gp123 wrote:Deezy wrote:With JV playing the vets, this team won't be as bad as you think.
In retrospect, the outcome of the series on paper was misleading as they gave the Pacers all they could handle despite being Howard-less and having to develop another wrinkle to the offense. Add in the Anderson/Doo-hon effects and the overall improvement of the roster (especially depth wise), and I could very easily see this team fighting for a playoff spot next year.
this. as far as the team fielded in this past playoff series, we have actually improved at all positions. The East got tougher, but I'm not counting us out completely -- as we know, there are a lot of distractions and injuries that can happen to a team.
While I believe we have a good shot at making a playoff run this year, that will depend on what startegy JV implements. Is he playing the vets? Does Rob let them run up their value and trade two or three of them mid-season? Are we giving the youth time to flourish, which also means letting them play through their mistakes?
As for last year vs this year being improved at all positions, not sure how you make that argument, to be honest:
PG - Same, though Jameer is a year older
SG - Better. Afflalo is going to be much more impactful than JRich
SF - Same, or worse, assuming Hedo starts. He's a year older and playing for a rebuilding team - will his heart be in it?
PF - Probably better though similar stats, assuming BBD is starting and can put up a steady 17/9
C - Well, better than the playoffs but worse than the bulk of the regular season. Vucevic has a chance to blossom IMHO into a pretty good starting-caliber center, and I won't be surprised if he gives us 15/8 per game, but he's not Dwight.
Bench - Significantly improved probably, but key players here are very young. They will have some very bad runs.
