[Crossword]

Charlotte.

[WhoDaBest23]

Hawks, Nuggets, Rockets, Magic, Suns, Jazz, and Heat all made the biggest improvements to me.

[NugzFan]

this is whats wrong with offseason predictions...

is there a fan of ANY TEAM who thinks his team is worse right now?

hell even laker fans think they are better.

at this point, 99% of fans think their team will be improved and win more games. about half will be WRONG. some i understand - phoenix, orlando, utah...

but the rest are in for a dissappointment.

[mook]

Originally posted by wild_style!
it seems nearly all the teams have improved over last season, instead of maybe the lakers and nets

at the beginning of the season nearly all teams look better than they will at any other time of the year.

• it's the only time of the year when there are virtually no chemistry problems. people have had several months to cool their heels about the old gripes, and the new guys haven't been around long enough (say, about three NBA games) to make new ones.

• except for Shaq, who only gets in shape when the notion strikes him, most guys are the healthiest they will ever be right before the opening tipoff of the first game. (ten seconds afterward Marcus Camby and Grant Hill will have herniated hang nails.)

• everybody's imagination is going wild. guys like Wesley Person and Okur are being hyped as huge difference-makers by the new fan base. everybody pretends that Marcus Camby can play a complete season.

• while everybody is hyping the new up-and-comer who is destined to have a breakout season, nobody much notices the old war horses who used up their last legs last season. this means you, Reggie and Karl.

now is the season of our disconnect from reality. myself, I'm savoring the notion of Nick Van Exel hoisting a Finals MVP trophy next June.

[Chad]

.

[rock747]

i beleive the heat rockets and atlanta(if they sign dampier)

[D5]

Originally posted by NugzFan!
this is whats wrong with offseason predictions...

is there a fan of ANY TEAM who thinks his team is worse right now?

hell even laker fans think they are better.

at this point, 99% of fans think their team will be improved and win more games. about half will be WRONG. some i understand - phoenix, orlando, utah...

but the rest are in for a dissappointment.

I think the Warriors downgraded.

[Torim]

I think the Nets, Lakers, Mavs, Warriors, Cavs got worse

• Nets: Lost Martin and Kittles for nothing, no contender for the East anymore
• Lakers: Lost O'Neal, the most dominant player in the league, they had 0 depth to begin with and don't have more after trading Payton and Fox and the potential retirement of Malone.
  A starting 5 of: Atkins, Bryant, Odom, Grant, Divac will be hard pressed to make the playoffs in the west.
  (Atkins, Bryant, Butler, Odom, Grant won't be much better)
• Mavs: Gave up Nash, Walker, Jamison for friggin useless Laettner, friggin useless Stackhouse, a rookie point guard and friggin useless Henderson, after giving up 3 marquee players the only usefull player they got is Jason Terry!
• Warriors: Losing Cardinal only to overpay Derek Fisher? Overpaying Foyle and the loss of Dampier (even though I am not a big fan of him). Trading NVE for Dale Davis, now I understand that Nick was fairly useless for them but he should have been worth more.
• Cavs: The whole Boozer situation was a big blow to the franchise, I doubt that Gooden will be able to fill Boozer's position

All other teams either got better or stayed the same. All is of course my opinion and I don't think I have ever been right at any pre-season prediction and not taking into account any improvement of other players or former chemistry issues.

[.fusion.]

Rockets
Spurs
Miami Detroit
Orlando



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Dallas
Cleveland
New Jersey
L.A. Lakers