Superfriends vs. Real Teams

by Yucca Man on Aug 22, 2010 1:01 AM MDT

I've dabbled around with this idea for a post for a while. I want to rant about it ... and I think that there's a lot to think about. But at the same time, I hate it. It feels like I've given in ... that I've hijacked yet another site and force-fed more fans that DON'T want to read yet another article about the Miami Superfriends.

But here we go anyway:

The National Media is Delusional

LeBron + Wade + Bosh + spare parts = at least 65 wins. Maybe more. Maybe even 73 or more.

Right? Right?

That's what the National Media is spouting out all over the place. And do you know what? It is so absurd I can't stand it any longer. The Heat, as they stand right now and considering what the players have done thus far in their careers, are far from an all-time juggernaut.

Let's compare the Superfriends with a legit juggernaut: The 1986 Boston Celtics. Bird, McHale, Parish, DJ, Ainge, Bill Walton and crew.

Now let's do a player-by-player comparison

The Leader

Bird vs. Wade or Bird vs. LeBron (we don't know who will emerge as the main dude yet)

Bird. Every. Single. Time.

We're talking Larry Freaking Bird in '86. He'd tell opponents that he was going to shoot the ball and win the game, point to the spot on the court, then do it and ask them why they only had two guys guarding him. He'd play entire games shooting left-handed just because he was bored with how much better he was than the rest of the league—and he'd still score 40. He took (and made) running left-handed 15-foot bank hook shots in the playoffs just to amuse himself.

Wade and LeBron are good—but let's not go crazy and think they've shown anything that can compare to Bird or Magic or Kareem or Michael or even Kobe or Duncan or Shaq in their primes.

This shouldn't even be a debate.

Bird every single time.

The #2

McHale vs. LeBron or McHale vs. Wade (again, we don't know who will emerge as the #2)

I'd take McHale. Post play like never seen before or since, 60% from the field and 85% from the line, brilliant defense against any C, PF, or SF on any other team.

LeBron and Wade have more Tremendous Upside Potential, they have more athleticism, they have more highlights. But McHale was more effective offensively and his defense was 946 times better than LeBron and Wade combined.

I know some would debate this, I know that LeBron and Wade can be pretty amazing, but I'd take '85-87 McHale. And I wouldn't hesitate at all.

The #3

Parish vs. Bosh.

Bosh is a very good scorer and lousy defender. Parish was a good scorer, very strong defender, and great rebounder (and even beyond great in big-time games). Parish was a great dirty work guy. Does Bosh even know what the dirty work is? (Hint, Bosh: it's not high-fiving yourself in July as if you've just won a championship)

I'd take Parish.

The rest of the starters

Ainge and DJ vs. Mike Miller and Haslem/Magloire/Juwan/Arroyo or whoever else they decide to start.

Oh, golly. Are you freaking kidding me? Not that Mike Miller's awful — he's actually a really nice fit to fill out the lineup — but are you kidding me?

Ainge and DJ. Biggest mismatch of the entire exercise.

6th Man

Bill Walton vs. Haslem/Magloire/Juwan/whoever.

Okay, maybe this is a worse mismatch than the previous one.

Bill Walton (don't let how much we hate him as an announcer make you forget how good he was when healthy).

So, player vs. player, the '86 Celtics are better in every single spot. Let's look at the entire team:

Starters:

Parish, McHale, Bird, DJ, Ainge vs. Haslem, Bosh, LeBron, Wade, Mike Miller(?) or Carlos Arroyo(?)

So who's guarding Bird? LeBron? Yeah, he'll get 2-3 highlight-reel blocks and Bird goes off for 46-12-9. And who's guarding McHale? Bosh? That's even funnier. Or maybe they put Bosh on Parish and Haslem on McHale, which is almost as ridiculous. You know, when I see it this way there are some mighty big holes in that Heat defense.

