Even with the addition of Jefferson, the Spurs are so old. We saw how they tailed off at the last quarter of the season. Even with Jefferson, the Spurs are on a downturn with virtually every position. The Rockets, however, are on an upturn.
This Spurs team reminds me of the Rockets of the late 90's. They have a couple of superstars but a shallow bench. This formula proved that it could take a team far into the playoffs but no all the way. The bench of the Spurs would be a big part of its success or downfall. The Spurs are getting old and durability is a question mark every year.
You don't need more then 3 solid bench players. A back-up big, a point guard, and a 6th man guard-forward. They have the 6th man in Ginobli. I beleive they have a decent back-up pg. so really it's their front line.
The Lakers could try to get him as an insurance should Odom go elsewhere. Sheed would be tempted to play for the defending champs and get another ring before He retires.
Not to mention they still have matchup issues with Houston that Jefferson does nothing to solve, namely size. Duncan can't handle Yao (and they have even less big bodies to throw at him), and no one on that roster is capable of handling Artest's size. They're like Portland except with a little more perimeter talent. I'd say the Rockets as presently constructed are still favorites to win the SW division, even after this trade.
The SW Division got much harder now, but it is still between the rockets and Spurs. The rockets for almost the first half of last season were not gelling and barely had any practice time. This coming season should be much better to start off with, and it will be interesting to see how it plays out throughout the year. I still have to pick the rockets to win it, but barely. If Daryl Morey is the best GM in the leauge, then the spurs GM is tugging on his coat tail after that trade.
The race for the SW division title would be tight but if Morey can pull the Amare trade then the Rockets must have the upper hand. Dont discount the Mavs. It could really go down to a three way race.
The only player they have who you could call "old" is Duncan, and he still almost put up 20/10 last year. Parker, Ginobili, Jefferson, Mason, Udoka, Gooden, Hill ... none of these guys are old. The only reason they "tailed off" was that Ginobili was hurt. They still finished ahead of the Rockets last year. Sure, they could use some depth in the frontcourt, but we haven't even had the draft yet. They still have the entire off-season to address that. They're stacked.
Wishful thinking. Duncan can handle Yao just fine, but just like any other year, there's a good chance he won't have to worry about it. No one capable of handling Artest? Please.
The main championship components have too much mileage. Tim Duncan has a thigh muscle problem thats only getting worse. All the years of playing for the Argentinian team, the NBA reg season and playoffs have caught up to Manu. Finley is getting old and Bowen, who will be back after he is released, is getting old. This team is going to look like the Mavs of the past season. They will have good nights and win streaks here and there but they are going to have their share of being blown out also. For the past 2 seasons, they have had big time scoring issues in the 3rd and 4th quarters. If they didn't have to play a regular season and go straight to the playoffs, I'd pick the Spurs to be at least in the WCF. But a long season is going to wear these guys out -- especially trying to keepp up with the Fakers
C: Tim Duncan PF: Drew Gooden SF: Richard Jefferson SG: Manu Ginobili PG: Tony Parker that is a pretty nasty lineup. All 5 guys have made finals appearances and Duncan is really the only older guy
I think the spurs should be favored to win the championship. I guess the biggest question which it has been the past few season is Manu. If he is healthy I think the spurs win it. It just pisses me of how the spurs have been good for pretty much 2 decades and we have been out of the 1st round one in the last 13 years.
Since when can Duncan not handle Yao? He can sure handle Yao better than Yao can handle him. Pretty confused about the Artest comment. Richard Jefferson is a legit sized small forward - he can handle Artest at the very least as well as Portland did in forcing him into the abysmal shooting performance he put up. How are the Rockets, as currently constructed, the favorites to win the SW? The Spurs finished ahead of them, even without Jefferson. They were also missing Ginobili and Parker for huge chunks of the season. Now we were clearly without McGrady, but he won't be a part of this team the first half of next year, as currently constructed (meaning without a trade). I think with the right moves, the Rockets can win their division, but I fail to see why everyone is downplaying this move by the Spurs. They made themselves a much better team yesterday.
