Serious question. Other than possibly Orlando, who I don't care about, because they're in the East, are there any teams that we should obviously have a better record than? If you think so, please defend your answer.
Charlotte ... My defense is that even if MKG is a really good player, they've still got a pretty terrible roster. Other than the Bobcats, I can think of a lot of "probably better" thans, but not too many "obviously better" thans.
I was going to say the Wizards, but then I looked at their roster and it seems pretty decent: John Wall/Bradley Beal/Ariza/Seraphin/Nene with Jan Vesely in the mix too.
Charlotte - have not added anything to change an NBA historic worst significantly. Houston - in tank mode after missing out on trading for superstar Phoenix - Nash and Hill are huge subtractions Orlando - tanking post Howard era New Orleans - will take time to sort out that roster. Cleveland - hated the Waiters pick and they did little to improve themselves Toronto - Lowry and Landry do not improve this team enough Detroit - not betting on Drummond to set the world on fire immediately if at all
I think MKG is a game-changer. But they were so bad to begin with that he's not enough. Possibly. But don't forget Linsanity. And if Asik can stay on the court, he makes a big difference. But they are all young, so there's something in what you say. But Scola and Dragic aren't nothing. And Beasley will probably do better in their system. Remember that besides Davis they added Ryan Anderson and Robin Lopez. They were on pace to make the playoffs when Varejao went down, so it all depends on him. Plus Thompson should be better and I think Zeller will make an immediate impact. But yes, it will be depressing if we're not better than them. Although Kyrie Irving is The Real Deal. But Lowry and Valanciunas just might. Kyle Singler FTW!
I just think that our Front Office doesn't want us to be good this year, and won't try to pick up players to improve and have that undercut the tanking. I'd love for them to prove me wrong and acquire Varejao or Noah without giving up LMA, Batum or Lillard.
I think we are better too, but I wouldn't say obviously better. I think they have a decent squad on paper. We'll see how it plays out though.
West Golden State Phoenix Sacramento New Orleans Houston East Washington (surprise team of the year?) Charlotte New York Detroit Cleveland Orlando Milwaukie Toronto
I seriously doubt it if Bogut and Curry are healthy. (Of course, that's a big "if".) Barnes should be useful to them, too. Oh, and I forgot Klay Thompson, who was easily the class of Summer League. He was so good that they shut him down after about 2 games because they'd seen all they needed to. If he doesn't become an All-Star in a year or so I will be shocked. I think Sacto could surprise, because they've realized Cousins is their franchise player and the coach is planning accordingly. But they need to dump the Jimmer.
Funnily enough, Nigeria beat Lithuania, who actually came closest to beating Team USA. So you can never tell.
