I think we are ranked way to low, #9? 1 San Antonio 59-23 <font face="verdana">If it ain't broke, don't fix it. The Spurs held steady (and nabbed Finley!) with the team that earned the O'Brien trophy. Come Nov. 1, they'll put on their rings and begin the title defense.</font> 2 Miami 59-23 <font face="verdana">The trade that ushered in Walker, Williams and Posey makes the Heat the East's best team on paper ? and your computer screen.</font> 3 Detroit 54-28 <font face="verdana">Does Larry Brown deserve credit for the team's success the last two years? Or the players? New coach Flip Saunders has the same squad at his disposal, so we'll soon find out.</font> 4 Houston 51-31 <font face="verdana">Houston adds D.A. to the backcourt and Stro' to the frontcourt. With Yao and T-Mac, the Rockets will be in the hunt for the West's best record.</font> 5 Denver 49-33 <font face="verdana">George Karl took over and the Nugs were suddenly one of the best teams in the second-half. With the same team returning, they should remain near the top this season.</font> 6 Indiana 44-38 <font face="verdana">Artest's return alone makes this team better. Add Jasikevicius to a healthy O'Neal and Tinsley and the Pacers could make a run at the Heat and Pistons this season.</font> 7 Phoenix 62-20 <font face="verdana">The Spurs proved to the Suns that defense does indeed win championships. So, in search of more defense, did Phoenix let too much of its offense slip away?</font> 8 Sacramento 50-32 <font face="verdana">The Kings look strong on paper. But that's not where games are played. The main question is: Can Abdur-Rahim or Wells display the unselfishness customary of this team?</font> 9 Dallas 58-24 <font face="verdana">Only Dirk remains from the trio that led Big D to a 60-win season in 2002-03, and he'll be counted on to shoulder the burden this season. It could be a long season.</font> 10 Cleveland 42-40 <font face="verdana">Given all the team's offseason moves, there is no reason -- I repeat, no reason -- the Cavaliers finish out of the playoff picture this year. </font> Link to the rest Where would you rank us? I'd have us above Phoenix, Houston, Sacramento and probably Denver.
I have no idea, but I wouldn't rank you above Houston,Phoenix or probably Denver, I'd say 8th max because you lost that 2nd string all-star, but you still have young talent on the bench. We will have to see, oh and btw Id like to congratulate your favorite player on the win against Slovenia!
^ No way are the Mavericks higher than Kings IMO 9 is good for you guys The off-season moves could have been better for you guys loosing Finley brought Mavs down a lot ..I know Christie is a good player--but he's old--he wont put many points for you guys the only real scorers you guys have are--stackhouse/dirk/and maybe terry. Kings got a solid line-up and i see them doing really good in the playoffs maybe even a second round and a good chance at west-finals a line-up featuring: miller/reef/peja/Bonzi/Bibby seems pretty good
^ Thats the talk of a delusional homer. I dont see how SAC,PHX, Houston or Denver are better than Dallas. Not to say that Dallas is better than all of these teams,but i dont see how you can say all these teams are better than Dallas.Denver and PHX are for sure not better than Dallas.I actually think Dallas is slightly better than SAC and Houston. SAC is going back to being the Premier offensive team in the league next season,but they still wont play D. Houston picked up some nice players in Stro and DA.Those two are nice....COMPLIMENTARY players. I need to see what kind of impact Stro has on the Rockets before I go saying theyre better than Dallas.Dallas is just a solid all around team. They have everything a team needs to contend.With that said,the Mavs being ranked 9th is preposterous.
i might agree with you on the denver thing but phoenix not being better than dallas is being naive. yes..phoenix lost 2 players that had major impacts on their team but amare ripped through dallas and nash didn't just stand there to watch.
I think Dallas is floating around the 5-8 spot. I think they are better than the Kings and get the edge over Denver, Sac, and Ind. Then I think PHX gets the edge over Dallas.
