Reply With Quote
Yes to Regular Season records - no to Playoffs.
LA, Denver or San Antonio are still coming out of the West.
Boston or "Small Pond" Orlando coming out of the East.
There have been teams like the bulls, lakers, celts in the past that were just head and shoulders better than other teams but there is clearly 6 teams that are just a lot better than all the other teams. Every one of them has improved themselves dramatically in the off-season while other teams have gotten worse or stayed the same.
-Cleveland upgraded with snaq, and moon
-magic upgraded with vc over turk and keeping gortat, bass, and healthy jameer coming back (some say they might have gotten worse-i don't see it)
-Boston got sheed and daniels, kg coming back
-Fakers got artest (if they lose odom they are still very good, but don't see it as a successful off-season, with odom back though very good move imo)
-Dallas added marion
-Spurs got jefferson, manu coming back, dice, blair
All these teams imo are just way above the rest of the league-some could say portland and Denver are right there but I think with the moves other teams made they have left them in the dust
Yes to Regular Season records - no to Playoffs.
LA, Denver or San Antonio are still coming out of the West.
Boston or "Small Pond" Orlando coming out of the East.
Idstay u gotta throw in the cavs in the east and mavs in west. Will be interesting because all the teams changed and the one that wins will be the team that can click the best with its new parts. Hard to predict how things will go down
Dallas as it is, regrettably, is probably in the same class of teams as Denver/Portland... good teams, but not really contenders... probably a notch below the other 5 teams. Our guys in blue can change that though with 1 or 2 more solid additions, preferably a superior center and a solid wing player.
Not sure what to make of the Marion upgrade though... it could be marginal or it could change the entire dynamic of the team, adding a 2 way player, improving the defense, and moving Howard to the 2 guard by virtue of the fact that Wright was horrible, even if Howard isn't really a 2 guard, may be a huge upgrade... plus J-Ho may be playing for contract etc.
Gap between the top teams and the rest of the league starting to some extent last year IMO... with two teams winning 65+ and 4 teams winning 60 (rare that that occurs)... I guess it happens with so many teams in cost cutting mode and a select few contenders exploiting it. Although there is parity to some extent, especially 5-14 in the East being separated by 13 games or so.
All the Mavericks did was add an aging loser past his prime.
All the Hornets did was stand pat on a team that lost by 60 on its home court
And? The Hornets were injured, got. Enjoy your aging 7-foot shooting guard.All the Hornets did was stand pat on a team that lost by 60 on its home court
-spurs,lakers,denver,portland, and dallas are all better than the hornets-no question. i can't believe they just have stood by and done jack while a lot of teams have put cash flow out there to get better. Sorry paul can't do it all himself-west is damn good too but that's about all that team has. Old peja sucks, posey really isn't a game changer for them, they're just not that good.
If either of the Hornets' draft picks pan out, they will be right back where they were two seasons ago. If you actually watched the Hornets this year, you would have realized that many players were injured throughout the season, and that West and Paul were playing 40+ minutes per game trying to win against bad opponents. If the bench players step up, then the starters won't have to play 40 minutes a game.
Cleveland also added Anthony Parker...
red, man i know your fightin for your team, but dude it's just painfully obvious the lakes, spurs, and mavs are above the hornets. Hornets I guess if fully healthy could be in the trailblazers denver level. I'd still put them below those two teams. Now if they make a trade or get a decent FA that's left they might come into play but as of right now no way. In fact I do think they'll make the playoffs but I wouldn't be suprised if say a clippers team moved up, suns if healthy moved up, and a few other teams could push them out. I don't think that will happen but they just aren't deep....at all
The Lakers and the Spurs are better, but the Mavericks didn't get better at all. Shawn Marion is washed up, and the Mavericks are only getting older.
this is true but remember they do have a pretty solid team b4 marion...dirk, howard, kidd(i know he's old but he's still a difference maker...sometimes, ha), and people forget terry-the guy is a legit, damn good player. Now marion which will help with athleticism, boards. IDK i mean hornets as currently constructed can still play some good games, i just think they need to definitely make a trade or get a quality FA. Peja is so overrated its not even funny...he is nothing like he was on the kings 5/6 years ago. I think you'll admit to that-he dissappears completely some games, can't have that as your 3rd scoring option.
Peja is overpaid not overrated. People forget that he missed a quarter of the season and that Chandler missed half of the season. The Hornets got 49 wins even with all those injuries. At worst, they would get 49 wins again this upcoming season.
I'm not claiming that they are in the le hunt; I'm just saying that they got better during the offseason.
how i mean -healthier yes-just like yhe spurs and celts being healthy will help a lot but as far as additions what have they done that would make a difference? i just dont see it
Darren Collison and Marcus Thorton. If they actually provide help off the bench, the Hornets will automatically become better.
Yes collison i could see giving you guys some depth-he will be good-i watched him a lot and he's a smart player and maybe thornton...im just saying those aren't game changing moves. Look lakes added an all star and arguably one of the best defender in artest-him and kobe together at wings is just nasty-dallas added marion who some say isn't that good but he gives them quite a bit of athleticism and d/board help, spurs added jefferson, an athletic tall wing who can get the team fired up with dunks and has the ability to play good d, and hit treys. Its like bruce bowen though a LOT better (love bruce but jeff is just way better overall-bruce d though-wow). He gives the spurs at least 15 ppg and boards! And he's in his prime, and he went to UofA, ha. I digress, these are all players that make big differences. If the hornets can add a really good wing 2 or 3 then I will bump them up but now no way. just my opinion tho
If it were 2 or 3 teams ahead of every other team in the league, I can see how you'd ask this. But you're talking about 20% of the league. That's like most seasons. There are a handful of teams that have a legitimate chance to win it all, a bunch of mediocre teams, and then the bottom dwellers. There's definitely a gap, but I think the distance between those elite teams to the rest of the league is based much more on perception. Many of the major additions these elite teams are adding are old and past their primes. Shaq, Rasheed, Marion, Dice, even Vince. And, then you have to wait to find out if they actually do make those teams better in terms of chemistry and gelling. I'd say of those 6 teams, it's still about the Lakers and the Celtics and they're clearly better than the other 4, with San Antonio not as far behind as the other 3. I wouldn't lump Cleveland, Orlando, or Dallas up with Boston and LA. Especially with Orlando and Dallas, I don't think there's a huge gap between them and teams like Denver, Portland, even Atlanta.
On paper, there are probably 2-3 teams to beat if everyone stays healthy. After that, another handful of teams that are pretty good and could challenge if everything works out perfectly. Then the rest of the league. I don't think it's 6 elite teams and everyone else.
and the mavs played with a Josh Howard who had to jacked up ankles and an f'ed up wrist.....injuries are apart of it. At least the Spurs tried to beat the Mavs. It shows how much character, heart and fight your team and coach have. A D-III school wouldnt have gotten ran on their home floor by the Nuggets by 60 like the Hornets did in a crcuial playoff game
Why do the Spurs get to add Blair onto their list but other teams don't have their rookies mentioned?
because Pop drafted him
For once I disagree with a mav fan in a good way for the mavs. IMO Marion is a really good addition, I see the mavs better than Denver / Portland, I think Gortat would have put Dallas in the bottom of the elite teams but still on the elite teams.
I think it has been this way for years in the NBA. You almost never have a season where 10 teams have a legitimate shot at a le.
Do you still say this if the Lakers lose Odom?
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
