NBA western conference

[DudyDawg]

Okay, first off, it= sec west. Second, if you had to bet, who do you think wins if? Crazy tight. I wanna say rockets have a good chance to come out (Born in houston, dad was leading marketing for them in early 90's w Hakeem/ Otis/ the Jet days, big rockets fan), but it's hard to say. I think ariza is an upgrade over parsons, josh smith/terrance jones are a solid 4 combo, best scorer in the league, but the Warriors look damn good. What do yall think about the NBA west, both as fans and trying to be objective. Mavs made big headway w rondo trade, clips have potential, Spurs will be around, etc....


What do the rest of the NBA fans here think???? Feel like we have good hoops people here, and am lacking in NBA talk. What yall feelin??

[jumbo]

the Warriors are playing really good D this year, so I'm going with them.

[BeastMan]

I'm 100% behind the Grizz but you can never count out the spurs when they're healthy. I'm also very intrigued by the Mavs with Rondo. They will just be figuring out their chemistry by the end of the year. Could be scary.

I hate that we have to talk NBA in this forum. I'd much rather talk NBA than women's bball MSU or not

[War Machine Dawg]

I'm 100% behind the Grizz but you can never count out the spurs when they're healthy. I'm also very intrigued by the Mavs with Rondo. They will just be figuring out their chemistry by the end of the year. Could be scary.

I hate that we have to talk NBA in this forum. I'd much rather talk NBA than women's bball MSU or not

Yeah, I don't really understand why non-MSU sports can't be discussed on the sports forum either. I understand wanting to keep it primarily MSU. But I don't see how 2-3 threads about the NFL, NBA, EPL, etc. would unnecessarily clutter the board or drive away traffic.

And I'm with you on the Grizz, Beast. The key will be keeping Z-Bo and Gasol healthy. We just aren't the same team when one of those guys is out. Hopefully we can find a quality big for some depth. That's really the only thing we're lacking, from what I've seen.

[BeastMan]

I meant to answer your question the other day WMD. I don't live near Memphis but I try to catch games. Im trying to go to one this month. Grizz grind!

[DudyDawg]

Grizz are solid, the only problem is they are in the west. I don't see them really ever having a chance to win it (at least in the foreseeable future). They just don't have a legit scorer who they can go to for 30 in the playoffs to beat these western powers

[Dawg61]

How about the Atlanta Hawks!! Wow did they make a franchise changing hire in Budenholzer. Suddenly the Hawks have the best record in the East and the Spurs are down a little after losing Popovich's right hand man for the last EIGHTEEN YEARS!! The Hawks might just have secured themselves a decade long run of good basketball. This hire can't be overlooked with the tremendous impact it looks to have made.

[DudyDawg]

Yeah, Hawks are impressive. W no real roster changes its clear who was responsible for the improvement. Not sure I think they can do much more than the second round in the playoffs though

[Dawg61]

Yeah, Hawks are impressive. W no real roster changes its clear who was responsible for the improvement. Not sure I think they can do much more than the second round in the playoffs though

Whose taking them out? Cavs look horrible.

[DudyDawg]

Whose taking them out? Cavs look horrible.

Raptors or Bulls easily. They just aren't built for the playoffs. Easily could see the cavs beating them. Lebron did a lot more w a lot little in the playoffs while he was there the first time. Also think the wiz could too. Wall establishing himself as an elite pg, beal back healthy, pierce provides experience, Nene and Gortat are close to or equal to Millsap and horford, at least defensively

[smootness]

Raptors or Bulls easily. They just aren't built for the playoffs. Easily could see the cavs beating them. Lebron did a lot more w a lot little in the playoffs while he was there the first time. Also think the wiz could too. Wall establishing himself as an elite pg, beal back healthy, pierce provides experience, Nene and Gortat are close to or equal to Millsap and horford, at least defensively

Still think the Raptors will easily take them out?

The Hawks are dominating the league right now. While it's obviously mostly on Budenholzer's shoulders, don't forget that Horford missed just about the whole season last year and before he went down, the Hawks were 3rd in the East. This is a good, deep team that plays incredibly well together. Best defense in the East, 2nd best offense.

