I don't have Houston "out" at all, i think they should be good for that 3rd spot. KD isn't exactly Mr. durable at this stage of his career and his rs defense is pretty sus. he's a huge upgrade in the playoffs and in the clutch but I just don't see it for the rs, OKC and Denver are flat out betternomansland wrote:Exp0sed wrote:I'd be very surprised if a healthy Nuggets team finishes lower than 2nd (after OKC, obviously).
I wouldn't be all that surprised. If they fell below 4th, I would, but I can see them anywhere from 2-4.
They have a lot of new pieces, new coaches and so forth. I can see them taking the first 15-20 games just trying to see how it all works together. So if they stumble early on I'm not going to panic.
I also think every team has loaded up on bigs with the intention of slowing Jokic down. That could get each good team a win or two in the regular season.
And you have Minnesota, who seems to have Denver figured out, the Clippers are loaded even if they're old, the Warriors could be a problem (I doubt it, but it's certainly possible), and even without Van Vleet Houston is going to be good.
As for Minny, they might have Denver figured out, but they don't play Denver 82 games, so i fail to see the relevance of that to rs standings. They're a great team and have the benefit of continuity, they can def finish as high as #1 but i think more likely, they'll be battling the Rockets in that #3-#4 spots
As for the Nuggets, sure they have alot of new pieces and they should expect some growing pains earlier in the season, how's their schedule for those first 15-20 games?
I think Cam Johnson has good I.Q and won't need too much time to integrate, if any. he replaces MPJ who had his strengths no doubt, but even after years in the Nuggets system, was still very often out of position, blowing coverages etc. and is also less consistent and reliable both as a player and as a shooter than Cam, so that part should be easy. Brown obviously has experience and great chemistry with their guys and THJ is a vet that knows his role and limitations
The bigger issue is that Adelman is installing a new defensive system (alongside Jared Dudley whose been brought in) and talking about starting the season with a 10 and even 11 man rotation, playing more zone and even about experimenting with a double big lineup, with Jokic and Val playing together occasionally. All these experiments could very well cost them some wins, especially in the early goings, that's true enough
I also think that with the addition of Val and a real bench - Jokic is finally gonna play a few less mpg this season. In the past he was forced to play more because the bench was being blown out every single game and they needed Jokic to win games..moreover, i expect Jokic to start his season less aggressively and focus on feeding everyone, while playing less and more passivel is good for his longevity, Nuggets have high expectations this season so their eyes are on getting to where they need to be, much later in the season. So yeah, we'll see..
bottom line is they have some real talent, depth and versatility on both ends and i think that should equate to plenty of rs season wins
The Dubs are way too old and brittle to be fighting for the top spots in the bloodbath West, they're not in that convo imo. They'd be lucky to get 60+ games from Curry and Jimmy and they're not winning many games without having both available. rs Jimmy isn't exactly a world beater, last season he was very motivated after the trade and they were on playoff mode asex they needed every win to even make the playoffs, when they made their impressive post trade run. I don't expect to see that form in October
