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Regular season? Mavs.
Obviously behind the Lakers, who do you think is the 2nd best team in the west?
Last year's other WCF team, the Suns, took a big hit losing Amare. They did however retain Channing Frye(by overpaying him), sign Josh Childress, Hedo Turkoglu, and Hakeem Warrick.
The Nuggets added Al Harrington
Utah Jazz lost Boozer but added Al Jefferson. A lateral if not, improving team move.
Blazers' biggest off season move was signing Wesley Matthews
Mavs pretty much stayed the same
As did the Thunder.
The Spurs re-signed RJ and Bonner, added a rookie scorer Anderson, and signed the Spanish league MVP Tiago Splitter.
????
Regular season? Mavs.
The 2 people in that avatar are a couple of the weirdest looking people I have ever seen.
Tyson Chandler is an upgrade over Dampier.
Regular Season:
1. Lakers
2. Mavs
3. Thunder
4. Spurs
5. Nuggets
6. Blazers
7. Jazz
8. Suns
I don't think there is a clear cut #2 right now. Mavs could easily retake the second seed. Blazers depending on health, the Thunder should continue improving, if the Spurs don't sputter out of the gate like they did last season, the Nuggets are always a possibility... who knows.
Suns and Jazz are the only playoff teams that I would be surprised to see #2.
Curious how you put the Thunder above the Spurs...yeah, they have potential, but I don't think they're there yet.
This is more like it.
You also didn't think the Thunder were gonna make the playoffs last year, so your opinion will be swept under the rug.
I agree. People are seemingly eager to skip steps with this team and anoint them the second coming before they've done anything. Their future looks great and their present looks very good, but I don't think they're there yet, in terms of having a realistic shot at making it out of the West.
They could finish with a better regular season record than the Spurs (though I don't suspect they will), but I'd be surprised if we look back on the 10-11 season and conclude that they were better than the Spurs.
I see the Spurs as the second best team in the West entering the season. I've gone on about my reasons for this for a while now and for the most part they're not all that different than many others, so I won't bother regurgitating them. I'll just say that I think the Spurs have the potential to give the Lakers their toughest test in the West since "acquiring" Gasol.
The same three teams I predicted would be the three best teams in the West last season, I predict will be next season. I've got the Trail Blazers third (they could finish second in the regular season though).
If Yao is healthy, Rockets might be a consideration.
I think it's Rockets 2A and the Spurs 2B
i don't think the Rockets will be able to stay healthy yet again when it really matters, so i think it's the Spurs. AND, i think the Spurs are really being underestimated going into next season. they shored up two of their biggest problems: their 3-point shooting and interior help. i like our chances. i realize it's "in" to be extremely pessimistic about out team, but i firmly and reasonably believe they can win it all this year. i'm not falling for this bs that that the Spurs are done. because that's what it is - BS.
Lakers
Mavs
Nuggets
Spurs
Thunder
Jazz
Blazers
Rockets
Suns
I agree.
Specifically speaking about the fan base, people get so caught up in what the Spurs don't have, that they often overlook what they do have and what they do have are a lot of the necessary ingredients that are needed to contend for and win a championship in this league.
Of course, like any team, they have issues and concerns, but how can anyone think the Thunder are better equipped to contend for a championship than the Spurs next season? On top of being too young and inexperienced, they don't have a single big who's even a surefire starter.
Count on the THunder to rise to #2. They have the "New" best player in the league.
+1
yeah, the OKC hype is ridiculous. they haven't done much of anything to prove they were more than a flash in the pan. people thought NO would be a contender for years to come, same thing with the Jazz. some teams peak really early and don't have a lot of room to grow (or as much as people like to think); we'll see if they're one of those teams. they'll have to prove to me otherwise.
Basically it's because they had the same record as us last year. They were a 50 win team in the western conference full of great young players, and unlike to most of the teams that stayed the same their entire core is going to be better this coming season than they were last year.
You also have to take into consideration that (even after last year) the Spurs don't normally worry about seeding throughout the regular season, so you have to figure we'll finish the season with somewhere around 5 or 6 less wins than we could have.
I definitely don't think the Thunder are better equipped contend for a championship than the Spurs, but I think they will be a great regular season team. Their youth and talent gives them the necessary ingredients to win 55+ games this coming season. Doesn't mean that it will equal playoff success though...look at Cleveland that last few years, or the Mavs over the past 10 years.
It seems to me that this thread is the child of the thread I started earlier(besides the lakers).
1. Spurs
2. Lakers
3. Nuggets
4. Mavs
5.-8. Oklahoma City, Jazz, Clippers, and then Blazers or Rockets.
I think the Suns tank the season, go for a big man next year.
So to answer the question, the Lakers will be proven to be the 2nd best team in the west come next May.
You all overate Spurs. Otherwise why were they only the 7th this year?
Call me crazy, although I don't think the Spurs will have the second best recored in the West. I do think they are the odds on favourite to meet the Lakers in the Western conference finals. And that's all that matters.
If you base it from the last playoffs , you have to admit that next to the Lakers and Suns, the Spurs were the best Western playoff team. The Suns then lose Amare while the other western final 4 team ( the Jazz ) lose Boozer and company. What do the Spurs do , they simply fill in 2 of their biggest gaps. A big in Euro MVP Tiango and the best shooter in the draft. So you tell me, how are they not the favourites to meet the Lakers in the Western finals ?
Spurs got off to a worse start than usual. Duncan was the only one playing worth a damn, there were long stretches where RJ was logging most of his minutes at PF, and Bogans was starting. If Tony and Manu are healthy and in rhythm, RJ plays as decent or better than he did the last quarter of the season, the new guys (Anderson and Splitter) help out, and considering Blair and Hill still have some upside... Spurs have a decent shot at second seed. That's a lot of ifs, but it's possible.
It feels like 99 and 2003 all over again...those years felt right...
Championships are won with the heart, the smart, and the talent.
Our Spurs have now acquired the talent to go with the hearts of the vets and the smarts of our coach to put our team over the top once more.
It will have to be team defense and team offense, but it will be done.
Go Spurs Go! The 5th is on the way.
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