I'm going with 46 wins. That number is, honestly, pretty arbitrary. But I'm not sold on Kyrie becoming a different player overnight. I don't doubt that Stevens will make him better, but I think it'll take time, and I worry a lot about how the ball's shared in the interim.
If Kyrie's usage rate looks anything like IT's did last year, that's a bad sign. I'm probably in the minority here, but I think Hayward's the C's best player, and if he's not using more possessions than anybody else, I think that's a problem.
I also just worry a lot about the depth. Tatum and Brown are pretty likely to be negatives, Tatum almost certainly so, and Smart has to prove he can shoot consistently. After that, I think this team's asking a lot of guys like Morris and Baynes. They're nice enough role players, but last year's C's thrived because they had half a dozen role players of that caliber. This version of the C's has the right guys on the roster to duplicate that sort of depth, but not this year. Yabu, Theiss, Semi, etc are unlikely to contribute positively right off the bat.
Despite all of that, I still think the ly end up in the ECF, but they get beat by the Cavs.
If Kyrie's usage rate looks anything like IT's did last year, that's a bad sign. I'm probably in the minority here, but I think Hayward's the C's best player, and if he's not using more possessions than anybody else, I think that's a problem.
I also just worry a lot about the depth. Tatum and Brown are pretty likely to be negatives, Tatum almost certainly so, and Smart has to prove he can shoot consistently. After that, I think this team's asking a lot of guys like Morris and Baynes. They're nice enough role players, but last year's C's thrived because they had half a dozen role players of that caliber. This version of the C's has the right guys on the roster to duplicate that sort of depth, but not this year. Yabu, Theiss, Semi, etc are unlikely to contribute positively right off the bat.
Despite all of that, I still think the ly end up in the ECF, but they get beat by the Cavs.