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EZ-Ryder Starting Rotation
Joined: 11 Jul 2013 Posts: 843
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Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2014 10:15 pm Post subject: |
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These 5th/6th seed predictions are ridiculous. If Kobe returns to form and puts up anything around 25/5/5 then we are an 8th seed at best. West is just too good. Realistically I see us being 10th. |
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ILoveLA WeLoveIT Sixth Man
Joined: 04 Aug 2014 Posts: 47
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Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 1:16 am Post subject: |
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Runway8 wrote: | ILoveLA WeLoveIT wrote: | My prediction:
1. Thunder
2. Spurs
3. Clippers
4. Blazers
5. Warriors
6. Rockets
7. Mavericks
8. Grizzlies
9-12. Lakers-Pelicans-Suns-Nuggets
We could challenge for the 8th spot if some of those top 8 teams lose one of their star players to injuries and if we stay significantly healthy for the majority of the season. Again, my rankings are based on all of the teams being significantly healthy with no MAJOR injuries. So i know my rankings are highly unlikely to happen but it is what it is. Tough to predict who gets injured.
One thing i am worried about is being stuck in mediocrity by missing the playoffs by a hair and having to pick in the middle part of drafts. |
Your prediction is a boner shrinker. Real Laker fans will overdose on NBA viagra and get excited for the season!
We're making the playoffs!! I vote Houston or Memphis as the faltering franchise. |
Would love for the Lakers to prove me wrong. But if i was a betting man, this is how i would rank em. Again, would hate missing the playoffs by a few wins and end up drafting 15th. |
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ILoveLA WeLoveIT Sixth Man
Joined: 04 Aug 2014 Posts: 47
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Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 1:22 am Post subject: |
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MAGICtoBYRONN wrote: | yinoma2001 wrote: | silkwilkes wrote: | An all-star Kobe Bryant makes a TON of difference... i don't think people understand what we missed last season. Bryant was able to carry us into the playoffs the previous year with Nash and Gasol out a ton, Howard playing at 60% and nothing else... nada. This time, he has better players around him.
So to me, it comes down to Bryant. IF he's where he was 2 years ago, we make the playoffs and might get a 4-6 seed depending on injuries and player development. |
All star Kobe isn't enough. Kobe literally had to give up his body to drag us to that 7th seed.
We need all star levels from multiple players like Lin and Randle at the least. Nice young core but they haven't has any chance at continuity just yet. New coach and system too. |
Kobe's gonna take a step back into more a facilitator role. I can see him becoming an 18 pts, 6 rebounds, 9 assists kind of player this year. The offense won't miss a beat with Boozer down low instead of Gasol, who has been garbage since 2011 anwyays. And Lin finally gives us an athletic guard who can dribble. Kobe's never let me down, and I thnk he takes us to the #5 seed and a first round matchup with Choke Paul and the Clippers.
1. Thunder
2. Rockets
3. Spurs
4. Clippers
5. LAKERS
6. Warriors
7. Mavs
8. Grizzlies |
Blazers not in the top 8? Why? |
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dabask11 Star Player
Joined: 27 Dec 2012 Posts: 1989
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Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 4:01 am Post subject: |
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EZ-Ryder wrote: | These 5th/6th seed predictions are ridiculous. If Kobe returns to form and puts up anything around 25/5/5 then we are an 8th seed at best. West is just too good. Realistically I see us being 10th. |
Even if kobe does 25/5/5, I can still see 9-10 teams better than us. |
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Iandrewd Starting Rotation
Joined: 26 Mar 2011 Posts: 383
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Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 5:30 am Post subject: |
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This thread has some mighty optimistic people. This team, as currently built, has the potential to be one of the worst defensive teams in the NBA. Athletic wings (there's not many of those in teh West, right?) will break down the Lakers defense at will and our bigs will either be in constant foul trouble or horribly out of position due to helping on defense. I just don't see this team sniffing the playoffs and wouldn't be shocked if the Lakers have one of the three or four worst records in the West. |
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PassTheBooze Starting Rotation
Joined: 18 Jul 2014 Posts: 517
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Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 9:05 am Post subject: |
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Unfortunately we're not better then any of those teams. If we do somehow manage to sneak into the 8th seed, memphis will probably be out |
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yinoma2001 Retired Number
Joined: 19 Jun 2010 Posts: 119487
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Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 9:11 am Post subject: |
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It's pre-training camp, pre-season. I'm fine with people being overly-optimistic.
