[kotyParticipant]

Who does everyone think will win the NBA championship next year? This forum is for answers with explanations, not just sentences. I’ll get it started.

I think the Boston Celtics will win the NBA championship. They have the most offensively and defensively talented team in the league. Rondo, in my opinion, is emerging as one of the best point guards in the league. He has no problem getting into the lane with his speed and he is able to finish strong. His jump shot is suspect, but if it is becomes respectable, he will become nearly unstoppable. Scoring is not even the strongest aspect of Rondo’s game. He is a very good defender and passer, but in my opinion, the quality that seperates him from other pgs is his rebounding ability. He is the best rebounding guard in the NBA and is a triple double threat everytime he steps on the court. Ray Allen gives them what he has given everyother team he has played for: offense. He is a great outside shooter and is a terrific freethrow shooter, possibly the best in the game. Paul Pierce is the heart and soul of this team, not Kevin Garnett. He is there best offensive threat, with his ability to shoot off the dribble or step back and his ability to get to the cup. He is also a strong rebounder and passer. Paul, LeBron, and Granger are teh top 3’s in the East. At PF/C, the have Rasheed and Kevin Garnett. Wallace is able to score and rebound and block shots, all like Kevin Garnett. However, Kevin does it better. He is a defensive monster along wiht being one of the most, if not the most, feared forwards in the league. If he is healthy, he is an All-NBA talent. Now to the bench. Glen Davis and Kendrick Perkins will most likely be backing up KG and Sheed, but by no means are they “backups” they could be starters on most teams in the league. Davis brings energy, rebounding, and an underated offensive game that extends 15 ft away from the hoop. Perk is a decent offensive player, but is known for his defense. He averaged 8 rebounds and 2 blocks while playing less than 30 minutes per game. The backcourts backups is the only weak spot on this team. Tony Allen and Eddie House are good, but if there is any serious injuries, i dont no if either of them could step in. House is a shooter but he is a mismatch waiting to happen on defense. Allen is a very good defender and decent offensive talent, but they could use more help. If Boston adds Marquise Daniels, they will have a very talented player coming off the bench and will definitely be better in the backcourt. Look out

[FutureoftheGame]

Lakers. As bad as I hate to say it, they got everyone back and upgraded Ariza. No team can beat them in a 7 game series.

[llperez]

They are gonna be better then they were last year. Fisher is the only guy on the way down and Farmar and Brown are both probably better then him right now. Other then that, you have the Kobe, Artest, Gasol, and Bynum starting. Odom off the bench is an advantage not too many teams have. If Bynum stays healthy and either Vujacic or Morrison play well off the bench, they will be the best team in the league.

Boston would be my second pick, but they are older and the Lakers swept them last year. Artest has defended Pierce as well as anyone so it will be a little diffferent then going straight up against Radmanovic like he did in the ’08 Finals. Rondo is overrated and Wallace is’nt gonna bring as much to the table as people think. I expect a rematch between these two teams in the Finals next year.

[JayRock22Participant]

I think tha lakers will repeat because Ron Artest is ah ultimate defender and plus Kobe is also ah good defender…
And they got they’re role players Pau Gasol he could score against anybody nd they juss need ah healthy Andrew Bynum…

[baller03]

I think the Spurs will win the championship this year. I truly believe Ginobili and Duncan will be healthy, and Parker will do his thing at point. The addition of Richard Jefferson gives them a surefire small forward who can score in bunches. If he is hot, he can score 40 easily. And they got the steal of the draft…DEJAUN BLAIR. i still cant believe he dropped that far in the NBA Draft. I also think George Hill will be a solid back up; he is legit and will eventually turn into a starting point guard in the future. I really like his game. I think Spurs defeat the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals, and beat Boston in 6 games in the finals. I know in that contest post I put the lakers repeating as champions, but i change my mind. lol

[UofAxWildcatsParticipant]

they did add daniels to their team i thought,,,,but they have lot more depth this year if kg stays healthy,,and i like Bill Walker to contribute this year looks like his knee is finally healed up i like him coming off the bench than tony allen

[llperez]

I respect your opinion, but you can’t hoinestly say that Jefferson can drop 40 “easily”. If he was dropping 40 with ease, then how come he so rarely does it?

