NBA 2023-24

Honestly thought it was gonna be more competitive, with Boston choking more than once. 

Entertaining playoffs. Disappointing Finals. 

Teams that lost earlier in the process will likely feel better moving forward than Dallas does from getting dominated in the Finals. Suddenly it's a world a doubt and speculation that wasn't there two weeks ago. Doncic and Kyrie's brand new reputation as the most clutch backcourt in NBA history virtually evaporated overnight. Not sure what gets them over the hump. If they would have lost in a close series to the Timberwolves, there would be less hand-wringing and hating. 

I'm sure there are pangs in Denver, but no reason the Nuggets can't rejoin their dynasty next year. They will make at least one smart move this off-season. 

Timberwolves are no longer underperformers and have a lot to look forward to with Ant as their superstar. Would love to see Rudy Gobert's salary go to two solid role players.

OKC is still crazy young and proved they can hang with the big boys.

Knicks were the most injury plagued team in the playoffs and still put on a show. They haven't been relevant for awhile and they gotta feel good going into next season.

The Pacers were fun to watch, too. I think I underestimated them. Orlando and Cleveland might be just a couple pieces away. Apparently you can never count the Miami Heat out. 

If the Spurs don't step up and make the playoffs in Wemby's second season, it's time for Pop to step down. 

If you're the Suns, Clippers, Sixers, Bucks, Pelicans, or my Warriors, you honestly can't tell whether you're coming or going. You've got a superstar-based window and you're going to need something more. 

 
Matchups were clearly more important than seeding this year in the west. TWolves beat the defending champs by essentially having more big bodies than Jokic could deal with.  Then the Mavs made the wolves look like children by having a superior backcourt that hunted bigs on high switches. Wouldve been interesting to see a Celtics Nuggets matchup, but didn’t happen. For the record, I think the mavs would’ve beaten the nuggets if they would’ve gotten by the wolves. 

 
It clearly looks like the Celtics will represent the East for the next 3-4 Finals.  They won because they were the best team all year, and proved it in the Finals.

In the West I still lean on the Denver Nuggets to be the top dog in that conference.  Not saying that OKC or Minn can't compete.  Because we all know by now that they both are very good teams ready to take it to the next level too.

Just saying it feels like a Boston vs Denver Finals for a few years.  Or until the SA Spurs get all their other pieces in the draft to surround Wemby.  Plus OKC, Minn, and maybe Dallas.  

LA Lakers, LA Clips and GS are just getting too old for this.  And the playoffs are long, physical and brutal.  

 
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admo said:
It clearly looks like the Celtics will represent the East for the next 3-4 Finals.  They won because they were the best team all year, and proved it in the Finals.

In the West I still lean on the Denver Nuggets to be the top dog in that conference.  Not saying that OKC or Minn can't compete.  Because we all know by now that they both are very good teams ready to take it to the next level too.

Just saying it feels like a Boston vs Denver Finals for a few years.  Or until the SA Spurs get all their other pieces in the draft to surround Wemby.  Plus OKC, Minn, and maybe Dallas.  

LA Lakers, LA Clips and GS are just getting too old for this.  And the playoffs are long, physical and brutal.  
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Philly has enough cap space to sign a max player to pair with Embiid.  If they make some smart choices in FA, they will be right there.  NY Knicks add some key pieces that fit Thibs style and they'll be in the mix as well.  Healthy Milwaukee with Dame, Middleton and the Freak will be back and will be very good too.  Not sure it's clear cut boston will represent the East for the next few years. People sleep on Cleveland, but they have some very solid pieces, and they can make some noise in the East as well with an upgrade in coaching. Miami, with that culture, will be a solid B-Tier team and will be a tough out in the play-offs and most likely will knock out a favorite, or at the minimum put a big scare in them. Indy is a nice B-Tier team that can surprise people in the East. Orlando is young, but has a talented core that got some experience, I expect them to take another step forward.  The bottom half of the East is all a crap shoot and depends on what they do with potential trades/FA to see if they can even be a decent team

