Chicago was 2-1 this past season vs. New York. First game (101-94 Chi Win): Chandler- 8 points, 19 rebounds(started) Curry- 13 points, 3 rebounds(bench) Second Game(71-78 NY Win): Marshall(started)- 22 points 14 rebounds Fizer(bench)- 9 points, 12 rebounds Third Game(100-98 Chi Win) Chandler- 13 points, 13 rebounds(started) Curry- 30 points, 9 rebounds(started) Now, in the second game, Cartwright was criticized greatly for only playing Curry 7 min. There was a lot of beef about that. But you can see what happens when TC and EC are given PT. Chicago usually ends up destroying NY inside. Kurt Thomas cannot do it alone. McDyess has to prove he can play before I start worrying about him. His game was about athleticism. He was one of the most athletic PFs in the league at the time. With major knee surgeries, I doubt he is the same player as before. He relied upon athleticism to score and rebound. Now how will he play when thats hampered? Too many questions to worry about. We'll talk about him when he comes back and proves he has made a complete recovery. Sprewell lost in trade. Replacing Sprewell with KVH is a loss. Sprewell is the better player. In almost every aspect. Horrible move IMO. I know NY wanted him gone, but for KVH.......? Now, the draft was a bit of a bright spot. Lampe has the tools to be a great player someday. But he wont make much of an effect as a rookie. Dominating summer league means jack. Ruben Boujmte- Boujmte(Portland) has had some big summer games too. But you don't hear anybody claiming him to be the next great center. Summer league is full of inferior players, or inexperienced players........not a good guage of where your players are at in trying to come up with possible output in the NBA regular season. Sweetney will struggle to get his shot off due to his lack of heigth. He is not quick off his feet, nor will he be able to outmuscle everyone. This pick was not all the great IMO. The last think NY needed was yet another undersized PF. He will stuggle as a rookie too. Most rookies do. And they didn't use their MLE. Meanwhile, Chicago replaces Williams with Hinrich(considering Jay's bad rookie campaign, this could be a wash). But they added Pippen. Yes, he is aging, but he is a vet that can help the team. And he gives Chicago a reliable 2nd option should Curry falter down the stretch of the game. And he gives them a good defender on the wings, something they needed. They also signed Gill. Known for being a good defender as well. Chicagos weakness was defense. They addressed that with Pippen and Gill. Chicago just needs experience. And this season, Pippen will be a major help in close games, as he knows how to win them. Chicago will beat out NY..........
the head to head battle you can scrape right away... it determines nothing when making the playoffs unless they end up with the same record... Your right... my predicition is based on McDyess putting up numbers in the same ball park as when he was 1 of the 6 guys a couple seasons ago that averaged 20/10 . . . I think McDyess will actually put numbers close to that... maybe 18/11... maybe better ... Hinrich will be nothing in the NBA right now... he has shown me nothing atheleticlly that he can keep up with NBA competition (just my personal opinion) ... they should have selected TJ Ford... but thats not the point... Your right... the NY Rookies probably will make a small impact if any... I see Sweetney having a few good games max... yes hes undersized... but did that stop guys like Barkley (no hes not as good as Chuck)... theres always the exception... Pippen will help this team a great deal but I do not see Chicago actually in the playoffs... I still think NY will beat them out and make the playoffs at 39-43... and I still dont see Chicago gettin any more than 36-37 wins... I gaurentee that a losing team in the East will make the playoffs this year... and some west team with a record slightly better than .500 will miss the playoffs...
Yes, I know head to head battles make little difference in the race for the playoff, but every win does count. And I think Pippens impact will be huge in terms of attitude, which should rub off on the younger guys. If Crawford plays like he did at the end of last season, as well as Curry and Chandler, we will make the playoffs. There isn't a team that can match up with us when that happens bec. of our size in the middle. Teams will burn us on the perimeter. But Id rather be burned from the perimeter than downlow. Bec. sooner or later, those perimeter shots will stop falling, and then offenses will falter. Its hard to go stone cold from down low. It depends on our young players and their ability to keep the kind of game they demonstrated the last few months...... And if that happens, we will make the playoffs.
