EPTNBA Preseason 2010 - Page 3
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zulu_nation8
China26351 Posts
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Judicator
United States7270 Posts
On October 15 2010 08:00 zulu_nation8 wrote: I would consider getting an 8th seed as an extremely successful season for the Knicks. Unfortunately, it's New York. | ||
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jtype
England2167 Posts
On October 15 2010 07:55 zerious wrote: Bargnani is playing terrible atm, what erks me about him watching the preseason is that, he's still clueless on help defense. The worst thing for me, I think, is that I know he can do so much better. He showed some flair, once or twice, but no consistency whatsoever, nor any defensive capability, as you said. | ||
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Ace
United States16096 Posts
Heat Bulls Magic Hawks Bucks ------------------------ The next 2 spots are a toss up but I think Indiana is going to make it for sure barring a major injury bug. The Nets are better than the Knicks. Bobcats are better than both of them. Going to be hard for the Knicks to get in the playoffs, and then make it to round 2? lol. | ||
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Servolisk
United States5241 Posts
I would say even the top teams of the ECF are vulnerable. The Magic are too capable of underperforming again. The Celtics of course have age and injury worries. Miami is scary but not invincible. I feel there isn't much of a set hierachy in the East this year. | ||
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d_so
Korea (South)3262 Posts
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Servolisk
United States5241 Posts
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Ace
United States16096 Posts
The top 3 in the East are a sure thing. Chicago, Atlanta and Milwaukee are the next tier of teams. The Bulls barely made it because Noah, their budding All-Star center was out for what, 20 games or something? Even without Boozer they are a lock for top 5, probably even 4th. Everyone is high on them because they have the potential to be a Finals contender in a few years. Milwaukee was always good. Always had some brutal schedules and still managed to be one of the best defensive teams in the league. Honestly it was only a matter of time for them and once they got Jennings and Salmons they almost made it to the second round. That Eryan Ilyasova dude is also pretty good (misspelled his name I'm sure). Atlanta is Atlanta. Won't be making it out of the first round this year unless Joe Johnson gets better. Now how do the Knicks even compare to these dudes? Amare and Gallinari are the best players on their team. No way is that enough to even be THINKING about second round. They need to make it to a 4th seed to even get a matchup that won't result in them getting swept. Not happening. They'll barely make it as of the current roster. | ||
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Servolisk
United States5241 Posts
I don't think Milwaukee is a great defense. TBH I did not watch a great deal of them, but I never saw anyone struggle vs. them. I just looked up their defensive ranking and they were 19th last season. But I can accept what you say about Milwaukee but I still don't get how even those things you mentioned make them a distinctive team. And keep in mind Bogut is not back yet and he is going to be limited all season. I can easily see Milwaukee getting passed by a number of teams that were bad last year (Indiana, Detroit, NY, and others). As for NY, Amare is kind of a big deal (IMO best PF in the game). I don't think Gallinari is their 2nd best player. I don't think Gallinari is very good now, but he can be a good role player and is a useful mismatch for them. NY is now full of good role players, some of whom are still raw, but have bright futures in the short term future. They have good chemistry and intangibles too. If I had to bet on them at this point of the season beating Milwaukee or Atlanta in a 7 game series, I would. Would not be surprised if they beat Chicago either. Lots of potential on their team. | ||
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cSc
49 Posts
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Servolisk
United States5241 Posts
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igotmyown
United States4291 Posts
They're going to have to do a lot more before they're a lock to be a contender in the east, or even a team to be afraid of. | ||
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zerious
Canada3803 Posts
On October 15 2010 11:57 Servolisk wrote: As for NY, Amare is kind of a big deal (IMO best PF in the game).. Really? Homerism much? A guy that plays zero defense is the best PF in the league? One of the best offensively?, sure he's top 3-4, I think Dirk, Bosh and ironically, Lee are better. I'll have to wait and see what he does without Nash this year before I even consider him a top 3 PF. | ||
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DannyJ
