Anybody in the west worry you?

[bdubya]

Looking to next year, we're going to have to deal with a more experienced Heat team (and we may well not have Elden coming off the bench), and a Pacers team with Artest (unless they get cold feet and shop him, or his head explodes again, which I don't expect to happen). I think we're going to need more bench depth to get past them.

Is there anybody in the West that worries you folks? Houston, with their three ex-Piston guards? Phoenix with a healthy Johnson? Just wonderin'...

[Boo]

Phoenix Suns, Miami Heat, Dallas Mavs [hardly], Detroit Pistons.

[Leetonidas]

Phoenix, that's pretty much it. Getting Kurt Thomas is going to improve them immensly.

[T Park]

Denver scares me.

Dallas with Avery continually shaping them to give a crap about defense.

Cleveland

Indiana may get better

Miami I think will be the same.

If the Spurs can add a couple pieces, stay healthy.

We should be right back here same bat time same bat channel.

[spurster]

Don't forget the Rockets.

[1Parker1]

Everyone scares me. You know everyone is going to bring their A game when they play us next season. We will be the defending Champs, Baby!

[yavozerb]

I'm telling right now the team to beat out east is gonna be the pacers!!!!!!Even though the leadership of miller not being there will hurt, if onell stays healthy thery will be very good....They always give the spurs fits as well!!!!!!!!

[midgetonadonkey]

Everyone scares me. You know everyone is going to bring their A game when they play us next season. We will be the defending Champs, Baby!

Fucking A!

or is it Fucking Ay!?!

[Spursdaone]

The Dallas Mavericks and the Indiana Pacers scare me the most. Indiana with Ron Artest and Dallas with a young and improved team with Avery as their coach scares me because all their best players can only get better.

[midgetonadonkey]

The Pacers will need to find another good SG to fill Miller's void. He was not only a decent scorer, he was the veteran leader.

[Spursdaone]

Stephen Jackson is their shooting guard and Jones is their backup. Indiana was tough for Detroit without Artest last year but with him who knows.

[mcornelio]

phoenix scares the shit out of me... if they resign johnson and get kurt theyr a much diff team.

[Spursdaone]

Yeah they are a much slower team and can't exploit the matchups as well as with Richardson. Spurs will beat them either way.

[duncan_21]

I agree with the takes on indiana. With jackson starting at the 2 and artest at the 3 I think they are more dangerous then with miller at the 2.

In the east I don't see snaq stayin healthy so there are many if's with det. If lb comes back and if they can keep their starting 5 and some of their bench. Det is a factor.

In the west is where it will be again. dal, pho(although I'm thinking nash is gonna get hurt and their season will go to shit, den, sea (if they keep mcmillan and most of their core group), and possibly hou.

[1Parker1]

Sorry, but if the Pacers couldn't do it with Reggie Miller--I don't think they have a chance to do it without him. That is a big, big void to fill---and that includes the leadership, experience, and example he set for the team each season.

[bdubya]

I there are many if's with det. If lb comes back and if they can keep their starting 5 and some of their bench. Det is a factor.

The only FAs we have this summer are Elden, Darvin and HoJo; everybody else will be back unless Joe starts dealing. The only question mark is the coach, which is admittedly a big one.

[1Parker1]

The only FAs we have this summer are Elden, Darvin and HoJo; everybody else will be back unless Joe starts dealing. The only question mark is the coach, which is admittedly a big one.

Actually I am curious about this. Do all of you Pistons fans believe that the Pistons can remain contenders, get far in the playoffs and/or Finals, without Larry Brown?

[TOP-CHERRY]

To be honest, each year (especially on the 3 yrs they won championships) I've been scared of west teams. Yet, the Spurs seem to always (most often than not) overcome however difficult a series is and win it.

So next year, nobody scares me much. ;)
I believe in my Spurs and I know they're smart enough (Pop), tough and dominant enough (Timmy), energetic (Manu) and a defense powerhouse (Bowen, Timmy, Nazr, and everyone else) all enough to repeat over and over again.

[ForestBrain]

Well, if the Mavs can ever get solidified, then they will be pretty worrisome, for you anyway.

my new sig:
"Manu Ginobiturd".... I like it.

