Looks like the deal is finally done: Jason Kidd is back in Dallas. The trade was approved by the NBA today, and suddenly Dallas is... getting completely ripped off. I said last week, when Devean George initially blocked the deal (he was taken out of this trade) that Dallas was getting fleeced by giving up five players and two draft picks for an aging player who may not lead you to the promised land. I stand by that today. But I am interested in whether George will be able to rest easy now that Kidd's in town. With all Dallas gave up, cutting him would be hard to do. But the question now becomes: Who is the favorite in the loaded West?
Take a quick glimpse of the standings, and you'll see that there are only 4 1/2 games between the top seed (New Orleans at the moment) and the #8 seed (a tie between Golden State and Denver). There's little room for error for any team. Is it obvious to us that all the major trades have occured among West teams? Here's how (today) I'm handicapping the race:
Why do I still say the Spurs are the favorites? Simply put, you must beat the best to be the best. The Spurs aren't the defending champs for nothing. That said, you must wonder if this team is getting too old to compete, but all these big moves were made to counter Tim Duncan's excellence. You think Phoenix would trade for Shaq if they weren't thinking about how Duncan has torn them to shreds in the playoffs? Duncan makes the West revolve and do everything to counter him.
The Lakers are #2 in spite of Kobe's injury. My feeling is that he'll shoot the ball even if all his ligaments in his shooting hand were torn! There's no way he'll shut it down when he has easily his best team since Shaq left (by the way, the Lakers probably sent Byron Scott some cash for resting Kobe in the All-Star Game). Kobe will produce as well as he always does, and the Lakers pose the most serious threat to SA's title hopes.
What about Phoenix and the aforementioned Mavs? Both trades these teams made did the one thing neither could afford: deplete depth. The Suns usually only play seven guys, so can Shaq play over 30 minutes a night? And will he be a late-in-his-career Wilt Chamberlain (pass and defend willingly) or the Shaq who stunk it up earlier this year? One doesn't know. The Mavs now must worry that their C position can be manned almost exclusively by Erick Dampier, which is about as likely as Roger Clemens passing a lie-detector test. And who will spell Kidd? Jason Terry? Jerry Stackhouse? Neither one can run the show when Kidd sits, and the hoped for offensive revival will resemble what it did before the deal.
How about the current top seed? The Hornets have surprised almost everybody, but it's been four years since they last made the playoffs (they were still in the East!). And only Peja has experience in the postseason. They will do well if they win one round. And none of the other teams has a legit chance of making the Finals. So, in the end, there are four legit title contenders.
You know who the REAL winner in all this is? The Pistons and the Celtics! Their road to the title got much easier. There are no real threats in the Least (Lebron won't make magic happen twice, the Magic aren't ready), and whoever comes out of the West will take a major beating to win those series. So if I was a betting man, I'd bet on either of those teams. And for the NBA's sake, it better be the Lakers and Celtics, because a Detroit-SA rematch would be akin to putting George Bush on Jeopardy!! But that's another issue. Until next time, may Devean George rest much easier!
1) I think the Hornets will win their division. I give them the best record, because for now they are easier to "overlook" than the other usual contenders like the Spurs, Mavs, Suns and everyone wants to beat the Lakers.
2) Suns: They are tough to beat in a regular season game. I think they eek out a win in their division. Shaq helps till he goes down.
3) Jazz wins their division. If that puts them in the 3 spot, then I place them here. Not sure of the rule. On the road they have not been that formidable.
4) Lakers: I think they end up with the best record behind the Hornets and Suns.
5) Mavs: Finish just ahead of Spurs.
6) Spurs: Saving it for the playoffs.
7) Rockets: They will make the playoffs. These guys win on the road.
8) Warriors: If anything I have these guys too low. They win on the road and like the Hornets they are alittle easier too look past them some.
Nuggets: They don't win on the road. In the West, forget about it.
Relic what ajoke of an opionion- you seriously think Camby, Melo, and AI will let their team slip out of the playoffs cmon now. Davis and friends are much more likely to tear down at some point, lets not forget they squeaked into the playoffs last year. + AI just won't let his team not make the playoffs.
Also I don't see the Spurs staying in the 6th seed they have been with out a full crew lately and still been somewhat competitive... Spurs current champs they just dont match up on paper well against Lakers anymore .. but Lakers are a mysterious power ???
