Contenders is a very strong word. I don't see it. After all the moves the West made in the offseason, I don't see how anyone can believe they're higher than the middle of the pack in the West.

The best outcome that they can hope for is to punch above their weight if they are healthy in the playoffs like last season's Heat team.

This post was edited on 10/21/23 at 1:11 pm

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Posted by TigerinATL

Member since Feb 2005

62446 posts

Posted on 10/21/23 at 1:22 pm to supe12sta12z

True or false, if the Pels played like they did last December all season, Zion will be a legit MVP candidate? What team with a legit MVP candidate hasn’t been a contender? Maybe they aren’t favorites, but playoffs usually comes down to star power and MVP candidate = top 5 player.

This post was edited on 10/21/23 at 1:23 pm

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Posted by supe12sta12z

Tiger Town

Member since Apr 2012

12945 posts

Posted on 10/21/23 at 1:36 pm to TigerinATL

False because this is a completely different year and the West have gotten a lot better as a whole. Last season even if they won 50 games, is probably going to be a middle of the pack team this year.

Using a month of games where they were pretty good and not elite isn't going to persuade me especially when all the issues they had last year is still present today.

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Posted by ghost2most

Member since Mar 2012

7777 posts

Posted on 10/21/23 at 1:53 pm to supe12sta12z

Uh no old arse Bradley beal and Chris Paul...

Scary

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Posted by shel311

McKinney, Texas

Member since Aug 2004

112637 posts

Posted on 10/21/23 at 2:20 pm to supe12sta12z

quote:
Using a month of games where they were pretty good and not elite isn't going to persuade me especially when all the issues they had last year is still present today.

Last season, 1st 35 games, Zion missed 8, BI missed 20, and CJ only missed 4 but was hurt for most of them with the first shooting hand injury... We won at the pace of a 54 win team.

Again, that's with BI missing 57% of our games and Zion missing 23%.

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Posted by Soggymoss

Member since Aug 2018

17420 posts

Posted on 10/21/23 at 2:38 pm to ghost2most

quote:
Uh no old arse Bradley beal and Chris Paul...
Scary

Don’t forget, Lakers got Jaxson Hayes AND Christian Wood!!!

Joking aside. The West is absolutely loaded, but a healthy Pelicans team is as loaded as any team in the league.

This post was edited on 10/21/23 at 2:41 pm

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Posted by Soggymoss

Member since Aug 2018

17420 posts

Posted on 10/21/23 at 2:44 pm to TigerinATL

True..

IIRC Zion was 3rd in MVP odds when we were on that run in December, if he plays like that all season he has to be at worst top 5.

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Posted by Pels_Yaz

Member since Apr 2023

11544 posts

Posted on 10/21/23 at 3:42 pm to Soggymoss

I mean lets look at the top
contenders and their ability to guard Zion.

Suns: KD, Craig or Nurkic?
Lakers: AD, Rui or Vanderbilt?
Clippers: Batum?
Warriors: Draymond?
Wolves: Kat?
Nuggets: Gordon?
Grizz: JJJ?
Mavs: Grant?

My point being I would take Zion in all these matchups. His combo of size and athleticism is unmatched in the league. Which leads to my point again that if he stays healthy we’re a contender in the West.

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