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2016-17 Season Predictions

Moderators: fatlever, JDR720, Diop, BigSlam, yosemiteben

How many games will the Hornets win this season?

Poll ended at Fri Oct 28, 2016 10:56 pm

Less than 32
1
3%
33-35
1
3%
36-38
2
6%
39-41
7
22%
42-44
12
38%
45-47
3
9%
48-50
3
9%
51-53
2
6%
54-56
0
No votes
more than 57
1
3%
 
Total votes: 32

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Re: 2016-17 Season Predictions 

Post#41 » by yosemiteben » Mon Oct 24, 2016 6:12 pm

Mystical Apples wrote:CHA's offensive ceiling is actually higher than last season, IMO. Getting there is the question.

Agreed. I think Hibbert and Marco are both heavily system dependent, so it won't surprise me to see us stall out some early. If we see across the board efficiency dips from Marv, Batum, and Kemba, that will be a bit more concerning though.

It would be great if Lamb could learn how to consistently shoot a three pointer too. He shot 30.9% from three last season and went 5-25 (20%) in preseason. I know C&S isn't his game, but it would help if he could pretend for a bit.
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Re: 2016-17 Season Predictions 

Post#42 » by fatlever » Mon Oct 24, 2016 9:09 pm

Fats’ Pessimistic Preseason Preview

Record: 41-41
A few weeks ago I had us at 45 wins, but I am adjusting for early injuries and what appears to be no progress on MKGs jumper, as well as the preseason offense that finished dead last in FG%, 3pt% and Ortg.

Predicted Stats:
Walker…19 – 4 –5
Batum….14 – 5 – 5
Marvin…11 – 5 – 1.5
MKG…….11 – 5 – 1.5
Lamb……10 – 3 – 1.5
Frank…….9.5 – 4 – 1.5
Zeller…….8 – 6 – 1
Sessions..7.5 – 2 – 4
Marco……7 – 1 – 1
Hibbert….6 – 6 – 1

5th in Drtg
23rd in Ortg

Hornets regress in shooting %s across the board, including Kemba and Marvin.
No young players take a big leap, although Lamb at least carves out role as bench scorer.
Frank does not do enough to steal starting job from Marvin, Cody or Roy, remains decent backup big, no more, no less
Batum coasts thru the year doing what he usually does, making sweet passes, bad turnovers, disappearing for stretches, making Kemba better
Kemba does not make all-star games, yet again, do to Hornets slow start and Kemba’s %s being down
Hornets have no participants in All-Star weekend, just another blow to losing ASG
Cody basically returns as same player as before, decent but big w/out a clear role or future with team
MKG does not find a 3pt shot. Only makes 15 all season, improvement, but nowhere near what is needed from him, he plays in 70 games however.
Hornets fail to utilize the Swarm effectively and don’t find any guys who play any kind of minutes during season
Wood doesnt not develop much further than that we see now
Hornets lose in 5 games to Cavs in round 1.
Marco doesn’t do enough to justify trading #1 for him.
Roy has a slight renaissance under Cliff and resigns on a 3 year deal, much to everyone’s displeasure

East Standings
1. Cavs
2. Celtics
3. Raptors
4. Pacers
5. Pistons
6. Wizards
7. Bulls
8. Hornets
9. Knicks
10. Hawks
11. Bucks
12. Magic
13. Heat
14. Nets
15. Sixers

Wizards are my team to surprise this year. Not sure why, but I just think if they stay healthy they have too much talent in that starting unit not to be better than last year.
Hawks finally miss the playoffs
Bulls scratch their way to 7th seed because they’ll win close games

West
1. Warriors
2. Clippers
3. Spurs
4. Blazers
5. Thunder
6. Jazz
7. Rockets
8. Grizzlies
9. Wolves
10. Pelicans
11. Nuggets
12. Kings
13. Mavs
14. Suns
15. Lakers

Rockets win enough games on back of league best offense.
Wolves return to playoffs has to wait another year as Conley/Gasol too stubborn to quit
Mavs finally fall apart

Boring playoffs – Warriors beat Cavs
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Re: 2016-17 Season Predictions 

Post#43 » by LamarMatic7 » Mon Oct 24, 2016 9:21 pm

I initially was thinking about 45-37 or 44-38. I just expect a decline on offense, some particular guys regressing and the team losing its offensive firepower.

But now I'm fretting the Marvin and Zeller injuries. If it makes them miss time/play below their expected level, I'm leaning towards 41-41.
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Re: 2016-17 Season Predictions 

Post#44 » by Eoghan » Tue Oct 25, 2016 3:53 am

Guys, I misread the poll title and thought it asked how many games Charlotte will lose this season.

Please change my vote from more than 57 to less than 32. :|
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Re: 2016-17 Season Predictions 

Post#45 » by fatlever » Tue Oct 25, 2016 4:09 am

Eoghan wrote:Guys, I misread the poll title and thought it asked how many games Charlotte will lose this season.

