Very early predictions

[Dal-Las Mav'a Riq]

This is kind of pointless as we will do it 5 more times before the start of the season but I am bored and havent made a thread since yesterday so here we go.

West

1. Phoenix- Will go 100 mph thru the reg season and have nothing left by the p/o. same old story
2. Dallas- 60ish wins and my choice for champions.
3. San Antonio- Snake in the grass mother ****ers again.
4. Utah
5. Denver- Just a hunch
6. Houston- More chemistry and injury problems. Francis and James on the same team? Nah.
7. Nawlins- It would be great to see them get an injury free run. Non frills team. Byron Scott, takes no shit. I like him.

Daylight

8. Golden State, because no other team deserves it. GSW wont be as good. They got rid of Richardson (???) and may not bring back Pietrus or Barnes. Oh **** yeah!!!!!!!1 We wont play them in the playoffs if my seedings are right
9. Memphis. I think they could swap with GSW. I like their team a lot. Mixture of youth and experience. If Darko brings it, they could sneak in. Not a lot in the West after the first 7. I just noticed now
10. Kobe
11. Portland
12. LA Clippers are this high as Brand is likely to only miss first 3 months
13. Seattle
14. Sacramento. Yuck.
15. Minnesota

East

1. Chicago. Awesome team
2. Bawston. Assuming they scrounge a bench
3. Detroit. Boring
4. Cleveland. Worst team in the league at almost everything
5. Toronto.
6. New Jersey
7. Washington. Meh.
8. Charlotte. Richardson puts them over the top
9. Milwaukee. Need come muscle on the front line and they can be top 4
10. Miami. The refs cant save you now DwAYne, you faker clown pod.
11. New York, assuming they get Ron.
12. Orlando. Killing your franchise for Rashad. Sucks to be you guys
13. Atlanta. could make the playoffs if everything goes right
14. Indiana. Boringest team in the world. Well except for Cleveland.
15. Philadelphia. The Andre Miller/Sam Dalembert express can only take them so far
11.

 

[mdc]

Equally bored, so here's my take (in bold).

This is kind of pointless as we will do it 5 more times before the start of the season but I am bored and havent made a thread since yesterday so here we go.

West

1. Phoenix- Will go 100 mph thru the reg season and have nothing left by the p/o. same old story. Switch with Dallas. Can't beat the Spurs, will destroy anyone else in the playoffs.
2. Dallas- 60ish wins and my choice for champions. German efficiency. In the regular season. Then German post-war depression.
3. San Antonio- Snake in the grass mother ****ers again. Ftw!
4. Utah. 5th for mine. Houston to jump above them.
5. Denver- Just a hunch. Too high unless K-Mart's healthy - i.e. too high.
6. Houston- More chemistry and injury problems. Francis and James on the same team? Nah. Rick Adelman will get them into the top 4, Francis won't get much burn.
7. Nawlins- It would be great to see them get an injury free run. Non frills team. Byron Scott, takes no shit. I like him. Agreed. Above Denver for mine.

Daylight

8. Golden State, because no other team deserves it. GSW wont be as good. They got rid of Richardson (???) and may not bring back Pietrus or Barnes. Oh **** yeah!!!!!!!1 We wont play them in the playoffs if my seedings are right Mullin's getting up there in the worst exec. stakes. Needs to sign Foyle to a max. extension to solidify his spot.
9. Memphis. I think they could swap with GSW. I like their team a lot. Mixture of youth and experience. If Darko brings it, they could sneak in. Not a lot in the West after the first 7. I just noticed now. Nah, cupcake soft. Too high.
10. Kobe. A healthy Kwame should have them in contention for the playoffs. Oh, and that whole Kobe thing.
11. Portland. At worst should be fun to watch. Above Memphis.
12. LA Clippers are this high as Brand is likely to only miss first 3 months. They'll get slaughtered. Bw them and Minnesota for bottom spot.
13. Seattle. Above clippers below Sactown.
14. Sacramento. Yuck. Yuck is right, but a veteran team will still outperform youth most times. 28-30 wins.
15. Minnesota. Were a mortal lock for the bottom spot before Brand went down.

