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Started By
Message
Small market teams can compete
Posted on 4/22/14 at 7:42 am
Posted on 4/22/14 at 7:42 am
Look at Memphis, OKC, Charlotte and Indiana. It takes crafty management, Smart drafting and making great trades. Look at the atmosphere at Chesapeake last night. I wish we had it here. And Anthony Davis is the second best player in all these teams behind Kevin durant.
4
Posted on 4/22/14 at 8:57 am to RedRifle
quote:
Charlotte
I know they made the playoffs, but :not sure if serious:
Posted on 4/22/14 at 9:06 am to oncealurker
quote:quote:I know they made the playoffs, but :not sure if serious:
Charlotte
Exactly what I was thinking.
quote:
Look at Memphis, OKC, Charlotte and Indiana.
OKC and Indiana are the only two real teams that have a chance at a title. Memphis is a competitive team that's scrappy enough to get into the playoffs and win a series, but not win championships. Charlotte
quote:
And Anthony Davis is the second best player in all these teams behind Kevin durant.
I love AD, but he's still got a year or so before he's better than Paul George and Russell Westbrook. And Al Jefferson was a beast this year.
Posted on 4/22/14 at 9:43 am to Suntiger
quote:
I love AD, but he's still got a year or so before he's better than Paul George and Russell Westbrook. And Al Jefferson was a beast this year.
paul george looked like crap after his first 2 months. I think his FG% went from 47-48 the first 2 months and dropped to 39-40% for the last few.
great defender though, but I think at this point he's better than George.
Hard to compare players at different positions though.
This post was edited on 4/22/14 at 9:44 am
Posted on 4/22/14 at 11:00 am to oncealurker
I added Charlotte as a team with "some hope". If they keep adding pieces they could have a Memphis style success.
Posted on 4/22/14 at 11:47 am to RedRifle
Teams like UTA/ORL/Us could definitely make that type of jump too
Posted on 4/22/14 at 1:08 pm to Suntiger
AD was a better player this year than Paul George.
There were long stretches of the season where Lance Stephenson was the best player on the Pacers.
There were long stretches of the season where Lance Stephenson was the best player on the Pacers.
Posted on 4/22/14 at 1:21 pm to RedRifle
We need to contend and the only teams on your list that fits the description is OKC and Indiana.
OKC lucked into 4 top 50 players in the draft and 3 of them are arguably top 10 players. It's probably never going to ever happen again.
Indiana is probably the best example here. They drafted smart and developed their players very well ala George, Hibbert, and Stevenson. Then they went out and got a couple of good underappreciated players like West and Hill to round out their starting line up. They continued the trend of bringing in underappreciated talents like Mahinmi, Scola, Turner, and Watson to their bench. They have been very consistent with their approach and have hit on almost every single transaction they've made.
Us on the other hand, have been very inconsistent and the direction of the team is relatively fluid due to the unorthodox roster. There seems to be a lot of mixing and matching in terms of talent with the visions changing or evolving as we go along. Demps and company are learning as they go and it can be dangerous if they can't fix their mistakes before Davis starts to become disgruntled like some of the young stars that are losing patience right before our very eyes.
OKC lucked into 4 top 50 players in the draft and 3 of them are arguably top 10 players. It's probably never going to ever happen again.
Indiana is probably the best example here. They drafted smart and developed their players very well ala George, Hibbert, and Stevenson. Then they went out and got a couple of good underappreciated players like West and Hill to round out their starting line up. They continued the trend of bringing in underappreciated talents like Mahinmi, Scola, Turner, and Watson to their bench. They have been very consistent with their approach and have hit on almost every single transaction they've made.
Us on the other hand, have been very inconsistent and the direction of the team is relatively fluid due to the unorthodox roster. There seems to be a lot of mixing and matching in terms of talent with the visions changing or evolving as we go along. Demps and company are learning as they go and it can be dangerous if they can't fix their mistakes before Davis starts to become disgruntled like some of the young stars that are losing patience right before our very eyes.
Posted on 4/22/14 at 2:23 pm to supe12sta12z
Seems like we went for the big names this past year, when bigger holes needed to be filled. (evans and jrue)
so far, it has not paid off since we're at home.
