West1. Dallas.-- They dethroned the defending champs. That is enogh to give them the top spot. Expect Josh Howard and Devin Harris to develop into bigger contributers for the Mavs. The finals experience is invaluable to the young MAVS. They will ba back there soon.2. San Antonio .-- They are far from over. They have won 3 chips in 7 years. None of them have been back to back. TD will be back better this year after some well deservered rest. Bowen might be getting on in age but he is still a great defender. Parker and Ginobilli will be one of the best back courts in the L. The Spurs will be back this year and they have alot to prove. look out!3.Phoenix.-- The Question on everybodys lips is will Amare be back to his old self or has he lost a bit through the injury? Well It matters not. The suns will again confound opponents with thier small ball (Amare playing or not) and will again be tough to beat. They were right in there with a chance to go to the finals but the toll of 2 seven game series took its toll. The Suns will be a major force this year.EastDetroit .-- They may have been beaten by the Heat and they may have lost Big Ben, but who really expects the Pistons to be anything other than a hard D playing well balanced offensive attacking contender. Yes they will again hav one of the leagues best records and they will agin be in the hunt for the title. Guarensheed.Miami .-- I have seen these guys on top of many rankings. I rank them 2nd in the east and probably 4-5th overall.Take a look at them. Shaq while still a dominant force is not what he used to be and every year he loses a bit. Alonzo was a revelation in the playoff for them, he has his ring now(same goes for GP) and I dont care what anyone says he wont be quite as hungry this year. Walker has played his best ball. The only thing that keeps them this high is WADE. He showed MJ like leadership and grittieness as he single handeedly beat the MAVs. They are an outside shot at repeating ... at best..Chicago .-- This one is a bit IFY. But major Kudos to the management at the bulls for making a huge effort to get better. Wallace will help so will Brown. The Rooks will not be a major factor despite thier being high picks and very talented. I can't say I see them traking the title back to the windy city this year but they should be one of the top seeds in the east.There are many team who improved but I can't see any of them taking home the hardware.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (clangus @ Oct 1 2006, 12:49 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>no comments? I find that hard to believe?</div>Easy chief.. it's only been an hour since you posted it.
Umm, you said one of those teams will win it all, but you yourself, aren't sold on Chicago...I MIGHT be able to see Chicago winning the East as Miami is older and I'm not sure how good Detroit will be yet...But they won't beat Dallas, SA, or PHX...they're not even in the same league as those team...not yet.
Well, those are the East teams that he thinks might go to the Finals and you agreed that the Bulls could. I agree that I don't think they are in the same league as those teams, but just look at what happened in the Finals this year.
-The Bulls were my roughie. It was hard coming up with a clear 3rd option in the east. So I chose to take them over the likes of Clevland, Washington etc etc. They have the potential. But thats all it is at this stage.
If you throiw in Chicago, youve got to throw in the Cavs. They have one of the best players in the League in Lebron, a great Center, great scoring sidekick, and defender beside him, and a solid PF. They also got somne young talent in the draft as well.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CB4AllStar @ Oct 1 2006, 10:20 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>If you throiw in Chicago, youve got to throw in the Cavs. They have one of the best players in the League in Lebron, a great Center, great scoring sidekick, and defender beside him, and a solid PF. They also got somne young talent in the draft as well.</div>No.LeBron is the only player who can consistently create a shot for himself on the perimeter, and Big Z misses alot more open shots than he should. Yes this team can slash to the hoop, but they are a weak shooting squad and seem to rely on LeBron too much. They are still a ways away from those six contenders
Big Z is a top 5 or 6 Center in the League, so I wouldnt really criticize him. Larry Hughes is a great player who can create shots on his own. He just had some injury troubles the year before. They almost made the ECF last year against a Pistons squad that will be even worse than this year. Don't count them out.
