Mavs the Team-to-Beat in the West?
- Thread starter 121Josey
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Felton and Chandler are bums, and as awesome as Dirk is he's 60.
I think Clips, SF, Houston, and Portland are my top 4 in no particular order.
I think Clips, SF, Houston, and Portland are my top 4 in no particular order.
OKC is the most skitzo team out there. I never know which one is going to show up. I really like the changes everyone has made in the West OTHER than Dallas. I think they got a lot worse. I guess the fact that we could pick 6 teams to win the West at this point in the year shows how stacked it is.
The Spurs are going to do Spurs things but I just can't see Duncan putting up 18/10 again. That was insane at his age.
Another team to not sleep on this year is my Pels, IF they can stay healthy. That's the problem with them. There wasn't a single game last year where the entire core of starters and role players were all healthy at any given point. As it sits it's Asik, AD, [insert SF who doesn't mind ever getting the ball] Gordon, and Holiday, with the best stretch 4 in the league in Ryan Anderson and Tyreke Evans coming off the bench.
This season has a lot more hype at this point than any of the last couple I can remember. It's a good time to start following the NBA if you're one of the holdouts.
I just don't think they have any more gas in the tank, but in no way am I saying I don't think they'll be good... I just think any of those 4 could win the thing next year... Plus OKC if they can find a way to be a good team when one of any of their starting 5 inevitably gets hurt.
Look, I think any team in the West other than the Lakers, Wolves, and Kings could win the conference. Even the Suns who had the quietest run at 50 games maybe ever.
Picking favorites at this time of the year is like picking Heisman winners in July.
And SF = Golden State.
OKC has two of the top players in the league. Scott Brooks doesn't have a freaking clue how to handle that team, but with those two, they will pretty much always win 60 games.
And the Spurs aren't going away either. If those two aren't the top 2 seeds again next year, I'll be shocked.
Golden State, Houston, Portland, Clippers, Memphis, Dallas, Phoenix, and New Orleans will all have good teams to varying degrees this next year as well.
If I had to put a preseason 3-8 together right now, I would go with:
3. Clippers
4. Portland
5. Memphis
6. Golden State
7. Phoenix
8. Dallas
I think Phoenix makes the move into the playoffs this year, and I think New Orleans comes really close. I think Houston takes a step back.
The Spurs aren't as old as you think, and Kawhi is a potential star. Golden State is in Oakland, I don't think they've ever been called SF...
The 49ers are in Santa Clara, the New York Giants/Jets are in New Jersey, the Dallas Cowboys are in Arlington, the Detroit Pistons are in Auburndale, the Washington Wizards are in Virginia... I could go on forever. They were indeed called San Francisco Warriors back in the day and a lot of my buds from there refer to them as "SF"... But who actually gives a ****.
No, they're collectively not that old... But their best player, one that will likely retire as the greatest ever at his position, is old as 17... And their front court is not that great behind him. Without Duncan's 18/10-esk contributions (that I don't think he can replicate) I think they're going to get handled in the post by the Rockets and pretty much all the other West teams.
Again, it's July. Whose opinion actually matters?
People
have been saying this for the past 5+ seasons, and time after time after time, they prove everyone wrong.
have been saying this for the past 5+ seasons, and time after time after time, they prove everyone wrong.
Presumably each year will be worse than the last from here on out for Duncan, but I'm not sure why you would expect a precipitous drop off. He's a fitness freak without a history of injury problems and he has a coach that limits his minutes. I don't see him just breaking down over night like you sometimes see with big men.
Dallas will be good but I don't see much defense in a lineup of Nowitzki, Ellis, and Parsons. I think the West will be crowded at the top again with no one team running away with it in the regular season.
The East on the other hand will be much more interesting than last year with Cleveland, Chicago, and Washington being drastically improved and teams like Miami and Indiana still putting decent teams on the court.
Chicago could be awesome with D. Rose, Gasol, Noah, Heinrich, Boozer, Fredette, Dunleavy, and now Doug McDermott who has been tearing it up in the summer league.
The East on the other hand will be much more interesting than last year with Cleveland, Chicago, and Washington being drastically improved and teams like Miami and Indiana still putting decent teams on the court.
Chicago could be awesome with D. Rose, Gasol, Noah, Heinrich, Boozer, Fredette, Dunleavy, and now Doug McDermott who has been tearing it up in the summer league.
I'll take a shot at it
1) SA
2) LAC
3) MEM
4) HOU
5) OKC (Predicting a Durant injury. Plays a ton of minutes during regular season and off-season. Bound to happen.)
6) GSt
7) Dal
8) NOP
1) SA
2) LAC
3) MEM
4) HOU
5) OKC (Predicting a Durant injury. Plays a ton of minutes during regular season and off-season. Bound to happen.)
6) GSt
7) Dal
8) NOP
I just have a hard time seeing Felton leading a team to the playoffs. He's going to split time taking the ball down the court with Monta..... YIKES!
And between the bunch, that's a LOT of bad attitudes, Chandler being the headliner.
The tops of the East will likely be the tops of the NBA, but we're not going to know how good they actually are until they get to the Championship. Top 3 in the East will have some watered down records, but a Cleveland team if they get Love, Chicago if Rose is healthy, and either the Wizards or Phil's Knicks or maybe even both are probably going to ball out.
Can't wait to see them hang 140 on the Magic, Hornets, and Raptors once a week.
ETA: I'm not even going to mention the Pacers. Looking forward to seeing George suiting up in the Purple in Gold in a couple of years.
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