Tim Duncan won't have planter fasciitis next season. Barring injuries I expect the Spurs to come out of the West (I still think we need more pieces to truly compete).
The Lakers, Suns, Rockets, and Kings will all be stronger. NO, Utah, GS, and Seattle SHOULD be stronger. The Timberwolves are a mystery and the Clippers and Grizz could go either way. Currently the Mavericks are one of the few western teams in position for a drop off. They could lose Terry and most likely Van Horn. As long as Nowitzki is leading them I dont think they can survive in a tougher NBA. In tough gritty games the Mavs have only gone as far as Terry and Stackhouse carry them. I could see Cuban letting Terry go because Harris is improving, but hopefully for Dallas he has learned his lesson(Finley, Nash). The teams in the west are so close talent wise that a small injury could determine the outcome of a series. Its hard to tell where anyone would end up. If you restarted the western conference playoffs again today you could see a very different outcome. The Lakers could have easily beat the Suns, the Spurs could have easily beat the Mavs, the Kings nearly beat the Spurs, etc... Anything could happen with this new balance of power. I dont agree that anyone could geniunely predict that Mavs to be any better than the Spurs or Suns at this point. With a few moves the Rockets, Lakers, and Kings could be up there. The dilemna with the Mavs is their glut of swing players. Stackhouse, Terry, Daniels, Griffen, are more than enough. They have a lot of valuable pieces and are in position to make impact moves in the trade market. So basically in a zillion words, too early to tell.
I hope not. If next season Yao plays as crappy as Shagina (in the finals this year), we will be doomed.
I was thinking the same thing that's been said a couple of times: the danger they face is over-tinkering by Mark Cuban. If he keeps his head, and keeps the team mostly intact, they'll be contenders again next season.
They're planning to hire Tom Hanks and some Oscar winners as assitant coaches to perfect their flopping acts. and probably David Hasselhof as a personal coach for Dirk.
Sorry DD, Yao IS alot better now yeah. TMAC is NOT one of the top 3 players in the league right now. As a Rockets fan you can hope so, however I can name 3 players better than him right now. His back is as suspect as his heart and will to put it all on the line. As for the role players, with what we are working with there is no way next season we can get even close to as athletic as PHX or Dallas. And although SA is getting a little older, they have cap flexibility and a great coach that will keep them ahead of us as well. I will probably get bashed for telling it like it is, but truth is "IF" we stay healthy, we still wont be no higher than a number 5 seeded team. Cuban wont blow up the Mavericks, they will come back strong again next year. They have a GREAT core and a coach that is able to utilize todays players very well. I can't stand the Mav's, PHX, or SA. However you cant knock their team's. The are so much more proven then our beloved Rockets right now....
