Rank threats for next year now

[Rummpd]

1) Miami - Shaq and Wade will want to prove something
2) Pistons - Ditto
3) Dallas will be tougher and most importantly, could knock SA to 4th seed making defense of crown harder. One of these years this talented team will break through although may still be a couple of years away. Almost put as #1 threat!
4) Sonics - if keep Allen
5) Suns - new transactions show could be serious about changing style
6) Pacers - have horrible visions of Jackson having great series vs. Spurs someday but would it be enough?
7) Denver - Karls kids will only get better

No one else right now causes any concern in 7 game series.

[BigDaddyMatty]

1) Pistons - Gave us all we could handle, and will only be better if the give some of the young guys on the bench some PT next year.
2) Phoenix - They learn a little D and they are even better.
3) Pacers - Should have been the best in the East last year. They stay out of the stands and they could be next year.
4) Dallas - Get rid of Finley and give the young wing players more PT.
5) Heat - I'll win the lotto before shaq has another injury free season.
6) Denver - Upgrade the 2 spot and they could be scary.
7) Rockets - Yao and Mcgrady.
8) Bulls - Young and getting better.
9) Sonics - No way they keep all their FA's. They lose 1 or 2 and they are done.
10) Lakers - NOT!!!!!!!!!!!

[spursupporter]

1) Pistons - well you have seen it in this year finals. a very complete team with superb defense and balanced offense
2) Heats - a healthy shaq + wade will prove to be a highly dangerous team in eastern and they will be hungry after losing to detroit due to injuries (wade)
3) Suns - superior offensive team with 2005 MVP steve nash leading the team, amare only 22 years old and if he learnt to pass the ball and crash the boards. plus JJ cold-blooded shooter threat and the matrix shawn marion.
4) Pacers - with artest back, they are back to contender. j-o'neal and stephen jackson are also great players
5) Denver - with Coach karl, they had improve alot. watch out for k-mart and camelo.
6) Seattle - provided that they re-sign ray allen. Ray had his best season this year, but seattle still lack a good rotation of big mans.
7) Rockets - still inconsistent. but time will show that T-Mac and Yao can definitely win games.
8) Cleveland - had a great start this year, but self-destruct after all-star weekend. had a new coach and King James is still very young yet unbelievable (27pts,7rebs,7asts) If cleveland add some good player from the freeagent, playoffs is certainly in reach!
9) Lakers - well zen master is back, what better than that? seems like the lakers organisation and phil are confident that lakers will be contender soon. kobe still need to select his shots well, 20++ shots every game is terrible.
10) bulls - finally made playoffs in 7 years. had some great rookies and the future is surely bright!!!

[exstatic]

complacency

[WayDowntownBang]

complacency

He's onto something here. The thing that the Pistons faced all year was the "we're playing the CHAMPS" problem. The year before the Pistons won, Detroit could have one of those days where they just weren't 'into' it, but then turned it on in the fourth, and overwhelmed.

This past year, EVERYONE had their calenders marked when the champs came into town. EVERY game was a must win. You couldn't walk into an arena without the opposing team treating it like a playoff game. I'd say it's safe to say that 5-7 games this year that the Pistons lost, it was because they didn't show up, and other team wanted it more. Sad, but just a fact with championship teams. It happens.

Give the Pistons those 7 wins instead of losses, and Game 7 is in Detroit. As Spurs fans know, home court makes a *BIG* difference in the Finals.

As for teams to watch, of course the Pistons. I say, watch out of Indiana, who I think will be making a few moves this summer. I have a hard time saying Dallas, because don't we always say Dallas? There comes a point where you hear enough about the boy that cried wolf.

My suprise team this year is Cleveland. Lebron's learned a lot from how his team collapsed before this year, and Brown (Mike, not Larry.. I hope) is going to put a few more pieces in this year, and make them a contender.

[Useruser666]

The Spurs are their biggest threat.

[ZStomp]

How do we know what the teams are going to look like? Are your lists based on last years teams??

