Re: Since I've Been Gone!!! A couple things. It really doesn't mean anything that Marion can't stat pad. His rebounding is down but he still gets his 9 and with Amare the rebounding is much better. Marion doesn't need to be the focus on the offensive sides, he still gets those lobs and gets plenty of put-back opportunities. He just needs to learn how to make those easy 6-foot floaters...ugh... Diaw still gets guarded by one of the centers or Dirk, none of which will stop him in a series if he can start to play more consistently. Raja Bell was on a cold streak earlier and I'm not really worried about Harris or Terry guarding him even though the Mavs do a solid job of stopping us from getting open 3's. I'd still have the Mavs beating us in a series right now but I see the Suns improving more as the season goes on. I really think James Jones can make a difference and really help us out now and the trade deadline is almost here so we'll see how that goes for all these teams.
Re: Since I've Been Gone!!! Good to have you back bro! I was wondering where you went.And I have to disagree with you about the 2 man MVP race. I think it is between about 4 or 5 players right about now. If I was to choose today, this would be my order in the top 5. 1. Kobe Bryant- The Lakers have emerged as one of the best teams in the league this year, and Kobe is obviously the main reason. He isn't being as selfish, and he is still getting over 29 a game. He is a good passer, a hell of a defender, and a good rebounding guard as well. 2. Dirk Nowitzki-His team I think has the best record in the NBA, and he is the best player on his team. The only thing holding him back from being number 1 is Kobe's great season and LA's great success. He is IMO, THE best offensive players in the league, he is the leader on his very talented team, and his defense is improving all the time. If you watch this guy play alot, you know why he is #2.3. Steve Nash- I can't put steve any lower than #3. Statistically, he is having an amazing season, AND his team is having a great year as well. I just can't put him in the top 2 knowing that he has won 2 in a row. He is having a phenominal year though....4. Lebron James- Well, he is leading his team to be the 2nd best team in the east right now, and he doesn't have that much help IMO. He is one of the best 3 players in the leauge no doubt, and he can do it all. I dont really have to say much else...5. Gilbert Arenas- Although I think his team should be performing better than they are, you can't leave Gilbert out of the top five. Statistically, he is having the most impressive season out of anybody in the league. His offensive numbers so far this year are absolutley crazy, especially over the last month.
Re: Since I've Been Gone!!! <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>-Speaking of the Heat, I still think they are easily the best team in the East once Shaq comes back. The best team right now, the Pistons, would be about a 7th seed in the West. Pathetic.</div>Bah. The Heat are at best the 5th best team once Shaq comes back. IMO, the Bulls, Magic,Cavs, and Pistons are, and will be better than them for the rest of the season. I'd be willing to bet that they don't finish in the top 5 in the east, or possibly make the playoffs.Some things to further solidify my opinion--Will Shaq be the same dominate force once he returns? Or will his knee be his achilles heel, and disable him from performing at his normal capacity?-Pat Riley will be out for a while. That could be an extra 10 wins right there. Without his presence on the sidelines, the team could take a blow to the heart.-Dwyane Wade won't carry this team to a high playoff spot alone. He needs role players to step in and contribute. However, this hasn't worked so far. So far, only Zo, Posey, and Haslem have been performing at their usual level. Walker will always be subtraction by addition, Payton seems to be showing the signs of age, and Williams has been having on and off injuries this season. -Not to mention that Wade has been his usual injury prone self. His durability will take a big part in the Heat's success. If he continues getting hurt every other week, they'll be in even deeper trouble.
Re: Since I've Been Gone!!! <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ASUFan22 @ Jan 8 2007, 06:08 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>A couple things. It really doesn't mean anything that Marion can't stat pad. His rebounding is down but he still gets his 9 and with Amare the rebounding is much better. Marion doesn't need to be the focus on the offensive sides, he still gets those lobs and gets plenty of put-back opportunities. He just needs to learn how to make those easy 6-foot floaters...ugh... Diaw still gets guarded by one of the centers or Dirk, none of which will stop him in a series if he can start to play more consistently. Raja Bell was on a cold streak earlier and I'm not really worried about Harris or Terry guarding him even though the Mavs do a solid job of stopping us from getting open 3's. I'd still have the Mavs beating us in a series right now but I see the Suns improving more as the season goes on. I really think James Jones can make a difference and really help us out now and the trade deadline is almost here so we'll see how that goes for all these teams.</div>The game I watched Thomas and Stoudemire was being defended by the centers Damp and Diop pretty much the entire game. Diaw only had to go against them for limited amounts of time. Last year he was able to light up those two up because of his speed and ability to move around. This year I don't see him being able to tear them up like that because he won't be as high of an option like he was last year, and even with Dirk playing defense on him, Dirk is quicker than the other two and able to stay with Diaw much easier. Marion is getting his 9 rebounds per game against every other team in the league, but he got 6 against the Mavericks. Once again having a quicker person with him, he isn't able to move around as easily on offense and get open like he was able to last year. It also allows the Mavericks to be able to box out alot quicker and get in front of Marion so he can not run forward and get the offensive rebounds he got in the playoffs last year.