As for the West, Denver needs to add some depth pieces, but they will be back.  Minny will be strong. OKC will be strong. Depending on what the Clips can do and if they can ever get Kwahi healthy, they'll be in the mix. PHX has a great starting 5, if they can be healthy and add a bench that can be used, they'll be scary.  Memphis being healthy will be a top team again, a roster with Ja, Jackson, Bane, Smart, will be a very good defensive team and has the talent to score on anyone. Maturity will be their biggest question mark. Lakers with a competent coach would have been a top 4 team last year in the West, depending on what they do in the coaching search, they'll be B-tier team in the West and if the cards land right will be dangerous, especially with the longer days between games in the playoffs, smart coach with that roster on rest would be dangerous.  Houston and SA will take another step up as well.  Pressure is on for Dallas, Sacramento, NO and Golden St to try and get better. Dallas got hot at the right time and came back to reality, but an added year of experience for Lively will be huge and adding more contributing role pieces will make them a B-Tier team and as we have seen, get hot at the right time anything can happen. Sacramento has a lot of good to great pieces, just overshadowed by such depth in the West. Golden St needs to find the fountain of youth for their past their prime core.  I wouldn't be surprised to see them miss the playoffs/play-in next season. NO hopes lie directly on the shoulders of Zion to be a play-off team. Who knows what motivates him besides sex workers and food, neither of which are good for a NBA career.

Battling for the most ping-pong balls will be the Pistons, Blazers, Jazz and Wizards and there's not a lot they can do to even make them competitive for next season.

 
Madcows said:
Philly has enough cap space to sign a max player to pair with Embiid.  If they make some smart choices in FA, they will be right there.  NY Knicks add some key pieces that fit Thibs style and they'll be in the mix as well.  Healthy Milwaukee with Dame, Middleton and the Freak will be back and will be very good too.  Not sure it's clear cut boston will represent the East for the next few years. People sleep on Cleveland, but they have some very solid pieces, and they can make some noise in the East as well with an upgrade in coaching. Miami, with that culture, will be a solid B-Tier team and will be a tough out in the play-offs and most likely will knock out a favorite, or at the minimum put a big scare in them. Indy is a nice B-Tier team that can surprise people in the East. Orlando is young, but has a talented core that got some experience, I expect them to take another step forward.  The bottom half of the East is all a crap shoot and depends on what they do with potential trades/FA to see if they can even be a decent team

As for the West, Denver needs to add some depth pieces, but they will be back.  Minny will be strong. OKC will be strong. Depending on what the Clips can do and if they can ever get Kwahi healthy, they'll be in the mix. PHX has a great starting 5, if they can be healthy and add a bench that can be used, they'll be scary.  Memphis being healthy will be a top team again, a roster with Ja, Jackson, Bane, Smart, will be a very good defensive team and has the talent to score on anyone. Maturity will be their biggest question mark. Lakers with a competent coach would have been a top 4 team last year in the West, depending on what they do in the coaching search, they'll be B-tier team in the West and if the cards land right will be dangerous, especially with the longer days between games in the playoffs, smart coach with that roster on rest would be dangerous.  Houston and SA will take another step up as well.  Pressure is on for Dallas, Sacramento, NO and Golden St to try and get better. Dallas got hot at the right time and came back to reality, but an added year of experience for Lively will be huge and adding more contributing role pieces will make them a B-Tier team and as we have seen, get hot at the right time anything can happen. Sacramento has a lot of good to great pieces, just overshadowed by such depth in the West. Golden St needs to find the fountain of youth for their past their prime core.  I wouldn't be surprised to see them miss the playoffs/play-in next season. NO hopes lie directly on the shoulders of Zion to be a play-off team. Who knows what motivates him besides sex workers and food, neither of which are good for a NBA career.

