Playoffs?

rexb_kings

rexb_kings

Bench
Given the recent new pieces we've added, do you think Kings can make the playoffs this coming season? My gut tells me yes, but looking at the other teams, West as always is stacked!

1. Warriors
2. Spurs
3. Thunder
4. Memphis
5. Rockets
6. Pelicans
7. Clippers
8. Mavs

Kings
Suns
Jazz

Warriors have their core back, young and can get even better. Spurs for sure will be in contention for best in the West again. Not sure which teams would drop but I'm hoping Kings would find some magic and surprise everyone, think Atlanta Hawks, maybe?

What do you think, fellow Kings fans?
 
We should be able to replace Pelicans this year. Clippers minus Jordan should take their defense down a notch. The jury is still out on the Mavs...
 
Did you say Playoffs? Playoffs? Did you say Practice? Practice? ;)

After 29 win back-to-back seasons let's at least get to .500 and see where it leads.
 
It might take a year but I think it's entirely possible. Pelicans will be the surprise (well maybe not surprise) team this year and will probably net a top 4 seed.

OKC in the Northwest and I wouldn't be surprised if that's the only NW team that makes the playoffs.

Houston, San Antonio, New Orleans, Memphis all make it out of the SW division.

Golden State makes it out of the West.

Those are the only "for sure" teams I have.

Utah, Sacramento, LA Clippers, Phoenix and Dallas are on the bubble. Could be a 30 win team and could be a 50 win team.

So here is my rankings

1. Golden State (W champ)
2. San Antonio (SW champ)
3. New Orleans
4. Memphis
5. OKC - (NW champ)
6. Houston
7. Sacramento
8. LA Clippers
 
From the talent standpoint alone, we should be able to reach the Playoffs.
The interesting thing is, that we built ourselves a pretty traditional roster with a distributing PG and two physical big man. We have enough flexibility to play different styles, but our strength should be in the paint, while some of the playoff bound teams rely heavily on the deep ball. We will see, how this goes.
I think with good chemistry and health we are in play for the 6th to 8th spot.
 
I've read a lot of criticism on the Kings free agency moves. However, I think the Kings have done very well in the draft, trades and signings. The biggest question mark from my perspective is the match with Rondo with DMC and Rudy. DMC and Rudy are ball dominant players and so is Rondo. If the addition of Rondo stops DMC to play occasional PG, it is already money in the bank. If DMC and Rudy trust Rondo to finding them, it'll work fine and it will benefit both sides. More scoring and more assists.

I do believe that it will work, which makes the Kings a playoff team. The bench is now stronger and more organized than in the recent past seasons. I think the Kings can replace any of the teams from No. 4 down. We'll see how OKC comes around. I'm not totally convinced that they will be back in the form they used to be in their heydays. The Kings defense has become tougher with WCS and Koufos and the Kings have a bunch of great shooters like Belinelli, Casspi, BMac, Rudy, Collison. On top of that DMC and Rudy can score in the paint almost at will, the team has what it takes to get to the playoffs.

Now it is about building great team chemistry and we'll be all set.
 
randymoss1881 said:
I'm not taking anyone who has Dallas in the playoffs serious.
Click to expand...


Yeah I mean assuming that Dirk can keep holding on or if Wes Matthews can regain form and stay healthy they still have a weak bench. And as all Kings fans know, without a bench you are in a whole lotta trouble if someone goes down!

Hell, basically your in a whole lotta trouble when any starter goes to the bench!
 
Yes. If cuz and Karl can get on the same page, the Kings will make the playoffs as a 7 or 8 seed.

1) GSW
2) Spurs
3) OKC
4) Houston
5) Memphis
6) clippers
7) kings
8) NO
 
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Something we all may be overlooking is the fact that the Kings have easily one of the best benches in the entire NBA. Our starters were among the top 5 i believe in the entire NBA! Now that we have a bench to turn to and make adjustments with I really think we can become one of the best 8 in the west...

We have the talent
We have the superstar
We have the number 2 scorer
We have the depth
We have excellent coach

I think we can make that last playoff spot!
 
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randymoss1881 said:
I'm not taking anyone who has Dallas in the playoffs serious.
Click to expand...

Well, they don't have a point guard (Devin Harris isn't a starter and fat Raymond Felton is generally useless), Dirk is deteriorating, Jordan's game is reliant on good point guard play, Matthews is recovering from an injury that has traditionally been a career ender/alterer in sports, and Chandler Parsons is also recovering from leg surgery. What could possibly go wrong?
 
Well this is how I see it:

GSW, Spurs, Houston (Houston won 56 games- the 2nd seed- last year with Beverley missing 26 games playing washed up players, and just got deeper through the draft with Dekker and Harrell) and Memphis (55 games lat year, basically staying the same team with the addition of Matt Barnes and replacing Koufos with Brandan Wright) are the sure things here after having pretty stable, or in the case of San Antonio- awesome, off-season.

