2015-16 NBA Eastern Conference OFFICIAL THREAD

[WiggyRuss]

Cleveland bench #2? In what planet?

Who's bench is better than:

Thompson, Varejao, Kaun in the front court

Jefferson at SF

and Mo Williams, Jr Smith, and Mathew Dellavadova in the back court?

That is a DAMN good bench- and i think its very close with Chicago for either being 2nd or 3rd best in the East. I mean seriously- you are REALLY going to try and say that the Cavs bench isnt extremely good?

What team in the league has a bench front court as good as Thompson, Varejao, Kaun? Maybe San Antonio? Maybe Chicago? ----

and Mo Williams is one of the very best backup PGs in the entire league- and Jr Smith is one of the best backup SGs in the entire league-

seriously though- how can you not say the Cavs bench is loaded?

 

[bksballer89]

responses to those questions in the quote above

i think the 4 aging "superstars" were Wade, Bosh, Deng and Amare.....

If that's the case, the article is stupider than I even imagined. Deng was never a superstar (not close to one) and Amare was not brought in to be the Phoenix Amare

 

[wildturkey]

Stan Van Gundy inadvertently made the best rap album cover we've ever seen

 

[WiggyRuss]

1. Cavs
2. Heat
3. Bulls
4. Hawks
5. Raptors
6. Wizards
7. Bucks
8. Magic
9. Pacers
10. Celtics
11. Knicks
12. Pistons
13. Hornets
14. Nets
15. 76ers

1. Cavs
2. Bulls
3. Hawks
4. Wiz
5. Bucks
6. Heat
7. Celtics
8. Pacers
9. Raptors
10. Pistons
11. Hornets
12. Magic
13. Nets
14. Knicks
15. 76'ers

The Celtics are kinda my surprise team I guess - but they played some of the best ball in the NBA in the second half after the trade deadline when they acquired Isiah Thomas- who played GREAT. The Celtics have, in my opinion, one of the very best coaches in the NBA as well as one of the deepest benches.

The Wizards at #4 were tough. Miami fans- dont say I never said anything nice about your team- it was a struggle to rank the 4, 5, 6 spots- Bucks, Wiz, Heat. I went with the Wizards at #4 because they have John Wall- who is an MVP candidate- and they have Beale who i think is going to take a major step up this year and become an all star caliber player. The Bucks at 5 because they are younger, healthier, probably deeper, with some amazing talents- you have to respect the Heat though because they know how to win and that counts for a ton when teams are closely matched but with their age and style I think the Bucks edge them out.

I think the Nets are probably better than 13 but- its a testament to the improvement of the East that I just could not rate them higher. The Magic are a team that I think needs one more year of bottoming out and getting a top pick before they move into win-now mode- from what I have been hearing about Hezonja- he could be an absolute steal and a future big time piece for the Magic.- add him Hezonja, to Vucevic, Oladipo, Aaron Gordon, Tobias Harris, Elfrid Payton, and you have an interesting core.

76'ers are still just so far away. Embiid looks like a total bust so at least the Okafor pick makes sense. Noel is prob their best player- but will a 4/5 of Noel/Okafor ever be able to operate effectively together as neither can shoot? Dario Saric is a good prospect but hes not coming anytime soon. --- obviously that Embiid pick is crippling-- after trading MCW to the Bucks- KENDALL MARSHALL is their starting PG...thats dirty. Itll be interesting to see what they get out of Nik Stauskas.....to you fantasy leaguers- DRAFT the guy if you need 3s because the 76ers take a ton of threes- a TON- last year even though they sucked at htem- if they get a guy who is actually good itll be bombs away.

Embiid, Okafor, Noel, Stauskas, Saric, Covington, LAkers 1st rounder (top 3 protected), ---some assets- some questions- I dunno if they have as much as they should at this point...

 

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

1. Cavs
2. Bulls
3. Hawks
4. Wizards
5. Heat
6. Bucks
7. Raptors
8. Hornets
9. Knicks
10. Pacers
11. Pistons
12. Celtics
13. Magic
14. Nets
15. 76'ers

 

[bksballer89]

Uni Watch 2015-16 NBA season preview - Uniform changes, alternates, throwbacks and new socks

 

[bksballer89]

35 Crazy Predictions for the 2015-16 NBA Season

 

[wildturkey]

35 Crazy Predictions for the 2015-16 NBA Season

The more I thought about his Bucks prediction, the more it makes sense. They might not miss the playoffs but I think its totally reasonable to see them barely squeak in as opposed to finishing as high as a lot of fans think they might.

And I'm right there with him on the Durant thing. A couple months back is when I found out he was just 1 year away from being eligible for the 35% max. Once I found that out, I switched my stance on Durant leaving to Durant resigning on a 1 year deal. It just makes too much sense for everyone involved.

 

[bksballer89]

But according to that lame article Wiggy posted they need 3 more bench players lmao

 

[Tai Chi≈Surfing]

1. Cavs
2. Bulls
3. Hawks
4. Wizards
5. Heat
6. Bucks
7. Raptors
8. Hornets
9. Knicks
10. Pacers
11. Pistons
12. Celtics
13. Magic
14. Nets
15. 76'ers

*...IMHO: the 6 bolded teams (7-12) will be competing for the last 2 playoff spots by mid march

 

[purguy12]

Lets Go Bulls

 

[Hambombs]

Bucks gonna Suprise people

 

[bksballer89]

Bucks gonna Suprise people

There is only way the an surprise anyone

 

[Mecca of the “B” Team]

I think the Knicks will surprise some folks by sneaking into the playoffs.

They didn't sign any sexy names.

But, they actually got a couple of guys that can play.

 

[wildturkey]

I think the Knicks will surprise some folks by sneaking into the playoffs.

They didn't sign any sexy names.

But, they actually got a couple of guys that can play.

Yeah, I think the same. Melo with competent NBA players is at least good enough to flirt with 8th in the East. Not sure I get all the projections of them being at the bottom

 

[True Lakers Fan]

Amare is toast...his defense is just beyond awful, and he cant really even finsih at the rim anymore...I think Amare just wants to chill in South Beach personally. lol.

We shall see though. Heats bench is definitely improved from last year- but its still just an average bench.

If he was picked up to be a starter, than I would agree, but he's a third string behind Birdman, so it's not like Riley is expecting a lot from the guy. He is 12 points and 6 rebounds in 24 minutes of play. They are only paying him 1.5 million for one year, so that's not a bad contract really. That's a decent pick up for Miami

 

[Hambombs]

There is only way the an surprise anyone

What?

 

[Shanemansj13]

It's the Cavs time. Everyone else move outta the way. Please.

 

[Jakology]

It's the Cavs time. Everyone else move outta the way. Please.

These next few years I think are Lebron's best chance to win a few more rings and really get into the argument for GOAT status. Hopefully the Cavs put it all together. I feel like a healthy Irving is the difference. Still feel like they have a chance to win tonight without him though.

 

[Demonjoe93]

Let's go Hawks!