I think Charlotte makes the playoffs this year or they will certainly in position to. There are only 7 clear playoff teams in the East. I think Charlotte is in the same general range as Washington, Orlando, and Atlanta. They are definitely small up front, but I actually like their guard and wing rotation (and when I say like, I mean as a bottom rung playoff team, not championship caliber or anything like that).
I know Atlanta has been getting a lot of love, but they are very young, very new, and very old all at the same time so I expect a lot of growing pains, especially trying to fit in around Young. And for as good as Young is, I think there is a good chance he has more of a Westbrook type impact to winning then say someone like Curry. I just don't know how well his skill set translates to wins. Plus, I have no idea how Gallinari and Bogdanovic are going to fit nor really Capela and Collins. I just think Atlanta could have a lot of growing pains and it isn't like they have uber elite talent (like say when the Heat came together and were .500 their first 20 games despite having two top 5ish players and a top 10ish player).
In no particular order; Bucks, Heat, Celtics, Nets, Toronto, Indiana, Philly, Washington are all playoff locks. There’s 8 teams I listed and I think Atlanta is a playoff team as well.
The same criticism you give Atlanta is more glorified in Charlotte. Very young, very new, and not a lot of players that translate to winning. At least Atlanta nabbed a few of those players.
Charlotte is basically just adding Hayward and Ball (and maybe Carey to the rotation). That isn't a lot of roster change. Their 2 best big men are basically 28 and have been around awhile (Zeller, Biyombo) and the other returning big guy Washington started 57 of his 58 games last year. In fact they return their entire starting 5, which will be supplemented with Hayward and Ball.
I just don't think that is the same thing as the Hawks that are bringing in Rondo, Dunn, Gallinari, Bogdanovic, Okongwu, and basically Capela (who hasn't played a game for them). Collins is the only big guy returning and he may now go to the bench giving them the potential for 4 new starters next to Young. And it isn't like the Hawks were any good last year to begin with as they were the 4th worst team in basketball and only ahead of the Cavs in the East. I just think their ascension to relevancy has been greatly overstated. They certainly could make the playoffs, I just don't think they are clearly better than Charlotte, Washington, or Orlando.
Washington, I have no idea how Westbrook and Beal are going to fit and they are pretty shallow team. I think Hachimura, Bertans, and Bryant are ok in the front court, but after those 5 they are relying on guys like Ish Smith, Robin Lopez, Jerome Robinson, Mo Wagner, Isaac Bonga, and of course Deni Advidja (a foreign rookie that didn't play much in his pro league). They have very little depth and as such very little room for error or injury. In addition, Westbrook is on the wrong side of 30 and will be in his 13th year. That is around the time you really start to see players drop off, especially guys in the mold of Westbrook that rely heavily on the superior athleticism and can't shoot. I wouldn't be surprised to Washington completely flame out and be downright terrible.
I think of those 4 teams, the Magic may very well be the most likely team to finish in 8th (the Isaac injury is the reason I wouldn't have put them in as the 8th seed and clearly better than the other 3). They were the best of those 4 last year (getting the 8th seed). They had very little roster turnover. Their starting 5 is all still in their 20's (even with the loss of Isaac) and have been relatively healthy in their careers, and much of their rotation has as well (but obviously as we've seen with Isaac that doesn't guarantee anything).
Topic: The potential circus down at Charlotte (Read 4673 times)