2005 NBA Draft Thread

[StriderKyo]

Training camps opened yesterday, and things are already looking awesome for my Raptors and their leader, Vince "will of steel" Carter.



Still, I may be the only one on Earth, but I think they're in the playoffs this year. Almost everyone in their tier of the Eastern Conference got worse instead of better. Of course, if the entire team gets "injured" for the third year in a row, then throw those comments out the window.

TEAMS TO WATCH - everyone knows Houston and Miami got large in the offseason, but here are some other teams that I think are going to improve big time, or at least be interesting:

Denver - This team is sick now. They've got a frontcourt of Camby, Nene and K-Mart before you even get to Melo. They'll be there in May.

Phoenix has a real shot - Nash, Richardson, the Matrix & Amare is a solid core. They still need a couple of pieces before they're conference finals material, but they're going to be there.

Dallas - Nash to Terry is a big drop off, they've still got about 3 shooters too many, Finley is getting old and creaky, and to make things worse they added Jerry "the ferengi chucker" Stackhouse to the lineup. Still, the addition of Dampier means they have a chance at making a real playoff run.

Orlando - Will Grant Hill come back? Duh, of course not. He just has to keep showing up at training camp every year or he doesn't get his guaranteed money. But I'm curious to see if Stevie Migraine & Cato can get them into the playoffs this year. They can't possibly be worse than last season.

Utah - They stole Boozer from the Cavs, get Harpring back, and AK-47 is the best pure SF in the association. Playoff lock.

THE DREAM IS OVER CATEGORY:

Sacramento is done like dinner. Hardly any of them even want to be on that team anymore, they didn't improve, and a running team with no D got a year older. They might be around for the first round of the playoffs, but consider this window closed.

LA Lakers - Kobe's finally going to get the spanking he so richly deserves. Bryant's gonna start looking a lot more like Tracy McGrady and less like Jordan. That Vlade Divac/Brian Grant/Lamar Odom frontcourt is going to get destroyed in the west.

THE CONTENDERS:

Detroit - Champs. Might even be better this year.

Indiana -Always there. Losing Harrington might hurt, but they can play.

Miami - Welcome to Shaqapulco. No depth, but O'Neal, EJ & Wade is a nice core in the east.

Houston - Are T-Mac & Yao the new Shaq & Kobe? Nah, the language barrier will stop the really stupid arguments. What I really like is that fact they managed to steal Juwan Howard from the incompetent Magic. They've got no point guard, but does it matter? Only Tracy McBaby's selfishness can prevent this team from going deep.

Minnesota - They need Cassell to be happy & healthy, but with no Shaquille in the west, the only thing that can possibly stop them is...

San Antonio - resigned Manu, added Brent "white guy who can shoot 3s" Barry, and now Duncan knows it's down to him & KG for the title of "the man" in the west. Conference finals lock.

[Tracer]

I Like Minnesota in the West and ... Indiana in the East just barely over Miami. Stevie F. will probably put up his best season ever at Orlando, which will make me sob quietly into a pillow. I really liked the guy. Shaq is a presence no matter how you slice it and being in the East, he's going to have most of those teams sweating ther games against Miami. Well, except for Indiana and Detroit. They play some fine basketball. The west is still tough. I like the Spurs and the Rockets but I think Minnesota has it this year. Too fantastic a team to not expect a championship from them.

As to Rockets point guards, maybe Mobely? I dunno either.

[dave is ok]

I think Boston will make the playoffs with a record of 19-41

[Hot Like Wasabi]

I've never been huge into basketball but I think this year I will be a little more into. I'm thinking of going down to Orlando to watch them play Houston on Jan 20th. Should be a fun game.

[Klonoa]

Andre Igoudala = ROY

[StriderKyo]

Yeah, I think Igoudala's going to wind up being the steal of the draft. Or the next Darius Miles. One of the two. Okafor and Gordon will give him some serious competition for RotY though. Unless they start keeping stats for goon antics, in which case Rafael Araujo's a lock.

[Doc Holliday]

Just in case there's someone out there that doesn’t give a damn about the historic MBL right now, I'll kick this off early for you.



The Pre-season's underway and it's just over a week before the real action begins. As a Maverick’s fan, I'm rooting for them to pull off a comeback from last year's disappointing season and the loss of Nash. So far doesn't look very good, they're 0 and 3, but last night was close. We only lost by two.

Any other takers on what teams to look out for this year?

Indiana, Pheonix?

[Klonoa]

Philly.

Igoudala = ROY

[StriderKyo]

Merged.

Hey, my thread was here first. I've even got the same Klonoa homer post to prove it!

I picked Pho to be a playoff team, but they're probably still a quick 1st round exit. Indiana will be rock solid as always, unless Artest goes mental. More mental, that is. He's already said he should have been mvp last year.

The Mavs will be better with a real C, but they still lack a leader and have way too much shooting. They should have gone after a pass-first guy who can shoot 3s like Brent Barry instead of Jason Terry. What kind of insane lineup has 3 SGs and a PF who shoots more than any of them?

[Spammy]

I think the only ones to stop minnesota will be themselves