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The west is actually moot this year - outside of Lakers, OKC, Portland or Utah, San Antonio pick the first 4-5 spots, any team in the West outside of Minnesota Timberwolves has a chance to make the playoffs due to the large exodus of stars from the West to the East in this years' free agency which has made the stronger Western Conference weak.Quote:
LBF wrote:
everytime i start feeling like maybe the raps are going to have a bad season next year, i remember the t-wolves... and i cheer right up
what a shit-show khan has going on there
I would throw Denver, Houston, New Orleans and Phoenix in the mix of teams that should have a very good chance at making it. I think the balance of power is getting far more balanced but the West is still a tough place to play.Quote:
smushmush wrote:
why do people think we are better than the nets ?
nets have
pg - harris
sg - lee
sf - t will
pf - favors
c - lopez
6 - outlaw
7 - morrow
8 - farmar
9 - boone
10 - petro
the top 8 is decent...
When I look at each position and compare this lineup with last years the biggest major difference is Bosh starting. I'm sorry but there is no way he makes a difference of more than 10 wins. Aren't some of the positions even stronger than last year just based on natural development that young players experience? I have to think coaching will also be improved this year with the additions made and Triano having another year under his belt.
I'm hoping they surprise and win more games than last year.
The Nets have Avery Johnson and Sam Mitchell coaching.....that should be a fun meltdown to witness
Exodus of stars...Who are you talking about other than Boozer and Amare? Two guys who are drastically overrated, primed for a major letdown season while simultaneously submarining thier teams chances of any success. Utah got significantly better letting Boozer leave and snagging Al Jefferson and while Phoenix has been running on fumes for a couple years now, the best non-decision they ever made was not inking Amare to a long term deal.Quote:
smushmush wrote:
The west has nearly ever team vying for playoff spots because their entire conference got better over the off season, not worse. GS and Minny got worse and Denver and Phoenix made lateral moves, but everyone else has a shot at 50 games with Sacramento being a playoff dark horse.
It is going to take 50 wins minimum to get the 8th seed in the west where I see 38 wins getting the 8th seed. I think 2 and maybe even 3 teams in the East are going to make the playoffs with below .500 records. The East got bigger and more expensive, by no means did it get better.
Both those guys have done more in the league as a head coach than Jay Triano. I would rather have either one of those guys running my team than Jay Triano. I think it's going to work well. they've both proven themselves to be good with young players.Quote:
Multipaul wrote:
You should go through the exercise of looking at the Raptors' record with Bosh out of the lineup. You would be surprised.Quote:
j bean wrote:
1. You could always become a Nets fan. Not to difficult to do.Quote:
Apollo wrote:
2. Yea with Bosh out of the lineup and Johnson starting the Raptors were 3 - 2. In their loss to Atlanta they lost by a lot less than when Bosh started against Atlanta.
Interestingly enough, the only really bad game the Raptors had in those five when Johnson started was coincidentally the only game that Johnson got in foul trouble and played a really bad game.:):)
the predictions are irrelevant because they're premature: the raptors line up will not be the same come opening tip off.
but then again, if the line up stays that way...that one line is painful to read: "Given the significant dollars tied up in the likes of Jose Calderon, Andrea Bargnani, Leandro Barbosa and Amir Johnson, don't expect a lot of defense" (though Amir would be the best of the lot).
No way in Hell the Raps finish 15th this season...Indy, N.J, Cleve, Det and hopefully Charlotte (Go FUCK yourself Jordan since you thought the garbage you got from Dallas was better than what we were offering) will finish below our Raps...With Bargnani set to have a break out year, the Young Gunz, Jack, Davis, Barbo and whatever else BC adds we'll do better than those idiots responsible for the ESPN rankings are predicting.
wow so much to disagree here:Quote:
mo-sales wrote:
1. why does indy's pg situation any worse than ours ? at least they have price to develop and tj coming off the books.
2. char lost 2 premier players ? chandler was barely healthy last year and is no where near a "premier player"... why are s jax n wallace "due for a major decline" ??
3. haha why do the cavs have "no hope for the future"
4. why is detroit a mess when they have a lot of young talent (jerebo, daye, monroe, summers) plus rip, prince, b gordon, and cahrlie V... why do they have any less direction than us ?
