West Coast Connection Forum
Lifestyle => Sports & Entertainment => Topic started by: M Dogg™ on July 08, 2010, 10:02:16 PM
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He's got his team back.
"We're the Eastern Conference champions," Ainge said Thursday. "And we think we're going to be better next year."
Ainge confirmed that the Celtics have agreements in place with Paul Pierce and Ray Allen that would keep Boston's new Big Three intact for a run at a third NBA finals in four years. Ainge also said he expects to sign free agent center Jermaine O'Neal to fill in while center Kendrick Perkins recovers from knee surgery.
"We intend to sign him," Ainge said. "Our priorities to start the offseason were obviously Paul, Ray, and to strengthen our center position in light of Perk's injury. Hopefully by tomorrow we'll have these things taken care of and then we can continue working."
Speaking after a summer league game in Orlando, Fla., a few hours before LeBron James announced he would sign with the Miami Heat, Ainge told reporters that he thinks Boston remains the team to beat in the East regardless of the reigning NBA MVP's decision. By joining Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade in Miami, James created a threesome that is perhaps even more daunting than the one Boston assembled in 2007 en route to a record 17th NBA title.
"I have a great deal of respect for all those guys -- all the top-notch free agents," Ainge said. "Whatever happens, I know that it's going to be a challenge. The East is going to be stronger. But I think everybody that's worth their salt thinks they can beat somebody."
Part of the reason for optimism could be the fact that the Cavaliers, who had the best record in the NBA last season, are no longer a threat without James. (Even with him, Cleveland lost to the Celtics in the playoffs in two of the past three seasons.)
"There's a lot of franchises that are going to be changed for a long time," Ainge said, "for the better and for the worse."
And that's why the Celtics are happy to make another run with the core of the team that won one title and came within four points of another, losing to the Los Angeles Lakers 83-79 in Game 7.
"How the team played in the playoffs is definitely a sign that they have a lot of basketball left in them," Ainge said, noting that Perkins was injured in Game 6 and missed the finale. "I was very encouraged with what I saw from this team. The overall play of defense and rebounding showed me how much our guys do have left."
Pierce agreed last week to a four-year deal worth about $61 million, and Allen agreed on Wednesday to a two-year deal worth $20 million. O'Neal's contract is reportedly for the midlevel exception, about $5.76 million in the first year of a two-year deal.
Kevin Garnett, the other member of the new Big Three that led the Celtics to their record 17th NBA title in 2008, is under contract for two more years, and emerging star Rajon Rondo is locked up through 2014-15. Coach Doc Rivers also put off a long-debated sabbatical to keep the team together.
"Paul, I don't think he ever looked at another team. I think Paul was 100 percent coming back to Boston," Ainge said. "He did a lot just by restructuring his contract to allow us to bring the rest of the team back."
Ainge said Perkins tore his ACL and also injured the MCL and PCL; he could miss half the season or more. Surgery is scheduled for Monday, having been postponed at least twice to allow the swelling to go down and give him a chance to strengthen the muscles in his leg before the operation.
With Perkins on rehab, and backup Rasheed Wallace vowing to retire, the Celtics were in need of big men.
A six-time All-Star, O'Neal has averaged 14 points and 7.5 rebounds in a 14-year career for Portland, Indiana, Toronto and Miami. With the Heat last year, he averaged 13.6 points and 6.9 rebounds in 28 minutes.
Remaining on Ainge's list of potential free agents are re-signing longtime Celtics bench player Tony Allen and midseason acquisition Nate Robinson.
"We're trying to fill our roster in. Once we get this taken care of the next couple of days, then we'll start working on the next group of guys," Ainge said. We like Nate and Tony. I'm sure they're still looking at the market, too, because the market's pretty crazy right now. So we'll be patient and look at other options as well in case they go in another direction."
Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/basketball/nba/07/08/celtics.oneal.ap/index.html?eref=sihp#ixzz0t9shIhQk
Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/basketball/nba/07/08/celtics.oneal.ap/index.html?eref=sihp#ixzz0t9sTMXm6
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Perkins is gone 'til Febuary; so I guess if JO can give some solid help until then, it's a cool move.
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Perkins is gone 'til Febuary; so I guess if JO can give some solid help until then, it's a cool move.
