powerclown

Starts November 1, and not a minute too soon.

Some thoughts from a Detroiter: The Pistons have looked fine in the preseason. We're all thinking this is going to be the year Darko Milicic is finallly going to play a lot of minutes, and finally be able to prove he was worth holding onto. I always thought he had potential; from what little I've seen, he has excellent moves and instincts at the low post. Expecting good things from him this year. This Jason Maxiell who they picked up over the summer has looked impressive. He's a big, strong, massive dude in the Corliss Williamson power forward mold. This could be good...

Rasheed Wallace says he's a changed man...no more Mr. Tempermental. Says he's just going to go about his business, stop all the ranting and raving, and help his team get back to the Finals. The media here has been reporting that he is still feeling the burn from Horry's 3-pointer that put the Spurs up for good in the Series. Sheed himself has said that he feels responsible for the Pistons loss in the Finals because of that incident. The rest of Detroit's starters from last year are all healthy and accounted for. When's the last time an NBA starting 5 has stayed together 3 straight years?

Just read that Allan Houston is done in New York. Recurring knee problems have forced him into retirement at age 34. Maybe his $100 million contract will ease the pain of early retirement...

Larry "The Gypsy" Brown has a very thin squad to work with...the only reason the Knicks go over .500 is because of Brown, otherwise they win no more than 25-30 games. Brown should have stayed in Detroit and continued going to the Finals for the next 3-4 years. As an organization, the Knicks are a mess. This same time, next year, Brown will be retired, happily ensconced in his Malibu beachfront home playing with his kids. And the Knicks will be a doomed franchise until Isaiah Thomas leaves town.

What's up with Amare Stoudamire in Phoenix? Injuries? Is the sun setting on the Suns?

Bring on the games!

Mojo_PeiPei

Knicks are pathetic really, don't know what Isiah is thinking, they are loaded with entirely to much fire power, and not enough defensive minded people. Lucky for them they are in the east/atlantic, sans New Jersey who could turn out nice, New York could maybe stumble into the playoffs by default.

The Suns could be in some trouble, loosing Q and Joe Johnson along with Amare will be tough. They've brought in some people who can maybe hold the ranks for the entire 4 months Amare is gone, but that's tough to do, I say they will struggle at .500, might not even be that much better with Amare back. Plus what also sucks for them is that the Pacific west is looking a little tougher this year. Sacramento is a perenial powerhouse and they have made some strong moves this offseason, hell even Golden State and the Clippers look like they will improve nicely (at least on paper).

The Pistons are looking to be sweet, bringing in Flip was a good move. They've not only retained their starters, but their entire core. Plus with Brown gone, who else is excited to see Darko play which I guarentee he will now that Flip is coach?

San Antonio got Finley which is nice, I think it disrupt their system slightly, definitely takes from Manu's value.

The Heat are going to be amazing, Fatoine, Posey, Jwill, Gary Payton, plus retaining Haslem, look out Detriot.

Indiana will be sweet depending on how stable Artest is and if O' Neal can stay healthy and finally establish himself as an elite.

My beloved Timberwolves... I don't know what you can say about them. Cassell and Spree are gone which is nice. Signing Jaric was great. Mccants looks sweet. KG is the best fantasy player in the league. Mark Madsen is the best player hands down. Finally signed some big men, undrafted college studs, doubt that will work out for us any better, but who knows. We'll be on the bubble with Lakers if we are lucky.

Cleveland should really make a push into the playoffs now, another team that looks strong on paper with the acquisition of Hughes.

Nuggets could do some damage this year, with a healthy squad and all. Is Karl still there?

I am so pumped for basketball season, Nov. 1 won't come soon enough.

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powerclown

I'm a KG fan for life. An absolute, total freak of nature. I hope he and the Twolves have a better season than the last. Did they get a decent coach?

Mojo_PeiPei

Dwanye Casey an assistant from Seattle, sounds like he is a more denfensive minded coach. I'm thinking it will go either really solid for us, or we'll flat out suck.

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aswo

The Warriors look like they are going to make the biggest move of any non-playoff team this season, i also think that the lakers are goin to a top 6 team in the west, i dont like the moves the kings made what so ever this off season bobby jackson was an important piece of that team and mr headcase bonzi wells aint gonna help, also i think memphis and the sonics are not going to make the playoffs this year

my playoff predictions

West

1) San antonio
2) houston
3) dallas
4) Pheonix
5) Goldenstate
6) LA Lakers
7) LA Clippers
8) Sacramento

I undersnt someone from the northwest devision will make the playoffs probably denver maybe seattle or memphis consider this more of a power rankning

East
1) Indiana
2) Miami
3) Detroit
4) New Jersey
5) Washington
6) Philidelphia
7) Cleveland
8) Chicago

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djtestudo

Although I tend to dislike the NBA, I'm a Wizards fan (even though they lost my two favorite players), so here's hoping for continuing to build on last year's success.

