Seems like Rockets are only stand-still team in Texas

True, but I think some changes will come. Van Gundy just wants to see what he has first. Walker was not an upgrade for the mavs, and I feel they are closer to 4th in the west.

 

Wasn't Van Gundy a change?

Jeez...

 

1) Spurs
2) Lakers
3) Mavs
4) TWolves
5) Kings
6) Rockets
7) Suns
8) Sonics

 

It's nice having an owner who doesn't have to worry about the luxury cap. This is a good salary move for the Mavs. Walker's contract is huge, but comes off the books in two years, whereas LaFrentz was on the books for six. The Mavs are consistently able to get talent because they have the flexibility of taking on bad contracts.

I think Les is a cheapa$$, but I don't blame him for not being Mark Cuban.

The Mavs still won't win a championship, but they may come close.

 

on the dallas frontline thing.They havent gotten better. Walker has one of the biggest egos in nba,he will b**** if he is benched. Dirk cant play c,and jamison cant play sg. So whats going to happen?

nash
finley
jamison
dirk
bradley = LOL

Walker will complain. Bradley sucks. I always hated Lafrentz becuse he gave us fits,he is fundamentally sound and more efficient than Walker. Plus the shooting % of the mavs will go down. The passing greatness they had will now go away because Jamison and Walker are severe ball hogs. I love the trade. Dirk is deadly and amazing %. Walker and Jamison will cut Dirks shots in half. Cuban is an idiot. Just like Portland. Load up with a bunch of the same players and have no chemistry,ego problems,and not win in crunchtime.

these 2 lineups are better than dallas:
parker/ginobilli/turkaglu/duncan/rasho

payton/kobe/fox/malone/shaq

At this point I might even consider us better in talent(though why we havent finished with more wins than D is beyond me)

francis>nash
mobley>finley
boki/jackson<jamison
taylor/cato<dirk/walker
ming>bradley LOL

jvg>nelson
bench houston.
We win in three starters,with a better bench. Walker blows. Id rather have Cato than Walker. Id rather have Eddie Griffin than Walker. COME BACK EDDIE !!!!!

 

The Mavs lineup will probably be:

Nash
Finley
Jamison
Walker
Dirk

Walker brings one thing to the mavs, a poor shooting % and a little rebounding. Walker is gonna want to shoot a lot, Cuban seems to think more scoring will cure everything, I hope the Mavs get killed in the middle all season long. Is it me or does every trade Dallas does seem lopsided? Jamison for NVE and some scrubs, Walker for Raef, Welsh, Mills.

Anyways, I still think the Rockets are another player away from being true contenders. Now with Eddies problems and our trade exemption, seems more possible than ever.

 

I think rockets could atleast be the 6th seed this season. We dont know how Phoenix, or even maybe Utah will do. As far as Seattle, i dont think they be close. We also gotta remember that Memphis will be strong this season as well. It will be a crazy battle in the West for sure. Lets hope Houston stays in the playoffs for the next 3 years.

 

Don't you get it?!?!? The sky is falling!!!

 

1) Lakers
2) Spurs/mavs
3) Spurs/mavs
4) wolves
5) Kings
6) Suns
7)Sonics
8) maybe clips with dunleavy as coach now
9)Rockets with the way we're playing

 

How in the world do some people think the Sonics/Grizzlies/Clippers will be better than the Blazers?

 

why Lakers #@$%%^$#$?? They suck. Kings too. Clip??

 

Why hasn't anyone mentioned portland? Sure, they're a bunch of malcontents, but they have a lot of athletic, talented players who play pretty well together.

 

Oh please, Oh please, Oh please let Dirk be center...

What a joke if he is because Shaq, Yao, Nesterovic, Duncan, KG, Divac, Webber, Olowakandi, Amare, Brand, Wallace and many more will be having a dunkfest...

I don't care if they put Dirk on the 3pt line and make centers defend because they zones takes care of that...

The Mavs did not make themselves better what-so-ever... They have added offense this entire offseason, which they did NOT need...

They have added 3 3pt shooters in Jamison, Delk and Walker... None of them being a great defensive player either... Well I guess its up to this frontcourt of defenders to do all the dirty work Najera, Fortson and well thats it... I guess you can put Bradley in there just because he's 7'6(only reason)...

They do have some big time names but not big time defense... Maybe the Mavs felt behind since the Lakers added GP and Malone, Spurs added Turkoglu, Nesterovic and Mercer, Minnesota added Olowokandi/Cassell/Sprewell and even we added a new coaching staff and Jackson/Piatkowski/A.Griffin...

Its funny everytime I hear Dallas make a move and add another perimeter player with no D...

 

Everyone on this board (well, most )seems to want to Rockets to get another great or good player. But I don't think Van Gundy does. It's clear by his interviews that he has all the stars that he needs in Yao and Francis. What Van Gundy wants now are role players who can hit shots. (Not unlike Rudy T. during Hakeem's era).

I think that more "stars" will simply screw with the chemestry. Houston has it's stars and they are plenty talented. Getting another person who demands the ball or a certain number of touches will just screw things up, IMO!

 

How will Duncan, Webber, KG, Amare, Brand and Wallace have any more of a dunk fest on Dirk than they have in previous years? Dirk usually matches up with them straight up anyway.