I'll stick by my prediction that the Nuggets don't make it. I don't think they will beat the Jazz for the division title. I don't think they will catch the Warriors. So for me it's down to Rockets Vs. Nuggets...I'll take the Rockets, this year.
I also predicted the Lakers would go 3-6 on their road trip.
Last edited by RelicFace on February 19th at 5:04 PM.
By the end of the week your prediction will be a joke like Isaid it is Relic, Denver is up by a couple in the 4th against Boston and Golden State is about to drop behind Houston and Denver soon and then have to struggle to make it in like last year- but it wont happen this year cause west is too strong.
I like Kidd coming back--Dirk should start putting up a lot of points again--I too wonder if giving up all this will hurt us in the long run--I dont hear much about my Dallas teams now that Im in Ram turf--Thank God for Sports blogs!!!
Not a bad post,I agree with about 80% of what you written.Heres my take,we all know that Dallas, Suns,and Lakers pick up Kidd, Shaq,and Gasol to try and beat the Spurs.First of all these guys will probably break down before the playoffs begin,if not Gasol and Shaq are no match for Timmy one on one,and either is Stoudamire,so he will have to be double and triple team as usual and the Spurs shooters will be open.Also all these teams want to run and the Spurs will not let them so it comes down to a half court game where the Spurs are better and play the best defense out of all these teams.With that being said Dallas and the Suns traded away there future to win now and they won't,both dumb trades.The Lakers made a good trade and inprove themselfs against the Suns but not even close to the Spurs.Here it is this is how it will end up:
Seeded at end of season
Seed Record Comment
1. Suns 57-25 Good regular season team
2. Spurs 55-27 Not to old,to good.to
smart.
3. Utah 49-33 Won there division,out
in first round.
4. Lakers 54-28 Good and inprove team,
but the media and there
fans are over rating
them.
5. Dallas 53-29 Good team,but not good
enough to get by Surs
in second round.They
get by the lakers in the
They cut off the rest of my reply,so here it is:
6. Houston 52-30 You knock these guys out of the playoffs and thats not going to happen,this is a good team and underrated,not a championship team but a team you don't want to meet in the 1st round which I have them winnig.
7. Hornets 51-31 Yes they drop to the 7th seed not because they are not a good team only that they are inexperience and they will play the Spurs in the first round.
8. Denver 48-34 Thats right this team beats out the Warriors.
So you see all the teams in the playoff picture now will be there in the end with just the positions changing.Playoffs 1st round - Suns beat Denver,Spurs beat Hornets,Houston beats Utah and Dallas beats Lakers.2nd round - Suns beat Houston,Spurs beat Dallas.West Championship - Spurs beat Suns.East Championship - Boston beats Detrioit Championship Boston Beats Spurs in 6or7 game series,why,because there is only one player in the league that can match up one on one with Tim Dungan and that is Kevin Garnett. Save this and you will see I will be right.
Are these teams really trying to catch the Spurs or do they in reality realize how easy it was for the Spurs last year... and hell this year they want in. I mean if Lebron can beat the Pistons the title is up for grabs again =p, but this time he has to beat Celtics.. even the Houston Rockets can sweep the Cleveland Cavaliers that team is ####.
I can't recall who you beat in the first round Spurs, you faced the Suns which I dont want to say they got screwed but luck heavily swung in your favor in a couple of those games... nosebleeds(luck), game suspensions(call it what you want an ass####king or luck). Then you went up against the Jazz, was this Boozers and Williams' first time in the post season? Cmon gimme a break.... GS did the hard part in eliminating a choking Dallas team.
Then Lebron pulled off a huge miracle, and Spurs got title on a silver platter... this year it won't be so easy. Heh heh heh good luck Spurs
I've said this before but I think it's a 5 team race to the title.
The Lakers, Spurs, Suns, Celtics, & Jazz are the teams to beat.
I think the Nuggets & Mavs could come out of the East but neither has a shot at advancing out of the West.
Cleveland could very well defeat Detroit again but they would be stomped in the Finals. Detroit could also defeat Boston but they don't match up as well as the Boston does against the Western elite.
There are going to be a lot of 7 game series in this year's playoffs...
I am David Downs, and I'm a sports nut who loves basketball and football and am open to good discussion about any sports subject. I am a Detroit sports fan, but I not a homer. Expect frequent vents on subjects that irritate me, and also expect the utmost respect for anybody's opinion, even if they disagree with me. Because, after all, that's what these blogs are all about, aren't they?
