Finally training camp has arrived Sprewell gets a big fine and a one way ticket away from the team for not disclosing to the Knicks that he missed punching someone out on his boat.... couldn't happen to a nicer guy. I'm really looking for the Kings to take charge of the West this year, however I still don't think they have an answer for Shaq or Kobe. Then again, NO team has an answer for Shaq, as the "center" is going the way of the dinosaur. Just ask most teams in the Eastern Conference aside from the Nets... Looking to hear other people's takes on the early preseason and training camps
I'm really looking forward to this season as a Pistons fan. The Pistons, with Joe Dumars as GM/President, have built a remarkably deep team in less than two seasons. Yes, they traded Stackhouse, but he went MIA during the playoffs anyway. Detroit is the deepest team in the league in my opinion and will come out of the East. I look for them to win 55-60 games. Out west, the Sacramento Kings, with the best player in the NBA in Mike Bibby, finally get over the hump and dethrone the sLackers. Kings in six over Pistons in the NBA Finals.
The thing is, as much as I like the Kings (and they are SO incredibly deep, it's not funny.... ) they, just like every other team, do NOT have an answer for Shaq, or Kobe. Those 2 players are the most dominant at their respective positions, and God help the NBA if the Lakers develop an actual 3rd scoring option besides Shaq and Kobe. The Pistons REALLY did well by getting Billups. The T-Wolves are going to miss him big time. I look to the Pistons to be the cream of the East, although that isn't very hard to accomplish, considering the lack of quality in the East. I have to say, the Pacific Division is literally the Group of Death. Every team in there is respectable and can play some pretty good ball. Even the Clippers. However, the Donald will screw up the Clips again and will not give his stars the big bucks.
Let us not forget the injury factor. Kobe and Shaq have not been the iron men of basketball. I think Shaq is more vital to the team due to his ability to get that important basket and the defensive space he creates for himself. Ask Jack Lambert, Eddie George just how much a toe affects your ability to play. Bonehead Shaq waited too long for surgery and will not have the time to recover correctly. I look for this to bother him all season long. I also see Kobe missing some time as well. Says alot when you base the whole league championship on two guys. I think even Phil Jackson would ask, "What am I? Chopped liver?" To think, he was the one who kept this team together during those rough times. Would he retire with this "four-gone" conclusion of a 4th in a row? Oh yea, Hakeem will retire, officially when Toronto plays at Houston later this season. I also see Iverson being arrested again, this time for domestic violence. Larry Brown won't last the season, leaving before the all-star break. And he wants to coach the national team?
Heck, the Lakers have started off slow before, and they will do that without Shaq in the start. The only good thing about this, is that Kobe will get the green light to jack up 50 shots a night during Shaq's absence Larry Brown certainly won't last the season with this year's version of the Sixers. Van Horn is NOT a real offensive option, and his defensive shortfalls will annoy Brown to no end. And then you have Iverson, who is a problem waiting to happen. Anyone find it funny that once Shaq and Kobe annouce they want to suit up for their country in 2004, suddenly Phil Jackson says he'll coach?
Phil Jackson couldn't get to LA soon enough when he considered getting those guys in the first place. Forget fly fishing and meditation in the middle or nowhere when LA would just be the place to work those self-help guru tactics and pass Boston Red for most championships in history. If they start slow, it could cause them to not have home court advantage when we all expect the Kings and Lakers to be in the real finals come June. It might not have mattered last season, but after 82 games and a few rounds that mean nothing, a game seven in Sactown could be all the difference. I think they (Sac) would need to win in game 6 and not see what happens in a 7th. And let's not forget how Kobe will again think it is his team if Shaq misses many games at first. If these guys fight, Papa Phil will have a hard time working the same old lines. Not like we can dismiss the International teams from Texas, Spurs and Dallas. Yea, we can. I have nothing to add in regards to the East. I will wait until the season in going along to see what interesting stories develop. Too many off-season moves to know who will most improved just yet. I think Riles will leave Miami before the season ends, also. No Zo.
I have don't think the Lakers are affected that much by playing on the road. They lost game 1 vs Philly in the year 2001 playoffs at home, then took the rest of the series, winning the final game on the road. They beat the Kings in game 7 last year in Arco. Be very careful in dismissing the Spurs. Tim Duncan will have help with the Argentine import (Ginobill), and Dallas will always be a threat because of their explosing offense (God help the league if the Mavs acquire a real defensive center presence)
My predictions: Look for McDyess to have monster numbers in the East...assuming anyone in NY can (or will) pass it in to the post. Look for Houston to challenge for the playoffs if Stevie can stay healthy. Look for Miami to suck ; ) Look for the Clippers to somehow miss the playoffs again despite having more talent than the entire Eastern Conference : ) Any bigsoccerites have any interest in doing a yahoo fantasy bball league?
