stupid argument. you build the best team you can. if the second best player misses a whole series, you probably won't overcome it. the debate isn't that the championship wasn't won fair and square on the court, just that detroit wasn't the best team in the nba last year. they weren't better than san antonio, LA, or minny, but they managed to get LA b/c LA was healthy and then LA lost a key piece. good for detroit, doesn't change the fact they weren't the best team. and it sure as hell doesn't change the fact they don't have the best starting 5 in the league this year. unless i missed where they have the best record in the league, their starting 5 isn't the best. i'd be willing to be a whole lot of money that without similar injuries to other teams again, detroit does not repeat. if shaq and wade are healthy, they aren't coming out of the east. and miami certainly isn't known for it's amazing bench.
Jermaine played better after he was injured. Much better. Every team that wins a championship plays through injuries and against teams with injuries. Which is what I pointed out with the injuries to Detroit. And before the season even started I knew LA was taking a huge risk on Malone's health. What he did before is irrelevant because he was 40 something. And Spree and Cassell were huge injury and attitude risks that Minnesota took (and I also said before the playoffs that they wouldn't make it because of those two)-- and nevermind that Detroit didn't play Minnesota in the playoffs. Their flaws were obvious and the teams did a horrible job building them because they were too reliant on. And Malone would have done nothing to stop Detroit from beating LA. They were better than LA. They beat LA in the regular season last year too with everyone in LA healthy. Malone would have been torched whether he was healthy or not. Regular seasons get you ready for the playoffs. Having the best record means little. There are 2 teams in the NBA that can beat Detroit this year. Miami and San Antonio. That's it. Doesn't matter what Detroit's record is, it matters how good they can play when it matters. Hell, I'd think a fan of Houston would realize that champions sometimes have a tough time playing in the regular season.
BTW, it's not like our starting line-up is devoid of talent. The only "hole" we have is SG, and DeMarr has been playing a lot better lately.
As a unit, not individually: 1. Detroit (Balanced D and O) 2. Philly (Solid youth around the big 2) 3. Houston (ROCK solid at 5 and 3...acryllic-solid(?) at everything else) 4. San Antonio (TD and 2 quick bastards...Bowen's overrated and the C spot sucks) 5. Phoenix (3 guards and no centers)