Let's go the other way: DJ guards Wade, McHale guards LeBron, Parish guards Bosh, Bird plays free safety on Haslem or Mike Miller, and Ainge takes whoever's left. Yeah, LeBron and Wade will score — but their lives will be pretty miserable and it will be hard. Bosh would get pounded into the cement.

And then, when the bench comes out, the Boston fans get all giddy with Walton sitting at the table. Do you think Heat fans are going to high-five each other when the Jamal Magloire or the corpse of Juwan Howard is about to step in?

So what's the point?

I am so sick of the national media slobbering over the Superfriends as if they are the most dominant set of players ever assembled. They aren't. They have shown nothing yet to suggest they are THAT good. Every slot, from star to scrub, is inferior to the '86 Celtics. Similar results would happen when you compare the Heat to other great teams: the Shaqkobe Lakers, the Jordan/Pippen Bulls, Magic/Kareem/Worthy Lakers, etc., etc., etc.

When you get right down to it, all the attention the Superfriends are getting, and all the attention they'll get this upcoming season shows how little these writers understand what a truly great team is. It shows how little they understand what it means to have players who complement each other. And it shows how little LeBron and Wade and Bosh understand the game of basketball ... despite their incredible talents.

Making a Team, Choosing Players that Mesh

Players complementing each other is very different from "he can shoot outside, he shoots from the post, and he takes it to the hole." Look at the '86 Celtics again. Bird was a mediocre defensive player. So what did the Celtics do? Surround him with great and versatile defensive players. So no matter who the opposing team's weakest player was, no matter what position he played, that's who Bird guarded. He never became a liability because he was never forced to guard killer opponents.

That's what complementary means. It's taking players whose strengths perfectly balance and cover for each others' weaknesses. It also means taking a bunch of personalities that balance out correctly. Bird was intense, had to win, and was sometimes a bit nasty to his teammates. But it was okay, because McHale was there too, the funniest and greatest drinking buddy in the history of basketball. Ainge was an all-time whiner, but the refs didn't turn on them because they were also calling against the Chief, silent and stoic, never complaining or lashing out (unless the home crowd willed him to punch Bill Laimbeer in the face). Skills-wise and personality-wise, there was an incredible balance.

That's what the Heat doesn't seem to have. Of course things may prove differently, but from what I can tell right now they built a team around three guys with the exact same sets of abilities and weaknesses. Scoring, athleticism, court vision, and iso skills. Huge deficiencies in defense, discipline, fundamentals, and drive to win.

And then the Heat went out and got a bunch of random spare parts who do nothing to make up for their weaknesses (except for Mike Miller and his good spot-up shooting and shooting off screens).

And the drive to win is what really interests me. Do any of the Superfriends really have it? LeBron fizzled the past two playoffs for no good reason. Bosh hasn't made the playoffs since '08, yet on paper his team was much more impressive than Duncan's '02-03 Spurs that won 58 and 57 games, as well as a championship. Wade went through the motions and played 50 games for the 15-win '08 team. Look at the roster that year? Can you imagine Bird, MJ, or Magic winning only 15 games with that team? Or put Malone, or Stockton, or Deron on that team? Seriously, 15 wins? 15 FREAKING WINS? Do any of these guys show the drive to push through and do everything possible to win when things get hard? And don't bring up Wade in '06 or LeBron in '07. Neither of those guys has shown up in years.

I don't believe that the Superfriends ache to win. I don't believe they got together because they wanted to win. I don't believe they've shown the work ethic to be the kind of once-in-a-lifetime championship team the national media thinks they'll be.

I believe they want to hang out together.

And that brings up the biggest thing the national media is totally missing. Championship teams aren't created from a bunch of buddies. Bird would have never chosen to play with McHale—even though his skills and personality complemented Bird better than any other player in the history of the league. Why do I say this? Because Bird always said DJ was the best teammate he ever had, because Bird publicly questioned McHale's drive to win (even though McHale played on a freaking broken foot trying to win the '87 title). McHale's fun personality just wasn't what Bird wanted in a teammate — even though that personality was the perfect complement.