Bigger impact will be the playoffs when the Celtics can get as big as the Lakers, though they were as big as the Lakers last time. O'Neal is a great replacement for Wallace, and I don't see Miami having the size to match up with Boston in the playoffs. Pierce can guard LeBron and Rondo on Wade will be tough to call. But Bosh can't compete with Perkins, Big Baby, KG and now O'Neal by himself. This move was a good move by Boston.
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^LOL, how will Miami match-up? By blowing them out by 30 points with two of the best players in the league.
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^LOL, how will Miami match-up? By blowing them out by 30 points with two of the best players in the league.
What the last 3 finals have taught us is that it's all about match ups. In 2008, everyone had the Lakers beating the Celtics, but Doc Rivers exposed match ups and the Celtics beat the Lakers. In 2009, the Lakers had the match ups over the Magic. And in 2010, the two teams matched up even and it went 7 games. Now you have a Miami big three to challenge the Boston big 3 for the east. But unless they get big up front, look for a very physical Boston team to beat the Miami team. Big Baby, O'Neal, KG, Perkins, that's a huge front line. See 2008 when Gasol was out numbered by Boston, then look at 2011 when the same thing happens to Bosh. And don't act like Pierce and Rondo can't hang with Lebron and Rondo.
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^LOL, but you don't match-up with LeBron & Wade.
If you played the Cavs in the Finals, you would have double teamed Bron; if you played the Heat (somehow), you would of double teamed Wade.
You can't double team both of them at the same time; or try to & Mike Miller is open; or focus on them to the point you lose track of Bosh.
You're acting like the Lakers can just man to man, guard up on LeBron & Wade at the same time; you could barely handle Pierce & Allen lol.
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^LOL, how will Miami match-up? By blowing them out by 30 points with two of the best players in the league.
What the last 3 finals have taught us is that it's all about match ups. In 2008, everyone had the Lakers beating the Celtics, but Doc Rivers exposed match ups and the Celtics beat the Lakers. In 2009, the Lakers had the match ups over the Magic. And in 2010, the two teams matched up even and it went 7 games. Now you have a Miami big three to challenge the Boston big 3 for the east. But unless they get big up front, look for a very physical Boston team to beat the Miami team. Big Baby, O'Neal, KG, Perkins, that's a huge front line. See 2008 when Gasol was out numbered by Boston, then look at 2011 when the same thing happens to Bosh. And don't act like Pierce and Rondo can't hang with Lebron and Rondo.
huh?
i assume you mean lebron and wade
as the resident Celtic fan even I am not going to say PP and Rajon can hold their own in a 7 game series
a game yes
but 7 games?? jesus nobody can stop that tandem for 7 games
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^LOL, but you don't match-up with LeBron & Wade.
If you played the Cavs in the Finals, you would have double teamed Bron; if you played the Heat (somehow), you would of double teamed Wade.
You can't double team both of them at the same time; or try to & Mike Miller is open; or focus on them to the point you lose track of Bosh.
You're acting like the Lakers can just man to man, guard up on LeBron & Wade at the same time; you could barely handle Pierce & Allen lol.
Miller can't be on the floor the same time as Wade and LeBron, well unless Wade goes point, so we'll see.
^LOL, how will Miami match-up? By blowing them out by 30 points with two of the best players in the league.
What the last 3 finals have taught us is that it's all about match ups. In 2008, everyone had the Lakers beating the Celtics, but Doc Rivers exposed match ups and the Celtics beat the Lakers. In 2009, the Lakers had the match ups over the Magic. And in 2010, the two teams matched up even and it went 7 games. Now you have a Miami big three to challenge the Boston big 3 for the east. But unless they get big up front, look for a very physical Boston team to beat the Miami team. Big Baby, O'Neal, KG, Perkins, that's a huge front line. See 2008 when Gasol was out numbered by Boston, then look at 2011 when the same thing happens to Bosh. And don't act like Pierce and Rondo can't hang with Lebron and Rondo.
huh?
i assume you mean lebron and wade
as the resident Celtic fan even I am not going to say PP and Rajon can hold their own in a 7 game series
a game yes
but 7 games?? jesus nobody can stop that tandem for 7 games
I think they can hang enough. Not saying it's going to be an even match up, but in a 7 game series, you know and I know you have to do enough so that your teammates can help win. Boston showed me one thing, they can play aggressive, very dirty defense. It will be a great match up, but to hold a Laker team that was the highest scoring team in the league to under 100 points in all but one game is out right scary.