 

Some of the replies in this thread is laughable.

We get Piatkowski, Adrian Griffin, and Jim Jackson and we've significantly upgraded our team.

Dallas gets Antwan Jamison and Antoine Walker and they havent done anything because they cant play defense.

And which player on our team is a defensive juggernaut?

Steve Francis? Eddie Griffin? Eric Piatkowski? Bostjian Nachbar? Yao Ming? Mo Taylor? Moochie Norris?

Nobody on this team will make the all-defense team.

Jamison, Walker, Nash, Finley, and Dirk will blow us out of the water. But hey, at least we're under the luxury cap.

 

2002-03 NBA ALL-DEFENSIVE FIRST TEAM

Forward Kevin Garnett, Minnesota 47 (22)

Forward Tim Duncan, San Antonio 44 (18)

Center Ben Wallace, Detroit 55 (27)

Guard Doug Christie, Sacramento 38 (14)

Guard Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers 35 (15)



2002-03 NBA ALL-DEFENSIVE SECOND TEAM


Forward Ron Artest, Indiana 27 (9)

Forward Bruce Bowen, San Antonio 24 (8)

Center Shaquille O'Neal. L.A. Lakers 12 (1)

Guard Jason Kidd, New Jersey 31 (10)

Guard Eric Snow, Philadelphia 16 (3)



Other players receiving votes, with point totals (First Team votes in parentheses):
Gary Payton, Milwaukee, 15 (4); P.J. Brown, New Orleans, 11 (1); Allen Iverson, Philadelphia, 10 (3); Scottie Pippen, Portland, 8 (2); Theo Ratliff, Atlanta, 8 (1); Andrei Kirilenko, Utah, 6 (1); Brian Grant, Miami, 6 (1); Clifford Robinson, Detroit, 6; Jermaine O’Neal, Indiana, 5; Kenyon Martin, New Jersey, 5 (1); Shawn Marion, Phoenix, 4 (1); Kurt Thomas, New York, 3 (1); Michael Jordan, Washington, 3 (1); Matt Harpring, Utah, 2 (1); Tracy McGrady, Orlando, 2; Amare Stoudemire, Phoenix, 1; Bobby Jackson, Sacramento, 1; Chauncey Billups, Detroit, 1; Chris Webber, Sacramento, 1; Dale Davis, Portland, 1; David Robinson, San Antonio, 1; Desmond Mason, Milwaukee, 1; Jamaal Magloire, New Orleans, 1; Keon Clark, Sacramento, 1; Nene Hilario, Denver, 1; Rasheed Wallace, Portland, 1; Yao Ming, Houston, 1.

 

Yeah, Dirk went head up with Duncan, Webber, etc...

So who did Najera defend??? the SF, sure

Sure we aren't the best defensive team, we have more problems with our team other than Defense last season...

So Dallas improved their offense because WHY???

So adding Delk, Walker and Jamison makes them more what???

Minnesota/Lakers/San Antonio filled in spots...

KG needed help and they go out and get Cassell(won a ring), Sprewell(was in the NBA finals) and Olowkandi-not a dominant big man but a big man none the less(now thats filling spots)...

Lakers needed to change the chemistry and get more help for Kobe at the time(Shaq also needed to get his weight under wraps)... Enter GP(all star PG)/Malone(physical specimen with NBA playoff experience- both want rings)...

San Antonio needed, well not much... So they trade away Danny Ferry and get Turkoglu/Mercer and sign Horry and Nesterovic/Willis... Did I mention Ferry was released and is now back in San Antonio...

Dallas needs a big men and Defensive players and they add Delk a PG(never sees a shot he does like), Jamison a SF(a good offensive player) and Walker a PF(see Delk description)... Yeah, great moves.. So I guess Dirk is going to really hold his own at the Center position, huh??? Sure

Sorry just don't see how adding more perimeter shooters helps Dallas out... They will still be a top 5 team but when it comes down to playoff time and guys need to D-up, I'm willing the guess Dallas will be in trouble... But hey, I guess I'm wrong, how does that saying go "Offense wins championships"

I don't think so, "Defense wins championships"

 

RIET,

Dallas has a very good offensive team that has performed better than the Rockets over the past few years. Do they have a championship? No. Will they get one this year? No. What did they need to get there? Jamison? Walker? No. They needed defense and an inside presence and they didn't get it. They trashed any chemistry that they gained last season, which was their best season. I really don't think they have improved. The Mavs have no heart NVE was the heart of the Mavs during the playoffs and they lost more than they gained.

The Rockets were 8th in opponents PPG in a pretty good division I might add. We got us a coach who will help our defense and focus on the little things that help you win. If we win two games of the many last season that we lost to inferior opponents we are in the playoffs (little things). We got rid of our bench, all the CBA type developing questionable tallents. We replaced them with true NBA quality veteran players who will play smart basketball and do the little things that win games. We maintained our core players to give them another chance to prove they have what it takes to win. All the crap that Dallas is doing looks great in the papers but has no substance and is not going to win a championship.

I may be totally wrong and the season will tell all but I think the Rockets have moved a lot closer to a championship than the Mavs. We may not be better than the Mavs this season but we're gaining on them and they are spinning their wheels.