NBA Power Rankings, EAST.

[IrishHand]

MVPaul's obviously a hardcore Raptors fan. Every comment he made in that most recent point is incorrect - as Pudge describes.

TJ and Calderon are clearly better than Rondo, but they won't "kill" him. They equate to an above-average NBA PG...Rondo is somewhere between average and below-average to all but Celtics fans.

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Star talent is the hardest part of the equation.

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There are a lot more "stars" than there are great coaches, and a lot more teams with 2 "stars" than there are teams with great Role Players/Chemistry.

[Billy Bibbit]

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Other solid role players: Humphries (in league leaders in boards per 48 min.), Graham (time to step up), I think Delfino will be nice in T.O. as he hardly played on quality Pistons teams, Dixon is an above average combo guard sub-in.

Baston, Moon and Jackson are all decent and could see some minutes.

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Guys like these will have a very marginal effect on the Raptors' season. They might change their win total by one or two games at the most.

[BobboFitos]

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Crazy deep? Say what?

One star: Bosh
Three solid players: Ford, Calderon, Parker
Two solid role players: Kapono, Garbajosa
One guy who could be either of the above two categories this coming year: Bargnani

The rest are marginal pros and castoffs - Rasho, Dixon, Delfino, etc.

Five players worth caring about and a couple of decent role players does not a "crazy deep" team make. If Bosh misses 20 games with his injured knee, the Raptors will have a really tough time making the playoffs.

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Other solid role players: Humphries (in league leaders in boards per 48 min.), Graham (time to step up), I think Delfino will be nice in T.O. as he hardly played on quality Pistons teams, Dixon is an above average combo guard sub-in.

Baston, Moon and Jackson are all decent and could see some minutes.

For example:

Nov 4 --> Celts @ Raps

-Bosh and Garnett will about cancel each other out
-Garbo will do a decent job of defending pierce
-Parker will do a good job on Allen
-Rondo will get killed by T.J/Calderon
-Bargnani will be all over Perkins on the offensive end, shooting 3s and displaying his improving post foot work.
-Bring in Kapono, Dixon, Humphries, Graham and Delfino to own the C's bench...
... and it looks like a Raptors W.

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i think this wasnt a gimmick post, but i laughed pretty hard anyway [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[Pudge714]

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Star talent is the hardest part of the equation.

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There are a lot more "stars" than there are great coaches, and a lot more teams with 2 "stars" than there are teams with great Role Players/Chemistry.

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Why do you think the Raptors will be bad? They have tons of gritty role players good chemistry and the reigning coach of the year.

[morello]

Good thread, I agree with almost everything Bobba has said throughout, including the Duncan/Malone stuff.

A few minor quibbles: Washington at #3. I don't buy it. Arenas is opting out of his contract this year, and you can be sure that he's going to be gunning for the scoring title. Personal incentives will override "team" incentives. Plus Thomas is out. They'll be in the playoffs but lower IMO.

I'm a Raptors fan and watched 95% of the games last year. I am sometimes ashamed to be a Toronto fan because we have the dumbest fans in the league, bar none. Almost every player on our team had career years last year, and we outperformed our Pyth wins by 4 games. We were running good. Very good. Bargnani might not regress, but until his reaction time on defense improves 5x, he's going to continue to be a liability. Seriously, I have never seen a big man defend the pick and roll as poorly as he does.

Also, I'd put Chicago at the top spot. They have much more depth and will almost certainly finish with more regular season wins. Thus, an easier road down the playoffs. Even disregarding that, they would probably be my #1.

[JupiterUWG]

the heat are gonna royally suck...bobcats overrated by original poster...hawks def. not 2nd to last

[Pudge714]

morello,
Pythag win adjusted to pace is a much better metric. Raps only overachieved by one game in that. Although I agree with the rest of your post.
http://www.knickerblogger.net/stats/2007/

[BobboFitos]

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Good thread, I agree with almost everything Bobba has said throughout, including the Duncan/Malone stuff.


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WOOOOOOOO [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

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A few minor quibbles: Washington at #3. I don't buy it. Arenas is opting out of his contract this year, and you can be sure that he's going to be gunning for the scoring title. Personal incentives will override "team" incentives. Plus Thomas is out. They'll be in the playoffs but lower IMO.


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Maybe. It's too bad Etan is out, but he's a very mediocre player. replacing a mediocre player with a sub mediocre player is not that damaging.

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I'm a Raptors fan and watched 95% of the games last year. I am sometimes ashamed to be a Toronto fan because we have the dumbest fans in the league, bar none. Almost every player on our team had career years last year, and we outperformed our Pyth wins by 4 games. We were running good. Very good. Bargnani might not regress, but until his reaction time on defense improves 5x, he's going to continue to be a liability. Seriously, I have never seen a big man defend the pick and roll as poorly as he does.


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yeah i still think the raps will make the playoffs, tho. they DO have a good team, just not nearly as good as everyone thinks.

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Also, I'd put Chicago at the top spot. They have much more depth and will almost certainly finish with more regular season wins. Thus, an easier road down the playoffs. Even disregarding that, they would probably be my #1.

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yes, they will have more wins. i think that. but i think a bulls/celtics series goes C's way.

[MVPaul]

Yeeeehaaaaw! Now I can't wait 'till Nov. 4. You guys all bashed my "analysis", so let's hear some breakdowns of this game...

[BobboFitos]

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Yeeeehaaaaw! Now I can't wait 'till Nov. 4. You guys all bashed my "analysis", so let's hear some breakdowns of this game...

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celtics win by 9. 101-92.