I could see the Bulls or Cavs putting things together and beating them in the playoffs; but the problem is, the Bulls' defense is limited with Gasol on the floor, and Rose and Noah don't seem to be themselves. They'll have to take big steps forward.

And any team with LeBron is dangerous, but the Cavs are a mess right now, and they're not going to just be able to snap their fingers and make it all better. Irving and Love are both disastrous defensively, and LeBron is aging. I just don't think he's the guy who can completely take over and wipe out multiple mistakes anymore. They also don't really have a post game on offense since Love doesn't like to bang down low, so it's tough to exploit the Hawks' lack of size there.

The Hawks are for real and have to be the favorite to make the Finals from the East right now. And the East is better than it gets credit for being; it's improved over the last couple of years. It still isn't the West in depth, but the top few teams can compete.

[DudyDawg]

I do. The Hawks are good. Damn good. But they aren't built for a 7 game series. I've said before they don't have someone to get 30 in a playoff game when they need it. Let's bet vcash. Hawks won't get to the conference finals

[smootness]

I do. The Hawks are good. Damn good. But they aren't built for a 7 game series. I've said before they don't have someone to get 30 in a playoff game when they need it. Let's bet vcash. Hawks won't get to the conference finals

Well, there's consecutive road wins over the two teams you think would easily take them out. 12 road wins in a row overall, including wins over Portland, Chicago, Toronto, Dallas, Houston, LAC, Milwaukee, and Cleveland in that stretch; they also have home wins over Chicago, LAC, Washington, and Memphis in that same stretch. I'd be interested to see why you don't think they are built for a 7-game series outside of their lack of a superstar.

Who can go get 30 for the Spurs in a playoff game when they need it?

The Hawks are destroying everyone right now. 26-2 since Horford got fully back to 100%, and the only losses over that stretch are a 1-point loss at Orlando (where they were beat by a buzzer-beater) and an anomaly where they got killed at home by Milwaukee, before beating them on the road the next game. Literally the only top team in the league they haven't beaten over this stretch is Golden State, and that's because they haven't played them.

I get that it's the regular season, but there's no part of Atlanta's game that shouldn't hold up in the postseason. They play the best defense in the East, and their offense is second only to Toronto. They have about 8-9 guys who are quality NBA players, and everybody knows their role. Their ball movement is better than anybody in the league, and they shoot the lights out.

I would take that bet in a heartbeat. You think somebody like Washington is going to take them out in the 2nd round?

[DudyDawg]

Spurs have Tim Duncan, the best big man in the last few decades, maybe ever. They also have one of the best six men in modern memory in manu, and Tony parker. Those three are all (Or at least have been throughout their careers) better than anyone on the Hawks. The problem w the hawks, IMO, is (besides the lack of a true scoring threat) is that they lack size inside. Horford is a power forward playing center, millsap is a small forward who plays 4. I think that will be a big problem when you play a Washington (two centers, Nene and Gortat) or Chicago (gasol and the best defender in the NBA last year in Noah) in a seven game series. That's also a problem the cavs have. Lack of size (difference is, they'll have lebron come playoff time). Another problem (besides the likely hood of their starters hurting on the glass in a 7 game series where defendes are tuned up more than the regular season and rebounds are more important) is the lack of a quality bench big man. Let's see, pero antic or taj Gibson. I take Gibsons scoring. Kris humphries for the Wizards will dominate the Hawks subs on the glass. That's a problem. Another is the lack of guys who have been there and done the playoffs. Wiz have Andre miller, Paul pierce (tho I think pierce is playing too many mins and that's a problem) and the Bulls have gasol and pretty much a team of guys used to big playoff series. And of course, the lack of a harden/lebron/durant/rose/lillard to go to in the last two munutes who can create their own shot consistently. That's the biggest difference between them and the Spurs (your comparison) and the rest of the NBA contenders.

It's nothing personal I have against Atlanta, I just don't think the Hawks are built to play 7