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sorry, pierce at his age is a JOKE compared to lebron or wade. stop dreaming M dogg, the lakers aint winning shit until wade retires
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Yeah I wouldnt just give the title to Cleveland yet. But they are obviously the favorites. Look at the Lakers with their HOF roster they tried to create. They got smoked by the Pistons lol. A team with not one HOF'er on it.
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Yeah I wouldnt just give the title to Cleveland yet. But they are obviously the favorites. Look at the Lakers with their HOF roster they tried to create. They got smoked by the Pistons lol. A team with not one HOF'er on it.
You mean Miami? They're much different than that Lakers team. For one, LeBron, Bosh, and Wade are have been friends for a while. When the Lakers put that team together Kobe and Shaq had been having issues for years and there was all that shit going around about Malone trying to get with Kobe's wife. Not to mention the enormous age gap on the team and the distraction of Kobe's sexual assault accusation. Plus Malone and Payton (although still effective) were out of their prime. I don't see the Heat winning this year and I agree that just adding big names isn't always the answer, but I don't really think the situations are that comparable.
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Guys, remember: The Celtics were nothing before Garnett/Allen came. The Heat made the playoffs last year with a decent seed.
Garnett, Pierce, Allen - all out of their prime.
Rondo? Not nearly as good as he is now.
Eddie House? Not nearly as good as Mike Miller.
If Z joins the Heat, they also have a true Center.
Now they just need a good defender who takes charges and makes opponents want to chop his head off, and they are good to go.
They don't need a great PG because James is a terrific ball handler / passer.
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Yeah I wouldnt just give the title to Cleveland Miami yet. But they are obviously the favorites. Look at the Lakers with their HOF roster they tried to create. They got smoked by the Pistons lol. A team with not one HOF'er on it.
You mean Miami? They're much different than that Lakers team. For one, LeBron, Bosh, and Wade are have been friends for a while. When the Lakers put that team together Kobe and Shaq had been having issues for years and there was all that shit going around about Malone trying to get with Kobe's wife. Not to mention the enormous age gap on the team and the distraction of Kobe's sexual assault accusation. Plus Malone and Payton (although still effective) were out of their prime. I don't see the Heat winning this year and I agree that just adding big names isn't always the answer, but I don't really think the situations are that comparable.
There...fixed lol
But Phil coached that team...he should have been able to use his Jedi mind tricks to control the egos.... :-\
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Guys, remember: The Celtics were nothing before Garnett/Allen came. The Heat made the playoffs last year with a decent seed.
Garnett, Pierce, Allen - all out of their prime.
Rondo? Not nearly as good as he is now.
Eddie House? Not nearly as good as Mike Miller.
If Z joins the Heat, they also have a true Center.
Now they just need a good defender who takes charges and makes opponents want to chop his head off, and they are good to go.
They don't need a great PG because James is a terrific ball handler / passer.
It's rumored that Big Z is considering going to Miami?
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Yeah I wouldnt just give the title to Cleveland yet. But they are obviously the favorites. Look at the Lakers with their HOF roster they tried to create. They got smoked by the Pistons lol. A team with not one HOF'er on it.
You mean Miami? They're much different than that Lakers team. For one, LeBron, Bosh, and Wade are have been friends for a while. When the Lakers put that team together Kobe and Shaq had been having issues for years and there was all that shit going around about Malone trying to get with Kobe's wife. Not to mention the enormous age gap on the team and the distraction of Kobe's sexual assault accusation. Plus Malone and Payton (although still effective) were out of their prime. I don't see the Heat winning this year and I agree that just adding big names isn't always the answer, but I don't really think the situations are that comparable.
