Re: '07-08 Bold Predictions Thread I'll make another bold prediction, I think the Warriors will miss the playoffs. :winkglasses:
Re: '07-08 Bold Predictions Thread <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (RaptorFan#1 @ Jul 10 2007, 10:08 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I got the Raptors number 2 seed in the EastBoston still bombing with Ray AllenNets slowing downYi Jianlian better season than DurantPortland making 8th seed</div> :no3: Man...you are out of your mind. You realize that Durant is going to be the first option in Seattle, and he's going to get over 20 a game? Yi Jianlian is a softie that doesn't know how to bang inside, or play with the American players to boot. He's going to struggle...and I'm going to laugh at you after the first month of the season.
Re: '07-08 Bold Predictions Thread <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (808Hornetsfan @ Jul 10 2007, 06:49 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>That's why this is a BOLD prediction thread. You make make a prediction that is very unlikely to happen. But I'll defend my point anyway.DET- Obviously the best team in the East. Billups is now locked into a long-term deal, and with him at the point this team will stay a contender each year. Even if Chris Webber leaves, they have two young bench players who are on the verge of breaking out and becoming starters, Amir Johnson and Jason Maxiell. I think everyone can agree the Pistons will make the playoffs in '08.CLE- LeBron took that next step and led his team to the Finals, and now they are right in the contenders category after only four years of improvement. They bring back the same rotation, plus a few FAs to help bench production.... it would take some serious injuries and chemistry issues for the Cavs to miss the playoffs.TOR- They were ahead of schedule by breaking out last season, but they still need more experience. Although they're not losing much in the offseason, they still are a very young team and opponents are going to analyze them all year long now that they are considered playoff contenders. They could very well slip to the 7th or 8th seed.MIA- Wade will be healthy next season, but this team is getting older and they may not be able to accomplish much with continuous injury problems. They're going through a transition period where they're looking to get some fresh legs to help spell some of their older veterans like Shaq. I really doubt they'll be a top 4 seed unless they stay healthy and they get a guy like Dorell Wright more minutes so he can reach his full potential.CHI- They were basically one game away from being the #2 seed, they won't be any lower than #3 next season. Nocioni is back, Gordon and Deng are still there, Heinrich has another year of experience. And Tyrus Thomas is about to take over at PF and be a dominate post player while playing some tenacious D next to Ben Wallace, as Marv Albert would say. The Bulls are a favorite of mine to take the number one seed from Detroit.NJ- Although the get Vince Carter and Nenad Kristic back, they still are missing a true PF and rookie Sean Williams is either a hit or miss in this situation. They can't spend any time trying to develop him now that Carter, Kidd and Jefferson are getting up there in age and may not be able to stay healthy all year long. This team is declining and will not be as dominate as they should be if injuries are as big of a concern as they are nowWSH- Of course the Wizards will be much better with Arenas, Butler and Jamison all healthy and ready to go... but in no way do I see them getting past the second round without a solid big man. Sure they can score points, but IMO they're not as elite as some believe them to be. I think they'll reach the playoffs, but not as a high seed.ORL- Rashard Lewis helps out offensively, but who else do they have up front that can help Dwight Howard in the paint? No one. I still say Orlando makes the playoffs next year as maybe a 7th seed, but that's all I can see for them.Now your argument was who would they beat in the playoffs, well I don't think there is one team other than CLE, DET and CHI that you could bet big bucks to win the conference. That means it's still fair game in the East. Boston is in a division where anyone can take it, and I think they have the players that they need to not only win the division, but go deep into the playoffs. Look at it this way, they can beat a team like MIA or WSH in a first round matchup... They can certainly take out ORL, TOR and NJ if they happen to play. A lot of people may not see it, but the Celtics have a great rotation and great players who are going to bring home some wins for their city. Rondo is underrated at the point, Allen hits shots all day at the perimeter, Pierce is just a playmaker that does it all, Al Jefferson is one of the best young post players in the game and is versatile enough to play either PF or C, and with those four producing, it doesn't really matter who the final starter is. That's why I say they're going to be 45-37 or better next year. :winkglasses:</div>Wh...Wha..What!?!?! We won the Atlantic last year without Garbajosa or Bargnani at the end of the season, and we have more depth at the 2 and the 3. Theres no reason for you to think they will drop just because they are 'young' Im also saying Bosh will imrpove over last year, especially his defense, and in no way we will slip that far. We won 47 games for heaven sakes. + having the best record in the entire Eastern Conference since January.