It may be a different vibe in April, but for now, hope's in the air. _________________ From 2-10 to the Western Conference Finals |
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44TheLogo Star Player
Joined: 21 Feb 2009 Posts: 6364
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Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 9:13 am Post subject: |
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Atticus wrote: | Love the optimism in this thread! IMO there is no way we make the playoffs, but if no one gets hurt and if we play defense, I can see us hovering around that 8-10 range for a while before falling off.
Pretty much guaranteed at the top you have: Spurs, OKC, Clips, in some order.
Dallas was a 50 win 8 seed that took the champs to 7 games, plus they added Parsons (huge upgrade over Marion) and Chandler (much better defensive anchor than Dalembert). They also have a top 5 coach in the game. I expect them to be over 50 wins this season, definitely in the playoffs.
GSW, Houston and Portland play no D, but have tremendous talent and enough firepower to be in the top 8.
That's 7 teams already -- the 8-12 teams will be: Memphis, Denver, Phoenix, us, NO, in some order. The bottom 3 should be: Sac, Minny (assuming they trade Love), Utah.
For that 8 spot, keep in mind that Denver is quite improved -- Gallo, Nate, McGee all missed extended time last season plus they added Afflalo and 2 top-20 picks this year. They can legitimately play 3 deep at every position. Memphis is always a tough team as well. I just don't see us passing either of those teams. 10th seed would be an accomplishment with this roster. |
The great thing about sports is that it's never predictable. If models and projections told us everything we'd never play the games, so I'm just really looking forward to watching how this team plays - regardless of wins we have a ton of entertaining storylines to follow. Kobe's return, Scott's return, Randle the exciting rookie, can Nash and Boozer turn back the clock, LINSANITY.
That said, my expectations are for this team to be pretty surprising. Remember, with a talent level similar to this early on last year, we were playing .500 ball when Kobe came back! So if that team could get us to .500, then this team could be able to do as good or better than that!
That said, the western conference is impossibly difficult, so I still think it'll be hard to squeak into the playoffs - we might be able to make it in as an 8 seed. I think the best candidate to replace is Houston, they lost their entire bench and their coach is still a joke. |
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yinoma2001 Retired Number
Joined: 19 Jun 2010 Posts: 119487
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Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 9:20 am Post subject: |
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I think a part of the 12-12 start was that teams had no idea which players were being shuffled in/out of lineups. Scouting reports weren't fully developed on guys who had just been bench fodder. Not sure they could have sustained it through the year but that 12-12 start was a surprise. _________________ From 2-10 to the Western Conference Finals |
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tlim Star Player
Joined: 26 Jun 2002 Posts: 6649
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Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 9:24 am Post subject: |
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EZ-Ryder wrote: | These 5th/6th seed predictions are ridiculous. If Kobe returns to form and puts up anything around 25/5/5 then we are an 8th seed at best. West is just too good. Realistically I see us being 10th. |
Pretty much this. |
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Krispy Kreme Franchise Player
Joined: 30 Mar 2003 Posts: 12252
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Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 9:32 am Post subject: |
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i can see us getting the 6th seed at best.
whether it's a 6th seed or a 8th seed.. the result will still be the same. first round exit. _________________ Dominating every day. |
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yinoma2001 Retired Number
Joined: 19 Jun 2010 Posts: 119487
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Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 9:41 am Post subject: |
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Krispy Kreme wrote: | i can see us getting the 6th seed at best.
