Around the NBA - September 2017 Edition

Honestly I don't think they will

 

When I pick up NBA2K18 on Friday I can assure you that I can have the Blazers in the finals!

 

I just feel like Kyrie worked well off Bron, don't see IT doing it. Nothing to back it up, just how I saw the game flowing when I watched Celtics games last year.

 

On the other hand, the legend of LeBron is playing for three quarters then mailing it in. Remember the old joke about LeBron and 50 Cent forming a new group and calling it $1.25?

Then you've got lil' Zeke who's all about the fourth quarter.

 

IT will miss half the season, Bron will walk. They got Crowded, and more importantly, a top pick in next year's draft. They're setting themselves up for life after Bron.

 

Never knew he was so short.

 

He does go by Lil Wayne.

 

I agree with this and why I believe Boston benefited most from the trade. I guess we have to wait to see who the lottery pick turns out to be, but until then Boston by far got the best player in the deal. And since they also needed to clear minutes for Hayward and Tatum at SF, losing Crowder was not a big deal.

When IT is finally ready to play, it will be interesting to see how LBJ reacts to IT's D and ball dominating tendencies in crunch time. Kyrie adjusted for James....can IT? My guess is there will be a lot of growing pains.

 

I just don't think Cleveland will cruise the the east this year like a lot think. I know the east overall is weak, but the Cavs are a mess right now. I'm a LeBron fan, so we'll see how it goes.

 

Apparently Kyrie disagreed.

Certainly not if his hip is permanently fucked up.

Yeah, Kyrie's going to fuck up that flow pretty badly, methinks.

 

I'm sure Boston is going to be at least as good as Cleveland when they had Kyrie but no LeBron. What was that like again? I forget.

 

Kyrie didn't have:

Al Horford
Gordon Heyward

And all the rest. BOS is gonna have a squad.

 

Those losses are sans Heyward.

 

Boston will be good, but I have questions about their defense. They lost their 2 best defensive players, and with them their defensive identity?

 

CLE was smart to get Crowder from them. With him gone, who guards LeBron in a 7 game series?

Plus, rebounding was Boston's biggest weakness last year and they have lost 4 of their top 5 rebounders from last season. Their front line was so weak last year that Avery Bradley was actually their second best rebounder.

In terms of rebounding, here's their projected front courts' numbers from last season compared to CLE's:

Center:
Horford = 6.8 rpg
Thompson = 9.2 rpg

Power Forward:
Morris = 4.8 rpg
Love = 11.1 rpg

Small Forward:
Brown = 2.8 rpg
LeBron = 8.6 rpg

Total:
BOS = 14.4 rpg
CLE = 28.9 rpg

Granted I am assuming Brown will start at SF and he only averaged 17.4 mpg last season, but even if toy double his minutes and his rebounds,that only get BOS to 17.2 rpg from their starting front court. Or, maybe they push Horford down to PF and start Baynes at C. Even then they still won't come close to hanging with CLE on the boards.

Plus, they don't have any rim protection. Baynes is a big body, but he's earthbound and doesn't block many shots.

So, they lost two of their best defenders in Bradley and Crowder, lost four of their five best rebounders, from a team that was already weak in that department, have no rim protection and don't have anyone who can come close to guarding LeBron. But, I think that's somewhat by design. They weren't getting past CLE as they were previously constructed. So, they blew it up and have gotten younger. Kyrie is younger than IT, they will use this year to develop Brown and Tatum and add one, or more, bigs next summer. That way, if LeBron leaves CLE and heads West, BOS will be well positioned to rise to the top of the East for many years.

BNM