*Shaq in Miami - Why would anyone criticize this move by the Heat? I just don't understand all these people bewildered that the Heat gave up on some great rebuilding project to trade for aging Shaq. Isn't the point of being in the NBA to try to win an NBA Championship? What were the chances of them winning one with Lamar Odom? Butler is overrated and Grant is done. That the Heat were able to reel in maybe the most dominant player of all time without giving up Dwayne Wade is highway robbery. They now have just as good a chance to get to the Finals as any East team, and once your in the Finals, if you feed the Shaq, anything can happen. How can anyone say this was a bad trade for the Heat? *Look out for Denver. This team is slowly emerging into a juggernaut. I wouldn't even be surprised if they finished as high as the 2nd seed next season. They are big, deep, agressive, and they will run you to death. It all depends on how good Carmelo eventually becomes, but with Martin and Nene inside, Denver is going to be at the top of the standings for a very long time. *San Antonio becomes the favorite with the addition of Brent Barry. *T-Mac Aftermath - Here's what I don't understand. Indiana was supposedly dangling combinations of Artest, Bender, Harrington, and Foster for McGrady. I think most would agree that their package would be more attractive to Orlando than the Houston offer had they been willing to give up enough. But they weren't. THEN, they turned around and gave Al Harrington away for free in the Stephen Jackson deal (as Jackson was signed with the MLE). So in essence, if Orlando was asking for Artest and Harrington (which is a much better package than the Francis one), and they eventually gave away Harrington for free, then they were basically unwilling to move Artest straight up for T-Mac? Huh? They could have still signed Jackson after that with the MLE too. Similarly, Phoenix was offering Marion, Jacobson and the #7. Had they thrown in Joe Johnson, McGrady would have been theirs. Now they are trying to trade Marion. So essentially, Phoenix would rather have whatever garbage they get back for Marion + Johnson over T-Mac? Huh?
2 years ago everyone was projecting the young talented clippers to become a elite team. Denver reminds me of the Clippers of 2 years ago. Remember in the NBA young talented teams rarely live up to expectations.
One difference is that Carmelo Anthony and Kenyon Martin have both always been "winning" players, whereas the guys on the Clippers have not.
Bryan Colangelo said he backed out of the TMAC deal because he DIDN'T want to commit to the contract extension.
how are the not... who is bigger?? the Nugs line-up is scary, and they will be great to watch, they can run, run, run and they will be able to defend and bang with anyone in the league, they also have a pretty good shot at guarding most opposition front court 1 on 1.... just love Kmarts D the key question for me is their half court offense, if they can do that successfully there is no reason why they won't win at least 50 games... Cab - completely agree with you on Shaq and Miami.. they are already a lock for the top4 in the east, if they can add a few more smart vets, they should be able to compete with Detroit and Indiana for the East title... for me Indiana is going to be interesting... Jackson for Harrington for me is a majot downgrade, so i am not sure what the hell they are doing... at best they have stayed the same, but what have they done to make them better and beat the Pistons and now Heat....
Who else in the West has 3 above average big men? I didn't mean that they are the biggest team but rather that they have the most quality bigs. Except that the Clippers never put it together. Denver is coming off a year where they were the 7th seed in their star player's rookie campaign. If true, I don't understand that. Nash is making almost $13mill/yr. The thing about the Nuggets is that I have my doubts on whether or not they can succeed in the postseason. It remains to be seen how good Anthony becomes. That team will beat people up in the regular season though. I agree on Indiana. Harrington for Stephen Jackson is a major downgrade. I don't understand the reasoning behind that at all. Jax is probably the dumbest player in the NBA and now amongst the most overrated. That team will miss Harrington.
It was no coincidence that Dallas started making questionable personnel moves after Kiki's departure to Denver. The man knows how to be the architect of a team.
Camby - 6'11 225 is not big for a center. Nene - 6'11 260 is about average for a center though I don't believe he is really 6'11. Martin - 6'9 234 is not big for a power forward. I suppose if you play all three together then you have a pretty imposing front line but then that doesn't leave room for Melo. Bigger teams include: Spurs, Lakers, Rockets, Kings...
hmmm Kings - Brad Miller and Webber, big they may be but certainly nothing in the power department that the Nugs can't match Laklers - Vlade, Grant and Odom... they match this for size and power Rockets - Yao..... how many other teams have quality 7 fters anyway.. you could label most teams as small upfront compared to Yao.... then Howard and Mo.... think the Nugs could eat them for breaky Spurs - now that have size.... although Rasho is soft as butter and KMart match-ups up Duncan one on one better than most... and then you can throw Nene at him for me it's one of the best front lines in the NBA, they provide great power, grunt, defense, running and rebounding..... what's a few inches difference here and there, it's how you use them
Do you mean all that time Carmelo spent in college or the one year he led the Nuggets to the 8th seed? j
Fact: 1. Martin played like **** against Duncan in last years playoffs. He single-handedly cost Nets a coupe of games. 2. Howard and Mo may not be stars, but they are no slouch either. Dont tell me Duncan and Garnett always have good games against us. They are good against ANYONE.
one suspects they are your opinions and i have no problem with you stating them, calling them facts however is blatant lie
I'm not sold on Denver being an elite team. KMart is unlikely to post all-star stats now that he doesn't have Kidd dishing him the ball. Nene and Camby are solid players, but not exactly great. Besides, Camby is an injury waiting to happen. Miller is a good PG, but hardly top-notch. That leaves Melo. His shooting was still suspect last year. If that improves, he becomes a solid all-star. This gives Denver 1 all-star, 1 near-all-star, 3 good players, and suspect depth. Denver suffers the same problem that Memphis and Utah have. They just don't have a superstar. SA have Duncan and Parker. Minnesota have Garnett and Cassell. Houston have Yao and T-Mac. Sacramento has a more powerful version of the Denver lineup with Bibby/Peja/Webber/Miller. This is a league where you win with stars... unless you're last year's Detroit.
I think of this team kinda like the SUNS of a few years ago, they look good on paper.....I hope they can do much more than the SUNS did.. I like em 10x better than the griz.. They have lots to prove first
denver looks very good but i also think k-mart is vastly overrarted and certainly not a max player. he's a great fit for them at a pretty hefty price. really it all depends on how well carmello develops though. if you're miami you do that trade every single day of the week. i think t-mac basically singling out houston helped alot. i also think francis is way more capable than any of those other players of leading the magic back to winning sooner(next year).