East

1. Chicago. Awesome team. Who still don't have a low-post guy and will lose games when they shoot badly. Plus Big Ben is nearly done.
2. Bawston. Assuming they scrounge a bench. If healthy.
3. Detroit. Boring. Boring, but still good.
4. Cleveland. Worst team in the league at almost everything. Except offensive rebounding and standing still on offense.
5. Toronto. Good team, but will be vulnerable if teams below stay healthy.
6. New Jersey. Above Toronto if healthy.
7. Washington. Meh. See NJ
8. Charlotte. Richardson puts them over the top. Should make it.
9. Milwaukee. Need come muscle on the front line and they can be top 4. Easily worst defensive team in the NBA. Redd is hella good though.
10. Miami. The refs cant save you now DwAYne, you faker clown pod. They're done.
11. New York, assuming they get Ron. They're not getting Ron. Either way they'll be bad.
12. Orlando. Killing your franchise for Rashad. Sucks to be you guys. Yup.
13. Atlanta. could make the playoffs if everything goes right. Another year away.
14. Indiana. Boringest team in the world. Well except for Cleveland. Will jack lotsa 3's with Jim O'Brien in town. Too bad they don't have shooters.
15. Philadelphia. The Andre Miller/Sam Dalembert express can only take them so far. I hear they got this Iguadala guy too...won't be this bad. 12-15 in the east is actually much stronger than the 12-15 in the west for once.
11.

 

[Dal-Las Mav'a Riq]

Apparently we are very close to having this roster.

Damp / Diop / Fazekas
Nowitzki / Webber / Bass
Howard / Posey/ George
Jones / Stackhouse / R. Terry
Harris / Terry / Barea

Which means we could go on cruise control and still win 65 games

Suns fans, that is depth.

D.e.p.t.h.

 

[mdc]

Apparently we are very close to having this roster.

Damp / Diop / Fazekas
Nowitzki / Webber / Bass
Howard / Posey/ George
Jones / Stackhouse / R. Terry
Harris / Terry / Barea

Which means we could go on cruise control and still win 65 games

Suns fans, that is depth.

D.e.p.t.h.

Come on, if you're actually excited about getting Eddie J or Webber at this point things are bleak.

 

[Dal-Las Mav'a Riq]

At 15-20 mpg, they will be very handy

Both were rejuvenated st stages last year. Then they fell away cos they had to play 35-40 minutes.

They wont have to do that here

 

[mdc]

At 15-20 mpg, they will be very handy

Both were rejuvenated st stages last year. Then they fell away cos they had to play 35-40 minutes.

They wont have to do that here

I'm a massive fan of Avery, what he's done with the team is brilliant. And I think if you manage to get Posey he'll be good in the mavs system.
But C-Webb is done. After the excitement died down he was badly exposed. At least he will make Nowitzki look great on defense

Btw, hardly fair ripping Suns fans - it's not their fault the owner is Sterling Mk2

 

[jerry springer]

some quick predictions

West

1.Dallas-good depth,Dirk in his peak,if they get webber its all over as he is a wonderful passer.howard will just get better.should be hungry.will be smart if they rest players during the season for the play-offs like the spurs do
2.Houston-have decent depth,great coach,van gundy free,lots to prove
3.Spurs-we never get back to back,cant see us starting this year.parker will be the key however.getting old.need a back up bigman to help out
4.Suns-my tip to fall a little,Nash is a year older,Marion/Amare will have personality problems,traded their best low post defender/hard man in thomas for chump change.cant play defense when it counts.
5.Utah-good team just seem to lack something.need some instant offence off the bench


No chance-denver,no team with A.I in it will ever win a ring,he is too ball hungry simple as that

