Both of the number one seeds from each conference lost in the playoffs and I was wondering, are these teams serious championship contenders anymore? Big Ben might not resign for Detroit and there are upcoming teams in the east with the Raptors and Bulls. The eastern conference is loaded with plenty of good rookies and there bound to breakout pretty soonThe Spurs lost to the Mavs in the playoffs and leaves me to wonder whether they can either make it past the second round anymore. Duncan seems like hes out of his prime already, although he is still very reliable. They don't look like the best in the west anymore, Amare is coming back next season and Dallas is still very young and can take the west again.Do you think either of these two teams will ever make the finals within the next 2 years?
I think the Spurs will still be contenders. All they have to do is get some youth and athleticism, and they will be fine. Dallas finally got over the hump by beating the Spurs this year, in a game 7 in SA... but I think you would have to be crazy to think that the Spurs can't still contend for the championship the next two or three years, possibly longer.As for Detroit, they are still a question mark in my mind. No doubt they will be near the top in the East, but they have a very interesting offseason coming up. Does Ben Wallace resign? What do they do to upgrade the bench? Can the players trust Flip? This offseason will answer a lot of questions about Detroit.
I think Detroit is going to have some trouble next playoffs, but I guess it depends on what happens off season. I don't know a ton about the east, so I can't comment too much on them.The Spurs are definitely going to be in it next year. I think they still have a solid core in Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili. Those guys aren't going anywhere for a few years. Where I think they are the weakest is on their bench. It seems to be the oldest bench in the league... then again, I don't pay attention to that many teams. Horry and Van Exel don't have much left in them, Finley probably has a few years left. They don't have a first rounder this year, so that doesn't help bring youth, either. I think they'll find something to fill the gaps though.To me, it's scary to think of a healthy Suns team, so I'm not going to start calling winners yet. I think seeding will be very, very important next year. In hindsight, it didn't matter much this year. If the Suns had won, you could say the messed up seeding system this year mattered. Next year, the same thing will happen though. One team will play both the other two western powerhouses and one team will only play the winner of the game between the other two powerhouses. It's going to be huge down the stretch. Dallas isn't going to go away, SA isn't going to go away, and I'd bet that Phoenix will be there as well.
You must remember that the Pistons and Spurs dominated in the season this year, the Spurs were taken out by the Mavs and there really is no excuse there, the Mavs came out ready to play. I think the Mavs may be dominated the NBA next year and the Pistons they're falling apart, maybe they can put themeselves backtogether before the new season. I think they can still either dominate the east next year or be very close to the Heat's record.
Of course the Pistons and the Spurs are still contenders, i'm sure many people will pick them next year to win the title after regrouping. Much of their teams are still pretty young and many of those players are locked into longterm contracts. To think either of these teams is not a contender next year is being short sighted.
No. Both teams still have a great core. And they will be battling to get into the Finals for next year. I bet everyone stays in San Antonio except some minor pieces. And with a healthy Tim Duncan, and maturing TP and Manu, they will be even better next year. Hopefully Detroit can re-sign Ben Wallace. If they do, ECF atleast. But if they don't, they'd even have a hard time making the ECF. Big Ben is the core of their defense, and they need him back for next year.
Spurs yes, and with Big Ben the Pistons will be one of the top East teams, but probably not a champioship team anymore. It's really weird, the East is still basically the Heat and Pistons, with the Nets playing good than not playing good...but the West will still be loaded and much tougher than anything seen in the East.
Spurs are still a great team but with the recent surge of the Mavericks and Amare coming back next year it's not looking great for them. Detroit I think will all come down to whether Ben resigns again or not, they also need depth in there bench.Don't count out the east just yet, the Bulls were only short of a good center and are going to get that now with New York's pick. New Jersey is a few short transactions from becoming a serious contending team. Lets not forget the Celtics young staff either, east is not as good as the west but have lots of young talent.
