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  • OK… the long hot summer is here and with it comes the end of the NBA offseason. Summer League is over and done. Free Agency has closed. The Draft is in the books with each team supremely confident that the player they got was the one they couldn’t believe was available to them in their draft slot.
    Magoon has provided the roadmap in a post prior to this one. Let’s have a look at each team in a little more detail and how they matchup to the current NBA champions.

    First up, The Hinkies.

    The Hinkies are different team than last year and we will see once the season begins if they are different AND better or just different. Continuity is something that’s generally regarded as a good thing but isn’t paid much attention to. The Hinkies return 3 of their starting 5 and 5 of the 10 likely to see floor time on a regular basis. Integrating 5 new guys will take some time.

    The Bigs: Embiid + Horford + Mike Scott + Kyle O’Quinn vs Serge+ Marc+ Pascal + Boucher/RHJ.
    The Wings: Harris +Richardson + Two Rooks in Smith and Thybulle vs OG+Johnson + Norm + McCaw
    Ballhandlers: Simmons and someone named Shake vs Lowry + Freddy.

    The strength of the Hinkies is in the front court. Al Horford is a huge upgrade over last year when the Hinkies had no playable centres when Embidd subbed out. O’Quinn will give them situation minutes when Horford shifts to PF and Mike Scott makes his fair share of 3s as the stretch 4. What will make or break the Hinkies front court this year is what kind of shape Joel Embiid shows up in. In his 6th year now Embiid has sat out 2 ½ seasons and missed chunks of others. When he plays its in shorter bursts as his cardio is abysmal. If he doesn’t show up in shape then Marc Gasol will be able to limit him offensively. If he finally does show up in shape then the league should be worried. Serge will have to step up to take on Al Horford which he has shown he can do. Al is the better rebounder. It’s a bit of a draw on offense. Pascal should be able to keep Scott in check while taking advantage of him on the offensive end. O’Quinn brings sandpaper and rebounding and is a quality situational big.
    So have to give the edge to Philly but not by that big a margin. If Embiid is in good shape Al and he get the easy nod over Marc and Serge and Embiid will make life tough for Siakam inside. However if Joel is still drinking Shirley Temples and eating cheeseburgers the edge diminishes substantially.

    On the wing the Sixers sport Harris and Josh Richardson and a bunch of guys named Moe. The Hinks are top heavy at the position. The guys named Moe have to play bigger minutes and they are 1st and 2nd year guys. With no Leonard the big edge the Raps enjoyed is now reduced from a big nod to neutral or less. OG is going to have to stay with Harris and on the surface of it that’s going to be hard to do. Norm should be able to stay with Josh Richardson and that’s a saw off. The Raps get an edge on the rotation players as Stanley Johnson and Patrick McCaw will be better than the two rookies. Technically Zharie Smith isn’t a rook but he redshirted last year. Thybulle is a 20th pick overall. Who knows what this guy has. The scary part for Philly is every first they make seems to miss the entire first year. So can the Raps make up for lost netted points with the starters with the bench.

    The Ballhandlers for Philly are Ben “No Jimmy” Simmons and some guy named Shake. The Raps counter with Kyle and Freddy. Freddy had his struggles with the big lineup the Sixers put on the floor in the playoffs but that was before his defining run against the Bucks and Warriors. Have to like Freddys chances to not only hold his own against Shake but maybe really take advantage of him. Without Leonard Kyle will not be able to switch off Simmons as much as the Raps might like but Kyle has proved that posting him up isn’t as easy as it might seem. Couple that with no jump shot from Ben and Kyle can hold his own on the arc against Simmons. As tough a defender in the post as he is Kyle will still need a help defender when Simmons makes his drive to the basket if he is one on one with Lowry. Lowry will get his points against Simmons off screens that Ben doesn’t particularly like to work through. All in all the nod here goes to the Raps.

    Fully expect the season series to be a split.But in a 7 game series the Hinkies will be favoured. Can the Raps take them in a first to four ? Yes..but between now and the playoffs the Raps are going to have to find more more juice on the wing than they have now. OG has to have a Siakam type year.

