don tiberone

So K-Mart leaves the Nets for the Nuggets. Boozer leaves the Cavs for the
Jazz. It's pathetic. Meanwhile T-Mac and Yao are now the top 1-2 punch of
the league. Not to mention the Hornets, one of the top Eastern teams now
moves to the West while the East picks up yet another expansion team. Shaq
has it WAY WAY too easy in the East. With the Nets out of the way, he only
has to worry about the Pistons and Pacers. The rest of the East isn't worth
mentioning. The Lakers would make the playoffs in the East but what about
the West?

We have the big 4 of SA, Minnesota, Dallas, and Sacramento. Although losing
Nash will hurt the Mavs. The Suns, Jazz, Rockets, and Nuggets have all
improved. The Lakers have not. The Grizzlies should be improved as well.
Lakers need to bring Malone back and sign another big man. Right now, our
tallest player is Lamar Odom. Pathetic.

Last year, the Celtics make the playoffs by winning only 36 games. The Jazz
and Blazers couldn't even make the playoffs in the West winning at least 41
games.

Will all the remaining free agents please sign in the East?


--
"In the absence of the gold standard, there is no way to protect savings
from confiscation through inflation. ... This is the shabby secret of the
welfare statists' tirades against gold. Deficit spending is simply a scheme
for the confiscation of wealth. Gold stands in the way of this insidious
process. It stands as a protector of property rights. If one grasps this,
one has no difficulty in understanding the statists' antagonism toward the
gold standard."

- Alan Greenspan

edgar fernandez

Everything you posted is true, and the worst part is that the Lakers are
capped out until 2007.

aceswired

I don't think Dallas even belongs on that list anymore, barring some
further moves from Cuban. Losing Nash and trading Jamison for
Stackhouse are big downgrades for a team that was already well behind
the Big 4 of last year.

I think both Denver and Memphis are bigger threats than Dallas as the
teams stack up right now.

Matt

levidespam

That's my take too. Already IMHO hurting at center, losing Nash puts them
in a real bind at PG. Just read Cuban's blog this morning, it was apparently
an unexpected happenstance - so I figure they are scrambling. I also got
the impression that Cuban is feeling the luxury tax. Looks like a real bad
year for the Mavs unless they make some bold moves.

x

Credit where it's due: the Don Nelson Effect has its upside too.
He will get more out of a mismatched, undersized team than anyone.
Less than 50 wins and I think he'd be so shocked he'd probably
retire. They might bow out in the first round of the playoffs, but
those 50 wins will obviously mean 50 losses for other teams, and
a playoff roster spot that someone else would have taken.

The cupboard ain't exactly bare there, either. Marquis Daniels
and Josh Howard came out of nowhere last season and you can expect
they'll pick up some of the slack. Nelson (both Don and Mini-Me)
have drafted pretty well over the last couple of years, so this
year's picks are worth the benefit of the doubt as well.

aceswired

Not enough. Dallas ain't Big 4 right now. They weren't Big 4 last
year, and they'll be worse this year. They'll still be a decent team
capable of winning on any night, but they shouldn't be mentioned as a
title contender.

Matt

x

Well, I guess that's the difference then. I never considered
them title contenders. Maybe not Big 4, but probably Big 6, at
least in the regular season.