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I think you can include the Heat and Cavs in that list as well to fill in the "elite 6" teams of the NBA. Maybe you can argue a point for the Nuggets too.
spurs - looking to repeat and cement a dynasty and silence, once and for all, all the critics of duncan and the small market
mavs - so close in 06, so embarrassed in 07
suns - everyone on the planet thought 07 was the year of the suns and run-and-gun but that got yanked out from under them like the chairs they should have been sitting in
pistons - their grip on respectability and historic status is fast slipping as their 04 le begins looking more and more like a fluke result of malone being injured
I think you can include the Heat and Cavs in that list as well to fill in the "elite 6" teams of the NBA. Maybe you can argue a point for the Nuggets too.
spurs, they failed to repeat 3 times and now could be there last chance for a longgggggg time. I think you could tell that Duncan and the gang really wana repeat from the way they talked on the river walk. But the real question is will they get it done?
No team should want it more than the mavs after what happened in 06 and 07.
the cavs have no pressure for a le, i would think. no one picked them to win and their showing proved they had no business there. chalk it up to experience and move on, is likely the cav motto at this point. so long as lebron sticks around, they'll have their shot down the road. the heat, maybe, but i'm not sure if anyone on that team aside from wade and maybe shaq have an higher aspirations.
I'll just go ahead and be a homer and put the Suns slightly over the Mavs. Whether it's right or wrong, Phoenix feels they were robbed of a championship, unlike Dallas who has to be doubting themselves a little bit. Plus Nash is going to be 34 and this is probably Shawn Marion's last year in the desert.
If the Spurs repeat.
What trash can the haters spew?
All of those teams badly want to win a le, for the reasons stated in the parent post. Impossible to quantify "who wants it more."
Mavs, but the problem is having motivation doesn't equate to having success, sadly for Dallas.
Phoenix feels they got Sterned. They have quite a bit of motivation.
I think next I would say Heat because Riley and Shaq both know the window is very close to being completely shut.
The Spurs have motivation, but I don't think it trumps Dallas or Phoenix or Miami.
The Cavs are just happy they got as far as they did. They don't realize that there's a very good chance they won't get back there. They think with LeBron it's a done deal they'll be back. I'm not so convinced. But, at any rate, because they over-achieved so much with having such a ty team, they don't have quite the motivation as other NBA Finals losing teams.
The Pistons players are y sumsabishes. They don't have the motivation or the mindframe to use motivation properly anymore.
Most motivation:
1. Dallas
2. Phoenix
3. Miami
4. San Antonio
5. Cleveland
6. Detroit
Probably the Suns. They've been so close in the last 3 years and feel that this is their last chance.
Id put the Jazz over the Heat and Nuggets
"The league is just exceptionally weak."
"Most, if not all, of the les were tainted or flukes."
"They get bad ratings, so it doesn't really count."
"Every other championship team is better."
"There is more to basketball than winning, and the Spurs just cheapen winning by doing it the 'corporate' way."
"They only win because of dirty tricks."
"*****"
"David Stern rigs it for them to promote the league internationally."
"The Spurs must have given more money to Israel this year."
"The league is racist."
I'd put Mavs first, mainly because they realize that if they don't get it done this season, there's a very good chance that they're gonna blow the team up.
Suns are a close second cuz that team is very near to being blown up too. But I think that deep down, they realize that Dantoni's style is never gonna get it done.
Let's Go Mavs!
Let's Go Mavs!
Let's Go Mavs!
Let's Go Mavs!
Let's Go Mavs!
Let's Go Mavs!
Let's Go Mavs!
If Dumars & Flip could get into their players side again, i see Detroit getting their motivation back. They've been deemed as a has been bunch, even ridiculed as being a fluke champion, that should lit some fire under their collective azzez -'course Sheed must be put under some sort of Hypnotherapy for emotion control as no 1 priority.
It seems like every other team goes around talking about thier hunger for the chamionship over and over again. But at the end of the season there's only the Spurs standing with the trophy! So I'm gonna say this team will repeat. No more of these miraculous buzzer beaters and stupid fouls. Spurs might already be a dynasty but they can validate it even more and make history again. Thats enough motivation right there.
rockets
Its funny how everyone usually puts the team they cheer for on the top of the list. Of course don't mistake who might want it more to who will actually get there. I think the Suns are on top of the list, just for the fact that they think they got screwed and SHOULD be the champs. Detroit would be 2nd for they got embarrassed by the Cavs and should have won that series, they will have to part with Weber first of course. Denver in a 3rd, was a team who did the most damage in the 2nd half after a big trade for AI. They will be coming with a vengeance. Spurs 4th are looking for thier first re-peat. Their hunger will prob grow as the season goes on due to the lack of respect they will receive. Tied for 5th Dallas and Houston. Well as for Dallas I think 2 years of choking in a row MIGHT have done more damage to this team that we have seen. They prob will tear through the regular season with ease, but will fold in the playoffs again. Houston, same thing with a good regular season and folding in the playoffs. 6th would be the jazz and cavs. I think they have a lot of young talent but it seems like they give up when it came down to it(the jazz more than the cavs). At 7th the Heat will be coming to try to reclaim what they think is thiers. With a healthy Dwade and a weak east, im sure they will get there easily.
Dallas will probably go into the playoffs with the most motivation in order to prove the critics wrong.
I think the Spurs starters will play hard but the bench guys like Finley will be going through the motions now that they got their rings(hopefully I'm wrong)
S0ns play a flawed style of basketball that won't get them anywhere so 'em.
Pressure is going to be immense on this team come playoff time. I'm not sure they'll be able to overcome it.
This upcoming season will either mark Dallas as a team that finally got over the hump, or as the biggest chokers in NBA history.
mavs
You would think the Mavs should've had all the motivation they needed after losing the '06 Finals. But they actually took a step backwards in '07. I don't think you can safely say they now have "more" motivation for '08.
In fact, other than the Suns, I think the Heat and especially DWade believe their le defense was incomplete because they were hurt. And they were unceremoniously swept by the Bulls...on their home court.
I think Wade will be on a tear next season.
For the Spurs, I think they need a veteran pickup who's ringless (a la Finley) to keep them motivated. Now matter how you slice it, unless you're Jordan, you just don't have the same hunger after 3-4 rings.
rumor has it the knicks want it the most.
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