My optimism will go waaay up once Kelly and Sacre are sent to Alaska... They might be nice but they are redundant and limited in their abilities.
Not really optimism but I really like that Russell, Clarkson, and Randle are all elite rebounders in their respective positions. Clarkson pulled down 5 rebounds per game (post-allstar) I think Russell could average around the same, and Randle around 10 rebounds. That's a total of 20 rebounds, and what makes it really intriguing is that all three can initiate a fast-break. What I am trying to say is..... SHOWTIME IS BACK!!
Even in my wildest, most optimistic dreams... I'm thinking we're 1st round fodder at the end of the first round. Russell and Randle would probably have to put out border-line All-Star numbers for us to jump all the way to the 4th/5th spot in the West. This conference is just too competitive. We're not going to be better than the Thunder, Grizzlies, Rockets, Spurs, Warriors, and probably even the Clippers and Mavericks. Then there's still the Pelicans and the Jazz. We've got a hard road to the playoffs out here. Still what makes me most optimistic is that we should be in the hunt. We should be in that group fighting for the lower seeds. With any luck, one of those other teams gets banged up (looking at the Spurs and Clippers) then maybe we can leap frog them into the playoffs.
If everything bounces our way, we stay completely healthy, Kobe lasts the season and still has his legs come April (that's on you Scott), and our young 3 play over their heads and swerve to miss the rookie wall then we'll be 8th seed. Not counting on that to happen. Expecting 10th seed.
This is about what I think. I honestly think we are a year away from the playoffs. I think we get 40-42 wins next season which is about 7 short of getting in the playoffs in the West. And that's if EVERYTHING goes pretty well (ie Hibbert regains 80% of his old form, Randle and Russell both put up ROY campaigns [and I know Randle technically can't win it], Clarkson improves, Kobe plays efficiently for at least 60-65 games). And that's OK. a 20 win jump ain't nothing to sneeze at, especially when you consider that the driving force behind that jump would be 4-5 players under tha age of 23.
Yeah I wouldn't mind being the 9th or 10th seed at all. That means roughly 35-42 wins which is a massive improvement. As a fan that's the most I'll allow myself to hope for.
Well... The way I see it in my best case/most optimistic scenario,we have: 1. Kobe - who I believe if healthy could still be one of the few best SGs/SFs in the league 2. Hibbert - who not so long ago was an all star. He couldn't have regressed that badly physically, if at all, which means he could be one of the best centers in the West if focused and mentally stable 3. Clarkson - who was just selected into the All Rookie first team and according to all reports has seriously worked his butt off during the summer, he should at least hold his own against most players at his position 4. Lou Williams - 6th man of the year - a very solid role player 5. Tarik Black, who performed very well, also in a starting role (for a short period of time, but he did) 6. a bunch of young, unproven but seemingly very talented young guys in Randle, Russell and Upshaw If (I know this is a huge IF, I'm asking just out of curiosity - want to know how you guys view the talent level on this squad) all these players play up to their potential and are healthy, I honestly do not see many teams in the West that are hands down better. The only clear ones for me atre the Spurs, Warriors, Grizzlies and Thunder. I am a hopeless optimist, i know BTW - based on the responses so far, I presume most of you don't expect too much out of Kobe anymore. On what current player's level do you expect him to be impact-wise, also assuming he's completely healthy?
O-KAY! Well after that epic and embarrassing meltdown yesterday, I'm feeling good! No we won't be passing the Clippers as quickly as we thought, but all this did was add a year to their window before they inevitably fall into nothing again. They're still not a Championship level squad to me and now they're built off of a liar, a flopper, and Kia salesman. I'm not too worried about them. What this DID do though is tank Dallas out of the playoff race. Sucks for them. Too bad. Here's who I have now locked into the playoffs (barring injury): 1. Golden State 2. San Antonio 3. Houston 4. Clippers 5. Memphis 6. Oklahoma City 7. New Orleans 8. ???????????? Then there's a free for all with the Lakers, Suns, and Jazz. Then there's the probably not good enough in Wolves and probably will fail in Denver and Sacramento. With a little luck, our playoff push just got easier. I honestly think one of those above teams will underachieve and fall to the lower brackets (San Antonio I'm lookin' at you) and I think one of those teams probably struggles to stay healthy (Memphis, San Antonio, New Orleans I'm lookin' at you). If we can keep Kobe on the floor for say 65 games this year, I think we've got a shot to sneak into the bottom of the pack and get messed up by the Warriors or the Thunder! I'd say that's a great source of optimism!
Yep. While the DeAndre fiasco thing was "Clipper Nation" personified, it probably increases our chances of sneaking into the playoffs.
I kinda thought we were going to be better than the Clippers without DJ. Maybe the Mavs. Maybe I'm homing too much but I'm excited about our squad, IF we have reasonable health. So now the Clippers probably back above us, and the Mavs under us. Don't see what changed on our chances.
Clippers were still making the playoffs regardless of the move and the Mavs had a chance at it as well. Now the Mavs have basically no chance at the playoffs, but the Clippers are in again. We lost a competitor for the last spot in the playoffs.
There are two big IF's heading into this season that could REALLY propel us to a playoff spot. 1. Kobe's health - We all know Kobe healthy is better than almost every player outright. We seriously can't compete at the level we want to without him. 2. Hibbert - If Hibbert can get back to that 17-10-2 level in the playoffs this season, he would really push us ahead of the bottom pack teams. That's the perfect storm for us to really get people's heads to turn. I don't expect it, but it could happen. Right now, I'm just in for the young guns to play and develop, but things have finally started to go our way, and with those two variables, we could be back stronger than ever.
Well we'll never know now, on the Clips without DJ will we as far as Lakers being better than them this year.
No there's definitely more than that. At least one more: 3. The Rookies/Sophomores- Will they take the necessary leaps to make us competitive? As much as we love Clarkson, Randle, and Russell right now we have no idea what they'll do in the pros. They are a HUGE question mark for us. If even one of them doesn't come out looking as good as we hope, we're not going anywhere.
I'm not expecting everything from the young guys. I think with a healthy Kobe playing 30mpg, Hibbert producing and playing stellar D, we'll get production from guys like Bass, Young, and Williams, we can still be ahead of the lower tier teams. Even if just get that sweet stroke from Russell outside, that would already be a bonus. It always slips my mind that Clarkson is already 23 and his maturity shows it on and off the court. He's grown so much since we drafted him, I love his development. I think he will definitely provide a spark for us. Randle is the question mark for me most of all, because I would still like to know exactly what he feels his role will be.
He strikes me as a single-minded kind of guy which is both good and bad. He just seems like Kobe at times doesn't he? A scorer's mentality I suppose is what I'm going for. I love it, but at the same time I want to see him develop into a competent play maker as well. He showed some good passing ability at times in his short stint before injury. I want to see more of that.
IMO, for what they bring, I'd rather go young (Upshaw) and work on developing "the next" instead of guys who have proven they can handle 8 minutes and will never be starter material.
