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Around the League => Around the NBA => Topic started by: CbrewEra on September 09, 2010, 09:01:59 PM

Title: The West's Decline
Post by: CbrewEra on September 09, 2010, 09:01:59 PM
With Carmello potentially heading East, Boozer leaving Utah and Amare's departure from the sun's, it has become clear the west is no where the near the power house it was just a couple years ago.

Honestly, who in the west has a snow balls chance in hell of de-throning the Lakers?   I'd say the team that has even a slight chance (a longshot) would be the Thunder, with the emergence of KD and Westbrook.  Other than that though, LA seems to be a show in to the Finals next year.
Thoughts?
Title: Re: The West's Decline
Post by: Who on September 09, 2010, 09:04:05 PM
Portland

Houston had a shot before they gave away Ariza. They made life a lot more difficult on themselves with that trade. Still have a decent shot at it though.

I think the Lakers will have stronger competition this season than in either of the past two seasons.
Title: Re: The West's Decline
Post by: GreenFaith1819 on September 09, 2010, 09:37:13 PM
Teams that can give LA a run for their money?

Portland.."If" Oden can stay healthy.

Houston - "If" Yao can stay healthy.

San Antonio - "If" Tiago Splitter can play up to the hype, and I think he will. He's been solid so far in the FIBAs.

And OKC, of course. Cole Aldrich needs to contribute immediately, though.
Title: Re: The West's Decline
Post by: ralph on September 09, 2010, 10:24:26 PM
Teams that can give LA a run for their money?

Portland.."If" Oden can stay healthy.

Houston - "If" Yao can stay healthy.

San Antonio - "If" Tiago Splitter can play up to the hype, and I think he will. He's been solid so far in the FIBAs.

And OKC, of course. Cole Aldrich needs to contribute immediately, though.

So true dude, I'd love to see OKC beat the lakers for the WCF.
San Antonio Is Retooling not rebuilding.
Houston is a big if!
I think if Oden is putting up numbers like 12/8, they can beat the lakers. like they always do.
Title: Re: The West's Decline
Post by: guava_wrench on September 10, 2010, 12:09:36 AM
Teams that can give LA a run for their money?

Portland.."If" Oden can stay healthy.

Houston - "If" Yao can stay healthy.

San Antonio - "If" Tiago Splitter can play up to the hype, and I think he will. He's been solid so far in the FIBAs.

And OKC, of course. Cole Aldrich needs to contribute immediately, though.
Splitter really looks like a great pickup alongside Duncan.
Title: Re: The West's Decline
Post by: GreenFaith1819 on September 10, 2010, 06:21:25 AM
Teams that can give LA a run for their money?

Portland.."If" Oden can stay healthy.

Houston - "If" Yao can stay healthy.

San Antonio - "If" Tiago Splitter can play up to the hype, and I think he will. He's been solid so far in the FIBAs.

And OKC, of course. Cole Aldrich needs to contribute immediately, though.
Splitter really looks like a great pickup alongside Duncan.

And I'm betting that Tiago will be a beast - if not right away, then certainly starting year after next.

Seems as if every Big that the Spurs bring in turns to gold.
Title: Re: The West's Decline
Post by: moiso on September 10, 2010, 08:32:27 AM
I think the Spurs have the best shot.  I think Splitter is the real deal.  The Spurs are always one of my favorite teams, so I hope they do well.  It's too bad they are stuck with Richard Jefferson at almost $10mil per year.  Hollinger thinks there was a prearranged agreament with Jeff to restructure in order to sign Splitter.  He calls Splitter the best contract in the league and Jefferson the worst contract.  I think the biggest thing with the Spurs is health.  Parker and Ginobili are hurt at some point every year, and Duncan is always beat up by the playoffs nowadays.  I'm hoping for the best for this team.

OKC may have a small chance to beat LA but I think their bigs are inadequate.  Green is talented but I don't think he's the answer at PF.  And a lot of scouts say Aldrich projects somewhere between Kendrick Perkins and a stiff.  As great as Durant and Westbrook are, the team may still be missing a piece.

Houston looks great if healthy, but what are the odds that Yao stays healthy through the playoffs?  Does he ever?

Portland has no chance.  They havn't played together as a unit long enough.  Every year they have Oden, then they don't have Oden.
Title: Re: The West's Decline
Post by: Who on September 10, 2010, 10:27:06 AM
Not sure the Spurs are good enough to beat the Lakers. I dislike their depth on the wings + their lack of quickness with their big men + size of backup big men.

