07-23-2025, 04:24 PM
(07-23-2025, 02:44 PM)Dahlsim Wrote: A few key updates in NY around the margins ...
This is what I was trying to say. With the exception of Orlando, East is improving around the margins. NY added two new bench guys in Clarkson and Yabusele. They lost vets Wright, Shamet, Achiuwa and Payne who were in their rotation or on their fringes last season. They still have 3 roster spots so some of them might return.
Indy and Boston suffered devastating injuries to their stars and got even worse in the summer by selling or losing key players without receiving adequate replacements. East has likely three good teams in NY, Cleveland and Orlando. They might compete with the West. Everyone else is imho a tier below West top 8. Would a team like Atlanta or Detroit, who are perhaps #4 and #5 in the East, even make playoffs in the Western conference? Shitty Eastern teams with no future with their current cores (Chicago, Miami, Toronto,...) are doing nothing, because East is so wide open, that even a team like Chicago can hope to reach playoffs.
Meanwhile in the West:
- Denver swapped a starter and got 3 proven good bench players (big Val, THJ, Brown)
- Clippers swapped Powell for Beal (lets say they are similar quality) and added Collins (starting PF) and Lopez
- Houston added Durant
- ...
Even the top picks are going West