    Next Up. The Alphabet led Bucks.
    There's no such thing as a 2nd round bust.
    - TGO

    Comment


    • The Bucks.

      The Bucks will go as far as their transcendent MVP calibre player can carry them. The Greek Freak is a no debate top 3 player in the league. When he has the ball at the top of the key with a bit of space or if he is has a head of steam on the break he is almost impossible to contain. The NBA allows travelling and calls it a Eurostep and Giannas takes full advantage of that on the break and when he makes his move to the basket. He will carry the Bucks again this year and he is a very determined individual. But even superman has to take his cape to the drycleaner every now and again and we saw that in the ECF. The Raps exposed the flaw in the Alphabets game with his inability to consistently hit a jumper. The Raps busted hump to make him a shooter and when he didn’t make them Giannas put his head down and tried to bull his way to the rim. We all saw the result. As good as he is that gap in his shooting game was and can be exploited given the time to game plan for it in a playoff series. The Raps were able to choke off and then virtually shut down his iso offense with Gasol and a help defender. Look for the Alphabet to continue to hoist up a bazillion jumpers from the arc to rectify what the world saw in May. Can he do it ? We shall see. The Bucks didn't have a draft pick this year and they lost a couple of floor spacers for the Alphabet in Mirotic and Brogdon. They picked up a back up C in the other Lopez and what looks to be a bit of a stop gap one year look see with Wesley Mathews. Indiana needed shooting as well and let him go. Still the Bucks have Giannas and Middleton and some very sobering and motivating playoff experience. They merit being the favourites this year.

      The Bigs: Brook and Robin Lopez + Giannas + Illyasova vs. Serge+ Marc+ Pascal + Boucher/RHJ.
      The Wings: Middleton + Korver + Mathews + DiVencenzo +Connaguton vs OG+Johnson + Norm + McCaw
      Ballhandlers: Bledsoe and Hill vs. Lowry + Freddy.

      Much like the Hinkies the Bucks strength is in their frontcourt with their bigs.. Brook Lopez has transformed himself into a Channing Frye like dependable big who can hit threes at a high rate. He won game of the ECF for the Bucks. They guy is good. Compound that with The Alphabet. Sadly for the league’s coaches he is only going to get better Look for another laser focused MVP season from Giannas. Illyasova though is as slow as they come but he can still be counted on to space the floor when his shot is falling. Robin Lopez is the yin to Brook's yang. He can be employed to go inside as well as eat up offensive rebounds.
      So what can the Raps do ? While indeed it’s a daunting task the blueprint is there on how to slow Giannas down. Gasol is still going to suit up and Nurse has multiple big body wing help defenders to emulate Leonard. Are they as good as Kawhi ? No. Will they help to the point of causing some speedbumps for Giannas. Yes. The Raps were able to run Ersan off the floor and they can likely to it again.
      WIth Giannas the edge clearly goes to the Bucks up front as it would with pretty much every team in the NBA. They question remains can the Raps slow Giannas down enough for other aspects of their game to overcome the Bucks ?

      The Bucks wing depth has been compromised with the loss of Brogdon and Mirotic. That consistent 3 point shooting barrage isn’t what it was last year with their departure. So it’s now the Kris Middelton show. Kris is up to the feature billing but if he falters there really isn't a whole lot to throw into the breach. DiVincenzo has finished his rookie campaign and brings a pantload of intensity but he is unproven. Connaughton showed flashes in the playoffs but if you look closely once the Bucks disposed of the moribund Pistons and the surrender monkey effort of the Celtics in round 2 he got schooled by the Raps and hit the pine. Kyle Korver is new and adds some veteran depth. Deep depth I think. His best days are in the rearview mirror. The Raps can counter Middelton with a tag team of OG and Johnson and RHJ to make him work for everything he can get. The Raps have enough defensive wings to really slow him down. After Middelton the Bucks are a little lighter on the wing than they were. Norm makes a habit of killing them. The Raps may have a micro metre more offense from their wings if they can contain Middleton. It’s a draw on the wing.

