CubanMustGo
03-21-2006, 12:06 PM
Nothing earth-shattering, but
Arslan (Blacksburg, VA): In all seriousness, does San Antonio have a chance at the title with an slower-than-usual Duncan? I can only imagine then getting trounced by the pistons or even the heat with their shaq-zo big man combo.
Marc Stein: (11:34 AM ET) Seriously? No chance. They should concede the season right now. Is this a serious question? They will be favored against the Mavs in Round 2 and have consistently beaten the team (Phoenix) they're seeded to meet in the conference finals. And if they get to the Finals, they're not going to be trounced by anybody.
...
Stephan, DC: In all seriousness, do we have a Pistons-Spurs final guaranteed?
Marc Stein: (11:50 AM ET ) Thankfully not. It seemed that way early in the season, but I do think San Antonio has a rough road to get to the Finals. It won't be easy to slug it out with Dallas and then switch to the tempo Phoenix plays. And the Pistons have been sufficiently wobbly in the second half to hearten the Heat.
...
Also loved his comment to a Heat fan. They were whining about the supposed lack of respect he is showing a team that hasn't beaten anyone of note recently, let alone beat anyone impressively:
Adam (Gainesville, FL): I just want to point out that the big showdown Wednesday in Detroit will be the Heat's 4th road game in 5 days. Considering the average age of the team, they're going to have a difficult time keeping up. Isn't that a poor job of scheduling? (Extra note...please keep that in mind if they lose).
Marc Stein: (11:52 AM ET ) Noted, Adam. I'll only make a big deal out of that game if Miami wins. :lol
The whole transcript is at http://proxy.espn.go.com/chat/chatESPN?event_id=11143
AlamoSpursFan
03-21-2006, 12:11 PM
How come Adam from Gainesville didn't begin his question "In all seriousness"?
How does he expect noted NBA Expert Marc Stein to take him seriously?
:lol
GINNNNNNNNNNNNOBILI
03-21-2006, 12:26 PM
any way you could post the whole thing?
GINNNNNNNNNNNNOBILI
03-21-2006, 12:45 PM
it's awfully long.
That's cool, I thought you just copied and pasted.
Despot
03-21-2006, 12:46 PM
Welcome to The Show! On Tuesday, ESPN.com senior NBA writer Marc Stein will drop by to talk about the NBA season at hand.
Send your questions now and join Marc in The Show, Tuesday at 11 a.m. ET!
Stein Archive: Chats | Columns
Marc Stein: Hello, all. Tough times get even tougher at Stein Line HQ with my beloved Manchester City crashing out of the FA Cup in the quarterfinals, two wins short of England's answer to the Super Bowl. Hopefully some spirited banter here will take my mind off City and the Titans.
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Dan (NY, NY): I need you to come up with a trade scenario that will fix the mess that Isiah has made of my beloved Knicks. Marbury to Minny for Jaric, Hassell, and Blount? Francis to Memphis for Eddie Jones' expiring contract?
Marc Stein: I'll go with the Marbury scenario. Maybe it's not exactly Hassell, Jaric and Blount, but I can see something happening there. If the Wolves are going to stick with KG -- and who's going to be surprised if they decide not to trade him? -- they have to try to get another "star." With the limited assets they have to offer, Marbury is about as good as they can hope for. The Knicks? Obviously they can't expect Larry and Steph to co-exist for long, so they'd probably do that one.
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Keith (Atlanta, Ga): Did the Hawks give up all of their leverage by not dealing Harrington at the trade deadline? What could they feasibly get for him now?
Marc Stein: I'm still gullible enough to think they can concoct a sign-and-trade this summer to make sure they don't lose him for nothing. They did it with Stephen Jackson, remember, to get Harrington in the first place if memory servers.
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Ofer, Tel Aviv: Hey Marc, do you think people know that Candace Parker brother (Anthony) is the best player in Europe for years now? why wasn't he invited to the USA team? he has the most experience playing the European Style?
