Optimistic Predictions for our players:
1) Smart continues his development, and with more experience and a larger, more defined role on the team he puts up 14+ pts,5 asts, 4 rebs, 2 stls a game shooting .450% from the floor and .370% from three point range.
2) One of Sully or KO has a breakout year (my guess Sully), and with increased minutes he puts up somewhere around 18 and 10 a game with a .350% + 3PFG%.
3) IT keeps doing IT things: putting up 18 pts, 6 assts a game and wins the Sixth Man of the Year award that he should've won last year
4) Bradley takes a step back offensively due to a smaller role, but brings back his All-Defensive team defense and puts up 11 pts, 3 rebs, 2 asts a game shooting .470% from the field and over .400% from the three.
5) Lee and Amir both have solid years, with Lee averaging something like 14 and 7 and Amir averaging 10 pts, 6 rebs, and 1.5 blks a game playing excellent interior defense
6) Young spends almost the whole year in Maine being joined regularly by Rozier and Hunter.
7) JJ and Crowder both have solid years and basically split time at the 3.
8 ) We get the 7th seed again after dealing with some minor injuries during the middle of the season, but we're fully healthy by playoffs time.
9) (CLE, MIA, ATL, MIL, CHI, WAS, BOS, IND) We play Miami in the first round, and they struggle mightily with our perimeter defense, young legs, and spreading of the floor. We take them in game 6 at Boston after a mucky, physical series where we simply out-work and out-hustle them. At least three skirmishes occur during the series.
10) We then play Atlanta in the 2nd round after they beat Washington in 6. Without a strong perimeter defense, IT goes off in the series and averages 29 pts and 8 asts a game, but we ultimately lose in game 7 at Atlanta when Teague flips one in at the buzzer.
11) Brooklyn lucks out for us and gets a top 3 pick in the draft, and we use it to trade to Sacramento after a disastrous season when DMC demands a trade.
12) We then convince KD to sign for the max with us, and we roll into the next season with a starting lineup of Smart, Bradley, KD, Sully, and DMC.
I think I'd be okay with that scenario.