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That's what it sounds like to me an American idol vote, training camp hasn't even started yet and they're already naming next years champion. And the 2 guys that voted okc and hou, okc has a chance as anyone else but hou? Come on now.
SA would have a much better chance it if the reg season was much shorter, had more days off, and they could guarantee as much as possible that Duncan, Manu, and Parker were healthy.
But the NBA is a marathon. Pop should rotate one of those guys each to sit an entire month from Jan-March, with all off the last couple weeks of April for them to be as healthy as possible to get through the playoffs.
That's what it sounds like to me an American idol vote, training camp hasn't even started yet and they're already naming next years champion. And the 2 guys that voted okc and hou, okc has a chance as anyone else but hou? Come on now.
Well said, i don't get it too. I mean, Yao is hurt and they shipped the best player to the Kings.
I don't think we have a high likelihood of getting rings this year, but to be fair, even when we were consistently in the top 3 teams in the league, off-season predictions of our future prospects were surprisingly bleak, while predictions of championship seasons for say, the Lakers and the Suns were irrationally optimistic. It's ESPN.
No doubt, but this is true for any team, including yours, no? Kobe plays very hard, and eventually that will catch up with anyone with as many miles on the odometer, especially after knee surgery. Bynum seems pretty cons utionally delicate as well.
The NBA season's not just a marathon, it's a lottery.
why would anyone pick sa to come out of the west spurs didnt even win a 2nd round playoff game last season
By that logic: Neither did Dallas, OKC or Hou (out of playoffs)...
The returning champs are the overwhelming favorites? Shocking opinion. Also no surprise to see no one picking a team that got swept as an early prediction either, especially a team renowned for flying under the radar. Good to see that no one picked the Suns either though
However I'm going to be impressed if the Lakers do manage to come out of the West for the fourth consecutive time with all their mileage. Odom's playing for the undersized Team USA, Kobe's recovering from a third surgery on his right knee and has other injuries, Bynum's Mr. Glass, Phil Jackson's likely on his last tour, etc. Kobe's decline is something thats going to be interesting to watch since his production already started to drop significantly last year; miles catch up with everyone. They also missed out on all their primary targets this offseason (Mike Miller, Kurt Thomas, Raja Bell) and picked up the headcase in Matt Barnes who just recently slapped a coach --- it'll be interesting to see how Phil deals with two headcases in Barnes and Artest.
The teams out West that many predicted to be the ones to really challenge the Lakers were also eliminated before making it to LA: San Antonio, Denver, Dallas (heavily favored by ESPN to challenge LA), and Portland. The ones that did face LA were either playoffs rookies in OKC, had several injuries like the Jazz, or had their best defensive big struggling with a bad back (Lopez) like the Suns and Amar'e is simply one of the worst playoffs defenders against the Lakers.
I also wouldn't sleep on Dallas. An underrated weakness of making huge roster changes midway in the season is that there's not as much time to gel and you miss out on things like training camp where many teams get most of their real practices done. They've got the size to frustrate every team out there in addition to their talent and Dirk's still playing on an elite level and he's not playing for Germany this offseason.
As for SA, if they can stay healthy they've got a shot at any team not named the Heat but the last time that happened was back in 2007 - however for the first time in a long while the Spurs core are resting and taking the NBA season seriously by not trying to be the MVP of their offseason national teams.
Obviously Houston received a vote because they have Scola
This isn't different from any other season.
No one ever picks the spurs to win. But I like how the Spurs have gone under the rader this year.. Spurs will be in the top 3 this year, no doubt in my mind.
best case scenario for the spurs is to finish 2nd, and try meet the lakers in the wcf, or hoping some team takes them out earlier rounds...
No shock there, even when the Spurs were winning les, the 4-letter had very few people who thought positively of the Spurs. Even it they did, many of them told the masses what the 4-letter dictates to infect the casual fan who doesn't take the time to truly watch pro hoops. Last time the LAL was seen as this dominant was the 3-peat years. Spurs were 15-1 in Vegas and the-then Spurs brought in some dude from Europe to infuse an aging core with some youth and vitality. While it may not be the same end result, the formula is in play yet again.
Is this suppose to be surprising?
Typical Lakers fans. Last off season, when the "experts" were high on the Spurs, then it was "who cares what they have to say?". Now that they've gone back to ignoring the Spurs, what they have to say matters.
Firepower isn't a need; a lock down wing defender is.
That reminds me, why didn't the Spurs take a flier on Bobby Jones? He's young, would have been inexpensive, has always been known as a good defender even by NBA standards and has good size for an SF. The main knock on him was his shooting, but supposedly he's improved that significantly.
Melo to Houston would change the dynamics of that prediction.
I have no freakin idea, and I still don't get how OKC or Houston is better than the Spurs either. I guess people just overrate them every year and forget (Mavs that is). Last year they were said to have the team to rival LA and give them a big run, they didn't make it there again.Why does everyone think Dallas is better than the Spurs? Didnt we whip that ass 4-2 with a sorry RJ?? We picked up Splitter and James Anderson...........how in the can Dallas all the sudden be better?
Beabous and Chandlers????
I think even casual NBA fans can predict the Lakers winning the West this year. They have the most talented starting lineup, their biggest weakness last year was their bench and they added Blake and Barnes.
I don't have a problem with the experts predicting the Lakers to win the West, any knowledgeable NBA would most likely make this prediction. Where I have a problem, is when these experts act like you need to assemble a team of all-stars just to have a chance at beating them, like they have done the last 2 years.
The last two teams that challenged the Lakers in WCF were teams that didn't have high expectations at the start of the season then, got hot at the right time. I don't see any reason why the Spurs won't go on a similar run this season. The two questions they have are health and a perimeter defender( lack there of). If the Spurs find positive answers to those questions, they have a chance to suprise alot of people this year.