OKC- I really think they belong to the top tier here, but I put them here because it seems like many people think they won't make the playoffs... this team would have made the playoffs even without an healthy Durant last year if they had Westbrook a little more- they were tied with the Pelicans in wins, in a season in which Westbrook came rusty after an injury and didn't play 15 games, Serge Ibaka missed 18 games and Kevin Durant missed 55 games, and they were still very close to make the playoffs...
That's ain't gonna happen again- and they are going to be in.

Clippers- I know they basicaly replaced DeAndre Jordan with JaVale McGee. but while Doc GM sucks, Coach Doc is pretty damn good. and the additions of Lance Stephenson (the equivalent to us signing Rondo, only lance never tore is ACL) and Paul Pierce (giving this team an option to go super-small with Pierce at the 4 and Blake at the 5) to a team that already have the best PG in the league, a top 5 NBA player, perennial 6th man of the year contender and one of the best shooters in the league- lead by one of the best coaches in the league, should be enough for them to clinch a playoff spot.

New Orleans Pelicans- again, they had a lot of injuries- Jrue Holiday missed the better half of the season, Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon sat out for more than 20 games and even AD missed 14 games... they had a weird off season, paying way too much to Omer Asik and Alexis Ajinca- but they made a really big improvement this summer- on the sidelines.
The gap between Monty Williams to Alvin Gentry is huge, and with that and a little more luck with injuries they belong in the playoffs.

We got 7 teams already in:

1. GSW
2. Spurs
3. Houston
4. OKC
5. Memphis
6. Clippers
7. Pelicans

Now the 8th seed remaining there are a number of teams in the running for it- Mavericks, Suns, Jazz and of course the Kings.

If I had too rank between those teams it will probably look like that:

1. Jazz
2. Mavericks
3. Kings
4. Suns

The Jazz went 19-10 after the Kanter trade while being the best defense in the league, they kept the same team (points for stability) while adding Trey Lyles and pretty much gaining another major part of their rotation with Alec Burks who played 27 games last year is healthy again, but maybe most importantly their core of young players just had another year of growing... I think they are going to be good, and they are the safe bet for the 8th seed.

Dallas- for all their faults, with Monta having a pretty bad season last year and Rondo screwing up team chemistry they still won 50 games, again, they got JJ Barea back and they are in the running for Jeremy Lin (I assume they won't get him, otherwise they might be higher), they have some holes but DeAndre is a perfect fit there- Dallas is finishing big-men heaven, just look what they have done to Brandan Wright.
They have a very good coach and made some nice pick ups with minimum deals, the only reason I'm putting them out of the playoffs is that I hate to gamble on a guy that's coming of an Achilles injury, if Matthews is healthy this team is gonna be in the playoffs.

Kings- I think we know enough about the Kings here, I think they are not a safe bet because there are a ton of things that can go wrong, or to put it better- a lot of things need to go right for us, Rondo regains is older form and not clashing with anyone, Karl drama solved, Karl not insisting on playing small-ball with a team filled with 7 footers, Cousins and Koufos working well together on the floor, WCS being able to contribute quality minutes as a rookie...

This team is absolutely better than it was last year but to jump from 29 to near 50 is a huge leap for a team, if everything click it is possible- but it's not a given that everything will click.
 
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I think we need to see Rondo playing before we can even begin to start talking about playoffs tbh. Also Ben as well he could be huge if he comes back better, that starting backcourt is going to have a massive say since our 2nd unit backcourt looks damn good.
 
Amit149 said:
Well this is how I see it:

GSW, Spurs, Houston (Houston won 56 games- the 2nd seed- last year with Beverley missing 26 games playing washed up players, and just got deeper through the draft with Dekker and Harrell) and Memphis (55 games lat year, basically staying the same team with the addition of Matt Barnes and replacing Koufos with Brandan Wright) are the sure things here after having pretty stable, or in the case of San Antonio- awesome, off-season.

OKC- I really think they belong to the top tier here, but I put them here because it seems like many people think they won't make the playoffs... this team would have made the playoffs even without an healthy Durant last year if they had Westbrook a little more- they were tied with the Pelicans in wins, in a season in which Westbrook came rusty after an injury and didn't play 15 games, Serge Ibaka missed 18 games and Kevin Durant missed 55 games, and they were still very close to make the playoffs...
That's ain't gonna happen again- and they are going to be in.

Clippers- I know they basicaly replaced DeAndre Jordan with JaVale McGee. but while Doc GM sucks, Coach Doc is pretty damn good. and the additions of Lance Stephenson (the equivalent to us signing Rondo, only lance never tore is ACL) and Paul Pierce (giving this team an option to go super-small with Pierce at the 4 and Blake at the 5) to a team that already have the best PG in the league, a top 5 NBA player, perennial 6th man of the year contender and one of the best shooters in the league- lead by one of the best coaches in the league, should be enough for them to clinch a playoff spot.

New Orleans Pelicans- again, they had a lot of injuries- Jrue Holiday missed the better half of the season, Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon sat out for more than 20 games and even AD missed 14 games... they had a weird off season, paying way too much to Omer Asik and Alexis Ajinca- but they made a really big improvement this summer- on the sidelines.
The gap between Monty Williams to Alvin Gentry is huge, and with that and a little more luck with injuries they belong in the playoffs.