      The Bucks ballhandlers are George Hill and Eric Bledsoe. Hill likely gets the keys to the offense now that Brogdon is down the road in Indy. So which George Hill do we see? The guy in Cleveland or the guy in Sacramento? George is the same age as Kyle but has not had the career Kyle has had. His running mate on the point will be Eric Bledsoe who blows hot and cold. Unfortunately for the Bucks its usually pretty cold in the playoffs. Freddy and Kyle won’t have to contend with the much taller Brogdon and if we believe Jack Armstrong when he says it’s a guard’s league the Raps hold the edge here.

      Season series will prolly go the Bucks as Coach Bud has the Casey gene in him that wants to win every game. In a seven game series the Bucks will be favoured same as the Hinkies and they will again likely have home court if it goes the distance. They have Giannas. Can the Raps take the Bucks again…. Hey it’s in their heads that they coughed up a 2 to 0 lead and then got swept. Bud hasn’t won a conference title but is the king of the regular season. The Raps still have Gasol and a trio of bigger wings to try it again. Hey.. On a clear day with no wind… you never know but have to think the Bucks take this iteration of the Raps in another series that goes a minimum 6 games.

      Next up: Put up or shut up time for the Chowders.
      There's no such thing as a 2nd round bust.
      - TGO

      Comment


      • Demographic Shift wrote: View Post
        The Bucks.

        The Wings: Middleton + Korver + Mathews + DiVencenzo +Connaguton vs OG+Johnson + Norm + McCaw

        It’s a draw on the wing.
        lol.

        Comment


        • The just blatant homerism...

          Comment


          • golden wrote: View Post

            lol.
            Yeah it was close....

            The Raps have 2 guys who have made the journey to the NBA finals in Norm and McCaw and who contributed along the way. Norm with the Raps and McCaw with the Warriors. They also sport a still promising wing in OG who had last years season derailed by the worst luck you could imagine (death in the family, a fluke concky, and then the appendicitis that of course had complications and he sat out the post season) . They have a guy named Moe in Johnson...

            The Bucks have a Derozan-esque all star in Middleton who melted down the stretch against the raps./ They have 2 guys named Moe in DiVincenzo and Connaughton along with a playing out the string duo of Korver and Mathews...

            I waffled between giving a slight edge to the Bucks.. but after looking at that depth chart in Milwaukee its not exactly a who's who of talent... I settled on a draw.

            Thanks for your detailed rebuttal though
            .
            Last edited by Demographic Shift; Mon Jul 22, 2019, 05:23 PM.
            There's no such thing as a 2nd round bust.
            - TGO

            Comment


            • Shaolin Fantastic wrote: View Post
              The just blatant homerism...
              Just getting in touch with my inner ESPN.
              Thanks for your continued support.
              There's no such thing as a 2nd round bust.
              - TGO

              Comment


              • Middleton alone gives Milwaukee a significant edge on the wing, unless it turns out that Matt Thomas is a Ray-Allen-esque superstar (which he totally definitely is so nevermind).

                The conversation becomes more interesting a couple seasons from now as Middleton gets into the uglier portion of that contract and the Raptors' younger wings are heading into their prime (OG especially) - and the timing on that is auspicious.
                twitter.com/dhackett1565

                Comment


                • The Chowders

                  The Chowders enter this season coming off what can only be described as the full Hindenburg experience. The 67 win team that was going to terrorize the NBA for the next decade is no more. The locker room fractured at some point last season and the divide between the younger players that were to be the Celts future and the older guys that were going to provide the win now horsepower and show the kids how its done never healed. Dynasty building 101 went pfffft.

                  The final nail in the Chowders coffin and the aforementioned soul crushing Hindenburg end to their dream season came when the Chowderheads had their asses handed to them by the Bucks in a meow like second round playoff exit. The gentleman’s sweep was bad but the manner in which they rolled over and mailed it in after game 2 made change inevitable.

