# hey uh...we can win the division



## The True Essence (May 26, 2003)

i just realized that we can win the atlantic. The division is up for grabs, and really, anybody can take it. as of right now, on paper, our squad is the most talented. lets compare lineups:

Us:
PG- Marbury, Williams
SG- Houston, Penny
SF- Thomas, Penny, DJ
PF- Kurt Thomas, Mike Sweetney
C- Mohammed, Dike?Baker?
the most likely trade is getting jamal crawford, which makes us even better:

PG- Marbury, Crawford
SG- Houston, Crawford
SF- Thomas, Penny, Crawford, DJ, Ariza, Robinson
PF- Sweetney, JYD?
C- Nazr, ?baker,Deke?

now lets stack that up against the other teams in the division:
Celtics:
PG- Banks, Atkins
SG- Davis, Welsch,Delonte
SF- Pierce, Welsch
PF- Jefferson, Perkins
C- Blount,Perkins (is lafrentz alive yet?)

on paper right now, Boston looks very competetive, Jefferson looks like a great player, their solid at every position, but i still feel we are better then them. But they could easily have a better season then us.

Nets:
PG- J Kidd, zoran
SG- Kittles, Harris
SF- Jefferson,
PF- ??????,(rogers is a FA, scalabrine or aaron williams, ouch)
C- Collins,Williams (come on, zo is done)

i highly, highly doubt that this will be the same team by the time the preseason is over, but the changes they can make wont make them that much better. the nets are over the cap, but they could trade a draft pick with a player for maybe a guy like restricted FA Swift? either way, this team has trouble and can either be good, semi good or bad. too early to predict, of course, i still think were better cause im a knicks fan,but i wouldnt bet against J kidd.

Raptors:
PG- Williams or Skip
SG- Carter Peterson(FA)
SF- Rose, Murray?
PF- Bosh, Marshall
C- Rafael

uhh wheres the rest of their team. not much depth, have a good starting lineup, but i dont think Araujo is that good to be starting. their probably gonna have to put Bosh back at center and start Donyell. And Vince's injury problems could be a major factor. even with Vince, i dont think their as good as the previous teams

Sixers:

PG- Eric Snow, Mckie
SG- AI, McKie, Green
SF- Iguodala, Korver, Green
PF- Kenny Thomas, Coleman(he still plays??)
C- Dalembert, Skinner, Jackson

sixers also look good, kinda like the celtics. But we really dont know what will happen with Iverson, as his style of play can get him injured easily. Even with a healthy Iverson, i dont see the sixers being better then our squad, or boston. 

all in all, any one of these teams can win the division. its a tossup really. our squad has a very good chance to win the division and take the third or second seed. In paper, our team is the most talented and if they can just play together, we could take it


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## truth (Jul 16, 2002)

That is the worst division ever....

.400 ball may just win it...

Say what you want aboiut Dolan,but thankfully we dont have Ratner


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## Knicksbiggestfan (Apr 29, 2003)

hahah We're gonna win the title this year. How sweet is that! Oh man this is awesome! Even though the division 
sucks we deserve it man.


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## zebraman2 (Mar 17, 2004)

South 'belle' east division versus Atlantic '*****willow' division. Look out Acie Earl returns for another 40 point game.


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## NYKBaller (Oct 29, 2003)

Yes, we can win the division. Get that 3rd seed automatically...


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## dcrono3 (Jan 6, 2004)

It is possible to win the division. If the rumored Dampier deal is finished, we might be even better. 

I think Kidd will not be happy and probably won't be that enthusiastic about playing through an imjury. I believe the the loss of Martin will hit the Nets VERY hard, because I don't even see an above-average big guy on the team. I would take Nazr over any of them any day, which is quite something.

