11-25-2009, 04:12 AM
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#1 (permalink)
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Community Moderator
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: England
Age: 17
Posts: 7,989
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Five Teams That Aren't As Bad As They Seem: #1 San Antonio
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5. Toronto: You know that old stereotype about foreigners and how they can't play defense? Well, the Raptors aren't exactly shattering that perception. Team United Nations is giving up points at a rate that's embarrassing for a playoff-contending team, and yes, despite the losing start, the Raptors will still be playoff contenders. Notice we didn't say "championship contenders" because, in addition to their lack of a certified A-list franchise player (Chris Bosh hasn't led his team anywhere special, unlike Kobe and LeBron and D-Wade), the Raptors will not go far without issuing a little more D. It's not that they haven't applied themselves on defense. They can't play defense.
But, please. Toronto will not finish under .500. There's too much variety on offense, too many decent veteran players to prevent a disaster from happening. Plus, Toronto will play the Knicks and Nets eight times. That helps.
Losing on the road to Dallas, San Antonio, Phoenix, Denver and Utah is no shame. Toronto will turn it around. No such guarantees for the defense, though.
4. Utah: Opened the season 2-6 and had some bad losses to Houston and Sacramento, but that appears to be history. Carlos Boozer has decided to forget his perplexing summer and just play. Lately, he's looked like the old Boozer, collecting double-doubles and taking the scoring load from Deron Williams (tough almost every night). Oh, and there's been an Andrei Kirilenko sighting. He's still coming off the bench, but his minutes are up and so is his production. This might be the most confident AK-47's been in years.
As long as rookies Wes Matthews and Eric Maynor continue to improve in the scattered minutes they're getting, the bench will give Utah extra benefits as the season, and their win total, moves forward.
3. Los Angeles Clippers: Everything's on hold until Blake Griffin is good to go. If the rookie is solid from the jump, he and Chris Kaman will push this team up. If not, then Mike Dunleavy better not check his inbox.
2. Detroit: They had a brutal West Coast trip and missed Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince for virtually the entire first month. Once the Pistons get their two best players back, and find a way to rotate in their 297 guards, they'll be better than a basement dweller. Figure around break-even.
1. San Antonio: Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili have all missed time. Now you know.
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http://www.nba.com/2009/news/feature...rts/index.html
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Five Teams That Aren't As Bad As They Seem: #1 San Antonio
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