Ok....Lakers, Kings, Mavs, and Spurs are there. Portland should be there, but other than that, the other three spots shouldn't be hard to get into. That leaves 5 teams for 3 spots. I'll give Minnesota one. Seattle? I don't think they're a huge threat...if healthy, the Rockets or Clippers should take them out. The Jazz? Haha, they're done. Cooked. Finished. Stockton is talking retirement and Malone is talking get-outta-town. It will probably come down to the Rockets, Seattle, and the Clips for the final two spots. Oh, and Indy will come out of the East next year.
I'm not that concerned w/ the 6th ranking, I think its about right. A 45-37 record would have gotten us the 7th seed last year and I know that we are a better team now (healthy) than we were last year or the year before. We wern't that good last year but we managed to split the season series w/ the TWolves, Sonics, Jazz, & Mavs. As long as we can improve our late-game execution, the 6th seed is not out of our reach.
We have too many questions concerning the recovery of our players to be ranked sixth. To me that's too big of an assumption. If Francis is migraine-free, if Mo Taylor doesn't re-bust his Achilles, if Rice can recover fully to be the stable veteran sharp-shooter...If not, we're not much better than last year. And Nachbar has to prove he is strong enough and not another Langhi who can be lights-out in his own league but, for disputed reasons, can't make it in the NBA. Yao Ming? He can be awesome and early, at least awesome enough to further open the offense, but the two-fold gamble of his being able to adjust to the NBA and his teammates as well as the team being able to incorporate him in a well-run, effective offense is too large to make this prediction. G
Oh come on. Last year, as a healthy team, we were seen as anywhere from 7th to 10th in the West. Now replace Willis with Ming. Replace Langhi with Nachbar. Replace Tierre with Maddox. Mo T being out of shape (for now) is offset by Rice reportedly being in great shape. Don't forget that KT improved big-time, played betetr than expected. Imagine, our frontcourt for the most part of last season, is the backup frontcourt now (or very soon). Cato KT/Griff T-Mo/Griff replaced by: Ming Griff Nachbar/Rice I can see us at 6th. 5th optimistic, 9th pessimistic. 6th or 7th is realistic. I think after the Mavs, Lakers and Kings, it's actually more open than last year. Jazz, Portland, Minny, San Antonio, and Seattle? We're as good as any of those teams. Duncan is great, but his cast is weaker than last year. I see us and the Clippers fighting for 5th.
I agree Sane. People keeps saying that people write off the Sonics, T-Wolves and Jazz and they keep coming back. Actually the Sonics missed the playoffs a couple of times the last few years, and the Jazz almost missed the playoffs LAST year, and they're not improved. In fact Malone and Stockton might not even return! And Wally might not return to the T-Wolves. The Rockets have the same number of questions as anybody else competing for a lower seed in the conference. I don't see any similarities between Nachbar and Langhi though. Yeah they're both big, lanky guys, but Langhi didn't have the reputation and slashing to the basket like Nachbar. What hurt Langhi is his ability to shoot, something Nachbar doesn't have to rely on. And with Griffin apparently bulked up, and with a year of experience under his belt, and an in shape healthy Rice, this team can easily make the playoffs, and maybe do some damage.
I see the Rockets being the 6th seed in the playoffs, barring an major injury setbacks. BUT, they will be out of the playoffs in the first round probably. They have NO playoff experience. Yeah Ming and Nachbar have had professional tournament experience, but that's not good enough. The playoffs are a whole different beast than the regular season. That being said, I think they will be a playoff team for years to come and eventually get back into the Finals within 10 years.
They robbed the Celts and gave way too much props to the Clips. No matter how much talent they have on that team, they're still the Clippers. They will always be the Clippers until they move out of LA which they should have done years ago. The Rox are better than the Clips. 5th in the West this year, maybe 4th. One of the big four is going to falter.
Dirk: Can I have an autograph for my niece? Lil Bow Wow: Sure, Dirk, What's your niece's name? Dirk: Dirk. That just makes me laugh so much.
Can you imagine how much Yao's development over the season will show during the playoffs? A dream matchup would be us against the Mavs...