East-easily the hardest to pick,could go anyway but here goes

1.Boston-needs a bench but easily the best starting line-up.Kg for MVP
2.Chicago-streaky,good defenders,on the rise
3.Toronto-my big movers in 08,Bosh will get better and better,Bargnani will improve,Kapono will help,Cogolono is turing these guys into the Suns of the east
4.Cleveland-lebron factor
5.Miami-cant count out a team with wade "mr free throw" in it
6.Detroit-sheed will implode,old
7.Washington,has gilbert,butler,jamison but needs a quality big man
8.Charlotte-getting their slowly.next year will do damage.
9.NY-has monster frontcourt,crawford and Q back healthy.David lee for 6 man award,dont count them out
10.vince will struggle now he has his big contract,kidd will be traded by all-star break

 

[mdc]

3.Toronto-my big movers in 08,Bosh will get better and better,Bargnani will improve,Kapono will help,Cogolono is turing these guys into the Suns of the east

fwiw the suns comparison isn't very good. When the raptors play well they play more like the bulls - i.e. crisp passing and movement in the half-court sets. Not really a fast break side.

 

[jerry springer]

fwiw the suns comparison isn't very good. When the raptors play well they play more like the bulls - i.e. crisp passing and movement in the half-court sets. Not really a fast break side.

fair call,more meant high octane,lots of offence,little defence,blow teams out of the water type of stuff

 

[apollo_creed]

some quick predictions

West

1.Dallas-good depth,Dirk in his peak,if they get webber its all over as he is a wonderful passer.howard will just get better.should be hungry.will be smart if they rest players during the season for the play-offs like the spurs do
2.Houston-have decent depth,great coach,van gundy free,lots to prove
3.Spurs-we never get back to back,cant see us starting this year.parker will be the key however.getting old.need a back up bigman to help out
4.Suns-my tip to fall a little,Nash is a year older,Marion/Amare will have personality problems,traded their best low post defender/hard man in thomas for chump change.cant play defense when it counts.
5.Utah-good team just seem to lack something.need some instant offence off the bench


No chance-denver,no team with A.I in it will ever win a ring,he is too ball hungry simple as that

East-easily the hardest to pick,could go anyway but here goes

1.Boston-needs a bench but easily the best starting line-up.Kg for MVP
2.Chicago-streaky,good defenders,on the rise
3.Toronto-my big movers in 08,Bosh will get better and better,Bargnani will improve,Kapono will help,Cogolono is turing these guys into the Suns of the east
4.Cleveland-lebron factor
5.Miami-cant count out a team with wade "mr free throw" in it
6.Detroit-sheed will implode,old
7.Washington,has gilbert,butler,jamison but needs a quality big man
8.Charlotte-getting their slowly.next year will do damage.
9.NY-has monster frontcourt,crawford and Q back healthy.David lee for 6 man award,dont count them out
10.vince will struggle now he has his big contract,kidd will be traded by all-star break

knob.

you cheated to beat the Suns.

I could quite easily say that your team can't play the big d when it counts.

 

[jerry springer]

knob.

you cheated to beat the Suns.

I could quite easily say that your team can't play the big d when it counts.

you could but you dont have 4 rings and the two of the best defenders in their position so you would look like a ********

please explain exactly how the Spurs cheated?

if you have any issues why dont you write to Stern and let him know how you feel?Its obviously eating you up like battery acid

Why dont you post your predictions?

 

[apollo_creed]

Game 1 - you only won because Nash had to go off

Game 2 - fair game and you were spanked.

Game 3 - supposedly the fix game. anyone who saw it wouldn't argue.

Game 4 - HC back to PHX.

Game 5 - SA narrowly win back HC against a depleted Suns team.

Game 6 - The Suns were gone. Bowen got away with everything.

Many people believe the Suns were the best team last season and very much robbed.

This is true.

