The Toronto Raptors? I was skeptical about their ability to vault themselves into contention like our GM and some of our fanbase did, but there really was no reason for them to fall all the way to 15th in a 16th team conference. The Wizards too, I suppose.
Clippers by far.. Diddy Gordon Thorton Zack Comby/Kamen ...obviously they had "injuries" but they should be far from bottom dwellers
What were the Raptors expectations? They haven't advanced past the first round since 2001 and the only major change they made was for a washed up Jermaine O'Neal. While I didn't expect them to struggle this badly, their expectations, at least mine, were not that much far off from where they are now. I say Clippers, as well. It would have been the Thunder a few months ago as they were atrocious.
The loss of Brand and Maggette didn't have me thinking the Clippers would put it together for the playoffs. I did think the Raptors would continue to improve, especially with no controversy at the PG position. They have to be the biggest non-injury disappointment thus far. The Suns lost Amare, the Clippers lost Kaman and a team I thought would comfortably make the playoffs, the Bucks lost Redd and Bogut.
last year they had a .500 record and were the 6th seed. this year they are 20 games under .500. i'd say this year is pretty far off of what i thought reasonable preseason expectations were.
I kind of expected them to be a fourth or fifth seed and you know finally get past the first round as they're still a young team and should be improving. they've regressed this year and are thus very disappointing.
Seeds don't matter in the eastern conference, but they were .500 last season, which is only solid. But this year's team isn't the same with Jermaine O'Neal. From the few Raptor games I caught this season, he slows up the pace and doesn't bring anything that Bosh doesn't. Maybe defense, but his defense was far from game-changing like it was a few years ago. You also have to factor in things like chemistry and coaching. It's not very surprising that the Raptors struggled. It definitely was a possibility. The Clippers, however, had a star in is prime in Baron Davis, the reigning DPOY in Camby, impressive young players in Thornton and Gordon, and a 20/10 player in Zach Randolph. Surely, no one was expecting them to be 16-50 right now.
Yeah, maybe a little. But at the very least he's a solid defender, a perennial double-double guy, and an experienced vet.
det, no, phi, phx, tor. toronto shouldnt be the 2nd wors tteam in the east philly w/ brand shoulda been top 4 in the east but brand was sucking badly detroit move to playing small ball was terrible. rip should never been on the bench. they need to make a move for an inside scorer in the offseason. new orleans needs more than what they got. poseyisnt gonna make them a contender, he's no all star. phx is gonna blow up this offseason. so much offense on that team to disperse to the league which teams will get it? barbosa, shaq, amare, barnes, jason richardson.
