I've heard talking heads give him consideration. KG, LeBron, Kobe and Chris Paul are the top candidates at this point. Some have implied it's KG's to lose and, right or wrong, if the Celtics finish with the best record in the NBA he will probably take it. If the Hornets get some separation from the top teams in the West and finish with the best record in the NBA, I think Chris Paul will win the MVP. Matchman, you obviously missed the last Hornets/Warriors game a couple of weeks ago where Chris Paul dominated BD in the 4th quarter.
just not consecutively this time they're going to have a tough time beating teams like the Hornets when they do the usual turning it on for the 2nd half of the season and playoffs the key is that Duncan is slowing down, and Manu and Tony won't be able pick up all the slack for him
The Hornets broke the game open at the start of 4th qtr when the Spurs played their 2nd unit with the Hornets' 1st unit. The Hornets will be running on fumes in playoffs with the heavy minutes their starters are playing right now. The Hornets are 1 injury away from falling out of playoffs with their thin bench (as what happened last couple of seasons). Spurs are in hibernation mode and working some newbies into their rotations. The rodeo trip is the Spurs' trip of awakening. I wont bet against them next time the Spurs meet the Hornets.
Rybo's offense is better than Chuck Hayes. It's amazing how good Rybo runs the floor. Rybo had a fastbreak dunk in last game too.
It seems like the last 3 or 4 years, people have been saying that Duncan is slowing down mid-season. Then he always kicks ass in the playoffs and people forget what he did in the regular season.
Duncan has definitely learned the art of rope - a dope through the season and then get serious in the latter part of season through the playoffs. but I'm not buying it this time, something tells me he's going to try to turn it on again and then find out this time it wasn't good enough. ok, part of that is me wishing it also, but not being able win consecutively is also a pattern worth noting.
Agree with doublebogey. As impressed as I am with what Chris Paul and the Hornets are doing, they simply don't have a lot of depth. Paul, Jackson, Stojakovich, West and Chandler are impressive, and Pargo seems to give some scoring off the bench. But beyond that there isn't a lot, and they rely heavily on those players, and Paul, Jackson and Stojakovich are all injury prone. Pargo may actually have worse point guard skills than Luther Head. Another ankle injury to Chris Paul and they're done. They're a great team though and I think they'll make it to the playoffs. As for the Spurs, *yawn*. You'd think by now people would have learned that what the Spurs do in the regular season is irrelevant, and that whoever gets matched up against them in April is in trouble.
Sounds familiar, doesn't it? The thing that worries me the most is that Yao plays as much as Chris Paul, who plays the most minutes for Hornets. If Adleman doesn't reduce his minutes, I fear he won't even be able to run on fumes come play-off time.
Nevertheless, this reminds me of something I once heard about the NCAA. Every team takes their lumps, but when was the last time you saw the championship team get blown out? This was an especially good rule the year UNC won it all. Earlier that year two championship contenders, Illinois led by Deron Williams, Luther Head, and Dee Brown matched up against Chris Paul's Wake Forest and blew them out. And sure enough, the first major championship contending team to go down was Wake, in the second round to WVU. Blowout losses can speak volumes about a team: when Boston loses, it's only barely and by fewer than 10 points always. Things can and do happen, but keep that in mind when you think about the Spurs' chances for repeating this year. And again, there's a reason the Spurs have never repeated in their 4 championship run.
I don't see how this is a big deal at all. Spurs lose a game that was pretty close until the fourth quarter. Big deal. It is still January. IMO, they look better at this point in the season than they did last season and we all know how that ended up. Udoka has some game is a great defender of SG/SF. Meanwhile, Duncan is Duncan, Parker is Parker and Manu is Manu. I just don't see how this team isn't as good or better than last season's squad.
Here's why they won't be as good as or better than last year's team come post-season: Duncan(31), Manu(30), Finley(34), Bowen(36), Horry(37), Barry(36) and Oberto (32) are all a year older. I'm not predicting they will crash and burn or anything, but I doubt very much this year's team will turn into the juggernaut that went 25-3 late last season before sleepwalking their last 3 games. Of course anything can happen, but I just don't see it. That all said, with Dallas and Phoenix not being as dominant either, the Spurs path to the Finals may not be as difficult as last year and I don't rule them out.
Uh ... it's one thing to lose, it's another to get skunked. The Spurs may have the strongest home court advantage in all of the NBA. Trust me this game stung. The Spurs are a resilient team but, this game will be in the back of their minds and Pop will probably use it as a tool to remind the Spurs to infinity until playoff time and then some, that they aren't very good. I don't see the Spurs cratering but, they are getting older. The Hornets have a lot of youthful talent that potentially will give them trouble consistently over the next few years. Same with the Rockets, we are doing a much better job of matching up with the Spurs the last few years than we have the last several years vs the Spurs. IMO the Spurs may have with this present lineup, one maybe two more chances for the NBA title and then ... they're gonna drop off a little IMO. But, the Spurs are a lot like Rasputin, just when you think they're dead they spring back to life with more power and passion than before. Until they ACTUALLY go down, I will NEVER count out the Spurs!
Well the Spurs may be old but the Hornets have a 32 year old Rybo so the door is fast swinging closed on their opportunity to win the Championship...........(sarcasm). Actually I like Rybo a lot. Very competitive guy. Hope he does well - somewhere else. Maybe JVG can use him in the booth - wonder if Rybo can play an effective straight man? I think the big lesson of playoff series for teams like the Hornets and Suns and Rockets coming out to face the Spurs and Jazz - is to out-Spur the Spurs and out-Jazz the Jazz. If you are not willing to play like Horry that dirty little Biatch and knock Tony or Williams into the bleachers, not willing to foul hard before they start fouling you hard, then don't bother showing up. Show up soft like a p***y then game, set, match, you are out!!
remove Utah and the Houston from that list of teams. Jazz and Rockets might not make the playoffs If the Lakers win 50 games (which they are on pace to do) I think Kobe wins it. Kevin Garnetts stats aren't that special and he plays with two other perennial all stars in Ray Allen and Paul Peirce. Tim Duncan, Kobe, Dirk are the only perenial all stars on their respective teams
