If The Team Stayed Put

[Bee-Fense]

Let's say hypothetically speaking that this off-season featured no free agent signings and no drafted players. We re-signed Aminu and picked up Lopez's option. We had this year's exact team, only a year older and a year of experience playing together. Davis and Rivers would be stronger and older, Vasquez/Lopez/Aminu would not be 1st time starters and should continue to improve, Anderson might add a little bit to his game, and Gordon hopefully will have his legs.

I bring up this scenario just to get an idea of how good/bad this team is before we add any players, and how much progress we expect our current players to add.

This year we were 27-55; stats say we should've been 30-52.

What would our record be in 2013-2014?

[bojangles837]

I'd say very close to a .500 team with Gordon playing over 65 games.

[jgman]

~35 wins with gordon playing 65+ games

[Snarly]

~35 wins with gordon playing 65+ games

We won 27 games with all the injuries. 35 wins would be very modest if Gordon is healthy for 65+ games.

[jgman]

We won 27 games with all the injuries. 35 wins would be very modest if Gordon is healthy for 65+ games.

with low expectations you are never disappointed

[Emilio]

This year we were 27-55; stats say we should've been 30-52.

Where does this come from? Just asking.

I'd say 35-40 games. Pretty close to .500.

[TrayWithAnA]

I like this idea.

A healthy Gordon changes who our team is. With one of our best players spending most of the year on the floor and not the bench means that we push Davis a little harder on his minutes. After all, it's not necessarily tanking but we didn't exactly risk much this season in regards to his playing time. With these two guys playing full starter minutes every night, I think .500 is a realistic goal.

Problem is, I don't know that anyone in the draft really pushes us much further than that with the exception of a natural upgrade like Porter making it to the sixth pick. Burke will be good, but will need time to make a real impact.

I think this is important for those calling to burn Gordon's house down while trading him. He is gonna be the biggest impact to this team if healthy. I look for a solid upgrade from our losing ways.

[Pelican589]

Definitely no worse, but not a playoff team either. Maybe 35-40 wins TOPS. But adding a nice piece or two and largely retain the same core and we may be on to something.

[JJackisangry]

I like this idea.

A healthy Gordon changes who our team is. With one of our best players spending most of the year on the floor and not the bench means that we push Davis a little harder on his minutes. After all, it's not necessarily tanking but we didn't exactly risk much this season in regards to his playing time. With these two guys playing full starter minutes every night, I think .500 is a realistic goal.

Problem is, I don't know that anyone in the draft really pushes us much further than that with the exception of a natural upgrade like Porter making it to the sixth pick. Burke will be good, but will need time to make a real impact.

I think this is important for those calling to burn Gordon's house down while trading him. He is gonna be the biggest impact to this team if healthy. I look for a solid upgrade from our losing ways.

Aye. Its always a big If for Gordon to stay healthy, but we are much further from competing without him. Sometimes you have to take a risk; Dell and co. have plenty of descisions to make in the upcoming weeks.

[Bee-Fense]

To be honest, I'd predict with good confidence that we'd win 35 games even if Gordon only played half of the year.

Gordon didn't play like himself at all, and really was not all that great last year. He only had a .042 WS/48 which is almost 1/3 of what he had done the previous 2 years. He definitely helped, because he replaced Rivers' minutes and Rivers was so bad that even a one-legged Eric Gordon was better. I expect Rivers to be much better this year, and not actually be so bad that he statistically costs us games. If Davis plays like he did after the All-Star break or even better, then I think the team is a shoe in for 35 games and could be at .500 based on other people's improvements and Gordon's health.

Factoring in the likely Gordon injury, I'd probably go 38-44 to be safe.

Where does this come from? Just asking

http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/NOH/2013.html

You can see the expected W-L towards the top of the page. It's typically pretty accurate. As I followed it during the year, I noticed we were expected to win a couple of games like the Lakers game that we completely blew.

[PelicanFever]

well i expect davis to be an all-star caliber player next year and superstar in his 3rd year...have no idea what to expect out of rivers...probably close to .500 with a semi-healthy gordon

[Sovereign]

If Gordon's healthy, we're fighting for a playoff spot.

[NemesisKING]

We should thank the lord that Gordon didn't play much the past two years. What we know from his history is this, he doesn't make any team a playoff team.

If he had played all of the first year and all of the second, we never get Anthony Davis, and we don't land this 6th pick. We're basically the Milwaukee Bucks, except we're in the Western Conference so we're not even close to making the playoffs. Hell, we could be the pre Chris Paul Clippers.

10-12 games out of 8th place, but never bad enough to get an impact player. If you don't already have pieces in place or the ability to get them, Gordon is the type of player that ruins a franchise, or keep you in purgatory. Always demanding high dollars, but has no high dollar impact, just a sensitive, super roll player who wants to be the star of the team.

Again, let thank who ever you pray to that he didn't play much the past couple of years and we weren't chasing an imaginary playoff birth. Because now we have AD and the 6th and the ability to trade Gordon for someone or some bodies that will come in and be apart of TEAM, we're putting together, guys that will actually make us a legitimate playoff team on a proper time table.

[Eman5805]

I'm through looking to Gordon for our future. After a whole offseason after the nine game season, arguing over whether he even wants to be here, he starts the next season out indefinitely? Gave up then and there.

[jgman]

I'm through looking to Gordon for our future. After a whole offseason after the nine game season, arguing over whether he even wants to be here, he starts the next season out indefinitely? Gave up then and there.

I'm with you eman, his best season with the clips they won 32 games, and I'm supposed to believe he'll push us to the playoffs after essentially being nothing but a headache for two years? He's a good player, but I'm not looking to him to be the key for our future