Well actually Malone and Payton were good friends with Shaq. Besides, in theory, a team with that much talent should have never lost., no matter what was going on. They had the greatest coach ever, most dominating center ever, greatest power forward not named Tim Duncan, best defensive point guard in the game, and a player who was being compared to the greatest ever, I mean that much talent shouldn't ever lost, rape trail or not. And they did get out the west, which was better than the eastern conference. I mean the 'Wolves team they beat was better than the Pistons that year, BUT in the end it still didn't work out. I still think Bosh is going to have to hold that front line to himself, and they are not getting past Boston or Orlando if that happens. Lets see what pieces fall in place before we start making predictions.
sorry, pierce at his age is a JOKE compared to lebron or wade. stop dreaming M dogg, the lakers aint winning shit until wade retires
Dumbest comment ever, straight up. You're almost as bad as NIKCC sucking Kobe's dick. Last I checked, 5 out of the last 11 titles have been won by the Lakers. Meaning, if the Lakers don't win another title, then they still reach Lakers of the 80's status. But they still have their core, they still have Artest who will guard LeBron, they still have Kobe who will guard Wade, they still have Gasol and Bynum to match up with Bosh, and they still have Odom who will fill in the holes that are needed, and they still have the greatest coach in the game to out coach... who is the Heat coach?
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Yeah I wouldnt just give the title to Cleveland yet. But they are obviously the favorites. Look at the Lakers with their HOF roster they tried to create. They got smoked by the Pistons lol. A team with not one HOF'er on it.
You mean Miami? They're much different than that Lakers team. For one, LeBron, Bosh, and Wade are have been friends for a while. When the Lakers put that team together Kobe and Shaq had been having issues for years and there was all that shit going around about Malone trying to get with Kobe's wife. Not to mention the enormous age gap on the team and the distraction of Kobe's sexual assault accusation. Plus Malone and Payton (although still effective) were out of their prime. I don't see the Heat winning this year and I agree that just adding big names isn't always the answer, but I don't really think the situations are that comparable.
Well actually Malone and Payton were good friends with Shaq. Besides, in theory, a team with that much talent should have never lost., no matter what was going on. They had the greatest coach ever, most dominating center ever, greatest power forward not named Tim Duncan, best defensive point guard in the game, and a player who was being compared to the greatest ever, I mean that much talent shouldn't ever lost, rape trail or not. And they did get out the west, which was better than the eastern conference. I mean the 'Wolves team they beat was better than the Pistons that year, BUT in the end it still didn't work out. I still think Bosh is going to have to hold that front line to himself, and they are not getting past Boston or Orlando if that happens. Lets see what pieces fall in place before we start making predictions.
sorry, pierce at his age is a JOKE compared to lebron or wade. stop dreaming M dogg, the lakers aint winning shit until wade retires
Dumbest comment ever, straight up. You're almost as bad as NIKCC sucking Kobe's dick. Last I checked, 5 out of the last 11 titles have been won by the Lakers. Meaning, if the Lakers don't win another title, then they still reach Lakers of the 80's status. But they still have their core, they still have Artest who will guard LeBron, they still have Kobe who will guard Wade, they still have Gasol and Bynum to match up with Bosh, and they still have Odom who will fill in the holes that are needed, and they still have the greatest coach in the game to out coach... who is the Heat coach?
Dumbest comment ever? Pierce is nothing compared to LeBron or Wade, and what have the last Laker titles got to do with anything? I'm not talking about the past or the Lakers legacy. I'm just saying the Lakers are done winning titles during the Kobe era. You wanna make a bet?
And to your last question: At some point it will be Pat Riley.
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All this to say tho... i cant wait till the season starts
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Yeah I wouldnt just give the title to Cleveland yet. But they are obviously the favorites. Look at the Lakers with their HOF roster they tried to create. They got smoked by the Pistons lol. A team with not one HOF'er on it.
You mean Miami? They're much different than that Lakers team. For one, LeBron, Bosh, and Wade are have been friends for a while. When the Lakers put that team together Kobe and Shaq had been having issues for years and there was all that shit going around about Malone trying to get with Kobe's wife. Not to mention the enormous age gap on the team and the distraction of Kobe's sexual assault accusation. Plus Malone and Payton (although still effective) were out of their prime. I don't see the Heat winning this year and I agree that just adding big names isn't always the answer, but I don't really think the situations are that comparable.
