from a poster on CB:<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Last year we had 33 wins and I think we can get up to 43 to 45 this year without any miracles, a few thoughts;1) Sebastian Telfair is the real deal. His numbers while healthy are very good and he seems ready to make another step in development. I lived in NYC from 89 to 2003 and have a lot of first hand knowledge of watching him play. After he got traded I called a friend who is tied in to the whole AAU and High School ball scene in New York. He spent 15 minutes telling me how pissed he was that my beloved C's got him while his Knicks have over 100 combo guards that can't spell pass let alone execute one. Kidding aside, he would bet his last dollar that Telfair is going to be special now that he was in a better system. He reminded me that the system a player is in is often times more important than his actual talent level. He felt that if they just give Bassy the ball and let him do his thing we will be thrilled with the results.2) Wally and Pierce healthy and playing together for a season. These two really complement one another. They operate on the floor in completely different manners so they do not get in each others way, unlike Davis and Pierce did. They are both are spirited competitors and most importantly, Wally is hard nosed but knows this is Paul's team and acts accordingly. With a full camp and Pre-season together, they will greatly improve on some of the play we saw after the trade last year.3) Clifford Ray. This guy alone could be worth an extra 5 wins. Every where he has coached he has turned horrible rebounding/interior defensive teams into steller ones. I was reading that teams saw huge leaps in the play of their 4's and 5's while he was there. There rebounding numbers skyrocketed and D improved. This was a major liability last year and even a marginal improvement will lead to more wins.4) Scal will play less: Scal, meet Leon Powe, Scal meet bench, Scal please sit on bench and watch Leon Play. Powe is going to be great here. When you rebound at a high rate in college against good competition, that tends to translate to the pros. Powe is if nothing else a beast down low and is mean as a junk yard dog.5) Allen, Perk or Jefferson will take a major step foward. If any of the three do, that will give us a few more wins right there. Before the draft, everyone was writing that Randy Foye was a "Poor Man's D-Wade" well we already have that guy: Tony Allen. I went back and watched film of Allen during the Summer League and after he finally settled in after the knee trouble. The last month of the season he was very impressive, putting 14pts per along with 2 steals. I am sure many here remember the oustanding job he did on Kobe during Kobe's Scoring Tear. It was a hell of a thing to watch. I believe Allen could easily average 18/per which would make us very tough to handle along with his great D. You could make the case Perk or Al will make jump in quality of play (See Clifford Ray, above.) but my money is on Allen, but if any of those three make a move up, we become much better.6) West and Gomes. The two of them will certainly get better and the fact is they fill a stat sheet and produce wins, period. Having a real PG allows West more freedom and takes him out of the focal point which gives him more weak side looks. That should improve his O since he moves very well without the ball as opposed to just OK with it. He is an outstanding shooter who depending on the line up will see a load of open looks because of teams having to double either Jefferson or PP and watch out for Wally. Delonte's D just keeps getting better and his overal "feel" for the game seems to grow every day. I am sure Gomes will show up with a greatly extended range on his shot along with more ability to play the 3 along with even more savvy play at the 4. This kid improved every year at Providence and you know he will be improved next year. If he has to be guarded out to 18 to 20 feet he will cause all sorts of problems that will offset his liabilties against big 4's. I have a feeling he will be much better playing as a bruising three this year and will demand minutes because when he plays, the C's win.Now I am sure people will call me out for being too optimistic, but I do not think any of these points are too crazy and out of reach. this seems like a natural progression that will get us to around 44 wins and the 6,7 or 8 slot in the playoffs. Rome was not built in a day and neither in a day will this team turn into 60 wins and a trip to the finals. I do however know this team will improve next season and we will pleased by the progress seen on the court. Then just wait till 07-08 when we can dump Ratliff for money in one of the deepest FA classes ever............</div>I agree with this. Ray should be a valuable addition when working with Al. I firmly believe that TA and Jefferson will make a big step this year. Allen will finally be that guy that we need, the lock-down defender. He's a little undersized, but that doesn't seem to affect him much. He still plays tough defense, almost smothering his man. He played Kobe as well as i've seen anyone play him all year. Unfortunately, Kobe was still Kobe. He also plays very good defense against guys like Vince Carter and Michael Redd. He can be the guy that shuts people down.
