Post by JDawg on May 30, 2007 11:49:44 GMT -5
With Dallas holding the #8 seed with a abysmal 9-15 record, it raises the question, what’s going on in the West?? The Western Conference teams have gotten off to a sluggish start thusfar.
Outside of Tony Parker running the fort and the very inactivity in the trading market, it looks like a for sure chance for Memphis to be in the lotto. This raises the question, should D2A be fired? Going based on the direction board, the wins have been decreasing dramatically year by year and he also been unable to accumulate draft picks to re-build or to trade big contracts for youth and better talent, so shouldn’t that result in a new GM running the team very soon. The Jazz are not surprising to me. Moving “the face of the league in Brad Miller”, and a stud youth player in Richard Jefferson, leads to a lousy record in the early going. Al Jefferson was a great pick for them in the draft, but counting on him to put up stud numbers immediately is a lot to expect. Van Exel was a solid acquisition by the Jazz from Dallas, but it has not paid off dividends just yet. I also love the pick in Andre Iguodala, who is a very athletic and talented player. I expect this team to be back in the race to contend for a championship in a few years. Lumley as always makes some questionable moves for the slumping Kings. Trading away Raef made sense, but why take on a max contract for Ray Allen is beyond on me. It gives me the impression that he is very unsure of the direction of the team. Getting Allen would mean contending now, but trading Raef is re-building, make up your mind. Allowing 109 ppg doesn’t help either.
Lebron is demanding out in Denver. According to sources “If no significant changes are made soon or great pieces are added, I want out.” Once again his team dwells as one of the bottom feeders in the league. Minnesota is basically depending on Camby to put up outstanding numbers on a night and night basis and like many of the other lower teams in the conference, one player can’t do it all. In addition, his trading activity and ability to re-build has also been questioned. Now for Danny boy’s team, the Portland Trailblazers. Basically his team is counting on a lot of youngsters to chip in immediately such as Biedrins and Nelson. Nelson has been playing out of his mind, which is a very good sign for his team in the near future. One issue with their though is not having a defensive presence on the inside, like many other teams in the conference. If they could acquire that force and not move too much significant pieces, a playoff contender for sure.
Now for my team the Dallas Mavericks, simply put the most inconsistent team I have ever seen. GM Gregg continues to try many tactics to change the luck. Hopefully added the recent piece of Eddie Jones can give them the consistent scoring they needed plus, a better defensive player. Losing Van Exel was a huge lose, but they have replaced Battie very nicely with the likes of Nene. I believe Dallas is well underachieving. Next up we have, Mr. Oinker’s Sonics. The scoring for this team has been outstanding, but the defense needs to play a little better. Feick has played very nicely for the team, yet the record is still barely over .500. Moving that big contract of AI may be in the best interest of the team, their not ready to contend just yet. Clippers have looked good so far in comparison to previous years, but will it continue? Acquiring Brad Miller “Face of the league”, has been a nice addition to the team. However, its very puzzling looking at the all statistics and such that this is a barely over .500 team. AK has been a great all around player, but I guess it is has not been enough just yet.
Since taking over the reigns, James has taken the GS from championship contender to middle of pack for the playoffs. It’s very surprising to see Wade be at such a high point in his career, but now upset with the performance of his team. It kind of makes you wonder, was Spence just that good of a GM? Houston Rockets GM Aig, is still frustrated at huge losses in the off-season. The team still does not seem to be gelling well with the new teammates on there. There has been an extreme lack of leadership especially at the point guard position.
Finally we come to the several few teams, that are not in what I call the “West Slump”. Lakers, Suns and Spurs. First lets start with the Spurs. This GM continues to put an outstanding team out on the floor. With a starting lineup of Okur, Marion, West, Carter and the leader Chauncey Billups, how can you not win. When you add in the great defense from Marion, 2.2 BPG and Haywood off the bench, it just speaks for itself. Vince Carter has been underperforming, but Marion has stepped his A game up. Guys also like Evan have contributed nicely off the bench. Next are the surging Suns. They are playing extremely well and were even picked by one GM thus far to win the title. GM Boss continue to amaze us. He adds in a Cwebb and Rahim, very nice pieces, and the team has just gelled very well. Foyle has been huge on the defensive end as well as Cwebb. But the scoring has been solid as well, getting nearly 3 players to score over 20 ppg. Last, but not least Garf’s Lakers. Easily the most explosive scoring team in the league at 108 ppg. In addition, Ratliff’s has put up an outstanding 4.2 BPG, unreal. He hasn’t necessarily used much of his bench, which might cause a problem down the read, but it seems to be working thusfar. Diaw has played superb basketball, and Amare continues to basically put up Amare-like numbers. It wouldn’t be out of the realm for him to win a title with this team.