Don't forget about the free agency and all movement that happens in the summer.

Don't forget about trades....blockbuster trades!

WAAYYY TOOO EARRLY to make a list of this kind.

[1Parker1]

How do we know what the teams are going to look like? Are your lists based on last years teams??

Don't forget about the free agency and all movement that happens in the summer.

Don't forget about trades....blockbuster trades!

WAAYYY TOOO EARRLY to make a list of this kind.

That's exactly what I was thinking. Heck, KG could be traded to the Bobcats making them a contender! Oh wait...........

[orhe]

Phoenix - the suns are scary as . if steve nash continues to play at that level and the suns begin to play D it would be a great series. The really great thing about Phoenix is how Amare realized how great we play. he knew we almost always get good shots and how far our defenses are and he is willing to learn all that. his willingness to learn along with his team would be the deciding factor on how they would fare...
if they learn a lot... watch out NBA. now i don't know how people wouldn't rank them in the top two threats.

i rank them far greater than any team

Detroit - i have so much admiration for detroit.

if the current roster (plus some bench players) are retained i just don't see how they can beat us (at 100%). Our number 1 problem w/ Detroit was they clogged the lane so well and we really didn't adapt to it games 3 and 4.
One interesting observation i made from games 5 6 7 is how much easier Manu was able to break down their defense and get to the lane. This was greatly seen at game 6 where duncan wasn't as aggressive... remember we were really close to that game had we made a couple more shots. (the same could be said about game 5 for detroit... but hey Duncan missed a lot of freebies)

Sorry for being y... but if duncan is pretty healthy again and he decides to be as aggressive as he was in game 7 throughout the series i can't really see detroit beating us. (he had little explosion and lift)

Miami - Shaq is getting older and wade takes far too many bad shots... but they always are a threat... their perimeter D sucks though so i guess that's a No No

[mookie2001]

3) Dallas will be tougher and most importantly, could knock SA to 4th seed making defense of crown harder

what???





miami
det

shaq gets hurt
det magically makes it to the finals by winning 2 game 7s

[DDS4]

Spurs are 0-3 when defending their championship. So I hope there's no drop-off next year.

Threats:
East: Detroit, Miami, Indiana
West: Phoenix, Mavs, Denver, Rockets

[spurster]

Health.

TD's ankles almost did the Spurs in this playoffs. Can Manu keep playing like a maniac without getting serious injuries down the line?

[spurs_fan_in_exile]

I think the #1 threat to the Spurs would be to take any of the advice of the virtual GM's that this board is crawling with. In terms of other teams...
East-If LB comes back to the Pistons then the Pistons, but if not the Heat. I think that the Pistons need a strong guy at the helm to keep a leash on emotions, and besides, what coach are you going to find to replace Brown that could possibly be better? Miami will start putting more and more in Wade's hands, and I think they're the smart bet out of the east. Indy with Artest back is a wild card, because who knows which Ron is going to show up for them.

In the West I think all the real compe ion is here in Texas. Mavs were wracked by injuries and a lot of new faces last year and still managed to pick up a 4 slot. And Houston has the talent to go places if their point guards bother to stay healthy. After the All-star break I think they had a Nuggets style turnaround that very few noticed. Of course, that will just be during the regular season since T-mac's a quitter and Yao is becomes the Staypuft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters in the playoffs. He's huge, but soft.

[SWC Bonfire]

With some off-season moves, several teams in the west could become real monsters, and some could blow completely up (Seattle, cough, cough).

[boutons]

"Spurs are 0-3 when defending their championship."

0-2.

The 2005 Championship has yet not been defended. At least, I haven't seen any le- defending effort in the last 4 days.

[Jimcs50]

TPark's threat to not post for a year is right up there, I think.

[easjer]

Texas needs to be watched very closely, especially since we battle two of our four division mates here - the two that deserve close attention, no less. Going by what they've got, Dallas could be a real threat in terms of season play and post season seeding, but not much of a play-off threat. Houston, same deal, though if they stay healthy, they've got more potential to go far in the playoffs, in spite of Yao's toastability and tastiness with graham crackers and chocolate.