Re: '07-08 Bold Predictions Thread <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (PrimeTime @ Jul 10 2007, 08:06 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Why will the hawks be the worst team in the nba next season? They werent bad last season and all of their starters are young, they can only improve.</div>I just don't see them improving a whole lot; they're a young team like you said and their main leadership is Joe Johnson who really only went there to try to be the face of the franchise. They have a lot of work to do and with Mike Woodson as their coach it's gonna be hard. I understand what you're saying.<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (PrimeTime @ Jul 10 2007, 08:19 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Maybe its the fact that other then krstic and jefferson none of their young players have really stepped up? with how much the atlantic division has improved id be surprised to see them in the playoffs again honestly, they might get lucky and sneak in but sure as hell not 50 wins. They havent made any improvements for that to happen. Every year nets fans say next year and every year they do the same thing they did last year.</div>I'm still waiting on Antoine Wright...
Re: '07-08 Bold Predictions Thread <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CB4AllStar @ Jul 10 2007, 09:20 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>:no3: Man...you are out of your mind. You realize that Durant is going to be the first option in Seattle, and he's going to get over 20 a game? Yi Jianlian is a softie that doesn't know how to bang inside, or play with the American players to boot. He's going to struggle...and I'm going to laugh at you after the first month of the season.</div>Im already laughing at you so far in the summer league.
Re: '07-08 Bold Predictions Thread <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (RaptorFan#1 @ Jul 10 2007, 05:22 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Wh...Wha..What!?!?! We won the Atlantic last year without Garbajosa or Bargnani at the end of the season, and we have more depth at the 2 and the 3. Theres no reason for you to think they will drop just because they are 'young' Im also saying Bosh will imrpove over last year, especially his defense, and in no way we will slip that far. We won 47 games for heaven sakes. + having the best record in the entire Eastern Conference since January.</div>I'm just saying, some teams breakout and surprise a lot of opponents and get pretty far, but then it becomes twice as hard to repeat that success because teams won't take you lightly anymore. The '05-06 Hornets were an example of that. They had a much better year than the previous season and improved by 20 games, we were basically the biggest surprise of the year by beating teams. In '06-07 we did struggle with injuries, but teams were playing us much harder and new what our weaknesses were even when we got healthy. Because TOR reached the level they did, there's room to fall.. But I shouldn't have made youth as my excuse.
Re: '07-08 Bold Predictions Thread <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (RaptorFan#1 @ Jul 10 2007, 10:26 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Im already laughing at you so far in the summer league.</div>Oh yeah because putting up numbers against NBDL stiffs means youre gonna do well, right?
Re: '07-08 Bold Predictions Thread <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CB4AllStar @ Jul 10 2007, 09:27 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Oh yeah because putting up numbers against NBDL stiffs means youre gonna do well, right?</div>And not putting them up is? I agree summer league is nothing to judge by, but its better than nothing.
Re: '07-08 Bold Predictions Thread <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (RaptorFan#1 @ Jul 10 2007, 08:08 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I got the Raptors number 2 seed in the EastBoston still bombing with Ray AllenNets slowing downYi Jianlian better season than DurantPortland making 8th seed</div>Yi probably won't even be a damn starter for the Bucks with the way he and the Chinese Government is going right now, let alone even play for them. Durant will be the Sonics' go-to-guy next year with BOTH Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis gone and I expect him to log 13 PPG or more for them.