Yes, they are. The Spurs do have some young talent though and will still be a good team and start contending again someday, but next year I see the Suns and Mavs being the top in the West with San Antonio taking a step back. They do have a bunch of old players too and Duncan's not far away from starting his decline. The Spurs will still a good team, but only 3rd in the West I think with some other teams being close. The West will be an extremely tough conference though next year.The Pistons are definetly finished though for now, unless they do well this offseason. They have 6 good players on their team, but their bench and the Wallaces are getting pretty old. There is also a chance that they lose Ben Wallace this off-season. They will have a lot of work to do. Then they have Flip who is a terrible playoff coach. The Pistons are done as contenders in my opinion.I just think the East is going to be terrible next year. We may see the Bulls in the Finals, but I'm hoping for a Cavs vs. Suns match-up. That would be great for me.
In my opinion, both San Antonio and Detroit will be condenders at the very least for the next 3 years. People are saying Big Ben won't return, I think he will.San AntonioOK, so they are getting a little older, but the fact of the matter is, they still have a 29 year old Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili. They will lose Nazr this summer, but it's not like he's irreplacable. And when Nick the Quick calls it quite soon, Beno Udrih is the best 3rd PG in the NBA if you ask me and he will fill in backing up TP. Bruce Bowen will be a top defender in the NBA for as long as he plays in the league. Michael Finley isn't young, but he's not an old geezer either. I think for the next 3 years San Antonion will contend, no doubt. But condending against tough matchups in a more mature Mavs (that are in the Finals right now, up 1-0) and a Phoenix Suns team with a healthy Amare. That's no easy task, but they will definitely rise to the occassion and contend.DetroitIf Big Ben stays, which I'm confident he will, then Detroit will have no problems whatsoever contending in the East. Billups, Rip, Tayshaun, Sheed, and hopefully/probably Big Ben - that says it all. Then add McDyess. They need to bring in a better backup wing man, but other than that they are set for a while if they keep The Big 5 together.
We've got the remember the Spurs did have an injured Tim Duncan, and Manu Ginnobili was not 100% if I'm not mistaken. Dallas got them, they beat the fair and square, but they aren't a thing of the past at all.Detroit is my pick to win it all next year as of now. They played horribly, made so many mistakes it's not funny, yet they still pushed Miami to 6 games. Next year, they'll be motivated and ready to go. Plus, who else will compete with them? Cleveland? They'll probably lose Drew Gooden. New Jersey? They are too soft down-low.
That's why I said the East will be terrible. I hope Cleveland can make some good signings or trades. I really want to see them in the Finals because they have been bad for so long and I love LeBron.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Melo_061 @ Jun 9 2006, 05:10 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>I predict the Spurs will win the championship next season, as for detroit their finished.</div>Loved the reasoningHow is Detroit finished? They go to the Conference Finals, play horribly, and still compete. Who is going to compete with them?Cleveland is probably going to lose Drew Gooden, and even if they don't, they vastly overracheived this year. The still have no shooting, play mediocre defense, and rely on one palyer for all the scoring. Big Z isn't what he used to be, Larry Hughes has a horrible jump shot, and Damon Jones doesn't even play.New Jersey is too soft ont he inside, and doesn't seem to play with any desire.
The Spurs are actually a very old team like the Pistons, their main young talent is Tony Parker, and while Duncan played great in the playoffs, he also had Dirk defending him each game, and Popovich forced him the ball since their backcourt was shut out. Also, if you watched that series it wasnt as close as the 7 games will tell you, The Mavericks had control of every game and due to stupid mistakes managed to lose a few games despite winning the series. The Spurs will not get past Dallas again, they have shown age in regular season and playoffs, but I do think they will be a playoff team for at least a few more years even if they dont make any moves. As far as the Pistons go I still see them contending, but with Saunders as head coach, it will be a long road. Saunders has been proven to be a terrible playoff coach over the last decade, and I doubt he can take them very far, although there is no ''definent'' east team currently, but i expect the Bulls to rise soon, maybe as soon as a 50 win team by next year.
