Roar Rookie
Joined July 2010
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There's a lot to look forward to in the upcoming NBA season. For the first time since the start of the decade we have…
Miami Thrice. The Miami trinity. The dream team. Well, the last one is stretching it a bit, but there is no doubting that the…
i dont mind the knicks lineup at all. Amare is a offensive beast, but i cant help but wonder how much of that was the genius of steve nash. Im not sure how the felton / amare one will go. Although surrounding him with shooters like gallinaro & azubuike and pairing him with randolph is a nice touch. Ronny turiaf, azubuike & randolph all come from a high tempo team so they should be accustomed to this style of play. NY stand a very good chance of finishing as high as second in their division, and i expect them to make a playoff push this year.
Running through the NBA power rankings
@ Al, apparently udonis turned down full MLE offers from dallas & denver to remain with heat. it cost him about $14m over 5 years. WOW. Thats a true sacrafice, he isnt capable of megabucks like the other 3, so that $14m hurts him a thousand times more then lebron or wade. Hes a solid guy to clean up the boards & defend the post. Not a known shot blocker, but he can get the job done, just what the heat need.
Next year the heat pick up their bi-annual & mid level exceptions so they can make even bigger moves then this year.
Running through the NBA power rankings
Fisher confirmed today he has rejected the heat offer and will return to the lakers for a shot at a three peat. you can have a look on his website www.derekfisher2.com on what he had to say.
The magic remain the team to beat in the east, but thats not to say miami wont challenge them for #1. Its hard to give that ranking to a team that has not played together, and hasnt even completed a roster. Also, the magic had the 4th best record in the NBA against teams that were 0.500+ for the season. The lakers, nuggets, and cavs were the only ones better. I also love the way the ended their season with a 6-0 winning streak leading into clean sweeps of the first 2 rounds. They unfortunately got stuck with a rampaging boston who NOBODY but the lakers could control. They are an elite team, the only thing working against them is they are in the same division as the heat, which is the only team they wont dominate.
As for the knicks, on paper they look pretty good. Except im unwilling to ever give them props. They have a recent history of epic failures. However, they have made some solid acquistions…amare, felton, turiaf & Kelenna Azubuike who is a lights out 40% 3pt shooter. I like the general makeup of that team and they all look like they will fit under the SSOL d’Antoni system.
But you never know with NY.
When i wrote this chandler & Diaw were still bobcats, so the team looked sound. those are big losses, and i dont think reggie evans and Jose make up for it. So id agree with you mushi, charlotte look defensively weaker.
Lets just say places 7, 8 & 9 will be hotly contested in the east. The raptors got Chandler, barbosa, for the S&T earlier today, and they look on par with NY, charlotte and im sticking with washington to be the big surprise in the east for a playoff push.
On a side note – rankings are only for regular season on what i think the playoff seeds will be. Playoffs are another matter. Boston can come from as far down as seed 5 to get to the finals, and the cavs can do nothing with number 1. So what does that mean? nothing really. but any team in the top 5 in the east is capable of winning this conference.
Running through the NBA power rankings
i dont mind his decision to leave, but the way he went about it was tasteless, disappointing and surprising. In my minds eyes all comparisons and hopes and dreams for lebron to be jordan should stop now. Yes he is a freak, he is athletically more talented then anyone in the league, and may have the potential for greatness, but he lacks what jordan had, the insane non-human will to win, the competitive drive that has not been surpassed and a never say die attitude. I dont think jordan would ever have quit on a team that won 60+ games 2 seasons in a row. i dont think he would have said, this is to hard, im going to go play with wade so he can win me a championship. Instead, jordan would have wanted to play them in the finals, wanted to compete against them to show hes the best.
For Lebron to leave the cavs & play second fiddle to Wade is very surprising. i cannot ever see MJ or Kobe doing this. Hell kobe didnt want to play second to shaq.
Secondly, the way he dragged this out since announcing a couple of years ago that july 1 2010 will be a big day was just wrong. If he knew the decision he should have come out with earlier, and the way he delivered bad news was just in bad taste. If dan gilbert is to be believed, no contact from lebron was had until the decision aired. I dont feel for the owner to much, but if i was a cavs fan, and the best athlete ever to grace my team announced the decision on national TV, then i would be pissed. Its a kick in the guts, and very classless way to deliver news. When michael jordan returned in 1996, he simply sent a fax that read “im back”. i felt lebron made it so much about him, that it was so egotistical and narcissistic with his 1 hour ESPN special that it turned me of him completely.
As sports fans we tend to hold our superstars up high on a pedestal, and i felt for whatever reason, lebron lost a bit of that “jordan” touch, where you thought he was such a supreme athlete and competitor that no one could come near his greatness. I just dont think lebron has that for me right now, it may change, but right now theres no other way of defining it. A bit silly to think changing a team can do that to you, but its just how it is.
The battle for LeBron James gets going
@ rin. it was a telling loss though.
@ stash.I could not help but think the same thing myself, the all blacks were about as clinical as ive seen in years.
Watching the all blacks i could not help but think they tried to play the same way as last year, running out of their own 22, ball in hand and counterattack every time they fielded a kick in their half. Only difference this time was they executed superbly. Players made tackle busts, their back three worked superbly together, the link & offload play was exceptional and they continued to apply pressure and recycle ball quickly and efficiently. I always thought with more experience as a group together, and a continued approach to this style of play, it would one day pay off. By the 20 minute mark of the game the ABs superior fitness was showing.
I for one am glad to see the kick chase rugby the boks play nullified.
The end of the Springbok era
There are stories floating around that chris paul gave a speech at carmelo anthonys wedding recently, on how he, carmelo, and amare may form their own big 3 at NY.
This may have been said tongue in cheek, but there could be truth behind it as well. After all, CB4, the king, & the flash said a similar thing and we all laughed it off right?
This big 3 could rival miamis big 3 in every way and may even surpass it.
Over the decade, carmello has often out duelled lebron when they matched up. He is a scoring machine, has the ability to post, to slash, shoot the jumper and has very impressive footwork. Ive always thought to myself, his weapons to score exceed lebrons. Chris paul IMO is one of the more talented PGS i have seen and has the potential to have a more illustrious career then nash & kidd if he stays healthy (big if). And with amare taking dimes from CP3, he would be a juggernaught for NY.
Next year NY may have the cap space to accommodate anthony who coincidentally becomes a free agent, and Chris paul has not signed an extension with the hornets.
Even though i am a laker fan, i would love to see NY become a powerhouse in the NBA.
Knicks cooking up a storm with the leftovers