I think this FO is trying to think 2-3 steps ahead so if you see gordon gone this offseason and with that money we pick up a true SF or a legit starter C, we're good to go.
so far, it has not paid off since we're at home.
I think this FO is trying to think 2-3 steps ahead so if you see gordon gone this offseason and with that money we pick up a true SF or a legit starter C, we're good to go.
Posted on 4/22/14 at 2:27 pm to htran90
never a bad thing to have too many assets
Posted on 4/22/14 at 2:33 pm to quail man
quote:
never a bad thing to have too many assets
I think that's the plan. I think it's safe to say that AD, Jrue and Ryno are the furture of the team. Everyone else is expendable.
That being said, I'd like to see us develop guys like Evans, Rivers and Morrow more.
Posted on 4/22/14 at 2:45 pm to Suntiger
quote:
I think that's the plan. I think it's safe to say that AD, Jrue and Ryno are the furture of the team. Everyone else is expendable.
That being said, I'd like to see us develop guys like Evans, Rivers and Morrow more.
I think tyreke is here to stay fwiw
Posted on 4/22/14 at 3:11 pm to RedRifle
Atlanta, another quasi-small market team, has been in the playoffs 7 straight years...
Posted on 4/22/14 at 3:32 pm to Suntiger
Big Al has been playing at a borderline MVP level this 2nd half of the season. He has been a freaking monster. Pairing him with Kemba Walker was great for both players and the team.
And in regards to Charlotte, yeah they still arent a great team but they were over .500 this year. And, it seems like they finally have found a good coach. Talent level, they should have won 25 games this year. They won 43 due to how they play as a complete unit and they bust their arse on the defensive side of the ball. MKG is a horrible offensive player, no denying that at all, but he plays his arse off on defense and that is how he will make his pay checks. In todays game, you gotta have a SF that can play D.
And they made some pretty solid moves recently. Signing Al Jefferson, trading Sessions and Jeff Adrien for 2 vets in Neal and Ridnour.
And I love the way they have slowly been bringing along Cody Zeller. I still think hes going to end up being 1 of the better players from last years draft and a legit NBA player. He wasnt NBA ready immediately, and still isnt ready to see big minutes. So instead of giving him a lot of minutes and exposing his flaws to everyone, they let him get 15-18mpg to get his feet wet and it shows everyone what kind of player he can eventually become. And his PER36 #s arent bad at all, right around 13ppg and 9 rebs, with a few assists and 1 steal and 1 block.
And Suntiger, Memphis is good enough at what they do to compete for championships. They are good enough to beat anyone in a 7 game series, except for maybe the Spurs because they are the only team that can somewhat matchup with the Grizz. Gasol is their most important player and he missed like 23 games, and they still had 50wins. When hes healthy, the Grizz are a top 5 team in the NBA IMO. When he plays, they are 41 - 18. Without him, they went 9 - 14. If Gasol would have been healthy all year long, and you look at some of the teams they lost to when Gasol was out, its pretty safe to say they would have won near 60 games this year, giving them 1 of the best records in the entire NBA.
And they can beat anyone in a series due to their style of play. Nobody can match up with them in the post, except for San Antonio. And Conley is 1 of the most underrated players in the NBA. Hes a top 5 PG IMO, and 1 of the best 2 way PGs in the league. Great defender. And they have a lot of veteran role players that play big minutes for them. Mike Miller, Courtney Lee, T. Prince, Beno Udrih, Johnson, Davis, etc. Plus, they have the D that gives all high scoring teams issues. Look at what Tony Allen did on KD last night. I know KD had a lot of points, but was flustered the entire game and extremely inconsistent. He had a bad game.
We have the young core that can turn us into a legit playoff team that could contend 1 day. AD, Holiday, Ryno, and Tyreke is a really good and young core. Find a 3andD SF, and we will be set. Just need to stay healthy!
And in regards to Charlotte, yeah they still arent a great team but they were over .500 this year. And, it seems like they finally have found a good coach. Talent level, they should have won 25 games this year. They won 43 due to how they play as a complete unit and they bust their arse on the defensive side of the ball. MKG is a horrible offensive player, no denying that at all, but he plays his arse off on defense and that is how he will make his pay checks. In todays game, you gotta have a SF that can play D.
