NBA Thread - 2010-2011

[Big Sexy]

All the other sports seem to be getting their new yearly threads made so here is the NBA one. If someone wants to merge the NBA offseason thread with this one then that would be fantastic.

Discuss everything about the season in here. Predictions, training camp, the US team, trade rumors, and everything else NBA related. We're about a month away from the pre season and training camps start soon.

 

[gd]

Should be a really interesting year, especially with the whole Miami Heat situation. Can't wait to see how that works out.

The Lakers are obviously the early favorites, yet again. They have bascially the whole team returning and the possiblity of a healthy Bynum, however unlikely, means they could be even better.

The Heat are definetly a top contender as well. Anytime you have 2 of the best 5 players in the league as well a top 15 or so player, you're going to be pretty damn good. They still have a few issues, like point guard and a post defender, but I think they'll be just fine.

Other contenders include the Celtics, in what could be their last shot, Howard and the Magic, and one of the most interesting teams, the Oklahoma City Thunder. With Durant getting even better and great mix of young players, I'm expecting big things out of them this year. All they need is another big guy, which they might've gotten in the draft with Aldrich, and a shooter or two, and they'll be scary good.

 

[Khalifa]

Dam I hell wanted to do this. Oh wells. Such is life right?

Anyways onto the season. I am very excited this year because the Lakers got better for the secnd season in a row. I am sad they lost Farmar, but with the addition of Matt Barnes, a defensive specialist with a 3 point range shot and Steve Blake another floor leader with good defense, vision and shot, it will be hard to stop the defending champions. I am expecting Bynum to have a career year as well.

Miami, Miami, Miami. I really don't see them having such a good year. Not this year anyways. They do have the 3 'kings' and they will probably have to have atleast one on the court each time, but do they have the stamina to do that for a 82 game season plus going to the NBA finals? It will be hard to tell. Also Miami don't have such good defensive team like Celtics or Lakers so that will test them.

Chicago and Thunder will be the teams to look out for. Chicago got great additions this year and not only did they get a big man for Rose and Noah, but they also got a great deep bench and talented shooters. Thunder had a great run last year for a young team. They come back better this year with the even more improvement of Durant who is already a superstar and Westbrook, and the x-factor in Green. I am expecting a top 4 for in both conferences in the Bulls and Thunder.

It will be interesting to see how the likes of Magic, Celtics and Mavericks go. Both all probably have the last chance in there teams careers to make the finals for a while. Can they gell together to beat the champions Lakers and the 3 headed best in Miami. I think the Magic have the chance to do that. Only if Howard wins the MVP this year.

For the awards. This is how I think it will happen.
MVP= Howard or Rose
Defensive player= Artest
Sixth Man= Reddick
Most Improved= Brandon Rush
NBA Champions= Lakers
Most surprising team= Warriors

 

[gd]

So, Delonte West to the Celtics it appears. Good signing for them, they seem to be going all in this year. This really helps give them some depth, which is something they were somewhat lacking last year. Sure, he'll be suspended for the first 10 games and definetly has some issues, but they're only paying the veterans minimum for one year, so I'd say it's worth it.

Once Perkins gets back from his injury, a bench of West, Nate Robinson, Avery Bradley, Big Baby, and the O'Neals should be enough for them to make another deep playoff run.

 

[Big Sexy]

The C's entire season depends on how there aged players hold up. If everyone can stay healthy and give it one more run then they have a chance to make some noise. However, with the number of early to mid 30's players they have on the roster nothing is guaranteed.

 

[48.7 is Approximately 49 Times Better Than You]

And the Thunder lovin' begins again. Portland, injured, was better than them last year, is equally young, and cannot have a season worse than their last. This equates to... Portland > OKC. Anyway...

I'm thinking that this is Oden's last shot to prove his worth the the Blazers. He's slimmed down a lot and I'm still holding on to hope that he is going to be healthy this year. Additions of Camby, Batum, Matthews and hopefully Oden for the entire year will make us one of, or the top defensive team in the NBA. Brandon Roy is coming in to camp lighter this year to help out his knees. 72 games of Brandon Roy in the regular season is all I'm asking for. Given just relative health without an impact player like Roy or Oden missing more then 20 games, I think the Blazers challenge the Lakers in the West. A healthy Blazers team is without-a-doubt better than Oklahoma City, Dallas, San Antonio, and Houston.

