RealGM

With the current nucleus of the following players, barring any major trade or Free Agent signing, can this group make the playoffs with this current nucleus of players?
PG - Deron Williams, Ronnie Price
SG - Wesley Mathews, CJ Miles
SF - CJ Miles, Andrei Kirilenko & Gordon Hayward
PF - Paul Milsap, Andrei Kirilenko
C - Mehmet Okur, Fesenko and Koufos

Nope no way no how.
Yao will be healthy,
CPaul will be healthy,
Memphis is improved

If Fes steps up we'll still be a playoff team.

When you say Fes step up, do you mean 8 points and 8 rebounds? Also we don't expect Memo back until Jan or Feb, right?

3960HOOD wrote:When you say Fes step up, do you mean 8 points and 8 rebounds? Also we don't expect Memo back until Jan or Feb, right?

Dont forget 8 fouls

Yeah, I think if Fes can give us 8 and 8 and good defense that'd be stepping up.

I think they could possibly be a 7/8 seed depending on other teams. Houston could be good this year, or Yao could not come back as good or be injured again. There's some question marks with the the health of San Antonio and who knows how Dallas will end up.

The west is just too competitive. I think we are a 9th or 10th place team.

Jazz will be competing for the tenth spot in the west. Clippers, Houston, New Orleans and Memphis will be improved.

The Jazz missed the playoffs by 1 game in 04. Are we really worse than this team:

30 Carlos Arroyo G 6-2 30.07.79 Florida Int. '01 2
19 Raja Bell F 6-5 19.09.76 Florida Int. '99 3
22 Curtis Borchardt C 7-0 13.09.80 Stanford '03 R
13 Keon Clark C/F 6-11 16.04.75 Nevada-LasVegas '98 5
31 Jarron Collins C 6-11 02.12.78 Stanford '01 2
5/10 Gordan Giricek F/G 6-5 20.06.77 Croatia 1
45 Paul Grant C 7-0 06.01.74 Wisconsin '97 1
42 Tom Gugliotta F 6-10 19.12.69 N. Carolina St. '92 11
44 Ben Handlogten C 6-10 16.11.73 W. Michigan '96 R
15 Matt Harpring F/G 6-7 31.05.78 Georgia Tech. '98 5
47 Andriej Kirilenko F 6-9 18.02.81 Russia 2
24 Raul Lopez G 6-0 15.04.80 Spain R
54 Mikki Moore C 7-0 04.11.75 Nebraska '97 5
00 Greg Ostertag C 7-2 06.03.73 Kansas '95 8
11 Aleksandar Pavlovic F 6-7 15.11.83 Serbia R
51 Michael Ruffin F/C 6-8 21.01.77 Tulsa '99 3
2 DeShawn Stevenson G 6-5 03.04.81 Was. Union HS 3
25 Maurice Williams G 6-1 19.12.82 Alabama '05 R

I think barring major improvements from Koufos/Fesenko we would be fighting for the 7th or 8th seed.......

But then again, Phoenix got worse, and Denver certainly didn't get any better.......

We are not worse than that team but they were a .500 team. Last year it took 50 wins to make the west playoffs. This is not a 50 win team as currently structured.

4 teams that missed the playoffs last year. Are we better than them?
Clippers - A young team that adds Blake Griffin from injury and Aminu from the draft.
Grizzlies - Resigned Gay.
Rockets - Yao possiblly returns to form and Patrick Patterson through the draft.
Hornets - Paul returns and add Paul George.

Lava Rock Kid wrote:Yao will be healthy

yes, they are a 6-8 seed as constructed.

I would agree with Delaney, I think Lakers, Dallas, Portland, OKC, Phoenic, possibly denver are all better then us currently constructed. But we still have time to add some pieces.

San Antonio = even older next year.
Memphis = decent
Rockets = you never know Yao could easily be injured again.
Hornets = unless they make some more moves I still think we are better.
Sacramento = I think this is my sleeper this year. Evans and Cousins I believe will be an incredible tandem. They get a point guard and they could be scary in a year or two.

The Jazz will be better if they get defensive center! Without any additions, then 6-8 seed.

Lava Rock Kid wrote:Nope no way no how.
Yao will be healthy,
CPaul will be healthy,
Memphis is improved

FFS would you just pull the trigger and get it over with already? You can't seriously be this EMO about losing Boozer.

Yao will never be healthy again. The Hornets would not have been a playoff team with a healthy CP3 this last season and DWill > CP. How is Memphis improved?

Milsap is the one to keep our eyes on, we're losing Boozers near 20-10, if Milsap can step up be durable and stay out of trouble, he'll be key to our sucess.

kebutah wrote:We are not worse than that team but they were a .500 team. Last year it took 50 wins to make the west playoffs. This is not a 50 win team as currently structured.

Good point.