General Chat / OFFICIAL 2003-04 NBA Season Thread

So Dallas pulled off another impossible trade today, getting Tony Delk and Antoine Walker for Raef La Frenz and two other guys and a draft pick. DAMN. Now they got both 'toines. Dallas saved all of their blockbusters for the end, eh? They basically join Minnesota, Sacramento, Los Angeles, and Phoenix as the teams without any weak starting positions, basicaly. Well, Iris would argue that they'd had that all along, and I'd prolly agree.

But the front six in the West will be a mess to sort out. Any one of the following teams could potentially finish #1:
- Spurs
- Kings
- Lakers
- Mavs
- Wolves
And the Suns aren't too far behind.

Rounding out the playoffs this season should be Portland and Houston, unless the Rockets melt down again.

In other news, LeBron continues to not shoot well while Carmelo Anthony's already on the track to rookie of the year. Then there's that #2 pic, Darko Milivec (sp?). He seems to have disappeared, but the Pistons will be neck and neck with the Nets for Eastern Supremacy (aka who gets to get their ass kicked by the West). Behind them... the Magic are primed for a great season, and the Pacers and Celtics should make the playoffs. Beyond that, I believe it's an open book.

Yao Ming enters his second year. Will he continue to improve and become the dominant center? Perhaps... but Shaq's healthy this year too (ignoring that heel).

Of course, the NBA champs will be in everyone's targets, but the Spurs, who might have taken a cue from the Lakers, have a bit of buzz on themselves as well. How will Tony Parker react to San Antonio going after Kidd over the summer, even though Parker basically outperformed his point guard counterpart during the Finals? Will he channel that into even better play, thus helping the team, or do the opposite? (He's a professional; I doubt he'd screw his team over though.)

And of course, there's the Kobe Bryant Saga, but that's off the court. He will probably have to start his trial in the spring, though, just in time for the playoffs to start getting attention. Will this help or hurt the Lakers? Remember: if Kobe falters, Malone and Payton can pick up the slack. That's kinda the good thing about having four future Hall of Famers on your team.

So what's the only guarantee this season? That the West will be NBA Finals Champion. Beyond that, it'll be a melee.


Post comments, thoughts, predictions, and general team support here.

No more Antoine Walker?


(That's bad, right?)

The other day I watched the Lakers get decimated by the Cavaliers. They lost by like 25 points. Now I know it's the pre-season and the Lakers are playing without Kobe Bryant, last years league leading scorer, but nobody knows yet how much Kobe will be able to play this season. The Shaq, Malone, Payton combo might not be as sure a bet as people have thought.

And how did Dallas swing this deal? Tony Delk is a great bench player too. He played for the Kings a few seasons ago. Dallas is seriously getting scary.

Mavs Own. Yep that's right, I got floor seats for the Mav/Cavs game...may not be the best game...but at that time, mavs be red hot for playoffs, and i get to see lebron...

We gonna OWN This year.

Kumba

Kumba

wtf? and stop PM'ing me you fucktarded cocksucker, and since im ranting MM why is my name on your sig? and what doe it mean?

On Topic

Im a Heat fan coz i live in miami and even had season tickets one year, but we will probly not do much so i will really be a mavricks fan coz thats my fav team. also i think the T-wolvs are gona kick alot more ass then anyone thinks, i bet they finish in the top 5 at seasons end.

the lakers are probly gona go far but since kobes on his way to jail, im not sure if they can get karl and gray their rings.

and i hope lebron sucks big time, just coz hes trated like a dream team'er when he did not even lead his HS team in scoreing. but he will win Rookie of the year anyways.

No, Kumba, that will be Carmelo. Like I said before.

No more Antoine Walker?


(That's bad, right?)

It's a step backward for now, but...

Since Walker (and his odd shooting habits) was going to ask for too much money on a contract extension next year, Ainge got what he could for him now, instead of nothing if he left as a Free Agent. Besides, Cuban is more likely to spend the money at this point than the C's are, as Dallas is trying to win it all at this point, whereas Boston (even with Walker) isn't even close.

This is a long term deal for Boston, and an immediate impact deal for the Mavs.

Kai

No, Kumba, that will be Carmelo.  Like I said before. 