MVP - Dwight Howard
Defensive player - Greg Oden
Rookie of the Year - Blake Griffin
Sixth Man - Manu Ginobili
Most Improved - Greg Oden
Coach of the Year - Monty Williams
Surprise Team - New Orleans Hornets
NBA Champions - Miami Heat

 

[Big Sexy]

And the Thunder lovin' begins again. Portland, injured, was better than them last year, is equally young, and cannot have a season worse than their last. This equates to... Portland > OKC. Anyway...

I Like Brandon Roy and Lamarcus Aldridge but Kevin Durant is AT THE LEAST the 3rd best player in the league. He is superior to anybody that Portland has. Russell Westbrook is also emerging into an elite point guard and at this point is better then Andre Miller. Jeff Green is always solid and will give you 15 and 6 boards a night. Serge Ibaka is a young, athletic big on the rise. I expect him to have a breakout season this year. The Thunder didn't add much but the growth of that young team is going to be tremendous. I did like the addition of Mo Pete as well. He brings a veteran presence and a scorer off the bench.

 

[48.7 is Approximately 49 Times Better Than You]

I Like Brandon Roy and Lamarcus Aldridge but Kevin Durant is AT THE LEAST the 3rd best player in the league. He is superior to anybody that Portland has. Russell Westbrook is also emerging into an elite point guard and at this point is better then Andre Miller. Jeff Green is always solid and will give you 15 and 6 boards a night. Serge Ibaka is a young, athletic big on the rise. I expect him to have a breakout season this year. The Thunder didn't add much but the growth of that young team is going to be tremendous. I did like the addition of Mo Pete as well. He brings a veteran presence and a scorer off the bench.

You act like Brandon Roy isn't a super star.

That doesn't change the fact that the Blazers have much better big men, more depth, and their own superstar. We were better than them head to head, posted the same record and were ravaged by injuries last year and the Thunder were the healthiest team in the NBA. Neither of those will remain the same. I understand that the Thunder are the new sexy pick, but the Blazers are still the better team.

 

[Big Sexy]

You act like Brandon Roy isn't a super star.

That doesn't change the fact that the Blazers have much better big men, more depth, and their own superstar. We were better than them head to head, posted the same record and were ravaged by injuries last year and the Thunder were the healthiest team in the NBA. Neither of those will remain the same. I understand that the Thunder are the new sexy pick, but the Blazers are still the better team.

Brandon Roy is a second tier superstar. He isn't in the elite with guys like Durant, Kobe, LeBron, Wade, Dwight, and CP3. Kevin Durant is at the very least the third best player in the NBA. Durant > Roy and it isn't that close.

The Blazers bigs are definitely better but the Thunder are better at pretty much every other position. Russell Westbrook is emerging as an elite point guard and I'd put him slightly ahead of Andre Miller right now. On the wings the Thunder are absolutely stacked with Durant, Sefolosha, Harden, Mo Pete, and Daequan Cook. I'll take that over Roy, Batum, Matthews, and Babbit.

Also, while both are young teams more of the Thunder's young guys still have room to grow. Guys like Roy and Aldridge seem to have reached their peak and until Oden proves he can stay healthy it'll be hard for him to reach any kind of potential. The Thunder aren't a lot better then Portland. In fact both are easily top 7-8 teams but I believe the Thunder are slightly better.

 

[Khalifa]

Brandon Roy is a superstar but not a top tier one with like Durant is. Don't get me wrong, Blazers have a good team, and injuries were killing them last year. But Camby and Miller aren't getting any younger. While you do have Bayless and Oden to be there backs up, they haven't really proven they can be a starting player yet. Oden has showed glimpses of it but thats it. While I do love Batum and think he will be a great player he needs some more years into to him yet. Roy is really good, but not great. Portland do have a good bench as well, I just don't think that they can compete with the Thunder.

In my opinion Westbrook is at the level of Roy, and Durant is past that and onto a whole different level. Even though Batum is a good/great defender, he is not going to stop Durant, and thats what makes the difference.

