Should the Heat be feared?

[bull62400]

Hey guys, im new at this whole thread thing, but aneways, The Spurs are recieving tremendous respect throughout the NBA and I say it's about friggin time after all that "D-Rob is soft" bull shit. However, after gaining Nick Van Exel and Michael Finley, can we really say that the 2006 Championship is in the bag? I know Antoine Walker and Jason Williams are selfish players and do not know the definition of team, but the Heat did gain two exceptionally good starters for their roster along with Dwayne Wade and (I hate his guts, but I give him props) Shaq. As I see it, Spurs are still the favorites in winning the championship, although the Heat's offseason moves were pretty impressive nonetheless, I guess my main question is... Should the Heat be feared or will the Spurs dominate in 2006?

[angel_luv]

Spurs can take the Heat! :spin

[SenorSpur]

In a word - NO!

Don't forget two other things:

They've added Gary Payton
They've lost Damon Jones

[mavsfan1000]

I agree that the Spurs should beat the Pistons. The Heat will not make the finals imo.

[Pistons < Spurs]

No Fear! It WILL be a Pistons/Spurs re-match!........but with a different outcome this time!

[angel_luv]

No Fear! It WILL be a Pistons/Spurs re-match!........but with a different outcome this time!


It's night time so it is okay for you to dream!


:lol

Spurs > Pistons

[Pistons < Spurs]

And when the Pistons win, I can change my name back to Pistons > Spurs :fro

[mavsfan1000]

I think the pistons are getting overlooked. Their biggest weaknesses were backup 2 and 3 and backup Center. Maurice Evans and Dale Davis fixes this so they might be like the pistons of 03-04.

[bull62400]

No Fear! It WILL be a Pistons/Spurs re-match!........but with a different outcome this time!

I know Flip Saunders is a good coach, but I thing Larry Brown was a big reason for Detroits success, i don't seethem in the finals again.

[Pistons < Spurs]

I think the pistons are getting overlooked. Their biggest weaknesses were backup 2 and 3 and backup Center. Maurice Evans and Dale Davis fixes this so they might be like the pistons of 03-04.


Agreed.

Also Sheed has shed 20 pounds and has said 'I'm going to be a different guy. I'm going to be really aggressive.'

...After his performance in a few of those finals games, he better be more aggressive....

[mavsfan1000]

It seems that new coaches get the players attention but over time they wear on them and the players start tuning them out. I expect Flip to have success early with the Pistons.

[thispego]

pistons have serious problems in the east, pacers, cavs, bucks, nets, miami for the first part of the year, till shack breaks down again (i dont hitnk this team will be able to pull it together in the span of one season, maybe if they do good this season and stick together next summer they could be pretty scary)

[phyzik]

And when the Pistons win, I can change my name back to Pistons > Spurs :fro

Or, when the Pistons loose again, you can change your name to one of the following:

Pistons << Spurs

Pistons = :depressed

Spurs > Pistons < Spurs

:elephant :spin :elephant

[SequSpur]

Lock this mofo.

[sprrs]

No Fear! It WILL be a Pistons/Spurs re-match!........but with a different outcome this time!

Only different outcomes I can see are:

Spurs in 4
Spurs in 5
Spurs in 6

:blah

[whottt]

I think the answer is definitely yes...because all the icebergs will melt and millions will drown.

[mavsfan1000]

Or the Pistons in 7. Rasheed being in shape is huge for Detroit. He was the reason they won the championship. Detroit matches up well to San Antonio and did better than I thought they would last year. They improved their bench which was their downfall last year imo. The spurs already had a good bench and can't improve that much from what their bench was before. The center position of the spurs needs to improve to be a pretty sure bet that they will win it. Mohammad needs to be more consistent.

[sprrs]

Or the Pistons in 7. Rasheed being in shape is huge for Detroit. He was the reason they won the championship. Detroit matches up well to San Antonio and did better than I thought they would last year. They improved their bench which was their downfall last year imo. The spurs already had a good bench and can't improve that much from what their bench was before. The center position of the spurs needs to improve to be a pretty sure bet that they will win it. Mohammad needs to be more consistent.

My thinking is that Nazr will be much improved with a little more experience with the team. And if Oberto pans out then we have our starting and back up center in Fabri & Nazr/Rasho. And their bench last year was horrible in the playoffs with the exceptions of Barry and Horry. It's MUCH more improved this year. And with a fully rested Timmy and Manu, that should make all the difference.

[TDMVPDPOY]

I just destroyed the heat in live04 with uptodate 2k6 rosters, duncan triple double and shaq was non-factor in the game, spurs win 106-100.

hEAT shouldnt be worryin about the spurs, they better worry about the pacers n pistons in the east if they wanna make it to the finals, they shouldnt worry about the whoever comes out of the west because spurs will be waitin to sweep there sorry hype asses.

[polandprzem]

Miami will end up in the 2rd
I see Ind vs Det matchup in the ECF and Indy in six.

[ducks]

pacres>heat

[batman2883]

FUCK NO....thats all i have to say

[samikeyp]

respected, yes...feared..no.

[Kip Fanatic]

Feared???? No. Will they be a good team? Yes. Will they make it to the Finals? I seriously doubt it. I honestly see the Pacers making it to the Finals. I see the Heat having problems for some reason, but I could be way off.

