Slam: 5 teams expected to make significant jumps

[The Regime]

Via SLAM ONLINE:

 

1. BROOKLYN NETS

2011-12 Record: 22-44

2012-13 Projection: 48-34

 

2. SACRAMENTO KINGS

2011-12 Record: 22-44

2012-13 Projection: 40-42

 

3. GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS

2011-12 Record: 23-43

2012-13 Projection: 39-43

 

4. TORONTO RAPTORS

2011-12 Season: 23-43

2012-13 Projection: 37-45

 

5. NEW ORLEANS HORNETS

2011-12 Season: 21-45

2012-13 Projection: 42-40

 

Thoughts? The only objection that I have is with the Kings and Hornets. The Kings look talented on paper, but the reality is that they have no cohesiveness as a team. Robinson alone wont spike their win total by that much. Same goes with the Hornets, Davis wont improve their win total by that much. Eric Gordon is too injury prone/unhappy with the franchise, and the Hornets are thin at every other position. Kings and Hornets will at best win 35-37 games in my opinion considering how competitive the West is. T-Wolves will have a better win percentage than both of them.

Edited August 1, 2012 by Simba

[DunkinDerozan]

I also disagree with the Kings projection.Especially playing in the West. And for the Raptors I'm hoping we can some how win a few more games than that. 37 wins won't be enough to make the playoffs.

[Smoke]

They loving the crew ! Can't wait until I see Deron dishing it out to Joe

[YugoRocketsFan]

Agree with the Nets, Raptors, and Warriors part but why did they add the Hornets?

 

Actually nm, Ryan Anderson, Davis, Warrick and Gordon. Now I see

Edited August 1, 2012 by YugoRocketsFan

[JYD]

Where'd they come up with this? They expect New Orleans to be over .500? I don't lol

[YugoRocketsFan]

Where'd they come up with this? They expect New Orleans to be over .500? I don't lol

 

Take a closer look at their team, its definitely possible.

[Lkr]

I still don't buy the Nets hype

[YugoRocketsFan]

I still don't buy the Nets hype

 

48-34 seems like a legit record for them to have, unless you think they will do worse?

[Universe]

Nets aren't going to be the Miami Heat but they'll definitely be better than the 22 win season. They kept the good players from last season and upgraded HUGELY over the D-League talent they brought up last year (most D-League players brought up in entire NBA). I expect playoffs even if it's the 8th seed.

[Lemon]

Via SLAM ONLINE:

 

 

 

Thoughts? The only objection that I have is with the Kings and Hornets. The Kings look talented on paper, but the reality is that they have no cohesiveness as a team. Robinson alone wont spike their win total by that much. Same goes with the Hornets, Davis wont improve their win total by that much. Eric Gordon is too injury prone/unhappy with the franchise, and the Hornets are thin at every other position. Kings and Hornets will at best win 35-37 games in my opinion considering how competitive the West is. T-Wolves will have a better win percentage than both of them.

 

I agree, I expect less from Hornets and Kings. Kings don't have much leadership or coaching on that team. It lacks direction.

 

As far as Hornets go, they've lost a lot of players. They're missing Okafor, Ariza, and Landry. Adding Davis won't add up more wins than those losses. I feel though that Eric Gordon will have a great season after being cut from the USA basketball team. He has a huge chip, and he'll play to his potential barring injuries.

 

A team that I expect to make significant jumps is the Wizards. They've got a solid front court with Nene, Okafor, and Nene . They've got some good, young scorers in the back. With this roster, it has to be Wall's year to make a significant jump.

[The Regime]

Nets aren't going to be the Miami Heat but they'll definitely be better than the 22 win season. They kept the good players from last season and upgraded HUGELY over the D-League talent they brought up last year (most D-League players brought up in entire NBA). I expect playoffs even if it's the 8th seed.

 

Anything worse than a 4 seed would be underachieving for them. Heck, I see them making it to the semifinals at the very least.

[Guru]

Anything worse than a 4 seed would be underachieving for them. Heck, I see them making it to the semifinals at the very least.

I disagree. It's going to be our first year together. There will be plenty of bumps along the way, chemistry being the biggest one. I could see us getting a fairly high seed in the East but at the same time I could see us barely making the playoffs. MIA, Boston, Indy, Philly, and maybe NY should be better teams this year (I'm not buying NYs PG situation lol).

[Lkr]

i just don't buy the nets being a 26 win better team than last year. you could sell me at 10-15, but 26?

[Guru]

i just don't buy the nets being a 26 win better team than last year. you could sell me at 10-15, but 26?

Meh. We pretty much have a completely new roster this year.

 

Also, last season was only 66 games.

Edited August 2, 2012 by Guru

[The Regime]

I disagree. It's going to be our first year together. There will be plenty of bumps along the way, chemistry being the biggest one. I could see us getting a fairly high seed in the East but at the same time I could see us barely making the playoffs. MIA, Boston, Indy, Philly, and maybe NY should be better teams this year (I'm not buying NYs PG situation lol).

