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The East's Weakness is to our Advantage

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  • The East's Weakness is to our Advantage

    It may not seem like it right now since we're trying to tank, but it could really benefit us in the future.

    If Masai is able to effectively rebuild this team in 2-3 years using the 2014 and 2015 drafts as well as free agency, we could have a serious window of opportunity to make it deep in the Eastern Conference playoffs or potentially even to the NBA Finals. It's hard to project all the way to 2016, but let's think about it like this. None of the teams in the East are really "on the rise". There's Miami and Indiana who are currently and likely still will be championship contenders then. Teams like the Knicks and Nets that are supposed to be perennial contenders, will have lost most if-not-all of their key players, and due to a lack of draft picks will not have been able to rebuild effectively. Then there's the rest of the conference, none of the teams are particularly better than any other, and none of them really have much of a headstart in terms of rebuilding.

    If we can be the first one of those teams to successfully engineer a smart rebuild with draft picks, good free agent signings, asset accumulation and player development, we could be joining Miami and Indiana among the East's elite in a few seasons. We definitely need to capitalize on this opportunity. If you look at the conference historically, there are only ever a few teams that are championship contenders. Let's hope Masai can make us one of those teams.

  • #2
    Nosike wrote: View Post
    None of the teams in the East are really "on the rise". There's Miami and Indiana who are currently and likely still will be championship contenders then.
    I'd go even further and say "no, just Indiana."

    For Miami to remain in the mix, they need to resign all three of their stars, sharply reduce at least one of those stars' salaries (probably Wade) so that they can sign a fourth impact player to carry minutes (in 2016, Wade will be 34, Bosh 32 and LeBron 31 - they're simply going to need a fourth impact player), find new high-level specialists to replace Ray Allen, Shane Battier, and Chris Andersen when they retire... it's not impossible, but it's going to be difficult.

    If we're looking for a second team to become ascendant alongside Indiana, my money is on Atlanta. They already have a good core of players, they're smartly managed and smartly coached, they're going to have Brooklyn's pick this year and it will probably be a decent one... a lot of promise there.

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    • #3
      There are teams on the rise or are ahead of our rebuild though:

      Washington
      Clevland
      Bobcats (finally showing signs of improvement)
      Orlando
      Boston
      Philly

      All these teams (possibly others) are a year or more ahead of our rebuild.

      Comment


      • #4
        Mediumcore wrote: View Post
        There are teams on the rise or are ahead of our rebuild though:

        Washington
        Clevland
        Bobcats (finally showing signs of improvement)
        Orlando
        Boston
        Philly

        All these teams (possibly others) are a year or more ahead of our rebuild.
        Boston is delaying their rebuild this year with all of their success, so they aren't ahead of us. Cleveland is looking like a disaster, but just competitive enough to make a push for the playoffs. Next year they'll be in the same spot as this year.

        Philly is at the same spot as us, it's just a race to the tank.

        Orlando is pretty similar to our situation, again depends on who rebuilds better.

        Washington isn't tanking this year. They have Wall and Beal, but they aren't looking like world beaters.
        "Bruno?
        Heh, if he is in the D-league still in a few years I will be surprised.
        He's terrible."

        -Superjudge, 7/23

        Hope you're wrong.

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        • #5
          I have a feeling Boston are going to be back to being a top 3 seed in the east sooner than later. That Brad Stevens hire was pure genius. He's phenomenal.
          @sweatpantsjer

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          • #6
            Mediumcore wrote: View Post
            There are teams on the rise or are ahead of our rebuild though:

            Washington
            Clevland
            Bobcats (finally showing signs of improvement)
            Orlando
            Boston
            Philly

            All these teams (possibly others) are a year or more ahead of our rebuild.
            I'd also add Detroit and Atlanta to that list.

            Plus, teams like Brooklyn & NY will never have trouble attracting free agents to the glamor market, so I would never rule them out.

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            • #7
              ceez wrote: View Post
              I have a feeling Boston are going to be back to being a top 3 seed in the east sooner than later. That Brad Stevens hire was pure genius. He's phenomenal.
              Sam Mitchell was named Coach of the Year in 06-07. I'm not prepared to declare Boston's re-ascent yet.
              "Bruno?
              Heh, if he is in the D-league still in a few years I will be surprised.
              He's terrible."

              -Superjudge, 7/23

              Hope you're wrong.

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              • #8
                Boston's coach is doing one hell of a job with absolutely no NBA level coaching experience

                Comment


                • #9
                  stooley wrote: View Post
                  Boston is delaying their rebuild this year with all of their success, so they aren't ahead of us. Cleveland is looking like a disaster, but just competitive enough to make a push for the playoffs. Next year they'll be in the same spot as this year.

                  Philly is at the same spot as us, it's just a race to the tank.

                  Orlando is pretty similar to our situation, again depends on who rebuilds better.

                  Washington isn't tanking this year. They have Wall and Beal, but they aren't looking like world beaters.
                  Boston already has some core players in Rondo and Green so they are ahead of us.

                  Clevland is a mess, but again, they have talent on that roster

                  Philly has MKG, Turner, and Noel

                  Wasn't saying Washington is tanking, only that they will be on the rise before we will.

                  My point was just that we aren't in a spot to capitalize in the East while other teams like Miami, and Indiana are on the down side of their rosters. Other teams are ahead of with their own rebuilds and will be the new contenders in the east before we get there. Our best hope is to do what they are doing, only better.

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                  • #10
                    Mediumcore wrote: View Post
                    Boston already has some core players in Rondo and Green so they are ahead of us.

                    Clevland is a mess, but again, they have talent on that roster

                    Philly has MKG, Turner, and Noel

                    Wasn't saying Washington is tanking, only that they will be on the rise before we will.

                    My point was just that we aren't in a spot to capitalize in the East while other teams like Miami, and Indiana are on the down side of their rosters. Other teams are ahead of with their own rebuilds and will be the new contenders in the east before we get there. Our best hope is to do what they are doing, only better.
                    Ah, well I do agree with this. We have to rebuild better. We won't stumble into a conference championship because we are the only teams trying to compete.

                    On the other hand there isn't an established up and comer like the Thunder/GSW seem to be in the West.

                    Philly has MCW*, but I'm not a huge fan of Turner or Noel.

                    Cleveland is a mess, especially with Kyrie underperforming and Bennett seemingly a bust. They have Tristan and Kyrie, for better or for worse.

                    And Boston, I'll admit is a question mark.
                    "Bruno?
                    Heh, if he is in the D-league still in a few years I will be surprised.
                    He's terrible."

                    -Superjudge, 7/23

                    Hope you're wrong.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Agree with the general point of the OP. There may be some teams that are "ahead" of us in the rebuilding process, but landing one single superstar prospect can change that in a heartbeat, and the top of the conference could be pretty open in a few years.

                      PS - I'm still crying over missing out on Lillard. F U Ben Uzoh!!!

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Nilanka wrote: View Post
                        Agree with the general point of the OP. There may be some teams that are "ahead" of us in the rebuilding process, but landing one single superstar prospect can change that in a heartbeat, and the top of the conference could be pretty open in a few years.

                        PS - I'm still crying over missing out on Lillard. F U Ben Uzoh!!!
                        This...

                        Lillard/DD/2014 Pick/2015 Pick/Valanciunas would've just been awesome.

                        Can't really blame Raps though. Nobody knew Ben Uzoh was gonna go off that game. I think Ed had like 24-12 and even Alabi had 20 rebounds or some shit.

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                        • #13
                          Never send a desperate scrub to do a lazy starters work in the last 5 games of the year while trying to tank.

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