                  Gone is Kyrie Irving. Gone is Marcus Morris. Gone is Al Horford. Gone is Aaron Baynes. Gone for now is Brads coaching genius certificate. Gone too is the faux glow of Danny Ainge being one of the sharpest GMs in the association. Ainge squandered the equivalent of Jeff Bezos assets. What seemed like thousands of draft choices headed by all those high Brooklyn picks and generous cap room is gone. Trader Danny is suddenly left with a mostly young team with promise led by Free Agent Kemba Walker and a redemption seeking Gordon Hayward. The Celts added a couple more mid first round draft picks and had to make room for them by cutting a couple of mid first round picks selected a year or two before. Not exactly shrewd asset management. If the Chowders stumble out of the gate both the GM and Coaching seats in Boston if not white hot might be at the least warm. It really is put up or shut up time in Boston.

                  The Bigs: Ennes Kanter + Daniel Theis + Robert Williams + Vincent Poirer and Taco Fell vs. Serge+ Marc+ Pascal + Boucher/RHJ.
                  The Wings: Tatum + Brown + Hayward + Smart + Ojelye + Langford vs OG+Johnson + Norm + McCaw
                  Ballhandlers: Walker and rookie Edwards vs. Lowry + Freddy.

                  Unlike the Bucks and Hinkies Bostons front court is pretty thin. Enes Kanter will get the Chowders points off the pick and roll with Walker and with an assortment of putbacks, tip ins and short range jumpers. Kanter has courage as we saw him play on a bad arm and shoulder for Portland last year but both he and a game but undertalented Thies will be eaten alive on the defensive end. Rebounding is going to be a problem as well on the defensive glass. Serge and Marc will be able to play both inside and on the perimeter against the Celts. They don’t have anyone who can guard Siakam. Without Hordford and Baynes its going to be Taco Tuesday for the Raps bigs against the Celtics. Big Edge to the Raps.

                  The Chowders wings are the strength of this team. Conventional wisdom says Hayward and Brown and Tatum and Smart just out talent the Raps wings. They are not without their question marks though. Smart still can’t shoot but makes up for that with skin tight defense. One of those guys you hate because he isn’t on your team where you’d love him. Hayward should have shaken off any semblance of that injury and with a full season under his belt he should be good health wise. Still last year was poor for Hayward. An outlier of a year or the new normal ? Tatums development was sideways last year. Not enough minutes as the number 2 or even 3 option and too many mid range jumpers. The minutes will be there this year. So will first team defense. Brown is a wild card. He is on his fourth year team option. He is playing for his next contract be it in Boston or elsewhere. He is a talent but he was forced to take a back seat to Hayward and Tatum and Morris. Morris is gone. Hayward isn’t. This guy still has more upside than he has shown. Maybe Brad gets his coaching genius license renewed if he can coax an all star type season out of Brown.

                  The Raps wings will put up a solid defensive effort against the Celts wings but don’t have near the offense that Bostons 4 will bring. It won’t be as lopsided as the shitkicking their bigs will take from the Raps but the Celtics wings win this matchup most nights. On the nights they lose it.. it will be because of below average three point shooting. Still the edge to the Chowders.

                  Kemba Walker comes in to replace the offensively talented Kyrie Irving as the primary ballhandler and scorer. The hope in Boston is that he can fully backfill Kyrie on the scoresheet and that he won’t be the world class nob that Irving was last year that forced Ainge to break up the team. He should get close on offense and blow the doors off as a better teammate. Behind him is first year man Carsen Edwards. Both Walker and Edwards are not big guards that give the Raps trouble. Kyle and Freddy in aggregate get the edge here as Edwards is a first year guy and will have his growing pains.


                  The season series I think splits. It might be important for the Raps to try to actually win it as it could dictate seeding in a 4 vs 5 matchup in the post season. In a 7 game playoff its also going to be close. To go the Raps way Bostons offense will have to bog down at the hands of a very good Raptors defensive team. Its not such a leap as Bostons offence chugged a lot last year and it had Horford and Irving at the controls. Yet even then closing time more often than not turned into the Irving iso show. Walker is good but not as good as Irving one on one. And to the delight of us all … AL Horford won’t be on the floor this year Nod to the Raps in the playoffs.