[Meditated StatesParticipant]

Artest brings improved defense but he also brings a low FG percentage too. LA’s bench is soft. I like the Celtics beating LA in 7 games. With Garnett they are the more physical team. I don’t hold stock in regular season games when guys are coming off four games in 5 nights etc type situations. Rondo may be overrated but he will eat anyone of the points they will guard him with, and will be a better player than he was last year. He keeps improving every year check the stats. Odom does not play well verse KG historically. He was trash in the last finals against the Celtics too. DANIELS IF HEALTHY HUGE X FACTOR

[baller03]

cos he is rarely hot LOL. im just saying when he is hot, he can drop 40 easily. not on a consistent basis.

[JNixonParticipant]

The LA Lakers. they are the best team in the NBA from top to bottom (especially at the top). Best coach, and they have gotten stronger by adding Artest. Artest is what Ariza provides with alot more offensive punch and they arent going to break down unless they suffer some very major injury involving Kobe. I like them to repeat, but Boston, San Antonio or Orlando will have something to say about that

[the_truth34Participant]

of people saying the lakers are going to repeat let check out the lineups of LA and boston
fisher/rondo not question rondo is better
bryant/allen of course kobe but allen isnt anybody to take likely of
artest/pierce pierce is better here has a better shot selection he doesnt just shoot contested 3’s and hopes it goes in
gasol/garnett this one goes to garnett he has better jump shot then gasol and is tougher then him
wallace/bynum this is even because both of them have good defense and there own way of getting points but i would probably have to give it to wallace more experience and can hit threes so there now question that if boston stays healthy they are better

[CLYDE-frazier10Participant]

forgetting the becj and lakers bench is beter

[the_truth34Participant]

the only good person on there bench is odom
farmar,brown/house,pruitt lakers win this one
vujacic/ daniels daniels is consistent, vujacic isnt, celtics get this one
walton,odom/ walker,allen this one to lakers
powell / big baby or Yi if they sign and trade, this one to boston
mbenga/ perkins celtics no question

[Meditated StatesParticipant]

Is the Lakers bench better? No

[llperez]

Let’s brake it down. Rondo is better then any pg the Lakers have, but if you did’nt notice last season, the Lakers don’t play rondo vs their pg’s. They put Kobe on Rondo where he plays off him and dares him to shoot jumpers while he plays the passing lanes. This was single hadidly the biggest reason why the Lakers swept them last year. I don’t know why more teams don’t gaurd Rondo this way.

Meanwhile, the Lakers pg, most Likely Brown, will gaurd Allen and chase him off screens. Quickness and getting around screens is more important then size when it comes to guarding Ray, and the Lakers pg’s can do that.

At sf, Artest absolutley loves to gaurd Pierce. Pierce is not the typical super quick player that now gives Artest problems. Artest used to lock Pierce up on the regular when he was in Indiana because he has size and anticipates all of Pierce’s moves. No more lighting up Radmanovic one on one.

Garnett has a slight advantage over Pau, but Pau showed way more toughness last year both against Boston in the regular season, and in the playoffs by playing DHoward to a stand still. Getting embarrased in the ’08 Finals has done a lot to toughen up Pau and he showed last year.

At center, a healthy Bynum is arguably a top 5 center in the league and another huge piece the Lakers were missing in the ’08 Finals. He will not allow the Celtics bigs to look so tough and push the Lakers around. Perkins and Wallace are not better then Bynum and you are kidding yourself if you think otherwise.

The bench, Odom is the Lakers best bench players and Farmar, Brown, Morrison, Vujacic, Walton and Powell are all young and should only get better. Rasheed Wallace on the other hand is old and averaged a whopping 6 points and 6 rebounds on 32% shooting in the playoffs last year. All he does is shoot jumpers now, and he is supposed to be their big addition? House, Daniels, Powe and Scalibrine are okay, but they are not major difference makers like Odom or a hot Vujacic can be.

Lakers over Celtics.

[Meditated StatesParticipant]

Will also shoot over those little point guards with ease like he is shooting a free throw shot. The Celtics have the stronger bench and the tougher team. Still the better defensive team by far too. Celtics win that one. They played Kobe on Rondo and where did it get them? a SERIES LOSS IN 6.

[llperez]

I put out a well thought and detailed analysis, and you come back with “where did that get them? A SERIES LOSS” Come on dude, that was a far inferior Laker team than todays. THe Lakers have lost Radmanovic and Turiaf. They have gained Artest, Bynum, and Brown. Also, the big 3 are slowly slipping, while the Lakers top players are still getting better.

I admit it will be close and I think these are the two best teams. But you need to come with more then that to make me think the Celtics are better then the Lakers. Las Vegas odds makers are putting the Lakers as favorites next year, and that was before they resigned Odom. They have no bias.