whether it's a 6th seed or a 8th seed.. the result will still be the same. first round exit. |
8th seed is a little bit of a stretch, but 6th? Who do you see the Lakers passing to get that high? _________________ From 2-10 to the Western Conference Finals |
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ringfinger Retired Number
Joined: 08 Oct 2013 Posts: 29418
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Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 9:43 am Post subject: |
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yinoma2001 wrote: | Krispy Kreme wrote: | i can see us getting the 6th seed at best.
whether it's a 6th seed or a 8th seed.. the result will still be the same. first round exit. |
8th seed is a little bit of a stretch, but 6th? Who do you see the Lakers passing to get that high? |
Don't fall in love with the seeding folks. Those two seeds were only separated by 2 games last season and I'd expect next season to be similarly competitive.
I know saying we could get the 6th seed at best and stuff sounds great, but it's not really any more of a bold statement than saying 8th seed. They're almost the same thing W/L wise. |
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yinoma2001 Retired Number
Joined: 19 Jun 2010 Posts: 119487
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Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 9:59 am Post subject: |
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ringfinger wrote: | yinoma2001 wrote: | Krispy Kreme wrote: | i can see us getting the 6th seed at best.
whether it's a 6th seed or a 8th seed.. the result will still be the same. first round exit. |
8th seed is a little bit of a stretch, but 6th? Who do you see the Lakers passing to get that high? |
Don't fall in love with the seeding folks. Those two seeds were only separated by 2 games last season and I'd expect next season to be similarly competitive.
I know saying we could get the 6th seed at best and stuff sounds great, but it's not really any more of a bold statement than saying 8th seed. They're almost the same thing W/L wise. |
Sure, but squeezing out those 2-3 wins is immeasurably more difficult in a tight race. _________________ From 2-10 to the Western Conference Finals |
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ringfinger Retired Number
Joined: 08 Oct 2013 Posts: 29418
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Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 10:19 am Post subject: |
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yinoma2001 wrote: | ringfinger wrote: | yinoma2001 wrote: | Krispy Kreme wrote: | i can see us getting the 6th seed at best.
whether it's a 6th seed or a 8th seed.. the result will still be the same. first round exit. |
8th seed is a little bit of a stretch, but 6th? Who do you see the Lakers passing to get that high? |
Don't fall in love with the seeding folks. Those two seeds were only separated by 2 games last season and I'd expect next season to be similarly competitive.
I know saying we could get the 6th seed at best and stuff sounds great, but it's not really any more of a bold statement than saying 8th seed. They're almost the same thing W/L wise. |
Sure, but squeezing out those 2-3 wins is immeasurably more difficult in a tight race. |
Sure. Doesn't change the fact that 6th seed and 8th are basically interchangeable (at least, it was last year). It's not crazy to consider a team who won 49 games might have won 51 but that would have been a 2-3 seed jump in the standings. |
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yinoma2001 Retired Number
Joined: 19 Jun 2010 Posts: 119487
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Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 10:23 am Post subject: |
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ringfinger wrote: | yinoma2001 wrote: | ringfinger wrote: | yinoma2001 wrote: | Krispy Kreme wrote: | i can see us getting the 6th seed at best.
whether it's a 6th seed or a 8th seed.. the result will still be the same. first round exit. |
8th seed is a little bit of a stretch, but 6th? Who do you see the Lakers passing to get that high? |
Don't fall in love with the seeding folks. Those two seeds were only separated by 2 games last season and I'd expect next season to be similarly competitive.