This is off topic, but I think the Spurs will have a better chance at beating LA, if they face them in the 2nd round rather than the WCF. It's going to take the Spurs everything they have to knock them off and I think if they face them in the WCF, they won't have anything left in the tank. We all saw this in 2008, that series was a disaster, the Spurs clearly weren't playing their best basketball.
LA also is notorious for playing down to their compe ion. They didn't respect OKC or Houston without Yao - that's also a factor to why the series were close.
And the biggest reason for seeing why SA won't get hot late is the same reason you mentioned 2008. Considering 08, 09, and 10, SA's only shot is if they're healthy is getting them in the 1st round. But even then, LA won't take them lightly like they did OKC.
Also, OKC had an athleticism edge, Houston had a physicality edge. No team is more physical than LA anymore and no way SA is more athletic. What's the Spurs edge on LA? I don't see one.
Lakers are the clear favorites, and I'm not surprised by the predictions. But as a Spurs fan I'm hopeful they'll surprise us. There are reasons for optimism:
Keeping Parker, Duncan, and Manu healthy will be huge. This is the first summer in a long time where all three have been able to rest and let their bodies recover. This doesn't guarantee health, but it's a good way to start.
A quality big man to pair with Duncan & help defensively in Splitter is a major improvement. If he's a quick learner, Splitter might actually allow Duncan to not play in back to backs. If Splitter and Duncan can develop some defensive chemistry, look out.
Hill and Blair will continue to improve.
Shooting is a big question mark but Neal and Anderson are the best shooting prospects the team has had in a while.
But honestly, it comes down to Jefferson. If he plays like last year, it won't be enough. If he breaks out, it gives SA enough weapons to challenge. But odds are against it.
As far as JR Smith goes, Smith might appear to be a poor man's Stephen Jackson to some. The difference was that Jack was a solid player who shot the ball without conscience. JR Smith is a streak shooter who plays with no common sense. Totally different.
Iverson wouldn't help SA - he's never been a particularly good outside shooter.
I'm sure SA is looking for a few vets in the Danny Ferry, Jerome Kersey, Kevin Willis, Steve Kerr vein. But those guys are getting harder and harder to find. We'll see.
Also, it's 2 different team from back in 2008 and his years team... Kobe Bryant is nothing more than a jump shooter now. The NBA is getting younger and so are the spurs.
The Lakers always respect SA. Guys like Phil, Kobe, Fisher won't ever take them lightly so I don't worry about that.
SA is younger? At what impact positions? PG with Hill is it and he's not beating LA. And as a whole, SA is hardly athletic, whereas OKC is across the board.
LA has the edge inside, in depth, in coaching, in championship experience, in perimeter defense, and on and on....
And right now, Bryant is clearly better than Ginobili and unless Duncan found the fountain of youth, Gasol is better than him, maybe even Bynum.
Also as for SA being younger - I'm OK with LA's age - in their rotation, most are 30 - right when a player is in NBA prime. Physical may demise but IQ more than makes up for it.
But LA has youth as well. Bynum (22) and Brown (24) are key and Caracter (22) and Ebanks (20) are coming up.
Of course we're not favorites. LA is a dominant champion who happens to be in the same conference.
As always, the Spurs do have a shot. It's just a slim one.
How Houston goes from not even making the Playoffs to being a le contender is pretty damn funny to me. We saw how Dallas crumbled under the pressure after supposedly being the "only real threat" to the Lakers last year. I have never, and will never trust the Dallas Mavericks when the pressure is on. OKC is now going to have a target on their back and they are still a year or 2 away from really contending...
Athleticism definitely isn't everything. I wouldn't call the Celtics of the last few years athletic at all, and I'd put good money on the Spurs making it farther in the playoffs than the Thunder this coming season barring injury/huge trade.
Depth is overrated in the playoffs, obviously, at least from the 9th man down. It's important for a high playoff seed, true, but I wouldn't call it a deciding factor in a playoff series.LA has the edge inside, in depth, in coaching, in championship experience, in perimeter defense, and on and on....
Splitter is the wildcard; the Spurs can match the Lakers at PF/C if Splitter is performing at a Euroleague MVP level by the playoffs.
Bryant > Ginobili, yes. Gasol > Duncan? Maybe on offense, and IMO, Duncan > Bynum hands down.And right now, Bryant is clearly better than Ginobili and unless Duncan found the fountain of youth, Gasol is better than him, maybe even Bynum.
The common knowledge used to be that a player's prime was age 28 or 29, but statistical analysis has shown that to be more like 25.Also as for SA being younger - I'm OK with LA's age - in their rotation, most are 30 - right when a player is in NBA prime. Physical may demise but IQ more than makes up for it.
But LA has youth as well. Bynum (22) and Brown (24) are key and Caracter (22) and Ebanks (20) are coming up.
Either way, I wouldn't consider the Lakers or the Spurs young at this point. Sure, Bynum and Brown are young; so are Blair and Hill. If you're counting Caracter and Ebanks as youth, then we get to count Anderson and one of our D-Leaguers.
Do they really have a edge in coaching? Just because Phil has more rings doesn't mean he is a better coach than Pop. You are acting as if Phil is on a whole other level than Pop. To be quite honest, I thought Doc Rivers out coached Phil Jackson in the finals. He definitely gave better speeches to his team. I guess Phil X's and O's are just far superior.
I am definitely not afraid of the Lakers championship experience. We have enough that on the spurs by the way. Tim,Manu,Parker,Rj,Dice all have championship experience. The way I look at it is any team that takes multiple series lightly isn't experienced enough. The Lakers are very talented but I give the spurs the edge on anything mental.
Bynum better than Duncan.If the Lakers had Duncan they would break the all-time winning record for sure.
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