Re: '07-08 Bold Predictions Thread <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (RaptorFan#1 @ Jul 10 2007, 09:28 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>And not putting them up is? I agree summer league is nothing to judge by, but its better than nothing.</div>you're judging durant is going to be worse then yi solely based on summer league.
Re: '07-08 Bold Predictions Thread <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (RaptorFan#1 @ Jul 10 2007, 10:28 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>And not putting them up is? I agree summer league is nothing to judge by, but its better than nothing.</div>Some people react differently than others to summer league. Overall, it doesn't mean that much. Randy Foye did very well in it last season, and in the regular season he was played sparingly, and he wasn't all that productive.Kevin has only played 2 games. He will bounce back. I am not worried.
Re: '07-08 Bold Predictions Thread <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (808Hornetsfan @ Jul 10 2007, 06:49 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Now your argument was who would they beat in the playoffs, well I don't think there is one team other than CLE, DET and CHI that you could bet big bucks to win the conference. That means it's still fair game in the East. Boston is in a division where anyone can take it, and I think they have the players that they need to not only win the division, but go deep into the playoffs. Look at it this way, they can beat a team like MIA or WSH in a first round matchup... They can certainly take out ORL, TOR and NJ if they happen to play. A lot of people may not see it, but the Celtics have a great rotation and great players who are going to bring home some wins for their city. Rondo is underrated at the point, Allen hits shots all day at the perimeter, Pierce is just a playmaker that does it all, Al Jefferson is one of the best young post players in the game and is versatile enough to play either PF or C, and with those four producing, it doesn't really matter who the final starter is. That's why I say they're going to be 45-37 or better next year. :winkglasses:</div>My argument was not who they would beat out in the playoffs, it was who's playoff seed would they take. Do you really believe that they will have a better record than the Magic? Last year this team was the 8th seed without Rashard Lewis who is a great compliment to Dwight Howard and the Magic also had a trash coach in Brian Hill. Now the Magic have more experience, Dwight Howard will continue to gain experience and improve his offensive game, and Stan Van Gundy will do a much better job than Brian Hill did.Also, the Celtics after Pierce, Allen, and Jefferson are not deep at all. The role players and bench players they have are too young to play at he playoff level. Kendrick Perkins, Rajon Rondo, Gerald Green, Ryan Gomes, Glen Davis, and Gabe Pruitt are not ready to carry the responsibility they are required to. Again, I'm not saying they won't contend for a playoff seed but 6th seed is a stretch.
Re: '07-08 Bold Predictions Thread <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (PrimeTime @ Jul 10 2007, 09:30 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>you're judging durant is going to be worse then yi solely based on summer league.</div>No I tried to strike that from the record. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Raptorfan#1 @ Jul 10 2007, 09:30 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I agree summer league is nothing to judge by, but its better than nothing.</div>
Re: '07-08 Bold Predictions Thread <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (noballer07 @ Jul 10 2007, 09:04 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>That's ridiculous...So you're saying Conley would do much better even though Acie is a better scorer and knows how to make plays? Yeah, Conley would probably give 6-7 APG, but what's that if you can't score in the clutch or make shots for your team?</div>We need a true PG, thats what Conley is, Law is not a true PG. Acie Law is not the type of PG we need, he's more of a scoring guard.. We'll regret taking the scoring guard instead of the pure PG..We can score in the clutch, Joe Johnson is great in the 4th quarter, and he's very very clutch..I'm not saying Law won't be a good player but he isn't the type of player we need, and I think Conley will be the better overal player in the future..