Please change my vote from more than 57 to less than 32. :|


I changed the poll to allow for users to change their votes, until poll locks in a few days.
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Re: 2016-17 Season Predictions 

Post#46 » by Braggins » Tue Oct 25, 2016 12:35 pm

I predict we wont be as good as my 2016-2017 Hornets on NBA 2k16, which is basically this years squad with Cody, Beli, and Roy, swapped out for 24 year old Wilt Chamberlain, 23 year old Reggie Miller, and Joffrey Lauvergne.
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Re: 2016-17 Season Predictions 

Post#47 » by simon24 » Tue Oct 25, 2016 10:22 pm

Sauce_Castillo wrote:
simon24 wrote:
Flip Murray wrote:im concerned


Same here. Losing Lin, Lee and Jefferson are big losses. Depth was a key strength of this team last season. I'm hoping Kemba stays consistent this season, MKG stays healthy and Cody takes the next step. Otherwise, Charlotte is in trouble, especially if MKG gets hurt again. Lee was a luxury.


How are Jefferson and Lee big losses? With the return of MKG Lee would be moved to the bench were I feel he would be way less effective as he mainly scores from other people creating space for him or in catch and shoot. I would imagine Lee would play 15-20 uneventful minutes a game as a bench player. Marco is a much more dynamic scorer who moves very well off the ball and is a much better facilitator. Jefferson was just downright terrible the last two seasons and I don't get how you can say Hibbert could be any worse.


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Jefferson was the better C during the playoffs. Lee is needed incase MKG gets hurt again. I'm not sure how good Bellineli's D is.
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Re: 2016-17 Season Predictions 

Post#48 » by Vanderbilt_Grad » Wed Oct 26, 2016 12:55 am

Cody wasn't at 100%, so yes Al was "better" against Miami, but there is context too. I agree that there will be some occasions where Al's scoring will be missed, but there is a lot less of that than some folks might think.

Lee chose to leave for a starting role. I would have loved to have seen him back, but it wasn't going to happen. Ditto for Lin BTW. Honestly, more than Al, Lin and Lee are the big losses IMHO. Lin because he would take shots and create offence himself, something that no one else on the current team outside of Kemba really does well. Lee because he was versatile and just made good plays. I'm hopeful that MKG will make up for some of that, but his shots are really going to have to start going in when it matters.

Belli ... I'm OK with him being here, but I have no idea how it's going to work out long term fit wise.
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Re: 2016-17 Season Predictions 

Post#49 » by Sauce_Castillo » Wed Oct 26, 2016 2:07 am

Can you tell me what you see in the Bulls? How are they going to space the floor and or handle the egos that want the ball? Think that's a stealth tank job to get Hoiberg out of there.


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Re: 2016-17 Season Predictions 

Post#50 » by Sauce_Castillo » Wed Oct 26, 2016 2:09 am

simon24 wrote:
Sauce_Castillo wrote:
simon24 wrote:
Same here. Losing Lin, Lee and Jefferson are big losses. Depth was a key strength of this team last season. I'm hoping Kemba stays consistent this season, MKG stays healthy and Cody takes the next step. Otherwise, Charlotte is in trouble, especially if MKG gets hurt again. Lee was a luxury.


How are Jefferson and Lee big losses? With the return of MKG Lee would be moved to the bench were I feel he would be way less effective as he mainly scores from other people creating space for him or in catch and shoot. I would imagine Lee would play 15-20 uneventful minutes a game as a bench player. Marco is a much more dynamic scorer who moves very well off the ball and is a much better facilitator. Jefferson was just downright terrible the last two seasons and I don't get how you can say Hibbert could be any worse.


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Jefferson was the better C during the playoffs. Lee is needed incase MKG gets hurt again. I'm not sure how good Bellineli's D is.

The playoffs was a 7 game sample and al was good in probably 3 of the 7 games. I used to be a huge al fan when we initially got him but he is no longer a good nba player. I guess agree to disagree there.


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Re: 2016-17 Season Predictions 

Post#51 » by Sauce_Castillo » Wed Oct 26, 2016 2:13 am

Vanderbilt_Grad wrote:Cody wasn't at 100%, so yes Al was "better" against Miami, but there is context too. I agree that there will be some occasions where Al's scoring will be missed, but there is a lot less of that than some folks might think.

Lee chose to leave for a starting role. I would have loved to have seen him back, but it wasn't going to happen. Ditto for Lin BTW. Honestly, more than Al, Lin and Lee are the big losses IMHO. Lin because he would take shots and create offence himself, something that no one else on the current team outside of Kemba really does well. Lee because he was versatile and just made good plays. I'm hopeful that MKG will make up for some of that, but his shots are really going to have to start going in when it matters.

Belli ... I'm OK with him being here, but I have no idea how it's going to work out long term fit wise.

