NBA Season 2014-2015

[valkorum]

I am starting to get withdrawals Jayman - where's the next installment of the pre-season power rankings

Haha! Haven't had much internet access this weekend but there's one coming tonight.

The one you've all been waiting for ;D (spoiler alert)

Yes, the Sacramento Kings  8)

[kingkingston]

a couple of top rookies in action today

[valkorum]

Still waiting Jayman :P

[Jay]

Still waiting Jayman :P

I'm so annoyed.. Had the whole thing written, was my best one yet but I put some stats in at the start of the text and the copy and paste glitch deleted everything ::)

[valkorum]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooooooooooooo

[Jay]

JAYMAN'S PRE-SEASON POWER RANKINGS

Boston Celtics

Last season's record: 25-57
Best player: Rajon Rondo - 11.7 points @ 40%, 9.8 assists, 5.5 rebounds, PER 15.3 (injury plagued)

Off-season moves:
IN: Marcus Smart, James Young, Evan Turner, Marcus Thornton, Tyler Zeller
OUT: Kris Humphries, Jerryd Bayless, Keith Bogans
A lot of Boston fans were expecting fireworks this off-season like Kevin Love, instead they got firecrackers... But if you look at the ins and outs, it was a successful summer for the Celtics. Marcus Smart was the best player available at #6 and will contribute immediately in particularly on the defensive end. He needs to work on his shot selection and perimeter shooting but he has a knack for getting to the free throw line and is also an above-average distributor. James Young at 17 was also a very good pick, Young was Kentucky's best player during the tournament, however I cannot see Young making much of an immediate NBA impact. He is still raw offensively and is yet to become a plus-defender but the talent is there. He has good length for a wing and a good shooting stroke, which is something Boston desperately needs. Evan Turner is a low risk/high reward signing and if he can start to live up to being the #2 pick only a few years ago, it will turn out to be a very smart move. Thornton and Zeller were acquired and all we had to give was our trade exception from the Pierce trade - Thornton has been given the green light from Brad Stevens, presumably to lift his trade value and subsequently ship his expiring contract off to a contender. Zeller is no world beater but he is a legit 7fter, something Boston have not had for a long time.

Projected Starting 5:
PG: Rajon Rondo
SG: Avery Bradley
SF: Jeff Green
PF: Jared Sullinger
C: Kelly Olynyk
6th man: Marcus Smart
Its a tough rotation to figure out because of the amount of role players we have on the team but also the lacking of quality NBA players. Rondo will miss the start of the season due to a broken hand but will take up the starting role when he returns. I would prefer Smart to start over Bradley but with Bradley recently being given the 4 year contract extension, I can't see that happening. I could also see Zeller starting and Olynyk being used as the first big off the bench - a role I think would suit him. However, we drafted both Sully and Olynyk in the first round of the draft and as we aren't competing for a championship yet, it is worth giving our future the chance to play together. Boston's offense scored 106.8 points per 100 possessions when Olynyk and Sullinger were on the court, which was 7.1 points better than the team average and equivalent to the 9th best offense in the league. On defense when Sully and Olynyk shared the floor, Boston allowed just 101.9 points per 100 possessions which is equivalent to a top 10 defense.

What to watch for:
1. Rondo in a contract year - We all now that the Rondo star shines brightest when the big lights are on. It seems like every nationally televised game, he drops a triple double and in the playoffs he is a different beast all together. Now Rondo has the motivation of playing for a big contract. I can see a career year coming up for Rondo. I've heard rumours of him wanting a max contract, and I'd be prepared to give that to him under the following circumstances: a) he matches his stats from the 2012 playoffs... Over 19 games including a 7 game series vs. the eventual champions, Rondo went at 17 points @ 47%, 12 assists, 7 rebounds, 2 steals and PER 22. And b) he at least gets us into the playoff race, I'm not expect a top 8 finish but being in contention will prove how he makes his team-mates better.

2. Rondo being traded - Throughout his whole career, Rondo has been subject to trade rumours with names being thrown up varying from Chris Paul to Ben McLemore. Having a superstar is what sets Boston apart from other rebuilding teams and his presence makes us a viable option for free agents. Trading Rondo would presumably be for young talent, picks and expiring contracts and we would become bottom dwellers for another season or two. Keeping Rondo gives us the opportunity to cash in all our assets to bring a 2nd star to play with Rondo and who knows what could happen from there.

Strength: Perimeter defense - Avery Bradley has developed into one of the best on-ball defenders in the NBA and made the all defensive 2nd team very early in his career. Rondo is a four time all defensive team member and although he often gambles he steals, he is a very valuable defensive player. The huge addition on the defensive end though is Marcus Smart. He can help defend the bigger guards that Bradley and Rondo struggle with due to their size.

Weakness: Perimeter shooting - Rondo is a career 25% 3pt shooter, Smart 30%, Turner 33%, Wallace 31%. Those guys will play a lot of minutes and therefore will dent our shooting from outside and subsequently the floor spacing - Jeff Green needs his room to drive. One thing that helps is our bigs, Sullinger and Olynyk, will be capable three point shooters this season.

Final thoughts: Another transitional season for Boston, it will be interesting to see whether Danny Ainge chooses the youth charge or puts talent around Rondo. Its highly unlikely we're a playoff team but it will be interesting to see how Rondo works with the young core and also whether Smart can be a star in this league.

