Teams that could be trouble to us.

[Diesel]

The first team is Chicago. 

Lonzo Ball, Zach Levin, DeMar Derozan, N. Vucevic and Alex Caruso(bench).  They have a very formidable squad and have added both offense and defense. 

 

The Second team is New York.

It's the obvious... Kemba Walker is better than E Payton.   Fournier also adds a dimension that they missed last year... 3 pt shooting efficiency.  Don't get me wrong, they hit a few last season but now, Randle has a continuous threat on the outside. 

 

We need to heal and then be coached.  There are other teams like Indy and Charlotte who will get better simply by their players being better but those teams didn't improve as much as these two teams.  And the matchups are as tough for us.

[Gray Mule]

Hawks now have a target on their back.  Why?  Because they had a great playoff run.  They beat every team they met except the NBA champions and they beat them 2 games.

I've seen our Hawks rated anywhere from 6th to 8th.  Apparently, these "experts" who do the rating believe that many teams have improved a lot and Atlanta has slid back.  Wow!  Where did we go so wrong?

 

[Gray Mule]

Also, I've noticed that the favorite to win it all is The King and his merry old men!  They have an excellent starting five with poor bench.  If they can all stay healthy and all play major minutes in the playoffs, they will be a major problem for any competition.  That's a huge IF!

[gurpilo]

Well, I think all teams with size would be trouble for us, that is mainly Bucks, Sixers and Nets. On the west Lakers.

[Diesel]

Philly could be a problem if they could get the Dame Lillard for Simmons trade to go. 

[Diesel]

1 minute ago, gurpilo said:

Well, I think all teams with size would be trouble for us, that is mainly Bucks, Sixers and Nets. On the west Lakers.

Rebounding wins championships... But i don't think it's just size.  Teams have to have good Gaurd defense.  That's Milwaukee.  Maybe the 76ers.  I think we would probably beat the Nets. 

[RedDawg#8]

On 8/7/2021 at 9:20 AM, Diesel said:

The Second team is New York.

It's the obvious... Kemba Walker is better than E Payton.   Fournier also adds a dimension that they missed last year... 3 pt shooting efficiency.  Don't get me wrong, they hit a few last season but now, Randle has a continuous threat on the outside. 

 

We need to heal and then be coached.  There are other teams like Indy and Charlotte who will get better simply by their players being better but those teams didn't improve as much as these two teams.  And the matchups are as tough for us.

I think Fournier's ability to put the ball on the floor and get to his spots, get in the lane and make the defense move; is the real challenge. They went from Payton and Bullock who are almost self check type players.  Bullock could knock down shots but he wasn't the kind of movement player that Fournier is, Trae could hide out on him. These guys will be a lot tougher to guard on the perimeter next year. They won't have to ride Rose like they did in the playoffs. Their guard play, which was their weakness, just got a lot better.

I don't think it drastically changes the standings, but it makes them a much tougher out in the playoffs.

[RedDawg#8]

I still don't love the depth on the Heat. I think they got better talent as an overall team, but they aren't particularly deep if injuries become a factor, which is possible when all your additions are on the wrong side of 30, and your wildcard X-factor is an extremely injury prone 29 year old in Oladipo.

I think they set themselves up to be a tough playoff opponent because their top 8-9 is as good as anyone's who doesn't have KD or Lebron. But the regular season will be a drag for them and they will have to work really hard just to grab that top 6 seed.

Edited August 8, 2021 by RedDawg#8

[Peoriabird]

Chicago might be the worst defensive team in the East

[NBASupes]

Every team in the NBA is capable of giving us trouble and we are more than capable of doing the same 

[JTB]

22 hours ago, gurpilo said:

Well, I think all teams with size would be trouble for us, that is mainly Bucks, Sixers and Nets. On the west Lakers.

That’s my same thoughts …im not as worried because adding Dieng to go with OO and Capela was a great move. 
 

I’m not worried about the bulls or Knicks right now until they prove they build up chemistry. The rosters look good on paper but they still have to make it work on the floor.

of course our Hawks are going to get better too and continue the already great chemistry they have. The team will also be healthy for the most part outside of OO who will come back January or mid season likely. Adding Wright and Dieng…bringing back Lou…we literally have no bums on the team that can’t fill their role highly. Even Solo can fill his actual role well as 3rd string F and locker room mentor. This team is truly deep.

I would not be surprised if the Hawks finished 1 seed in the East. It does not mean championship just because we finish one seed but I can see a high possibility of another deep playoff run.

I do hope to see Schlenk bring in Sap just to have another decent size body in the post. No sap won’t stop Embiid, Giannis, Davis type but as a smart vet he will know how to give advice and still provide some good production on the court when need be! Very similar to Lou.

 

[RedDawg#8]

Im not as high on Indy as everyone else. I think that teams get better each year and they kind of just stay put. I don't see them as a huge threat even with much improved coaching.

Charlotte is interesting because they were a pretty good team as is before Hayward and Ball went down. They peaked at the #4 seed and probably held it for the longest out of anyone throughout the season. Their starting wings could look like Ball, Oubre and Hayward. They had a good draft too. Plumlee and potentially Markkanen to their front court, I been sleeping on them but they are a threat to jump up in the standings. 

[marco102]

6 minutes ago, RedDawg#8 said:

Im not as high on Indy as everyone else. I think that teams get better each year and they kind of just stay put. I don't see them as a huge threat even with much improved coaching.