Well actually Malone and Payton were good friends with Shaq. Besides, in theory, a team with that much talent should have never lost., no matter what was going on. They had the greatest coach ever, most dominating center ever, greatest power forward not named Tim Duncan, best defensive point guard in the game, and a player who was being compared to the greatest ever, I mean that much talent shouldn't ever lost, rape trail or not. And they did get out the west, which was better than the eastern conference. I mean the 'Wolves team they beat was better than the Pistons that year, BUT in the end it still didn't work out. I still think Bosh is going to have to hold that front line to himself, and they are not getting past Boston or Orlando if that happens. Lets see what pieces fall in place before we start making predictions.
sorry, pierce at his age is a JOKE compared to lebron or wade. stop dreaming M dogg, the lakers aint winning shit until wade retires
Dumbest comment ever, straight up. You're almost as bad as NIKCC sucking Kobe's dick. Last I checked, 5 out of the last 11 titles have been won by the Lakers. Meaning, if the Lakers don't win another title, then they still reach Lakers of the 80's status. But they still have their core, they still have Artest who will guard LeBron, they still have Kobe who will guard Wade, they still have Gasol and Bynum to match up with Bosh, and they still have Odom who will fill in the holes that are needed, and they still have the greatest coach in the game to out coach... who is the Heat coach?
Dumbest comment ever? Pierce is nothing compared to LeBron or Wade, and what have the last Laker titles got to do with anything? I'm not talking about the past or the Lakers legacy. I'm just saying the Lakers are done winning titles during the Kobe era. You wanna make a bet?
And to your last question: At some point it will be Pat Riley.
First off, Erik Spoelstra is the chosen one to be Pat Riley's apprentice. Second Kobe is not that old, his still pulling off playoff victories and his still clutch. Jordan was winning until he was 35 so look for Kobe to still compete. Also, Gasol is looking like his ready to take a bigger role than Robin, his looking more and more like Nightwing each day.
Lastly, what the fuck would you have that I want, I got it all. For reals, I got everything I've ever wanted, so what can you offer me in a bet, I personally have nothing to gain and everything to lose, so fuck it.
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You are taking this pretty personal, huh? :D
Pat Riley will do his thing. No doubt about it. Also, Jordan was winning at that age because he joined the NBA much older than Kobe did and because he was taking 2-3 years off during his prime. Not comparable. Kobe's mileage is huge.
But I'm glad that you're having such a great life, because the NBA won't be great fun for any Laker-Fan during the next 6 years.
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You are taking this pretty personal, huh? :D
Pat Riley will do his thing. No doubt about it. Also, Jordan was winning at that age because he joined the NBA much older than Kobe did and because he was taking 2-3 years off during his prime. Not comparable. Kobe's mileage is huge.
But I'm glad that you're having such a great life, because the NBA won't be great fun for any Laker-Fan during the next 6 years.
Personal, your the one wanting to make a bet, to me that's personal, I don't even know you.
And the next 2-3 years for a Laker fan will be great. And remember, the Lakers have only missed the playoffs 5 times in their whole history, and have 15 titles. Odds that the Lakers suck will be slim to none. They may rebuild after the Kobe era for a year, and that's it, or they rebuild around Gasol. Either way, unless the Heat get a bigger and better front line to team with Bosh, right now you're just talking out your ass.
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^I don't think 7even means that the Lakers will "suck". I'm sure he feels they are the favorites to win the West; but he knows they can't beat this trio in Miami.
I'm not saying that Boston "should of won" or anything, but the game Perkins was out the Lakers had like 15 offensive rebounds lol.
Point being, Perkins in Game 7 could of easily been another Celtic ring; meaning you would of lost to an aging, beat up Big 3; now you got 3 players (two almost unguardable) in the primes of their career & you don't think they will put up a MUCH better fight than the aging Celtics that took you to a Game 7?
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^I don't think 7even means that the Lakers will "suck". I'm sure he feels they are the favorites to win the West; but he knows they can't beat this trio in Miami.
I'm not saying that Boston "should of won" or anything, but the game Perkins was out the Lakers had like 15 offensive rebounds lol.
