich in the draft. They are young and will continue to improve. I would worry about them more than some other teams.Spurs do seem to be getting quite old(Jazz sweep enough of a indication?), even though George Hill is a nice young player for them. I think the Kings maybe in a year or 2 will get back to being a playoff contender, I thought adding Cousins to go along with Evans will be huge. Can Portland stay healthy, if they can they are a serious contender. Dallas will still be good but probably not great.Houston's been pretty quiet lately, they are waiting for yao to come back but there is no guarantee he can stay healthy. Denver has a lot of unsolved issues off the court..

all in all i think the jazz are in pretty good shape compared to some of these other teams

i like okc and all and have since last year but cole wont be playing for them this yeatr so why bring it up...Does utah just love the white player to much..Wanna wager that cole doesnt even average 10 min a game

 

[vslice02]

Even if Aldrich gives them 10-15 minutes a game, that's still a solid contribution for OKC, who's minutes at center should be tight with Collison, Ibake entering his 2nd year, Krstic and Mullens. Remember they started Nenad Kristic last year. Aldrich is abetter rebounder and defender and like Nenad can hit the mid-range jumper. I don't think Aldrich is worth a top-15 pick, but I do think he'll be better than Kristic.

 

[Twin Towers]

I think everyone here is overrating the Thunder.

Until Westbrook gets a shot he can't improve much. And I don't think he will next year

Durant is already amazing I am not sure how much better he will get.

Jeff Green has tapped out.

Harden will improve but he is still a bench player.

Cole Aldrich could help them. Who Knows.

Ibaka will improve in my opinion.

But one thing nobody is considering is the fact that this was there first good year. The NBA scouts are going to be studying them. That is what coaches do in the off-season. The weaknesses will show up next year. You will find out if they improved on those weaknesses. And I think with the improvement of a few players will help but the scouting on the team will end up canceling each other out.

Thats just my opinion but Thunder was not on teams radar this year. They surprised everyone with how many wins. I still think the Thunder are in the lower playoffs spots (5-8) until they get a low post scorer.

 

[VINYLONE]

If I had rep to give, I'd give you positive rep for this post. Well, better luck next time.

Sucking up to the mods...nice work. Reputation given.

 

[vj_74]

As of now, the Jazz are AT BEST the same as last year.
If the Lakers add Raja Bell on top of their Steve Blake addition, they would have improved, atleast their bench depth.

If the Jazz sign Wesley, they would have improved.

 

[NotDeadYet]

If we lose Matthews, our defense on the perimeter goes in the tank. Offensively, Jefferson is an upgrade over Boozer; a stronger post presence in the paint and more variety of moves, and he can shoot over people from the post, relying less on the jump shot.
That being said, losing Matthews perimeter defense would once again leave us vulnerable in that area. And we don't have Harpring around to bail us out. I like bringing Brewer back to replace Korver, and he has the athleticism to defend at either SG or SF. The Jazz already made the call last year that Matthews was the better player when they traded Brewer last year, but now Korver is gone. Brewer might come cheap, as his lack of a J is gonna drop his worth to other teams.
Mike Miller would be a great replacement for Korver; he's now realizing PT in Miami would be extremely limited for a SG or SF. Unless we dump AK, I doubt that he comes here though.
I could also see us getting Matt Barnes, who Orlando is apparently letting go. He's more of a SF, but can defend vs larger SG's (as in Kobe Bryant). Not a great shooter, but way better than Brewer. I suspect we will have competition for him though. Rasual Butler is 31, but averaged nearly 12 PPG last year and played consistant minutes; he's a SG.