Dude-niagara wrote:cgf wrote:Dude-niagara wrote:
I don't see it this year,  Boston/Philly/Bucks and much stronger Heat team
Eh, the Bucks actually scare me less after this offseason.  They used to be able to beat us on the boards and lock us down, but now their perimeter D is weak and we can push them around on the glass, and if we can dominate the rebound battle we can beat anyone.  That's why we match up so well with the Celtics and Heat.
We wouldn't be favored against the big dogs, but there isn't a team in the east we can't beat...especially with our kids looking like they leveled up over the summer and if Randle's struggles last year had more to do with his ankle needing surgery than him just being a playoff-choker.
 
I agree the Bucks got weaker after losing Holiday and depth
 
I also think coaching is a big issue for the East's top 2.  Milwaukee lost depth, but they're also just a lot worse at rebounding structurally/organizationally, so even if they can replace some of the depth they lost, they shouldn't start dominating us like they used to...while Knicks-Celtics and Knicks-Heat games are always wild.
That's why I'm not particularly concerned with improving our starting lineup unless we got the chance to make our version of the Kawhi trade and upgrade one of the Mid 3 (Brunson / Barrett / Randle) to a title caliber #1.  We'd be underdogs with a legit shot at the upset against the east's top tier regardless of whether we starting Grimes or Anunoby.
...plus I'd argue that we need Grimes' spacing advantage more than OG's defensive advantage, given that our defense is on the cusp of the top 5 while our offense is just on the cusp of the top 10.  Not saying OG is a bad shooter or that he isn't even better than Grimes defensively, just that Grimes is a really good defender in his own right and we need shooting help more.
Capn'O wrote:We're the recovering meth addict older brother. And we've been clean for a few years now, thank you very much. Very uncouth to bring it up.
Brunson: So what are you paid to do?
Hart: Run around like an idiot during the game and f*** s*** up!