This looks like a lotto squad to me

[PhoSita]

So how many people think the Utah Jazz are going to win 54 games next year?

[Rondo9]

So how many people think the Utah Jazz are going to win 54 games next year?

Not me.

[Tradetime]

This post conveniently ignores that we became the 2nd best team in the east post all star break.

Having the second best record is not necessarily the same as being the second best team.

Not to mention that some squads were playing in order to play us in the first round, like the Cavs resting their big guns in their final regular season games against us. There were also some really bad losses in mixed in after the all-star break, like the Lakers, Pistons, Magic and a Wade-less Miami squad.

Indiana and Miami, if healthy, will most likely leapfrog us this season (barring any trades made by us). Brooklyn as well should be a playoff squad.

While I like adding Amir Johnson, I don't think it's enough to get over the likes of a healthy Paul George and depth added in Monta Ellis. And Wade is still an elite player until proven otherwise. Bosh was sitting at the end of last year. Some seem to forget the conditions on how we got that 8th seed.

[LarBrd33]

Let me start with this: you can see LarBrd33's whole pessimistic philosophy on the C's played out perfectly here. Pretty much every other team gets the benefit of the doubt, and the C's get pessimism and one line lol

This is a completely fair point.   

i don't equate the addition of rookies projected in the 2nd round the same as bonafied NBA starters.  Boston swapped one mediocre starter (bass) for another (amir).... Beyond that we didn't do anything.  Other teams have made real additions.  I see this as a lotto team.

[PhoSita]

Let me start with this: you can see LarBrd33's whole pessimistic philosophy on the C's played out perfectly here. Pretty much every other team gets the benefit of the doubt, and the C's get pessimism and one line lol

This is a completely fair point.   

i don't equate the addition of rookies projected in the 2nd round the same as bonafied NBA starters.  Boston swapped one mediocre starter (bass) for another (amir).... Beyond that we didn't do anything.  Other teams have made real additions.  I see this as a lotto team.

Right, and I think that's a legit viewpoint.  I think it's fair to point out that you're giving these other teams a best case scenario while presenting the pessimistic scenario for the Cs.

[gpap]

Let me start with this: you can see LarBrd33's whole pessimistic philosophy on the C's played out perfectly here. Pretty much every other team gets the benefit of the doubt, and the C's get pessimism and one line lol

This is a completely fair point.   

i don't equate the addition of rookies projected in the 2nd round the same as bonafied NBA starters.  Boston swapped one mediocre starter (bass) for another (amir).... Beyond that we didn't do anything.  Other teams have made real additions.  I see this as a lotto team.

Yeah, I agree with most of this.

Can I also take this one step further?

I predict Ainge will not be the GM when this team wins their next championship.

[Salesgod]

Ok so here are some questions......Amir Johnson. It's an upgrade, right? I mean when you get the starting pf from the 3 seed in your conference at a reasonable price it's good right?

I hope so.  But why is Amir getting all the credit for Toronto's 3-seed?  That team has talent on it. 

And also, I fear that we are underestimating Brandon Bass.  He was arguably the most consistent scorer on the team last year.  He's a servicable defender.  He averaged 12 points, 6 rebounds on 55% shooting over the second half.  He's one of the best mid-range shooting big men in the entire league.  I don't think we make the playoffs without Bass playing a key part of it.   

I hope Amir makes a bit of an improvement... but we could struggle for the same reasons we struggled last season:  Too many mediocre parts and a lack of defined roles.  It wasn't until guys got injured and Ainge traded away guys that we started seeing a solid rotation and the players started to overachieve under Stevens' leadership.  I'm not expecting it to happen again.

I lived in Toronto for 2 years, just moved, trust me when I say Amir Johnson is a significant upgrade. Bass is steady and he can shoot the ball but he's not the pure energizer, fan favorite or game changing facials type of guy. Amir's intangibles and his motor are far too impactful to either be a bad investment or a straight trade for Bass. I would say he his Leon Powe at full peak mixed with a little bit of Antetokounmpo. He's a game changer. He will win you games, and you will want to leave him in.