We got 7 teams already in:

1. GSW
2. Spurs
3. Houston
4. OKC
5. Memphis
6. Clippers
7. Pelicans

Now the 8th seed remaining there are a number of teams in the running for it- Mavericks, Suns, Jazz and of course the Kings.

If I had too rank between those teams it will probably look like that:

1. Jazz
2. Mavericks
3. Kings
4. Suns

The Jazz went 19-10 after the Kanter trade while being the best defense in the league, they kept the same team (points for stability) while adding Trey Lyles and pretty much gaining another major part of their rotation with Alec Burks who played 27 games last year is healthy again, but maybe most importantly their core of young players just had another year of growing... I think they are going to be good, and they are the safe bet for the 8th seed.

Dallas- for all their faults, with Monta having a pretty bad season last year and Rondo screwing up team chemistry they still won 50 games, again, they got JJ Barea back and they are in the running for Jeremy Lin (I assume they won't get him, otherwise they might be higher), they have some holes but DeAndre is a perfect fit there- Dallas is finishing big-men heaven, just look what they have done to Brandan Wright.
They have a very good coach and made some nice pick ups with minimum deals, the only reason I'm putting them out of the playoffs is that I hate to gamble on a guy that's coming of an Achilles injury, if Matthews is healthy this team is gonna be in the playoffs.

Kings- I think we know enough about the Kings here, I think they are not a safe bet because there are a ton of things that can go wrong, or to put it better- a lot of things need to go right for us, Rondo regains is older form and not clashing with anyone, Karl drama solved, Karl not insisting on playing small-ball with a team filled with 7 footers, Cousins and Koufos working well together on the floor, WCS being able to contribute quality minutes as a rookie...

This team is absolutely better than it was last year but to jump from 29 to near 50 is a huge leap for a team, if everything click it is possible- but it's not a given that everything will click.
Click to expand...
This is pretty much how I feel. I can see the Clips not making it with an injury or two but the Pels are in.
 
We'd need at least 50 wins to make the playoffs this year. The West is stacked. I don't see us sniffing 50. Maybe 45 if we gel.
 
No playoffs this season IMO but I'd love to eat crow instead. If the playoffs aren't the goal here considering the roster as currently constructed is ready to win now...then you might as well not even suit up. There have been teams that have gone from the lottery to make the playoffs the following year so it can be done...the players need to believe they can do it and act like it too.
 
kingsboi said:
No playoffs this season IMO but I'd love to eat crow instead. If the playoffs aren't the goal here considering the roster as currently constructed is ready to win now...then you might as well not even suit up. There have been teams that have gone from the lottery to make the playoffs the following year so it can be done...the players need to believe they can do it and act like it too.
Click to expand...

Don't worry. I've got a nice variety of recipes for just such an occasion. ;)
 
.500 ball is a reasonable expectation for now. The big question mark over this squad (and this franchise) is chemistry. If all the pieces mesh, this is a playoffs team. We're all aware of what happens if everything blows up though. Vlade telling everyone to back off and let him do his job is a godsend to this franchise. If that structure continues, things will turn around sooner rather than later.
 
Npliam said:
This is pretty much how I feel. I can see the Clips not making it with an injury or two but the Pels are in.
Click to expand...
Yeah but NO has it's own injury issues. Davis seems to get injured once a month. Reke is always battling something. Played just about every game last season but was battling a number of issues. Holiday has his injury issues, particularly relating to the stress fracture.

As for us, and knowing that our roster isn't yet finished, one could argue we have a near playoff level roster and to an extent, we certainly should be in contention for the 7th/8th seed as the season winds down.

I'll also say if you give the top center in the game this supporting cast, he should get the team to the playoffs. If you give a HOF coach this roster, he should get to the playoffs. There's going to be a lot of pressure on Cuz to lead this group to wins this year. Carrying a sorry group is no longer the reality. Now is when he has to prove he can lead a team.
 
We have a lot of wild cards.

Cuz and Karl need to work it out. Cuz is the best big in the NBA, and despite being a horrible old egoist, Karl is a great coach.... If they work it out, we're doing damage.... If they don't work it out.... we're either going to have coach Thibs or we're trading Cuz.

Rondo is another wild card. I have serious doubts. I think he's done... but IF he can get back to form, we could have something... otherwise... We still have DC...

Last big wildcard would be WCS... Is he ready? Or another bust in a long line of horrible Kings draft picks? If he works out a WCS/Cuz frontline can be amazing. If not? Trading JT might look bad in hindsight... I liked the pick, but he may have to shoulder more responsibility than a rookie big should.

I have us winning anywhere from 35-50 next season...plus or minus five games :p

All the naysayers are correct in that we made a lot of risky moves this summer. A lot can go wrong both on and off the court.... but Cuz is getting impatient, so the moves had to be made.

By the all-star break, Vlade is either going to look like a genius or a fool, I don't think there is a lot of middle ground. Let's hope Vlade looks like a genius.

On paper this is our best roster in ages.

I say we are in the race late, and sneak into 8th.

Go Kings!
 
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