http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2474 ... l-30-teams.

Just thought i'd help you guys out a little bit. There are some other interesting takes. OKC at 5 is a little high.

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I know it's just by one spot but the Thunder over the Jazz is dumb. How soon they forget last spring.

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Lakers just a tad high ImO.

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I would probably put the Lakers in the 13 or 14 range

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The signing of Nerlens Noel is clearly having an impact.

Utah Jazz is actually a little high also. Philly will be better. Bulls at 24 is too low. Milwaukee at 11 is high.

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Does Vegas and the "experts" know something about the Bulls that I don't? I would be shocked if they weren't a top 5 to 6 team in the East.

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Terrible coach, team will be incapable of playing defense, almost everything rides on Kris Dunn's ability to drive and kick.

I get it. I still think the O/U on wins is off by about 10. This should be a .500 team.

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Lakers won't win more than 38-42 games.

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Successful calls:

Kyrie Irving will never win anything as a team's alpha: check
T.rubisky is a bust: check
Ben Simmons is a liability: check
The Fields Cult is dumb: double check

2013 CSFMB ROY

I'll pencil the Bulls in with 32-34 wins.

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45

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Just like you penciled in Rondo to shoot less than 33% from 3?

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I nearly won both of those bets. People acted like I was crazy when I made them. He suddenly morphed into Ray Allen down the stretch of that season.

And BTW, he only shot 33% last season,

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Yeah it was nuts how close both were until Rondo shot like 53% in March

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I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
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Bulls will probably win slightly more than last year since LBJ is out of the division. But they won't develop into a team that you'd consider to be on the rise until they get a serious coach.

_________________
Successful calls:

Kyrie Irving will never win anything as a team's alpha: check
T.rubisky is a bust: check
Ben Simmons is a liability: check
The Fields Cult is dumb: double check

2013 CSFMB ROY

Last spring isn't relevant. OKC got A LOT better by losing Carmelo, bringing back Roberson and bringing in Schroeder as a back up PG. Also having PG there as a long term player as opposed to a one year rental should make a differfence. OKC should be a much better team than last year.


Utah should be better as well with a full year of Gobert and a year of experience for Donovan.


Definitely not crazy to have OKC over Utah nor would it be crazy to have Utah over OKC. Probably why they are right next to each other in the rankings.

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yes they know a lot that you don't if you would be shocked if the Bulls are outside the top 5-6. They're the experts and you're a delusional homer.


Boston
Toronto
Philly
Indiana
Milwaukee
Wizards


That's 6 teams right there that are clearly and objectively better than the Bulls. You gotta be smoking serious crack if you would be shocked that the Bulls aren't better than at least 1-2 of those teams.

Then you throw in the other teams that also better than the Bulls like...


Miami
Detroit
possibly Cleveland as well
Probably the Nets


then you've got a team like Charlotte who is right there with the Bulls.


Pretty much the only team you can say with confidence that the Bulls are definitley better than is Atlanta and maybe Orlando.


Shocked if the Bulls aren't top 5-6

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No it's crazy. People do this with OKC every year in the preseason and they're never nearly as good as people expect. This season will be no different.

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Great argument.



Do you disagree that they'll be better this year than last year?

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Yes I do. I think theyll be within a couple wins of last year and lose in the first round in a mostly uncompetitive series again.

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Why do you think they'll be worse this year as opposed to last year?

Whether you like it or not, you're gonna have to support your opinion with an argument.

I laid out reasons why I think they'll be better, now your turn.

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It's not especially complicated. You're overthinking it. Russell Westbrook is a selfish basketball player who can't win in the playoffs as the best player on a team. Since KD left his worst impulses have been allowed to take over.

I have a pretty thorough track record of paying bets off here. Want to wager that OKC isn't playing in the 2nd round of the playoffs this year?

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Roberson is a big upgrade on defense, but he's such a liability on offense. I'm the world's biggest Russel detractor, but I think they get better in the regular season this year. In the playoffs, it's all going to come down to matchups.

I'm not sold on Utah.

The Bulls will not be very good. I'd say an 8 seed, and I'm a big Carter fan. Best Duke player available this year.

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FTFY

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Uncompetitive? The Series went 6 games. I think game 6 came down to the finals minutes. That isn't uncompetitive.

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Ok, it's not worth arguing about. At no point during that series did I think Utah was in danger of losing.

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I'm not the internet wagering type and i don't have a horse in this race so gonna pass on that. I have no opinion on what will happen with OKC in the playoffs, my only opinion was taking issue with your statement that "it's crazy that ESPN has OKC one spot ahead of Utah". It's clearly not crazy, both teams are around the same tier.

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Agree to disagree. I find your argument that it's not crazy unconvincing at best, and I don't consider these teams the same tier or caliber.

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You can think what you want to think but it doesn't change the facts. Very few people would have taken Utah over OKC if they'd gone 7. They almost did.

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Most people took OKC to win the series outright. Most people aren't very bright. Jazz were clearly the better team going into that series.

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I wouldn't be so sure about the Wizards

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