 

[BucksBoy]

i rekon ppl are under-rating orlando this year....

if shard lifts they will be a tough team to beat...dwight, shard, nelson (if he passes) will be tough....

they now have an outside shooter for when howard gets doubled....

just my opinion

 

[mdc]

i rekon ppl are under-rating orlando this year....

if shard lifts they will be a tough team to beat...dwight, shard, nelson (if he passes) will be tough....

they now have an outside shooter for when howard gets doubled....

just my opinion

Dwight is still poor offensively, Rashard Lewis just signed one of the worst contracts in NBA history and the media are going to be killing him for it, and Nelson plain sucks. If I can find a way to bet against Orlando making the playoffs at $1.50 or better, I'm all over it.

 

[RoyalCatFan]

I would never bet on the Warriors to make the playoff but they are not going to be worse then last year, Mullin has actually done good things this offseason, The trade of Jrich though painful had to be made, We have picked up two good Young prospects in wright and Bellinelli Looks like we have resigned Both Barnes and Peitrus for cheap, A full Season with Jackson and Harrington to go with A healthy Baron and improving Monta and Beidrins we should at least be able to win 45-50 games. As far as crap Executives Bird and Mchale would have to be the two biggest Losers.

 

[mdc]

I would never bet on the Warriors to make the playoff but they are not going to be worse then last year, Mullin has actually done good things this offseason, The trade of Jrich though painful had to be made, We have picked up two good Young prospects in wright and Bellinelli Looks like we have resigned Both Barnes and Peitrus for cheap, A full Season with Jackson and Harrington to go with A healthy Baron and improving Monta and Beidrins we should at least be able to win 45-50 games. As far as crap Executives Bird and Mchale would have to be the two biggest Losers.

Bellinelli looks great but from all reports Wright was acquired to trade-on for KG, in a deal that fell through. Obviously if the Baron stays healthy it's still a good team, but praising Mullin is too funny.
Plus, Stephen Jackson is way overdue for a stripclub incident.

 

[celtic_pride]

Just on the Celts I have a feeling that Rondo will win the NBA's most improved player, he is going to have a great season IMHO.

 

[jerry springer]

Game 1 - you only won because Nash had to go off

Game 2 - fair game and you were spanked.

Game 3 - supposedly the fix game. anyone who saw it wouldn't argue.

Game 4 - HC back to PHX.

Game 5 - SA narrowly win back HC against a depleted Suns team.

Game 6 - The Suns were gone. Bowen got away with everything.

Many people believe the Suns were the best team last season and very much robbed.

This is true.

Game 1 :in sport there is this thing called injuries,sometimes players get hurt and have to go off.cry me a river

Game 2 :beaten fair square

Game 3 :couldlve been fixed,who knows?,blame the NBA and Refs,not the Spurs

Game 4:your players broke a clear black and white rule.Same rule that hurt the Knicks and Heat years ago.Been there a long time.The NBA reviewed it at the end of the season and guess what?its still there!blame your players.you couldnt care less if it was rose or banks that went on the court and broke the rule...

so basically this is your argument

 

[apollo_creed]

you're getting spanked Jerry.

you're basically admitting to everything I accuse.

and that same rule didn't apply to Tim Duncan?

you only won the series because of the abscence of Amare + Diaw in Game 5, so you got lucky and the best team did not win.

you know this. even if you're not man enough to admit such. many, many people share this view.

 

[jerry springer]

you only won the series because of the abscence of Amare + Diaw in Game 5, so you got lucky and the best team did not win.

you know this. even if you're not man enough to admit such. many, many people share this view.

ive said on another thread that the Spurs championship is tainted because of the referees "fix".no problems there.The whole NBA is a farce,ive always hated the "superstar' rules.I think Sac-town got cheated out of a championship a few years ago because of the refs.It doesnt make any sense though, that the NBA would want the Spurs to make the finals because we draw low TV ratings.However this years Championship is defiantly tainted thanks to one ****stick referee.

what you have to admit is that there is a black and white rule that has been there for years(and still remains)and that your mob broke it.