5. why do the wiz have no idea how to win games but we do ?
umm every young player in the league is set to improve, not just the raps "young gunz"Quote:
mo-sales wrote:
lets just say i think the raps have bucks potential
put 3 is wrongQuote:
wow so much to disagree here:
1. why does indy's pg situation any worse than ours ? at least they have price to develop and tj coming off the books.
2. char lost 2 premier players ? chandler was barely healthy last year and is no where near a "premier player"... why are s jax n wallace "due for a major decline" ??
3. haha why do the cavs have "no hope for the future"
4. why is detroit a mess when they have a lot of young talent (jerebo, daye, monroe, summers) plus rip, prince, b gordon, and cahrlie V... why do they have any less direction than us ?
5. why do the wiz have no idea how to win games but we do ?
who on the cavs has potential except J.J Hickson and even may not even be that good
Or I could stay a realistic Raptors fans basing my opinion on the experience of watching countless botched teams from the past?Quote:
Buddahfan wrote:
Or you could attempt to be non-biased and look at this from the position of a neutral observer? You're not trying to win an election here and I'm not voting for you regardless. :pQuote:
Buddahfan wrote:
I think we also have to realize some teams in the East will improve this year from last....For example.
Miami will be better
Phily will be better
NJ has to be better
Ny will be better
Chicago will be better
Wasington will be better
Milwaukee is better but may win fewer games baised on the teams above being better
Then factor in that:
Orlando is still good
Boston is still good
Atlanta should still be a playoff team
Detriot should be healthier thus a little better (still going no where but better)
Indiana should be healthier thus a little better (still going no where but better)
That leaves Charlotte who could be better with Steven Jackson there a full season but could be worse due to lack of PG...Clevland who clearly got worse and us...
So the East has improved...Not to say the West has not improved....Sometimes in sports you can improve but the teams improve around you more then you...so you don't actaully win more games even know you improved.....
As for the argument BC is not done shaping the roster, I would agree more changes are very possible it is BC for god sake...He would trade his mother for a nice pair of gold cuff links if he thought they were from Europe...but having said that My rankings as of now would be:
1. Miami
2. Orlando
3. Boston
4. Chicago
5. Milwaukee
6. Atlanta
7. Phily
8. Washington
9. Charlotte (need a PG to move into 7 or 8)
10 Raptors
11 Knicks
12 Pistons
13 Nets
14 Pacers
15 Cavs
I would also say there are some tiers as well meaning I would not be surprised how the teams ranked inside their own tiers
tier 1.
Miami
tier 2
Orlando
Boston
tier 3
Chicago
Milwaukee
Atlanta
tier 4 (teams 7-14 could finish in any order and it would not surpise me)
Everyone else not named Clevland
tier 5
Clevland (may not finish last but the favorite IMO)
Fixed it up for you. In that same article, ESPN had the Bucks at 14 and Wizards at 8. LOL. Not to mention that the Bucks were without Bogut and Redd for massive chunks of the season. It's pretty much a crapshoot after the top 4.Quote:
matt wrote:
Denver still has the unresolved issue with Carmelo Anthony which may affect their season a la Bosh and LeBron James and George Karl's health issues, Houston still has the "Will Yao Ming recover fully from his knee issues" problems, New Orleans with the Chris Paul saga and Phoenix frontline is actually a joke now(Hedo at the 4? really? Hakeem Warrick filling in for Stoudemire? lol). My point is that the West is actually in a muddle after this years' free agency, when you are seeing teams like OKC and Portland(like their system of development but both need an additional year to be legitimate playoff threat especially for Portland) in the top 5 then the West has gotten weak.Quote:
Apollo wrote:
The West actually got weak. Yes, Boozer and Amare don't play excellent defense for their positions but if you are expecting Al Jefferson to start defending legit NBA players when we all know his defense sucks - it is probably asking too much of the guy and Hakeem filling in for Stoudemire? He might get more rebounds but he is not even half as offensively talented as Stoudemire even if Nash really upgraded his game. We all know that Stoudemire can play in the post and can make jumpers, what can we say about Hakeem Warrick? His athleticism is actually only what wows me which is useless in the last 5 minutes of the game when defenses tighten and don't even start me on Hedo playing the 4, that is a crazy joke right there.Lol.Quote:
mo-sales wrote: