The "other 29 teams" thread.

[Luke_FfS 249]

I'm opening this thread with the intention of putting here all the comments, impressions, thoughts about the other 29 teams on the NBA.

 

 

 

I will start with the Detroit-Boston game.

 

First thought: our defense seem to be improved this year, but I think that we're still far from the top on the intensity level and effort that we put in the field.

 

Boston is quite amazing, I was thinking that after the ring they eventually will start the season a little relaxed, but they're not.

And Tony Allen is the new Posey for them.

But they're not unbeatable.

 

Detroit is a work in progress right now. Two games with AI and two bad losses, but is too soon to rule them out.

AI is still a great player, and if he'll mesh well with his teammates, they're still a threat.

I think that they're worried of Sheed too... thinking on trading him maybe...

They'll miss McDyess if he's not going to resign with them, and Stuckey will have a lot of responsibility to overcome.

[Luke_FfS 249]

I'm opening this thread with the intention of putting here all the comments, impressions, thoughts about the other 29 teams on the NBA.

 

 

 

I will start with the Detroit-Boston game.

 

First thought: our defense seem to be improved this year, but I think that we're still far from the top on the intensity level and effort that we put in the field.

 

Boston is quite amazing, I was thinking that after the ring they eventually will start the season a little relaxed, but they're not.

And Tony Allen is the new Posey for them.

But they're not unbeatable.

 

Detroit is a work in progress right now. Two games with AI and two bad losses, but is too soon to rule them out.

AI is still a great player, and if he'll mesh well with his teammates, they're still a threat.

I think that they're worried of Sheed too... thinking on trading him maybe...

They'll miss McDyess if he's not going to resign with them, and Stuckey will have a lot of responsibility to overcome.

[Secretly Space Jesus 670]

After watching a couple Rockets games, I must say Yao looks old, slow and tired, which is remarkable since he's still fairly young.

[Drain-O 369]

I think entering the year the question was who would decline first Dallas or Phoenix. I think the answer to that question is clearly Dallas.

 

Beyond Dirk they have no one who can score consistently or anyone any other team is afraid of. They are in for a long season.

[Luke_FfS 249]

McDyess waived.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3694041

It'll be interesting to see who sign him, Detroit is the first candidate. (I'll like to see this rule changed... 1 month is not enough, with 6 maybe teams will stop that joke)

 

The West is interesting too.

The Rockets are a interesting team, but there are too much "if"'s...

Phoenix seem to had absorbed the style change quite well. We'll see.

Utah and N.O. are also strong teams, having problems with injuries right now.

Okur is back to Turkey for personal problems.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3694258

 

I've seen Memphis twice and it's a pretty intriguing team for the future.

Darko is still a waste and I thanks Otis everyday for not giving him the money.

[ThisIsTheYear 241]

quote:

Originally posted by Drain-O:

I think entering the year the question was who would decline first Dallas or Phoenix. I think the answer to that question is clearly Dallas.

 

Beyond Dirk they have no one who can score consistently or anyone any other team is afraid of. They are in for a long season.

 

Yeah, Dallas looks very ordinary. They just got showed up by the clips last night. Still one of the few teams in the league that makes me incredibly uneasy.

[Luke_FfS 249]

Yesterday the streaming of the Orlando game died in the middle of the third quarter, so I've switched to Boston, and I'm starting to think that Atlanta is for real.

Without Josh, they put a very good battle in the arena of the NBA champions.

 

The difference from the last year Hawks is defense. They seem another team without having changed a lot of players.

 

And yes, I still miss Mo, I know we already have too much players on SG position, but I still miss him.

[Secretly Space Jesus 670]

quote:

Originally posted by Luke_FfS:

Yesterday the streaming of the Orlando game died in the middle of the third quarter, so I've switched to Boston, and I'm starting to think that Atlanta is for real.

Without Josh, they put a very good battle in the arena of the NBA champions.

 

The difference from the last year Hawks is defense. They seem another team without having changed a lot of players.

 

And yes, I still miss Mo, I know we already have too much players on SG position, but I still miss him.

