yea but vince is just gonna get hurt again just like grant hill. the raptors wont improve as much as the nuggets i dont care how tough the west is
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting olskoolFunktitude:</div><div class="quote_post">yea but vince is just gonna get hurt again just like grant hill. the raptors wont improve as much as the nuggets i dont care how tough the west is</div> And just how are the Nuggets going to improve so much? <div class="quote_poster">Quoting Vintage:</div><div class="quote_post">The Nuggets will still gut brutalized. Yes, they have a great abundance of young talent.......but Nene, Skita, and yes, Carmelo, will struggle this season. Not to mention that the Nuggets defense will be poor. They will lack a true go to guy. Carmelo is the closest thing now. Losing Howard will hurt them(whether or not you realize this). He was their most consistent scorer, rebounder, and player. Carmelo will be brilliant one night, cold as ice the next. Thats how rookies are. Many of you are expecting him to turn this team around...it wont happen this year. Signing Andre gives them a PG. But he has never been known for scoring. So where are the points going to come from? Nene? He has a good defensive game, but his offensive moves are still raw. Skita? He is even more raw. White? He was decent. But hasn't proved to be a capable scorer every night. Carmelo is the closest thing. And relying on a rookie will be tough. I dont think the Nuggets will improve much, if at all, in terms of wins. Denver is going to be a lottery team once again. They will struggle, and their record will be similar to last years. </div>
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting shapecity:</div><div class="quote_post">i guess you missed the longest post in this thread. </div> i think you said it... most people dont bother reading after the first few sentences... its asham too... Who better their chances playoff wise... gotta be the T'Wolves without question... stuck in the first round for what seems forever (as a twolves fan)... and finally the material to carry them past it (and possibly beyond)... Record wise, Im going out on a limb and saying the Memphis Grizzlies... yes they are young, inexperienced, but they have a mastermind GM... tons of talent to toggle with... and a great headcoach... will they make the playoffs? Of course not... but I see them actually finishing ahead of the Nuggets, Clippers, Jazz, and possibly the Warriors (who have no pg)... Im sure everyone will disagree and find several ways to disagree with me... but its a personal opinion... and these are all guesses anyways... oh I think the raptors will improve dramaticaly too...
i do think that the nuggets record will improve by at least 5-10 wins this season, the players they have added will have a positive impact. but the raptors will probably only make the same improvement. i think there will only be one or two games in it. its a tough one 2 call
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Vintage:</div><div class="quote_post">And just how are the Nuggets going to improve so much?</div> Carmelo is going to be the best rookie in his class. my pick for ROY he will make the biggest impact the fastest. Andre Miller will help his progress as well as Hilario.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting purehoops:</div><div class="quote_post">i think you said it... most people dont bother reading after the first few sentences... its asham too... Who better their chances playoff wise... gotta be the T'Wolves without question... stuck in the first round for what seems forever (as a twolves fan)... and finally the material to carry them past it (and possibly beyond)... Record wise, Im going out on a limb and saying the Memphis Grizzlies... yes they are young, inexperienced, but they have a mastermind GM... tons of talent to toggle with... and a great headcoach... will they make the playoffs? Of course not... but I see them actually finishing ahead of the Nuggets, Clippers, Jazz, and possibly the Warriors (who have no pg)... Im sure everyone will disagree and find several ways to disagree with me... but its a personal opinion... and these are all guesses anyways... oh I think the raptors will improve dramaticaly too...</div> Nope, I actually think you are right on with the Grizzlies as well. PG they have Jason Williams, a solid PG.....is above average compared to the rest of the league. They also have depth with Troy Bell, Brevin Knight, and Earl Watson. At the wings, they have every essential piece covered.....scorer in Miller(who can also shoot), shooter(Person), defender(Posey....and he will be a Grizzlie), athleticism(Jones), slasher(Jones).... They have Gasol, who has proven to be a great young player.....nearly a 20/10 force as a rookie. Will continue to improve. Swift showed positives signs as well. Wright is solid in the post. Memphis lacks a true center, but they have a ton of talent. In their last 23 games, Memphis went 10-13. Nearly .500 They showed some great signs in that run. They will be better next year, with a year of experience. I dont think they will make the playoffs, but I can see them going from 28 wins to high 30's, maybe low 40's.
Memphis wont make the playoffs this year but Gasol is gonna take them someplace not to far off from now
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting olskoolFunktitude:</div><div class="quote_post">Carmelo is going to be the best rookie in his class. my pick for ROY he will make the biggest impact the fastest. Andre Miller will help his progress as well as Hilario.</div> OK, Carmelo is the biggest rookie impact. Thats nice. That still doesn't mean Denver will do squat. Take a look at Caron Butler and what he did in Miami. Caron had a great rookie season, averaging 15+ppg..........people seem to have forgotten about him. I expect Carmelo to do about the same, maybe slightly better, than Caron. Caron didn't turn his team around. Even in the East, he couldn't. Carmelo wont be able to.......not in the West. He isn't at the point yet(what rookie is?) that he can be a consistent 1st option in the NBA. Denver is going to struggle a lot next year. They lost their best player, and their major offensive threat in Howard. Carmelo can't replace what Howard brought to the table last year, 18/8. Andre Miller will be able to get Nene the ball.......again, this is fine......but Nene has to be the one to make the moves. And he is still very raw offensively. Andre will help some, in terms of getting him the ball, but it wont matter who is PG is if he can't do anything with it. Nene is too raw offensively to be relied upon in this point of his career for consistent scoring. Skita is the same way. Andre will have to be put in the scorer role more than he is used to. I dont see how Denver is going to improve much, if at all......