The Superfriends don't complement each other in terms of skills. They don't complement each other in terms of personality. And their teammates certainly don't either.

End of the Rant, Looking to the Real Teams

I'm done discussing the Heat. Forever. We'll all have to hear about them nonstop for the next year. Even if another team comes out on top, all we'll hear is a bunch of stories wondering why the Superfriends couldn't deliever. Well, I just wrote all the reasons. You just read them. They may win this year, but I'll be surprised. And I'd be stunned if they are the once-in-a-lifetime team the national media seems to expect.

Let's look at the real teams now.

If I had to bet my life on any current NBA team becoming THE juggernaut of the next 4-5 years, I wouldn't choose the Heat. The funny thing is that there are several teams ready to become the kind of once-in-a-lifetime juggernaut the media thinks Miami will be. In fact, there are four:

Jazz, Thunder, Blazers, Bulls.

If I were to bet my life on any team becoming a dynasty, I would choose from these four.

Each has a top-10-talent star. Their 2-3 guys are very, very good (All-Star good). And their players 4-9 are ridiculously better than the Heat's. Plus, their players actually complement each other — they have different strengths and weaknesses that, if everything meshes right, will cover everything. Each team's ultimate success depends on very simple and attainable ifs — if Al meshes corectly, if the Blazers can stay healthy, if the Thunder continue progressing as they grow up, if the Bulls develop a post game.

(I'm discounting Orlando, the Celtics, and the Lakers because of Vince Carter + Dwight's offensive development, age, and age, respectively. These teams aren't built to take the league by storm for the next 5 years).

Since this is a Jazz blog, and since I'm a Jazz fan, let's finally, FINALLY, get to the team we care about

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: If Al learns to set good back-side screens, to read double-teams, and to make good passes—at that point it will be over. The Jazz offense will be completely unstoppable. And if Al puts in the work to become the Captain of the Defense that he says he wants to be, it will be over. The Jazz defense will eat teams alive. Steals and blocks by AK and Millsap will go through the roof.

And the Jazz have a perfect mix of personalities. Leadership and ache to win above all else? Check (Deron, Sloan, Raja). Fun guys to help the team get through the ups and downs of the season and individual games? Check (AK, Memo, and it seems possibly Al). Quiet, hard workers willing to do what Sloan asks? Check. (Millsap, Gordon, Ronnie).

There are only three things that will interfere with this team becoming a powerhouse: (1) Al inexplicably neither learning anything from nor improving with his first decent coach, PG, and teammates ever, (2) Health (can we all pray for AK, please?), and (3) just not quite meshing right—it's always a possibility, particularly with so many new guys.

But still, this team has championship-caliber potential. Team-of-the-decade potential.

So while the National Media and Casual Fans go crazy imagining a Heat-team for the ages, I'm going to watch the four that actually may become teams for the ages. And lucky us—the Jazz are one of those teams oozing with this kind of Tremendous Upside Potential.

All comments are the opinion of the commenter and not necessarily that of SLC Dunk or SB Nation.

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Comments

the best thing we can do

is refer to them as the heat. not any of the ridiculous nicknames people have come up with. just the heat.

as for the three potential interfering things:
1) if he puts his money where his mouth is (and he seems like a very sincere guy), it is, like you said, over.
2) loyal dunkers, your summer homework assignment is praying for AK.
3) al has already moved to SLC and is working with the coaches. CJ is back in a week, and says that all the guys traditionally roll in one month ahead of training camp to play pickup games and work out together. this is where the meshing starts.

by moni on Aug 22, 2010 7:23 AM MDT reply actions

im pumped...

i feel Al is going to learn and gel quickly. i think with his pretime, time with the coaches and a month playin and gettin to know the guys he will learn from watching tape gettin aclimated with DWill n Co..his head is gonna explode with joy bein able to score at will and he is a team guy is already excited to get things goin and seems to be smart bball wise….So hurry up and get here October!

by UtonganKidInCali on Aug 22, 2010 7:46 AM MDT reply actions

i liked bill walton as an announcer

at least he was amusing even when his chatter was nonsensical… he helped make those inevitable mid-winter warriors vs. kings-type matchups more entertaining

by bigdog'sshades on Aug 22, 2010 6:37 PM MDT reply actions

Haha!