United States5110 Posts
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d_so
Korea (South)3262 Posts
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Holcan
Canada2593 Posts
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imweakless
757 Posts
On October 15 2010 13:06 d_so wrote: amare's good but he's definitely replaceable; don't forget how easily diaw and co filled in for amare when he was gone several years ago and who would you replace? he is much more versatile now so when the man is hot he cant be stopp | ||
XaI)CyRiC
United States4471 Posts
On October 15 2010 11:57 Servolisk wrote: I don't think Chicago has proven anything, especially being a Finals contender in a few years. It depends on if Rose turns into a MVP player or not, and I don't think it is likely. Noah and Boozer are good, but I don't think they have enough out of their top 3 guys to be a finals contender. I wonder if the coaching change will cause an improvement by itself now that they have a defensive guru, who is also a rookie head coach. I don't think Milwaukee is a great defense. TBH I did not watch a great deal of them, but I never saw anyone struggle vs. them. I just looked up their defensive ranking and they were 19th last season. But I can accept what you say about Milwaukee but I still don't get how even those things you mentioned make them a distinctive team. And keep in mind Bogut is not back yet and he is going to be limited all season. I can easily see Milwaukee getting passed by a number of teams that were bad last year (Indiana, Detroit, NY, and others). As for NY, Amare is kind of a big deal (IMO best PF in the game). I don't think Gallinari is their 2nd best player. I don't think Gallinari is very good now, but he can be a good role player and is a useful mismatch for them. NY is now full of good role players, some of whom are still raw, but have bright futures in the short term future. They have good chemistry and intangibles too. If I had to bet on them at this point of the season beating Milwaukee or Atlanta in a 7 game series, I would. Would not be surprised if they beat Chicago either. Lots of potential on their team. Chicago seems like a strong contender because of their talented core of Rose, Noah and Boozer (maybe include Deng there depending on how you see him). Despite having a shit coach for two seasons in Del Negro (yay Clippers!), the Bulls managed to make it into the playoffs and put up some stiff competition against some elite teams. Rose and Noah have improved each season they've been in the league, and are amongst the best at what they do (scoring and creating offense for Rose, and rebounding and defense for Noah), so just the expectation of their continued growth should place them in the playoffs. Boozer may be out now, but he'll be back soon enough and they've got a promising coach in Thibodeau who could turn an already solid defensive team into a juggernaut on that end of the floor. I'm not as high on them as some others, but I don't think you can doubt that they'll make the playoffs based on what you can see now. As for Milwaukee, I'm not sure where you looked up your rankings and stats, but my research has them as one of the top defensive teams in the league last season. Hollinger's defensive efficiency stat places them in 3rd overall, and basketball-reference places them 7th in PTS allowed, 10th in FG% allowed, 2nd in defensive rating, 8th in EFG% allowed, and 4th in opponent TO%. It's not surprising as it's Skiles' MO to walk in and immediately make drastic improvements to a team's defense. I think they have a good shot at making the playoffs with that defense, a rising star in Jennings, Bogut (who will be limited, but I expect still quite effective), and a solid roster around them (Salmons, Delfino, Maggette, Ilyasova, etc.). I have my doubts about NY because D'Antoni's system appears to need an elite PG to make it work, and Felton is far from that. Amare is the only Allstar-level talent they have on their roster, and he's not exactly known for playing defense or making his teammates better. One of the best finishers and scorers in the league for certain, but he hasn't shown any indication of being able to lead a team thus far. The rest of the team is a lot of unrealized potential (Gallinari, Randolph, Douglas, etc.) and I don't see (and haven't read anything that would suggest) the chemistry and intangibles that you referenced. They'd have a puncher's chance of beating a team in a 7-game series with their offensive potential alone, but the lack of any defense prevents them from being taken seriously. Nothing is set there except that Amare is the best player and #1 option and everything else is still being figured out as they play. They're far from hopeless, but I don't see evidence to support the enthusiasm. | ||
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eStoniaNBoY
Switzerland439 Posts
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Ace
United States16096 Posts
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