The Western Conference Race breaks down like this: Spurs are the only team that have, in my humble opinion, any real right to be ranked higher than Dallas at this point. Spurs- Most veteran players (at least playoff wise); two strings of solid starters; Beno Udrih (who could start for some teams) is third string; They got Tim Duncan. Rockets- Houston was loaded last season and comes back stronger in the post, thing is, their strength was back-court last season (even if T-Mac played SF, it was back-court); Sura may have to retire, certainly won't be what he was last year if he plays; Thus, bench catalysts from last season will either be implemented too early in games (to compensate for Sura), or will not have the same opportunity to shine (being that the front court grew stronger and fuller with Swift). Nuggets- That's a joke for them to be higher than the Mavericks, Suns, or Kings; Nene, Camby, and Martin are great in the post, but too similarly matched to be effective as a three-big-man tandem; Anthony is coming along fine, but isn't yet a team-leader; Boykins, Najera, Hodge are all wild cards who could be big boosts (by that token, so could Buckner) but are for this season at least, not going to be playoff leaders. Suns- Great last year, but will be such a new team, they should be more reminiscent of Stockton and Malone's Jazz (Nash and Stoudemire) than as a fully functional offensive unit (04-05 Suns). They should be in the top 10 in the league, easily, but not an apparent leader to the Mavs, by any mindset. Kings - Jackson, gone; Mobley, gone; oft-arbitrary, allegedly All-Star power forward with an occasional shoulder chip, signed in Shareef; Used-to-be-pretty-good Bonzi Wells, signed; strong, young backup forward Songaila, gone. Whoopity doo, Basil what does it all mean? It means what it means every year: Stojakovic, Bibby, Brad Miller, and a questionably All-Star power forward will make it to the playoffs, then lose before the conference finals. It's a whole new team, again. The once-astounding allure of Sac's Bench Mob is a thing of the past. With all the players on the King's training camp roster, it's safe to say they're looking for filler for a lot of holes. Mavericks- Surprisingly underrated; My biases aside: Dirk Nowitzki again (Eurobasket 2005) proved he's the best individual talent in Europe, possibly ever; Howard set to have a breakout year and has been handed Finley's responsibilities/opportunities, and will be the second scoring option on this line-up, he should handle it well; Coach Avery Johnson transformed the look of the Mavs at the end of the season; at times the team looked like a defensive power; this should be more consistent this season, with Dampier more motivated by Coach Johnson than the former Coach Nelson, he will play more for plays than numbers which spells success for a banger-style player; Christie plays great when he and his legendarily demanding wife are happy (I personally respect a family man, even if unconventional) and they both appear to be so in Dallas; Stackhouse is Sixth-Man Award capable and will offer much-needed tutalege for Howard and Daniels, plus he's still a great player; Terry is a good point guard who listens, that's essential; Nowitzki stumbled a bit in the Playoffs, but that could be attributed to a combination of trying to establish himself as a leader and a defender in a short amount of time (let's hope so); Van Horn is not far removed from his days of averaging 19-20 points a game, he's also hyped to have a significant role wherein he is capable of performing; Devin Harris is a largely underrated guard, a solid backup and, man, that guy's got hops; Diop... well, we'll see; Daniels is an intangible, he was coached by Cliff Ellis in college so he comes from an obedient system, and he apparently has been doing workouts for the team even during his vacation time (via video); lastly there's Darrel Armstrong, DJ Mbenga and Josh Powell who are all players relagated to third string. All of whom can get in and hustle. In summation, here's the West and why: 8. Lakers- Phil can coach, Kobe and Odom can play, 'nuff said... Plus that's all they've got. (Yes: Counting Kwame Brown) {Maybe the Clippers or Grizzlies could steal this spot, but they're un-experienced, but consistent talent should be only enough to make them end-of-season contenders} 7. Jazz- Actually weren't that bad last year, just unfortunate. Really unfortunate. Everyone's back and hopefully healthy. 6. Nuggets- They're totally good enough to be 6th-8th. Just not versatile enought to be higher. 5. Kings- No matter who's who, the team has completely changed up yet again. Lots of talent= lots of wins; not championships. 4. Suns- Stoudemire will take the league by storm, becoming Jermaine O'Neal caliber, while Nash will do what he does. That's all it will take. 3. Rockets- T-Mac and Yao have apparently (judging by the Playoffs) learned to play together. Unfortunately, much of that previous system has been disrupted, so they will have to adapt. 2. Mavericks- The only team who may be deeper is the Spurs. The lack of a solid backup center needs to be addressed by the Mavs (unless Diop really is a diamond in the rough, via Swen Nater/ a Donnie Nelson statement). Harris, Stackhouse, and Van Horn match up favorably against the Spurs' backups (Van Exel, Brent Barry, and Horry [close one]). The remaining question is: are Diop/Mbenga adequate backups (like Nesterovic) and are Finley and Daniels at similar points skill-wise in the beginning of career/end of career arch? Probably not, but maybe. 1. Spurs- Too deep, too strong. The Rockets and Mavs really are the only teams who have anything to battle that depth (in the West). Yao would have to put up huge numbers while T-Mac does what he does all while equalizing Parker and the bench. Maybe too much. Mavs would have to win at every position but power forward, a challenge since Dirk's their star.