I disagree with almost every one of your points! Classic. You and I are like the Yin and Yang of basketball thought. I respect the amount of writing and effort though.

by davidthecomposer on Aug 22, 2010 10:07 PM MDT reply actions

I liked some of this post

but I think that the Heat definitely have a chance of finishing the season with one of the best records ever.

I agree with you that the 86 Celtics were a better team, but you are talking about one of, if not the greatest team ever. They played in an era where the NBA only had 23 teams, and the competition was not watered down like it is today. You are talking about a league that had lets say 70 less players. If that team played today for my money they would be NBA champions hands down.

The last team I can think of that had 2 of the best 5 players in the league would have been the Bulls of the 90’s. Bosh is a top 20 player who is definitely going to take a back seat this year. Personally I think that can only be a positive for his game.

The biggest gripe i have with your post is your comments about the 2003 champion spurs. There is no way that Toronto have ever had a team on paper or on anything, that comes close to looking as good as the team they had in 2003. Lets start with the obvious comparison of Duncan v Bosh. Duncan is STILL at least almost as good as Bosh. When he was a 5th year player the guy was twice the player Bosh is. We’re talking about the 2nd greatest power forward ever here.

Ginobili had just joined the team and Parker was a 2nd year player. You had Steve Smith on the bench, heck, you even had Glenn Robinson on the bench when desperate.

Hang on, still not finished here: Bruce Bowen, Steve Kerr and a young Stephen Jackson, and of course the Admiral in his final year. the 03 Spurs were a fantastic team, and so much better than any Raptor team ever.

But I did think you made some really good points. I think that the Bulls and the Thunder have the chance to be great teams. I don’t know if the Bulls will have the opportunity to be a dynasty, because one of the key parts of their team, Boozer, is injury prone and my thinking is that he is unlikely to be durable enough to form part of a dynasty.

The Thunder have so much talent and potential, but I think in two years time if they are not playing up to that potential then that may write off their chances of a dynasty also. They are a small market team too and will struggle to pay huge money, much like the Jazz do. Which has a lot to do with why I wouldn’t consider putting the Jazz in that top 4. Call me a pessimist, I just can’t see them getting to that level.

I am optimistic that they could do well this year, but to put them in the top 4 teams most likely to become a dynasty seems a bit too homeristic for me… Especially if I am putting Miami at 5 or below…

It will be interesting to see how Jefferson works out though… I remember last year when his name was mentioned as a trade possibility myself among others (I’m thinking Clark, although my memory is a bit hazy…) were saying that Jefferson was not a great fit with the Jazz and that his defense was about as good as Boozers… I’ve become a lot more positive about him since I’ve heard him talk in interviews, but I don’t know that I think the Jazz are anywhere near championship calibre yet, let alone having the chance at building a dynasty..

PS i hope the heat suck this year

by sherbs on Aug 23, 2010 6:14 AM MDT reply actions

Yes, the Spurs were much, much better than the Raps

But I’d invite you to look at their lineup in ‘03 (’02 was worse, but they also didn’t win a championship that year), cover up the names and just look at the stats. Toronto in ‘09 shot a better percentage, better three-point percentage, better free-throw percentage, had more guys score in double figures, etc. Steve Smith was terrible in ’03 (shot 38%). The Admiral was done. Ginobli was nobody. It was Kerr’s last year, and the one time he had a good game the Admiral and the other players were high-fiving and laughing it was so preposterous. It was Parker’s break-out year. But he was very streaky, and the Spurs were ready to dump him for Jason Kidd.