Anyways. I wonder how Pistons will go this year. I was just looking at there roster and it isn't that bad. Stuckey is turning into a really good guard, Gordon can light it up all night, Prince is one of the most underated players in the game, Jerebenko showed he is good enough to be on this Pistons squad. They do have some old players tho in Hamilton and Wallace and they are both vital players in this team. It'll be interesting to see how they go. They cant go worse than last year.

 

[Big Sexy]

The Pistons will definitely compete for a playoff spot this year. Last year they had a ton of injuries and with so many new faces they were never really able to mesh well because they had a different lineup every night. I have a feeling that either Rip or Tayshaun will be dealt before the season starts or near the beginning of the season.

They have a lot of talent and there will be a lot of competition on the roster. Stuckey has been working hard this off season and will try to fend off Will Bynum for the starting job at the point. Rip, Ben Gordon, Tayshaun, Austin Daye, and T Mac will all be competing for minutes at the 2 and 3 spots. Then inside you have guys like Ben Wallace, Greg Monroe, Charlie V, and Jonas Jerebko competing at the 4 and 5 spots. I'm really looking forward to the Pistons season.

 

[People's Champ]

Reports from ESPN are saying that Chicago is thinking of trading for Carmelo Anthony and sending Noah as part of the deal. I don't know how much of a possibility that is, or how long the Nuggets will try to convince Melo to stay before they trade him. But if this deal were to go down, they the Bulls would have to be up there as favorites for the East. They have the most complete team there, and adding Melo would only better that team. Interesting to see if the Bulls can get a deal done.

 

[Khalifa]

May as well keep the thread going. I think Nuggets are doing the right thing in waiting for a very good trade. But if it were me I think getting Taj Gibson and Noah in a trade would have been very good. They are pretty weak at the tall positions ( meaning Martin, Nene and Anderson) and Noah is a good defensive player. He is as tough as they come. Taj Gibson showed some promising signs last year. But that would leave Denver lacking at the small forward position. I could see him getting traded to New York though as Knicks could offer Gilani (if thats how you spell it) and Randolph. We'll see what happens though hey.

 

[Dizzy]

Reports from ESPN are saying that Chicago is thinking of trading for Carmelo Anthony and sending Noah as part of the deal. I don't know how much of a possibility that is, or how long the Nuggets will try to convince Melo to stay before they trade him. But if this deal were to go down, they the Bulls would have to be up there as favorites for the East. They have the most complete team there, and adding Melo would only better that team. Interesting to see if the Bulls can get a deal done.

That's nice but he won't stay there. He wants the Knicks, not the Bulls. Besides, I think Chicago has rejected any reports of them trading for him.

It's the Rockets, Nets that have interest while the Knicks remain his top choice.

 

[Big Sexy]

That's nice but he won't stay there. He wants the Knicks, not the Bulls. Besides, I think Chicago has rejected any reports of them trading for him.

It's the Rockets, Nets that have interest while the Knicks remain his top choice.

The Knicks are his top choice but they don't really have the type of trade assets that the Nuggets want which is why the Nets have emerged as the front runner. You also have to realize that whoever does trade for Carmelo is only going to do it if he agrees to a contract extension with that team. No one is going to trade for a one year loner when they have to give up a lot of assets. The only way I see Melo in NY is if he does NOT get traded and then becomes a free agent next off season.

 

[16mikeytot]

I want to see Melo go to the Knicks not The Nets it's great for basketball if The Knicks are a good team. Amare is one of my favorite players so I would love to see him team up with Melo in NY. Melo has all the control in this situation because no team is going to trade for him if he doesn't sign an extension. I think Melo should just play this year out in Denver and become a free agent.

 

[Big Sexy]

I want to see Melo go to the Knicks not The Nets it's great for basketball if The Knicks are a good team. Amare is one of my favorite players so I would love to see him team up with Melo in NY. Melo has all the control in this situation because no team is going to trade for him if he doesn't sign an extension. I think Melo should just play this year out in Denver and become a free agent.

With the Nets moving to Brooklyn soon they are a team he will have a lot of interest in as well. He just has to decide which supporting cast he likes better. The Knicks have Amare, Felton, Galinari, and possibly Anthony Randolph. The Nets have Devin Harris, Brook Lopez, Travis Outlaw, and Anthony Morrow.