Re: Since I've Been Gone!!! I thought you died or something. Someone just doesn't disappear like that.Anyways, TMAC!!. Very happy to see the guy actually playing well. Still don't think he is 100% but again, domination without yao.And Amare stoudemire is making me look stupid :thumbdn1:
Re: Since I've Been Gone!!! Dirk is quicker but he's still not a good defender at all and that Diaw posterization was awesome! Yeah I know you can't judge Dirk's D on that, just mentioning that great play.... Marion will have good games here and there(he wasn't really the greatest player during the playoffs when we went to the WCF the last 2 years), and with Amare the rebounding is still improved even if Marion isn't putting up the numbers he did before. Stoudemire will also do a better job on the Mavs centers than Diaw did because he's just a better interior scorer. Damp will be run out of the game and Amare has the ability to get Diop in foul trouble too. Diaw isn't really aggressive so he could not do that real well. This Suns team is much more improved than last season's team. If Jones can keep up this shooting with the leather ball I want to see how he does against the Mavs also. He's a very good defensive player, which we could use, and when he has the confidence he's a more dangerous shooter than anyone else, besides Nash, on the team. He's also a pretty decent rebounder as a small forward, but we'll see if he can keep this up and continue being the 8th man on the team.
Re: Since I've Been Gone!!! [quote name='valo35' post='252913' date='Jan 8 2007, 06:00 PM']The year before that Mavericks team did not play anything like this Mavericks team does. They was still not as disciplined and as good of a team as they was last year and this year. Furthermore, that team that put out the Mavericks was completely different than the team this year is so that is a completely different set of circumstances.The Mavericks in my opinion can stop the Suns better than the Suns can stop the Mavericks, even with Amare getting healthy.[/quote]Mavs still have the same weaknesses on D that they did in 04-05. Nash and Amare combined for 59PPG/20RPG/13APG, and shot nearly 55%. Amare still isn't completely back, but he did put up 25/13 against this improved Mavs team, Nash killed them in playoffs last year and this year in regular season, and don't expect the role players to be as bad as they were a few weeks ago. And despite them playing badly and Amare not 100%, they lost by a buzzer beater. The Mavs are a better defensive team than the Suns, but the Suns have a clearly better and more balanced offense. Diaw took only 7 shots in their game 2 weeks back, thats why he didn't score much. He still creates mismatches, as does Marion. No, Marion won't grab 12RPG anymore, but with KT and Amare, they are a much better overall rebounding team. He took only 8 shots, shooting 4-8. Suns took only 72 shots in that game, and only player that shot enough shots and wasn't efficient was Marion. Mavs didn't disrupt Bell. I'll somewhat agree, although I think the Mavs defensive flaws will be glaring come playoff time. I still truly believe if Amare and KT were healthy last year they would have beat the Mavs in 6. I never said they'd be one of the top seeds. They'll be lucky to get a 6th or 5th seed. -He doesn't need to score 20PPG to win the East. I'm sure he'll take his time coming back, and be healthy enough in playoffs to get his 15-20PPG.-They won 59 games with SVG as the coach. He will still have his hand on the team, and ultimately wins and losses until everyone is back and healthy falls on how well Wade does.-Again, never said anything about getting a high playoff spot.-His injury prone self? He missed a lot in his rookie season, but he then had 2 straight seasons of 75 games or more. This year he had a tooth problem, and the other time he was out was because of a dirty play by Kirk Hinrich.ballerman-I just don't buy into Dirk getting MVP. He was the best player on the 2nd best team in the league last year, scoring and rebounding better last year, and carrying team with less help than this year....and still wasn't a top 3 candidate. Nash only has a few wins less and is having a better season statistically and more important to his team. I agree with Kobe being #1.