[bdubya]

Actually I am curious about this. Do all of you Pistons fans believe that the Pistons can remain contenders, get far in the playoffs and/or Finals, without Larry Brown?

It's a point of concern, but I don't sweat it. Larry didn't have near as much to do with building this team as Joe Dumars did, and JoeD ain't goin' anywhere. Losing LB would be a huge hit, definitely....maybe even comparable to losing Grant Hill. :fro

[adrienne]

Spurs come to mind. And Houston...they impressed me in the first round even though they didn't pull out the game 7.

Phoenix is hard to say. They'll go one of two ways; Nash's crazy style of play and age catches up with him, he's dramatically LESS productive, and they go crashing downhill when Amare tries to create shots for himself....or Nash continues to play well, and they play out of their minds again. We'll just have to see.

[Jimcs50]

Bolton as UN Ambassador.


:)

[word]

Looking to next year, we're going to have to deal with a more experienced Heat team (and we may well not have Elden coming off the bench), and a Pacers team with Artest (unless they get cold feet and shop him, or his head explodes again, which I don't expect to happen). I think we're going to need more bench depth to get past them.

Is there anybody in the West that worries you folks? Houston, with their three ex-Piston guards? Phoenix with a healthy Johnson? Just wonderin'...

Well, just talking the West, hands full. Amare Stoudemire will ALWAYS scare the living shit out of me, bruther.

West is tough...Dallas, Houston, Phoenix, Seattle..... Denver will be a beast next year..Minnesota could get their act back together.

It's going to be another tough road, bruther. Tougher than last on a few fronts...The repeat is no piece of cake.

[midgetonadonkey]

I don't think Seattle and Phoenix will be as good as they were last season. Nash will turn Paytonesque next season, and Seattle will probably lose their coach and All-Star next season. Golden State will be next years Suns.

[SequSpur]

Anybody in the west worry you?

WTF? Didn't we just cakewalk the fucking west?

Fuck No.

The Spurs in 06 will be the best Spurs team ever.

Book it.

[lordswing]

Phoenix for sure, they can outgun anybody and they have Thomas now. If Amare can improve on his defense more, I think it's a toss-up between the Spurs and Suns. Dallas doesn't scare me....as I think their offense can be clamped down. Heat doesn't scare me, they're not getting any younger with Shaq, and Haslem might bolt since he should get some nice deals. Pacers are there of course, but after seeing the Pistons during this series, they can take them.

[word]

I don't think Seattle and Phoenix will be as good as they were last season. Nash will turn Paytonesque next season, and Seattle will probably lose their coach and All-Star next season. Golden State will be next years Suns.

Scuse me ?

[Chris]

I'm worried about the Suns of course. They are basically a brand new team and made it the Conference finals in one year. If they hang on to their core and keep D'Antoni they will be a legitimate force.

Dallas with a defensive minded Avery scares me. Dallas has always had great offense. If Avery can teach these guys some D they will be truly a great team.

Houston doesn't scare me. We have proven we can stop Yao on any given day and TMac is streaky. I wouldn't worry too much about them unless they make some brilliant trade in the offseason.

[CalsonicKansei]

Fucking A!

or is it Fucking Ay!?!
I tink its fuckin' aye!

[midgetonadonkey]

Scuse me ?

Fuck yeah dude. They have Baron Davis, who will be healthy this season. Jason Richardson can score 25-30 a night. Troy Murphy is only getting better. If they can draft somone that can contribute right away, they cause cause some fucking trouble.

[word]

Phoenix for sure, they can outgun anybody and they have Thomas now. If Amare can improve on his defense more, I think it's a toss-up between the Spurs and Suns. Dallas doesn't scare me....as I think their offense can be clamped down. Heat doesn't scare me, they're not getting any younger with Shaq, and Haslem might bolt since he should get some nice deals. Pacers are there of course, but after seeing the Pistons during this series, they can take them.

Phoenix is a very dangerous team. Look for Denver to be very tough as well. Spurs will have a tougher road NEXT year, in my opinion, than they had this.

Fockin' Amare Stoudemire...I don't care WHO you're a fan of, that kid is a fockin' scoring MACHINE. No one can stop him. Can the Suns pick up the D and take care of biz....who knows...but Amare is a beast.