                  Next up The Should be surprisingly good Pacers
                  Last edited by Demographic Shift; Tue Jul 23, 2019, 12:39 AM.
                  There's no such thing as a 2nd round bust.
                  - TGO

                  Comment


                  • I'm with Dan. Middleton is an excellent role player. He's a top tier role player. The Raptors have no one who's stepped up close to that level as of yet.

                    Comment


                    • Apollo wrote: View Post
                      I'm with Dan. Middleton is an excellent role player. He's a top tier role player. The Raptors have no one who's stepped up close to that level as of yet.
                      I think thats what I said in the post and in response to the same question from Golden. Its not Middleton that is in question in Milwaukee...
                      Its the guys behind him.
                      Its unlilkey Kris plays 42 to 44 minutes a game even with Bud gunning for another 60 win season.
                      .
                      So when he sits its the DVincenzos, Connaughtons, a going to be 39 year old Kyle Korver when the playoffs begin and the now well travelled Wes Mathews who are thrown into the breach. Confidence levels will vary between observers on this mix of rooks and vets

                      The Raps don't have a wing the calibre of Middleton. However in aggregate they do have wings that to me that are better than the rest of the Bucks players. Again mileage will vary depending your viewpoint.
                      Last edited by Demographic Shift; Tue Jul 23, 2019, 08:36 AM.
                      There's no such thing as a 2nd round bust.
                      - TGO

                      Comment


                      • The Pacers

                        The Pacers are the Bucks of a couple or three years ago. The team most hold the view of the team most likely to break through to contender status. I thought that last year as well but shit happens and the season ending injury to their best player , Victor Olidipo, took the Pacers out of the mix last year. Olidipo will be back this year and the hope in Indy is that their star player gets on the court around the Christmas or New Years time frame. It will take time to get his legs and shake the rust off but this is the best Christmas present the Pacers could get. Without Victor O. the Pacers got bounced in the first round (yet again) largely because of a paucity of offense. They would just go stone cold for a quarter and could never get back in it. They led the Chowders in the second half of every playoff game and for whatever reason the power just went off. The only offense they got came from Bojan Bogdonovich who put the team on his back and gave it all he had but without support it wasn’t enough. OK that gets addressed with Victor coming back and with Bojan on the court that could be fixed

                        … except BB got a great offer and is now in Utah. They got nothing from Mathews and Joseph. It got worse when their starting PG Darren Collison unexpectedly announced his retirement and Tyreke Evans was found to be self practicing sports medicine without a license and got suspended. Just effing Ouch.

                        Well not really as it turns out. Enter Kevin Pritchard. As the offseason kicked off the Phoenix Suns parted ways with TJ Warren who they sent to Indy as a decent backfill for Bojan. The moronic Suns front office sent the very serviceable Warren and the32 pick to Indy for cash. Yes you read that correctly. No assets going back to Phoenix. Just money. Google fucktard and you will see an 8 x 10 pic of the Suns front office. That was a nice start. At the draft they picked up a serious wide body who can play inside out in Goga B. He is raw and Myles Turner is their guy in the middle but Turner can’t hang inside with the likes of Jordan, Embiid, Lopez and Gasol who play for the upper tier in the East. Goga will be that guy now when the Pacers need to counter the physical side of the game. Prolly not in his first year but he is 20 and he is from Soviet Georgia. Not much is going to phase that guy.

                        Then the landscape in Indy underwent another seismic shift for the better in Bankers Field House with the arrival of Malcom Brogdon to run the point. They also got Raptor killer Jeremy Lamb who signed up to provide more 3 point shooting from the wing. Not only did the Pacers fix their offensive shortcomings… they got younger in the process. Nate McMillan is going into his 4th year with perhaps his best team and the very competent and stable front office under Kevin Pritchard had yet another good year in the offseason to add to the big win they got in the George trade. Hear those footsteps Raps fans… Indy is coming.

                        The Bigs: Turner + Sabonis + Leaf + Goga B vs. Serge+ Marc+ Pascal + Boucher/RHJ.
                        The Wings: Olidipo + Warren + Lamb + Dougie McBuckets vs OG +Johnson + Norm + McCaw
                        Ballhandlers: Brogdon + McConnell + Aaron Holiday vs. Lowry + Freddy.

