So here are the teams I think should be ahead of Portland on paper LAL DAL SA LAC OKC MEM, UTA, POR, GS Does that seem about right?
How, having not replaced Roy and/or Oden, probably losing Aldridge to medical retirement or fatal heart attack, do you see us even making the playoffs? What teams are we more talented than?
I clearly think Dallas and OKC will be better than us, but other teams are a crapshoot. Lakers are old and lost Odom for nothing. Spurs are old too, rapid games will be very difficult for those teams. Just like '99 Jazz that went to finals then lost to us in the second round. Clippers are very young and unproven. I'd probably give Memphis slight nod to us. We are better then Den, Utah, Phx, Hou, GS. So that means I see us finishing from 3rd to 7th seed, or likely 5th if I had to put money on a single spot.
No. Lakers just gave away their 3rd best player for nothing. How would you feel about the Blazers if we gave away Gerald Wallace?. They have no PG worth a damn and that matters now that they are dumping the Triangle, and Kobe can't carry that team on his back. When healthy their starting 5 is pretty decent (minus the PG), but their bench? On paper, yeah, better than Blazers, but not by much. Dal, did just lose their defending/rebounding center and won't be able to replace that, but man are they deep. They should be very strong. SA, I am not sure why you think they are a lock to be good. They are counting on Duncan and Ginobili having healthy and strong seasons or they are toast. Clippers? They don't play defense. Wake me up when they do. OKC - fuck them. Yes they are better than us. Mem better on paper only if they keep Gasol. Utah? Where do you get that? Their pieces don't fit very well with each other. Warriors? Two tiny gunners and who are their bigs? I don't think so. I think it is Dallas and OKC on top. Lakers below that. SA, Mem & Por below that. Of course all this is depending on trades and free agent signings and health during the season.
Mine wasn't in order. Just teams I thought would be better than Portland, and those that would fight with us for the 6-8 seed
Unless we see tremendous improvement from Nic and Wes, we're gonna be stuck @ 6. Aldridge doesn't have another step up, does he?
6th seed is the worst possible scenario, IMO. Out in the first round....AGAIN, and a shitty draft pick
I actually think he does. Especially now that it's certain Roy will not be alpha dog. Why can't he get 25 points and 10 boards a game? He definitely has that in him. Also, each year he has been working even harder to post up more. Shit even Hakeem the Dream kept improving his arsenal each and every year. All you need is desire. He definitely has the skills to get there.
Look at my post. We are not "fighting for the 6th seed". Who are the FIVE teams that are head and shoulders better than the Blazers? No, we are among several teams that have a decent opportunity to battle for as high as 4th - maybe even 3rd if the Lakers implode.
I'll give you 3:1 odds - max bet $20 (OK, I'm not a big gambler ) - that the Blazers will end up with a better record than the Spurs.
I don't do gambling, and the last week or so the forum has been a bad place to visit to stay away from that
Agreed, Dallas and OKC clearly are the projected top two teams. Portland is in the mix for the 3rd seed. It’s going to be a crapshoot with a lot of teams in the west that could all drop from the 3rd to 7th seed in the last weeks of the season. But Utah and Golden State being included in this discussion is a joke, those teams are hoping to get lucky and just get the 8th seed. They have no thoughts at all of vying for HCA. Not that we necessarily expect to get HCA, but it’s a reasonable goal for us to attain for, that 4th seed.