[TOP-CHERRY]

Dallas with a defensive minded Avery scares me. Dallas has always had great offense. If Avery can teach these guys some D they will be truly a great team.
They don't have enough of a leader to carry them anywhere near a championship.

Was it not proven with Duncan that a true leader is needed to carry the team?

Dirk's a jerk who calls out his teammates in interviews and screams at them hypocritically (last game of their season agains the Suns... he screamed at one of them when he didn't even score in the 4th quarter. I lost all the respect for him in that instant. What a moron.)

[Chris]

They don't have enough of a leader to carry them anywhere near a championship.

Was it not proven with Duncan that a true leader is needed to carry the team?

Dirk's a jerk who calls out his teammates in interviews and screams at them hypocritically (last game of their season agains the Suns... he screamed at one of them when he didn't even score in the 4th quarter. I lost all the respect for him in that instant. What a moron.)

They don't really need a leader. The core of this team are all fully tested scoring machines that have experience.

Yeah it's been proven but many teams have made it where we are without one. (ie: Detroit Pistons circa LAST YEAR)

Dirk may be an ass but he gets the job done. His attitude was never put in check thanks to Don "who gives a shit" Nelson. I really think Avery can turn this team around.

[mavsfan1000]

They don't have enough of a leader to carry them anywhere near a championship.

Was it not proven with Duncan that a true leader is needed to carry the team?

Dirk's a jerk who calls out his teammates in interviews and screams at them hypocritically (last game of their season agains the Suns... he screamed at one of them when he didn't even score in the 4th quarter. I lost all the respect for him in that instant. What a moron.)
Did you see the idiotic decision by Jason Terry? I know Dirk shouldn't have done that but I was so pissed that Terry would leave Nash open. Dirk isn't a leader but leaders are overrated. If the players think they have enough talent to win the championship (like the Lakers) they will go all out to do it.

[word]

They don't really need a leader. The core of this team are all fully tested scoring machines that have experience.

Yeah it's been proven but many teams have made it where we are without one. (ie: Detroit Pistons circa LAST YEAR)

Dirk may be an ass but he gets the job done. His attitude was never put in check thanks to Don "who gives a shit" Nelson. I really think Avery can turn this team around.

Hell, who can blame Dirk for his game 6 meltdown on Jason Terry. True, you gotta pump your teamates up but....good god ...what a complete idiot.

The problem with Dallas is the Tiltawhirl, which is what I call Dampier, just ain't gonna cut it. From what I saw, Nowitzki just has nooooo respect for the man and he plays like and looks like he's beat up.

Clearly with Dallas, there are some chemisty 'issues' that can only be solved in one of two ways, as always. Trades or coaching. I don't see the trade thing going on so it's all Avery, man.

Dallas is in trouble. Marginal talents that went as far as they could with a crack in the team cohesion after the Phoenix series.

[Sense]

The PHX Suns, although the Spurs proved they dominated them, something no one else did..


Mavs are the least to worry me, they just suck against the Spurs...

From the East Indiana and obviously Detroit...

Indiana would've probably won the East last season, if it weren't for the Fight..They showed they had dominated Detroit and the fight just showed what the fans though about that.

I seriously compared the Spurs to Indiana early in the season, that team just got pounded with injuries and bad struggles..

I want to see how they come out next season... the east is gonna show us more...

[TOP-CHERRY]

Did you see the idiotic decision by Jason Terry? I know Dirk shouldn't have done that but I was so pissed that Terry would leave Nash open. Dirk isn't a leader but leaders are overrated. If the players think they have enough talent to win the championship (like the Lakers) they will go all out to do it.

Did you see any of the Detroit players chewing Wallace up when he left Horry open for the 3?

Terry made a mistake just like Wallace did. Yet no one came up to him to tell him what he already knew. It was the whole Mavs team who put themselves in that situation. And if people call Dirk the leader of the team, then it was really more his fault they lost than anybody else on that team.

He was SCORELESS in the 4th quarter. He had absolutely no right criticizing other players, especially Terry who at least did something in the 4th.

[Chris]

Hell, who can blame Dirk for his game 6 meltdown on Jason Terry. True, you gotta pump your teamates up but....good god ...what a complete idiot.