Predicted conference rank: 10th

[Jay]

JAYMAN'S PRE-SEASON POWER RANKINGS

Sacramento Kings

Last season's record: 28-54

Best player: Demarcus Cousins - 22.7 points @ 50%, 11.7 rebounds, PER 26.18

Key off-season moves:
IN: Nik Stauskas, Darren Collison
OUT: Isiah Thomas
Hate it. The Kings signed Collison to a bit over 5 million per year, yet let Isiah Thomas walk for just under 7. Thomas' ability over Collison's is worth much more than the $2 million they saved in switching point guards. Thomas scoring 20.3 points per game on 45% shooting with a PER of 20.5 shows much good of an offensive guard he has become. While Collison is a better defender and has more size than Thomas, he has always been a backup and is far less capable as a playmaker. Collison's assist% (percentage of team-mate field goals that he assisted on while he was on the court) ranked #55 in the league compared to Thomas at #12. As for the draft, I like Stauskas as a player however I would have gone with Noah Vonleh. The Kings need a PF to play next to Cousins and Vonleh would have been a great fit with his length and shooting. Was only a year ago that the Kings invested a top 10 pick in a SG, and doing the same thing in this draft did not make sense to me.

Projected Starting 5:
PG: Darren Collison
SG: Nik Stauskas
SF: Rudy Gay
PF: Jason Thompson
C: Demarcus Cousins
6th man: Ben McLemore
The only guys safe are Rudy and Cousins. Collison will get first crack at starting PG but Ray McCallum performed very well in the latter stages of last season and is an outside chance to take over the starting role. Stauskas vs. McLemore will be an intriguing battle all season. The PF spot is a bit of a revolving door with any of Thompson, Landry and Williams having a fairly even chance to start.

What to watch for:
1. Cousins' improving defense - Cousins had his defensive rating drop from 106 to 101 last year, a career high. He also increased his defensive win shares from 2.3 to 3.8, a strong showing of his improvements on the defensive side of the court. If he keeps up this improvement then he will establish himself as a top 10 player in the league as we already know how dominant he is offensively.

2. Stauskas vs. McLemore - McLemore was the 7th pick in 2013 and Stauskas the 8th in 2014, not much separates this two shooting guards. Although McLemore was a 42% three point shooter in college, he struggled in his rookie year only shooting 32% from deep. This will need to improve if he wants to beat out Stauskas who is an even better shooter than McLemore was heading into the NBA. Stauskas shot 44% from three in his college career and showed impressive ability of taking care of the ball only turning the ball over 2.1 times per 40 minutes.

Strength: Offensive rebounding - Sacramento ranked 4th in offensive rebounding last season, headlined by Cousins and Thompson who both pulled down over 150 offensive rebounds.

Weakness: Passing - Sacramento ranked last in assists, dragged down by Jason Thompson who had the 6th worst assist% out of all power forwards last season. Cousins is a good passer for a big guy but when your centre is your 2nd highest leader in assists and your first ranked has left it free agency, you know you have a passing problem for the upcoming season.

Final thoughts: I don't mind this team, they could even push for playoffs in the east but they're in the west and its going to be brutal. Would have preferred for management to keep together the only 20+ppg scoring trio in the league last year (Thomas, Gay, Cousins) but they must see something in Collison. Demarcus Cousins is a force and is only going to get better, I just hope they put some decent talent around him and don't waste such elite talent with a poor supporting cast.

Predicted conference rank: 13th

[valkorum]

Not a bad article Jayman but some holes in your research ;)

For starters
IN: Nik Stauskas, Darren Collison, Ramon Sessions, Omri Casspi, Ryan Hollins, Eric Moreland, Sim Bhullar
OUT: Isaiah Thomas, Quincy Acy, Travis Outlaw, Aaron Gray, Jason Terry

Isaiah was moved because Coach Malone has been trying to create an uptempo team and IT holds the ball too long.  Collison/Sessions both run the ball a lot quicker than IT. 

The numbers from the 1st 2 pre-season games show that Collison/Sessions combined numbers are the slightly above IT and then we still have Ray Mac to back them up if needed.

The PF position will be fought out between Jason Thompson, Carl Landry and Reggie Evans.  Reggie is every chance to start the season as his defensive work and rebounding is better than Jason Thompson.  Derrick Williams and Omri Casspi will be the backups to Rudy Gay.

[Jay]

Bradley just dropped 20 points in the first half vs Toronto.

#GoCeltics #ThePhoenixOf2015

[Master Q]

"Boris Diaw will get $500,000 bonus if he stays in shape throughout the season:
- $150,000 for weighing less than or equal to 254 pounds on Oct. 25
- $150,000 for weighing less than or equal to 254 pounds on the first Tuesday after the All-Star Game
- $200,000 for weighing less than or equal to 254 pounds on April 1"

[DazBurg]

Did LeBron Forget What Team He's On?
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn%3A11684236

LOL
actually was watching the start and never noticed that personally

[My Chumps]

"Boris Diaw will get $500,000 bonus if he stays in shape throughout the season:
- $150,000 for weighing less than or equal to 254 pounds on Oct. 25
- $150,000 for weighing less than or equal to 254 pounds on the first Tuesday after the All-Star Game
- $200,000 for weighing less than or equal to 254 pounds on April 1"

Ha! Imagine if you were getting paid 150 thousand just to stay in shape  :o

[tor01doc]

KD = Jones # = 8 weeks out!

Does that worry anyone?

[Jay]

KD = Jones # = 8 weeks out!

Does that worry anyone?

It worries me that Russ will be taking every single shot when he's on the court.

The Harden trade keeps getting worse.

[kingkingston]

Jeremy Lamb has been looking good this pre season