Point being, Perkins in Game 7 could of easily been another Celtic ring; meaning you would of lost to an aging, beat up Big 3; now you got 3 players (two almost unguardable) in the primes of their career & you don't think they will put up a MUCH better fight than the aging Celtics that took you to a Game 7?
depending on who's up front. Even though Perkins was out,the Celtics still had KG, Big Baby and Wallace up front. They may have not had enough to beat the Lakers, but that front line is better than what Miami can muster up with their cap limitations. Their perimeter will be hard to match up with. That's why the Lakers got Artest. Though the Finals proved that eventually Pierce did get free from Artest over 7 games, Artest was able to slow him down enough to allow the Lakers to defend everyone else. And in Wade's position, his directly competing with Kobe, so that's actually in LA's favor in the match up. So it is what it is. The Lakers are defending champions, and unless Miami can get Fisher from the Lakers, and add some big credible bodies (not tired Shaq), I wouldn't say Miami can beat LA.
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I know the NBA, and I know it is full of guys who would kill their family to play on a variation of the "Team USA" in the league. Players like T-Mac or AI would kill their kids for being able to join on vets min terms. The center positions need 1-2 talented or aggressive guys, but there are some serviceable bigs out there, I think they will get Haslem and Z for sure, maybe even more.
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^I don't think 7even means that the Lakers will "suck". I'm sure he feels they are the favorites to win the West; but he knows they can't beat this trio in Miami.
I'm not saying that Boston "should of won" or anything, but the game Perkins was out the Lakers had like 15 offensive rebounds lol.
Point being, Perkins in Game 7 could of easily been another Celtic ring; meaning you would of lost to an aging, beat up Big 3; now you got 3 players (two almost unguardable) in the primes of their career & you don't think they will put up a MUCH better fight than the aging Celtics that took you to a Game 7?
depending on who's up front. Even though Perkins was out,the Celtics still had KG, Big Baby and Wallace up front. They may have not had enough to beat the Lakers, but that front line is better than what Miami can muster up with their cap limitations. Their perimeter will be hard to match up with. That's why the Lakers got Artest. Though the Finals proved that eventually Pierce did get free from Artest over 7 games, Artest was able to slow him down enough to allow the Lakers to defend everyone else. And in Wade's position, his directly competing with Kobe, so that's actually in LA's favor in the match up. So it is what it is. The Lakers are defending champions, and unless Miami can get Fisher from the Lakers, and add some big credible bodies (not tired Shaq), I wouldn't say Miami can beat LA.
Yeah, but the Heat can focus WAY more on just Kobe where the Lakers have to worry about two players in Kobe's class.
Also, not to take anything away from Pierce, he's an all-star caliber veteran, but he's nowhere near Bron or Wade in terms of what Artest will have to defend.
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Yeah I wouldnt just give the title to Cleveland yet. But they are obviously the favorites. Look at the Lakers with their HOF roster they tried to create. They got smoked by the Pistons lol. A team with not one HOF'er on it.
You mean Miami? They're much different than that Lakers team. For one, LeBron, Bosh, and Wade are have been friends for a while. When the Lakers put that team together Kobe and Shaq had been having issues for years and there was all that shit going around about Malone trying to get with Kobe's wife. Not to mention the enormous age gap on the team and the distraction of Kobe's sexual assault accusation. Plus Malone and Payton (although still effective) were out of their prime. I don't see the Heat winning this year and I agree that just adding big names isn't always the answer, but I don't really think the situations are that comparable.
Well actually Malone and Payton were good friends with Shaq. Besides, in theory, a team with that much talent should have never lost., no matter what was going on. They had the greatest coach ever, most dominating center ever, greatest power forward not named Tim Duncan, best defensive point guard in the game, and a player who was being compared to the greatest ever, I mean that much talent shouldn't ever lost, rape trail or not. And they did get out the west, which was better than the eastern conference. I mean the 'Wolves team they beat was better than the Pistons that year, BUT in the end it still didn't work out. I still think Bosh is going to have to hold that front line to himself, and they are not getting past Boston or Orlando if that happens. Lets see what pieces fall in place before we start making predictions.
If it makes you feel any better...that same Pistons squad that murdered you guys lost in the Finals the following year. Who beat them again?? ;D
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Boston is still the team to beat in the east.
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Boston is still the team to beat in the east.
Word.
KG, Pierce & Allen > Wade, LeBron & Bosh.