 

I'm more than a little hesitant to believe this kind of defensive intensity will hold up for an entire year. It worked last year for the Celtics in large part because they had a great defensive assistant coach hammering them about it, and also because they had great defensive fundamentals. The Hawks have no fundamentals to speak of; they just have a group of players who are working very, very hard on defense. I can't see it lasting past the all-star break.

[Luke_FfS 249]

quote:

Originally posted by Drunk on Mystery:

I'm more than a little hesitant to believe this kind of defensive intensity will hold up for an entire week.

 

Corrected!

 

You were right, and Eastern Conf. standings starts to seem like last year's one.

 

 

In the West, Dallas is fading and Phoenix looks good until know.

Anyone had seen play the Suns?

Are they really playing a slower pace and some defense with Porter?

[CRAZY SERB 0]

some teams i'd like to mention:

 

the Boston Celtics and the L.A. Lakers are of course the favourites this season so i won't mention them to much.

 

the Detroit Pistons, how good are they with iverson instead of billups? with AI they got a real scorer, something the pistons have lacked before but he's not a real PG so prince has to step up. he's doing a pretty good job so far but i think they need a real PG besides him. with AI coming of the bench? could marbury be the answer? there was some talk that tinsley will get cut too but i don't think so because of his contract.

 

the Cleveland Cavaliers or if you want the cleveland lebrons, are in a very interesting situation. besides james they have an offensive big man in ilgauskas, a defender in wallace (who isn't that good anymore but still), some scorers with mo williams and delonte west on the 1 and 2. besides a solid starting5 they have a solid bench with varejao, gibson and most important about $20mill in expirings. i see them trading for VC (wally + pavlovi? for carter + s.williams?) and there'd still be snow's $7mill expiring. with some smart moves the cavs could definitly become the team to beat this year.

 

the Utah Jazz are another team i like. they are a defending SF with a 3pt shoot away from being a real contender. what do they have? how 'bout one of the best PGs in the league in deron williams, boozer's inside scoring, the best shooting big man in okur, a pretty good young SG in brewer and depth (millsap, korver, knight, miles,...). but the difference maker on this team is andrei kirilenko, a guy who does it all. since basketball is a team sport he is an underrated offensive player but not a scorer. i like the idea of him being the 6th man. the surprise of the season is or could be kostas koufos. i could see him developing into a "mehmet okur with defense"-type of player. he's still 19yo so it's maybe a little bit to early for him but if he continues to improve i could see the jazz dealing memo for the SF i talked earlier in this post and cap space. boozer and millsap are expiring and the jazz will have a very hard time to resign them both while avoiding the lux tax. with harpring and almond they have 2 other trade assets.

 

the last team i'd want to mention are of course the Portland Trailblazers. greg oden, brandon roy and lamarcus aldridge are the future of the franchise. this year they added rudy fernandez, nicolas batum and jerryd bayless to their roster and there still webster, outlaw, frye, rodriguez, diogu and the veterans blake and przybilla. wow, do i smell a dynasty? kevin pritchard impressem me from offseason to offseason more and more. in 2006 first he trades the draft rights to tyrus thomas and viktor khryapa for lamarcus aldridge and then he trades telfair and an expiring for the draft rights to foye and filler and then he sends foye to minny for brandon roy. in 2007 he got lucky in the lottery and drafted greg oden with the 1st overall pick which was a slam dunk but then he bought the 24th pick from the suns and drafted rudy fernandez. this year he trades up for jerryd bayless while losing only jack, mcroberts and #13 and then he bought the 27th pick from NOH which he traded with #33 for nicolas batum. he also traded the right to omar asik for 2 future 2nd round pick. oh and btw, they still have the rights to kopponen and freeland, two nice trade assets beside lafrentz' expiring. wow, this guy must have some really embarrassing pics of david stern and all the other GMs or he's just a god. i have no doubt that he'll find a great PG, their only need.

[Mat 4]

The knicks are a surprise for me. they play so far better than last year. Anyway they can

[Drain-O 369]

Great article on how the Baron Davis move screwed up both the Clippers and Warriors.

 

http://blogs.mercurynews.com/kawakami/2008/11/13/baron-...d-up-two-franchises/