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Eastern Conference Playoff Teams Predictions: 2017-18 Who is going to the dance ?

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  • Eastern Conference Playoff Teams Predictions: 2017-18 Who is going to the dance ?

    Well it’s about a month till training camp opens. With the Irving trade completed the last remaining domino to fall in the NBA East is the ongoing Melo-drama in New York. Right now it looks like no one is interested in helping Daryl Morey get Carmelo for table scraps and promises into Houston…. so for all intents and purposes let’s assume Carmelo goes to camp in NYC with the laugh a minute Knicks.

    So its prediction time… who is going to go to the playoffs this year in the east?

    I see the East in 4 Tiers.

    The Contenders: Cavs / Raps / Whiz / Celtics

    Up and Coming: Milwaukee / Hinkies

    The Herd: Hornets / Pistons / Heat / Indy / Magic / Knicks

    Selling Hope for the Future Cuz we Suck so bad Right Now: Nets / Bulls / Hawks


    The Contenders:


    The Cavs, as long as number 23 suits up for them ,are a contender. The champs of the East looked to be in turmoil, but on a lazy Tuesday afternoon they fixed that with a trade. Inbound PG IThomas will not be a material downgrade from the incumbent Irving and will give them what they need at the point. His hip is a concern but he will play. Crowder is a big upgrade over Smith and Shumpert on the Wing. Thompson will clean the glass and Love will hit 3’s. Kyle Korver and Channing Frye will provide even more shooting and the shell of Derrick Gimpy Rose will backup IT. So…. They’rrrrrrre baaaack ! The Lebrons are still the big dogs in the East.

    The Raps brought back Kyle who is one of the best 3 PG’s in the East. They re-upped Serge who gives them better rebounding and better 3 point production than PPat did at the 4. Serge will and can play small ball 5. Demar is an all star 3 years running and he will be again. Have to love you can pencil in 20 plus a night from him. The guy is a machine. The combo of CJ Miles (who is a better 3 point shooter than PPat or PJ but not as good a defender) and Norm Powell who will provide on ball perimeter defense and 3 point shooting will man the 3. JV will give the team top echelon offensive and defensive rebounding, get his points from put backs and 80% FT shooting and provide what Casey and the backcourt love most... bone rattling screens. Wright, Poeltl and Siakam will be better than last year and provide more speed and athletiscm when they come in. OG Anuboby will play some but he is a rook and isn’t going to materially move the needle. Think Bruno also gets more than garbage time this year. One can tell no one in the US mainstream media really follows the Raps as they are bemoaning the loss of Demare Carroll as being a significant and impactful loss for the Raps to overcome at SF. Baahahaha

    The Whiz: The Whiz field a very good starting 5. Very Very good. Wall and Beal in the backcourt. Morris on the wing and on the block. Gortat working the PnR with Wall all night long and Porter with the outside shot and good defense. Kelly Ourbre provides a lift off the bench on the wing That’s the good news….The bad news is you need dental records to identify who the bench is. They will go as far as the starting 5 can take them. Which is home court in round 1 and someone you don’t want to see in round 2.

    ChowderHeads: I have opined at length as to why these guys aren’t as good as they hype they are getting. Sorry Rexy and Shaolin. The Celts have: Poor rebounding. Poor rim protection. High expectations for a rookie in Tatum. The same guys who touted world dominance in his rookie year for Justice Winslow are saying the same things about Tatum. That didn’t work out so much now did it. Gord Hayward is going to get his points and so is Kyrie Irving. These guys are good. However there just isn’t anyone to play defense with the departure of Crowder / Bradley / Amir . Maybe Smart but he is one guy. Gord plays on the perimeter and Kyrie has his ole badge on defense. Blend in they are going to have to integrate 11 new guys and most likely a new offensive scheme to take advantage of Irvings ISO ability. This takes time. They have it and pretty likely home court in round 1…. but they are going to be watching the guys from Milwaukee pretty close for a while.

    The Up and Comers:

    The Bucks gave the Raps a lot to handle in the playoffs but fell short. Jason Kidd ran Alphabet Soup into the ground. The Alphabet is going to be even better this year than last. So is Mr. Brodgon at the point and they get a full year of Kris Middelton. Jabari Parker is likely out till the New Year but Thon Maker could be a very welcome replacement. The Bucks are going to be good but are a year away from home court in round 1.

    The Hinkies: A lot has to go right for these guys but our boy Bryan Colangelo has set up the makings of a team. A mix of good vets and rooks with potential and a coach who finally has a chance to win rather than suck it up and lose every night to the dogmatic process. The Hinkies will get good 3 point shooting from Reddick and Covington. Amir will provide leadership and rebounds for the second unit. The Hinks year rests on the health of Joel “Stress Fracture” Embiid and the yet to be tested Ben Simmons. If these guys can play north of 70 games each this year the Hinks wont be the pushovers they have been for the last 100 years. Number 1 pick Markell Fultz will have his good nights and his not so good nights. Philly has turned the corner. They are still a couple of years away from having home court in round 1 but the shit show force fed to the good folks of Philly is over.

