A week from today the regular season starts.
What do you all think about this upcoming season? Any predictions for players, teams, awards, all-stars, players to watch, etc...?

My NJ Nets win the East, and take the Lakers to seven games in the finals, and win game 7 (they have the home court advantage because Shaq misses half the regular season with his bad toe) to become NBA champs!!!!

I am passionate about four things in my life, listed here (in order):

1) My son
2) My girlfriend
3) My NJ Nets
4) GF Trilogy

Hahaha. I hate to say it, but the NBA champ is coming out of the West. Being a SoCal guy, I am certain that the Lakers will make it fo' in a row. But if by some catastrophe they don't, then Sac-to, Big D, or San Antone will still be better than the best team in the East.

It's just like it was in the 90s when everyone knew that whoever came out of the west was just a sacrificial lamb for MJ and Co. It's just reversed now.

Hahaha. I hate to say it, but the NBA champ is coming out of the West. Being a SoCal guy, I am certain that the Lakers will make it fo' in a row. But if by some catastrophe they don't, then Sac-to, Big D, or San Antone will still be better than the best team in the East.

It's just like it was in the 90s when everyone knew that whoever came out of the west was just a sacrificial lamb for MJ and Co. It's just reversed now.[/b][/quote]Well, Don Corpuzzi, since this is the second time you and I have banged heads over your Lakers vs. my Nets in the same thread no less, I will make you an offer you can't refuse:

Find your own way to New Jersey for game 7 of the 2002-2003 NBA finals, and I will personally provide you with a ticket to the game so you can watch your Lakers go down!

I would agree that the winner will most likely come out of the west. If the west send the Kings or the Lakers, I don't see anyone hanging with them. There are enough good teams out there so if they bea up on each other all year it may allow the home court advantage for the east this year. If it is Dallas or San Antonio, then the east has may have a chance.

I'm not sure the Nets have the depth to do it, or if Mutombo is the answer. He didn't handle Shaq all that well for the Sixers when they got there a few years ago.

Wow, plawrence - the Nets are ahead of the trilogy. That is a true fan. Are you happy that the Sixers took the "next larry Bird" off your hands, or are you a Van Horn fan?

Sounds good! I'm gonna hold you to that! See you in June (if you're lucky!)

I know that you're being sarcastic when you call KVH the "next Larry Bird," but I remember being quite offended when they called him that coming out of college. Just because he's a tall white guy who can shoot does not mean he's the next Bird. What set Bird apart from the other tall white guys who could shoot was his basketball IQ. Like Magic Johnson, he was an amazing passer and a very opportunistic rebounder. He wasn't very muscular, and he definitely couldn't jump, but he just happened to know where the ball was going to be and then he would go there.

How many "next Larry Birds" have there been? Tom Gugliotta, Keith Van Horn, Dirk Nowitzki. The list seems to grow every year. Although I have to admit that there is something about Dirk's shot that reminds me of Larry's, there are really no more similarities beyond that.

I know it's a severly overused cliche, but Larry made his teammates better. That's something that he did, and that's something that Magic did. MJ did that near the end of his career, but that was more through sheer will than teamwork. Without Larry, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish would have probably been above-average players. With Larry, they each have 3 rings and are Hall of Famers.

Okay, enough of that. GO LAKERS!

You recognize sarcasm. He was called "the next Larry Bird" when he was drafted. He was a tall guy with a good outside shot, but you're right. Bird was great because he made others better. You can't say that about Van Horn.

I think the reason MJ became a team player is directly related to Phil Jackson. Maturity of Pippen helped too, but as soon as MJ decided to be more of a team player and let his individual stats slide a little was when the Bulls went to dynasty status.

Here's a question for you as a Laker fan - was the Bulls team that won 72 games the best ever? Which of the great Laker teams would you pick?

I wouldn't mind seeing Dallas win it this year! I know no one probably cares, but I found this article on ESPN talking about how McDyess going down is a "Blessing in disguise" to the Knicks. Reason is, is because the Knicks will be horrible again, get a good draft pick, and draft LeBron James! They pick Knicks in 2004! Here's the article if anyone is interested:

Knicks in 2004?

Let's get all this straight, guys. I'M the one who said Van Horn was supposed to be the next Larry bird. Yeah, I liked him at first, but he can't play defense, and his inside game disappeared after his rookie year. Still, my Nets would not have gotten as far in the playoffs as they did without him, and I didn't like the trade until they signed Rodney Rogers, which in effect made it Van Horn & McCullough for Mutombo & Rogers. That deal I like.

As far as the Nets depth goes, who has a better second unit than Rogers, Aaron Williams, Jason Collins, Lucious Harris, and Chris Childs? Plus their second round draft pick, Tamar Slay from Marshall, can really play - at least from what I saw in the exhibition games.

And finally, to you Don Corpuzzi: I'll see you at the Continental Airlines Arena, Rutherford, New Jersey, for game 7 of the NBA finals (if the Lakers even make the finals or make it to game 7 if they do) to watch the Lakers fall to my NEW JERSEY NETS !! :p :p

Sorry plawrence, as much as I love the Nets (not as much as you, but I LOVE my boy Kidd), I again gotta go with Don Corpuzzi on this. If L.A. goes to the finals (remember I said if because there's too much competition with Dallas & Sacramento), I think the Lakers will win it all. I guarantee that a Western Conference team will win the title! As much as I would LOVE to see Jersey win it, they won't. I mean, really, who is going to stop Shaq? The only things that can stop Shaq are God, his toe, or Shaq himself.

Im a little bit of a hoops fan. I enjoy watching a game or two.

As I am only 24 years old, I will limit my choices to those teams that were around during my lifetime. I am certain that the 95-96 Bulls would have lost to the 66-67 Sixers, the 71-72 Lakers, the 69-70 Knicks, and several of the Celtic championship teams.