Marc Stein: They do know. Anthony Parker, star of Maccabi Tel-Aviv. But you shouldn't be surprised that he didn't get a Team USA invite. Look at how many good players here didn't get one. You're expecting a lot for Jerry Colangelo and Co. to pick someone they never see over the 400-plus NBA guys they see all the time.
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Tony (Seattle): Why can't my team continue to tank it for the rest of the season and scoop up a better lotto pick? This late season "surge" is counterproductive.
Marc Stein: Congrats. This is the first "My team should start tanking" question I've received this season.
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Brett (Miami): I just have one question: Why do you, along with dozens of other reporters continue to criticize the Heat? Did you really expect them to start off 50-10? I mean, we all knew this team was going to take some time to get its chemistry together, and with Shaq out for the first month of the season, that process became a lot more difficult. Stan Van Gundy could not handle this team with all its proven veterans, so obviously Pat Riley had to step in, which he's done a fabulous job. All I'm saying is, the Heat are hotter than South Beach right now, and people need to stop comparing them to the Pistons, because not even God could have predicted their start of the season. At this moment Miami is better than the Pistons and maybe better than the entire league -- after all the Pistons lost to the Knicks a couple days ago. By the way, what do you think of Wade's chances for MVP? Why is it that no one gives him any chance?
Marc Stein: Have I really been "criticizing" them lately? Dare I say no. I'm simply not slobbering over them like some of my friends in Miami expect because they're beating a bunch of saps now. I invite you to comb through the list of games Miami has played since the big Detroit win and tell me which performances have been so impressive. Apart from that mauling of Utah, I see the same Heat we've seen all year -- Wade aside. He's been awesome, but it's hard to be wowed when they're regularly falling way behind Atlanta, Charlotte and Boston and scrambling back to win by a point or two. Sorry. That's just me.
Marc Stein: Maybe Shaq knows exactly what he's doing. Maybe the time he missed in the beginning of the season will leave enough in his tank to take up it a couple notches in the playoffs. Maybe these guys are going to click at the right time and morph into a playoff force. I don't dispute -- and haven't disputed -- that Miami is the only East team capable of giving Detroit a real series. But I just don't believe that anything has changed in the last month because Miami is pounding a bunch of sorry teams with nothing to play for.
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Eels B (Toronto): Marc, What are your views on the emerging Wade vs. Nash debate for MVP? I think a pretty compelling case can be made for both players, but I still believe that Nash deserves to repeat, given the way he's helped integrate all the new players on the team and kept the Suns at the top of the league without Amare.
Marc Stein: Wade will be on my official ballot somewhere in the top five and I know Hollinger and Simmons are campaigning for him. But I think you know where I stand on this. I'm going to be voting for someone from one of the most successful teams and Nash and Nowitzki are my top two entering the stretch run.
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Remil (Saint John, NB): Your reasoning why Houston wasn't on your list of most disappointing teams is because of injuries. Well the Pacers also suffered injuries as well as the whole Ron-Ron debacle. Why weren't they exempt like the Rockets? You even wrote "No matter how many injuries Indy fights through again this season ... they were supposed to be a title contender." The Rockets were also supposed to contend after their off-season moves. Why were they spared from the list and not Indy?
Marc Stein: Indy was on my list of Most Disappointing Teams purely because of the last chapter of their Ron-Ron experience. Just like last season, they've been resilient in the face of numerous setbacks. If they finish fifth in the East, I'll be picking them to beat Cleveland in the first round. But the mere fact that Artest sabotaged the situation to the point they had to trade him -- even though it was Ron was turned his back on the team and city that tried so hard to make it work --- it's still a major disappointment that it all unraveled barely a month into the season. That's my point.
