What West Lottery Team will make the playoffs this season?

[THE HCP]

Yeah..got to say the flake show will me in the mix.

Yo, I tried reading this 4 or 5 times, front to back and the other way around and still don’t understand it. But I liked it anyway!

 

[KingSpeed]

Just imagine if they did miss the playoffs though? That fanbase and team would never ever hear the end of it. It would be like when Malone and Payton failed.

Malone/Payton didn't fail. They made it to the NBA Finals and Malone was injured.

 

[Chris Craig]

Besides the Lakers the west lottery teams haven't improved much. Denver lost Wilson. Mavs got Jordan, but will Doncic play this season? Grizz aren't that great. The other lottery teams in the west haven't changed much

 

[dviss1]

If Bagley is as good as advertised, and Fox, Jackson and Giles all make significant leaps, and Hield and Bogdanovic are productive on the wing...

 

[andalusian]

Denver lost Wilson.

They got MPJ - if he is healthy, he could be an upgrade.

Mavs got Jordan, but will Doncic play this season?

Why will Doncic not play?

Grizz aren't that great.

They are getting back their starting PG and added a nice lottery pick. They will be much better.

The other lottery teams in the west haven't changed much

The Suns sure have. They got the #1 pick and Ariza. They will be better.

 

[Chris Craig]

As for playoff teams in the west falling off. With Parker and most likely Ginobli finally gone, Kawhi and probably Aldridge being traded, the Spurs will enter a rebuild and finally miss the playoffs.

The Blazers will have a harder time making the playoffs this year. There was a lot of injuries that helped the Blazers get 3rd place. Still they were only a few games ahead of 8th place Minnesota. The Blazers haven't gotten much better if at all so far this offseason. Hopefully, they will play inspired ball and make it.

Minnesota should they trade Butler will be on the outside looking in. They barely made it to the playoffs after last season. Had Butler not gotten injured they may have finished above the Blazers. They did spend much of the season ahead of Portland in the standings. They could end this season better than last.

OKC will probably be better sans Melo, but they still may stumble into the playoffs as they did last season. Though I think Paul George is going to have a goid year.

Utah. Its not the size of the dog in the fight. Its the size of the fight in the dog. Utah is a fighter. Expect them to make the playoffs again. Mitchell on cue.

Nawlins saw Cousins and Rondo leave. Cousins leving is probably not a terrible thing. The Pels play crazy good with Davis at the 5. They also added Randle. With Mirotic, their front court will be formidable. Does Elfrid Payton make them better or worse in the back court. Rondo helped them handle the Blazers. The Pels will carve a spot in the playoffs.

I hope Capela ditches Houston. If that happens it will hurt the Rockets playoff ambitions. They are stuck with Anderson, lost Ariza and Mbah A Moute, and are trying hard to sign Melo before the Lakers get their hands on him. Please, Rockets please sign a third ball hog. Did they not see what he did to OKC last season?

 

[THE HCP]

As for playoff teams in the west falling off. With Parker and most likely Ginobli finally gone, Kawhi and probably Aldridge being traded, the Spurs will enter a rebuild and finally miss the playoffs

And will get the #1 pick next season!

 

[Chris Craig]

They got MPJ - if he is healthy, he could be an upgrade.



Why will Doncic not play?



They are getting back their starting PG and added a nice lottery pick. They will be much better.



The Suns sure have. They got the #1 pick and Ariza. They will be better.

MPJ is not going to be the Nuggets answer this season. He is struggling with a bad back, will probably be injury prone, and still has to prove he can adapt to the NBA level. I'm not sold Denver has a meal ticket to the playoffs. Chandlers absent will hurt. They are listing Authur as a SF, they don't have a great PG (Harris is good, but he is overpaid) The Nuggets have Jokic and Millsap and youth. There will be struggles.

There has been talk that Doncic will stay overseas. He has 2 years left on his contract over there. He may not come over. Even if he does. With him and Deandre, the Mavs will be better, but still will probably miss the playoffs.

The Grizzlies will get back Conley sure, and they picked up Anderson and picked up Jaren Jackson. Evans meanwhile walked away in free agency. There is definitely some progress there. If Conley can stay healthy, and if Jaren Jackson can translate to the NBA, then they will make a run at the playoffs. Anderson will definately help them. They got a little better. The west is going to be a beast. Is that little better going to be good enough? I don't know.

The suns...Ariza really? Ariza doesn't make them much better. They got Ayton, Bridges, and Okobo. They have talented youth and quite a few questionable players. In a couple of years they could be quite good. This year will be rookies integrating, young players like Bender and Chriss trying to prove they aren't busts, Booker holding things together, and Ariza wishing he were still in Houston.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

If Bagley is as good as advertised, and Fox, Jackson and Giles all make significant leaps, and Hield and Bogdanovic are productive on the wing...

Obviously I was being a bit facetious with this post, but in all reality, Kings in 2020 could well turn the corner. Fox/Hield/Jackson/Giles/Bagley backed up by Mason/Bogdan/Skal/WCS--that could be a dangerous squad.

I can't imagine how insane this forum would be if we were Kings fans, seeing all that young talent, and all the expiring deals they have (Randolph, Shumpert, Koufos, Temple), and all their cap space (about $20M), and not seeing any efforts to deal for the stars that are available.

 

[riverman]

To me it's obviously the Lakers but since there's still trading to be done and signing of free agents...things could change pretty quickly

 

[Orion Bailey]

I think Phoenix might just break out.

 

[Boob-No-More]

If Bagley is as good as advertised, and Fox, Jackson and Giles all make significant leaps, and Hield and Bogdanovic are productive on the wing...

In other words, if all six of their best players exceed all reasonable expectations, they might be better than expected.

Where better than expected > 25 wins.

BNM

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

I think Phoenix might just break out.

25 wins!

 

[Wizard Mentor]

I think Phoenix might just break out.

Phoenix is pretty young, they just might have a problem with acne.

 

[Orion Bailey]

Phoenix is pretty young, they just might have a problem with acne.

If they stay healthy they might replicate what philly did last year. I think they have more potential than Denver and possibly even Utah

 

[TorturedBlazerFan]

Phoenix is pretty young, they just might have a problem with acne.

I was sort of joking, Phoenix could get better and still not win a ton of games because the West is brutal, also they’re very young, They seem like they could be ready for the jump in 2-3 years if all those “if’s” work out.

 

[rotary111]

I think Phoenix might just break out.

Phoenix is my "Shocker" team this year. I think they got much better no matter how young they are.

 

[Orion Bailey]

I was sort of joking, Phoenix could get better and still not win a ton of games because the West is brutal, also they’re very young, They seem like they could be ready for the jump in 2-3 years if all those “if’s” work out.

Probably more realistic in truth, but sometimes things just click and they have a lot of talent now.

 

[oldfisherman]

Suns have a scary roster.

They probably will blowout several good teams, then the next game get blownout themselves. But not win enough games to make the playoffs, yet.

BTW, they are 3-0 at SL.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

In other words, if all six of their best players exceed all reasonable expectations, they might be better than expected.

Where better than expected > 25 wins.

BNM

Precisely.

 

[BBert]

In other words, if all six of their best players exceed all reasonable expectations, they might be better than expected.

BNM

So you're saying there's a chance.