re: Realistic Expectations

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I don't think a 7th seed would be a disappointment.

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If we didn't have Zion coming back fitter than ever.

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he team got better post CJ but they still weren't world beaters, what were they 14-12 in the regular season?

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They were actually 14-14 after McCollum joined, but eight of those losses were when Ingram was hurt and didn't play.

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But how do you equate that with a better Denver, Minnesota, Clippers? Eastern Conference teams. I don't know.

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At this time of year, it always looks like almost every team got better. They drafted new, exciting players, and their rookies from last season will improve, etc.

But it's a mirage. You know how Antonio Daniels always says that "growth is not linear"? Well, decline isn't linear, either.

Two seasons ago, both Garrett Temple and Tomas Satoransky were league-average players -- quality rotation guys. Now, Sato's out of the league and back in Europe, and Temple is a buyout candidate.

The year before, we saw a sudden decline in the play of Eric Bledsoe and JJ Redick.

Every team has older players whose skills will decline. Those aren't easy to predict. We certainly hope that we don't see a significant decline from CJ, Jonas, or Nance, but it's possible. But those are our only players over 28, and other teams have much more exposure.

Dallas has eight players over 28. The Clippers have nine.

Just look at the Lakers last season. They had six older guys who haven't even been offered an NBA contract this season: Avery Bradley, Trevor Ariza, Carmelo Anthony, DJ Augustin, Dwight Howard, and Kent Bazemore. We had two of our players experience a serious decline; it's a much bigger deal when you have six players in that situation.