Re: '07-08 Bold Predictions Thread <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (noballer07 @ Jul 10 2007, 08:04 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>That's ridiculous...So you're saying Conley would do much better even though Acie is a better scorer and knows how to make plays? Yeah, Conley would probably give 6-7 APG, but what's that if you can't score in the clutch or make shots for your team? My own predictions: Hornets will make the 7th seedSacramento will make the 8th seedLakers won't make the playoffsKevin Garnett will be traded next seasonThe Hawks will be the worst team in the league next season, behind the 76ers and Pacers</div>not every player has to be a scorer, especially the point guard. Mike Conley doesn't have to score in the clutch to be effective, that's pretty ridiculous to even expect that out of a rookie pg.and as for the hawks having the worst record, that is way off. They won't do worse than last year, seeing as they got two nba-ready rookies in horford and Law IV. Plus, Josh Smith, childress, stoudamire, and the rest of the young players will be a year older and probably a little better. And they still have Joe Johnson leading the way. I don't see why they would get dead last.
Re: '07-08 Bold Predictions Thread <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (PrimeTime @ Jul 10 2007, 08:19 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Maybe its the fact that other then krstic and jefferson none of their young players have really stepped up? with how much the atlantic division has improved id be surprised to see them in the playoffs again honestly, they might get lucky and sneak in but sure as hell not 50 wins. They havent made any improvements for that to happen. Every year nets fans say next year and every year they do the same thing they did last year.</div>With arguably the best PG in the league and one of the best swingmen in the league, most of the young players don't need to do much outside of fill their role. Marcus Williams is a fine scoring PG, Nachbar was AWESOME the 2nd half of the year (around 12-13PPG, 4-5RPG, over 40% from 3), Boone started to show some promise at end of season (doubling PPG and RPG after all star break), Eddie House is awesome for 3pt shooting and instant scoring off the bench, and Wright isn't bad. And if Mikki Moore signs, then its that much better.But as I said, with Kidd, Carter, RJ and Krstic, all capable of putting up at least 15-20PPG, they really don't need a ton of production anywhere else. 2 years ago they won 49 games....without any bench whatsoever. Now they have a nice bench, Krstic is starting to really develop nicely, and Kidd and Carter are both top 10-15 player in the league. This team will win over 50 games IMO.
Re: '07-08 Bold Predictions Thread <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (GArenas @ Jul 10 2007, 05:32 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>My argument was not who they would beat out in the playoffs, it was who's playoff seed would they take. Do you really believe that they will have a better record than the Magic? Last year this team was the 8th seed without Rashard Lewis who is a great compliment to Dwight Howard and the Magic also had a trash coach in Brian Hill. Now the Magic have more experience, Dwight Howard will continue to gain experience and improve his offensive game, and Stan Van Gundy will do a much better job than Brian Hill did.Also, the Celtics after Pierce, Allen, and Jefferson are not deep at all. The role players and bench players they have are too young to play at he playoff level. Kendrick Perkins, Rajon Rondo, Gerald Green, Ryan Gomes, Glen Davis, and Gabe Pruitt are not ready to carry the responsibility they are required to. Again, I'm not saying they won't contend for a playoff seed but 6th seed is a stretch.</div>Okay, I'll drop them to a 7th seed then. But compare the experience of Boston compared to the experience of ORL and WSH. Pierce, Allen, Perkins, Olowakandi, and Ratliff all have playoff experience. To along with them, you have young playmakes in Rajon Rondo and Al Jefferson. Off the bench you have Gerald Wallace, Ryan Gomes and Sebastion Telfair who all were decent when given PT last year. You add Pruitt and Big Baby in the mix and you have a perfect lineup of veterans and young stars alike. They're very underrated right now.
