So the LeBron domino has fallen. What does that do to the rest of the landscape? If Bosh goes to Houston and they are able to match Parsons, a line-up of Howard, Bosh, Parsons, Harden and Beverly seems pretty tough to beat. Minus Bosh, they were ahead of the Blazers for about 70% of that series and lost on a historic buzzer beater. Seems like they would be much tougher than the bench additions Portland made. Spurs - trying to add Pau Gasol. They have to age sometime, right? OKC - Injuries to Westbrook and Ibaka have killed them in the playoffs Clips - Added Hawes and Farmer to their bench Rockets - Potentially best starting 5 in the NBA. Blazers - Very solid through 7. Growth will be what 8-10 can do. Memphis - Brutally tough when Gasol, ZBo and Conley all played. Warriors - One of these years they will figure it out...tons of talent. Mavs - Do they get Melo? So did Portland do enough to move up or have other teams passed them in terms of overall and playoff expectations?
Well all the teams that are behind them took a step back, while the teams in front got stronger. I don't see it changing much
Nuggets got better with Gallo/McGee coming back and getting Afflalo for free. Pelicans will be tougher with Asik and the growth of Davis. Honestly, I think the west is more wide open than ever. Injuries are going to play a huge role in how seeding plays out. I think the Mavs are definitely worse now though. I have: Tier 1: Spurs Thunder Clippers Houston Tier 2: Portland Warriors Grizzlies Nuggets Tier 3: Mavericks Pelicans Being in the west sucks.
Spurs -Don't need to improve. Adding Gasol would only help. Rockets - Bench and defense still an issue, but if the get CB . . . OKC - Didn't improve, will bench growth be enough? Blazers - FA additions solid, bench growth will determine year Clips - FAs not enough. CP3 injury just waiting to sink them. Warriors - I don't see them getting over the hump Memphis - team on the way down Mavs - Do they get Melo? Would it help if they did? I still think Blazers are set at 4th. I still like them better than the Clips and Warriors. The only way they move up with the top three is if 1-2 young bench players really contribute. The People's Champ needs to step up and get it done.
Agreed but will he get any minutes with Blake playing back up PG and letting Dame play off the ball? I can see Stotts' rotation looking something like this: PG: Dame - 30, Blake - 18 SG: Wesley - 35, Dame - 7, Blake - 6 That's 37 minutes for Damian, 35 minutes for Wesley and 24 minutes for Blake. Barton and CJ could get scraps.
I see it like this: Contenders Clippers Spurs Blazers Rockets Thunder On the verge Warriors Grizzlies Mavs Maybe in the future Suns Nuggets Pelicans
Assuming Rockets get Bosh and match on Parsons: Battling for Top 4 position: Spurs, OKC, Houston, Clippers Playoff Contenders: Blazers, Warriors, Griz, Mavs, Denver Spoiler: NO; Phx
Yep it sounds like Houston has Bosh and if it happens it will appear the Blazers will have fallen out of that top 4.
They will have to give him away for free basically, his salary is like 15 million this coming season. (Cap hit is 8 million)
Tier 1 San Antonio Spurs Houston Rockets Oklahoma City Thunder Los Angeles Clippers Tier 2 Golden State Warriors Portland Trailblazers Memphis Grizzlies Tier 3 Phoenix Suns Denver Nuggets Dallas Mavericks New Orleans Pelicans Tier Worst In The NBA Los Angeles Lakers
