1. Nets. Some forget how good KD is. Simmons was. Irving missed a lot of games. Harris back
2. Cavs. DM adds a top player to a team coming in with high expectations.
3. Hawks. Murray is really good. Makes them even tougher.
4. Bucks. Always strong and have Chris back.
5. Sixers
6. Celtics. New coach will make a difference
7. Heat
8. Bulls Like the roster mix.
9. Raptors
10. Detroit
11. Knicks
Low expectations for my Knicks. Rather be surprised than disappointed.
Cavs is my big surprise team.
HofstraBBall wrote:1. Nets. Some forget how good KD is. Simmons was. Irving missed a lot of games. Harris back
2. Cavs. DM adds a top player to a team coming in with high expectations.
3. Hawks. Murray is really good. Makes them even tougher.
4. Bucks. Always strong and have Chris back.
5. Sixers
6. Celtics. New coach will make a difference
7. Heat
8. Bulls Like the roster mix.
9. Raptors
10. Detroit
11. KnicksLow expectations for my Knicks. Rather be surprised than disappointed.
Cavs is my big surprise team.
Nets definitely have the ability and talent to be #1. I discounted them based on health mostly -- mentality to a lesser degree. In terms of health, Patty Mills is the only person on the team to play in more than 67 games last season (then Cam Thomas). After that, Kevin Durant was their most durable at 55 games. If they are healthy they are a force to be reckoned with. Especially with a defensive stopper like Simmons now on the roster. They are deeper with Joe Harris coming back and adding Markieff Morris. Solid squad while healthy and sane. But if I had a powder keg icon to give to one team this season...
EwingsGlass wrote:HofstraBBall wrote:1. Nets. Some forget how good KD is. Simmons was. Irving missed a lot of games. Harris back
2. Cavs. DM adds a top player to a team coming in with high expectations.
3. Hawks. Murray is really good. Makes them even tougher.
4. Bucks. Always strong and have Chris back.
5. Sixers
6. Celtics. New coach will make a difference
7. Heat
8. Bulls Like the roster mix.
9. Raptors
10. Detroit
11. KnicksLow expectations for my Knicks. Rather be surprised than disappointed.
Cavs is my big surprise team.
Nets definitely have the ability and talent to be #1. I discounted them based on health mostly -- mentality to a lesser degree. In terms of health, Patty Mills is the only person on the team to play in more than 67 games last season (then Cam Thomas). After that, Kevin Durant was their most durable at 55 games. If they are healthy they are a force to be reckoned with. Especially with a defensive stopper like Simmons now on the roster. They are deeper with Joe Harris coming back and adding Markieff Morris. Solid squad while healthy and sane. But if I had a powder keg icon to give to one team this season...
The warriors winning a title without Durant affected him. He desperately wants to win a ring to prove everyone wrong but if I’m a nets fan I would be concerned that means him taking even more games off during the regular season to preserve his health for playoffs
I like the top of the list. I'd change 6-10.
6. Detroit- They drafted well, and Noel and Burks gives them a deep bench
7. Knicks- Defense and Brunson running the offense, will get us there.
8. Hawks- All Trae's whining about the Knicks, and who plays on Christmas will bite them in the butt.
9. Cavs- Injury prone backcourt. Not so sure they will click.
10. Raptors- Get the feeling, that they will not be as good as they have been.
Edit: forgot about the Cavs
Edit 2: Fogot that Sexton was traded, and Garland Never make a list at 2am. Will try again later...
Uptown wrote:Preseason and "content day" usually breeds optimism within each fan base as we look forward to the season. Much has been made about how strong the east is supposed to be this year so I'm curious to see where we feel the Knicks fit it. As much as I hate the nyets, I think they are set up to take the east. Lots of question marks, but they still have the best player in the east and arguably the bets offensive team in the east. I think Simmons is a seamless fit with his ability to guard the oppositions best wing, as well as his vision and ability to allow Kyrie to focus on scoring. Harris is back and I thought O'neal was a sneaky good signing. They also added Warren who will have a chance to recapture the buzz he had during the bubble. Kyrie is the wild card, but he is seeking a contract extension athletes tend to be on their best behavior and in the best shape in contract years. But, it is Kyrie, so it can go either way.