Why do you automatically think that if you had Amare and Diaw you would of won anyway?we had already proved that we could win at your home court,you had proved you could win on ours.the series could of gone either way still with 3 possible games to go.Dont be ignorant.you cant predict the outcomes,neither can I...

what does need to happen is the Suns have to take some responsibility for themselves and stop looking for excuses every time things dont go their way.

 

[jerry springer]

Make you own conclusions but the rub didnt always go against the Suns



From a Phoenix Writer!


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Something I read in the Arizona Republic! So when the Suns fans start complaining to us, we could give it to them straight!

Ya wanna bet?
One thing a whistle-blower should never say
Bob Young
The Arizona Republic
Jul. 22, 2007 09:05 PM

Thank goodness we got back from vacation when we did.

Let's just hope it's not too late, because there are some Suns fans who must be kept away from sharp objects, high overhangs and their shoelaces right about now.

Already convinced that the NBA cheated them out of Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinal series against the San Antonio Spurs, now there's this:


The scandal involving NBA referee Tim Donaghy. It allegedly involves mob ties, game fixing and possibly the Suns short-lived playoff run.

ESPN.com's Bill Simmons wrote this after Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals, which the Suns lost to the San Antonio Spurs 108-101:

"Congratulations to Greg Willard, Tim Donaghy and Eddie F. Rush for giving us the most atrociously officiated game of the playoffs so far: Game 3 of the Suns-Spurs series."

He singled out one call late in the game, when the outcome already was decided, in which he said Manu Ginobili was called for reaching in on Steve Nash.

Simmons suggests now in a column posted Sunday that Donaghy might have been trying to fix the over-under outcome of games.

That's a proposition in which bettors can wager whether the total points scored by both teams will be over or under a predetermined number.

It makes sense.

That would be a fix that could be made without drawing as much suspicion because seemingly inconsequential calls late in games can pad the score. Ignoring stuff late in games can keep the score down.

And the questionable calls can go for or against either team.

Anyway, in that game, Simmons writes that the over-under was 200.5.

The call evidently in question came with 2:26 to play and the Spurs leading 104-93, so the total was still "under" the 200.5 line.

And Donaghy made the call (although it was actually against Bruce Bowen, who brushed Nash before Ginobili reached in).

We reviewed the video on Synergy Sports Technology's Web site to confirm it.

Trouble is, Nash didn't get free throws out of it. Ginobili was called for a foul with 1:18 to go against Nash, but that call was made by Willard, and again Nash did not shoot free throws.

At any rate, this will only fuel the debate about whether the Suns were, you know, manipulated out of a championship.

You may recall that in Game 3, Amaré Stoudemire got into early foul trouble and played only 21 minutes.

Again using the Synergy Sports Tech video breakdown, we looked at all five calls against Stoudemire.

Donaghy made the first two, both in the first quarter. The first was an easy call. The second was definitely questionable - Robert Horry created contact on a cut to the post when Stoudemire appeared to simply hold his ground.

However, Donaghy never made another call against Stoudemire.

Willard made one and Rush made two, including a charging call that resulted in Stoudemire's fourth personal early in the third quarter with the Suns trailing 56-54.

That was perhaps the most damaging, and questionable, of all the calls against Stoudemire.

In fact, if somebody asked whether we thought the fix was in, we'd have fingered Rush for sure.
After all, he nearly had Nash fixed permanent-like by ignoring Bowen's infamous knee to the Most Valuable Groin during that same game.

 

[apollo_creed]

The early fouls to Amare prove it all.

Amare in early foul trouble = Suns gawn.

Clear as day. A sunny day.

 

[thepower]

so the nba should give the title to phoenix?

if phoneix ever win the championship ill be digging up excuses left right and centre.

 

[jerry springer]

The early fouls to Amare prove it all.

Amare in early foul trouble = Suns gawn.

Clear as day. A sunny day.

once again you see what you want to see.your ignorance is staggering

 

[apollo_creed]

They are actually nice sunnies.