I think their core -- Timmy, Ginobili, Parker and Splitter -- is good enough to win a Championship but I'm not sure their supporting cast is.

I also don't like how Tony Parker doesn't exploit Derek Fisher in the way that other quick point guards do. He rarely has had big games against LA over the last couple of years. Always around his regular numbers. Not playing badly but not rising to occasion either.

The lack of size and defense on the wings. No backup SF. No option against small ball lineups. No backup SG with defensive ability. An undersized backcourt with George Hill ... which is useful but I don't like it when we are talking about matching up with Kobe Bryant and the LA Lakers.

I think the front office has let their main players down. Not just this year but for the last several years. Their supporting cast doesn't fit their team as well as it had done in the past + unlike the past, they haven't altered their personnel to matchup against the best teams in the conference to limit matchup problems.

I think Splitter improves the Spurs but I don't know if it'll be enough to put them in the running for a title.
Title: Re: The West's Decline
Post by: Who on September 10, 2010, 10:28:29 AM
Oklahoma matchup well with the Lakers but they're a middle of the pack team versus the rest the West (playoff teams).

They need one of their young players (Westbrook, Harden, J.Green) to make a major leap next season in order to become a true contender.
Title: Re: The West's Decline
Post by: Chris on September 10, 2010, 10:36:03 AM
Oklahoma matchup well with the Lakers but they're a middle of the pack team versus the rest the West (playoff teams).

They need one of their young players (Westbrook, Harden, J.Green) to make a major leap next season in order to become a true contender.

...or find an above average PF/C.  As much as I like Green, they are not going anywhere with him as their starting PF, unless he is next to an All Star center.  They just do not have the size to compete with the top teams in the league right now, and that includes the Lakers, despite how they looked in the playoffs against them last year (the Lakers were on cruise control, because they knew they could flip the switch and dominate the paint whenever they wanted).

As good as Durant is, that is the number one team I am afraid will become complacent with their overachieving, and not make the roster moves needed to make the next step.  I hope I am wrong, because the league will be much better off with Durant competing for a title year in and year out.
Title: Re: The West's Decline
Post by: Chris on September 10, 2010, 10:43:03 AM
Portland

Houston had a shot before they gave away Ariza. They made life a lot more difficult on themselves with that trade. Still have a decent shot at it though.

I think the Lakers will have stronger competition this season than in either of the past two seasons.

I agree that Portland has a very good chance, if they get some luck with injuries.  If Greg Oden and Brandon Roy stay healthy, then they will be very hard to beat, but if either of those guys go down, then they are just another team.

I think the Rockets are in a similar situation.  If Yao can stay healthy, they will be VERY good, but if not, they are not a real contender.  I also have no problem with the Ariza trade.  Since he should be the 6th man anyways behind Battier and Martin, I actually like Lee a little bit better for that role.  Ariza is a guy with a lot of talent, but he doesn't seem to understand how to use it in the most efficient way, which is not good as a 6th man for a team like that.

I also think Dallas could be very good.  I think Chandler is going to be great this year, and he gives them the deepest (with quality) front court this side of Boston.  And having the entire season to integrate Butler into the offense should really help.  And of course they still have some very tradable contracts, should the right trade present itself. 
Title: Re: The West's Decline
Post by: Q_FBE on September 16, 2010, 03:03:02 PM
A team I am going to watch is the LA Clippers with Blake Griffen. They have very good young talent on that team. Utah seems to hang in there year after year.

Oklahoma, with Kevin Durant, figures to be the main challenger to the Lakers in the WC. I would not be surprised if the Celtics go title chasing in Oklahoma City instead of LA.

I hope Portland will be a very good team, too. I would love a quick 2 and 1/2 hour drive down I-5 to see an NBA finals game in 2011.
Title: Re: The West's Decline
Post by: Lucky17 on September 16, 2010, 03:16:31 PM
I'd like to think Portland can do it, but I have little faith in that front office. They ran Kevin Pritchard out of town, despite his successes.

They have plenty of good young players, but are ultimately still too dependent on Roy and Oden. And the injury history of those two makes me think that Portland will remain perennial bridesmaids.
Title: Re: The West's Decline
Post by: housecall on September 16, 2010, 03:26:19 PM
A team I am going to watch is the LA Clippers with Blake Griffen. They have very good young talent on that team. Utah seems to hang in there year after year.

