Day 1 of life with no Melo (Eric Collins said it, not me
)
I mean.....
Hornets W
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Hawks L (ends an 8 game winning streak, lost by 9 after blowing a 22 point lead late in the 3rd Q to the Clippers)
Celtics L
Pacers L
Bulls L
Raptors L
And sure I'll include Cavs L
We are squarely 6th in the East. Hawks and Heat are .5 ahead of us and tied for 4th. Knicks and Celtics are .5 behind us and tied for 7th. Then we've got the Pacers and the Bulls 2 games behind us and tied for 9th. Raptors 4.5 behind us in 11th (missing the play-in if playoffs started tomorrow), and the Cavs and Wizards 5.5 behind us and tied for 12th.
...
Without us becoming sellers at the trade deadline, and knowing that MJ is allergic to tanking, it's looking like we've got our eyes on the playoffs without our rookie savior. But will MJ and Kupchak decide to make a win now move? I guess we'll see by Thursday. We are pretty well positioned here, and are essentially the same team + Gordon Hayward as last year, narrowly missing the bubble. It's too far into the season to tank IMO, and I'll be rooting for us to continue grinding it out. We're gonna have to be scrappy and defensively minded like the win tonight in SA, but we have a solid core of players. The playoffs will be very important experience for PJ, Miles, Monk and Graham, and with Melo out we at least can thoroughly evaluate Monk and Graham and make a decision on them in the offseason.
Somebody convince me that we should just sell high on Rozier and tank...it's probably the smarter move long term but I just can't help but root for the team. I enjoy it too much lol.
Buzz...Buzz...