I know saying we could get the 6th seed at best and stuff sounds great, but it's not really any more of a bold statement than saying 8th seed. They're almost the same thing W/L wise. |
Sure, but squeezing out those 2-3 wins is immeasurably more difficult in a tight race. |
Sure. Doesn't change the fact that 6th seed and 8th are basically interchangeable (at least, it was last year). It's not crazy to consider a team who won 49 games might have won 51 but that would have been a 2-3 seed jump in the standings. |
I've seen your exchanges with DreamShake about this topic so I'll leave it be... _________________ From 2-10 to the Western Conference Finals |
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tirebiter Starting Rotation
Joined: 31 Jul 2014 Posts: 401
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Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 10:28 am Post subject: |
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we'll go as far as scott can take us.
if he can get the team to play some D, we'll be in every game. If we can learn how to properly defend a pnr, and get the bigs to protect the paint and rebound, we'll have a chance.
and if he can get the team to move the ball on offensive as in a princeton offense, we'll get easier looks across the board and neutralize any advantage other teams have on us talent-wise.
i personally have never seen Ed Davis play - wouldn't even know what he looks like if i see him on the street. But if he's as good as people say in limited minutes, then that's a good sign. remember, asik was a 15min/gm player in chicago as well until he was given the starting role in houston. and i'd like to think ed Davis has a better offensive game than asik because asik had 0 offensive game. yet he managed to avg. in double digits in '12 because of easy buckets created by lin and harden. let's hope lin and kobe can do the same for hill and davis as well.
i see this team in a similar position as houston back on '12. promising big man given much larger role, all star SG, scoring SF (young is a better offensive player than parsons), and lin. but lin was coming back from knee surgery in '12. he's a much better player now. but imo, asik was the most important piece that got houston into the playoff in '12.
the houston team in '12 also didn't have a established PF. we at least have boozer, and randle. |
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youcantguardme Star Player
Joined: 10 Jan 2011 Posts: 1114
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Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 11:28 am Post subject: |
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dabask11 wrote: | EZ-Ryder wrote: | These 5th/6th seed predictions are ridiculous. If Kobe returns to form and puts up anything around 25/5/5 then we are an 8th seed at best. West is just too good. Realistically I see us being 10th. |
Even if kobe does 25/5/5, I can still see 9-10 teams better than us. |
True. I do think that if every Laker super produced and a bit of luck was involved there might be a chance. Here are the hands down better teams:
Spurs
Thunder
Clippers
Blazers
Mavs
Grizz
Warriors
That leaves one spot for Houston, Phoenix, Denver, Sacramento and the Lakers or some surprise team. Houston may have shot itself it the foot and Phoenix could be weaker than it looks but they are still a tough group to beat out. |
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ringfinger Retired Number
Joined: 08 Oct 2013 Posts: 29418
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Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 11:36 am Post subject: |
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yinoma2001 wrote: | ringfinger wrote: | yinoma2001 wrote: | ringfinger wrote: | yinoma2001 wrote: | Krispy Kreme wrote: | i can see us getting the 6th seed at best.
whether it's a 6th seed or a 8th seed.. the result will still be the same. first round exit. |
8th seed is a little bit of a stretch, but 6th? Who do you see the Lakers passing to get that high? |
Don't fall in love with the seeding folks. Those two seeds were only separated by 2 games last season and I'd expect next season to be similarly competitive.
I know saying we could get the 6th seed at best and stuff sounds great, but it's not really any more of a bold statement than saying 8th seed. They're almost the same thing W/L wise. |
Sure, but squeezing out those 2-3 wins is immeasurably more difficult in a tight race. |
Sure. Doesn't change the fact that 6th seed and 8th are basically interchangeable (at least, it was last year). It's not crazy to consider a team who won 49 games might have won 51 but that would have been a 2-3 seed jump in the standings. |
I've seen your exchanges with DreamShake about this topic so I'll leave it be... |
From someone that's been there -- trust me, leaving it be is a smart thing to do. |
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dabask11 Star Player
Joined: 27 Dec 2012 Posts: 1989
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Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 12:02 pm Post subject: |
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youcantguardme wrote: | dabask11 wrote: | EZ-Ryder wrote: | These 5th/6th seed predictions are ridiculous. If Kobe returns to form and puts up anything around 25/5/5 then we are an 8th seed at best. West is just too good. Realistically I see us being 10th. |
Even if kobe does 25/5/5, I can still see 9-10 teams better than us. |
True. I do think that if every Laker super produced and a bit of luck was involved there might be a chance. Here are the hands down better teams:
Spurs
Thunder
Clippers
Blazers
Mavs
Grizz
Warriors
That leaves one spot for Houston, Phoenix, Denver, Sacramento and the Lakers or some surprise team. Houston may have shot itself it the foot and Phoenix could be weaker than it looks but they are still a tough group to beat out. |
I think you meant NO, not SAC.