The problem with Dallas is the Tiltawhirl, which is what I call Dampier, just ain't gonna cut it. From what I saw, Nowitzki just has nooooo respect for the man and he plays like and looks like he's beat up.

Clearly with Dallas, there are some chemisty 'issues' that can only be solved in one of two ways, as always. Trades or coaching. I don't see the trade thing going on so it's all Avery, man.

Dallas is in trouble. Marginal talents that went as far as they could with a crack in the team cohesion after the Phoenix series.


It's up to Avery but Cuban calls the shots so we'll see.

[word]

Did you see any of the Detroit players chewing Wallace up when he left Horry open for the 3?



Not the same thing. Close, but not the same thing. Wallace went for a trap/double team and actually PLAYED defense, even though he made the wrong decision.

Jason Terry turned his BACK on the MVP of the league. Not comparable. Close, but no cigar. Fact is they should have fouled Phoenix in the backcourt got into a free throw contest, and been done with it.

That was a complete breakdown on Dallas' part, on several fronts.

But, eg's are not comparable.

[TOP-CHERRY]

And I don't want to sound like a jerk (because I know how much people used to say the same about the Spurs before) but I think the Mavs are too soft right now.

Dirk isn't powerful nor dominating enough to cause any intimidation nor push his team too far.

[word]

Dirk most certainly is. He's a tough MF'er. Dampier is a bloody tampon.

PS That's kind of a contradiction on your part...but...the problem with Dirk is he IS a tough MF'er and DOES push his team and it turns into 'beating 'em up'.

[mavsfan1000]

If you watched Dallas's season as much as I saw you would be furious at some of the mental mistakes by Terry, Howard, and Dampier. They had the talent to go far but not the intelligence and Dirk finally lost it. Playing poorly is alright but playing without using your head is different. Dirk had a right to be angry.

[word]

If you watched Dallas's season as much as I saw you would be furious at some of the mental mistakes by Terry, Howard, and Dampier. They had the talent to go far but not the intelligence and Dirk finally lost it. Playing poorly is alright but playing without using your head is different. Dirk had a right to be angry.

100% correct.

[AFE7FATMAN]

Can we wait until after the draft and all trades and roster are comlete?


Denver- Needs a shooting Guard and Better D
Suns- Need Better D and have added a nice piece
Dallas - Ditto and a Big Man
Rockets- the X Factor

[50 & 21]

To answer the original question, no. Amare is just one player and we proved we could still dominate their team while he has massive games. Dallas isn't even close to having enough playoff experience. Do you remember the reg. season game when they whooped us real bad? Was that without Duncan? I think it was. Seattle could be a sleeper to improve on their success, but not to match these Spurs. Neither Houston. Denver, hmmmmmm nah. We're coming out of the west fellas! Now the east, that's another thing. I'll say this: 2006 finals should be very competative again as long as we show up and either Detroit, Miami or Indiana (with the latter being a lock).

[dn0]

Detroit Pistons if LB still coaches.

[TOP-CHERRY]

PS That's kind of a contradiction on your part...but...the problem with Dirk is he IS a tough MF'er and DOES push his team and it turns into 'beating 'em up'.
If you mean contradiction about me saying Dirk was a jerk for chewing at his teammate, then I say he's too soft...

The way he acted with Terry (and I'm not exaggerating with the way he almost ate him up) is being a HYPOCRITE. Him ACTING like a badass in front of the fans doesn't make him any "tough". This has nothing to do with that.

When I said "soft", I meant the way he plays.

I don't see where I'm contradicting myself here.

If you think doing what he did with both Terry and Dampier (calling him out through the media) is pushing his team or leading them anywhere, you obviously haven't seen how Tim leads and pushes his team.
Ask yourself if he's ever done anything even close to what Dirk did.

Then look at the results.

[mavsfan1000]

Tim has some weaknesses also like getting tight at the end of games although he got over it in game 7. If you expect Dirk to be a kind of leader as Tim that is hard to do. You could say that about every team that they don't have that type of attitude that Tim has. Dirk is a great player and isn't expected to be a great leader but Dallas has alot of talent and is only getting better.

[GopherSA]

Dallas.

Denver.

Houston.

Phoenix.