[llperez]

The Lakers defense has improved significantly. boston’s might be better, but you can’t honestly say “by far”.

[Meditated StatesParticipant]

I will say by far. Artest helps them. After that no one on that squad besides Kobe and Bynum would even be mistaken as a defensive player. Celtics D way better by leaps and bounds. Daniels and Wallace are defensive players added to one of the best already. They both bring extra O too.

[llperez]

Bryant, Brown, Artest, and Bynum are all elite defensive players. The Lakers had no problem sweeping both the Cavs and Celtics last year with their defense. Bryant and Artest are both lock down type guys and even if you get past them, there are gonna be 2 other 7 footers coming at you. The Lakers were one of the top defensive teams last year and looked very solid locking down the same Magic that had just looked ungaurdable aginst the Cavs. Allen and Pierce are not exactly known for their defense and if the Celtics are “leaps and bounds” better defensively, then they should be holding everybody to less then 90 points game in and game out next year. i highly doubt that.

[Meditated StatesParticipant]

Your talking about regular season two games out of conference as sweeps. Come on. Brown is not going to keep Ray Allen from hitting shots over him. Bynum is not elite. Solid defender does not make you elite. Wallace,Garnett, and Perkins are pretty much in the Discussion for top defensive big men in the league. Rondo does his thing and Paul is so underrated it is funny. Daniels D’s it up three positions. The Celtics have much better defenders. Brown is not a “elite” defender. Good would be ok, but “elite” no. They will let Kobe know Bill Walker next year. Guys hate him, he gets in your shirt man.

[llperez]

defesive team. Just that it is very close. GO watch Brown gaurd people when he gets minutes. Go watch a healthy Bynum defend Amare Stoudemire. Kobe and Artest together is like having two shut down corners on the wing together. Go check out how Walton defended Carmelo in the western confrence finals last year, he is way underrated defensively. Like I said, Pau and Fisher are the only weak spots defensively, and pau did a damn fine job containing Howard and Fisher is still crafty.

But even if the Celtics are better defensively, that alone does not mean they will win the Finals. If I were the Celtics, I would be worried about just getting to the Finals over Orlando, which is no given. I don’t know if you are a celtics fan or a Lakers hater, but if you ask enough unbiased people, you will see the Lakers are the favorites next year for a reason.

[Meditated StatesParticipant]

The Lakers do not have a player Boston has to double. They guard Kobe with single coverage all the time. Paul handles him fine. Ray does ok for short stretches Tony Allen harasses him. They need to Double KG, Paul, and force Rondo to not even catch the ball wich is why they try Kobe on him. They have to have help chasing Ray around. It will take the Defensive effort of their lives to stop Bostons O. Orlando squeaked by a Garnettless Celtics in 7 games. They will be a tough out, but I think losing Turk hurts them. At the end of the game he was their man.

[llperez]

I’ll just say we will find out next June. In ’08, the Lakers were missing two starters and in ’09, the Celtics were missing KG. So if they both can stay healthy, then they should meet in the Finals and settle this. Peace.

[the_truth34Participant]

saying hes being biased you are being biased you are probably a lakers fan and the las vegas odd makers are always going to have the champs to win it again they dont know a damn thing about basketball, you just got to look at it this way who has more offensive threats and defenders that can shut people down celtics have more or better people in both categories

[llperez]

las vegas does not always put the defending champs as favorites. They know more then you or I and they put the favorites everytime based on completely unbiased info. As for being biased, sure I’m a Laker fan, but I gave a very well thought and unbiased opinion on evrything I said . I said that Boston was the better defensive team and that it would be close. He responded by saying the fan boy stuff like the Celtics are better by leaps and bounds and things. And as important as defense is, you can’t just say the Celtics are better defensively and that means they will win and act like that answers everything. It is all just opinions, which is why this is a chat site, so we can debate our opinions. If I disagree with you, but you present valid arguments, then I have nothing wrong with that. For you to say I’m just biased and Celtics are clearly better, then you are contributing nothing to the conversation.

[aj81Participant]

cavs

[festar35Participant]

Spurs.

[Meditated StatesParticipant]

Sorry llperez22 I base mine on team, like detroitbadboy2 said. I validated my stuff by saying they had the better players on both sides of the ball overall. Your getting childish cause I am staying put on my opinion kid. I think they are the better team on paper based on the players forget the bias, nice try. I did not insult you like that. Respect my basketball knowledge like I do you, don’t front. We differ in opinion thats all. Don’t act like I did not clarify myself on why I thought they were better, and was being a lil fan. I said better on D by leaps and bounds not as a team. I said a 7 game series with the Celtics D being their edge. That means tough series with their D being the edge. You ran from our argument by saying “peace”. You wanted it to end, I must have been making a point.