The reason they were great was because of Duncan, because they played as a team, because the team was much greater than the sum of their parts, and because of all the intangibles (like suffocating defense) that don’t really show up in a stat sheet.

Of course Duncan in ‘03 >>>> Bosh in ’10. Of course even today Duncan > Bosh. But someone that looks only at the stats would see: Duncan: 23 ppg, 13 rbd, 3 blocks vs. Bosh: 24 ppg, 11 rbd, 1 block. And to watch the media slobbering over the Heat, you’d think Bosh was the best power forward ever. And that bugs the heck out of me.

Yeah, you’re a bit pessimistic. And I’m probably way too much of a homer. But I see 4 teams that have put together a roster with players 1-9 so intelligently chosen that they could dominate the next 4-5 years. They could be all-time greats. They could be the team of the decade, like we think of the Spurs in the 2000’s, the Bulls in the ’90’s, the Celtics and Lakers in the ’80’s, and the Celtics of the ’60’s. Yeah, nothing’s guaranteed. And there are legit questions for all the teams.

And maybe things fizzle. But just because they fizzle doesn’t mean the opportunity wasn’t there. The ‘86 Rockets were a one time flash in the pan. Nobody remembers them. But that doesn’t change that they had put together a dynamite roster with the chance to destroy the league for the next 5 years. But things went wrong, as they often do.

But it doesn’t change that, to me, the entire roster of the Jazz, Bulls, Thunder, and Blazers is far more impressive for the long haul than the roster of the Heat. The only way the Heat become all-timers is if LeBron, Wade, and Bosh completely reinvent themselves and show game-play and intangibles completely different than we’ve seen from them in the previous 3 years.

I got the crap beat out of me in Provo one time

by Yucca Man on Aug 23, 2010 7:34 AM MDT up reply actions

I agree with what you are saying about intangibles

Otherwise the Lakers would have won in 2003, but no matter how you paint it, you can’t compare those two teams and say that Bosh ever had a better team in Toronto… I agree that most of that is to do with defense, because they were a great defensive side even with Robinson on his last legs. Looking at the stats in Toronto doesn’t even give you half the picture, especially going by very basic offensive stats. The second best player on that 2009 team was probably Calderon, which says a lot to me :) (I know he had a mostly good year in 09, but still)

I don’t rate Bosh too highly, and I think if it had been Amare joining the Heat rather than him then he would probably be spoken about in the same way Bosh is…. definitely the lesser of the three players by a great margin, and i get sick of people talking him up like he’s Karl Malone. or Tim Duncan :P

But yeah, will agree to disagree on that one. Their big 3 are still young, and still have room to improve. Mike Miller will be a good role player, and Haslem is always underrated. Who knows who else they will pick up in the mean time. Pat Riley is a basketball genius and could pick out the next Wes Matthews as well. Of the four teams mentioned, only Kevin Durant I would rate as having a chance to be a better player than either James or Wade. Having 2 of the top 5 players in your team makes you pretty damn hard to beat….

good offseason discussion :) I can’t wait for the season to begin!!!!!!!!!!

by sherbs on Aug 24, 2010 5:45 AM MDT up reply actions

Top four teams going forward

I don’t agree with your top four teams for the next decade.

Jazz, I’m also a homer and love what we have done so I think they will be one of the top 4 going forward. Thunder also are young and have the talent to make things work.

The Blazers, this is where I differ. Their best player has already had knee problems and their franchise center is looking more like Sam Bowie every day (and to add salt, Durant is looking more like Jordan every day). So I don’t see them being a top 4 team for the next decade.