[MadDog73]

With all respect to the Pistons, they will not make the Finals this year.

It's just too hard to make the Finals year after year (Lakers did it 4 times in five years, but that was from a combination of things, including mediocre competition. The league as a whole has improved since then).

Plus, with the Pacers and Heat arguably being stronger than last year, that pushes the Pistons chances down even farther.

I'd pick the Pacers, but I need to see them in action first. Mainly, will Ron Artest's behavior change? He's cost them so many games (and series) by being suspended before.

Why will this year be any different?

Spurs and Heat in the Finals, with Spurs winning it all again.

[batman2883]

The Heat will kill the Pacers, but they will not defeat the Spurs, the Spurs are too deep...the HEat are overpacked with huge ego's now...Think Lakers 2004

[mookie2001]

I fear no professional basketball club.

[zeleni]

I think the pistons are getting overlooked. Their biggest weaknesses were backup 2 and 3 and backup Center. Maurice Evans and Dale Davis fixes this so they might be like the pistons of 03-04.

Their (Pistons) new biggest weakness is their Coach. And that is a lot more than just backup players. Pistons are losing momentum and team thinking.

[spurs_fan_in_exile]

Their (Pistons) new biggest weakness is their Coach. And that is a lot more than just backup players. Pistons are losing momentum and team thinking.

While I think that Flip is a downgrade from Larry Brown in terms of the X's and O's I think that the Pistons players were sick and tired of his shit by the time the off season rolled around. I don't think they're going to loose too much on the defensive end of things because their starting five are individually great defenders. Even if the team defensive philosophy takes a hit they are still going to be one of the best defensive teams in the league. IMO their biggest hole remains a reliable bench scorer.

[TDMVPDPOY]

Pistons just added maurice evans and pistons fans think they got this championship in the bag or becomin back into the finals, only thing is that with or without ur additional signings pistons are still a contender, now dont treat the signing of ur new players as saviours of ur teams. Evans is no DPOY or sum DPOY candidate, dont hype this shit up like his the next big thing comin to d-town.

[ducks]

pistons would not have gotten to to the finals last eyar had heat and pacers been healthy

[romsey31]

pistons would not have gotten to to the finals last eyar had heat and pacers been healthy

Thank you.

First of all the Pistons still doesnt have someone who is a legit three point threat other than Billups ( nope not even Prince). Who's gonna carry the scoring load off the bench? Mcdyess? Evans? Darko?

Heats? Who is Shaq gonna kick the ball out to? Walker? Payton? Williams? Before the night is over they'd have enough bricks to build a new Arena.

The Pacers currently has the best balanced team in the East.

[The_Game]

pistons would not have gotten to to the finals last eyar had heat and pacers been healthy

Oh please...it's not the pistons fault those teams have injury prone players. pistons have the best D in the NBA and a balenced offense

pistons have mcdyess as their go to scorer off the bench and evans will give them some offense off the bench..as he proved at the kings he can bring a real spark off the bench and score.

pacers and heat both overrated..indy don't have enough firepower or inside presents to beat detroit.

[LilMissSPURfect]

Yes! A straight week with 100+ temperatures........... :spin

. drink plenty of water
. stay indoors and watch and rewatch SPURS CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON and traing camp

:smokin

YES fear the South Texas HEAT.......! i believe down here in dis here parts they call em

DA SPURS!!!!!!!!! BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[nkdlunch]

Only Shaq should be feared. And only when it's lunch time and you have a hot dog in your hands.

[MiNuS]

pistons would not have gotten to to the finals last eyar had heat and pacers been healthy
woulda,coulda,shoulda.................

[thispego]

While I think that Flip is a downgrade from Larry Brown in terms of the X's and O's I think that the Pistons players were sick and tired of his shit by the time the off season rolled around. I don't think they're going to loose too much on the defensive end of things because their starting five are individually great defenders. Even if the team defensive philosophy takes a hit they are still going to be one of the best defensive teams in the league. IMO their biggest hole remains a reliable bench scorer.
mcdyess couldnt miss last year

[spurs_fan_in_exile]

mcdyess couldnt miss last year

Is he back with them this year? For some reason I thought he just signed a one year deal. If he is back then that hole is a little less gaping but I stand by my assessment that bench scoring is going to be anemic again this year.

[bull62400]

I just destroyed the heat in live04 with uptodate 2k6 rosters, duncan triple double and shaq was non-factor in the game, spurs win 106-100.

hEAT shouldnt be worryin about the spurs, they better worry about the pacers n pistons in the east if they wanna make it to the finals, they shouldnt worry about the whoever comes out of the west because spurs will be waitin to sweep there sorry hype asses.

Hmm... Sorry man, I wouldnt use a video game as a very good source to predict the future.

[Marklar MM]

Is he back with them this year? For some reason I thought he just signed a one year deal. If he is back then that hole is a little less gaping but I stand by my assessment that bench scoring is going to be anemic again this year.

Nope. He signed a 5 year deal. It is riddled with injury clauses. :)
I seriously believe that Miami will just implode.

To the scoring portion. Dice will give you 10 points a night. Delfino can score...he was doing pretty good before he got hurt. Arroyo...well...next person. Evans can get you 5 or 6 points a night. Acker looks like a solid shooter. I would look for our bench to score more than last year, as it is definitely an upgrade.