 

[16mikeytot]

With the Nets moving to Brooklyn soon they are a team he will have a lot of interest in as well. He just has to decide which supporting cast he likes better. The Knicks have Amare, Felton, Galinari, and possibly Anthony Randolph. The Nets have Devin Harris, Brook Lopez, Travis Outlaw, and Anthony Morrow.

Yeah but The Nets are and will always be The Knicks little brother. Also if you put Melo on The Nets that's not a team that's going to contend. I think The Nets with Melo are a 6 to 8 seed team at best. You put Melo with Amare and that's a scary one two punch.

 

[Big Sexy]

Yeah but The Nets are and will always be The Knicks little brother. Also if you put Melo on The Nets that's not a team that's going to contend. I think The Nets with Melo are a 6 to 8 seed team at best. You put Melo with Amare and that's a scary one two punch.

I'd say that right now the combination of Devin Harris and Brook Lopez is better then the combo of Amare and Raymod Felton. Plus I don't see Mike D'Antoni's system as one that can win titles. Avery Johnson is a guy who has already led a team to the finals.

 

[Platypus Palsy]

I can't wait to see how my Cavaliers do without Lebron. Granted it won't be good, but I still want to see. Hopefully they can keep it to around .500 this year.

Melo said that if he got traded to the Nets, that he would sign a long term contract with them. Of course this would mean an automatic improvement for them, but I still don't see them making it past the second round of the playoffs with him.

 

[Big Sexy]

Avery Johnson is a very good coach and the Nets also added names like Travis Outlaw and Anthony Morrow this off season. Those aren't major signings but certainly improvements that add depth. A starting 5 of Devin Harris, Morrow, Melo, Joe Smith, and Brook Lopez is very solid. Plus they'd have a bench core of Jordan Farmar, Terrence Williamas, Travis Outlaw, Damian James, and Johan Petro. They'd be a little weak inside off the bench but in a year or two with a couple additions to the front court they could be contenders.

 

[Big Sexy]

Rumor is today that Chicago is back at the top of the list for the Carmelo sweepstakes. The Nuggets wanted to get Joakim Noah but he seems to be untouchable at the moment. The current package looks like Taj Gibson, Luol Deng, and a future first round pick for Melo.

If this trade does happen then Chicago has to be right up there with Miami as the favorites in the East. It'd be D Wade, LeBron, and Bosh against Derrick Rose, Carmelo, and Carlos Boozer. The Heat's big three looks better but the Bulls would have the better overall roster. Kyle Korver and Joakim Noah would make that starting 5 great. CJ Watson, Ronnie Brewer, James Johnson and Kurt Thomas is a very solid bench core. Plus if the trade were to go down you know the Bulls would try to pick up one more veteran big man to strengthen the front court. They would be more then a formidable opponent for the Heat.

 

[Platypus Palsy]

Even though I'm a Cavs fan, I still would love for the Bulls to get Melo. There's another team that would beat the Heat, and that's really all I want for the next several seasons, Lebron not winning. Seeing that Bulls team and the Lakers in the finals would be a great series, I feel.

 

[Big Sexy]

A small trade went down today between the Hornets and the 76ers. Philly sent Willie Green and Jason Smith to New Orleans for Craig Brackins and Darius Songalia. Songalia and Smith basically cancel each other out as they are pretty much the same player, so the trade is mainly Willie Green for Brackins.

Brackins is a 6'10 230 pound rookie who will add a young, athletic big to Philly's rotation. Willie Green is a very solid veteran combo guard who will most likely be a spark off the bench for the Hornets. After CP3 and Marcus Thorton the Hornets backups are currently Mustafa Shakur and Marco Bellenelli so Willie Green will boost the guard play off the bench. The Hornets made some good moves this off season and if CP3 stays healthy they could be a surprise team in the West.

 

[16mikeytot]

So I was just wondering who do you guys think is the second best team in the west? Im thinking as crazy as this sounds it may be The Thunder they pushed The Lakers to 6 games in the first round in the playoffs and lost that game on a late Gasol tip in. My dark-horse team would be The Suns I don't expect a lot of people to think they'll be good with the lost of Amare but all they did the last time Amare was out for the season they made the western conference finals. I think Phoenix is the deepest team in the league because they can go ten deep and they can also put a lineup on the floor where 1 through 5 can shoot the three.