The 95-96 Bulls would have lost to...

79-80 Lakers. Magic's rookie year, Kareem was regular season MVP, and they also had Jamaal Wilkes, Norm Nixon, Spencer Haywood, Jim Chones, and Michael Cooper. This team shot a combined 52% from the field for the entire season. In Kareem, Magic, Chones, and Haywood, they had four guys capable of getting 8-10 rebounds a night.

82-83 Philadelphia 76ers. This team had 4 All-Stars in Dr. J, Moses Malone, Mo Cheeks, and the very underrated Andrew Toney. They won 67 games and went 12-1 in the playoffs, including a sweep of the defending champion Lakers

83-84 Celtics. Larry Legend, The Chief, and McHale. 40-1 record at the Boston Garden.

86-87 Lakers. Magic's first year leading the Lakers in scoring at 23.9 per game. Kareem still throwing in about 18 a night, Worthy a bona fide star, Byron Scott an outside threat, and Defensive POY Michael Cooper.

Any of these teams could have taken those Bulls. The Bulls of the 90s were the beneficiaries of being good at a time when the rest of the league was weak. In the 80s, the Celtics and the Sixers had to slug it out with each other, and then face L.A. in the finals.

Yeah, I agree that there were some weak teams in the league at the time of the 95-96 Bulls. I was a fan of the 95-96 Sonics who lost to the Bulls in six games. I remember watching on TV the Bulls getting their 70th win here in Milwaukee. I hated the "Bad Boy" teams. They could beat the mid-twentys year old Jordan, but they couldn't hang with the 95-96 version. Pippen, Kukoc, Harper, "the Worm"(Bulls), etc... The "Bad Boys" were one of the most overrated teams ever.

They "Bad Boys" haven't been discussed, so that's why I brought them in the conversation.

Those Bad Boys were pretty bad-ass. They came very close to a three-peat. They won in 89 and 90, and in 88 they came within one game of beating the Lakers. That was a very deep team, with Zeke, Dumars, Laimbeer, Rodman, Spiderman, Aguirre, Microwave, Buddha, et al.

Why do you say that?

Maybe I should rephrase it. They were the most overchieving and violent team ever. C'mon they way they won was to beat up the other team. That's not basketball! Granted they did have Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars, but they were a bunch of bullies. In '89 they playd a Lakers team in the Finals that was without Magic. The next year they played the Trailblazers who weren't even that great. Finally, the Bulls swept them in '91. That was the end of the "Bad-Boys."

They also played without Byron Scott. Between him and Magic, that was 37-38 points a game that they were missing.

They also played without Byron Scott. Between him and Magic, that was 37-38 points a game that they were missing.[/QB][/QUOTE]

You're right Don Corpuzzi. I forgot about that.

I agree, the "Bad Boys" were a VERY deep team. And I agree with badguytony when he said that the Pistons were bullies, but come on, they won. When you're in the NBA, and your shooting for a title, it doesn't really matter how you play, as long as you win. What I felt was horrible sportsmanship though was after the Bulls FINALLY swept them in 91, the Pistons went straight to the locker room & didn't even shake the Bulls hands or congradulate them. Very poor & unprofessional!

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Irishman12:
What I felt was horrible sportsmanship though was after the Bulls FINALLY swept them in 91, the Pistons went straight to the locker room & didn't even shake the Bulls hands or congradulate them. Very poor & unprofessional!
I totally agree Irishman about that. However, it just reiterates how their "Bad Boy" image. Go figure.

As you can see, I'm not good at highlighting other peoples quotes.
Did anyone see the fight between Rick Fox and Doug Christie? That was crazy seeing Shaq getting involved against the Kings team.

Yeah, I saw that. Maybe Christie was tired of all of the wife jokes (apparently he's pretty whipped), and so he decided to take it out on the Laker with the hottest wife (Fox).

Seriously, the Sacramento Queens are getting really old. I'm tired of hearing all of this "we should have won" and "we got screwed by the refs" crap. They just need to get over it and stop talking.

It was great seeing Shaq pushing Divac in the tunnel. Although Shaq is far better than Divac, Vlade provides a good foil for him. They seem to be polar opposites.

Hey badguytony:

I did notice that you're having problems with the quotes. It seems to happen when you try to edit other people's stuff. In the future, before posting, click the "preview post" button to see what your post will look like.

Thanks, DC. I'll remember that.

Yeah, I saw that. Maybe Christie was tired of all of the wife jokes (apparently he's pretty whipped), and so he decided to take it out on the Laker with the hottest wife (Fox).

Seriously, the Sacramento Queens are getting really old. I'm tired of hearing all of this "we should have won" and "we got screwed by the refs" crap. They just need to get over it and stop talking.

It was great seeing Shaq pushing Divac in the tunnel. Although Shaq is far better than Divac, Vlade provides a good foil for him. They seem to be polar opposites.[/b][/quote]I didn't see the fight, I'll have to put on ESPN. Did it happen last night? I'm with Don Corpuzzi, I'm tired of hearing about the "Sacramento Queens" I don't like Divac or Turkoglu (They both think that they're freakin the MVP of the leagues, and they're not! They maybe in their country, but here in the NBA, they ain't crap!). I do however like Webber, Bibby, Stojakovic! I also agree that the Kings should get over the loss & quit complaning. This here is a man's game!

The Fox/Christie incident is certainly going to make watching the Lakers vs. Kings more interesting this year. It's a good thing nobody stepped on Shaq's toe!

Yeah, I'll be looking forward to seeing them play now because now it's not business, it's strickly personal!

I think that the Queens are going to be so caught up in the mind games that they're gonna forget about the game that really matters (basketball)