The Bulls most certainly don’t belong there. How do you put a team that was an 8 seed last year and added an aging injury prone PF and lost their best perimeter defender and shooter and added a shooting guard who can’t shoot and another one that can’t defend. Yet a 5 seed that added the best player and another top 20 player to a team that already had a top five player and you don’t have them in your top 4. I don’t even like the Heat, but I can’t see how you got there. The Bulls might not even be the team to beat in the Central in the next decade. If anything the Bucks are in a better position with Bogut and Jennings. They had a real shot at getting to a top 4 seed before Bogut broke his arm. If the Bulls are a top 4 team for the next few years it is because Rose gets hurt and they draft the next Tim Duncan, because as currently constituted there is now way they are in better shape going forward than Miami.

You also mentioned that each of the teams you mentioned "has a top-10-talent star. Their 2-3 guys are very, very good (All-Star good). And their players 4-9 are ridiculously better than the Heat’s."

Really each of those 4 has a top ten star. Lets see
1. Kobe
2. LeBron
3. Durrant
4. Wade
5. Dwight
6. Williams
7. Paul
8. Dirk
9. Nash
10. Carmelo

Roy did make 3rd team all NBA last year so he would at least be in the top 15. Rose didn’t even make that list.
So if you look at that list going forward, Nash and Dirk are getting up enough in years that they won’t be there for the next 10 yrs. Kobe is starting to get older, but will still be a top 10 player for the next 4 to 5 years at least. That leaves LeBron, Durrant, Wade, Howard, Williams, Paul, Carmelo, for the next decade. You still have Amare and NBA 3rd teamer from last year in Bogut. Rondo will also be around the next decade and Wall is supposed to be better than Rose. So I don’t see how Rose passes that many guys to get the Bulls even one top ten player.

So by your own measurments the Bulls don’t even meet the first Criteria to be a top 4 team in the future. The heat on the other hand meet your first two nicely.

by BobbyD31 on Aug 24, 2010 12:32 PM MDT reply actions

I really think Derrick Rose is super overrated. I am intrigued by the talent the Bulls have and Thibodeau, but I agree that the Bulls are the 4th best team in the East at best.

The more you try to erase me, the more that I appear.

by clarkpojo on Aug 24, 2010 2:20 PM MDT up reply actions

good post

I agree that the superfriends do not line up with past superteams.

Bird was better than any of them.
McHale was more efficient. But he did have trouble guarding one mailman. :)
The Chief is much better in every way.
They had 2 ballhandlers who actually passed.
The superfriends could not guard them well.

on the other hand…
The 86 celts would have trouble guarding Lebron though and you forgot to mention that LeBron and Wade will not get called for traveling and will always draw the foul as they run to the hoop.
if they can get along and get all the calls …. it could get ugly.

btw ….. I love the current jazz “team” and look forward to how they mesh

by Russell Kanning on Aug 24, 2010 4:50 PM MDT reply actions

I disagree with many things on your post.

I agree that the 86 Celtics were better, but I think you are highly disregarding Lebron’s and Wade’s defense. They are 2 of the best defenders in the league, and I’m not saying this based on Lebron’s highlight reel blocks. I’m saying it based on the fact that their teams have been good defensively in large part because of them. Also, remember the role they played in team USA’s great defense in Beijing. For the final 12 or 13 games of the season, the Heat were the best defensive team in the league. And there aren’t many other players you can credit for that other than Wade. Also, if you look on Basketball Prospectus, you’ll see how James and Wade are WAY better than most players on the defensive end. But even if you don’t believe in those stats, the defensive efficiency of their teams is enough reason to give them a lot of credit for their defense. So, if James, with his size and strenght, was defending Bird, he would certainly make it harder for him to score.

I don’t think you are really saying things exactly as they are here. Lebron played very, very well in the 09 playoffs. His team wasn’t good enough. And this season, he was injured. I think that the Heat do have a lot of desire to win. I also think, though, that they are not loyal or hard-working enough to do everything possible to win with their own teams. They want to win without too much effort, but they do want to win, and I think that team will do everything possible to win. I also think they have the best chance at a dynasty.