And for the record, neither of those players was Kwame "I was going to slap the [expletive] out of him" Brown.

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alansmithee

1. KG isn't just the best fantasy player, he's the best overall player. He can do anything, and he seems to be the perfect teammate.

2. I'm personally glad Detroit got rid of Larry Brown. I've been a Pistons fan all my life (born in Detroit, and that was the first team I ever remember following) and I was really disappointed when they got rid of Carlisle for him. My thinking was from the start Larry Brown would be here 3 years tops, probably 1.5, whereas Carlisle would've been a defining figure and was young enough to be there for the long term. They got another title, and Flip will do a good job, but I'm not sure if he has the same tough mindset that Carlisle would have had (and that I begrudgingly admit Larry Brown had). But everything that Joe D has done seems to have been gold so far (especially when you consider what he had when he took over [excepting the Darko debacle]) so I have faith this will work out as well.

2. I think Miami will have a similar problem to the Laker team that Detroit beat-too many players with clashing styles. And I think that there will be added pressure because Van Gundy will be constantly looking over his sholder and not keeping everyone in check. I think they would've been better served keeping the old team as intact as possible, and maybe adding one or two players (I really liked the trade that brought in Posey and Jason Williams) than the near complete overhaul they did on an already good team.

3. The Pacers should be good, but I think Miller's retirement will be worse for them than is let on. I think he gave alot of strength to that team, even if he was deteriorationg skillwise. And I don't think anyone is ready there to step up and be a clutch player.

Those are the only teams I think have any shot from the east. I just think the other teams are fairly average, or have some crippling flaw.

The west seems more wide open than it has been in awhile though. I agree that Finley might take something away from Ginobli, but I think that he is severly overrated, and was the prime beneficiary of the worst officiating in the history of sports (which took place during last year's playoffs). I think Dallas will feel his loss severely, as well. Phoenix is crumbling and was a fluke. They made the same mistake I think the Kings made when they got rid of J-Will - they took an exciting team and tried to make it a more stable, half-court oriented team. Which lacking a dominant big-man (and I don't consider Amare dominant, he seems to have the most lackluster 40+ pt games i've seen since Karl Malone in his prime) they are not able to to. So they got slower and have less shooters in return for some marginal big men. I honestly think the team to beat is the Nuggets. Karl had them playing really well last year, and I think they will just get better. Either them or Houston, I think the West representative will be either one of those two.

Borla

I think that Detroit and Miami will dominate the East, and most of the rest of the teams will be WAY behind their competition in the West. I'm not sure who will make it out of the West (probably the Spurs?), but the ONLY two teams in the East who appear to have a shot to win it all are Miami and Indiana.

My $.02.

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maximusveritas

The bottom line is that the Spurs are the team to beat. Nothing's changed there.
The Heat got a bunch of big names on their roster, but will it add up to much? I think they are talented enough to at least make the Eastern Conference Finals.
I don't think the Pistons will be able to do it as they try to move on without Larry Brown.
I like Indiana. I think they have the hunger and team unity to make it to the Finals.

In the West, it's pretty much just the Spurs.
The Suns fell apart over the offseason. They tried to spin their losses as getting stronger defensively, but that's BS. There's no question they would keep last year's team together if they could. I still see them as a playoff team, but there's no way they are getting by the Spurs.
The Nuggets and Rockets are good, but not close to contending in my opinion.

Cross-Over

The Nuggets played well under Karl, but that wasn't for the whole season. All that hype about them upsetting someone in the playoffs after taking game 1 against the Spurs was squashed when S.A. swept the next four. The nuggets only made one improvement, adding Earl Watson. I like Watson, and was glad to see if get the full mid-level exception, but his presence is going to take away minutes from their other core group of guards (Boykins and Miller and the point, Johnson and Leonard at the two). Playing Miller at the two will work, but he is not nearly the shooting threat that Leonard or even Johnson is. Miller has no three point range whatsoever, he is a mid range jumper guy. I think they will be a playoff team, but so will 7 other teams in the West

Like maximusveritas stated, the Spurs are clearly the team to beat. The best team in the NBA added depth in the sole area they needed it, three point shooting. Finley has shot over 40% from three-point range the last two years. Hopefully that number wont drop significantly, e.g., Brent Barry. Many people chose the popular pick of the Suns to win it all in the playoff predictions thread last year, but their weakness was exposed. They couldn't play any defense, Parker and Ginobili scored at will. The defensive minded Spurs eliminated one of their weapons by rendering Marion useless.

