If evil isn't coming here, can we still win it all

[RobinsontoDuncan]

think about it, can we beat Detroit? They got better this offseason remember

[Marcus Bryant]

As long as Radosoft is the starting center, I'd say the proposition is 50-50.

[spursfaninla]

It is very much a "what if", because "what if Evil had not gotten hurt" is the question to ask before asking if the Spurs could have beaten Detroit.

Lakers might have taken them with better post defense, and Karl would have given them that, no doubt.

Detroit is looking like a force, no doubt. I'm not sure if Mcdyce is going to give them much, though. They will gain by having more time together, that is true.

Their championship was as much about talent as it was about chemistry.

Our chemistry this year will be GREAT. Our "big 3" have been together for a few years now, and Manu and Parker keep showing improvement.

Brent will be our 3 point bomber that Hedo was with versatility in in the back court. Devin will help at the swing position, and his clutchness is just starting to be felt.

This year Devin and Brent are our 6th "men." I expect Barry to get more minutes, but to split himself between playmaking and scoring. Devin will get shots, and he will show if he can be a serious scoring option off the bench.

I don't see much upside with Detroit's players besides Price, MAYBE Hamilton.

Man-for-man, detroit is better, I must admit.
rasho<fro (better on both ends, considering that Fro can't score, sad. Either way, not close
duncan >rasheed (duh
parker<billups (billups distributes better, and is more consistent in scoring
gino<hamilton (gino is more balanced, but hamilton has become a great scorer
bowen =< prince (Prince is the better scorer, slightly weaker one on one defender, yet longer so a better help defender

Bench, if anything, probably goes to detroit.

Luckily, none of that matters. If Parker and Manu improve this year I think we have enough to take them. If they stay the same, I'm not sure we can score enough on detroit, whereas Hamilton and Billups will get theirs.

Detroit, indiana, minn and the spurs are easily the heavyweights, and any of them can go all the way.

[BronxCowboy]

Remember, Spurs actually had a better record last year. It really all comes down to who's healthy and clicking in the playoffs. I agree with spursfaninla that Det., Ind., Minn., and S.A. all have what it takes.

[Mark in Austin]

I hope the Spurs aren't overlooking the other Western Conference teams as much as some posters here are...

[spursfaninla]

Mark, so you think a team other than Minny and the Spurs have a good chance at going all the way?

Which, and what would give you that idea?

Houston has a thin bench and Yao has yet to dominate. if Tmac learns to integrate with an equal, and plays good d, they a top 4 team. A year away.

Lakers have little to no post scoring or defense, and zero bench. Pg? Does Divac play well when he recovers? If Odom becomes what he could on d and Kobe plays unselfishly, this is the closest the league has come to Jordan n pippen. Lakers have no chance.

Sac lost depth and has chemistry issues. Cweb has yet to show he and Peja can both play their game best on the same court. if they learn to play together again Sac has enough guns to contend. If together, they contend.

Denver's 2 power forwards just got into a fight, and one walked away with stiches. Their center has a long history of injury, and other than Nene they don't have a bench. if They fix the Nene and Kmart issue, they have an excellent starting 5. A few years away, leader is too young and immature to go all the way.

I could get myself to start to worry about Dallas. Dallas finally got a post player, but how does that affect their run-n-gun style? They lost Nash, probably the most important part of their offense outside of Dirk. If they are smart, and actually play defense, they look very good. They could very well become unsure of when to play methodically and when to let fly, become tentative, and develop a tendency to otherthink on offense. Furthermore, one good post player is not going to turn Dirk and co into a defensive juggernaut.
If all goes well for them and they change their philosophy, they have enough to go all the way.

The rest of the teams are barely-make-the-playoffs teams with no experience late in the playoffs, and little chance to be in the 2nd round IMO.

The spurs have fewer questions, IMO, than any of these teams. We have no chemisty problems. We don't need to see how Parker and Manu are going to adjust to eachother. They already know how to play together. We don't have to see if they are going to play d, they are already one of the best rebounding and defending team in basketball.

We lost Hedo, a quasi-starter, and gained a backup pg in Beno and a backup swingman in Barry. Integrating them will take a little while, but the question mark there is much smaller; they are role players, not integral starters like EVERY OTHER TEAM MENTIONED.

Detroit is an anomaly in terms of making a big change with a player and that taking them over the top in one year. Often it takes teams a while to integrate their key players to the point of going all the way; it took the Lakers more than a year together to start to know how to really play together. For this reason, I fear the other teams mentioned much less than teams like the other 3 heavy-weights, because those kept their cores very much intact and have no real issues.

We will have to see how Cassell recovers, and the Idiot Artest is a chemistry problem waiting to happen (already can't keep from saying stupid things). If Detroit's wallaces are healthy, they are going to be tough.

[xcoriate]

Yeah Indy is a funny situation.

Artest and JO both believe they were the MVP of there team...

Not only that they think they should have been MVP candidates.




Not to mentionq they both think they should have won it.

Thats real chemistry issues

[exstatic]

SA could have won it last year, if you just swap out Hedo and Barry. Fuck, Karla Malone has NEVER been a requirement to win a championship for anyone. Quite the opposite.

[RobinsontoDuncan]

something to think about the only team not to repeat as champions the last 15 years has been the spurs...

that said there is no way hamilton or billups are better than parker/ginobili think about it, Parker is the fastest player in the league end of story.

Ginobilli is going to do something great this year i can feel it, look at the man, he's fast , athletic, he can shoot when he's on, he plays great deffense, and now in his third year here he has been cemented as the starting SG

But the truth is that even if Detroits guards are better, their bench is better, their center is better, and their SF is better, with tim duncan we are still the better team because even if they have the advantage in every other category it's not by much, and TD is just so much better than anyone else on the floor that we win.

[RobinsontoDuncan]

how do you think we made it to the playoffs all these years?