That's the thing, even if we do beat out PHO and HOU, we still have to contend with Den and NO. That's a tall order for a team w/o a second best player. |
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Thugnomoe Franchise Player
Joined: 19 Jul 2005 Posts: 14660 Location: unfortunately not Los Angeles anymore
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Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 3:29 pm Post subject: |
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people have us at the 5th seed? good lord.. smoking crack.
1. SAS
2. Thunder
3. Clips
4. Blazers
5. GSW
6. MEM
7. DAL
8. HOU
MINN (w/ Love) is still better than Lakers.
No playoffs again. But this team will be fun to watch. and really frustrating. Boozer can't do what he used to.. many fans will expect what he used to..
Kobe still won't play defense. Mid season clash with Byron.
Randle will surprise many but then hit the rookie wall.
we'll be close to a playoff spot but just out of reach. |
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44TheLogo Star Player
Joined: 21 Feb 2009 Posts: 6364
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Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 3:35 pm Post subject: |
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yinoma2001 wrote: | I think a part of the 12-12 start was that teams had no idea which players were being shuffled in/out of lineups. Scouting reports weren't fully developed on guys who had just been bench fodder. Not sure they could have sustained it through the year but that 12-12 start was a surprise. |
yeah I get what you're saying but 12-12 is already a more than a quarter of the season, you know? I think it's a fair representation of what the team's talent level could have accomplished if the injury bug hadn't hit us so devastatingly. |
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11 championship rings Starting Rotation
Joined: 27 Mar 2013 Posts: 199
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Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 4:09 pm Post subject: |
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Folks here really think Lakers can win 50-55 games eh?
Hell, 50 wins may be the minimum for 8th seed. |
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ringfinger Retired Number
Joined: 08 Oct 2013 Posts: 29418
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Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 4:56 pm Post subject: |
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44TheLogo wrote: | yinoma2001 wrote: | I think a part of the 12-12 start was that teams had no idea which players were being shuffled in/out of lineups. Scouting reports weren't fully developed on guys who had just been bench fodder. Not sure they could have sustained it through the year but that 12-12 start was a surprise. |
yeah I get what you're saying but 12-12 is already a more than a quarter of the season, you know? I think it's a fair representation of what the team's talent level could have accomplished if the injury bug hadn't hit us so devastatingly. |
Wait, we were never 12-12 at any point were we? I wanna say we were below .500 after 24 games. |
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44TheLogo Star Player
Joined: 21 Feb 2009 Posts: 6364
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Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 6:47 pm Post subject: |
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ringfinger wrote: | 44TheLogo wrote: | yinoma2001 wrote: | I think a part of the 12-12 start was that teams had no idea which players were being shuffled in/out of lineups. Scouting reports weren't fully developed on guys who had just been bench fodder. Not sure they could have sustained it through the year but that 12-12 start was a surprise. |
yeah I get what you're saying but 12-12 is already a more than a quarter of the season, you know? I think it's a fair representation of what the team's talent level could have accomplished if the injury bug hadn't hit us so devastatingly. |
Wait, we were never 12-12 at any point were we? I wanna say we were below .500 after 24 games. |
We were actually 10-9. Same idea though! 19/82 = 23% of the season.
After 24 games we were 11-13. We were 10-9 when kobe came back, then went 2-4 in the 6 games he played before getting injured again. |
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