2, old, washed up "stars". Jason Kidd gives the Mavs 8 pts, 6 boards, 5 assists, and 6 turnovers in a loss. the Mavs problem vs. the Hornets. dah, dah, dummm... THEY COULDN'T SCORE ENOUGH. Get used to that, Mavs fans. With D. George, J. Kidd and E. Dampier in the starting lineup, you are playing 2.5 on 5 on offense. And Shaq has 4 points and 5 boards in 12 mins in the 1st half. If Marion were playing in this game, he'd have had 4 pts in 3 mins. Like the Mavs, the Suns are losing to the Lakers. Neither of these teams have a shot to win it all now imo. (granted, 1 game doesn't decide anything, because chemistry takes time, but in the west, you don't have "time" to adjust).
Spurs got a lot better today. Kurt Thomas doesnt have the "name" that the other trades do but it will help them more than the Suns and Mavs.
agreed. that's all these teams need to do. Just build on what you already have, don't slash and burn everything like the Suns and Mavs. the Spurs and Hawks are the 2 winners so far. If someone gets Artest tomm, they become the biggest winner, unless they give up too much, because that dude can flat play for a nut case.
Suns are down 8 but will end up sending it to OT and perhaps win this one at home. The Lakers are definitely the team to beat now but I wouldn't count out the Suns just yet. Shaq will play himself into shape and you can already see how much better he will make Stoudemire - he had 15 and 11 at the half. The Spurs did get a lot better with Thomas...it takes some of the defensive pressure off of Duncan and gives them a bigger body to bang with Shaq/Gasol/Bynum. The playoffs from round 1 will be exciting this year. Gonna be interesting to see who comes out of the West.
Agreed with clair and tb3. Shaq experiment a total disaster in a west matchup they are likely to see at some point in the playoffs, the Lakers. They have given up over 80 points midway thru the 3rd! Their defense is even worse. Their offense will not be as good with Shaq. Who is the GM of the Spurs? He is a genius.
with Dallas only being in the playoffs by a total of 2 games, I can see them missing them altogether.
Give it a minute...Shaq's still not "in shape"...remember when he went to Miami? I know that was a few years ago, but he got them to the championship. Yeah DWade was a big part of it too, but you still have 2 time MVP Nash running the show. I think once Nash, Stoudamire, Shaq, and co. get used to playing together it will be a different story. This is Shaq's first game with the team.
the heat didn't run up and down the floor for 48 mins. they look like fish out of water throwing the ball into the post.
I dont think the Shaq trade was awful like a few think. They just didnt get better. He may be that post presence they are looking for in May and June, but it wont translate into points or stops like they are hoping for. Still it was good for the Suns as they got rid of Marions contract and created a buzz all while not changing.
