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Thoughts about the league after a 1/3rd of the season

flyerhawk

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We are now starting to get to a point where teams and players are settling in to who they really are. So what are everyone's thoughts about the league?

Here are a few of mine.

The Raptors are legit. Siakim has turned into an absolute steal for the Raps. If Kawhi stays healthy they are probably the favorites to win the East and could even give the Warriors a solid run for their money. I was completely wrong about them.

The Bucks are legitish but a little deceiving. They started the season out absolutely on fire but have come down to Earth quite a bit. I see them as a 4 seed this year.

The Celtics are finding themselves. Might be tough for them to get to 60 wins at this point but I would be surprised if they aren't a top 3 seed.

The Sixers have the best top 3 outside of the Bay area. But they are sorely lacking in depth. They need to get some front court help and a defensive wing that can defend guards. I think they are looking at reprising last season as a 3 seed with mid-50 wins.

The Pacers are an exciting team and Sabonis is having a breakout season. But Turner has regressed and it is hard to see them as anything more than a 2nd round exit. They could sneak into the top 4 if one of the other teams falter.

The rest of the East are stories of overachievers and underachievers that won't do much this season except maybe be doormats in the playoffs.

In the East, the Warriors are still the team to beat and barring serious injuries it is hard to see anyone taking them down this year. Curry might become the first player to ever be a true 50/50/90 player(Kerr did it but on fewer than 2 3PA a game)

A bunch of early overachieving teams have come back down. Nuggets, Clippers, Pelicans and Griz all started strong. But they have all faded some in recent weeks. 2 of those teams are likely to hold on for a playoff spot and 2 of them won't. No idea which ones will do it.

The Rockets are in serious trouble and could be for a while. Could be constant HardenBall which is just not enough to be anything more than a low seed and early playoff exit at best.

The Mavs are the surprise team of the season for me. I thought Luka was going to be a great pick up for the Mavs but I didn't expect him to have the impact he's having so far. Probably their ceiling is 1st round exit but that is damn impressive given what people thought they would be.
 

Sir Robin Of Camelot

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...The Mavs are the surprise team of the season for me. I thought Luka was going to be a great pick up for the Mavs but I didn't expect him to have the impact he's having so far. Probably their ceiling is 1st round exit but that is damn impressive given what people thought they would be.

A surprise team for us Mavs fans as well. And as I told Mecca the other day, the team defense is where you can really see significant improvement in this team. As much fun as Luka is and as significant as their bench scoring has been, having Jordan, Powell and DSF back there to clean up any lapses in defense has been huge. Carlisle has them playing terrific team defense and you can see them trusting each other more and more. We will learn a lot the next month or so as the schedule gets significantly more difficult but this is a fun damn team to watch right now.

And - we get Dirk back in a couple of weeks to add to the bench. Good times.
 

bksballer89

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There are only 2 really bad teams
 

podsox

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Bulls are a total dumpster fire from top to bottom. The shitty players actually wanted to boycott practice today
 

Bolts

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Kings are better than expected and playing exciting basketball. Yet the longshot odds of making the playoffs despite how close they are, not having a lottery pick to look forward to if they don't make it, and the play of a certain draft pick they didn't take has put a damper on what should be a very enjoyable season. It's fun to see Fox, Buddy, Bogi, Bagley, etc grow together but I really want the playoff drought to end.
 

YourFriendGannon

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The breakneck tempo across the league is making it seem more and more like the parent league of the AAU circuit. I get that high scoring games were common at times before the '90s, just sensing that some people are getting burnt out on all the threes and rapid fire possessions.
 

msgkings322

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The breakneck tempo across the league is making it seem more and more like the parent league of the AAU circuit. I get that high scoring games were common at times before the '90s, just sensing that some people are getting burnt out on all the threes and rapid fire possessions.
Popovich sure is
 

msgkings322

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Knicks aren't that bad actually. Would not put them in the same conversation as the Suns and Bulls. Hawks are better than both as well
Hawks are better but still a bad team. Knicks too without KP
 

lebron23james

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Stop blowing your load in the regular season. The Craptors are good, but i still have boston going to the finals
 
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Stop blowing your load in the regular season. The Craptors are good, but i still have boston going to the finals

Not the cavs?

Mr Kardashian said the way to the nba finals goes through Cleveland.
 

Taddy Mason

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A surprise team for us Mavs fans as well. And as I told Mecca the other day, the team defense is where you can really see significant improvement in this team. As much fun as Luka is and as significant as their bench scoring has been, having Jordan, Powell and DSF back there to clean up any lapses in defense has been huge. Carlisle has them playing terrific team defense and you can see them trusting each other more and more. We will learn a lot the next month or so as the schedule gets significantly more difficult but this is a fun damn team to watch right now.

And - we get Dirk back in a couple of weeks to add to the bench. Good times.
I still can't believe all of the talk leading up to the draft about him potentially sliding and then seeing it happen to a degree. The kid crushed it as a teenager winning an MVP award and now the mavs get to pass the torch from Dirk. That was a great run he had the other night against the rockets.
 

Taddy Mason

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Stop blowing your load in the regular season. The Craptors are good, but i still have boston going to the finals
It was a certain Mr. James that typically threw them off (along with poor play Lowry), that being said, Leonard is an upgrade over DeRozen and as pointed out, they have a decent rotation of bigs back there as well.

As for who makes it to the finals? There's a lot of season left and moves to be made, players to go down, etc...
 

flyerhawk

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Kings are better than expected and playing exciting basketball. Yet the longshot odds of making the playoffs despite how close they are, not having a lottery pick to look forward to if they don't make it, and the play of a certain draft pick they didn't take has put a damper on what should be a very enjoyable season. It's fun to see Fox, Buddy, Bogi, Bagley, etc grow together but I really want the playoff drought to end.

I'm rooting for you guys to make the playoffs!!!
 

RobToxin

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I dunno what the drama was that ended Leonard in San Antonio.

I ain't got no beef with the guy.

If the Spurs are a dead team come playoff time, I got nothing better to do. Why not root for the Raptors to win the East?
 

bksballer89

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Top 5 teams East are already known.

6-8 will be a dog fight IMO
 
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