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The offseason will determine that.
First let me say congrats to the Lakers, and the select Laker fans who are classy. I think the West is as weak as ever
Mavs - Could be a threat if they played Beaubois more, cut ties with Butler, and get a slashing two guard.
Blazers - Give themselves the Rocket's treatment, and pray for good health
Spurs - Old, need an infusion of youth. George Hill should progress, but everything else is a question mark after that
Nuggets - Get rid of Jr. "I gotz jelly for a brain" Smith, basically bring in some players who have a decent IQ
Suns - Amare bolts, who knows whats next
Thunder - On the rise, should have another good draft
Utah - get more length for rebounding
Hornets - ???
Wolves - No, not ever
Warriors - No
Grizzlies - No
Clippers - Yeah right
Rockets - If Yao was rebuilt and made into robocop, then yes, and I don't even want Bosh anymore, need a backup center who can eventually start. Maybe a Hassan Whiteside, skills are really raw, but maybe Hakeem can work some more with him.
The offseason will determine that.
Okc
DJ, you badly overrate Whiteside. Rockets should stay away from him because he's not going to develop much at all. He is raw physically and skill-wise. Pass on him.
I would say OKC and Portland. Utah, Dallas, and the Spurs will be playoff teams. Denver is a question mark, but they have alot of talent. After that is teams with question marks. I think Phoenix will be good without Amare, but need more to beat the Lakers.
At this point I really don't care if Amare leaves, but you're re ed if you think Phoenix will be anything better than a lottery team with Amare gone.
Why? They still have alot of weapons on offense. Their bench is deep. They will be fine.
Weapons on offense? Who? Without Amare they have absolutely no way to score in the half court, do you see a team with Jason Richardson as its leading scorer making the playoffs?
It's us obviously. OKC doesn't have enough size.
plus no other city in the league hates the Lakers as much as we do...
The offseason has begun.
Barring any major moves i dont think anybody will challenge them in the West tbh.
I think it all revolves around the East. What state will the Celtics be in next year? Where will LeBron? etc.
If the C's make another run or LeBron teams up with another superstar, i think those are the only 2 threats stopping LA from a 3peat
I think OKC can be a threat if they are healthy and if they get some size then they can compete.
Any team who can make smart trades and are playoff contenders can be a good threat against LA.
Mavs have a big trade chip in Dampier, will be interesting to see how they play it out.
OKC will be very scary if they get a good center.
Portland, if healthy(lol) are easily WCF material.
Don't see the Suns getting past 1st round without Amare.
Spurs are pretty much done.
I think Spurs still have a chance if they make smart moves in the offseason.
Tbh no team is currently a thread to LA since Boston has nowhere to go but down due to age. There isn't any team that can match their size, and they have the potential to get better if Bynum stays healthy, Artest works with Kobe over the off season so the two develop a better chemistry on offense, and if they add depth with the MLE, they'll be better than they already are.
Health will always be the Lakers biggest enemy followed by father time if he pays more visits to Bryant and Artest.Kobe and Bynum will both be having surgery this summer and it'll be interesting to see if they can recover in time to handle the NBA season. The Lakers also should look into resting their core players more in the regular season. It'd also be interesting to see how LA would fare if they didn't have HCA in the playoffs which could be a possibility next season.
After that I'm going with a healthy Portland or Rockets team if that ever becomes a reality. They have the length and players to best compete against LA if it does.
OKC should only get better but they desperately need 7 footers that can counter LA's. As great as Durant is he also needs to work on his game since the playoffs were a rude awakening for where he's at against defenders like Artest. I expect their arena to be one of the loudest in the playoffs which might help.
Spurs need to stay healthy and this could be the first season for such since everyone's resting this summer and no one's having surgeries. Tiago's coming over but they still need 3 point shooting, tougher defense, and an answer for athletic forwards such as Odom and Amar'e. RJ will likely be shipped out in Feb so the Spurs need to prepare for a hole in the SF rotation as well. Blair and Hill seem expendable.
Nuggets. Melo always seemed like a guy that melts down in the playoffs at some important point. If they can get their motivation and maturity in check they can be a dangerous team.
Mavs seem to always be in the position to make huge trades and they realize their window's closing as well so should come firing on all cylinders.
If Boozer and Amar'e end up leaving thats going to change those teams substantially. Too many ???'s for me to consider what will happen although Gentry and Sloan are very capable coaches.
NOH needs CP3 to become the best PG in the league again to have a shot to get to the playoffs but seems destined to fail against LA's size.
Clippers have the potential to make some trades and get into the playoffs race if Griffin proves to be a great player.
Don't let the Tiago splitter hype fool ya. He's a serviceable starter, but that's it.
Ginobilli is too old and inconsistent.
Parker's 09 year seems more and more like a fluke.
Duncan is also too old, and cannot anchor the defense anymore.
The spurs role players are garbage.
at anybody who thinks the Spurs are even WCF material anymore
They have Jefferson though!
What Im saying is if they trade those role players for some youngsters they still have a chance but i doubt it.
and George "Magic" Hill, Dejuan Blair Barkley, and Tiago Splitter Sabonis!
Lakers won the le, but they weren't that impressive for a championship team IMO..they can certainly lose next year, but it will take some moves from the West..they weren't a dominant le team IMO, just a good le team..however, it has to be mentioned that the Lakers will probably go out and get a PG, and there's always the small chance that Bynum will be healthy when it matters, so they have a good chance of getting better too..
The Spurs can challenge them IMO, but it will take a lot of moves..Splitter is the first move to match up size-wise, but they will still need to acquire another big man + a young player or 2 would have to emerge..so it's unlikely, but possible..
The Mavs can definitely challenge them with the right moves, they have the assets for a big trade..unfortunately for the Mavs, something seems to always get in their way..
Portland and Houston can both definitely challenge them, they might even be the 2 best teams to challenge them in the West, but they're both extremely unlikely to remain healthy when it matters..if Yao and Oden are miraculously in the lineup in April though, they're going to be extremely tough to beat..
OKC can only compete if they get rid of Jeff Green and replace him with a legit big..no team with Jeff Green as a top 3 player is going to do anything significant IMO..
Denver isn't a le contender, they're too mentally weak, which won't change as long as they have their current core..Utah is never a legit contender either..
Phoenix is done if Amare doesn't re-sign, which appears to be the case..
The East is unpredictable right now..it's obviously all dependent on where Lebron, Wade and Bosh end up..
Sons don't forget Ian "David Robinson" Mahinmi. If god damn Popovich gave him some PT the Spurs would be champions right now
Houston Rockets, Mother er.
also,
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