Never discount Pheonix, especially if they start playing some D. They'll be at the top of the pack again next year.

Out of the East, the big perennial three - Detriot, Indiana, Miami. Of course, I think Miami is easily the most overhyped, and despite DWade (who I love), they would be easiest to beat in the finals. Indiana needs to get their act together, but if they do, then they are tough cookies. If Detriot pulls in a good coach, then they will continue to be top notch - here's to another 'feud' - I'd love to see them again next year.

That said, and I think the Spurs know this, they have to continue to perform at top notch and not expect the season or the post-season to be handed to them, cause there are enough hungry teams to ensure that never happens.

[Mixability]

West- Phoenix: one word-Amare, its scary that he can only get better. Denver looks promising. And we'll see if the Rockets can compete next season. I'd like to see the Lakers prove me wrong and make the playoffs, just so the #1 Spurs can bounce their #8 seed out in the first round!

East- Detroit: the only reason they're #1 in the East in my opinion is because Shaq is only getting older and his health is only going to continue to be questionable. Indiana doesn't look like they'll be able to adapt to life after Reggie so quickly, since he seemed to contribute so much this last playoff run.

I agree with Spurster, Timmy and Manu need some serious down time. Their bodies have gone through soooo much aside from the injuries. It's been non-stop basketball for them! Through the second half of the season, I honestly would wince when either one of them had the ball, because in the back of my mind I was thinking about one of them getting injured. I would actually yell "Calm down Manu!!!" when the game was already in the bag, but his amp is always set at "11" regardless of the importance of the game. Manu and Tim just need to relish this moment and pass out on a beach somewhere for next couple of months until training camp. They deserve it.

[SoundTheToll]

1.) Detroit

2.) Miami

3.) Phoenix

4.) Indiana

5.) Denver


For all the reasons everyone has stated. However, as someone else stated: everyone always picks Dallas, and Dallas always sucks in the playoffs. I have no reason to expect anything different.

You know what's funny? Damon Jones wants out of Miami for more $$$. I guess he doesn't realize that he's a mediocre bench player without Shaq. Its no coincidence that he had his best year with O'Neal. If he does leave, I would have to give PHX a slight edge @ #2.

[spurs_fan_in_exile]

I can't believe I forgot about the Suns! Ummmmm, I don't their fortunes changing too much while they have Mike _'Antoni at the helm. Even if Amare becomes the stud that he seems destined to be, no team defense = no championship threat.

As for the Lakers, I'd love for the league to pull some strings to get them deep into the playoffs just to make Phil and Kobe have to stay around each other for two weeks longer than either of them would want to. At least as long as the Spurs don't lose to them.

[GrandeDavid]

Detroit

Not sure yet about the rest.

[mavsfan1000]

I think Dallas would be the toughest matchup for San Antonio.

[ALVAREZ6]

Who gives a who poses the biggest threat, I mean afterall, we pose the biggest threat to every other team in the league, so look at it that way.

We are gonna repeat!

[Kori Ellis]

I can't even think about ranking the threats right now. Free agency period hasn't even started yet. A lot of things can change over the summer -- ask Kobe.

[FromWayDowntown]

Knowing what we know at this moment, I think the Suns will remain a viable threat in the West. I think the Mavs stand to get better with a full year of AJ at the helm and a camp truly devoted to defensive discipline. And I'm really curious to see what Houston does to improve its team -- that bunch could become a big-time threat with the right tweaks (legit PG, for example). Unless things change dramatically, the Lakers and T'Wolves should both be a bit better next year, too.

I think you almost have to expect that Indiana will be better next year and a serious threat to reach the NBA Finals, if only because they'll either have Artest for most of the season, or because they'll deal Artest and make that team better. As it is, the Pacers should be considered a favorite to win the East next season, along with the Pistons and the Heat. I can't see that any of the others in the East can truly compete with those 3 teams, absent some monsterous tinkering and a big-time deal.