Again, while Saunders did make a few mistakes, the Pistons missed a ton of open shots in game 6 vs. Miami. Saunders, Larry Brown, Phil Jackson or John Wooden couldn't stop that team from being overconfident and arrogant. Next year, they'll be motivated and will compete yet again
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (KMart @ Jun 10 2006, 05:09 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Again, while Saunders did make a few mistakes, the Pistons missed a ton of open shots in game 6 vs. Miami. Saunders, Larry Brown, Phil Jackson or John Wooden couldn't stop that team from being overconfident and arrogant. Next year, they'll be motivated and will compete yet again</div>A phil jackson would realise that their offense is in a flunk and would make them go back to their roots, defense. A phil jackson would make sure the pistons would not play isolation basketball. A phil jackson as he's known is one of the best motivators ever and i'm 100% positive he could do a better job than Saunders. A phil jackson would analysise the opposition's weaknesses and exploit it.This post season Flip was outcoached by a rookie coach, don't ever put flip in the same sentence with phil jackson.Understand me thoug i'm not blaming their crappy shots on him. But, i think a Jackson or a popovich could've done better.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Melo_061 @ Jun 10 2006, 12:58 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>A phil jackson would realise that their offense is in a flunk and would make them go back to their roots, defense. A phil jackson would make sure the pistons would not play isolation basketball. A phil jackson as he's known is one of the best motivators ever and i'm 100% positive he could do a better job than Saunders. A phil jackson would analysise the opposition's weaknesses and exploit it.</div>I am not saying that Phil Jackson would or would not have done a better job with the Pistons if he is coach. The only thing i am pointing out, is that you said that Phil Jackson would not play Isolation basketball. Unless he changes his coaching, and teaching style, the team would play isolation basketball. Phil Jackson teachs the triangle offense, and the main part of the triangle offense is having your best players isolate the other teams defender and go one on one with them. This is what alot of the triangle offense is about. Jordan did it, Kobe did it this year, when Shaq was there it was about trying to get him to isolate down low. So i am hesitant to say that Phil Jackson would be a good coach for this team, or a better coach for this team than Flip Saunders.
The difference is that Phil jackson is much more flexible, did you see him against the spurs in 2004? The triangle was dropped and we beat the spurs. Phil jackson is also great at adjusting and playing mindgames something saunders lacks.And to the isolation bit,The pistons have 5 good players and don't have superstar like phil has had. I doubt he would let them isolate because that would be stupid. When you have 5 equally good players on you're side, you don't make one or two isolate and shut the others out.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (KMart @ Jun 9 2006, 11:19 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>We've got the remember the Spurs did have an injured Tim Duncan, and Manu Ginnobili was not 100% if I'm not mistaken. Dallas got them, they beat the fair and square, but they aren't a thing of the past at all.Detroit is my pick to win it all next year as of now. They played horribly, made so many mistakes it's not funny, yet they still pushed Miami to 6 games. Next year, they'll be motivated and ready to go. Plus, who else will compete with them? Cleveland? They'll probably lose Drew Gooden. New Jersey? They are too soft down-low.</div>I like your points and mostly agree w/ what your saying but your forgetting the Heat. Im not sure about the future of the heat but Shaq should still be good for about 19 and 9 and dwade has the ability to be a bigger star next year. They can really give detroit some problems next season. I dont think Detroit is finished though they still do have some talent and we could be seeing some more young prospects on their team next season. I think they'll still be a great team. Same w/ the Spurs. You could consider them an old team but they definetly arent to old where theyll be not a threat anymore in 2 seasons. Tim Duncan has plenty left in him to be a dominate force in two seasons. Tony Parker is still young and should still be playing well also. Same w/ Manu. This is a great team that should still be contenders for a few more years atleast.