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Eric, NY: I don't see why people are so high on the Heat...they have a hard time beating good teams. My Nets have gone 2-1 against them this year and should be 3-0 except for a bad no call on VC at the end of the game. Anyway how do you think the Nets will fare in the playoffs?
Marc Stein: They win a round at best. I believed for a while that they could cause Miami trouble in the second round, and I'm sure Shaq won't enjoy that series because the Nets will go small and run him, but Heat will take them in six. Nets just don't have enough bench. They'd need their Big Three to play lights out four times in one series to beat Miami. Can't see it.
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Arslan (Blacksburg, VA): In all seriousness, does San Antonio have a chance at the title with an slower-than-usual Duncan? I can only imagine then getting trounced by the pistons or even the heat with their shaq-zo big man combo.
Marc Stein: Seriously? No chance. They should concede the season right now. Is this a serious question? They will be favored against the Mavs in Round 2 and have consistently beaten the team (Phoenix) they're seeded to meet in the conference finals. And if they get to the Finals, they're not going to be trounced by anybody.
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Dan (Bmore): I'm not a GM or anything but why would Minn want to get Marbury back? He has not only proven to not make any teams better and sometimes worse, but his attitude is also questionable. I think the Wolves should trade KG in respect for him and try to get some peices to contend.
Marc Stein: Because Minnesota doesn't have the trade assets to get someone better than Marbury. If they keep KG, that is. Marbury only has appeal to the Wolves if Garnett is still there.
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Joey (Denver): Marc, Melo hasn't just played like an all-star, he's played like an all star starter. 10-16 for game winners? Ridiculous. Came up BIG on the 7 game road trip and has been shooting a VERY high percentage. Can Melo get some props?
Marc Stein: Yes. Here they are. With 'Melo and Camby playing so well and the moves they made at the deadline (Patterson and Evans), Denver doesn't look to me like the pushover No. 3 seed folks are making them out to be. If the Nuggets play Phoenix in the second round, that's going to be an underrated series.
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Andy (Washington, DC): Bill Simmons sure has something against Phoenix - he was virulently anti-Nash last year, and this year dismissed an Amare-less Suns playoff team as "just another team that can score points and can't play defense" - would you agree? Diaw, Bell, Barabosa, Thomas, Marion... and this is just another toothless defensive team? Does he even watch the games?
Marc Stein: Yes, Andy. Haven't you figured this out yet. We have a meeting in the begininng of the season and everyone picks a team they're going to hate. I choose Miami. Simmons went with Phoenix. Sheridan took the Rest of the World, because he's worried about Team USA's chances in Japan at the Worlds.
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X-man (SA): Artest predicted they'll move up in the standings ... true or false?
Marc Stein: False. I don't see Sacto finishing higher than seventh. But I don't want to see how much trouble they can cause Phoenix in the first round. The Kings will be ultimately doomed by the fact that they only five or six dependable players, but Artest is enough of a wild card to give the Suns some trouble.
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Stephan, DC: In all seriousness, do we have a Pistons-Spurs final guaranteed?
Marc Stein: Thankfully not. It seemed that way early in the season, but I do think San Antonio has a rough road to get to the Finals. It won't be easy to slug it out with Dallas and then switch to the tempo Phoenix plays. And the Pistons have been sufficiently wobbly in the second half to hearten the Heat.
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Adam (Gainesville, FL): I just want to point out that the big showdown Wednesday in Detroit will be the Heat's 4th road game in 5 days. Considering the average age of the team, they're going to have a difficult time keeping up. Isn't that a poor job of scheduling? (Extra note...please keep that in mind if they lose).
Marc Stein: Noted, Adam. I'll only make a big deal out of that game if Miami wins.
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Washington, D.C.: Is Marbury Nicolas Anelka?
Marc Stein: Good one. But no. Anelka is/was better. A 20-goal man in football is a rarer commodity than a 20-point scorer in the NBA, so I put up with Anelka when he was at City, even though no one likes playing at his side. But I like the way you're thinking.
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