Outside of Tony Parker running the fort and the very inactivity in the trading market, it looks like a for sure chance for Memphis to be in the lotto. This raises the question, should D2A be fired? Going based on the direction board, the wins have been decreasing dramatically year by year and he also been unable to accumulate draft picks to re-build or to trade big contracts for youth and better talent, so shouldn’t that result in a new GM running the team very soon. The Jazz are not surprising to me. Moving “the face of the league in Brad Miller”, and a stud youth player in Richard Jefferson, leads to a lousy record in the early going. Al Jefferson was a great pick for them in the draft, but counting on him to put up stud numbers immediately is a lot to expect. Van Exel was a solid acquisition by the Jazz from Dallas, but it has not paid off dividends just yet. I also love the pick in Andre Iguodala, who is a very athletic and talented player. I expect this team to be back in the race to contend for a championship in a few years. Lumley as always makes some questionable moves for the slumping Kings. Trading away Raef made sense, but why take on a max contract for Ray Allen is beyond on me. It gives me the impression that he is very unsure of the direction of the team. Getting Allen would mean contending now, but trading Raef is re-building, make up your mind. Allowing 109 ppg doesn’t help either.
Lebron is demanding out in Denver. According to sources “If no significant changes are made soon or great pieces are added, I want out.” Once again his team dwells as one of the bottom feeders in the league. Minnesota is basically depending on Camby to put up outstanding numbers on a night and night basis and like many of the other lower teams in the conference, one player can’t do it all. In addition, his trading activity and ability to re-build has also been questioned. Now for Danny boy’s team, the Portland Trailblazers. Basically his team is counting on a lot of youngsters to chip in immediately such as Biedrins and Nelson. Nelson has been playing out of his mind, which is a very good sign for his team in the near future. One issue with their though is not having a defensive presence on the inside, like many other teams in the conference. If they could acquire that force and not move too much significant pieces, a playoff contender for sure.
Now for my team the Dallas Mavericks, simply put the most inconsistent team I have ever seen. GM Gregg continues to try many tactics to change the luck. Hopefully added the recent piece of Eddie Jones can give them the consistent scoring they needed plus, a better defensive player. Losing Van Exel was a huge lose, but they have replaced Battie very nicely with the likes of Nene. I believe Dallas is well underachieving. Next up we have, Mr. Oinker’s Sonics. The scoring for this team has been outstanding, but the defense needs to play a little better. Feick has played very nicely for the team, yet the record is still barely over .500. Moving that big contract of AI may be in the best interest of the team, their not ready to contend just yet. Clippers have looked good so far in comparison to previous years, but will it continue? Acquiring Brad Miller “Face of the league”, has been a nice addition to the team. However, its very puzzling looking at the all statistics and such that this is a barely over .500 team. AK has been a great all around player, but I guess it is has not been enough just yet.
Since taking over the reigns, James has taken the GS from championship contender to middle of pack for the playoffs. It’s very surprising to see Wade be at such a high point in his career, but now upset with the performance of his team. It kind of makes you wonder, was Spence just that good of a GM? Houston Rockets GM Aig, is still frustrated at huge losses in the off-season. The team still does not seem to be gelling well with the new teammates on there. There has been an extreme lack of leadership especially at the point guard position.
Finally we come to the several few teams, that are not in what I call the “West Slump”. Lakers, Suns and Spurs. First lets start with the Spurs. This GM continues to put an outstanding team out on the floor. With a starting lineup of Okur, Marion, West, Carter and the leader Chauncey Billups, how can you not win. When you add in the great defense from Marion, 2.2 BPG and Haywood off the bench, it just speaks for itself. Vince Carter has been underperforming, but Marion has stepped his A game up. Guys also like Evan have contributed nicely off the bench. Next are the surging Suns. They are playing extremely well and were even picked by one GM thus far to win the title. GM Boss continue to amaze us. He adds in a Cwebb and Rahim, very nice pieces, and the team has just gelled very well. Foyle has been huge on the defensive end as well as Cwebb. But the scoring has been solid as well, getting nearly 3 players to score over 20 ppg. Last, but not least Garf’s Lakers. Easily the most explosive scoring team in the league at 108 ppg. In addition, Ratliff’s has put up an outstanding 4.2 BPG, unreal. He hasn’t necessarily used much of his bench, which might cause a problem down the read, but it seems to be working thusfar. Diaw has played superb basketball, and Amare continues to basically put up Amare-like numbers. It wouldn’t be out of the realm for him to win a title with this team.