                        Serge and JV handled Indys C’s pretty well last year and there is no reason to think that Serge and Marc won’t come out on top over Turner and Goga this year either. Down the road it won’t be the same story as we won’t have either co starting C’s but this year we have them and that’s not good news for Indy. Serge can outmuscle Turner if he stays down low and can stay with him on the perimeter. Gasol will draw Turner out on the offensive end and will hit the Raps wings and Siakam on cutters as well as setting up 3s for Lowry and Freddy. Turner will counter by hitting his share of 3s but is not the passer that Gasol is. Siakam is quicker than Sabonis who gets timed up and down the floor with a calander and he is just flat out better than TJ Leaf. Pascal can’t match Domantas’s physicality inside so if Turner can utilize some big to big passing Sabonis will get his inside on Siakam. All in all you have to give the nod to the Raps Bigs.

                        On the wing Indy has some pretty good looking players. TJ Warrens game is similar to Tobias Harris’s in that he can slash and hit jumpers. He is not as good as Harris is but he is a threat and will have to be accounted for. Jeremy Lamb escaped Charlotte where careers go to die and will provide instant offence off the bench and McBuckets is a depth piece coming in off the bench. When Olipdipo gets back this group is going to a pantload. The Raps can counter with OG on Warren and Norm on Lamb and hold their own…but when Vic gets back it’s a different story. The nod to Indy here .

                        Malcom Fucking Brogdon. Get ready to hear that a lot this year. The Bucks made a mistake by giving Bledsoe a contract that seems to have precluded them from paying a guy who can be and likely will be an All Star calibre PG in the east for a while. It is what it is. Brogdon is a tall point guard at 6’6” who can drive to the basket and hit the 3 at a high rate. He will make life miserable for Kyle and Fred. Indy likes the waterbug fast Aaron Holiday for a change of pace and got a depth piece in TJ McConnell. Usually the Raps ballhandlers get the nod. Not here.. It’s a draw.

                        This is a playoff matchup the Raps would like to avoid. The Raps can hold their own in the frontcourt to the point of making McMillan consider day drinking but on the wing and in the backcourt the Pacers are a bad matchup for the Raps. This is playoff matchup the Raps don’t want to see because if they do it won’t be pretty. Nod to Indy in a 7 game series especially if Olidpio is running on all cylinders.


                        Next up. Kyrie and Kevins Excellent Adventure in NYC
                        There's no such thing as a 2nd round bust.
                        - TGO

                        Comment


                        • Demographic Shift wrote: View Post

                          I think thats what I said in the post and in response to the same question from Golden. Its not Middleton that is in question in Milwaukee...
                          Its the guys behind him.
                          Its unlilkey Kris plays 42 to 44 minutes a game even with Bud gunning for another 60 win season.
                          .
                          So when he sits its the DVincenzos, Connaughtons, a going to be 39 year old Kyle Korver when the playoffs begin and the now well travelled Wes Mathews who are thrown into the breach. Confidence levels will vary between observers on this mix of rooks and vets

                          The Raps don't have a wing the calibre of Middleton. However in aggregate they do have wings that to me that are better than the rest of the Bucks players. Again mileage will vary depending your viewpoint.
                          I'd take Middleton over the Raptors' assortment of meh coming off the bench.

                          Comment


                          • Apollo wrote: View Post

                            I'd take Middleton over the Raptors' assortment of meh coming off the bench.
                            yeah well.. you would be hard pressed to find anyone who would say that anyone the raptors have right now is better than kris middleton...
                            but thats not what was under discussion.

                            the discussion point that i thought we were on was that the raps guys.. in aggregate... are better than what the Bucks can put on the floor when middleton sits...
                            There's no such thing as a 2nd round bust.
                            - TGO

                            Comment


                            • The Nets

                              The Nets were the feel good team of last year. After years of doing penance for the Billy King trade with the Chowderheads they finally crawled out from underneath that millstone and moved out of the basement. They played an uptempo style with likeable players they had rescued (thanks LA Lakers for DAngelo Russell and Orlando Magic for Joe Harris and the Chicago Bulls for Spencer Dinwidde), or were able to acquire through trades, or used what ever 1st round draft picks they could get from absorbing some bad contracts (Carris LeVert) .