Charlotte is interesting because they were a pretty good team as is before Hayward and Ball went down. They peaked at the #4 seed and probably held it for the longest out of anyone throughout the season. Their starting wings could look like Ball, Oubre and Hayward. They had a good draft too. Plumlee and potentially Markkanen to their front court, I been sleeping on them but they are a threat to jump up in the standings. 

Charlotte hasn't been talked about much, I agree with you here.  Charlotte has a really solid team.  If Melo takes a step and Hayward stays healthy and produces at prior seasons level, they will be a tough out for anyone. 

[RedDawg#8]

Washington secretly added a bunch of talent in that Russ trade.

KCP, Kuzma, Harrell. They also picked up Dinwiddie who I really like.

Not sure if all the pieces fit or stick around, but they have some good pieces around Beal. I wouldn't be surprised if they make the playoffs again. 

[JTB]

12 minutes ago, RedDawg#8 said:

I still don't love the depth on the Heat. I think they got better talent as an overall team, but they aren't particularly deep if injuries become a factor, which is possible when all your additions are on the wrong side of 30, and your wildcard X-factor is an extremely injury prone 29 year old in Oladipo.

I think they set themselves up to be a tough playoff opponent because their top 8-9 is as good as anyone's who doesn't have KD or Lebron. But the regular season will be a drag for them and they will have to work really hard just to grab that top 6 seed.

Something about heats moves just don’t impress me. Lowry is not the same all star player he once was. Jimmy is not a worth the contract he received and plus him having Covid is making him look like a completely different player in my opinion. He hasn’t been Jimmy Hard Buckets since then. Oladipo is glass knees….I can’t even see him realistically playing. I thought Duncan Robinsons new contract was absurd for a guy who’s just a shooter. Herro is a bubble star and yes I mean that as an insult. PJ Tucker ain’t really all that. Bam is the real deal and perfect new era center you want so no issues with him ….they loss Nunn to the Lakers…

I just don’t think the heat are that good and made any real great off season moves. They are banking on the Lowry trade to hit big but Lowry don’t move the needle enough to me …..I can see them fighting for an 8th seed along with Boston who didn’t make any real improvements.

[JTB]

2 minutes ago, RedDawg#8 said:

Washington secretly added a bunch of talent in that Russ trade.

KCP, Kuzma, Harrell. They also picked up Dinwiddie who I really like.

Not sure if all the pieces fit or stick around, but they have some good pieces around Beal. I wouldn't be surprised if they make the playoffs again. 

The interesting thing about them is that this is now officially Beals team. No Wall, no Westbrick….it’s all Beal. Kuzma has publicly stated he can be better (all star if I’m not mistaking) so I’m sure he automatically sees himself as the Robin on the team. 
 

I don’t know ….not going to doubt Kuzma but wizards working out has a lot to do with how he plays off of Beal in my opinion as well as Spencer who I’m sure will be the starter running point.

Dwin, Beal, Kuzma….is that a playoff bound team lead by these 3 or another play in team (9th and 10th seed)…those are my thoughts.

[JTB]

7 minutes ago, marco102 said:

Charlotte hasn't been talked about much, I agree with you here.  Charlotte has a really solid team.  If Melo takes a step and Hayward stays healthy and produces at prior seasons level, they will be a tough out for anyone. 

Charlotte and the Bulls are the sleeper East teams in my opinion. I think both these teams are good enough to push some expected playoff teams out the playoffs.

As of right now I have the East power rankings as….

1. Bucks

2. Nets

3. Hawks 

4. Philly

5. Knicks 

6. Bulls

7. Charlotte 

8. toss up….

I can see the heat, wizards, Celtics, pacers having upset seasons.

[HawkingAwesome]

Get them boys healthy

[RedDawg#8]

I think our goal is to finish top 3 next season. 

1 hour ago, JTB said:

The interesting thing about them is that this is now officially Beals team. No Wall, no Westbrick….it’s all Beal. Kuzma has publicly stated he can be better (all star if I’m not mistaking) so I’m sure he automatically sees himself as the Robin on the team. 
 

I don’t know ….not going to doubt Kuzma but wizards working out has a lot to do with how he plays off of Beal in my opinion as well as Spencer who I’m sure will be the starter running point.

Dwin, Beal, Kuzma….is that a playoff bound team lead by these 3 or another play in team (9th and 10th seed)…those are my thoughts.

They are in the 8 to 10 range for sure. Play-In team certainly.

I think Detroit, Orlando, Cleveland are the only locks to miss out, and Toronto and Indy (to me) are very likely to miss out as well.

 

[RedDawg#8]

Boston is weird to me. They had a pretty meh offseason overall.

On the one hand, they picked up Horford, Kanter and Richardson,  which are good players who can contribute. 

 But they haven't gotten any more dynamic as they don't have many scoring options after Tatum and Brown.

Marcus Smart, Josh Richardson, and Jabari Parker are their #3-5 scoring options right now, and I don't have to tell you how sad that is.

Their most talented role players; Horford, Kanter, Rob Williams, all play the same position, and wouldn't make sense on the court together.

Smart, Edwards/Pritchard

Richardson, Dunn/Langford

Brown, Nesmith

Tatum, Parker/G Williams

Horford, Kanter, R Williams, Fernando, Fall

I don't hate that starting lineup, but there is nothing behind it. They are banking on addition by subtraction at this point, hoping that changing coaches will give them a 2nd life with this core.

I think Tatum and Brown are too talented for this team to ever suck, but they will never reach the peak that were at previously, and are honestly trending downwards at this point.