Post by joshrblabber on Nov 8, 2016 20:16:08 GMT -5
Trying to keep track of the opposition, these are my early top 5 Power Rankings...
1 - OKC. The Thunder look tremendous right now. Losing KD was the best thing that could have happened for them - with Olidipo, Sabonis and Roberson joining Westbrook and Adams their defense is much improved and their scoring is spread across the team. They are a powerhouse inside and Westbrook is playing awesome basketball. Billy Donovan is a GREAT coach. From the little I have seen no one is close at this point.
2 - Toronto. I thought losing Sully would set them back but the opposite is true. His replacement is a rookie named Siakem, a speedy defensive 4, and he speeds up the offense. They have another rookie - Jacob Poetl - who has replaced Biyombo and looks like a real steal. He needs to hit the weight room but has all the skills and could be a future star. DeRozen is peaking, he reminds me of a young Paul Pierce, and JonasV is a double double machine. Lowry is a great leader and Casey is a fine coach. I like what I am seeing.
3 - Cavs. As great as LBJ is, the Cavs are a badly flawed team. They have no inside presence other than Thompson, and Irving plays 1 on 5 all the time. This is a team that was designed from the ground up to play hero ball. They got lucky last year but it probably won't happen again.
4 - Spurs. They haven't really gelled yet but they look great on paper. I expect them to move up as the season progresses.
5 - GS. They can still shoot the lights out but their defense is nowhere close to last year. KD is a bad fit and they really miss Bogut.
Hopefully in another month or two the Celtics can crack the list, but so far we are not close.
1 - OKC. The Thunder look tremendous right now. Losing KD was the best thing that could have happened for them - with Olidipo, Sabonis and Roberson joining Westbrook and Adams their defense is much improved and their scoring is spread across the team. They are a powerhouse inside and Westbrook is playing awesome basketball. Billy Donovan is a GREAT coach. From the little I have seen no one is close at this point.
2 - Toronto. I thought losing Sully would set them back but the opposite is true. His replacement is a rookie named Siakem, a speedy defensive 4, and he speeds up the offense. They have another rookie - Jacob Poetl - who has replaced Biyombo and looks like a real steal. He needs to hit the weight room but has all the skills and could be a future star. DeRozen is peaking, he reminds me of a young Paul Pierce, and JonasV is a double double machine. Lowry is a great leader and Casey is a fine coach. I like what I am seeing.
3 - Cavs. As great as LBJ is, the Cavs are a badly flawed team. They have no inside presence other than Thompson, and Irving plays 1 on 5 all the time. This is a team that was designed from the ground up to play hero ball. They got lucky last year but it probably won't happen again.
4 - Spurs. They haven't really gelled yet but they look great on paper. I expect them to move up as the season progresses.
5 - GS. They can still shoot the lights out but their defense is nowhere close to last year. KD is a bad fit and they really miss Bogut.
Hopefully in another month or two the Celtics can crack the list, but so far we are not close.
