Pelicans can sneak into the west top 6. Davis can make another leap, especially defensively , into a legit young Duncan type impact player. With a proven bench mind in Gentry, that version of Davis can push a healthy Pels roster to 56+ wins.
Damn, seems like they have half dozen of what would you expect to be street clothes/end of bunch fillersYeah, Carlisle can do so much, tbh..They are missing the playoffs barring some major midseason trade..
Pelicans can sneak into the west top 6. Davis can make another leap, especially defensively , into a legit young Duncan type impact player. With a proven bench mind in Gentry, that version of Davis can push a healthy Pels roster to 56+ wins.
Pels don't have the system or the talent to do more than crack 50; and that's pushing it. Maybe, if AD took his game to an even higher level is the only way I see them jumping up with the elite teams.
Yes, that's exactly what I said.
Yea, I missed that. But I don't see Davis doing more defensively. He was about as elite as it gets last season. I meant offensively. If AD developed more on the post (ala Olajuwon/McHale) and/or made a wing shot fade away from 19 ft more consistently (ala Bird/Jordan), then it's feasible.
Offensively he's already hovering around 30 PER, so not much he can do other than refinement. Defensively, he has the tools to become a DJ level rim protector and DPOY candidate. A singular go-to offensive move combined with a DJ impact on D will get his team into semi-contention.
Warriors
Spurs
Rockets
Thunder
Clippers
Grizzlies
Pelicans
Jazz
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Suns
Mavs
Kings
Wolves
Blazers
Lakers
Nuggets
Ibaka would be the better comparison considering Ibaka is much better defensively than Jordan is.
Can't see the Mavs making the West PS with that roster
Williams-Barea
Mathews-Harris
Parsons-Anderson
Dirk-
Pachulia-Dalembert
Jazz front court is very solid and should be a top tier defensive team.
You wouldn't think so from a statistical P.O.V. And who knows, maybe he has maxed out in that regard. But I just felt teams were able to bottle him up and that he wasn't as lucid as the stats reflect. I felt like he was often forced to defer to players, who would make low percentage plays when he could have made a quick move and got to his spot on a fadeaway. He's got the length and hops that it can't be defended. But he doesn't shoot those shots with Dirk confidence or even KG confidence. Rather his key offensive strengths are in other areas.
BTW.... Clippers are lame. Who introduces FA's that were with the team on the prior year?
Hey, they thought he was a Mav for 5 days... We'd reinroduce Tim too had he verbally committed to Orlando and then reneged, heh.
It's not the reintroduction I have a problem with. It's doing it with all the UFA's that just seems really cheesy.
That's a stacked team!
Lots of issues with those guys alone, tbh. Stephenson is an x-factor. But I have to wonder if Pierce is getting too old to really do the job in so many minutes. KL could carve him up at both ends of the floor.
Warriors are the real threat, imo. But I think the Spurs beat the Warriors four out of five times in a series, so I'm feeling good about that all the same.
KL having to check Pierce is a victory for the Clippers to start.
They don't win the series this year without Barnes, who's gone now. Pierce can't hope to stay in front of any of our wings.
Swap this year's playoff Barnes for playoff Pierce and Clippers win easier. Who does Parker cover on D? Who do leave to help on Blake in the high post?
Why is that?
Because Parker has to cover Paul or JJ, and not just only worry about Barnes' inconsistent spotups. Put him on PP, and it's murder in the post. When Blake goes 1-1 from the high post against any of our bigs, where does the help come from?
You don't need to double Blake that often when Aldridge, Duncan or West are guarding him, tbh. It was Splitter that he was breaking down consistently.
Pierce is a small upgrade on offense but a huge downgrade on defense. I don't see him getting many playoff minutes against us, tbh.
I think Houston has peaked tbh.
Me too. People calling them top six / elite. Don't understand that. They've been a first round exit quality team the last two years. They lucked out last year getting as far as they did, imo.
Lawson is an awful fit. I can see him causing a scene because harden takes the last shot instead of him.
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