Author Topic: NBA 2003/04  (Read 84981 times)

Offline JediMAC

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NBA 2003/04
« on: October 7, 2003, 02:48 AM »
Hey fellow hoops fans!  So, who all out there is excited that the NBA preseason is finally underway, and our favorite teams and players are now loosening up the strings on the nearest nets?!  Good to be back...  8)

Of course, being a rabid Laker fan, I'm more than "a little" excited to see Dream Team 2 in action, but of course that excitement is being tempered somewhat by the whole damned Kobe saga...  What a shame that the dumbass couldn't keep his pants zipped, and is now overshadowing all the should-be fun and anticipation of an incredible season because of it...  :-\

I won't get into whether or not I think he did what he was accused of, but either way, it's certainly taking a HUGE toll on the guy, way more than I ever thought it would.  He's finally been doing some interviews the last couple days, and he is DOWN, like manicly depressed and totally dejected down.  He's lost a TON of weight, is totally out of shape (especially following his offseason knee surgery), showed up several days late to training camp, and won't even be playing in any preseason games for a while due to his lack of conditioning.  And we thought Shaq was bad last year!  :P

And to top everything off, the once choir boy, clean as a whistle Kobe, has finally gone out and gotten himself a couple bigass tats on one arm.   ::)  Some big ol' crown that has something to do with his wife Vanessa, and something else that I couldn't quite decipher.  So the seeminly very last guy in the NBA with "non-tarnished" skin, has finally up and joined the rest of the NBA and inked himself all up...   :-\  Not that I think there's anything wrong with tattoos, but it was always refreshing to see Kobe being different from everyone else in that respect, and not taking part in all that...  Oh well.  The guy just seems completely ruined right now - both mentally and physically.  A shell of his former self.  He said that up until just recently he was strongly considering taking the entire season off, but that his wife finally talked him out of it.

Looks like he's even going to make the cover of Newsweek magazine next week, under the title "The Kobe You Never Knew", or something to that effect.  Even talks about him seeking a divorce lawyer several months prior to his affair.  WTF...

Well, I still think that even without Kobe, or with him only playing part time due to the trial, the Lakers are still going to be the team to beat.  Spurs lost the Admiral, but made some other good pickups.  Sacto made some strong moves as well.  And of course, one OCB will come charging in here shortly to tell us all about his dreaded T-Pups, and the strong push they made during the offseason.  If Latrell can keep his noggin screwed on properly, they'll be tough, I'll admit!

Still nothin' going out on East though.  That conference hardly even matters anymore.  Grant Hill's already out for the season again, so the Magic won't be improving much as they had hoped.  Pacers, Sixers, etc.  Same ol', same ol'.  No worries there.  Gonna be another massive showdown from the big dogs in the West again.

So, who are you folks all rooting for, and what crazy reasons do you have for them possibly beating my Lakers?!   ;D   :-*
« Last Edit: December 2, 2005, 02:08 PM by Jeff »

Offline Nicklab

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Re: The NBA is back!
« Reply #1 on: October 7, 2003, 03:31 AM »
I like the Nets.  I'll go ahead and say that I'm a casual fan, and I only got into them after they traded Stefan Marbury for Jason Kidd.

The biggest question I have is how is Alonzo Mourning going to fit into their game.  It should be interesting.

I also get the feeling that they may make some kind of move soon, since they're on the verge of releasing Dikembe Mutumbo.
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Offline Scott

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Re: The NBA is back!
« Reply #2 on: October 7, 2003, 09:44 AM »
Woohoo!   I haven't been this excited for a Wolves season since 1989 when they came into the league...

Contract Extension for Garnett
Signing Olowakandi
Trading injured Brandon for Sprewell
Trading for Cassell

Our lineup is right up there with the Kings, Mavs, Lakers and Spurs.  One of these 5 teams will come out of the West, And I think it is going to come down to injuries and who has their heads on right.  The Wolves have as good of a chance as the rest.  It is absolutely amazing that the talent of the NBA is so concentrated on these 5 teams.  Gotta give the Spurs their due though, they probably got better than the championship team of last year, like Tampa in the NFL its theirs to lose IMO.

