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I thought this was pretty well known too...
Then I come to the twilight zone where guys like Gallinari and Ray Felton are "better" than Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups.
Boston (acquired Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic)
Oklahoma City (acquired Perkins and Robinson)
New York (acquired Carmelo, Billups, et al)
Denver (acquired Gallinari, Felton, et al)
Portland (acquired Gerald Wallace)
Phoenix (acquired Aaron Brooks)
Houston (acquired Goran Dragic)
New Jersey (acquired Deron Williams)
Atlanta (acquired Hinrich, Armstrong)
Washington (acquired Bibby, Evans, Crawford)
Utah (acquired Devin Harris and Derrick Favors)
Memphis (acquired Shane Battier)
Detroit fans and Houston fans can tell you having crazy depth but no great players means absolutely jack squat. Anyone suggesting Denver is one of the most improved teams is smoking some really good .
I thought this was pretty well known too...
Then I come to the twilight zone where guys like Gallinari and Ray Felton are "better" than Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups.
Jam, Denver has good players but they have no clear-cut go to guy that's why they're kind of going to suck.
Blazers had a really underrated trade. Aldrige with Wallace is a good combo.
However, the Rockets would have the best trade day if they traded that chucker Kevin Martin
Dallas is missing for not doing any move
Maybe not ing up the chemistry as usual during the deadline was the best thing they could do
without a doubt its the knicks
but i do like the wallace pickup by portand.
tlong,
Agreed. i know it is fashionable to bemoan Chauncey the "Big shot" nickname because he has hit few lately ... but the fact they got Chauncey WITH Melo makes them the obvious choice here.
I like the players that denver got ... but ultimately New York is the biggest winner followed by NJ & OKC if perk is healthy ...
I think the Battier acquisition of Memphis is underrated.
No, that's properly rated as irrelevant.
In the bigger scheme of things. But for Memphis themselves, that would be a good pickup imo. Battier has been in the playoffs and he can share some experience on these bunch new guys who are poised for a PO slot.
who said the Nuggets are not planning to play defense? They got rid of their 2nd worst defender in Melo. Karl is quoted as saying he plans to play D and that is the reason they got rid of Melo. They seemed to play pretty good D vs. the Celtics last night.
Again you don't get rid of 3 very solid starters and a couple of good bench players for a washed up Billups and Melo. I understand NY did it mostly for the name. Melo + Amare + New York. Whatever. But that does not mean they are improved.
Nuggets D looked good
Yes, the Celtics had a shorthanded roster yesterday, but still, Denver was pretty agressive
Show me the quote from Karl that says:
"We got rid of Carmelo so we can play defense."
Even if it doesn't exist, the Nuggets still won't play adequate defense. They replaced Carmelo with Gallinari who's an even worse defender. Brilliant analysis.
But to reiterate what's already been echoed by several in this thread; without a superstar teams are irrelevant.
I'm sure that energy will sustain for several seasons. Heck they might even win a championship.
It was in last night's broadcast.
define adequate. And no, they did not replace Melo with Gallo. Check your facts.Even if it doesn't exist, the Nuggets still won't play adequate defense. They replaced Carmelo with Gallinari who's an even worse defender. Brilliant analysis.
But to reiterate what's already been echoed by several in this thread; without a superstar teams are irrelevant.
Agree without a goto superstar Denver is not a contender. But neither are the knicks a contender. Not even in the weak East.
That's not what I said
Denver did play with a lot of energy last night, but I'd hold off on calling them a good defensive team just yet. Wilson Chandler is a pretty good defender, versatile too. Afflalo definitely is and Kenyon Martin can be at times depending on his health. They do have guys who can defend. And George Karl did take a shot at Carmelo's defense on the broadcast last night. But George Karl's idea of defense is players causing turnovers and pushing the tempo to get transition steals. Not really how you set a foundation for overall good defense.
I also think some of the players on the Celtics were still s shocked. They played horrible last night. KG shot the ball well, but Glen Davis might have been the only guy really going after it last night. And the lack of a bench really did hurt. Boston scored 23 points and 24 points in the first and third quarters, but only scored 13 points and 15 points in the second and fourth quarters. No bench was definitely an issue.
But OKC nearly has that combination now.
Westbrook - Superstar
Durant - Superstar
Then mix in Harden, Thabo, Ibaka, Perkins...I think OKC is at least as dangerous as say Chicago in the East. Again, it'll fall on Durant to perform better in the postseason than he did last year, and there's no reason to think that he won't improve.
Melo is a building block for NY (Billups probably won't be around long). I don't think they'll ever truly seek defensive pieces in NY because D'Antoni could give a damn about defense. So really, Melo is a building block for a potential offensive juggernaut, but NY's success really hinges on how fast Boston falls off a cliff with their aging stars.
OKC, if they can hold onto Perkins, have the scorers, defenders, and hustle-type players to make life difficult for opposing teams.
The problem with Durant is still the same though -- he's ordinary without freethrow attempts.
I wouldn't go that far. With that said, superstars usually tend to get the foul calls in the second season. The key for Durant is going to be keeping his composure. Artest clearly mind ed him in that LA series last year...KD needs to learn from that.
It's gotta be New York since Anthony is there to stay whereas the Nets are going to have a tough time retaining Williams.
My comment you quoted goes to the difference between the Knicks and the Nuggets.
I still don't think either team goes further in the playoffs than they would have before the trades. That's the point. OKC was a pretty good team before the trade, in position for a top 4 playoff seed, and already on pace for 52-53 wins and likely a second round appearance. Perkins addresses a need, but I don't think he helps beat the Spurs, Mavs, or Lakers. If you choose to think he does, that's fine. And if he actually does, then I'll be more than happy to eat my crow for not thinking he could be. It's a difference in opinion though.Westbrook - Superstar
Durant - Superstar
Then mix in Harden, Thabo, Ibaka, Perkins...I think OKC is at least as dangerous as say Chicago in the East. Again, it'll fall on Durant to perform better in the postseason than he did last year, and there's no reason to think that he won't improve.
Melo is a building block for NY (Billups probably won't be around long). I don't think they'll ever truly seek defensive pieces in NY because D'Antoni could give a damn about defense. So really, Melo is a building block for a potential offensive juggernaut, but NY's success really hinges on how fast Boston falls off a cliff with their aging stars.
OKC, if they can hold onto Perkins, have the scorers, defenders, and hustle-type players to make life difficult for opposing teams.
But that's the basis of me selecting the Knicks. None of the teams put themselves over the top with the trades they made, so I chose the team that I felt made the most significant talent upgrade, and that's the Knicks. You're free to disagree.
Haha, bull . Nobody is that stupid but apparently people are stupid enough to believe a tongue in cheek comment.
Adequate defense would be a team defense that is good enough to make them a really good team even without offensive firepower. They're not that and they'll never be that with the coach / team they have. They're a run and gun team that looks jack up shots and outscore teams and they'll remain that way until they get a good defensive anchor that blocks shots in the paint.
Scraps for a superstar typically never works out better for the team getting the scraps.
I think the 3 players Denver got are ok players too, they're just not good enough to make what's left of Denver good enough.
wow the nuggets looked good yesterday. melo might have really been the overrated ball hog people see him as.
They did look good, but it's 1 game
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