Huge win in these circumstances. I think we can officially say this is a good team and we probably need to stop whining because they may not ultimately be a great team yet.
Mike
I know I've been complaining a lot about the team recently, but it's not because of how good we are. I expected them to be the 2 seed, which I think they would be if it wasn't for all of the injuries we've had this year, but they've largely met my expectations for their record so far.
I just can't comprehend how our entire culture and game changed over one summer. Apparently we're getting just as good, if not better, results during the season, but this type of "outscore your opponent" basketball won't win us anything in the postseason.
We have to find our defensive identity and intensity again if we plan on making any kind of noise in the playoffs. I still say that we've not met our goals for this season if we make it anywhere less than the ECF.
And this is why we'll draft elite wings with elite defensive potentials over elite scoring PGs who have lower upsides. Fultz is nice but Jackson is NBA ready and won't eat any of IT, Smart and AB's minutes.
You can win without elite scoring PGs (Patty Mills, Rondo, Chalmers) but you can't win a championship without an elite defensive wing (Iggy, Kawhi, Lebron, Marion, Kobe)