He has fucking Brooklyn on the same tier as us and somehow the OKC Thunder is a lock even though we swept them last year and Denver how somehow leapfrogged us too. Zach Lowe usually knows what he's talking about. Portland on the same tier as CHARLOTTE? Unbelievable. Here it is: Tier 1: Golden State Warriors Warriors have to try their hardest Boston Celtics Houston Rockets Searching for the proper paperwork to move up one tier Toronto Raptors Rock solid playoff teams, tier 1 Utah Jazz Milwaukee Bucks Oklahoma City Thunder Philadelphia 76ers Denver Nuggets Minnesota Timberwolves in an alternate reality where everything isn't always ruined there Rock solid playoff teams, tier II Los Angeles Lakers Indiana Pacers Washington Wizards Miami Heat with Jimmy Butler (Team does not currently exist) Right on the borderline San Antonio Spurs New Orleans Pelicans Portland Trail Blazers Miami Heat without Jimmy Butler Detroit Pistons Charlotte Hornets Brooklyn Nets Door is cracking open, but West is still too good Dallas Mavericks Memphis Grizzlies LA Clippers Minnesota without Jimmy Butler Bad Cleveland Cavaliers Phoenix Suns Sacramento Kings New York Knicks Chicago Bulls Orlando Magic Atlanta Hawks
Funny how they pick the nuggets to make the playoffs every year haha. If they stay healthy yes...but that's a big if right now.
I'd maybe move us up to tier II playoff team, but eh. It's a prognosticator, it doesn't hold any weight.
Lowe is usually better than this. Don't get the Denver love-- their home/away splits are massive every year and the schedule makers deliberately tried to get rid of that this year by providing more rest to teams flying into DEN. Should be taken into account. That's a not a legit playoff team, especially with their shit defense, and Millsap only getting older.
#40 wins and battling for a playoff spot is about right where this team is in the tough west. Not sure how this is that far off.
My Trail Blazer emblazoned heart says gtfo! We're tier 1! Then my brain reminds me of our roster...and I just sit and stare.
Questioning this Blazer team this year and last is not really the issue. It is that every year they tend to put teams ahead of us that also have some big question marks. The first tier 1 seems obvious: Golden State Warriors.....................Boston Celtics, Houston Rockets, Toronto Raptors It is the next "rock solid" group in the WEST that is more of a crap shoot. You can't say for sure that these 4 are better than the Blazers. It is pretty debatable that any of them are. Utah Jazz Oklahoma City Thunder Denver Nuggets Minnesota Timberwolves
If healthy, I would put the Jazz in front of the Blazers. They had a lot of injuries last year (starting with Gobert) and still finished only 1 game back of Portland. The Blazers meanwhile, were one of the healthiest teams in the league.
Maybe, but their starters against us the other night did not impress me. Not saying the Blazers are better, just that the Jazz are not either.
We got swept out of the playoffs. Had we had put a better effort in, perhaps we would be higher. But the number of games from being the 3 seed to being out of the playoffs was pretty slim, so yeah, we are borderline. Only made marginal improvements to our bench, while losing some front court reliability in Ed Davis.
They should be ahead of us now. They zoom up while we plummet. The Ed Davis effect. All because you guys wouldn't listen to me years ago about Olshey.
yeah the east and west should not even be in the same discussion. Borderline for one conference is much different than borderline for the other.
What's dumb is that most of the "Rock Solid Playoff Teams" in the East would be "Right on the Borderline" in the West.