Battling for the most ping-pong balls will be the Pistons, Blazers, Jazz and Wizards and there's not a lot they can do to even make them competitive for next season.
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I think the Bucks are done. Dame is no longer a difference maker. Philly is the only real team that could stand in their way. East is such a travesty of a conference. 
 

Well what okc see does with their picks and cap space. They’re one or 2 bigs away from being a juggernaut. Minny will be tough. If Denver loses kcp and doesn’t replace him with a 3&D wing…they’ll come back up the pack 

 
It's easy to s#!t on the Lakers, but I don't think many teams wanted to face them in the playoffs. 

If they hadn't drawn Denver in the first round, who knows? On the other hand, it's the Lakers' fault for coming in as the 8 seed. But they did match up well against the Mavs, Clippers, and Suns in the regular season. 

The buzz among Lakers fans is that they're looking forward to the LeBron era being over. Regardless of his still impressive talent, the team is shackled to his health and ambitions. 

For that matter, the young up & coming teams look like a lot more fun than the aging superstar rosters chasing a ring, which isn't really working for them. 

 
Guy Chamberlin said:
It's easy to s#!t on the Lakers, but I don't think many teams wanted to face them in the playoffs. 

If they hadn't drawn Denver in the first round, who knows? On the other hand, it's the Lakers' fault for coming in as the 8 seed. But they did match up well against the Mavs, Clippers, and Suns in the regular season. 

The buzz among Lakers fans is that they're looking forward to the LeBron era being over. Regardless of his still impressive talent, the team is shackled to his health and ambitions. 

For that matter, the young up & coming teams look like a lot more fun than the aging superstar rosters chasing a ring, which isn't really working for them. 
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Most true Lakers fans want the era to be over, he's not a Laker, he's a hired gun. Lakers fans were spoiled with greatness, who bled purple and gold, for 35+ years.  Now they are being led by a very talented outsider, who will never be looked at in the same light as the true Laker greats. They will all feel a great relief, like a burden has been lifted, when he's gone.

 
Mavric said:
The Lakers lost to the Nuggets, who lost to the Timberwolves, who lost to the Mavericks, who lost to the Celtics.

Making the Lakers literally the worst team in the playoffs.
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Last year the Nebraska football team beat Illinois, which beat Minnesota, which beat Iowa, making Nebraska literally the best team in the Big 10 West.

It doesn't really work this way, but as mentioned it's on the Lakers for limping in as the 8 seed. 

 
Madcows said:
Yet this 'untalented team' led 80% of the Denver series with an incompetent coach, who mismanaged rotations, timeouts and challenges.  A competent coach fixes those things and puts them in a better spot to close each game. Plus, a competent coach would have been doing this during the regular season as well.  A regular season where bad coaching decisions directly led to at least 8-9 losses, split those, they avoid the play-in and would have finished 4th in the west, if they all go the Lakers way, they are equal to the top 3 in the west. There is a persuasive argument to be made, that bad coaching led to closer 20 losses. With a good/great coach, they would have been a 55-60 win team last year. They are not a team to sleep on. The last season, Ham was to blame, and it was good to move on from him. Vogel was the scapegoat for Pelinka and The Rambiis making poor personnel decisions. Which if rumors are true, those decisions were because they caved to LeGM, against Vogel's wishes. This should worry people, because if they ever get their front-office/coaching staff to be competent and on the same page, the narrative would switch from "they don't have talent/they are too old" (which is laughably off) to "which version of the clear and cream is LBJ taking and can it show up on tests?". It's not an unreasonable expectation for this team to be in the WCF or Finals next year. Same for Minny, OKC and Denver. It all depends on JJs competency and the staff he builds. Until JJ shows it, they will be a tier below those three teams.
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I don't think Ham was a good coach, and I wonder who wanted Vogel fired and who wanted Darvin Ham to be the Lakers coach instead.