The east is tough, I like Philly, NJ, Detroit and Orlando.  With Darko on Detroit I think they are going to be tough and the Nets unloading Mutumbo is a head scratcher.  Sounds more like payroll cutting then an upcoming move to me

So...I can't wait, the West is going to be the greatest Regular Season possibly ever with those 5 teams battling each other for the crown

Offline Brian

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Re: The NBA is back!
« Reply #3 on: October 7, 2003, 10:13 AM »
It is so nice to have some fellow NBA fans here, I always like to discuss the league.  As far as a team, I'm not really sure.  I haven't had a solid "this is my team" since the Bulls disbanded.  And for the record, I actually started following the Bulls for two years before they won anything, and decided to like Scottie Pippen as my favorite player "to be different" from everyone else that followed Jordan.  That was until Scottie got kind of different when MJ retired the first time.  Of course I've always been a big Jordan fan as well, and followed him while he was with the Wiz the last couple of years.

Anyways, to the present, I'd really like to see the Magic do well.  T-Mac is my favorite player in the league, but I don't think he has quite enough support to get it done.  Anyways, it won't matter, because I really think the West is the conference to beat again this year.  The balance of power most certainly rests out there with the Spurs, Lakers, T-Wolves, Mavs, and Sacto.  I was really hoping for the Kings to win last year, since I'm kind of a Webber fan (although not impressed with his legal troubles), but I'm starting to think they may have missed their "window".  I'll be the first to admit I'm not a big Lakers fan, but if they can play together, they could be tough.  We'll see how Kobe comes around from all of this too, I've never been a big fan of his, just seems kind of arrogant to me, but he is definitely a top notch player...and will probably be considered one of the all-time greats when all is said and done.  I also caught a little bit of Shaq on "cribs" last night on MTV, and he looks to have gotten into better shape this year, looked a little thinner...but I heard he was already having heel troubles?  I think with the Lakers, its always going to come down to the big fella.  Don't get me wrong, I think he gets away with a lot of physical play down low...but he is still the most dominant players in the game right now.

Anyways, I'm psyched the season is already here...or almost here.  I'm really looking forward to it, should be a lot of fun to watch. :)  Thanks for posting the topic!

Offline Morgbug

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Re: The NBA is back!
« Reply #4 on: October 7, 2003, 10:19 AM »
It's ok Matt, don't feel so bad for Kobe.  Could be worse, his last name could be Heatley :-\ :-[
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Offline Brian

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Re: The NBA is back!
« Reply #5 on: October 7, 2003, 06:33 PM »
I was just curious if any of you had heard this story on ESPN.  I thought you might be curious to see it JediMAC.  I'd have to say, if this happened, I might actually have to like the Lakers this year.  Its probably doubtful that it will happen, but interesting none the less:

MJ to the Lakers?

Offline JediMAC

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Re: The NBA is back!
« Reply #6 on: October 7, 2003, 11:55 PM »
MJ to the Lakers?

OK, I know we're affectionately known as Dream Team 2, but that's probably going a little too far!  ;)  Certainly interesting, but it sounds like it's just the Zen Master doing a little bit of random speculating.  Moreso, it may just be one of his mind games to whip Kobe into a competitive frenzy!  Either way, I highly doubt that would ever happen, though MJ's definitely done it before, once or twice.

It would certainly round out our starting 5 just a little nicer...  :P

Offline Brian

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Re: The NBA is back!
« Reply #7 on: October 14, 2003, 12:58 PM »
OCB, I just found out yesterday that your T'Wolves were playing somewhat near us (Omaha)...wish I would have known sooner, would have been nice to go to an NBA game (we don't get that much here in Nebraska) :)  Last time I went to an NBA game here it was Sonics vs. Bucks, when Shawn Kemp was still good  :P

Offline Snively Bandar

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Re: The NBA is back!
« Reply #8 on: October 21, 2003, 09:26 PM »
Wow, another big trade yesterday, bringing yet another all-star in Antoine Walker over to the Mavericks, for... Raef Lafrentz?!   :o  Am I missing something here?  Yeah, I realize there were a couple other throw in's in the deal, but that's the jist of it.

Pretty impressive lineup the Mavs will be fielding with Nowitzki, Nash, Finley, Antawn Jamison (another recent trade), and now Antoine Walker.  5 starters, 5 all-stars.  Impressive!  But still very little defense I'm guessing.  They'll be one hell of a fun team to watch though, but I've gotta say there's a big mix of egos and top notch scorers there that are going to have to figure out how to share that one single ball.  Walker alone is used to putting up about 23 shots a game, so that's going to make a tough situation even more crazy!

Not sure if 5 all-stars in your lineup rivals 4 hall of famers in the Lakers lineup though.  But who knows what's up with Kobe and his trial.

