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i just find it odd that everyone counts the team that was 6 seconds and 1 free throw away from winning the title last year as not having a shot. san antonio kept that core in tact, and added a couple of solid additions to the rotation. belineli is better then neal, pendergraph is better then blair.
okc if anything got worse this year and nobody knows how westbrook comes back after his knee injury. the bulls are a toss up if they will be able to challenge, nobody knows until they see what rose can do and how they fit in. memphis doesnt get out of the 2nd round imo. but i would put the pacers pretty damn close to the heat, they had a very nice off season and improved on a team that took the lebrons to 7 games. their youth and inexperience is quickly moving over for plenty of experience and they are not going to be an easy out for anyone.
also the heat are older then the spurs on average age so the age argument goes out the window. the only age argument between the two teams is the best player on each teams age, lebron is 29 this december, parker is 32 next may so not a HUGE age difference.
i just find it odd that everyone counts the team that was 6 seconds and 1 free throw away from winning the title last year as not having a shot. san antonio kept that core in tact, and added a couple of solid additions to the rotation. belineli is better then neal, pendergraph is better then blair.
okc if anything got worse this year and nobody knows how westbrook comes back after his knee injury. the bulls are a toss up if they will be able to challenge, nobody knows until they see what rose can do and how they fit in. memphis doesnt get out of the 2nd round imo. but i would put the pacers pretty damn close to the heat, they had a very nice off season and improved on a team that took the lebrons to 7 games. their youth and inexperience is quickly moving over for plenty of experience and they are not going to be an easy out for anyone.
also the heat are older then the spurs on average age so the age argument goes out the window. the only age argument between the two teams is the best player on each teams age, lebron is 29 this december, parker is 32 next may so not a HUGE age difference.
yes parker is 32, but duncan will be 38 by the playoffs next year and manu will be 37. their big three is slowly aging.
as for the heat, wade is getting older, but bosh and lebron is still young. and of course, if oden can grab 10 boards a game in the playoffs and not get hurt, its a ring.
also as the heat is older in average age, Juwan howard was 40? and he doesnt even play. the best measurements of age would be the 8 man rotation, and the big three's age.
yes parker is 32, but duncan will be 38 by the playoffs next year and manu will be 37. their big three is slowly aging.
as for the heat, wade is getting older, but bosh and lebron is still young. and of course, if oden can grab 10 boards a game in the playoffs and not get hurt, its a ring.
lebron, bosh, cole, chalmers and oden (if he ever plays) are the only heat players under 30 and both bosh and lebron will be 29. they will have wade, allen, battier, anderson, and haslem all playing major minutes. wade and haslem are injury prone, allen will be 38, anderson and battier will both be 35.
people take manu and tims age and put that on the spurs as a whole while over looking all the other contributors. people also over look the age of so many other teams. hell the spurs have been "old and slow" for the last decade if you ask all the haters out there. the spurs have tim tony and manu along with diaw and bonner as the only spurs on the roster over 30. tim and manu are the only spurs over 32. major contributors, leonard, joseph, green, splitter, de colo and soon to be belineli, and pendergraph, are all 28 or younger, with 1/2 of those being under 25.
age is nothing but a misconception with the spurs. one that people who do not like their style, their coach, their players try to use as an argument against them. the only real concern for the spurs are injuries which can hit any team at any time, ask the lakers, and the thunder last year. in the last 7 years (since the spurs became "old and slow") they have been as far as the conf or nba finals 4 times. 2 1st round exits, and 1 semis exit. they have won their division 4 times and been 2nd three times. they have only finished lower then the 3 seed 1 time in that period (09-10 when they went to the semis).
my point is keep calling them old and slow and eventually you will be right, that seems to be the hater way. in the mean time the spurs will surely continue to prove everyone wrong while they reload, tweak and play with roster spots, all the while making great $$$ decisions to remain competitive year in and year out.
my point is keep calling them old and slow and eventually you will be right, that seems to be the hater way. in the mean time the spurs will surely continue to prove everyone wrong while they reload, tweak and play with roster spots, all the while making great $$$ decisions to remain competitive year in and year out.
well yes, age does matter, but it also depends on the player.
but another factor i look into is, every year that a player is older, they will slow down a tiny bit (such as in offense or defense). just that tiny bit maybe difference between winning it all or loosing it. that tiny difference could be jumping 1 inch shorter than before= cant block a shot, 1 inch away from stealing a loose ball, or half a step slower so a player cant blow by someone for a layup.
well yes, age does matter, but it also depends on the player.
but another factor i look into is, every year that a player is older, they will slow down a tiny bit (such as in offense or defense). just that tiny bit maybe difference between winning it all or loosing it. that tiny difference could be jumping 1 inch shorter than before= cant block a shot, 1 inch away from stealing a loose ball, or half a step slower so a player cant blow by someone for a layup.
to an extent yes age is a factor depending on the player BUT very few teams (especially the spurs) are only 1 player. now if lebron was still a cav, and was his age do you think he would be in the finals? the spurs are not just tim or manu or tony, they are a collection of players. case in point, who was the best and most important player on the spurs last nba finals? tim? manu? tony? nope it was a combo of leonards defense and greens offense/defense combined. now with tim or tony not on the team (out with injury or something) would those guys be able to do what they did? not likely but the spurs won as a team and not as an individual. now the heat are different, take lebron off and they likely lose 1st round, but the spurs showed he cant just beat you by himself. he needs guys like shane and ray allen to make shots, he needs wade to make shots, he doesnt really need bosh who was ineffective all series. in other words, the spurs work as a team and dont need just 1 player to run the show, take any one of the spurs off last years playoffs and they very likely go where they went, not many teams can say that.
Should be a good battle between the Heat and Miami.
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