Garland had a couple of rough injuries last season and never found his rhythm. So glad they did not give up on him. If I remember- he had like a broken jaw or something- and then a bad shoulder? It was a rough year for him.
Having your jaw wired shut and not being able to eat and worried...
its why I just cant totally discount the Sixers yet. Embiid is always freaking hurt--- and it may never happen- but if that guy was healthy for a full playoff run, and had Maxey and George healthy, they would not be an easy out for ANYONE.
Lakers do have LeBron and Davis- but at least for...
what worries me about the Cavs- is that almost always, championship teams have a MVP candidate, top 5 or at worst top 10 player leading it.
Mitchell is really good but hes not a top 10 guy. You might have to go back to 2004 for a team without a top 10 guy winning a championship. OKC, BOS...
my Cavs matchup very very well with Dallas too is prob. part of why I think that. I feel Mobley and Allen would have their way with them while Garland and Mitchell could play Kyrie and Doncic fairly evenly. Doncic is a big dude - he is really versatile and plays pretty big.
yah you might be right. I just dont like their roster construction. They just have so little firepower in the front court- now you prob. dont need a lot with Kyrie and Luka in the back court- but their front court is very unimpressive to me. If they got a legit front court player I would feel...
if I am going tiers- and assuming guys that are due to get healthy- do get healthy
Tier 1
BOS
CLE
OKC
Tier 2
Knicks
Tier 3
Denver
Milwaukee
Orlando
Dallas
Houston
Tier 4
LAL
MIN
PHI
IND
(I almost put Miami in tier 4- but without Butler- its hard to imagine them having the guns to win a...
3 out of the 4 best teams in are in the East.
Orlando, when healthy might be anywhere from 5-7. Milwaukee is really good.
I would easily take the East playoff teams vs. the West.
BOS
CLE
NYK
ORL
MIL
is much better than:
OKC
HOU
MEM
DEN
DAL
OKC is really the only team in the West that...
It seems that a new era is starting in the NBA- been reading a lot of articles- and they talk about how the era of player empowerment and super teams, team ups, etc. is coming to an end.
It looks like the expirements in Philly, LAC and Phoenix are failing.
teams like the Cavs, Thunder...
Donovan is still the best. It is getting a lot closer- but I think Donovan makes it go in a lot of ways. There is a reason they are the #1 offense and it isnt Mobley.
if you are already over the cap- who cares? if the owner is willing to pay it....thing is- that the repeater eventually comes in- but with how old durant and butler are- they prob only have this year and then MAYBE those 2 more years before they gotta tear it all down to the studs anyway.
the Warriors prob. is that Curry has just got to be a Warrior for life- but how do you rebuild/re-tool around him while he is good enough to keep them solid but not good enough to win a title, or bad enough to get a really high pick.
Curry obviously deserves to stay a Warrior his whole career...
looks like he didnt want to have Ice break the Ice too much in this game. He is prob our guy we put on the best offensive player at times....Wade has really stepped up defensively too. Strus looking scrappy too.
that a BAD loss by the Lakers. No Doncic, no Kyrie....LeBron and Davis healthy- DFS doing what he should do- hitting some 3's at a high rate.
Is the Lakers defense really that bad?
Riley is what? Gonna be 80 in May? Not sure how much time he has left. I think a lot of the issue for the Heat is Riley wants to win ASAP. How many more years is he really going to be there?
They are not without talent- Bam and Herro are pretty good places to start, but until they kind of...
unless they can trade trade, and take back no long term salary, and get Robinson to decline (which I dont know why Robinson would decline his 20M player option since hes not getting anything close to that), they wont have any cap room next summer.
if they take back a guy like Beal they bust...
yah no Cavs fan (that I know at least) is saying anything about a "dynasty"
to give the OP the benefit of the doubt- it looks like the Cavs and Thunder are loaded with good young players- and at least for the Cavs- signed up for years to come- and likely to be around the top of the standings...