... okay I think we excersised these two topics well... I WANNA make the next question ... <u>Buy Or Sell - The Minnesota T'Wolves making the 2nd Round of the Playoffs. </u>
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting purehoops:</div><div class="quote_post">p friggin s... whoever is gunna make the 8th seed is gunna lose anyways... probably in 4 or 5 games...</div> I don't care if the Bulls lose in 4 or 5 games in the playoffs. Do you know how BAD we Chicago fans want to see them in the playoffs? We've waited through five years of rebuilding and still stood by our team. We want this bad. TWolves making the 2nd round: Sell. Why? Because of the Lakers, Spurs, Mavs, and Kings. Yea, the TWolves added Spree, Cassell, and Kandi, but they're not the only ones that made offseason adjustments. I think in order for them to make the 2nd round, they'd have to be one of the top three seeds in the West. If they were 4th, that'd probably result in them playing the Lakers, Spurs, Mavs, or Kings, and with their playoff experience, I think they'd lose.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting purehoops:</div><div class="quote_post">... okay I think we excersised these two topics well... I WANNA make the next question ... <u>Buy Or Sell - The Minnesota T'Wolves making the 2nd Round of the Playoffs. </u></div> Before I answer, I want to say this: Everyone is going to come in here and say buy. But before you do, think about the matchups. Sell As of now, the TWolves are the 5th best team. Lakers, Spurs, Mavs, and the Kings are ahead of them. What does that mean? The Wolves will have to play one of those forementioned teams. Last year, the Wolves were supposed to make it out of the 1st round. But they drew the Lakers, and lost. Now, the TWolves have the talent to make it out of the 1st round; its just that the teams they have to beat(last year, and this year) aren't your ordinary 4 vs 5 matchup. They are going against teams that in most years would be a #1 or #2 seed. Thats how tough the west has become.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting slamduncan21:</div><div class="quote_post">I don't care if the Bulls lose in 4 or 5 games in the playoffs. Do you know how BAD we Chicago fans want to see them in the playoffs? We've waited through five years of rebuilding and still stood by our team. We want this bad.</div> boo friggin hoo... I think Ive waited longer to see the T'Wolves make the 2nd round...
Do people purposely skip my posts? I think purehoops is the only one that has read them. Maybe because it will be easier to prove the case of the Bulls making it over the Knicks, or what?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Vintage:</div><div class="quote_post">Before I answer, I want to say this: Everyone is going to come in here and say buy. But before you do, think about the matchups. Sell As of now, the TWolves are the 5th best team. Lakers, Spurs, Mavs, and the Kings are ahead of them. What does that mean? The Wolves will have to play one of those forementioned teams. Last year, the Wolves were supposed to make it out of the 1st round. But they drew the Lakers, and lost. Now, the TWolves have the talent to make it out of the 1st round; its just that the teams they have to beat(last year, and this year) aren't your ordinary 4 vs 5 matchup. They are going against teams that in most years would be a #1 or #2 seed. Thats how tough the west has become.</div> Vintage I cant see how you have the Kings listed above the Timberwolves. The Kings have lost alot of their front-line depth in this offseason and the Timberwolves have done nothing but improve their team. Adding Cassell, Sprewell, and Kandi really help them out. Please explain to me how you see that the Kings are better than the Wolves.
I can see how the Kings are still better....Miller is better than Kandy....when Webber is at the top of his game then he is closer to Garnett than people give him credit for...Peja over Wally...Spree is better than Christie, but Christie can really take Spree out of his game with his defense....I think the PG duel is even really....the production between Bibby and Cassell should be the same considering that they're both on stacked teams....I know it's not about individual matchups, but also consider that the Kings are used to playing together....they are already familiar with each others playing style...the Kings may not have a whole lot of front court depth anymore, but neither do the Wolves...also they have Kandi and Vlade at center, that's plenty of depth...they may not have Webber for stretches during the season but they proved before that they can survive without him in stretches...