McDyess will have monster numbers, but only b/c he plays in the Eastern Conference. I do like the guy, even though he plays for the hated Knicks I'm not too sold on Houston quite yet. I don't think Stevie Franchise will be able to carry the team by himself. Miami will suck big time. Their best scorer (Eddie Jones) is not really a true #1 option, they have no Mourning.... they are in trouble. Pat Riley said he is going to hire a "patience coach" this year to help him during the year, which is probably a good thing. The Clippers are quite the enigma team this year. Think of this: A bunch of players on a team who are ALL looking for more money after the season. I wonder how the ball sharing will go and of course Donald Sterling will find a way to screw up a good thing. He needs to sign Kandi-Man to a long term deal and one or two of his other stars .... and not let them go for nothing. I'm seriously thinking of starting up a Yahoo Fantasy NBA league .... if anyone else is interested let me know and I'll start one up.
I guess it goes without saying I'd be interested. Think it's worth starting a separate thread? Bonus predictions: The suns miss the playoffs & steph blames on it his teammates. The wolves lose in the first round to (fill in the blank). Cleveland will have over 500lbs of centers on IR Nets fans will miss having KVH to kick around. Look for Kenyon Martin to be the new whipping boy. Fortunately for him, he'll be able to hide behind all 300lbs of Rodney Rogers ; ) Detroit will have the worst defensive backcourt in the NBA, and Rick Carlisle will have to be restrained from going "Sprewell" on Rip & Chauncey : O
It's very easy to play - and it's free at yahoo. There's 2 ways of playing: rotisserie & head to head. In rotisserie, which I personally like, you basically draft a team, and then accumulate points based on how well your players play (usually you get points for shooting %, points scored, rebounds, assists, blocks, 3 pointers made, free throw %, and you lose points for turnovers). At a minimum, you don't have to do anything other than put your team together at the beginning of the season, but to do well you'll want to adjust your roster during the season for injuries & poor play. The more time & energy you put into managing your roster, the better you do generally. Here's a link to the yahoo site if you want to poke around or read more specifics. http://basketball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/nba
As a Jazz fan, if we just make it to the playoffs it will be victory enough for us. That, and watching Stockton school 28 year old players in their primes is enough for me to keep watching, even though we have no hope for a championship at all....
::shudder:: I utterly despise the Jazz. Malone and Stockton are the 2 dirtiest players in the game. Just my opinion though
Yeah, I've never heard that opinion before I agree Malone is dirty, but nobody has ever proved to me that Stockton is dirty (and say what you want about Stockton, but I've never seen him level another player like Chris Webber has). Sure, he holds on screens and puts his elbows out on picks, but if that's dirty, then this league is full of wusses, not men. Malone is dirty. Bill Lambier was dirty. Rick Mahorn was dirty. Dennis Rodman was dirty. Charles Oakley is dirty. Those guys will go out and try to injure you. Not Stockton though. To call him dirty drags the definition of the word down. And don't even mention their flopping, considering your team has the best flopper in the NBA.... But that's what I love about being a Jazz fan. I enjoy that other people out there despise my team. It's quite amusing, to be honest....especially when a team of 2 near 40 year olds and a bunch of scrubs can take the mighty Kings to 4 toughly fought games in the playoffs.
The All Flopper Team: PG: John Stockton SG: Reggie Miller PF: Karl Malone SF: Dennis Rodman (yeah, he was a PF, but I have to improvise here) C: Vlade Divac (he would be the captain, just supplanting Stockton) 6th Man: Derrick Fischer Much like in soccer, who's really to blame for flopping.....the players, or the refs who let them get away with it? As much as I like the Jazz, the flopping does get tiresome from them (although it's advantegous when it works). A good ref will just let them flop and let the offensive player get the advantage of having his defender on the floor. In soccer, more harsh actions are required, mostly because a goal in soccer is worth a lot more than a goal in basketball. Still, as far as general flopping goes, soccer has basketball beat by a mile.
Well, I think Kirilenko counts as an NBA player, but other than that, yeah it's pretty impressive. I think the Jazz may have had the worst shooting guard rotation in the league last year. Not to mention the center spot. You know it's bad when you look fondly back on the Felton Spencer era Nice All Flopper team. I'll make a prediction on comeback flopper of the year: Sabonis.
LOL, I forgot Sabonois is back. Yeah, he can be a part of the bench. I do like AK. He plays with a lot of hustle, and has some impressive defensive skills. I think he could be an all-start if he could find a shot, but who knows. As for this year, it's a year of mystery for a Jazz fan. Stock and Malone are older, but still play like they are in the top 10 of their respective positions. Losing Marshall hurts, as he was really our only other scoring threat. I loved Russell's defense, but he couldn't hit a shot to save his life last year. Getting Mark Jackson was significant, as we finally have a great PG to backup Stockton (it doesn't help to lower the average team age though). Harpering seems like a solid role player, and he might fit in with the system. But boy, our center position is hurting. I really could see the Jazz as high as a 5th seed, or out of the playoffs altogether, depending on how teams like Minnesota, Portland, Houston, Phoenix, and the Clippers do..... As long as I can root against the Lakers though, I'll be a happy fan
I don't think you'll lose much losing Marshall. AK will more than make up for him. Plus Marshall's a goof. As a Timberwolves fan, I fixed your post Seriously, the West is really deep this year, even deeper than last. There's at least 11 playoff caliber teams - and if Memphis were in the East I'd say they'd be challenging for a playoff spot too. no arguments here
And don't forget how Reggie likes to kick his legs out while shooting to "draw" fouls That's weak, Reggie.