 

Philly hasn't done a whole lot to improve this offseason. Let's not forget that they were a 8th seed last season and just had a favorable matchup in the postseason. At best they'll move up a couple spots in the East. And New York's pg play is going to be suspect, I'm not convinced that they're better than the Nets. That leaves Miami, Boston, and Indiana (who I have a feeling are going to take a step backwards next season) at the top with you guys. If I'm a Nets fan I would be disappointed if they didn't have homecourt in the first round.

Edited August 2, 2012 by Simba

[Check my Stats]

Don't be surprised if New Jersey wins 50+ next year. If Kings win over 34 games I would be stunned, Hornets won't be over .500 either, thats just absurd. Do they realize Austin Rivers is going to play significant minutes for them?

Edited August 2, 2012 by Check my Stats

[Built Ford Tough]

If New Orleans didn't make the Jack and Okafor/Ariza trades, I could agree that they may be able to finish around .500, assuming Gordon plays 70+ games and Davis is able to make an immediate impact.

 

However, since they dealt those three guys, never really replaced them and look to be playing Davis at the 5, I don't see them being that good this year. They've got a lot of flexibility heading forward which was clearly Benson's goal after taking over the team, but the team's record will likely suffer as a result of those moves with flexibility in mind.

 

Oh yeah, also playing Austin Rivers at the point is another huge reason why I'd be shocked if the Hornets are going to be close to .500.

 

 

Sacramento would need Cousins to blow up, Evans to regain his rookie season form and Robinson to immediately become a 16/10 type of threat in order for them to reach their "expectations". So I find them highly reaching what Slam thinks they will highly unlikely as well. They must be really high on the chances of Sacramento's young players taking a fairly large step forward because they really didn't do a whole lot this offseason to warrant thinking they'd make a huge jump.

 

 

I really like what Golden State did this offseason as I mentioned in another thread. If they can stay healthy, I think they may be able to finish above .500 by a couple games and sneak into the playoffs.

 

Of course, with Curry, Lee and Bogut, they could easily end up having 150 games lost due to injury between just the 3 of them, which would obviously eliminate any chance of them making the playoffs.

 

 

New Jersey is all about how quickly they can develop chemistry.

 

I'm a bit skeptical on how well Williams and Johnson will be able to work together since Johnson's game is so iso oriented. That doesn't exactly scream perfect compliment to a ball dominant point guard.

 

Deron is also going to have to play a lot better than he did last season, although I'm not worried about that. It is completely understandable why he didn't set the world on fire last season given everything that happened with that team and who he was playing with.

 

 

Lastly, with Toronto I think that is pretty accurate in terms of my expectations. If you look at them from an 82 game standpoint last season, their winning percentage projected them to be a 28.5 win team and that was with Bargnani out for more than half the year, adjusting to a new coach and more defensive oriented system and trotting out D-League plays for much of the final third of the season.

 

Fields, Ross and Valanciunas, while not being huge impact players, should be an upgrade over the likes of Jamaal Magloire, James Johnson and Gary Forbes so maybe between the three of them they could add 2 wins to the Raptors total from last year.

 

The real difference maker is Kyle Lowry. I'd like to think he will flourish in Casey's system and should have a fairly large impact on the team. Combine that with (hopefully) a healthy Bargnani and an improved DeRozan and I think it isn't too far fetched to think that Toronto could win between 35-40 games next year.

 

 

A team that I'd have in there to replace the Kings or Hornets would be the Wizards. I think they'll be in a fairly similar situation as the Raptors. I won't get as far to say that they'll be in the playoffs for sure, like the Raptors, I can see them flirting with one of those final playoff spots.

 

 

I'd also throw in the T'Wolves. Not that I think they'll make a huge leap, but I can see them finishing around .500 and considering where they were last season, I think that would be a bigger jump than either the Hornets or Kings will make.

[AJFromTheDMV]

I like some of the Kings young players, but they never seem like they can put it together. Curry/Bogut have to stay healthy for the Warriors to improve and It seems like there are too many variables for the Hornets to win 20+ more games.

[Snap's Distinct Phelps]

Sacramento is an interesting team. Sadly, if Tyreke doesn't take that next step to become an even better player, I'm afraid he wont be making much improvements in the upcoming years. I can't wait to see DeMarcus Cousins dominate and make the Kings a respectable team around the league. Sacramento has been running off the 'potential' label for the past three years now, so this is put up or shut up time for the Sactown Squad. Will they do well? My prediction is quite honestly no. I think they will suck again, but suck like the 2011 Suns and draft at around the 15th spot. Good luck.

 

Phoenix will be vastly underrated next year. I'm hoping as a homer to see us slip into the 8th seed if possible. Dragic has improved leaps and bounds, Beasley is looking to improve in Phoenix, Scola will be Scola, so I can't wait.

[SRT Spidey]

I'm shocked no one mentioned the wizards .. they improved big time

[AboveLegit]

I'm shocked no one mentioned the wizards .. they improved big time

Most are understandably skeptical on Wall, whether Wittman can finally lead a team to the playoffs as a coach (never has reached a win% of .500), and whether they have enough shooters to compliment their stars (Wall and Nene).

 

If everything works out, I can see this team cracking the top 5 in the East, but I can also see the downside to all this movement.