If you take into account Wade’s and James’ defensive skills, and add Spoelstra’s defensive knowledge, that will likely make them an above average defensive team, though not a great one.

Also, their offense is very likely to be effective, since most of their other players besides Bosh, Wade and Lebron are good outside shooters, so most of them do cover for the “superfriends” main offensive weakness, which IMO is outside shooting.

James’ and Wade’s driving skills and athleticism are so great that the only way a team can really stop them is using zone defense. But their court vision and passing, combined with the good 3pt shooters they have on that team, will allow them to execute in spite of the zone.

Still, I do agree with the point you make about the similarities in Bosh’s, Lebron’s and Wade’s offensive skills. It would be much better if at least one of them had an offensive game that could complement the other two. Actually, I think that’s the reason why the celtics can continue to be so good despite being so old. Their team has some really good defensive players, both in the perimeter(rondo) and in the paint(Perkins and, now to a lesser extent, KG) and their offensive games are vastly different. Rondo is a really good penetrator and great distributor, Allen a very good outside shooter, Pierce can shoot from the outside and mid range, and is very good at drawing fouls, and Garnett can shoot from mid-range and in the paint.

So, while that will stop the Heat from being on a level with the really great teams in NBA history, it won’t necessarily prevent them from winning championships. The won’t have much time to do it, though, since, as they age, they will become slower and less athletic, and will become a good-but-not-great team.

by Isaxx on Aug 30, 2010 8:35 PM MDT reply actions

About the 4 teams you mention

Of those 4, I think that the Jazz are the team with the best chance at a dinasty. I don’t think the Bulls belong there, and I doubt the Blazers will be healthy enough for consecutive seasons to win 2 titles in a row. As BobbyD31 said, Rose really isn’t that good. Also, I think the current bulls team has very little outside shooting. I think they have a bigger problem than Miami does in that area. Since they traded Hinrich, their only consistent 3pt shooter is Korver and his defense is not good enough for him to be a starter.

I like OKC, but I think they need a scoring presence in the paint. Many people talk about how much upside they have, but I don’t think they have that much. I doubt Durant will get much better than he is now. Westbrook could improve if he can get a consistent jump shot. But even then, I don’t think that will make them good enough to be champions. Let’s not forget that they were the 8th seed, and the only reason why they took the lakers to 6 games is because Kobe wasn’t healthy enough yet. Remember that from the moment he said he started feeling fine the lakers never lost until game 3 of the conference finals, and even then Kobe kept scoring 30. Also, Durant really struggled in that series, so he also has to prove he can handle Ron Artest.

I think all the Jazz need is a reliable, tall(at least 6’11) center. AJ can play center, but if he is our starting C and millsap our starting PF, we have a very small team. If Okur were healthy, I think our team would have the potential to win several championships, but, as Elton Brand and others have shown, Okur’s injury is very hard to come back from, and it will probably diminish his range a lot.

I think the Jazz will almost certainly become a powerhouse, but, once they can consistenlty reach the conference finals, winning the championship will be extremely hard. I am one who thinks the lakers still have a lot of time left. I think that, if healthy, Kobe and Gasol will be productive for the next 6 years or so. I dont think the lakers will dominate for that long, I just think they will continue to be compettitive. Unless, of course, ANOTHER young player with great potential falls into their lap like Kobe did or they sign a top FA, which is completely realistic considering how lucky the lakers are.

The Celitics will be there for 1 or 2 years, the magic

by Isaxx on Aug 30, 2010 9:07 PM MDT reply actions

I didnt finish the last comment...

The celtics will be there for 1 or 2 years, the magic will be there for a long time, And other teams like Dallas could be there for some time too. So, contrary to what the media is saying, there won’t be any dynasty during the next decade. The competitive balance will be higher than it was in the one that just ended, and titles will be won by several different teams, one of which could be the Utah Jazz.

by Isaxx on Aug 30, 2010 9:39 PM MDT reply actions