Oklahoma, with Kevin Durant, figures to be the main challenger to the Lakers in the WC. I would not be surprised if the Celtics go title chasing in Oklahoma City instead of LA.

I hope Portland will be a very good team, too. I would love a quick 2 and 1/2 hour drive down I-5 to see an NBA finals game in 2011.
TP,agree with  your Clipper and OKC assessments.I think Griffen is due for a breakout season(good season),alone with a talented young roster.But OKC should be the Lakers spoiler this season.
Title: Re: The West's Decline
Post by: Change on September 16, 2010, 03:36:57 PM
Lakers are 2 or 3 deep in every position. I can't find one flaw in that team. I used to think Fisher was their weakest link. That is until he blanketed Ray in the finals. They added more size, defense, and shooting. They still have Kobe, I consider him the best offensive weapon in the NBA. Pau Gasol is in the prime of his career. And the Pierce stopper Artest. Phil Jackson is back. I don't even know if the East can compete with the Lakers, let alone a depleted weak West. Lakers have set themselves another 2-3 years championship basketball.
Title: Re: The West's Decline
Post by: GreenFaith1819 on September 16, 2010, 04:07:23 PM
I believe we can beat the Lakers, no matter how good they look. a 4 pt win, with our starting center on the bench doesn't convince me of any dynasty talk from Laker land.

And Ron Ron will have to convince me again in another 7 game series that he is in fact a bonafide Pierce stopper.
Title: Re: The West's Decline
Post by: jdub1660 on September 16, 2010, 04:23:18 PM
I think the West is going through an aged period with wear and tear, plus trades of course

Think in the past 5-1- years, the West included primed TimDuncan, TMac, Kobe, Shaq, Yao, Dirk, etc

Now all these players are fading out and newer younger players are taking over, while the East is getting more players, as the OP said.

Boston big 3, Chicago "big 3", Miami big 3

I expect the East to take over the Allstar games for the next 7  years
Title: Re: The West's Decline
Post by: BballTim on September 16, 2010, 04:33:40 PM
Lakers are 2 or 3 deep in every position. I can't find one flaw in that team. I used to think Fisher was their weakest link. That is until he blanketed Ray in the finals. They added more size, defense, and shooting. They still have Kobe, I consider him the best offensive weapon in the NBA. Pau Gasol is in the prime of his career. And the Pierce stopper Artest. Phil Jackson is back. I don't even know if the East can compete with the Lakers, let alone a depleted weak West. Lakers have set themselves another 2-3 years championship basketball.

  Ray was killing Fisher until Artest kneed Ray in the thigh. Pierce got his season average vs Artest. I don't see why the East would be unable to compete with a team that barely beat us last year.
Title: Re: The West's Decline
Post by: housecall on September 16, 2010, 05:12:42 PM
I believe we can beat the Lakers, no matter how good they look. a 4 pt win, with our starting center on the bench doesn't convince me of any dynasty talk from Laker land.

And Ron Ron will have to convince me again in another 7 game series that he is in fact a bonafide Pierce stopper.
TP...Artest got away with a lot of dirty play in that series.He also slowed up Ray with a knee to the thigh that hinder Ray from playing at the top of his game.Ron got away with a lot.Hopefully,if the two teams meet again the officiating will not have the effect on the series as they did this past season.I don't care what the final score says,the best team got screwed by a lot of poor officiating.
Title: Re: The West's Decline
Post by: Assassin70 on September 16, 2010, 05:57:09 PM
Lakers are 2 or 3 deep in every position. I can't find one flaw in that team. I used to think Fisher was their weakest link. That is until he blanketed Ray in the finals. They added more size, defense, and shooting. They still have Kobe, I consider him the best offensive weapon in the NBA. Pau Gasol is in the prime of his career. And the Pierce stopper Artest. Phil Jackson is back. I don't even know if the East can compete with the Lakers, let alone a depleted weak West. Lakers have set themselves another 2-3 years championship basketball.

Let's not have the 2010-2011 season...just give them another ring.

I hear what you are saying and agree with most of your points.  But having said all that... I am sorry the Lakers are not unbeatable.  And I am tired of everyone thinking they are.

This is going to be the year the Lakers implode. I fully admit I don't have any basis of logic for saying this. But the Lakers are due for something bad to happen to them.  This will be their Murphy's law year.  You can take that to the bank.