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Mavs.
Houston is overrated.
Phoenix got worse.
Kenyon and Marcus will find a way to get injured again.
Guys, who would you think is the Spurs' toughest western compe or this coming season?
Houston Rockets...
After acquiring a comeback starplayer Steve Francis, the recent FIBA Americas MVP Luis Scola, and the full intact Rockets coming from last season, would you think Yao, Tmac, Bonzi, Franchise, and Scola is enough to break there 1st round playoff jinx and be the Spurs' toughest opponent?
Denver Nuggets...
First whole season that Iverson and Anthony will be playing together, with not much movement in there roster, and imagine a healthy, Marcus Camby, Nene, and Kenyon Martin (if he'll be back this season) this year could be there much awaited year for a good playoff run and might be all the way to the finals. (knock on wood nugget fans)
Dallas Mavericks...
There 1st round loss last playoffs is one of the most debastating 1st seeded playoff exit in the recent years and theyre definitely hungry for revenge. With the lead of last season's MVP Dirk Nowitzki, hiring of veteran Eddie Jones, Josh Howard and the re-signed Jerry Stackhouse, can they still be known as a threat for the Western Conference this coming season?
Phoenix Suns...
Not much movement on their roster this offseason, they just added the veteran Grant Hill and with Stoudemire, Nash, Marion, Diaw and Barbosa whom i think one of the quickest guard in the NBA today still in the same team but without the most decent TD defender in the name of Kurt Thomas, can they still be the greatest rival of the Spurs' run for a repeat?
So, whose your take to be the Spurs' biggest rival this year? Any addition to the list will be better (if there is any other better western team compe or out there) ...Just drop some few cents guys! Discuss...
Mavs.
Houston is overrated.
Phoenix got worse.
Kenyon and Marcus will find a way to get injured again.
Dallas just like the last 2 years. Nothing's changed.
LMAO...
People are underestimating the Nuggets.
Dallas definitely. We still haven't beaten them yet in the playoffs recently (although I think we are better than them right now....still has to be done). Houston will be tough as always, McGrady always seems to have big games against us. Phoenix will be tough but they won't beat us in the playoffs since they got rid of Kurt Thomas. No way Amare can guard Duncan, nor Marion. Who else on that team can? Stupid move.
intelligent spurs fan
Special-ed spurs fan
Phoenix,Houston,then Dallas in that order of difficulty
Portland Trail Blazers. We will fly under the radar and beat everybody.
I will say that the 2007-2008 season may very well be the single most non-compe ive Western Conference we've seen in years, with SA on top.
Dallas is out for revenge, because they lost, but they also lost in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006...what's changed? They certainly didn't get BETTER this offseason.
Phoenix, no comment. I mean you run and gun, jack up some shots, and you get 62 wins, until you run into superior defense.....
Nuggets are a joke.
Rockets are a joke.
Spurs
Hey, dude? Next time your two brain cells bump together to produce a thought...let it go.
rockets are a joke
If Brooks, and I think he can, come through, Rockets are clearly superior to Spurs.
Their weakest positions were power forward and point guards and I think they addressed that. And I know Bonzi owns Spurs.
Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, Utah Jazz, Phoenix Suns, in that order.
Mavs, and Suns are still the toughest. Houston and Jazz would be next on my list, but I dont see either of those posing a real threat in a run to another le.
WTF? That makes no sense. It's an Adelman team now, which means not much D and still not much O outside of McGrady. Scola will be decent on O, but no D whatsoever. Yao gets run into the ground every season and sucks in the PO. McGrady had a decently healthy year last year for the first time in forever, what are the chances that happens again? Rockets will be a 5th seed at best and another 1st round exit.
Phoenix just got rid of the only decent big man defender on their team, and added a no-defense playing hobbled shooter. As if shooting was their problem. Ridiculous.
The Mavs will be tough, but I'm interested to see how they rebound after two straight years of CHOKE. They probably won't be right in the head after being exposed.
Houston shouldn't even be in this conversation.
It's still Dallas.
Rockets
Phx
Is it too much to ask for the Rockets to actually win a playoff series for the first time in a decade before we start including them in "best" conversations?
houston, phoenix, denver, utah, dallas, memphis
how could what they have done in the playoffs for the past 10 years possibly matter for this coming season? with the additions they have made it's a tottally new/better team. its funny that people still want to disregard them even though it's indisputable that the rockets have made the most improvements this offseason.. in the west anyways
First Tier:
Mavs- I love ragging on them (mainly because I cannot stand Dirk), but the Spurs will still have to beat them in the playoffs because there isn't another team that can reasonably do it. They haven't changed much from last season, and that is scary.
Second Tier:
Suns- Are not the same, or even better, than they were with Kurt Thomas. They took a proven formula last year, added an injury-prone vet at wing, and removed their post defense. It's a fantastic ode to offense, but not a way to win a championship. They'll be a tough opponent... for anyone else who forgot about their frontcourt this off-season.... Buller? ... Buller?
Nuggets- Nene's injury to his calf should keep him out of pre-season, but if he rushes the recovery, I could see this becoming a nagging injury during the regular season as well. If K-Mart and Camby stay healthy, though, combined with Iverson and Melo, this team could see run deep into the playoffs.
Rockets- Yao/Tmac are the proven commodity here. Scola's potential is exciting, but Bonzi and Francise should not be a factor. The Rockets need some stability on their roster for a few years, instead of searching for a quick fix like they are currently. They'll make it to the second round and be out in five.
Third Tier:
Jazz- The tandem of Williams and Boozer will be one of the most threatening in the league, Okur will continue to be a factor, and everyone else will continue to overachieve on last year's dark horse wonder team. Talk to me in another two years or so and we'll be talking real contender, but not right now. They are still too young.
Portland- Sorry, but how can you NOT be a Portland fan right now? They are so easy to like and a solid, talented core of players. Unfortunately, youth and inexperience is going to keep them from any extended success this year, but I'd be surprised if they didn't at least scare someone in the first round.
Lakers- Shaq won a ring AND got divorced before Kobe? Who would have thought? This team begins and ends at Kobe, and unfortunately, so does Kobe as well.
Golden State- Congrats, you beat the Mavs and Barron Davis shaved a few years off his life expectancy. They'll feel the pressure to repeat last year's magic all season long, and that's more than enough to break them before the All-Star break.
I wil agree that they are a totally new team, but we can only speculate that they will be a better team. They actually have to play the season first before that judgement can be made outside of the "on paper" category.
My comment regarding their historical post-season performance was a basis to show that the changes they made this off season by themselves should not place them in the "best" conversations because they were not a consistently successful team that got better. They were a good team that got "gooder", not a good team that got great.
This is not to say that they did not address certain key needs and should be a better team than last year, but I personally don't see a lower tier playoff team with first round exits the last few seasons being considered a contender because they picked up a rookie guard, a rookie international player and two past their prime chuckers. Combine that much infusion of new players into the roster with a new coach that has a completely different philosophy than the previous regime, and I just don't envison the seamless integration of all those parts this year.
Does that mean the Rockets can't get out of the first round this year? Not at all. Does it mean that the Rockets should be mentioned in the same breath as the Spurs and Mavs? no. They won 52 games last year, and there is no shame in that win total. But, in my opinion all of the above mentioned changes do not translate into a +8 win total this season, which is what it will take to overcome the Spurs/Mavs in the regular season and be something more than a 5th seed with first round HCA, then having to play on the road against some combination of the Spurs, Mavs or Suns.
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