I have to agree with John3:16, 41-41 ... at best. I could see us losing a more games, even if we are healthy. 41 wins would be nice for this squad, in my opinion. But I do think we'll be able to see some flashes of brilliance.
35 to 40 even with a healthy 24 and [furiously knocking on wood] Nash. It won't as disastrous as last season but making the playoffs without a legit paint protector in the middle appears to be a tall order. The Western Conference is still a gauntlet. If only The League would implement that NCAA bracket seedings that they reportedly were considering...
Of course health/chemistry plays a large roll in this. For some reason I don't think chemistry will be an issue this year due to 8 players returning from last years squad who seemed to enjoy playing together. You add a few rookies, Lin and Boozer I don't see any issues. Health now that could be a problem. Nash could colapse at any time, X has issues, Nick young hasn't played more than 65 games since 2009, Randle's foot, and Iron man Kobe is 36. Worst case 32-37 wins. If we stay pretty healthy, gel, and Randle has solid season for a rookie I say 43-48.
40 Wins. 40+ will take a surge from a couple of smaller signings/rookies and Kobe playing 90% of games for avg. 36 minutes.
Just wondering after how good Kobe looked if anyone is wanting to go back and adjust any of these predicted win totals?...
I will go out on a limb guess 50 (if health is not an issue). But then again I'm one of those fans that think we can storm the gates every season with 50+ wins even with a subpar cast. Hope I'm right this season.
I'm going optimistic with 45 wins here. Obviously if we get the injury bug that could derail us. But I think the combination of grittiness and fight that will be coming from Byron, Kobe, Nash and Boozer will push us towards overachieving rather than the opposite. It's not going to be easy to win more than half our games though. We will have to play that tough D to stay in games. Whether or not we make the playoffs, if this team can win more than they lose and play competitive, hard nosed ball, I'll be very proud of them.
I'm overly optimistic almost to a fault. I think this team is capable of 50 wins and making some noise in the playoffs.
this. Not to mention a perimeter player who can play defense and give us numbers on offense, which Wesley Johnson can play D but I'm not sold on his offense.
if kobe playes around 70games and nash around 40g...and if rest of squad stayes relativly healthy i expect us to win around 40-42g and squeeze in the 8th spot...
between 39 & 43 seems realistic. if we get miracles with health, which already looks bad, then ~ 48 could be our max potential..unlucky with health then maybe closer to 30
