I think we’re going to be clearly better come playoffs than last year but it’s going to take a while for everyone to adjust to roles and that’ll show in the record. Mitchell and Garland learning to play together on both ends, LeVert having to defend SFs, Mobley taking up more responsibility, etc. I also think you’ve got to take into account we were a mediocre team record-wise after Rubio went down and that’s the level we’re improving from right now. You can mention the injuries, but we have a somewhat injury prone roster so that will always be a factor. I’m not a JBB guy either so I don’t see him as someone who will maximize the talent of this group to a great regular season record necessarily.
Finally, a lot of guys had career years last season and even with young players, progress is not always guaranteed to be linear. I could absolutely see JA having a down year, Love not having another 6MOY type season, Rubio taking a while to look close to his past self, Garland or Mitchell starting off in a shooting slump, LeVert not working at the 3 and the team having to experiment with options, etc. With the three big lineup, we racked up a lot of wins last year early on taking the league by surprise. It’s going to be tougher this year imo which will compensate a bit for the increase in talent level.
I personally see 44ish wins again, and I think in the coming years you’ll see us really start to put it together and reach our potential, especially after solidifying our long term starting 3. I’m not seeing top-3 seed material quite yet though, especially in a very strong and deep Eastern Conference right now. Hope I’m wrong but that’s what I’m seeing.