                              The Nets put themselves in the playoff race this year. They almost fell short having to play the worst 20 game closing stretch of any team courtesy of the evil NBA schedule maker. But they won enough games to get in.

                              Slow and steady right … Well to borrow the Monty Python line “and now for something completely different” the Nets blew it up and went off the reservation and signed Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and DeAndre Jordan and let their star player DAngelo Russell walk in FA. The NBA. Nothing quite like it save for a night in the casino in Macau.

                              This year Durant won’t suit up and that’s material. He will in 2020 and that’s when the clock starts on the Nets finals chances. But for this year for better or worse it’s the Kyrie and DeAndre show.

                              How good will the Nets be…well it’s the playoffs for sure.. but it won’t be home court.


                              The Bigs: Jordan + Allen + Prince + Kurucs + Claxton vs. Serge+ Marc+ Pascal + Boucher/RHJ.
                              The Wings: Harris + LeVert + Temple vs OG +Johnson + Norm + McCaw
                              Ballhandlers: Irving + Dinwidde vs. Lowry + Freddy.

                              DeAndre Jordan has bounced around a fair bit since LOB City and its not talking smack to say he isn’t the player he was then. He can make foul shots now though. Jared Allen is a promising young big but was shown up by Joel Embiid in the playoffs because he lacks the physical strength at his age to push back. Still the combo is pretty good 1-2 pairing. The Nets dumped some salary and a pick to free up room for Kyrie and Kevin and the price they will pay is a hole at PF this year. They sport Taurean Prince. All in all Siakam and Serge and Marc should be able to handle the new but perhaps not improved Nets bigs and front court. Nod to the Raps till Durant gets back.

                              On the Wing the Nets parted ways with Russell and DeMarre Carroll. Russells departure hurts.. Carroll’s not so much. Joe Harris is a young Kyle Korver and will be able to stretch the floor and get points on a lot of nights. ts. The nights he is cold though he may as well not dress. Caris Levert is a keeper and will likely make a step this year. Garrett Temple is a veteran presence who plays enough defense and makes enough shots that he will win a a few Gerald Henderson awards. Giving the smallest of nods to the Raps wings on this matchup this year.

                              The Nets now have Kyrie at the point as the number 1 ballhandler instead of Russell. Same old same old as once again its old home week as he matches up with Kyle. From Cleveland to Boston to Brooklyn these two have had at it… Irving is a lights out scorer but isn’t at his best in the other aspects of the game. Assists.. steals… rebounding and making the players around you better is where Kyle shines and he does this on a nightly basis. It helps his team win tight ball games. Irving bets it all on his scoring and he is damn good at it. Dinwidde is as streaky a player as they come.. He is a tall guard but his defense is so so and he does not make his living breaking you down off the bounce. He is a no conscience 3 point shooter and will take that shot early or middle or late in any game. The talent is with the Nets .. but knowing how to win is with the Raps duo. A draw.

                              The Raps calling card will be defense this year. In a seven game series they have enough of that to take the Nets if there is a 3 – 6 or a 4-5 matchup.

                              Next up... The Magic
                              There's no such thing as a 2nd round bust.
                              - TGO

                              Comment


                              • Demographic Shift wrote: View Post

                                yeah well.. you would be hard pressed to find anyone who would say that anyone the raptors have right now is better than kris middleton...
                                but thats not what was under discussion.

                                the discussion point that i thought we were on was that the raps guys.. in aggregate... are better than what the Bucks can put on the floor when middleton sits...
                                Well, obviously, the Raptors are maybe a little better for 10-12 minutes a game when Middleton sits. But the Bucks are better (and probably more than a little better) for the other 36-38 when he plays... so hard to call that a draw.
                                twitter.com/dhackett1565

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