Re: '07-08 Bold Predictions Thread <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (GArenas @ Jul 10 2007, 08:32 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>My argument was not who they would beat out in the playoffs, it was who's playoff seed would they take. Do you really believe that they will have a better record than the Magic? Last year this team was the 8th seed without Rashard Lewis who is a great compliment to Dwight Howard and the Magic also had a trash coach in Brian Hill. Now the Magic have more experience, Dwight Howard will continue to gain experience and improve his offensive game, and Stan Van Gundy will do a much better job than Brian Hill did.Also, the Celtics after Pierce, Allen, and Jefferson are not deep at all. The role players and bench players they have are too young to play at he playoff level. Kendrick Perkins, Rajon Rondo, Gerald Green, Ryan Gomes, Glen Davis, and Gabe Pruitt are not ready to carry the responsibility they are required to. Again, I'm not saying they won't contend for a playoff seed but 6th seed is a stretch.</div>Boston's bench is relatively deep, as deep as orlando's. don't forget tony allen coming back in november.Gerald Green is capable of scoring double digits off the bench, Gomes is a great hustle guy that any gm in the league would gladly take, Rondo is developing into a pretty solid pass-first point guard, not to mention his defense. Other than Howard and Lewis, the magic have Jameer Nelson, a good scorer, explosive player, hedo turkoglu, decent shooter, Redick who could develop into a good 3-point threat, tony battie who is a hard worker, but aging, and darko, who is causing some problems because he is cocky and wants way, way too much money. they probably won't even keep him, and a smart team won't give much up for him. and don't forget, the celtics have two veteran all-stars. Both have experience carrying a team. to the playoffs. Dwight Howard is great, but you can't teach experience. Pierce and Allen are both very mature players that know how to get the job done.
Re: '07-08 Bold Predictions Thread <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (808Hornetsfan @ Jul 10 2007, 09:40 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Okay, I'll drop them to a 7th seed then. But compare the experience of Boston compared to the experience of ORL and WSH. Pierce, Allen, Perkins, Olowakandi, and Ratliff all have playoff experience. To along with them, you have young playmakes in Rajon Rondo and Al Jefferson. Off the bench you have Gerald Wallace, Ryan Gomes and Sebastion Telfair who all were decent when given PT last year. You add Pruitt and Big Baby in the mix and you have a perfect lineup of veterans and young stars alike. They're very underrated right now.</div>Big Baby won't be able to contribute they way you expect him to. As you said Rajon Rondo is a young playmaker, he'll still contribute but remember that he's young. As far as I'm concerned Olowokandi and Ratliff and their playoff experience is useless. Sebastian Telfair, if he's still on the Celtics by the time the year begins, won't get playing time. Gomes is a nice hustle player with an offensive game but requires someone to creat oppurtunities for him. Also, why are you talking about Gerald Wallace?By the way, Washington when healthy led the East. They got 7th seed despite a season stacked with injuries. They could very well win the division this season.The same exact story goes for Orlando, they led the East until 2007 when injuries struck them. However, they still pulled out the 8th seed.
Re: '07-08 Bold Predictions Thread <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (GArenas @ Jul 10 2007, 05:52 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Big Baby won't be able to contribute they way you expect him to. As you said Rajon Rondo is a young playmaker, he'll still contribute but remember that he's young. As far as I'm concerned Olowokandi and Ratliff and their playoff experience is useless. Sebastian Telfair, if he's still on the Celtics by the time the year begins, won't get playing time. Gomes is a nice hustle player with an offensive game but requires someone to creat oppurtunities for him. Also, why are you talking about Gerald Wallace?By the way, Washington when healthy led the East. They got 7th seed despite a season stacked with injuries. They could very well win the division this season.The same exact story goes for Orlando, they led the East until 2007 when injuries struck them. However, they still pulled out the 8th seed.</div>I meant Gerald Green. Rondo does not need to play 35+ minutes a game, Tony Allen missed a lot of time and can share the point with Rondo where he averages 11/3 a game. Telfair is just in a difficult stage right now, but if he improves he can contribute a lot. Your also forgetting the Celtics were hit with injuries last season as well. In fact, they were probably tied with the Hornets for the most injuries last season. They never had a shot from the beginning. I think of all the bad teams that finished with less than 35 wins, Boston is the best one and will make a dramatic improvement in a conference that has no proven teams other than CHI, CLE, DET and MIA.
