New York/New Jersey pundit love= my big beef

[Raptorsss]

I was looking at ESPN and Hoopsworld predictions for next season. On ESPN they have the Raptors winning 29 games tied for last in the eastern conference with New Jersey. Really!? Losing Chris Bosh means the Raptors will lose 11 more games? Who did New Jersey add that will make them win 17 more games? Troy Murphy? Travis Outlaw? Avery? Are you serious? If that team wins 20 games next year it should be considered a success. Speaking of which, Cleveland which was abysmal without LeBron will still be better than a team that was decent without Bosh? I don't think so.

The Knickerbockers

Why are they getting so much love? Honestly, how much is Amare, sans Nash, an improvement over David Lee? He's slower a worse rebounder, older, injury prone, and maybe worse defensively! This is the guy that will take the Knicks into the playoffs!? Seriously!? Also, the three players from Golden State, 3 good role players on a 25 win team? Role players from a 25 win team is an improvement for the Knicks? Felton is an overrated point guard who they overpaid for and their depth is mediocre at best. The only player (besides Rautins) that I am interested in watching is Mozgov, he's a rookie and is not a huge improvement. This team isn't better they merely went sideways.

I hope the ESPN and Hoopsworld prognosticators eat their shorts when the Raptors finish above the Nets, Knicks and Cavs next year.

/rant

[Apollo]

The Nets added Derrick Favors, Troy Murphy, Travis Outlaw, Anthony Morrow, Jordan Farmar, Damion james, Johan Petro, Sean May and probably a few more I'm not thinking about. They're entirely different than last year and when you think about they kept Devin Harris, Brook Lopez and Terrence Williams I cannot for the life of me understand how they can't take a huge step forward. The Knicks added a Stoudamire, Felton, Turiaf, Azubuike, Anthony Randolph, and Roger Mason. They too saw a huge influx in talent. Both teams have strong coaching staffs. They're both taking steps forward and I think the Nets are no doubt better than the Raptors. The Knicks, maybe. They have more established guys to count on. Either way, I agree the Raptors will be taking a big step back in terms of win %. They're moving away from a system that's been centered around Bosh for the last four years and now are looking to younger guys who haven't proven anything. When you consider that and also consider the Raptors record without Bosh (HORRIBLE) then it's easy to see why someone might suggest the Raptors are losing more games this season. This goes far beyond stats.

[Raptorsss]

New Jersey got a lot of new players last year when they traded Carter. Will they be improved? Yes. The Raptors brought in nine new players it didn't pan out. The same issues will occur in New Jersey.

[chris]

new jersey's season last year was a complete anomaly. they started the season 0-17 because they were decimated by injuries, had to fire their (decent) head coach because of it, and replaced him with their GM in the interim, who was a lame duck coach that commanded no respect of the players and no longer has anything to do with the organization. it's hard to expect any team that starts 0-17 to have much fight in them, especially under those circumstances. their season was over in november, and all the players knew it.

in addition to the roster upgrades apollo mentioned, the biggest reason they'll be a lot better is avery johnson who, if nothing else, will have his dudes play hard. because if they don't, they won't play.

i won't be surprised in the slightest if new jersey is better than the raps this year. i would much rather be in their position (now and for the future) than ours.

[JoePanini]

C'mon. Just look at the teams and you'll see that they are both far superior to us in every facet of the game. They both have great proven scorers in Devin Harris and Amare Stoudemire, both capable of scoring way over 20 ppg. Then they both have good rebounders like Troy Murphy, Brook Lopez, Johan Petro, Outlaw (for his position), Randolph, Stoudemire, Turiaf etc... They both have decent support scorers. They both have decent defenders, they both have great energy players. I don't get how you can think we're better. Plus both teams are incredibly deep, and pretty young.