I say nay. I think their most experienced, "veteran" lineup possibility would clearly be playing heavy minutes to a Gooden/Noc/Deng/Hughes/Hinrich lineup with Gordon logging 35 minutes as the 6th man gets us appreciably closer to the playoffs than we are now. The kids fill in wherever. To put it charitably those guys all have some combination of: 1. Not knowing the system (Gooden, Hughes) 2. Being wildly inconsistent (pretty much all of them)- even of late. 3. Injury problems (Deng, Gordon, Hinrich, Hughes) So I don't see much feasibility in the playoffs at any cost position. And on the subject of the kids, I like them a lot, but their biggest problem is that when it comes to team defense they aren't all that great. You see a lot of smart teams feast on us inside because they can create open shots and get our guys out of position. Offensively Tyrus and Noah both aren't exactly cock-of-the-walk either. So either way, I have a hard time seeing the playoffs happening. Am I wrong?
I think we will. The team did get better with the recent additions (both Hughes and Gooden have been solid so far), and we play in the freaking East. Even if the Bulls wind up with 37 or 38 wins, I'm still pretty sure we can land an 8 seed with that. It's just a matter of whether or not this team can mesh. If they can, than we should make the playoffs, if not, well we'll be saying hello to the lottery.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Moo2K4 @ Feb 26 2008, 04:42 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I think we will. The team did get better with the recent additions (both Hughes and Gooden have been solid so far), and we play in the freaking East. Even if the Bulls wind up with 37 or 38 wins, I'm still pretty sure we can land an 8 seed with that. It's just a matter of whether or not this team can mesh. If they can, than we should make the playoffs, if not, well we'll be saying hello to the lottery.</div> I dunno. Sizing up things, the Sixers have been on a tear, so I think they'll stay in the playoffs. With Caron Butler and Arenas getting back soon I can't see the Wiz continuing to slide. I'm not expecting the other top teams to fall apart. So that leaves New Jersey as the only current playoff team that seems likely to me to fall out of the playoffs. So, they're 25-31 Atlanta is 22-32 We're 22-34 The Pacers are 22-35 The Bucks are 21-35 So we've all got 26 games left, and we've got to beat out all those teams. It's certainly doable, but if i had to bet I'd bet against it.
I voted "yes" but I'm pretty unsure. I'm a big believe in +/- and I'm hoping for a couple of blowout wins that would display that this team has become significantly better. Despite tonight's win, I'm very unhappy that the guard rotation is still jumbled. Can't find a place with clean formatting... <div class='codetop'>CODE</div><div class='codemain'>Fri 29 vs Washington [BUY TICKET] 7:00pm CSN-Chicago ESPN 1000 Sun 02 @ Cleveland 12:00pm ESPN 1000 Tue 04 vs Memphis [BUY TICKET] 7:30pm CSN-Chicago+ ESPN 1000 Thu 06 vs Cleveland [BUY TICKET] 6:00pm SCORE, ESPN 1000 Fri 07 @ Boston 7:00pm WGN ESPN 1000 Sun 09 @ Detroit 7:00pm CSN-Chicago, RTV ESPN 1000 Tue 11 vs Utah [BUY TICKET] 7:30pm CSN-Chicago+NBATVHIGHDEF ESPN 1000 Fri 14 vs Philadelphia [BUY TICKET] 7:30pm WCIU ESPN 1000 Mon 17 @ New Orleans 7:00pm CSN-Chicago ESPN 1000 Tue 18 vs New Jersey [BUY TICKET] 7:30pm CSN-Chicago ESPN 1000 Thu 20 vs San Antonio [BUY TICKET] 7:00pm CSN-ChicagoRTV ESPN 1000 Sat 22 vs Indiana [BUY TICKET] 7:30pm WGN Superstation ESPN 1000 Tue 25 vs Atlanta [BUY TICKET] 7:30pm CSN-Chicago ESPN 1000 Wed 26 @ Philadelphia 6:00pm WCIU ESPN 1000 Fri 28 @ Atlanta 6:30pm CSN-ChicagoESPN 1000 Sat 29 vs Milwaukee [BUY TICKET] 7:30pm WGN Superstation ESPN 1000 Tue 01 vs Boston [BUY TICKET] 7:30pm CSN-ChicagoRTV ESPN 1000 Thu 03 @ Cleveland 7:00pm SCORE, ESPN 1000 Sat 05 vs Washington [BUY TICKET] 7:30pm WGNNBATVHIGHDEF ESPN 1000 Tue 08 @ Miami 6:30pm WCIURTV ESPN 1000 Wed 09 @ Orlando 6:00pm CSN-Chicago ESPN 1000 Fri 11 vs Cleveland [BUY TICKET] 6:00pm WGNESPN2, RTV ESPN 1000 Sun 13 vs Orlando [BUY TICKET] 6:00pm CSN-Chicago ESPN 1000 Mon 14 @ Milwaukee 7:00pm WGN ESPN 1000 Wed 16 vs Toronto [BUY TICKET] 7:30pm CSN-Chicago, SCORE ESPN 1000</div> Cleveland x4, Orlando, 2 Boston, San Antonio, New Orleans, Utah, and Detroit are going to be very tough. That's 11 out of 25 games. The rest aren't gimmes either. If they do make the playoffs it will be very impressive.