From my couch, the biggest glowing problem for the LA Lakers is the players on the court.  The players need to take the responsibility for not playing good enough the past 2-3 years.  It's a players league and not a coaches league.  Maybe JJ will make them play smart for once, and better.

 
Guy Chamberlin said:
Last year the Nebraska football team beat Illinois, which beat Minnesota, which beat Iowa, making Nebraska literally the best team in the Big 10 West.

It doesn't really work this way, but as mentioned it's on the Lakers for limping in as the 8 seed. 
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Obviously it's not really the case.  But your example isn't anywhere close to being the same thing.

 
Madcows said:
Yet this 'untalented team' led 80% of the Denver series with an incompetent coach, who mismanaged rotations, timeouts and challenges.  A competent coach fixes those things and puts them in a better spot to close each game. Plus, a competent coach would have been doing this during the regular season as well.  A regular season where bad coaching decisions directly led to at least 8-9 losses, split those, they avoid the play-in and would have finished 4th in the west, if they all go the Lakers way, they are equal to the top 3 in the west. There is a persuasive argument to be made, that bad coaching led to closer 20 losses. With a good/great coach, they would have been a 55-60 win team last year. They are not a team to sleep on. The last season, Ham was to blame, and it was good to move on from him. Vogel was the scapegoat for Pelinka and The Rambiis making poor personnel decisions. Which if rumors are true, those decisions were because they caved to LeGM, against Vogel's wishes. This should worry people, because if they ever get their front-office/coaching staff to be competent and on the same page, the narrative would switch from "they don't have talent/they are too old" (which is laughably off) to "which version of the clear and cream is LBJ taking and can it show up on tests?". It's not an unreasonable expectation for this team to be in the WCF or Finals next year. Same for Minny, OKC and Denver. It all depends on JJs competency and the staff he builds. Until JJ shows it, they will be a tier below those three teams.
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Lakers also got 147 of a possible 164 regular season games out of LBJ and Davis combined.  Most pundits thought the Lakers were a contender IF they stayed healthy.  They stayed healthy and still ended up in the play in.  I'll take the under on 71 games for Lebron this coming year.  With teams like OKC, Minny, Dallas, Denver not going anywhere, and Rockets, Grizzlies on the rise...I see Lakers competing with the Clippers, Suns, and Pelicans for the lower end of the playoffs/play in.  

 
Jason Sitoke said:
With teams like OKC, Minny, Dallas, Denver not going anywhere, and Rockets, Grizzlies on the rise...I see Lakers competing with the Clippers, Suns, and Pelicans for the lower end of the playoffs/play in.  
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Which is unacceptable in Lakers land.

Agree with this likelihood, but does that get Riddick fired like it did Ham? Do Pelinka and Jeannie Buss take the blame? Would that be the last season they bend over backwards for LeBron James? 

Would Paul George sliding over to the Lakers change the math? 

 
Jason Sitoke said:
Lakers also got 147 of a possible 164 regular season games out of LBJ and Davis combined.  Most pundits thought the Lakers were a contender IF they stayed healthy.  They stayed healthy and still ended up in the play in.  I'll take the under on 71 games for Lebron this coming year.  With teams like OKC, Minny, Dallas, Denver not going anywhere, and Rockets, Grizzlies on the rise...I see Lakers competing with the Clippers, Suns, and Pelicans for the lower end of the playoffs/play in.  
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They are contenders when healthy and with a competent coach. That was the missing piece last year, and it's a big question mark going into next season. Coaching has a huge impact in the NBA, even with star players having as much power as they do.

As for injuries, excluding last year, I think those years where AD and LBJ were on IR more than they played was lingering effects from Pelinka over-thinking the roster and putting too much on those two's shoulders and took them almost 2 years to get over it.   I'm saying if the FO/Coaching staff are competent and on the same page, with the roster they have, they are on the same level as Minny, OKC, Denver in the west.  When different agendas show up, and having Patrick Starfish be the coach, the Lakers end up in the play-in game.

 
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