I am a Washington and Atlanta fan. I liked that the Hawks got Joe Johnson (who needs draft picks, they haven't worked for them up until last year anyways), but they have no inside presence. Looks like another lottery year.
The Wizards pissed me off incredibly by being stingy with Hughes. They did eventually match the Cav's offer, but Hughes already felt disrespected and went with the Cavs. I don't blame him, the guy had a great year (led the league in steals, All Defensive First Team), yet they lowball him on their initial offer. I think Antonio Daniels is a good fit and an efficient player, but he is older and less of a weapon than Hughes. They let good players go away right as they enter their prime (Chris Webber, Rip Hamilton, Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace).

Shpoop

Miami fan here. I am obviously very excited about next season, but a little worried too. There is obviously the possibility for what happened to the lakers two years ago...I would hate to see drama that could stop van gundy's growth as a coach (he's getting good), and kill wade's best chances of gaining experience. Barring the type of stupid drama that happened in LA, the wealth of experience here will give wade the chance to become abso-fucking-lutely incredible, which is my biggest excitement.

Go Heat!

Mojo_PeiPei

I think Miami is sitting really pretty right now. With Jason Williams and Gary Payton (Oven Mit or the Glove?), Wade can move to the 2-3 slot which isn't bad, it'll be better for him if he can develop a solid 3ball. Posey is nice, solid defender, not a terrible scorer he will compliment the team nice. Walker is great, because he can do a lot coming off the bench, I just hope he gets his minutes. Plus the Addition of Fatoine will help regulate Shaq's minutes, along with Haslem, Alonzo, Doleac.

The way that this team is both better and different then the Lakers of 04' is that they don't have the egos or the infighting. Everyone knows that this is Shaq's team until, coupled with Wade who is the future. I'd say the only real problems are how Jason Williams fits in, how he will feel about starting/not starting and his minutes; and to an extent Fatoine, whom I think will get his minutes, don't know if he will like the situation like when he was Stuck in Dallas two years ago.

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Esen

Wow, sorry to sound rude but you live in fantasy land if you think that your predictions are anywhere near reality.

San ANtonio and Indinaa will no=way be able to hold up as first place teams and Nets in 4th? man they are first 2nd at the least.

I have to go towork now or I would go more in depth.

sorry to hack on ya

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skinnymofo

seattle will make the play offs this year. no problem
they lost a antonio daniels, which is actually not as big a loss as it would have been last year, although he added grit and penetration for when ridnour needed to sit.
and they lost jerome james, a high fouling, low rebounding/scoring 7 foot semi overweight center. the rest of the team they kept. allen, lewis, radmonovic, evans, ridnour, collison and wilkens. the last 3 which we havent even seen their peak production yet.
the sonics are still a force to be reckoned with, but the new head coach they will have trouble reaching the 50plus wins they got last year (i bet they still win atleast 47 games this season though).

edit - btw this is in response to the playoff predictions

Mojo_PeiPei

Those are some rather bold picks for the Western conference Aswo. Your top 3 picks are from the Southwest Division, So right there only one of them is allowed in the top 3, I agree that all three will make it though.

But then you had to go and do something crazy, put 5 teams from the Pacific conference in the next 5 spots. Pheonix had a great run last year, but loosing Joe Johnson and Q Rich, along with Amare for at least half of the season, I don't know if they can make the playoffs let alone secure homecourt advantage.

GoldenState in 5th? I mean I know they got Bdiddy, but first off the man is a walking injury waiting to happen. Right now the division is in turmoil so depending on how they play they could make it, but not as high as 5.

Why did you omit the Nuggets? Hell maybe even the Sonics, one of those guys will be finishing 3rd in the rankings by default.

Your Eastern conference picks are solid, except I bet the top three will be Miami, Detroit, New Jersey.

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aswo

OK new jersey has no power forward and kristic is not the answer in center, when u compare him to shaq, ben wallace or jermaine oneal, i agree my picks in the west are bold and maybe i am wrong about the nuggets, but nate micmillan leaving seattle will kill them, like ridnour cannot defend a stool and nick collison or V-pat is not an nba caliber center,

and my predictions cannot happen i realize this consider it more of a power ranking

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Nimbletoe

You guys are waaaaay too high on the Nets. They're going to have a strong starting lineup, sure. But then... nothing. You can't go very far without a bench (or center, for that matter). Miami is going to be scary if the egos are kept in check. I don't really see why they won't be, everyone that signed contracts knew what they are getting into. Plus, in LA it was the top two players that had Egos. Shaq and Wade get along much better, and it's clear they're number one and two.