And they made some pretty solid moves recently. Signing Al Jefferson, trading Sessions and Jeff Adrien for 2 vets in Neal and Ridnour.
And I love the way they have slowly been bringing along Cody Zeller. I still think hes going to end up being 1 of the better players from last years draft and a legit NBA player. He wasnt NBA ready immediately, and still isnt ready to see big minutes. So instead of giving him a lot of minutes and exposing his flaws to everyone, they let him get 15-18mpg to get his feet wet and it shows everyone what kind of player he can eventually become. And his PER36 #s arent bad at all, right around 13ppg and 9 rebs, with a few assists and 1 steal and 1 block.
And Suntiger, Memphis is good enough at what they do to compete for championships. They are good enough to beat anyone in a 7 game series, except for maybe the Spurs because they are the only team that can somewhat matchup with the Grizz. Gasol is their most important player and he missed like 23 games, and they still had 50wins. When hes healthy, the Grizz are a top 5 team in the NBA IMO. When he plays, they are 41 - 18. Without him, they went 9 - 14. If Gasol would have been healthy all year long, and you look at some of the teams they lost to when Gasol was out, its pretty safe to say they would have won near 60 games this year, giving them 1 of the best records in the entire NBA.
And they can beat anyone in a series due to their style of play. Nobody can match up with them in the post, except for San Antonio. And Conley is 1 of the most underrated players in the NBA. Hes a top 5 PG IMO, and 1 of the best 2 way PGs in the league. Great defender. And they have a lot of veteran role players that play big minutes for them. Mike Miller, Courtney Lee, T. Prince, Beno Udrih, Johnson, Davis, etc. Plus, they have the D that gives all high scoring teams issues. Look at what Tony Allen did on KD last night. I know KD had a lot of points, but was flustered the entire game and extremely inconsistent. He had a bad game.
We have the young core that can turn us into a legit playoff team that could contend 1 day. AD, Holiday, Ryno, and Tyreke is a really good and young core. Find a 3andD SF, and we will be set. Just need to stay healthy!
This post was edited on 4/22/14 at 4:08 pm
Posted on 4/22/14 at 6:15 pm to KG5989
I am going to admit I was not high on the Jefferson signing, thought he was an idiot for going to the craphole and they were dumb for paying him that much.
Boy was I wrong
Boy was I wrong
Posted on 4/23/14 at 2:43 pm to htran90
How can you leave San Antonio out of the OP? They are the best-practice industry standard for operating a small market NBA franchise.
This post was edited on 4/23/14 at 2:50 pm
Posted on 4/23/14 at 2:44 pm to KG5989
quote:
And Suntiger, Memphis is good enough at what they do to compete for championships. They are good enough to beat anyone in a 7 game series, except for maybe the Spurs because they are the only team that can somewhat matchup with the Grizz. Gasol is their most important player and he missed like 23 games, and they still had 50wins. When hes healthy, the Grizz are a top 5 team in the NBA IMO. When he plays, they are 41 - 18. Without him, they went 9 - 14. If Gasol would have been healthy all year long, and you look at some of the teams they lost to when Gasol was out, its pretty safe to say they would have won near 60 games this year, giving them 1 of the best records in the entire NBA.
Third best record in the entire NBA after Gasol returned from injury. Only behind the Clips and Spurs.
Posted on 4/23/14 at 3:26 pm to htran90
Al Jefferson just had a streak of bad luck really. Hes been kind of a journeyman in the league and when he starts playing well, he gets hurt. Never signed 2 contracts with the same time. Hes there for 3-4 years, plays well then gets banged up so teams didnt re-sign him.
But he has been an absolute monster this year. Arguably the best post player in the NBA right now.
Posted on 4/24/14 at 7:00 am to KG5989
quote:
Arguably the best post player in the NBA right now.
Been true for a while on offense. Their offense is still mediocre.
What's actually impressive about Charlotte is that they've had a top 10 defense all year. With minus big men. With a roster I wouldn't want.
If the Pelicans can't approach an average defense next season with Anthony freaking Davis, coaches need to be fired.
This post was edited on 4/24/14 at 7:01 am
Posted on 4/24/14 at 11:00 am to RedRifle
San Antonio goes with out saying. Also needed to add Portland, Washington and Toronto (though not technically a small market it's a forgotten market) to the list.
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