Where Do The Raptors Rank In The East?

[Demographic Shift]

Its now game 12 of the Nets season and Kyrie Irving is sitting out tonight with a shoulder problem..The Nets are a not so healthy 4 and 7 out of the gate.

Has last years feel good team who fought and earned their way to the playoffs taken a step backwards this year ?

[Scraptor]

Its now game 12 of the Nets season and Kyrie Irving is sitting out tonight with a shoulder problem..The Nets are a not so healthy 4 and 7 out of the gate.

Has last years feel good team who fought and earned their way to the playoffs taken a step backwards this year ?

I seriously underestimated what a blight Kyrie's style of play is on team basketball. Also the redundancy between Irving/Levert/Dinwiddie. They all need the ball to be successful. Now Levert is down, Kurucs is MIA, and Allen/Jordan have been turnstiles on D.

Atkinson is a good coach so he should set things right eventually but they are in rough shape. I wonder if Dinwiddie gets dealt for a forward. KD can still slot in at the other forward spot next year.

[bertarapsfan]

Its now game 12 of the Nets season and Kyrie Irving is sitting out tonight with a shoulder problem..The Nets are a not so healthy 4 and 7 out of the gate.

Has last years feel good team who fought and earned their way to the playoffs taken a step backwards this year ?

Defiantly. Imagine saying at the begging of the year that the Suns would be a waaaay better year then the nets. It's both a credit to the suns but also a knock on the nets. Ricky Rubio is better at quarterbacking a team the kyrie irving let that sink in.

It might not matter once KD comes back next year but hes going to need to reel kyrie in. He's on the verge of become the next carmelo avery good scorer that could never accomplish on his own beside being a distraction/ bad locker room guy

I bet the nets look like a better team today with kyrie sitting.

[golden]

I seriously underestimated what a blight Kyrie's style of play is on team basketball. Also the redundancy between Irving/Levert/Dinwiddie. They all need the ball to be successful. Now Levert is down, Kurucs is MIA, and Allen/Jordan have been turnstiles on D.

Atkinson is a good coach so he should set things right eventually but they are in rough shape. I wonder if Dinwiddie gets dealt for a forward. KD can still slot in at the other forward spot next year.

Is Atkinson really a good coach.... or just an average one? What are we basing that off? I mean, getting the 6, 7, 8th seed in the East is really no great achievement.

[slaw]

I seriously underestimated what a blight Kyrie's style of play is on team basketball. Also the redundancy between Irving/Levert/Dinwiddie. They all need the ball to be successful. Now Levert is down, Kurucs is MIA, and Allen/Jordan have been turnstiles on D.

Atkinson is a good coach so he should set things right eventually but they are in rough shape. I wonder if Dinwiddie gets dealt for a forward. KD can still slot in at the other forward spot next year.

I did too. Bought the US media hype a bit, though their year last season maybe convinced me there was more there than maybe there actually is in reality.

But you look back and this guy did zilch in Cleveland without LeBron and took the Celtics backwards. Not sure why I am the least bit surprised.

[Demographic Shift]

Raps win...Chowders win....Pacers win...

The top of the east is beginning to separate..

[bertarapsfan]

Raps win...Chowders win....Pacers win...

The top of the east is beginning to separate..

The nets missing the playoffs will almost be as satisfying as the lakers missing last year. Brooklyn fans may begin to turn on kyrie if their still fighting for those bottom playoff spots come the new year.

[planetmars]

Nets missing the playoffs could be a good thing for that franchise. Next year they'd get both a lottery pick and Durant back. I mean Durant alone is a huge boost, but a lottery pick as well? Could use that to trade for a win now player. I hope they make the 7th or 8th seed, get swept 4-0 and get a mediocre pick in the draft.

[golden]

Nets missing the playoffs could be a good thing for that franchise. Next year they'd get both a lottery pick and Durant back. I mean Durant alone is a huge boost, but a lottery pick as well? Could use that to trade for a win now player. I hope they make the 7th or 8th seed, get swept 4-0 and get a mediocre pick in the draft.

I don't understand why everybody quickly annointed Kenny Atkinson as a "great coach". I remember the summer Atkinson got hired, there was a ranking of NBA head coaches and he came in at something like 20th.... before he'd even coached a single game. Some guys just get a rep. Like Masai always says.... making the playoffs is easy. It's even easier when there are no expectations on your franchise. Let's see how Atkinson coaches with a bit of pressure and no KD.

[LJ2]

Raps win...Chowders win....Pacers win...

The top of the east is beginning to separate..

I thought "strength of schedule" is something that is supposed to even out through the season, but whenever I look at who the Celtics played the night before, it seems like a weak team.

[DanH]

I thought "strength of schedule" is something that is supposed to even out through the season, but whenever I look at who the Celtics played the night before, it seems like a weak team.

Boston has had the 3rd easiest schedule in the league thus far. Raps 11th hardest. Bucks the hardest.

Raps are currently 3rd in the league in schedule adjusted net rating (SRS from basketball-reference), with the Celtics just a hair behind in 4th (and themselves a hair ahead of LAC in 5th) and Milwaukee and the Lakers above them.

[LJ2]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't the Celtics have one of the easiest remaining schedules as well?

Bucks are likely going to separate from the pack once their schedule eases up (barring injuries).

[planetmars]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't the Celtics have one of the easiest remaining schedules as well?

Bucks are likely going to separate from the pack once their schedule eases up (barring injuries).

http://www.tankathon.com/remaining_schedule_strength

.... shows which teams have the hardest or easiest schedules remaining. Teams that are bad generally have the toughest schedules. Teams that are good generally have the easiest schedules.

Right now, the Bucks have the easiest schedule. Raps are right there at 3rd easiest. Celtics have the 5th easiest.

[golden]

http://www.tankathon.com/remaining_schedule_strength

.... shows which teams have the hardest or easiest schedules remaining. Teams that are bad generally have the toughest schedules. Teams that are good generally have the easiest schedules.

Right now, the Bucks have the easiest schedule. Raps are right there at 3rd easiest. Celtics have the 5th easiest.

I think it's too early to be looking at strength of schedule, considering a lot of quality players have been injured already. I mean, the Raps lucked out by finishing our season series with the Pels already, and not having to play Zion. There was a lot of change in the off-season and many teams are still trying to find chemistry.

[DanH]

http://www.tankathon.com/remaining_schedule_strength

.... shows which teams have the hardest or easiest schedules remaining. Teams that are bad generally have the toughest schedules. Teams that are good generally have the easiest schedules.

Right now, the Bucks have the easiest schedule. Raps are right there at 3rd easiest. Celtics have the 5th easiest.

Keep in mind tankathon just takes teams' records at face value for strength of schedule. BBall-ref uses net ratings, at least. But in both cases we are very early in the season and it's hard to really put much stock in either system yet.