RealGM

2008 Rajon Rondo - 2013 Deron Williams
2008 Ray Allen - 2013 Joe Johnson
2008 Paul Pierce > 2013 Paul Pierce
2008 Kevin Garnett > 2013 Kevin Garnett
2008 Kendrick Perkins - 2013 Brook Lopez

I'm too lazy to look up the stats for Rondo vs. Deron, Allen vs Johnson and Perkins vs Lopez, but 5 years of mileage on Pierce and Garnett can't be minimized IMO.

Not to mention a rookie coach (or at best a shadow coach that we all know about)

Biggest thing is the depth NJ has in unlike anything you'd normally see... Adding AK to that bench was pretty huge for them... especially when it comes down to defending miami. They have starter quality guys coming off the bench for them. I do agree how far NJ will go is going to depend on just how good KG and PP can be for them... They don't have a single top 10 player in the NBA but they're so balanced and deep if they stay healthy they could be one of 2 or 3 teams that have a chance to take down Miami.

Lopez is way better than Perkins was. But I do think they are overrated. The highest seed they'll get is the 3rd spot. And they will lose in the 2nd round in 6 games.

If they can stay healthy is the biggest thing issue. I also agree with the AK47 addition being huge as it gives another guy to throw at Lebron. Indy, Brooklyn & Chicago are all getting deeper while a team like the Pistons or Cavs could prove to be a much tougher round 1 foe than the Bucks were last year. The East seems much deeper than the last few years when Miami was able to get through and Miami has pretty much stood pat.

And Ray > Joe. I know its homerish but I like how we would match up with them in the playoffs.

Boston had very good chemistry and great defense in 2008. Pierce played like a true Superstar in the Finals. KG was still a star and game changer defensively. I think the drop off in KG and Pierce since then is dramatic. NJ is the NBAs most over-rated team.

AK I heard from advanced stat-wise is considered pretty much an all-star.

The fact that they have him coming off the bench for them is HUGE. They'll get far especially if they stay healthy. Personally though, I think the Clippers are going to be overall more better.

They have rookie coach, Jason Kidd and Lawrence Frank essentially running this team. They're already fatally flawed.

bardobeing wrote:2008 Rajon Rondo - 2013 Deron Williams
2008 Ray Allen - 2013 Joe Johnson
2008 Paul Pierce > 2013 Paul Pierce
2008 Kevin Garnett > 2013 Kevin Garnett
2008 Kendrick Perkins - 2013 Brook Lopez

I'm too lazy to look up the stats for Rondo vs. Deron, Allen vs Johnson and Perkins vs Lopez, but 5 years of mileage on Pierce and Garnett can't be minimized IMO.

Not to mention a rookie coach (or at best a shadow coach that we all know about)

Wow, let me fix this.

08 Rondo < 13 D-Will
08 Allen > 13 Joe Johnson
08 Pierce > 13 Pierce
08 KG > 13 KG
08 Perkins < 13 Lopez

It's a long-shot that they'll be able to put it all together as quickly as they'll need to, but I absolutely believe they've collected enough talent on their roster to win a championship. Kirilenko is easily better than anyone who came off the Celtics' bench in 08. I also think Jason Terry will be, at worst, comparable to the 38-year-old Sam Cassell who was the top guard off the C's bench in 08.

At this point, the Heat, Thunder, Nets, Spurs are the only teams I feel have a real shot next year. I know Jason Kidd is a rookie head coach, but he's got Lawrence Frank as an assistant, and he's got a lot of veteran leadership on the team to make it as easy as possible for him to make the necessary rapid transition. The team seems to have his back, and that's about as much as you could hope for at this point.

Also, it's misleading to just take two lineups and compare each starter in this way. I think some misinterpret it, assuming that each margin between each player is equal. For example, compare this team to the 00-01 Lakers. That Lakers team lost just one game in the playoffs.

Derek Fisher < Deron Williams
Kobe Bryant > Joe Johnson
Rick Fox < Paul Pierce
Horace Grant < Kevin Garnett
Shaquille O'Neal > Brook Lopez

So it ends up looking like the Nets should be favored. Yet there's no doubt in my mind that that Lakers team would've slaughtered the 12-13 Nets.

We are going to **** on Brooklyn.

ImHeisenberg wrote:They have rookie coach, Jason Kidd and Lawrence Frank essentially running this team. They're already fatally flawed.

Do you really think a team with so many veterans actually need a coach?

Probably, I'd say they're a little overrated. I think we'd match up well with them in the playoffs.

I think they will win the championship.

They are going to be a very tough team this year... Definitely a top 3 seed!!

Han Solo wrote:We are going to **** on Brooklyn.

I wanna be the team that knocks them outta the first round. I hate that team.

vege wrote:

ImHeisenberg wrote:They have rookie coach, Jason Kidd and Lawrence Frank essentially running this team. They're already fatally flawed.

Do you really think a team with so many veterans actually need a coach?

Do the Spurs need Greg Popovich?

San Antonio has Ginobili Duncan and Parker and a bunch of role players, they're not comparable. San Antonio does need Pop. The Nets do not need a coach at all. They have 8 veterans out of their 10 rotation players.

Wait, are you guys serious?

Not to be an ass, but Detroit is viewed as a fringe eighth seed, while Brooklyn is predicted to be in contention for the number 1 seed.

DijonRondo wrote:Wait, are you guys serious?

Not to be an ass, but Detroit is viewed as a fringe eighth seed, while Brooklyn is predicted to be in contention for the number 1 seed.

Keep telling yourself that. I'll take our young legs against your washed up vets. Your window is 1 year. Ours is 5+.

You might be better this year, or you could be last year's Lakers. Nets don't impress me a bit.

Heat/Bulls/Pacers are the real contenders in the East in my opinion.

Han Solo wrote:

DijonRondo wrote:Wait, are you guys serious?

Not to be an ass, but Detroit is viewed as a fringe eighth seed, while Brooklyn is predicted to be in contention for the number 1 seed.

Keep telling yourself that. I'll take our young legs against your washed up vets. Your window is 1 year. Ours is 5+.

You might be better this year, or you could be last year's Lakers. Nets don't impress me a bit.

Heat/Bulls/Pacers are the real contenders in the East in my opinion.

I'm not a Nets fan, and I don't like them. Just look at my sig.

But even I'm a realist. How are they washed up anyways? Lopez and Deron are still relatively young, and JJ is only like 33. Terry, Pierce, and KG will play less than 30mpg and will be coasting games at a time. Then they have super subs in Blatche, AK47, and Evans.

If their window is 1 year, your window is 0 years. Detroit's window hasn't even opened yet, so how can you say it's 5+ years? Will they even make the playoffs?