    The Herd.

    The Pistons picked up a real pro and a leader in Avery Bradley. He will give them defense and 3 point shooting and is an upgrade over Caldwell Pope. Drummond and Jackson have to be better than last year and the kid from Duke Kennard is a good spot up shooter. They are going to be scrapping for the 8th and last spot in the post season. The Heat aren’t as bad as their start last year nor as good as that 30 and 11 run. If Dion Waiters can keep the assmuppet stuff to a minimum and JJ can repeat last years coming out party the Heat make the playoffs this year on the back of Dragic and Whiteside and a bunch of guys with less than 1% body fat running full tilt. Not quite Loyal Marymount 7 seconds or less but close. The Hornets are rolling the dice on the locker room cancer that is Dwight Howard. Kemba Walker, MKG and the guy some RR folks wanted instead of Demar in Nick Batum missed out last year. Howard is the only real material change. Frank the Tank will pick up the slack from Marvin Williams as he ages. Malik Monk could give them shooting off the bench. Still Dwight is gonna be Dwight and its gunna be tough for the Hornets to get in. The view from this cheap seat is they are fighting for 8th. The Magic are still a work in progress. Weltman is going to earn his money patching up this mess. They are better than the selling hope tier but not by much. Look a miracle could happen. TRoss could have a year that we all waited for while he was in the Tdot. Gordon could be the SF/PF that is worth the 4th pick in the draft. Payton could develop a shot and get a haircut. Evan Fournier could have a career year. Vogel could figure out how to use Biz and Vucovic. Nah… watch for Weltman to assess what he has over the first 4 months of the season and then he and Hammond will put up the no reasonable offer refused sign and start over save for the kid from Fla State. The Knicks will again provide comedy relief from the front office with yet another crony of Dolan in as President. The Zinger is back and he gets to pair up with the PG of the future with Frank Ntlilinka (hope they spell his name right on his jersey for the home opener… they didn’t at summer league.. how Knicks is that.). Carmelo will be a distraction as he plays out the string this year. It’s sad to see so much promise end with a whimper. Indy will give it a shot with Myles Turner and the two OKC guys Sabonis and Olidipo. Corey Joe will help them but they are in the midst of a rebuild. They won’t make the post season and look for the vets.. Thad Young and Al J to be on the move at the deadline.

    Selling Hope and Futures and Whatever the Suckers will Buy as we Rebuild

    The Bulls have finally started the rebuild. Finally. They will be horrible. That’s the plan. Someone needs to pay with their job for signing the husk of a shell that is the narcissist Dwayne Wade. I will sit with a smile as the Raps beat these guys four straight this year, hopefully by 20 each game. The Hawks too are tearing it down to the studs to start over. Dennis Schroeder will learn his craft, Taureen Prince will learn to be an NBA caliber SF and only wives and girlfriends will watch these guys play in Philips Arena this year. Coach Bud will reap the stunted crop that GM Bud sowed. The Nets are going to be better. They picked up Allan Crabbe who they wanted a year ago, picked up a decent big man in the draft in Jarrett Allen to go along with the salary dump that was Mozgov, added a wildcard in D’Angelo Russell to go along with Hollis Jefferson. Its bad but its better than it was. This is the last year they play without a first round pick that is theirs. There is light at the end of the tunnel after 6 long years of Sixer grade crappiness. In a related incident UPS delivered several hundred more sharp pins were to the Nets head office to stick into the eyes of the Billy King voodoo doll that Sean Marks keeps in the bottom right hand drawer of his desk. One more year.

    For my money the Playoff Teams will be… In Order:
    1. Cavs….2. Raps…. 3.Whiz…. 4.Chowderheads….5. Bucks….6. Heat… 7. Pistons…8. Philly.


    All responses… either praising this as bang on or offering to wrap this shiite in newspaper with fish guts are welcomed. Looking forward to hearing what others think on who makes the playoffs this year and most importantly .. why.

    Have at it.
    There's no such thing as a 2nd round bust.
    - TGO

  • #2
    I think you nailed the top 8. Except for Philly. I just do not see them beating Charlotte out of the playoffs this year. maybe next year. But this upcoming season they are just too young and new. great read DS.

    Comment


    • #3
      I think the Wiz' lack of depth might catch up to them in the regular season. Boston's depth and scoring should have them a top 3 seed.

      Comment


      • #4
        I think the sixers make it. They go from having no guard play to having good guard play. I know Fultz is a rookie but they also have another #1 pick rookie to help distribute.