[BornReady]

I think we can sneak into the playoffs this year but at best as the 8 seed
Knicks, magic, Pistons, Hornets, heat,  Pacers
Will all be improved

I left out Philly cuz their tanking again after being unsure of embiid

Celtics still quiet similar from last season
Heat and pacers should definitely overtake us

[TheFlex]

Ok so here are some questions......Amir Johnson. It's an upgrade, right? I mean when you get the starting pf from the 3 seed in your conference at a reasonable price it's good right?

I hope so.  But why is Amir getting all the credit for Toronto's 3-seed?  That team has talent on it. 

And also, I fear that we are underestimating Brandon Bass.  He was arguably the most consistent scorer on the team last year.  He's a servicable defender.  He averaged 12 points, 6 rebounds on 55% shooting over the second half.  He's one of the best mid-range shooting big men in the entire league.  I don't think we make the playoffs without Bass playing a key part of it.   

I hope Amir makes a bit of an improvement... but we could struggle for the same reasons we struggled last season:  Too many mediocre parts and a lack of defined roles.  It wasn't until guys got injured and Ainge traded away guys that we started seeing a solid rotation and the players started to overachieve under Stevens' leadership.  I'm not expecting it to happen again.

I lived in Toronto for 2 years, just moved, trust me when I say Amir Johnson is a significant upgrade. Bass is steady and he can shoot the ball but he's not the pure energizer, fan favorite or game changing facials type of guy. Amir's intangibles and his motor are far too impactful to either be a bad investment or a straight trade for Bass. I would say he his Leon Powe at full peak mixed with a little bit of Antetokounmpo. He's a game changer. He will win you games, and you will want to leave him in.

TP. Watched a lot of Amir this year because Jonas is on a fantasy team of mine, and even in a "down" year he was very impressive. The separation he's created between himself and Bass is significant.

[YeezusChrist]

You guys are ridiculous we get Amir Johnson and were a playoff lock but...

The Pacers who finished a few wins behind us get their superstar back plus another go to scorer and they have no chance??

The Heat barely missed playoffs last year but now they are an old beat down team with no chance at the playoffs even though they resigned Dragic, have Whiteside, and just drafted Justice Winslow a player we were praying for??

Can you stop drinking Danny's koolaid and take off you're green goggles we have added a role player while these teams who barely missed out the playoffs have added all stars!!!!!!!

Let's do best case scenarios for everyone let's say Amir is a shot blocker and provides rim protection and Sully is healthy all year and solves the rebounding problem

We still lack a go to scorer for when our offense goes stagnate like our offense constantly does because our 3's don't fall!!
IT is good but he can only do so much and he was shut down in the playoffs by Shumpert and Shump wasn't even playing lockdown defense he was just using his length. IT couldn't get clean shots off and when he drove it he was blocked or had to double clutch.

We don't have a go to scorer and we don't have a closer. Brad is great but he can't draw plays all of the 4th quarter for us to score 

[jpotter33]

You guys are ridiculous we get Amir Johnson and were a playoff lock but...

The Pacers who finished a few wins behind us get their superstar back plus another go to scorer and they have no chance

The Heat barely missed playoffs last year but now they are an old beat down team with no chance at the playoffs even though they resigned Dragic, have Whiteside, and just drafted Justice Winslow a player we were praying for??

Can you stop drinking Danny's koolaid and take off you're green goggles we have added a role player while these teams who barely missed out the playoffs have added all stars!!!!!!!

Let's do best case scenarios for everyone let's say Amir is a shot blocker and provides rim protection and Sully is healthy all year and solves the rebounding problem

We still lack a go to scorer for when our offense goes stagnate like our offense constantly does because our 3's don't fall!!
IT is good but he can only do so much and he was shut down in the playoffs by Shumpert and Shump wasn't even playing lockdown defense he was just using his length. IT couldn't get clean shots off and when he drove it he was blocked or had to double clutch.

We don't have a go to scorer and we don't have a closer. Brad is great but he can't draw plays all of the 4th quarter for us to score 

....... while losing both their starting center and starting power forward. I find it hilarious that you're criticizing others for not looking at the downside of our team when you just employed that method yourself with the Pacers. 