Re: Since I've Been Gone!!! <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Nitro1118 @ Jan 8 2007, 08:24 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>ballerman-I just don't buy into Dirk getting MVP. He was the best player on the 2nd best team in the league last year, scoring and rebounding better last year, and carrying team with less help than this year....and still wasn't a top 3 candidate. Nash only has a few wins less and is having a better season statistically and more important to his team. I agree with Kobe being #1.</div>That is why I put him at #2. I think if the Mavericks could win the NBA championship this year, he would have a good chance at winning one next year. I think that would put a big statement to the world. I just didnt want to put Nash any higher because he won it the two previous years, I didnt want to put Gilbert any higher because he is a terrible defender and his team is underperforming for how good their big 3 are. The only guy I would put at #2 other than him would be Lebron, but I am not getting the same feel of dominance out of Lebron that I got last season from him. I dont know why.....
Re: Since I've Been Gone!!! Honestly Nitro I'm still not getting what your trying to say. Every team has that same weakness as the Mavs. You point out the Mavs in that one playoff series had trouble with the duo of Amare/Nash. Well so did the Spurs the following round. Me and Valo are saying it's a moot point because there's not one team in this league that can say they can contain each team's superstars. It's not happening. Every team struggles with superstars, the point of them being superstars. There may be a game or two when a team contains a said superstar. But there getting there's more often than not against a opposing team. <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Of all people it's funny you say this, after you witnessed first hand in Finals, with Shaq going for 14PPG, all role players outside of Walker down in stats....ONE player single handedly rip apart the Mavs en route to 4 straight victories, while putting up 40PPG in that stretch, a few game winning shots, etc...</div>One person does not a beat a whole team. Players on the Heat stepped up defensively and offensively. Wade's 40 ppg isn't enough to beat the Mavs alone. And why is it funny. Every playoff series is like that. Teams zero in on the star players, so role players have to step up their game in case of doubling or tripling occurs. For a team to win a championship, it takes a group of players to step up their game. Not one. If your saying one person could beat the Mavericks, then there is something wrong with that picture, right?<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Again, the Spurs series could have easily gone either way.</div>I agree but it doesn't discount the Mavs advancing and making your point wrong. Plus, it's not like the Spurs lost in that 4th quarter. They had an extra overtime to win the game. The Mavs took over in OT and won it rightfully so. I agree the series could have gone either way but the Mavericks still won. And therefore disproves your notion that needing to stop a team's superstar is contingent on winning a playoff series or championship.<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>You won by a buzzer beater. You know damn well the game could have gone either way. One miss and a Nash GW like he has done the past 2 years in playoffs to you guys and I could turn it around on you</div>Again a win is a win. Had the Suns won, you probably would have used that to point how we can't stop the Amare/Nash combo. But that didn't happen. These woulda coulda shoulda's don't make your point any better imo.
Re: Since I've Been Gone!!! <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Nitro1118 @ Jan 8 2007, 07:24 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Mavs still have the same weaknesses on D that they did in 04-05. Nash and Amare combined for 59PPG/20RPG/13APG, and shot nearly 55%. Amare still isn't completely back, but he did put up 25/13 against this improved Mavs team, Nash killed them in playoffs last year and this year in regular season, and don't expect the role players to be as bad as they were a few weeks ago. And despite them playing badly and Amare not 100%, they lost by a buzzer beater. The Mavs are a better defensive team than the Suns, but the Suns have a clearly better and more balanced offense.Diaw took only 7 shots in their game 2 weeks back, thats why he didn't score much. He still creates mismatches, as does Marion. No, Marion won't grab 12RPG anymore, but with KT and Amare, they are a much better overall rebounding team. He took only 8 shots, shooting 4-8. Suns took only 72 shots in that game, and only player that shot enough shots and wasn't efficient was Marion. Mavs didn't disrupt Bell.I'll somewhat agree, although I think the Mavs defensive flaws will be glaring come playoff time. I still truly believe if Amare and KT were healthy last year they would have beat the Mavs in 6.</div>You can say Amare wasn't completely back, but he looks just fine to me. How long into the season do you give him until he is fully back? From what I saw around the New Jersey game he developed that explosiveness and leaping ability that he had before he got injured. I don't really buy into him not being 100 percent healthy, I think he was as healthy then as Stoudemire will be all season. Come playoff time I think he will be much more tired and worn out than he is now, because he will be coming off of a 82 game season and will meet the Mavericks in 2nd round or conference finals if they get that far. As for the Diaw and Bell not taking as many shots, think about why they didn't take as many shots? With Stoudemire back there is only going to be so many shots to go around. Furthermore, that also makes people be able to stay in front of them easier. They didn't take as many shots because they didn't have as many open looks as what they usually have against other teams. That is a reason for the Mavericks being better defensively, they are able to stay in front of the other teams better than they used to. Sure Amare and Nash might tear into them, but I think they will be able to limit the rest of the team like they have, and keep them from being open as much so they do, and not take as many shots. I still see both the Mavericks and the Spurs being able to beat the Suns these days.