Agrees whole-heartedly! Only time will tell, but something in me feels the Carmelo may have a better career ahead of him than LeBron. There's just something about him that screams 'I'll do whatever it takes for my team to win'.

Agrees whole-heartedly!  Only time will tell, but something in me feels the Carmelo may have a better career ahead of him than LeBron.  There's just something about him that screams 'I'll do whatever it takes for my team to win'.

^Said this last year...

Still, Cavs fans have reason to be happier than usual, and go to the games in general.

Best of luck to all the rooks...they're gonna need it, especially the ones out west.

Kai

The Cavs HAD to take Lebron, for the pure money standpoint. 'Mello will most likely be a better player this year and perhaps to come becuase he has more experiance. I think every NBA player should have played in collage, it just makes more sense to have that fundamental training.

As far as this season goes, i agree: it's a toss up in the west. The East has some interesting teams (pistons, magic, and nets) but i just don't see them beating a team comming out of the west. My preseason west ranking goes like this
(list based on Healthy teams)

1.Spurs
2.Kings
3.Lakers (assuming Kobe isn't in jail, otherwise they drop to 5)
4.Mavs
5.Timberwolves
6.Suns
7.Rockets
8.Sonics

East:
1.Pistons
2.Nets
3.Sixers
4.Magic
5.Hornets
6.Pacers
7.Knicks
8.Heat

It could go anywhere from there.

MVP: Tim Duncan
runner up: Kevin Garnett
Rookie west: Carmelo Anthony
Rokkie East: Dwane Wade (going out on a limb here)
Sixth Man: E Ginobli

wow Kobe is playing Every team is gonna get 0wned by l337 Lakers now.

Um right. I'm a hardcore Laker fan and even I won't say something stupid like that.

Wow. That Dallas-LA game was a disgrace. Never have I seen such horrible basketball. I hope they both get a lot better by playoff time or everyone's going to be disappointed. Dallas has the shooters but their offensive game was horrible. On almost every posession there would be two guys in the frontcourt and three guys out by the 3 point line off the screen. Off the screen! When you only see two Dallas players on the screen on half of their posessions there is a problem. I hope Nelson can knock some sense into these guys. Los Angeles started making plays half way through the game but that doesn't impress me much considering how horrible Dallas was playing. It wasn't even a game at that point anyway as Dallas never had a chance of catching up the way they were playing. The Lakers did actually run some plays but I didn't see them play consistent team ball for any extended period of time. They've got the stars out there who know how to make shots and they're going to score points but they still don't have much of a team offense. I was really disappointed with that game. Dallas can win without a big inside presence but they have to play team offense and pass the ball. I saw a lot of Nash driving for the basket, passing to the one Dallas player inside the three point arc, and then a shot going up with nobody nearby for the rebound. Horrible. I don't know how the Kings game will be affected by all the new players but if they can still pass the ball like they used to, I don't think they'll have any trouble beating either of these teams unless they both learn to play as a team. They've got 81 more games before the playoffs. We'll see what happens.

Hey.... at least the Lakers won! And Dallas lost!

Iris is happy right now. Happy like a manic depressant! Hahahaahahaha!!!

Okay, I'll stop my taunting now. I mean, Dallas was in Los Angeles. It's been like 30 games since they've on in LA.

LeBron's Debut TONIGHT.

I hope he does well, mainly because hes on my fantasy team.( So is Carmelo )

What do ya think, is his debut gonna be good or bad...

Yay, i heard that the nets *MIGHT* be mooving to long island. My favorite team will be soooo close, i can see kidd's skillz all the time!

Anyone else heard this is it true?!?! Anyways, GO NETS!!!


ViPeR

It's Kidd. Not Kid.

It's Kidd.  Not Kid.

You tell him, man.

Anyway, I miss Walter McCarty already. Sure, he didn't mean much to the Celts, but I just liked listening to Tommy Heinsohn always screaming, "ATTABOY WALTAH!!! GIVE 'IM A TOMMY POINT!!!". I love Tommy Heinsohn more than any straight man should.

Hey, hey, be easy. I know its spelled kidd. I didn't hold down the button long enough for 2 d's and i forgot to fix it! It happens when you type fast.

So, yeah, Go Nets, too bad they lost...