On paper what teams will we have the most problems with?

I would say both Juward and Mo are stronger than Garnett, so he;ll be resorting to his stupid fadeway jumpers when posted 1on1. Which are no doubt accurate but it's better to be abused physically as well.

I'd say Wolves, Spurs and Pistons. All the rest we have a VERY good chance of beating anytime.

 

I don't know... that is a good question. The obvious answer is teams that are quick which is what killed us last year (other than Stevie that is). But looking at this year's roster... I really believe that we have gotten bigger, quicker, smarter and tougher. Especially our second unit.

PG Ward/Lue
SG TMac/Sura
SF JJ/Boki
PF Howard/Mo
C Yao/Deke

Looking at our second unit... if what I put up is correct... we have size underneath with Deke, and three guys who are quick and can pressure the outside. I like. Last year that unit would have been Old Man, Pike, Mo and Spoon. Huge, huge improvement.

Looking at our first unit... if what I put up is correct... we have added size and more offensive punch... we leads to fewer fast break opportunities for the bad guys which in turn will improve our defense. I feel like transition defense killed us last year against the Memphis and Dallas of the worlds.

Maybe it is beacuse I am feeling a bit loopy today. But the only team in the west that I really anticipate us having major problems with is San Antonio. Maybe the Suns.

I like what we have done.

 

I honestly honestly don't think anyone from the East is better than the Rockets. Not even the Pistons. Ben Wallace has never been impressive against Yao.

The good thing is, if the two Wallaces collapse on Yao, both Howard and MoT can burn them big-time. Not to mention JJ or Ward from 3-pt land.

T-Mac will have a little trouble against Tayshain Prince, but he won't be outplayed, just slowed down.

Most important thing: We have the two best players among the two teams. No one on their team is better than Yao or T-Mac.

The only team I'm worried about is the Spurs. They're just too good now. How can we contain Parker?

Kings won't be as good even if they stay together. Too much bickering, and Vlade was an inspirational leader to them.

Nuggets will be good, probably right there with us.

The thing about this year is that the roles are reversed - in past years, the role players were consistent and we depended on the star players to affect the game. Now both our star players are consistent, so we will live and die by how well our role players perform. I think Howard/JJ/Ward will do a good job.

 

I agree. The Kings' clock has been counting down for quite a while now.

Case in point. Chris Webber who?

 

They were a freak bounce to Robert Horry in game 4 or one 3 going down in game 7 from advancing to championship and likely winning. Two years ago they were an injury away from at least a WCF destination with the Spurs and a title well within reach.

I agree there time has probably passed, but the Kings did a great job putting together a team with a chance at a ring and making some noise--that is all you can ask is to have a chance to win a title. Same can be said for Utah, the Suns and Seattle all in the 90s--things just didn't quite work out but they were formidable.

 

and i wish we could say the same thing about steve's run...

 

I truely belive that Memphis will be this years version of the Suns last year. You know, come out of no where one year, and the next year, fade into oblivion. Plus, you figure it'll be Hubie and the Logo's last year with the team, so they will going back to where they belong. I think the Suns will improve, but can't stop T-Mac or Yao. Dallas will run and gun.......I actaully beleive we can play that style and win. Wheather we do or not, because JVG won't want to do that, remains to be seen. Sacto WILL NOT be an issue for us this year. Brad Miller can't shut down Yao on his own, and Christie on T-Mac.....seriosly. T-Wolves will remain solid, be we are a better team than they are, espically with Spree getting old. Remember how bad we beat them when they shot like 20% from the feild. We can do that again. San An will give us a test. TD is phenomenal. And Manu is underratted. But I am under the firm belief that we are the best in the west. I still can't wait for the T-Mac vs. Kobe Showdown's this year. That'll be fun to watch. Just beacuse what is LA going to do when Yao is dunking on Brain Grant's head (sorry Rudy)??