They're all good teams, but I'm not worried about them. They're known quantities. I'm worried about a freak breakout by a currently unrespected team like Memphis or the Lakers. They're thisclose to being a decent team. The Spurs invariably get into dry spells. I'm worried about a first round flop on their part to a team they should crush.

[MiNuS]

A rested Duncan & Ginobili. A full year for Barry and ring. Naz has a full summer of training.We get D Brown back healthy.

I am willing to say the Spurs make it their BEST year ever and have a record of 67 wins. Spurs will again be their own best competitor. Ofcourse the Circus over in LA will have ALL of ESPNs attention.


fuhttp://spurstalk.com/forums/images/smilies/smiblabber.gifck it~!

[baseline bum]

I think Dallas is our biggest threat in the West. I'm really impressed with the job AJ has done with them, and I think he's an outstanding motivator who will become an hell of a coach. They have so much young talent: Devin Harris, Josh Howard, Marquis Daniels and some nice vets to fill backup roles in Finley and Stackhouse. I think they've done a pretty good job rebuilding while remaining comptetitive, and Dirk took a huge leap forward last year.

Phoenix doesn't concern me nearly as much. I don 't like that trade for Kurt Thomas at all for them. Q was a big part of their success, and I feel like they're overreacting to one bad series. They're trying to be something they're not. I know everyone says defense wins championships, but if you're that good offensively you have a great shot. Before the Bad Boys people would have told you it was nuts to think a defensive team with an above-average but not spectacular offense could win a title.

[jsgtaw]

Mavericks are a tough team, but any team that's counting on Dirk Nowitzki to be your leader is destined for failure.

McGrady is a phenomenal player, but he doesn't have the supporting cast in Houston (including Yao).

Denver is a solid team, yet they lack leadership as well. K-Mart ain't gonna get it done. They will be a good team though.

Sacramento is in a transition year. No threat here.

Lakers + Phil = good soap opera, bad basketball team

Jason Williams hurts locker room reporters more than he does other teams' defenses. Grizzlies are no problem.

The Suns are the only team that has both the talent and leadership to compete at the Spurs' level. Thomas was a good addition to the team, but they also lost Q-rich who provided a big offensive punch. Is D'Antoni changing his strategy which he was so convinced would work? The Suns will have another good year, but I wouldn't expect them to have the same success they had this year.

The only other team that comes close to the Spurs is Detroit, but they might not be the team they were these past couple of years.

I think Detroit will still be the team to beat out east, but Indiana is a tough contender.

Bottom Line: Spurs repeat in 2006, 2007, 2008. The core of their team is too solid. There is too much experience, too much depth, and too much heart for anyone to handle this team right now.

[milkyway21]

Looking to next year, we're going to have to deal with a more experienced Heat team (and we may well not have Elden coming off the bench), and a Pacers team with Artest (unless they get cold feet and shop him, or his head explodes again, which I don't expect to happen). I think we're going to need more bench depth to get past them.

Is there anybody in the West that worries you folks? Houston, with their three ex-Piston guards? Phoenix with a healthy Johnson? Just wonderin'...with PhilJackson back in the Lakers team again as coach, that must be something to worry about. They got no Shaq but with Kobe and Phil, who's taking charge now, expect a BIG trade in the summer. Everytime the Spurs a title(1999 & 2003), the Lakers ALWAYS came up WITH BIG acquisition the next season.

1998-1999 - Spurs won
1999-2000 - Lakers signed Phil Jackson to coach

2002-2003 - Spurs won
2003-2004 - Lakers signed, Malone & Payton
one of the biggest season acquisition
in NBA season.

2004-2005 - Spurs won
???????????? Garnett? Artest? Kidd?

who knows....
i just hope the Spurs make a decent draft or trade if they need to, this summer to sodify their line-up.
If not, it's okay with me if they stick with the present line-up except 2 of them-Wilks & Marks.

for Suns.Quinten Richardson is going to get traded to Knicks. So that's minus1 from the Suns. They need to get the same quality of player to get back to form they had this season.

Houston needs solid point guard.
Wolves needs a healthy big man to help Garnett.
Sacramento needs a decent replacement for Divac & the old C. Webb kind of player.

Sonics?-who knows if Allen gets traded too!
The Contract extension is still a big Q.

Dallas remains a solid opponent for Spurs.

I expect Denver to explode.