i think troy hudson is way more offensive threat than sam cassel.... cassel is overrated and looks like a damn alien......but he does have good d. you think theyd play hudson infront of casell
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting SilverStunner:</div><div class="quote_post">i think troy hudson is way more offensive threat than sam cassel.... cassel is overrated and looks like a damn alien......but he does have good d. you think theyd play hudson infront of casell</div> true, but Cassellis a proven PG who's had more than one good season. <div class="quote_poster">Quoting sunsfan1357:</div><div class="quote_post">Do people purposely skip my posts? I think purehoops is the only one that has read them. Maybe because it will be easier to prove the case of the Bulls making it over the Knicks, or what?</div> I figured the rest of my posts answered why the Bulls will be 8th seed.. I don't need to acknowledge the Wizards. They'll definitely be in contention though.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting SilverStunner:</div><div class="quote_post">i think troy hudson is way more offensive threat than sam cassel.... cassel is overrated and looks like a damn alien......but he does have good d. you think theyd play hudson infront of casell</div> That is laughable at nest. There is no way Hudson is a better offensive player than Sam Cassell. Troy Hudson had one great series against the Lakers. Sam Cassell has had 8+ good/great seasons. He is always a threat when he is on the court and can easily drop 20+ a night while dishing out 7-8 assists. Few people in this league can do that consistantly. Cassell also has the intangibles(leadership, etc.) skills that Hudson lacks. <div class="quote_poster">Quoting susnsfan1357:</div><div class="quote_post">I can see how the Kings are still better....Miller is better than Kandy....when Webber is at the top of his game then he is closer to Garnett than people give him credit for...Peja over Wally...Spree is better than Christie, but Christie can really take Spree out of his game with his defense....I think the PG duel is even really....the production between Bibby and Cassell should be the same considering that they're both on stacked teams....I know it's not about individual matchups, but also consider that the Kings are used to playing together....they are already familiar with each others playing style...the Kings may not have a whole lot of front court depth anymore, but neither do the Wolves...also they have Kandi and Vlade at center, that's plenty of depth...they may not have Webber for stretches during the season but they proved before that they can survive without him in stretches...</div> I think Miller is a more fundamental player at this time than Kandi however I think Kandi has far better size. Miller wins over Kandi basically because of his fundamentals. Now I think KG is the 2nd best player in the league. Webber is in the top 10 when healthy. Webber is a great power forward however I think KG clearly takes this match-up due to his frame and his ability to mix up his game(inside/outside), along with being able to play more than just the PF position. Now If Im the Wolves, Im putting Spree on the best offensive wing that the other team has. THat would mean that Spree would be on Peja. I think Spree will help the Wolves more on defense then he will on offense. This allowes Wally to take the weaker defender in Christie. I believe that Spree can contain Peja pretty well and the same thing can be said for Christie taking Spree out on the offensive end. I can call those match-ups basically a draw since Christie isnt the best offensive player and Wally isnt the world's best defender. Now on the PG battle, I think Cassell has a clear advantage. He has more experience than Bibby and I think he has more leadership qualities. He can easily put up 20 a night to go along with his high assist numbers. I think Sam Cassell is one of the most underated players in the game. Now the area which I agree with you on is the experience that comes between players playing together. Sacramento is adding one starter this year while Minnesota is adding 3. I believe that the Wolves will get off to a rocky start but learn and adjust to each other by the time the playoffs role around. Thats why I think that the Wolves are a better team than the Kings.
If Adleman's got his head on straight, he'll have Peja post up on Spree if that matchup ever happens. I haven't really seen Peja post up, but I know he can play in the paint from time to time, so that'd probably be a good choice. That still doesn't determine that the Kings are better than the Twolves... I just think that their overall team chemistry and experience in the playoffs will help them in that situation.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting slamduncan21:</div><div class="quote_post">If Adleman's got his head on straight, he'll have Peja post up on Spree if that matchup ever happens. I haven't really seen Peja post up, but I know he can play in the paint from time to time, so that'd probably be a good choice. That still doesn't determine that the Kings are better than the Twolves... I just think that their overall team chemistry and experience in the playoffs will help them in that situation.</div> I think you underestimate the defense ability of Spree... like posting him up would totally wipe him out of the picture of something :roll: Dexter and sunsfan... do you buy or sell the T'Wolves exiting the first round then? Also... I wasnt thinking so much the kings... but instead the T'Wolves being better than the T'Wolves... Olowokandi over Lafrentz... Garnett over Nowitizki... yes Dirk is a better offensive player... but if you match KG up on him... I think KG could hold him to a considerable amount of points... If KG can defend and hold Tmac to 18 pts (or however many)... I think he can defend a slower shooter... Jams over Wally - by a small margin, neither are known much for defense... Jamison only wins because he could score inside Sprewell/Finley a wash - Yea yea, give me the stats that Sprewell fell off last season... he played out of position... I still say its a wash Cassell over Nash - This is my personal opinion... Cassell is pretty cluth, he can score when needed, and he can pass when he is needed... Now for all thoses that give the Mavs a CLEAR adavantage must be on some crack or something... all of these positions are arguable... but when it comes down to it... I think the fact the T'Wolves can both SCORE and play Defense it will win out...
I'm selling it. The Kings, Lakers, and Spurs are still better. It's closer with the Mavs, but again the familiarity factor comes in here. They also know how to get teams out of their regular tempo and force them into their run and gun game in which they are nearly unbeatable.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting purehoops:</div><div class="quote_post">I think you underestimate the defense ability of Spree... like posting him up would totally wipe him out of the picture of something :roll: </div> No, I was just saying that Peja's got a definite size advantage over Spree and should use it.