Detroit's going to have another strong year. We added a little bit to our bench, and Darko will finally get a chance to play. Not much else to add there, they're essentially the same team and that's fine by me.

I can't believe how much you guys are underestimating Indiana. Losing Miller isn't going to affect them nearly as much you think it will, not with getting Artest back, plus the addition of Jasikevicius, which most people seem to overlook. If they can get some production out of Harrison and Bender, and keep their team reasonably healthy, they've got to be considered favorites to contend for the title.

As far as the west goes... it's gonna be interesting. The Spurs are obviously number 1, seeing as they only got better over the offseason. After that... it could go a lot of ways. Pheonix might squeek into the playoffs, but we'll see how Stoudamire recovers. I cant even really guess what the next teams will be... but meh, i'll try. My picks going into the playoffs (remember, one team for each division in the top 3. I obviously don't think Jersey will have a better record than Indiana)...

EAST
1. Miami
2. Detroit
3. New Jersey
4. Indiana
5. Cleveland
6. Chicago
7. New York
8. Philly

WEST
1. San Antonio
2. Denver
3. Sacramento
4. Dallas
5. Houston
6. Seattle
7. Golden State
8. Phoenix

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Mojo_PeiPei

I don't know if people are all big on New Jersey, there 1-3 spots are filled out nicely. But the bottom line for them is, they play in the Atlantic which blows pretty bad.

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maximusveritas

I went ahead and made my predicted rankings.

EAST
1. Miami
2. Indiana
3. New Jersey
4. Detroit
5. Cleveland
6. Philadelphia
7. Chicago
8. Boston

WEST
1. San Antonio
2. Denver
3. Sacramento
4. Houston
5. Dallas
6. Phoenix
7. Golden State
8. Seattle

Esen

Well, I hope that Seattle can do ok and maybe get a 6 or 7 seed in playoffs

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powerclown

So Detroit beat Miami by 21 the other night. (And Darko is leading the League in Blocked shots/game....) I know, preseason doesn't mean much, but...just some thoughts:

I'm starting to really wonder if Miami made a big mistake by gutting their team. Gary Payton - didn't his stint in LA prove he's an aging, slowing, ineffective whiner? This guy is just jumping from team to team in search of a ring, he's no team player. Jason Williams? Is he really that great of a point guard? A better 3-point shooter than Damon Jones? Antoine Walker - another guy who has been on 25 teams in the last 3 years it seems. He can score, but again, will he make the team better? I have my doubts.

Miami has ALOT of work to do if they are going to get back to the Conference Finals. They might live to regret moving Eddie Jones, who I thought was the third best player they had. They'll go as far as Shaq & Wade can take them...not sure how effective the rest of the team will be in helping them out. Make or Break year for Miami.

powerclown

EAST
1. Detroit
2. Indiana
3. Miami
4. New Jersey
5. Cleveland
6. New York
7. Boston
8. Chicago

WEST
1. San Antonio
2. Denver
3. Sacramento
4. Seattle
5. Phoenix
6. Dallas
7. Houston
8. Los Angeles

alansmithee

I agree with most of what you say here, and didn't like the roster turnover they had. I think Payton and Walker are both good players in the right system, but I don't see this being that situation. Antoine has always been someone who needs the ball a lot to be at his best, which isn't good for a third- or fourth-option (which he is on that team). I think Eddie Jones had deteriorated quite a bit from the player he was before so his loss was more from a chemistry standpoint than on-court skills. But I think Damon Jones leaving will be a bigger blow than they thing. Jason Williams and James Posey are two players that I think could be very good for Miami, although Williams also carries a great deal of risk. He needs the ball alot to, and works best in a open, flowing offense, which usually isn't the case when you have a dominant center.

powerclown

I say that about Walker, and I'm a Walker guy. I've liked the guy ever since he came into the league...I've always liked how he plays with passion. Hell, I liked him when he was at Kentucky. He gets short-changed, I agree. He never should have left Boston (as if he had a choice). Yep, Damon Jones was such a great fit in Miami -- he had some huge games for them, Eddie Jones too. No doubt Miami brought in some talented guys, let's see how they compliment the superstars.