I feel belli was needed more than lee. Lee is the overall better player, but I have more faith in marcos ability to make tough shots. Lee was essentially a escape valve for the starting lineup last year, he is never a guy that is going to take over a game imo. Therefore off the bench I think he wouldn't be effective on offense. Belli on the other hand imo is much better at attacking close outs and finishing or creating scoring opportunities. He also has that "take over" ability that I feel lee does not have. I could be wrong but hoping to see the best version of belli


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Re: 2016-17 Season Predictions 

Post#52 » by EwingSweatsALot » Wed Oct 26, 2016 3:58 am

PREDICTION

39-43 (10th in the East)

I don't expect us to get near the combined production of Kemba, Batum, and Marv that we got last year. I don't know if those years are sustainable. Marv's being the least likely after how much of an anomaly his was. Can Kemba sustain his shooting efficiency? Seems unlikely with how flatlined it had been over his career. i don't expect it to drop to what it was, but I don't think we can expect last year.

We get MKG back which is obviously a huge plus. Before last year he was by far our best value stats player. He led the teams in plus minus and win % and all that. Also, when he was in the lineup for those 7 games we were winning at an extraordinary rate. How is the shot? not good in the preseason. Small sample size though. The question is like always, how much do we get out of him? If we get 70 games out of him then that is a border line miracle.

My biggest concern is the bench. Last year we had the best bench per 48 minutes. Our bench was +12.2 points/48 compared to our opponents. The best in the league. We had depth last year. We now replace Lin, Lee, and Al with Sessions, Belinelli and Hibbert. None of those are better than what we lost. Al and Hibbert might be the equivalent, just completely opposite contributions. We are a damn wing injury away from having to start Lamb or Belinelli. That freaks me out. Our bench kept ourselves in a lot of games last year. We knew when Kemba and Batum were out that we wouldn't have to worry about digging ourselves in a hole. We can't be so certain about that this year.

In the end i worry about our depth and our injuries and that's where I come mainly with the 39 wins number. We are going to have injuries. We are starting with injuries already. And if one happens to come from Kemba or Batum or MKG for a long period of time then our starters get weaker and our bench does too. We aren't as talented as we were last year. Our offense won't be a top 10 offense again. The east has gotten better. There are going to be about 5-7 teams(us included in that 38-43 wins). And one of our big strengths is now one of our biggest weaknesses.
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Re: 2016-17 Season Predictions 

Post#53 » by Sauce_Castillo » Wed Oct 26, 2016 4:02 pm

EwingSweatsALot wrote:PREDICTION

39-43 (10th in the East)

I don't expect us to get near the combined production of Kemba, Batum, and Marv that we got last year. I don't know if those years are sustainable. Marv's being the least likely after how much of an anomaly his was. Can Kemba sustain his shooting efficiency? Seems unlikely with how flatlined it had been over his career. i don't expect it to drop to what it was, but I don't think we can expect last year.

We get MKG back which is obviously a huge plus. Before last year he was by far our best value stats player. He led the teams in plus minus and win % and all that. Also, when he was in the lineup for those 7 games we were winning at an extraordinary rate. How is the shot? not good in the preseason. Small sample size though. The question is like always, how much do we get out of him? If we get 70 games out of him then that is a border line miracle.

My biggest concern is the bench. Last year we had the best bench per 48 minutes. Our bench was +12.2 points/48 compared to our opponents. The best in the league. We had depth last year. We now replace Lin, Lee, and Al with Sessions, Belinelli and Hibbert. None of those are better than what we lost. Al and Hibbert might be the equivalent, just completely opposite contributions. We are a damn wing injury away from having to start Lamb or Belinelli. That freaks me out. Our bench kept ourselves in a lot of games last year. We knew when Kemba and Batum were out that we wouldn't have to worry about digging ourselves in a hole. We can't be so certain about that this year.

In the end i worry about our depth and our injuries and that's where I come mainly with the 39 wins number. We are going to have injuries. We are starting with injuries already. And if one happens to come from Kemba or Batum or MKG for a long period of time then our starters get weaker and our bench does too. We aren't as talented as we were last year. Our offense won't be a top 10 offense again. The east has gotten better. There are going to be about 5-7 teams(us included in that 38-43 wins). And one of our big strengths is now one of our biggest weaknesses.


Well you have to take into account that Lee is basically going to be replaced by mkg so barring injuries that is a upgrade to the bench to me, just solely by having a viable starter and now the Lee "replacement" belli will come off the bench.

Hibbert will have a bit of renaissance with Clifford and become a solid rim protector wether starting or coming off the bench.

Lin on the other hand does worry me. He was a solid defensive player that we relied on to score and create opportunities for others. Lin really Excelled with drives to the basket and being able to finish or draw the foul, if you recall his jumper was off for a majority of the season. Sessions is a very similar scorer to Lin, although Lin is obviously the much better passer and defensive player.

I think it comes down too seeing the same production from the core guys like you stated, and hopefully a healthy mkg year. If we can get that I don't see bench depth derailing the season.


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