Which team do you think is better this upcoming season? <font color="Blue"> </font><font color="Blue">Mavericks </font> Subtractions Michael Finley Alan Henderson Shawn Bradley Additions Doug Christie Josh Powell Rawle Marshall DeSagna Diop <font color="RoyalBlue">Suns</font> Subtractions Joe Johnson Quentin Richardson Additions Kurt Thomas Raja Bell Boris Diaw Dijon Thompson I'll give some input after others chime in.
Im going to go with Suns the Mavs losing finley dont help. And the Suns lost Q and JJ but they got kurt thomas and raja bell and plus they still have nash and amare so im going to go with the Suns.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting TheTruth5:</div><div class="quote_post">Im going to go with Suns the Mavs losing finley dont help. And the Suns lost Q and JJ but they got kurt thomas and raja bell and plus they still have nash and amare so im going to go with the Suns.</div> Finley started becoming a 5th wheel on the team, his defense was lackluster and he chucked. Christie brings in defense to take the second best player on the opponent, which is where we always struggled last year. For example, Howard may of contained Redd but Mason would of gone off for above average games. With Christie (and not an aging Finley) defending the #2 option, Dallas' defense will improve. Not to mention that Avery Johnson will have the team together for the whole season, which rapidly improves our PPG let, I think Dallas defense will improve. Onto the Phoenix Suns, who lost the only other guy on the roster who could create for himself in Joe Johnson, and sporradic 3 point shooter in Quentin Richardson. The Sun's forte was their offense, which no doubtely will still be there due to Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire, I don't believe it will be as good. They get Kurt Thomas injected into the starting lineup, who will surely slow down the run and gun tempo of the Suns. Raja Bell was a good pickup for the Suns, but I don't think a championship contender has Bell or Jackson starting
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Maverick:</div><div class="quote_post">Finley started becoming a 5th wheel on the team, his defense was lackluster and he chucked. Christie brings in defense to take the second best player on the opponent, which is where we always struggled last year. For example, Howard may of contained Redd but Mason would of gone off for above average games. With Christie (and not an aging Finley) defending the #2 option, Dallas' defense will improve. Not to mention that Avery Johnson will have the team together for the whole season, which rapidly improves our PPG let, I think Dallas defense will improve. Onto the Phoenix Suns, who lost the only other guy on the roster who could create for himself in Joe Johnson, and sporradic 3 point shooter in Quentin Richardson. The Sun's forte was their offense, which no doubtely will still be there due to Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire, I don't believe it will be as good. They get Kurt Thomas injected into the starting lineup, who will surely slow down the run and gun tempo of the Suns. Raja Bell was a good pickup for the Suns, but I don't think a championship contender has Bell or Jackson starting</div> Doug Christie isn't the defensive player he used to be. Right now he's just a shell of his former self, on both ends of the floor. A change of scenery in Orlando didn't help him, so it probably won't help in Dallas. The man is 35 years old. There's nowhere to go but down. I agree that Dallas will probably be the better team though, because of the directions Phoenix took this offseason. They lose their two biggest outside threats and add two aging, slow (in comparison to the team) big men. I don't think people will fully grasp what J.J. and Q-Rich meant to the team until they play their first few weeks without them. They probably won't completely fall off the map, because they still have the majority of the core players, but the team's whole identity and chemistry is changed. Does it really matter though? It'll be the Spurs who win the West anyway, right?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Voodoo Child:</div><div class="quote_post">Doug Christie isn't the defensive player he used to be. Right now he's just a shell of his former self, on both ends of the floor. A change of scenery in Orlando didn't help him, so it probably won't help in Dallas. The man is 35 years old. There's nowhere to go but down.</div> Doug Christie is a shell of his former self, this is true. But to say the man has no defense, well, this isn't true. Whilst he won't go shutting down the Kobe's and Tracy's, that's alright because we have Josh Howard to do it for us. We need him to give us 15-25 minutes of hard nosed defense. The difference between Dallas and Orlando is that he was forced to go to Orlando, despite not wanting to. Before anyone said anything this offseason, Christie was saying he'd be interested in going to Dallas. If a player want's to come to a team, they show me two things a) They love the game of basketball They will give it their all <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> Does it really matter though? It'll be the Spurs who win the West anyway, right?</div> Unfortunately.
I don't think it's fair to write off Christie's ability. He was fine in Sac, but he hardly got good minutes in Orlando. I take the Mavs (usually I don't pick my team before the season, but I've got a feeling this time). I think history has shown us what happens when a team is too packed: 2003 Lakers, and the Spurs are too packed. I know this is about Mavs/Suns, but... so? It's funny b/c I think there are three (or four) teams who can legitimately stand to take away SA's championship: Mavs, Heat, Rockets (maybe Pacers). The funny part is, I think one of the few parts to the Mav machine that wasn't clicking properly was Finley. He still tried to be one of the stars, but it's not in him anymore. At times, he outright choked and blew the game. I loved Fin, but the Mavs are BETTER OFF! Hopefully he'll choke for SA, too! Bottom line is this, Nash and Stoudemire are the stars and Marion is going to do everything else for the Suns, but it won't matter. Those guys when pitted against a team like the Rockets, Heat, MAVS, or Spurs won't have all the gas it takes to play the 35+ minutes a night it would take to stand the depth of said three teams. Obviously I pick the Mavs for this season, but I've not traditionally done so. This team is being slept on and it's going to help them. Plain and simple fact: Avery Johnson is more learned about what it takes to win a chamionship in the new millenium than any other current coach. He also knows Popovich's mind. That gives them a real shot with the Spurs, and I think the Mav's depth is just too much. It would be nice to have another center, but the low-post guys (Dirk, VanHorn, Damp) are versatile enough to handle a 3 man/ 2 spot rotation.