[pointguardfunParticipant]

celtics already have a strong first five before, now they add rasheed and marquis daniels. that’s a solid core of seven. they have a strong, hardworking frontcourt off the bench in leon powe and baby davis(if he resigns). house does what he’s asked to, tony allen is fine, bill walker will be good in time. their defensive schemes are the best, shutting down opponents with ease. hunger is back again to their side, with the big 3 looking for #18 this year. celtics.

[crazyknicksfanParticipant]

i think celtics (if garnett is back) ,cavs,magic,spurs,or dallas

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

The Lakers will win it. Here’s why IMO:

1. They have Kobe who is arguably the best player in basketball. If not the best player, then he’s no doubt the best closer. There hasn’t been a player since Michael Jordan that has performed consistently under pressure like Kobe has. With the teammates he has now, Kobe won’t need to dominate quarters 1-3. He can save his energy and dominate in the 4th. Kobe showed me a lot in the playoffs versus Denver. They tried to intimidate him with rough/physical play… Gave him their best shot. He was unphased and punched them right back in the mouth… HARD too. A lot of teams get complacent after winning a title, but Kobe won’t let that happen with his team because he’s always hungry. A lot of people question his leadership style, but I think it’s clear how much he’s evolved as a leader. He’s always talking and most importantly, leading by example.

2. They have arguably the biggest and most talented combination of big men in basketball. I don’t know another team with more length. They were the best rebounding team in basketball last season. They averaged over 12 offensive rebounds per game, which was 3rd best in the NBA. Andrew Bynum is 7′ 0″ 285 and is only 21 years old. He didn’t play the last 32 games last season and during the playoffs/NBA Finals he was only 75-80% healthy. Expect him to be 100% healthy this season. Pau Gasol is 7′ 0″ 250 and is 29 years old… In his prime. I expect him to play more confident and with more swagger this season. Lamar Odom is 6′ 10″ 230 and is 29 years old. He’s arguably one of the most versatile players in basketball. He’s a game changer and when he plays well… The Lakers usually win. Once he re-signed, that made it a done deal in my book. There isn’t much Lamar can’t do. When he’s hitting the three, it’s a wrap. When you have a player like this coming off the bench, that’s a huge plus.

3. Ron Artest enters the fray. He’s a huge upgrade over Ariza. Kobe will no longer have to guard the LeBron’s, Melo’s or Pierce’s of the NBA because Artest is also an elite defender and he’s HUGE. 6′ 7″ 260. He’s also only 29 years old and I think he’s in his prime. Artest shot almost 40% from 3-PT last season, which I think is being overlooked. If he can shoot anywhere close to that next season, the Lakers will be a serious serious problem. The Lakers averaged almost 107 points per game last season (3rd behind Phoenix and Golden State)… Artest makes them even more dangerous. He’ll make the Lakers a tougher team. The Lakers gave up around 99 points per game last season, which was 13th in the league. I expect them to be in the top five this year. Artest will help them THAT much defensively.

4. They have arguably the best coach in the history of the NBA returning to the sidelines. A lot of people say he isn’t the best, but one thing is for sure… He wins championships. He has one on every finger, plus two… And if I can count correctly, no other coach has more!

[Biased2ShortGuardsParticipant]

The Cavs were the #1 overall seed last year cuz they have a style of play that will not break down… not to mention they play in the weak east… while the Lakers, Celtics, and Spurs get old and brittle and take games off the Cavs will again win the most games in the league and have the best overall record, giving them home court advantage… home court will be the key because they will skate by the #8 and #4 seeds leavin Boston and Orlando to battle it out for the other spot in the eastern conference finals…

The Cavs lost last year cuz their shooters didn’t knock down shots, they didn’t have enough length on defense, and they had no low post presence to relieve LBJ of the scoring load… and guess wat they did this off season… got Parker(Shooter), Moon+Parker (Long Defenders), and Shaq (Low Post Scorer)… and they still have IMO the best player in the game… so i just dnt see how everyone can jus write them off…

[Da1potParticipant]

Spurs vs Celtics finals, Spurs will win!

[llperez]

If I offended you with the fanboy comment, my bad. I thought we had pretty valid and respectful back and forth and I should’nt have included that when I was responding back to detroitbadboy. The rest of my statement regarding not having a valid argument was directed towards him not you.

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