Sacramento will be tough too, but now it sounds like Webber's going to get suspended by the NBA at the start of the season for lying to the grand jury a while back in his court trial for his college kickbacks.

Minnesota's looking solid with their new additions, as is San Antonio.  So it looks like it's going to be the same 5 teams making all the noise again this year.  Is there still an Eastern Conference in the NBA?
« Last Edit: October 21, 2003, 09:27 PM by Snively Bandar »

Offline Brian

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Re: The NBA is back!
« Reply #9 on: October 22, 2003, 09:18 AM »
Quote
Is there still an Eastern Conference in the NBA?

 :D too true anymore.  I have always been a fan of the east as well, but the balance of power is most certainly westward.  It should be an interesting year with all of the team changes/upgrades.  I was surprised by the Dallas trade on Monday as well.  I've never been a huge Antoine Walker fan, and sometimes think he is a little over rated, but it sure seems like the Celtics could have gotten more for him in a trade.  Lafrentz might be able to have a decent year playing against eastern centers though.  I'm looking forward to seeing how this season goes...starts next week I believe.

Offline JediMAC

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Re: The NBA is back!
« Reply #10 on: October 27, 2003, 04:32 PM »
Oh boy, here we go again...   ::)

The Return of Star Wars

Just what we need as the season opens tomorrow night...   >:(

Offline Scott

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Re: The NBA is back!
« Reply #11 on: October 27, 2003, 04:40 PM »
I'm still trying to figure out how the Mavs were able to pull off that deal???

It will be an amazing five team race to finish in the West between, LA, Minnesota, Sac-Town, Dallas and San Antonio all who got better than last year

Then you have Phoenix, Houston and Portland also right there and are all probably better than Indiana and New Jersey

Detroit is tough though, they should win the East

I hope the Wolves get over this injury BS soon...it is going to be an awesome year in the NBA!

Offline Brian

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Re: The NBA is back!
« Reply #12 on: October 27, 2003, 05:01 PM »
I'm really looking forward to the season starting tomorrow too.  I don't really have a favorite team, but trying to pick one to follow "more closely".  Either way, its going to be a great year for hoops I think.  I've always been a big NBA fan, and followed the Bulls religiously from 88-98, but things weren't the same after they broke the Bulls up, so I've been looking for a team ever since.  I really enjoy Tracy McGrady's game, so maybe it will be Magic (even though they have basically zero chance at a title, as with the majority of the Eastern conference).  Anyways, like OCB said, the west should be a tremendous race to keep an eye on.  The Mavs could be shooting for several 150 point games this year too, when everyone's on.  I'll admit I'm not the biggest Laker fan either (although I can admit they are a very good team), so the Shaq/Kobe thing is kind of funny to me, but I'm sure they will be dominant regardless of if they are getting along or not (I'm not so sure they ever REALLY have).  Watching some of the young guys (LeBron, Melo) should be fun too.  I hope people don't expect too much from "King James", but I do think he has the skills to be really good.  I think Carmelo might have the better year this year though.  Anyways, should be fun, can't wait for it all to start tomorrow night...good luck to all of your teams on the upcoming season though, hope its a great one :).
« Last Edit: October 27, 2003, 05:04 PM by mosnab »

Offline JediMAC

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Re: The NBA is back!
« Reply #13 on: October 29, 2003, 03:27 AM »
Well, Dream Team 2 got off to a pretty good start tonight, sans Kobe who was out with a not-fully recuperated knee.  Still whipped the Mavs pretty good, holding a solid double digit lead nearly throughout.  The starting five each scored between 15 and 21 points, while Malone and Payton both narrowly missed logging a triple double!   8)  Shot 51% overall, and had a whopping 31 assists compared to only 10 total turnovers.  Excellent basketball all the way around.  Just too bad it didn't include Kobe.  I'm sure folks would argue that we play better team ball without the 'Kid', but I definitely think that we're a better team with him on the floor...

San Antonio also narrowly squeeked one out over the Suns...

Offline Brian

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Re: The NBA is back!
« Reply #14 on: October 29, 2003, 09:44 AM »
Yeah, the Lakers really looked pretty good tonight.  Payton (and Malone for that matter) really seem to fit in perfectly, and will help to get the fast break moving again in L.A.  San Antonio only led for 45 seconds of their game, but I guess it was the most important 45 seconds :).  Looking forward to a lot more action tonight, including the regular season debut of "King James".  Hopefully people won't expect too much from him too soon, but they probably will.