I've been looking at the conference standings from last year and this year, and the first thing that jumps out is how much drastically worse the East is this year. Last year, the 7 seed had an above .500 record (Charlotte, 43-39). Only the 8 seed had sub .500 record (Atlanta, 38-44), and they ended up being a pretty damn good 8 seed, just started rough due to injuries and learning a new system
This year, only 5 teams in the East are above .500, with Milwaukee having a chance to get back to/over .500 before the seasons over.
So Casey got an improved squad (added Lou and JJ), more experienced young guys (JV, Ross), an entire offseason to cement his system with these guys, an entire season with the same team (no trades), and the oft lauded "continuity" in that we brought back all the key players from last season. The conference is significantly worse, and yet we might not even get back to the same win total.
I'm not sure if it can be any clearer that Casey already peaked with this team and it's time to move on.
This year, only 5 teams in the East are above .500, with Milwaukee having a chance to get back to/over .500 before the seasons over.
So Casey got an improved squad (added Lou and JJ), more experienced young guys (JV, Ross), an entire offseason to cement his system with these guys, an entire season with the same team (no trades), and the oft lauded "continuity" in that we brought back all the key players from last season. The conference is significantly worse, and yet we might not even get back to the same win total.
I'm not sure if it can be any clearer that Casey already peaked with this team and it's time to move on.
Comment