NBA 2012-13 Thread

[rocksta]

They don't need to do anything but continue to develop at the moment though. They were a significantly better team than LA last year. Maybe the Lakers are better now, heck they definitely have the potential to be. I just don't think they're that much better that it's unfathomable for Westbrook, Durant, Harden and Ibaka to develop to the extent that they can give them a good run for there money. They're all good to great young players and with the addition of all 4's international experience this year I see them being a better team.

[Your Mom]

Rose is going to stay healthy this year and we will make the finals like we should have last year

He's already injured for the start of the season, for like three months into it

He is?

[gunnar hendershow]

The Thunder aren't getting that much better, though. Sure, they'll grow as players, but they've added nothing, while the Lakers added one of the best PGs of all time and the best center in the league.

Kendrick Perkins' biggest skill is his ability to shut down Bynum and Howard. He'll make a big difference there.

But, absolutely, the Lakers are a better team now.

[Meacon Keaton]

Rose is going to stay healthy this year and we will make the finals like we should have last year

He's already injured for the start of the season, for like three months into it

He is?

Yeah, I think he's suppose to miss the first half of the season.

[gunnar hendershow]

He shouldn't be back until January or February, guys recover so much more quickly every year from these surgeries though. Modern sports medicine is amazing.

[rocksta]

Yes modern sports medicine

[james_ewing88]

As much as I want to see my Bulls win it this year, I see them getting between the 3 and 6 seed in the playoffs after Rose comes back in February. Also, I hate the Heat, but unless the Bulls have a miracle run or Indiana is as good as Granger says they are (sorry, Indiana), Miami will win the East with no one in the way. West, Oklahoma City, IMO, is the ONLY team that can knock off the Lakers...but it ain't happening. It'll be Lakers and Heat, and if that is what happens, i'd LOVE for L.A. to win it. Don't get me wrong, it ain't for Kobe to win #6, it ain't for Howard to win his first...it's all for Steve Nash. I'm looking at this like I did for Jason Kidd with Dallas when they beat Miami two years ago. Nash deserves a title. Right now, throwing Dwight Howard and Kevin Durant out of the picture, Steve Nash is the best player in the NBA that hasn't won an NBA title. That is the main reason i'd have no problem with the Lakers winning it.

[Blitz]

As much as I hate them, I wouldn't count the Spurs out. If the Lakers somehow knock the Thunder out before and then matchup with the Spurs in the WCF, the Spurs could take the Lakers. Thunder would still KO the Spurs, no doubt.

[naiwf]

...it's all for Steve Nash. I'm looking at this like I did for Jason Kidd with Dallas when they beat Miami two years ago. Nash deserves a title. Right now, throwing Dwight Howard and Kevin Durant out of the picture, Steve Nash is the best player in the NBA that hasn't won an NBA title. That is the main reason i'd have no problem with the Lakers winning it.

The only thing Nash deserves is to retire as the worst (multiple time) MVP in league history. The fact that Miami would come up short in the "not 4, not 5, not 6, not 7" hunt, is the sole reason I'd be OK with the Lakers winning the title this coming season.

[Plubby]

You're an awful human being. Nash is wonderful.

[Quom]

As much as I hate them, I wouldn't count the Spurs out. If the Lakers somehow knock the Thunder out before and then matchup with the Spurs in the WCF, the Spurs could take the Lakers. Thunder would still KO the Spurs, no doubt.

Nah, to me the biggest issue with beating any of these super teas is you need to do it over 4 games. LA and Miami could lose in anything up to a best of 5 series, but no way they are dropping 4 of 7 (barring injuries, unexpected degradation/regression). I could even see a team potentially taking the season series from Miami or the Lakers. But come play off time when you are playing each other up to seven times in a row, I just can't see it being done. If it is to be done my pick would be a team with youthful maturity. You are going to need to run the legs off LA without panicking.

I think if any team is to beat LA it will be a team they don't see coming like a Denver, where they are deep, can play quick, have good to great D and can spread the floor. Nash has to start feeling his age eventually, Metta is getting old, Bryant's knees will eventually turn to dust and Howard's back is a question mark. The other big question mark is the team chemistry with so many opinionated players sharing the floor together. I don't know how happy Howard is going to be if Kobe launches 30 shots and hits 1/3. The Spurs are in the exact same boat in regards to age being an issue (but with less talented players - based on current skills). The difference is the Spurs turn up to play for 82 games of the regular season, haven't made any significant changes and are military like in knowing how they play. LA always seem to only put an emphasis on the finals. Which could potentially cost them if the team hasn't fully gelled due to injuries or issues within the team etc.

On paper though the Lakers now look to be the team to beat. I would have said similar the year they had Payton, Malone, Shaq and Kobe on the floor though.

[gunnar hendershow]

They would have won the title that year but the Shaq-Kobe feud boiled over and dragged the whole team down with it. They ran into a team that matched up perfectly against them in The Finals that year too. The Pistons had a guy at every position who could shut down what the Lakers had.

This Big Four is only going to have chemistry issues if Kobe starts to decline much more quickly than expected yet still thinks it's his team.

[SeanDMan]

Shouldn't be a problem, I think everybody can tell that this is Nash's team now.

[Benjamin]

Nash? Come on, every knows it's Metta time now.

[Quom]

If they want the championship, it really should be Nash's team. Nash should be left to dictate the play and who the ball goes to.

[Benjamin]

Based on the Olympics, there is no way Kobe's gonna' let that happen. He is terrible at playing on a team that wants to distribute.

[Quom]

Which is what I meant by potential chemistry issues. If anything having Nash on the team should allow Kobe to score more with far less effort, but if Kobe decides to take control of games it could make things ugly, awkward, a waste of the talent around him and could lead to them being nowhere near as dangerous as they look on paper.

[gunnar hendershow]

Hey guys, the Wizards had an open house today for all their fans. Pictured below is every single fan.

[Meacon Keaton]

And a few paid stand-ins.

[KJE]

I may be heading to Phoenix for the October 12th-14th weekend and I see the Suns have a Pre Season game on the 12th. Would that game sell out? We are flying in on the 12th and depending on what time our flights get in I may be able to catch the Suns game that night. But I also don't want to commit to it just incase our flights are delayed or whatever.