        Comment


        • #5
          SkywalkerAC wrote: View Post
          I think the sixers make it. They go from having no guard play to having good guard play. I know Fultz is a rookie but they also have another #1 pick rookie to help distribute.
          Kemba is underrated IMO. And they don't forget the Hornets nabbed the best SG of the draft in Malik Monk, and added Dwayne bacon for kicks.

          They are a more cohesive unit.
          Similarly like Toronto over Boston.

          Plus we haven't seen Simmons or Fultz play against the men, and Embiid struggles staying healthy.

          should be really fun to watch!!!

          Comment


          • #6
            I'm gonna guess:
            1. Cavs
            2. Celtics
            3. Raps
            4. Wizards
            5. Bucks
            6. Hornets
            7. Heat
            8. Pistons

            I'm not buying into the Philly playoff talk yet. They're pinning all their hopes on two rookies and a guy who's played like 30 games. Yes they're all extremely talented prospects, but for this coming year I don't see them in the top 8, especially with the injury concerns.
            The name's Bond, James Bond.

            Comment


            • #7
              Most likely

              1. Cavs
              2. Celtics
              3. Raptors
              4. Wizards
              5. Bucks
              6. Hornets
              7. Heat
              8. Pistons

              My preference would be to be 2/3 with Wizards and Celtics Cavs 1/4.

              Comment


              • #8
                1. Cavs
                2. Boston
                3. Wiz
                4. Raps
                5. Heat
                6. Bucks
                7/8. Philly/Hornets

                Comment


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

                  Don't like Toronto's defense much and I still question their wing depth. One Lowry injury away and we won't have CoJo to help keep things steady like last year either. However when healthy they could be a 1st seed. I'm excited to see Ibaka play all season long. It would be a treat to finally have a good PF on the roster since Bosh left.

                  Nets are going to surprise.. won't be a bottom feeder but still won't make the playoffs. East is really weak but I really don't like that Pistons team. I think they're going to struggle. I have them below the Knicks and Nets. Cavs are too strong to not take the first seed. Boston and Toronto will be neck & neck. I know Boston can't rebound or might struggle with D.. but they had those issues last season too. I really like what Stevens did with IT and Kyrie can be more dominant. So that match-up could be devastating for the league. Cavs will be too good though. Crowder fits that team so well and IT is going to have such an easy time with LBJ on the team.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    You still call them the Chowderheads Demo? haha

                    I've got......

                    1. Cavs
                    2. Raps
                    3. Celtics (I'm putting them this high out of courtesy)
                    4. Bucks
                    5. Wizards
                    6. Hornets
                    7. Heat
                    8. Philly

                    You've got to be REAL bad to not make the playoffs in the East this year

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      All good thoughts. I am going to predict Giannis is an MVP candidate by year end and Bucks get home court. Forget Irving, IT, and the Philly Kids, Giannis is the next superstar in the East.

                      The 2-5 seeds are going to be tight this year, tho. Not a lot separating these teams.
                      "We're playing in a building." -- Kawhi Leonard

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        The Bucks should have Middleton all year which should make them good all season long. I think Jabari actually hurts Giannis though. If he wasn't around I could see Giannis getting the MVP. But Jabari is going to take a lot of points and possessions away which will hurt his chances.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Also I saw a rumour that the Bucks were offering Middleton, Brodgon and a pick for Irving. Kyrie on the Bucks would make that team so good. They need a dominant PG to get to that next level.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            planetmars wrote: View Post
                            The Bucks should have Middleton all year which should make them good all season long. I think Jabari actually hurts Giannis though. If he wasn't around I could see Giannis getting the MVP. But Jabari is going to take a lot of points and possessions away which will hurt his chances.
                            I think your right .. Parker for how good he is takes away from the Alphabets game. Pretty sure Parker has had the bad luck to have torn his ACL in the same knee twice now. No time line for his return .. but he did it last February... so even without a medical degree have to think its going to be at least a year before he gets cleared...

                            Giannas will be the centre piece of the Bucks this year with no drag from Parker till maybe the playoffs.
                            There's no such thing as a 2nd round bust.
                            - TGO

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              007 wrote: View Post
                              I'm gonna guess:
                              1. Cavs
                              2. Celtics
                              3. Raps
                              4. Wizards
                              5. Bucks
                              6. Hornets
                              7. Heat
                              8. Pistons

                              I'm not buying into the Philly playoff talk yet. They're pinning all their hopes on two rookies and a guy who's played like 30 games. Yes they're all extremely talented prospects, but for this coming year I don't see them in the top 8, especially with the injury concerns.
                              Its a leap of faith on Philly for me... I like that they have signed some guys who will contribute both on the floor and in the room with Amir and JJ Reddick.....I think thats enough of an edge in a pretty bland middle tier of teams in the East this year.

                              Under the deptarment of woulda.. coulda.. shoulda.... just think if Hinkie had picked the Zinger instead of Okafor at 3 in 2015.
                              There's no such thing as a 2nd round bust.
                              - TGO

                              Comment

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