NBA Off-season thread

Yea, and Denver's huge four-game improvement was because of AI's absence.

 

It's no coincidence that Philly also had its best years when Larry Brown was there. He, by way of miracle, managed to get the best out of Iverson. Prior and after Brown, however, Iverson was nothing more than a scoring phenom that held little regard for team play and defense. And no, gambling consistently looking for steals is not defense.

 

Hmm, so they trade Iverson and all of a sudden the Nuggets are conference finalists? Not a coincidence. Billups is obviously a much better fit for any team than Iverson, but the fact that the team's point guard suddenly became more efficient, team-oriented and made a more conscious effort on defense also factored in greatly.

 

Do you watch basketball? Denver made huge improvements once they replaced Iverson with Billups.
I guess if it's not the Cavs you don't watch.

 

I'm not denying they weren't a better team this year, but they also played some great defense and making the conference finals was expected as a No.2 seed. The West was as watered down as it's been in a while this year and after the Lakers, there was an 11-game dropoff. The Nuggets beat the Hornets, who quit after the trade deadline when their GM tried to trade their second-best player for peanuts, and the Mavs, who were more worried about their fans' behavior than they were the series.

 

Here's the thing, they never would have been the second seed unless they made the Iverson for Billups trade.

 

Minus a few years when they made unexpected runs and teased their base into thinking "the future is now," the Clippers have been the biggest joke of a professional franchise in North America.

 

With the Grizzlies nipping at their heels

 

I think it was a possibility. There were a lot of factors in their improvement. Everything's not as black and white as you're making it sound.

 

No, the Grizzlies have only been around a few years. They're a different kind of sad, but to be expected.

I grew up with the Clip Joint. They're god-awful, and always will be, until someone buys the team from Sterling.

 

Well according to George Karl it was that black and white. The Nuggets were going nowhere with Iverson

 

And they're still going nowhere with George Karl. Last year was their best shot at the Finals. They're not going to come close this year with the Spurs and Lakers getting that much better. I'm just saying, they won four extra games. That win total gets them the 7-seed the year before. The improvement from 08 with AI to 09 with Chauncey isn't that drastic.