The Celtics might not be as big as a porblem because I don't think Jefferson will be able to start as a rookie, and I doubt Perkins is ready either. One reason I don't see Jefferson being an Amare is because he isn't that good of an athlete. I know athletic ability is overrated and being an athlete doesn't make u a good player. But Jefferson is coming from high school. You look at Amare, LeBron, Carmello... If you are a teenager and you want to contribute a lot (start) in the NBA, you are a oretty good athlete. Of course I could be wrong but those are my 2 cents. Another question could be the play of Banks at PG. They could be better than us but I think they will be worse, especially if Houston is alive and kicking.

Raptors will probably be worse than us. Araujo will probably not perform that well (how many rookie centers have you seen perform well enough be be a starter?) In general, I think the Raptors have very little depth and will not be able to compete, especially if an injury happens (Carter?). If Carter getrs traded than I would have to see again, but right now the Raptors probably pose the smallest threat IMO. Rafer Alston did sign with them though, boasting their PG. 

Sixers in my mind pse the greatest threat. probably am a bit biased =P but I really think so. Penny, you forgot that the Sixers still have Big Dog Robinson, and while he isn't as good as before, he can still poar 17-20 a night on you. Robinson would start at SF, and the Sixers also have John Salomns there. The next year could very much be his breakup year. Also, Iverson is suppose to move to PG next year too. Green is looking so good that he might very well start besides Iverson. That is what you call a second round steal.


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## Richie Rich (May 23, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>zebraman2</b>!
> South 'belle' east division versus Atlantic '*****willow' division. Look out Acie Earl returns for another 40 point game.



Heats division sucks almost as much...Celtics and Knicks are looking good...Nets are done...Raps have too many problems and Philly, well Iverson just can't carry them forever.


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## son of oakley (Dec 24, 2003)

I agree with dcrono3 that Philly poses the biggest threat. Of everyone in our division AI is the one player who can carry his team. Presuming he stays healthy that is.


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## truth (Jul 16, 2002)

I cant fathom AI staying healthy for a whole season.The guy refused to condition and lift and his 100% effort every night is starting to catch up with him...

If the Knicks sign Damp and h20 is anywhere near healthy,the knicks will be a very tough squad...

And if you throw JC and a slimmer Sweetney into the mix,we look tough...

Its amazing how radically different our perspective is this year.6 months ago half of the board was bashing IT for the marbury trade and Van Horn trade.Now we are talking taking the division..

BTW,the marbury trade was a great trade for both teams.They cleared cap,and we gave up nuclear waste...VaporSun aka VaporKnick is nowhere to be found,Lampe is nowhere near Sweetney and the pick turned out to be marginal

I have to admit,if it were up to me i would have traded Sweeteny before Lampe.Someone in the organisation saw something.I bet it was mark Acquire


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## The True Essence (May 26, 2003)

i disagree. one player does not make a team. Glenn Robinson is not a reliable second option to iverson, if last year proved anything, iverson cant play with anyone good enough to be a second option. harpring, Van horn, hughes, did not work either. he made it to the finals with a tough defensive minded team that had great offensive rebounders. thats not the same team i see they have now. 

The celtics to me have a better team,and i like Paul Pierce over AI.

and willie green probably played well in summerleague. that doesnt make him a steal and that he should start. the way he played last year, he looks like a career 9th man. trevor ariza had a bunch of 20 point games for us, sweetney averaged 20 and 10 in summerleague, and i still dont think sweet is good enough to start, so you can keep thinking willie is great.

even then, after AI, Snow, mckie and big dog, the rest of the team is way too inexperienced and getting a new coach only complicates it more. i think alot of people are overrating the sixers


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## Knicksbiggestfan (Apr 29, 2003)

I think snow is leaving philly too which makes AI really vulnerable and their backcourt defense really weak.


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## dcrono3 (Jan 6, 2004)

It is true that one player does not make a team, but Iverson did carry the Sixers to the finals in 2000, so I wouldn't say he couldn't carry the Sixers to the division title in such a weak division. 