I didnt forget Butler. Melo willhave better guys around him. I think he may have more of an Amare like impact than butler. Andre wont just get guys like melo and nene the ball hell get them good looks.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting AzBalla17:</div><div class="quote_post">I think the suns not just because im a suns fan. </div> lol. yeah sure man.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Vintage:</div><div class="quote_post">Nuggets? Guys. This is the West.</div> same place we played last year. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> The Nuggets will still gut brutalized. Yes, they have a great abundance of young talent.......but Nene, Skita, and yes, Carmelo, will struggle this season. Not to mention that the Nuggets defense will be poor. </div> our defense was pretty good last year and unless you attributed that to howard and harvey, explain why itll be poor. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> They will lack a true go to guy. Carmelo is the closest thing now. Losing Howard will hurt them(whether or not you realize this). He was their most consistent scorer, rebounder, and player.</div> thats true. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Carmelo will be brilliant one night, cold as ice the next. Thats how rookies are. Many of you are expecting him to turn this team around...it wont happen this year.</div> yeah but we arent gunning for 50 wins here. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Signing Andre gives them a PG. But he has never been known for scoring. So where are the points going to come from? Nene? He has a good defensive game, but his offensive moves are still raw. Skita? He is even more raw. </div> he can put up 15-17 a game. nene put up 10 last year with no PG, no moves and no english...all have improved. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">White? He was decent. But hasn't proved to be a capable scorer every night.</div> true. <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> I dont think the Nuggets will improve much, if at all, in terms of wins. Denver is going to be a lottery team once again. They will struggle, and their record will be similar to last years.</div> lotto? yes. near 17 wins? lol. no.
1. the nuggets increased their backcourt from one of the worst in nba history to a very very solid 4. we went from guys like adam harringon, junior harrington, yarbrough, and shammond williams to miller, boykins, barry and lenard. HUGE factor. they are talented and more importantly, can help others to improve. 2. the nuggets added THREE 3 pt shooters who were better beyond the arc than anyone we had last year. also opens up the paint for our bigs. 3. carmelo. nuf sed. 4. nene, white and skita have worked hard this summer. kiki sent nene and skita (and 2 others) to the big man camp. each is one year stronger, smarter and more confident. 5. we will go from a slow half court team to a run n gun fast break team (great in the thin air of denver). our team is geared for that now...last year it was not. 6. camby is healthy (for now). always a plus. 7. great veteran leadership to a talented young squad. last year we basically only had howard. this year - miller, barry, lenard, boykins, etc... 8. many players who were the reason for our hard work, non stop hustle and defensive attitude return...plus barry and boykins fit this perfectly. 9. FAR FAR deeper bench than last year. 10. nene last year had harrington/williams passing him the ball, didnt speak any english, had no one to demand a double team, had no one on the outside to keep defenses honest, had few post moves and had howard in the paint taking shots and boards. this year miller/boykins at the point (HUGE upgrade), speaks some english, has melo who could get some doubles, has many great 3 pt shooters, has developed better post moves and howard is gone. nene will be improved.
Cavs will win about 20 more games than they did last year, easily being the most improved team. Denver will win at the very least 15 more, more tough for them playing in the West.
20 wins is far too much to ask. thats an insane # of games to improve. considering that lebron wont be great right away id say they can win around 30 (~13 games better), and denver maybe 25-30.
20 games? You got to be joking. No way the Cavs make the playoffs this year. LeBron is a rookie. Not a star. Menaing, he will get rookie calls, rookie treatment, and more importantly, play like a rooie(inconsistent). Wagner is basically starting from scratch. Miles is a disapointment. Boozer is solid, but nothing worth hanging your hat on. Ilgauskas is a good offensive center, Ill give you that. But the Cavs are still too young and don't have the talent to make the playoffs yet. I have said this in another thread, as has Purehoops.......but my choice is the Memhpis Grizzlies.
NugzFan, I agree to a point.....Denver will be improved. But it will be more bec. of talented veterans in Miller, Barry, and Lenard than Anthony. The experience, talent, and depth that Miller, Lenard, and Barry will provide will be more of a factor than what a rookie Carmelo Anthony can offer.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Vintage:</div><div class="quote_post">NugzFan, I agree to a point.....Denver will be improved. But it will be more bec. of talented veterans in Miller, Barry, and Lenard than Anthony. The experience, talent, and depth that Miller, Lenard, and Barry will provide will be more of a factor than what a rookie Carmelo Anthony can offer.</div> whatever the reason is, doesnt matter to me but i agree - i think our improved backcourt will be HUGE. all 4 of them.
Cavs don't have the talent? James, Davis, Miles, Z, Wager, and Miles (might as well through in Boozer too, Silas to top it off) In my opinion the Cavs were tanking last year, because it was not due to a lack of talent, the team clearly has that. Bombo Coles said we were tanking, Davis at times acted like he did not care, Miles had some weird injuries and forced bad shots every time down the court. Wagner was injured most of the season as well. Don't just look at the record and judge the entire team. The Lakers with 2 of the top players in the game could not even get home court last year, but were still picked to win it all even though they had a middle seed in the playoffs. So there, I said it, we were tanking, either it was that, bad coaching, or both. If you think that this team does not have talent..well, that is on you.