I'm personally not intimidated by Cleveland at all. I think they've downgraded their frontcourt with the addition of Ben Wallace. Plus, don't you think Hughes and Gooden might play with a chip on their shoulder, knowing that the Cavs basically deemed them "not good enough" to help them win a title (which, by the way, they have no shot at anyways). And with Philly, I'm not sold on them. They're hot right now, but they're a team that can lose 5 straight just as easily as win 5 straight. They have a lot of youth, and that can be a gift and a curse. My big issue is lack of a true leader. Andre Iguodala, to me, is the new face of that franchise and their leader, but is he ready for that? He's a hell of a player, but his offense can still get better, and that's one thing they need from him. They need a consistent scorer, and he's the guy they look to. My biggest worry is actually the Hawks. I think the Hawks are a lot better than what they're playing. I love the backcourt of Bibby and Johnson, and then having Josh Smith and Marvin Williams in the frontcourt is awfully good too. My big issue with them, again comes to youth. They're still unbelievably young with little to no big game experience outside of Bibby. The other issue with them, as well as the 76ers, is they're so used to losing, that getting back a winning culture can be a lot harder than it should be. Both teams have the talent to do it, but both of them are so used to being losers that it may be very difficult to turn into winners (by Eastern standards) might be more than they're up to.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Bull horns: Thabo Sefolosha sat out his second game because of a groin injury. ... According to Elias Sports, the Bulls have the toughest remaining schedule of the teams battling for the final playoff spots in the East, based on winning percentage. ... This is the latest in NBA history that two teams in the same division met for the first time.</div> Nope, don't see it happening.
After last game and the game against Washington, and realizing what a knucklehead our coach is, I'm believing less and less.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (MikeDC @ Feb 26 2008, 09:05 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Moo2K4 @ Feb 26 2008, 04:42 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I think we will. The team did get better with the recent additions (both Hughes and Gooden have been solid so far), and we play in the freaking East. Even if the Bulls wind up with 37 or 38 wins, I'm still pretty sure we can land an 8 seed with that. It's just a matter of whether or not this team can mesh. If they can, than we should make the playoffs, if not, well we'll be saying hello to the lottery.</div> I dunno. Sizing up things, the Sixers have been on a tear, so I think they'll stay in the playoffs. With Caron Butler and Arenas getting back soon I can't see the Wiz continuing to slide. I'm not expecting the other top teams to fall apart. So that leaves New Jersey as the only current playoff team that seems likely to me to fall out of the playoffs. So, they're 25-31 Atlanta is 22-32 We're 22-34 The Pacers are 22-35 The Bucks are 21-35 So we've all got 26 games left, and we've got to beat out all those teams. It's certainly doable, but if i had to bet I'd bet against it. </div> Good. I'd prefer if the Nets were 6th (at least) or out. While I agree its great to get young players a taste of the playoffs, it's just as bad to get swept out of the 1st round. -Petey