1. nyets
2. Bucks
3. 76ers
4. Celtics
5. Heat
6. Cavs
7. Raptors
8. Hawks
9. Knicks
10.Bulls
Philc1 wrote:EwingsGlass wrote:HofstraBBall wrote:1. Nets. Some forget how good KD is. Simmons was. Irving missed a lot of games. Harris back
2. Cavs. DM adds a top player to a team coming in with high expectations.
3. Hawks. Murray is really good. Makes them even tougher.
4. Bucks. Always strong and have Chris back.
5. Sixers
6. Celtics. New coach will make a difference
7. Heat
8. Bulls Like the roster mix.
9. Raptors
10. Detroit
11. KnicksLow expectations for my Knicks. Rather be surprised than disappointed.
Cavs is my big surprise team.
Nets definitely have the ability and talent to be #1. I discounted them based on health mostly -- mentality to a lesser degree. In terms of health, Patty Mills is the only person on the team to play in more than 67 games last season (then Cam Thomas). After that, Kevin Durant was their most durable at 55 games. If they are healthy they are a force to be reckoned with. Especially with a defensive stopper like Simmons now on the roster. They are deeper with Joe Harris coming back and adding Markieff Morris. Solid squad while healthy and sane. But if I had a powder keg icon to give to one team this season...
The warriors winning a title without Durant affected him. He desperately wants to win a ring to prove everyone wrong but if I’m a nets fan I would be concerned that means him taking even more games off during the regular season to preserve his health for playoffs
That might be the best path to a chip in reality.
GustavBahler wrote:I like the top of the list. I'd change 6-10.
6. Detroit- They drafted well, and Noel and Burks gives them a deep bench
7. Knicks- Defense and Brunson running the offense, will get us there.
8. Hawks- All Trae's whining about the Knicks, and who plays on Christmas will bite them in the butt.
9. Cavs- Injury prone backcourt. Not so sure they will click.
10. Raptors- Get the feeling, that they will not be as good as they have been.Edit: forgot about the Cavs
Edit 2: Fogot that Sexton was traded, and Garland Never make a list at 2am. Will try again later...
Uptown wrote:Preseason and "content day" usually breeds optimism within each fan base as we look forward to the season. Much has been made about how strong the east is supposed to be this year so I'm curious to see where we feel the Knicks fit it. As much as I hate the nyets, I think they are set up to take the east. Lots of question marks, but they still have the best player in the east and arguably the bets offensive team in the east. I think Simmons is a seamless fit with his ability to guard the oppositions best wing, as well as his vision and ability to allow Kyrie to focus on scoring. Harris is back and I thought O'neal was a sneaky good signing. They also added Warren who will have a chance to recapture the buzz he had during the bubble. Kyrie is the wild card, but he is seeking a contract extension athletes tend to be on their best behavior and in the best shape in contract years. But, it is Kyrie, so it can go either way.
1. nyets
2. Bucks
3. 76ers
4. Celtics
5. Heat
6. Cavs
7. Raptors
8. Hawks
9. Knicks
10.Bulls
....If Evan Mobley is as good as I think he is and will be, I think Cavs have a chance to be top 4. If the Raptors are healthy, they will be top 8 for sure. Their length (pause) and athleticism makes them difficult to match up with.
It'd be tough to match up against a healthy Nets team. But they're never healthy. That's the nature of their team at this point - just a few years ago they were loaded by young talent, and now they've got their superstars and they're plugging in gaps with cheap veterans with something to prove. The problem with cheap veterans is they're old and/or have history of injury/surgeries/baggage. If TJ Warren is back to the player he was a few years ago (before injury), if Simmons can be the player he was a few years ago... there are a lot of if's.
Last year the Knicks made big bets that Rose/Kemba/Noel would be healthy - 3 guys with extensive injury histories. And we paid for it. Practically the entire Nets roster is a gamble.
They have a basic goal of making the post season and being healthy enough to do damage in the playoffs. So with that mindset, I don't really expect them to be a top-3 seed, because they'll break down if they try to sustain excellence.
