The Washington Wizards will struggle to match 2022-23's modest 35 wins, but for the first time in too long, that futility will be by design.īradley Beal and Kristaps Porziņģis are both gone, casualties of a Wizards team finally pivoting toward a rebuild after years chasing the eighth seed. Other than having something to prove after that ugly first-round ouster, almost every factor points to a step backward for the Bucks in 2023-24. Milwaukee's point differential belonged to a team with 51.9 wins, but good fortune in close games added over six extra W's to its total. Lastly, the Bucks won a league-high 58 games in 2022-23 but finished with the largest discrepancy between actual and expected victories. ![]() The top seed matters less if it comes at the cost of fatigue and physical breakdown. Considering the mileage accrued over several recent playoff runs, plus the advancing age of the core-Khris Middleton will be 32 in August, Jrue Holiday is 33 and Brook Lopez is 35-it would be risky to compensate for key losses by leaning harder on the top of the rotation.Īfter last season's embarrassing first-round upset against the Miami Heat, we should also see Milwaukee de-emphasize the regular season. Carter appeared in 81 games, starting 39 of them while providing intense defensive pressure and a 42.1 percent three-point hit rate as the most-used backup guard on the team.ĭeep into the tax and short on tradable assets, Milwaukee lacks the resources to replace what it lost. 19, while the latter played an even larger role for last year's 58-win Bucks. The former shot 40.9 percent from deep in 46 games after returning from a torn ACL on Dec. That said, the Bucks lost Joe Ingles and Jevon Carter to the Orlando Magic and Chicago Bulls, respectively. So even if Philadelphia performs roughly as well on a per-possession basis, we should still expect a slightly worse record.īrook Lopez and Khris Middleton returned on new free-agent deals, helping the Milwaukee Bucks avoid the catastrophic talent drain that would have resulted had either of those two departed. Patrick Beverley is Philly's only notable offseason addition so far, and the veteran guard won't offset the loss Shake Milton, Georges Niang and Jalen McDaniels.įinally, the Sixers won 54 games last season with the point differential of a team that should have secured closer to 51 victories. MVP in hand, Embiid probably won't push so hard during the regular season again. ![]() Last year's 66 games were the second-most of Embiid's career, and we could see him scale back after yet another postseason marred by a wear-and-tear-related physical breakdown. Maybe Embiid will level up by necessity with Harden gone, but the safer bet is probably that he'll regress. Whoever steps into Harden's role-be it Tyrese Maxey or an outside acquisition-is unlikely to replicate that. He and Embiid were last season's most prolific PnR tandem, and Harden assisted the big man on more total buckets than any teammate combo in the league. James Harden's trade request and the seeming unlikelihood of it producing a talent gain for the Philadelphia 76ers is just one factor suggesting the team is in for a step back.Įven if the Sixers manage to bring in a star-level starter in a package for Harden, that player probably won't be as adept at spoon-feeding reigning MVP Joel Embiid for so many clean scoring opportunities.įor all his faults on defense and playoff disappearances, Harden was an ace pick-and-roll operator.
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