dihydroxyphen fukken rapes
The Knicks won't win a damn thing with D'Antoni as coach. Both Stoudemire and Carmelo are defensive liabilities, and somebody needs to teach them how to defend properly. D'Antoni is not the guy to do that.
I love D'Antoni but I must agree. In the game of basketball D is harder to "teach" than O, because offense is intrinsically reinforcing. Good D requires constant effort.
Oh, and come playoff time we will see some Udonis Haslem back on the floor.
Great point! Dampier, Howard and Magloire are KILLING them. None of them should be in the NBA. Anthony, for all his offensive warts, is a defensive monster. Anthony-Haslem-LBJ-Miller-Wade or Wade-Chalmers is a lineup few teams can match up against.
If you saw OKC-MIA, you know OCK is elite. Their defense is now superb, and they don't have a problem scoring the ball. Their rotation of bigs matches up vs anyone in the NBA, and with Ibaka and Harden showing massive year-to-year improvements, if Nate Robinson comes back they're my pick to come out of the West.*
*I am writing off the Spurs because I feel like Tim Duncan is dunzo. Who saw that block Wade had vs him? CLEAR LANE to the basket and Old Man Duncan takes forever and gets it shoved down his throat.
I don't think he's capable of playing more than 35 mpg in the playoffs, nor do I think he's capable of shutting down Bynum in the playoffs. I think the Spurs' real window of opportunity is next year, when presumably Tiago Splitter and Duncan combine into one.
CHI - Most complete team in the East with home court advantage
OKC - Most complete team in the West but without home court advantage
LAL - The team to beat in the West.
BOS - Write 'em off; that trade killed any hopes of them contending, save a Shaquille O'Neal miracle.
ORL - They best player in the NBA, and that + hot 3-point shooting means they are a threat to come out of the East. Unfortunately he has the worst side-kick (Ryan Anderson) of any other elite team. IMO this is most interesting team in the NBA.
If the team benches Gilbert Arenas, reduces Hedo Turkoglu's minutes and gives more PT to Quentin Richardson and Earl Clark I like their chances. (Interesting trade they could pull off next year: Bass + whatever for wing help, start Anderson at PF, Clark backup PF.)
MIA - A clear contender that can win it all if Haslem returns to health; otherwise they have too many (sub) replacement level players.
DAL - They play too small to be taken seriously; could be upset in the first round.
Darkhorses:
POR, MEM: They will give anyone they play a competitive series
DEN: Proof how overrated 'Melo is, but unfortuantely depth doesn't matter as much in the postseason.
NYK: Playoff format will help cover up their lack of depth; I could see them beating Boston.
Postscript: The underreported story of the OKC-MIA tilt Wednesday evening was the head coach battle of Scott Brooks v Erik Spoelstra. Two of the very best in the NBA! Two of the yongest, as well. I love the new generation of coaches we seem to have, ones that don't need to yell to get their point across.
Similarly, one of the primary reasons I think the Lakers may not come out of the West is that Phil Jackson is not great at drawing up plays. Scott Brooks is quite a contrast in how he aggressively uses timeouts to bail his team out with immaculate play design. I also think Jackson deserves a lot of blame for Kobe Bryant's ball-hogging ways.