MAVS NEWS:

[DL2RimRocker]

Speaking of Alphas, or greats, I think we clearly have 3 players it is really great to have on our team. We have 8 more players who can be good to strong contributors to an overall very deep and strong supporting cast. I don’t think we can rule out Kyrie and AD playing at an Alpha or great level in next year’s playoffs. We can’t rule out that young Cooper Flagg is able to play a very strong third as a rising soon to be great player. 

I think all 3 of our stars are more likely to reach heights we may not expect precisely because of our potential top level supporting cast. These guys showed last year that they can compete hard and pretty well no matter what the situation. 

AD is an Alpha on defense, a solid rebounder, and can be an Alpha scorer at times. We would love getting him for just about any one but Luka. 

Kyrie has been wonderful here. He has been a great story. I’m not ruling out a great, Alpha performance from him in the playoffs. 

Cooper Flagg is certainly top 3 in the last 10 years as far as expectations for a draft pick. If he meets those expectations early even a little like Luka did, he can be a strong 3rd best player in all aspects of the game. 

This board is so great at knowing legitimate concerns as well as recognizing strengths of players and teams. I just think we have two guys who could rise to Alpha or great level in one or more playoff series, more than one good candidate for 3rd best player and more depth than most teams. We are plenty good enough to win a playoff series at our best. No this team is not a championship favorite nor even a certain contender. To me they will be fun to watch without worrying about high expectations. Even if too much does go wrong, we have a lot of guys who will be fun to watch and root for. Finally, they are way too good to rule anything out. I guarantee our guys aren’t.

I might be able to agree on Kyrie depending on how soon and well he recovers, but not AD and Cooper.
AD is a great player, but I don't see him as an alpha and he never has been.
Cooper might eventually be, but that is a lot to ask of him during the Kyrie/AD era.

If we do have an alpha, we would have the weakest of any of the serious contenders in the west.

I think we'll beat the hell out of a lot of teams this season and have a decent record IF everyone is healthy and Kyrie comes back soon and at full strength. However, my point all along has been that we will miss that guy who can be given the ball and go make a bucket/play in a tight meaningful game. That is what we are missing most without Luka imo.  Other than that, I can't say I'm too upset he is gone.