KBF, Snow hasn't left the Sixers yet. He is expandable now after the Sixers drafted Iguodala, but the Sixers won't trade him if they don't get SOMETHING back. Even if Snow leaves, Green's defensive skills are almost on par to Snows. 

Penny, Green wasn't hyped because of his summer league play. If someone wanted to get excited about a Sixer in summer league action, it would be John Salmons. Green played GREAT near the end of last season, and new coach O'Brien loves him. I would say you get a steal if your second rounder is able to make significant contributions to the team, would you? If Ariza ia able to play a big role for the Knicks somehow, wouldn't you think the Knicks got a steal? Big Dog isn't on par to his past contributions, but you can't discount the scoring ability he brings. Randy Ayers wasn't ready to be the Sixers coach last year, one of the reasons the team suffered so much. If Iverson stays healthy and the Sixers mesh under O'Brien, i think the Sixers are more dangerous than the Celtics. I think the Celtics would be a good team, but Idon't trust a high school PF starting.


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## son of oakley (Dec 24, 2003)

dcrono, you seem to keep abreast pretty well, how's the US sports coverage over there in Taiwan? Do you get to see any games?


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## dcrono3 (Jan 6, 2004)

Sports coverage here is pretty sketchy. We have ESPN here, so I watch Sports Center almost everyday, but to tell the truth our ESPN doesn't really have that many sports games on. They seem to like to broadcast billards/snooker, years old X-Games, golf and F1 racing more than a simple basketball game. :upset: I try my best to watch every NBA game that ESPN (and some other odd channels every now and then) broadcast. If a Knicks or Sixers game isn't on TV, I try to follow it on the internet with gamecast etc (unless I am at school, in which I have to check updates between classes). I also try to comb the net for any information on the games/events of my sports teams. It isn't an easy way to follow sports, since I almost have to rely on the internet. I have become, however, quite proficient at combining the opinions of others and mine to form a "newer" and hopefully more accurate description. However, in one year, I will be in the US for college, and I will finally be able to erally follow my teams the way I want to and watch most of their games.


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## MentalPowerHouse (Oct 9, 2003)

I think you underrate the raptors a little bit.

Raptors are better than Knicks at SG, SF, and PF and I don't see how you think the knicks have so much more depth, the Raptors have Williams, MoPete, and Marshall coming off the bench and hopefully Murray can rebound. They just have a gaping hole at C and a history of injuries to key players.


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## Richie Rich (May 23, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>MentalPowerHouse</b>!
> MoPete
> 
> 
> > MoPete was signed to an offer sheet by sum1 i think?


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## MentalPowerHouse (Oct 9, 2003)

Our GM has said he wants to match, and has asked ownership for the money to do so which has never beem denied before. I would give it a 50/50 chance.


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## The True Essence (May 26, 2003)

your advantage at those positions is so minimal it makes no difference. and Tim Thomas is arguably better then Jalen Rose, and Kurt Thomas is also arguably better then Bosh, but we all know bosh will be better in a year or two.

Our center is top 5 in the league at his position(if we get him), our point guard is a top 10 player in the nba, your best player is injury prone, and most people believe he isnt a top 10 player anymore. 

your overrating your squad a bit. As i probably overrate my team a little. 

our depth? we have Hardaway coming off the bench, and Mike Sweetney who averaged 20 and 10 in summerleague, who is a offensive rebounding machine. Also Frank Williams, who proved himself against the nets in the playoffs. 

id rather have them, then washed up lammond murray, who hasnt done anything since leaving the cavs, and Mo pete, who is just a shooter. Dermarr johnson is just as good as Morris in terms of jumpshooting. yep

but i will say donyell marshall is one of the most underrated guys in the league. but i think donyell will start, since your draft pick just doesnt sound good enough to start, i think bosh will move to center again.

Skip and alvin are good backup point guards. so uh, whos your starter? oh yeah Skip. good luck with that.


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