[MBunge]

Let me start with this: you can see LarBrd33's whole pessimistic philosophy on the C's played out perfectly here. Pretty much every other team gets the benefit of the doubt, and the C's get pessimism and one line lol

This is a completely fair point.   

i don't equate the addition of rookies projected in the 2nd round the same as bonafied NBA starters.  Boston swapped one mediocre starter (bass) for another (amir).... Beyond that we didn't do anything.  Other teams have made real additions.  I see this as a lotto team.

Right, and I think that's a legit viewpoint.  I think it's fair to point out that you're giving these other teams a best case scenario while presenting the pessimistic scenario for the Cs.

What he's leaving out is that Boston was better than those teams last year, sometimes by a lot.

There is one team that has a pretty good chance at surpassing Boston next year, Miami.  Yeah, Indiana is getting Ellis and George but they've now lost three of the core four who made them an Eastern Conference contender.  They are going to have to play an entirely different way.

Mike

[sawick48]

This post conveniently ignores that we became the 2nd best team in the east post all star break.

Having the second best record is not necessarily the same as being the second best team.

I'm an optimist when it comes to the Cs, but the second best record fact is thrown around way too often. Playoff teams- or rather real contenders- were resting their players for large portions of the second half of the year. Winning games post All Star Break won't necessarily translate to winning games throughout the year.

cmon man, people that puff their chests out saying how great we were post-break don't want to be taken down with facts. 

this is exactly right.  everyone forgets that the only reason we made the playoffs at all is because the Cavs sat practically everyone twice against us in the last few weeks. and as far as tanking goes, we aren't going to openly tank, but i don't think we'll be all that good.  probably a middle of the road, low lottery pick unfortunately, like #10 or 11 overall, while the Nets claw their way (again) to the 8 seed. could be dark times ahead

[aingeforthree]

This post conveniently ignores that we became the 2nd best team in the east post all star break.

Having the second best record is not necessarily the same as being the second best team.

I'm an optimist when it comes to the Cs, but the second best record fact is thrown around way too often. Playoff teams- or rather real contenders- were resting their players for large portions of the second half of the year. Winning games post All Star Break won't necessarily translate to winning games throughout the year.

cmon man, people that puff their chests out saying how great we were post-break don't want to be taken down with facts. 

this is exactly right.  everyone forgets that the only reason we made the playoffs at all is because the Cavs sat practically everyone twice against us in the last few weeks. and as far as tanking goes, we aren't going to openly tank, but i don't think we'll be all that good.  probably a middle of the road, low lottery pick unfortunately, like #10 or 11 overall, while the Nets claw their way (again) to the 8 seed. could be dark times ahead

Well we flat out made it and we're playing great ball once the IT trade was made. So take that fact and mark it down. You can't take that away no matter how far you spin things.

[YeezusChrist]

You guys are ridiculous we get Amir Johnson and were a playoff lock but...

The Pacers who finished a few wins behind us get their superstar back plus another go to scorer and they have no chance

The Heat barely missed playoffs last year but now they are an old beat down team with no chance at the playoffs even though they resigned Dragic, have Whiteside, and just drafted Justice Winslow a player we were praying for??

Can you stop drinking Danny's koolaid and take off you're green goggles we have added a role player while these teams who barely missed out the playoffs have added all stars!!!!!!!

Let's do best case scenarios for everyone let's say Amir is a shot blocker and provides rim protection and Sully is healthy all year and solves the rebounding problem

We still lack a go to scorer for when our offense goes stagnate like our offense constantly does because our 3's don't fall!!
IT is good but he can only do so much and he was shut down in the playoffs by Shumpert and Shump wasn't even playing lockdown defense he was just using his length. IT couldn't get clean shots off and when he drove it he was blocked or had to double clutch.

We don't have a go to scorer and we don't have a closer. Brad is great but he can't draw plays all of the 4th quarter for us to score 

....... while losing both their starting center and starting power forward. I find it hilarious that you're criticizing others for not looking at the downside of our team when you just employed that method yourself with the Pacers. 

I missed the ? At the end of that statement sorry for the confusion. And they lost their starting center who had become a pretty much useless and untradable player. David West is a blow to them because he was their veteran presence but if they sign someone like bass he is instantly replaced