The Heat, Thunder, and Pacers have all struggled recently. Which of these contenders are you the most worried about?
Ty-
Although all of these teams have struggled I think I would rank my level of concern in this order
1. Pacers
2. Thunder
3. Heat.
The Heat have lost 3 straight but I think it has more to do with LeBron James getting tired after playing his hardest to try to win the MVP race. You have to also couple that with the fact that the heat played two teams that usually give the Heat and LeBron trouble with the Spurs and the Bulls. The Heat will be fine once LeBron gets through this stretch.
The Thunder have played great offensively since Westbrook has returned. Both Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook have had triple-doubles in the last 8 games and are threats to do so every night. But the Thunder have two problems they must shore up. They have to learn how to play better defense without Kendrick Perkins and Thabo Sefalosha for an extended period of time. They have been absolutely terrible defensively, giving up open layups and 3's regularly. Their opponents have averaged more than 10 three pointers made a game in the last 8. That said I think that they will get it together, it just might take a little time for them to get their feet defensively, but they have the youth and athleticism to cause problems defensively against anybody.
The Pacers worry me the most because they lost 4 straight and they have gotten worse offensively and defensively over that stretch. The eye test just tells you that they just seem a step slow at everything right now. It also doesn't help that Paul George has struggled. The Pacers need to get it together because I don't think they can beat the Heat in a series without home court advantage.
Spencer-
I'm most worried about the Pacers too because the thing with them is that they aren't the most prolific offense in the league. They are 20th in the league in points per game, so I worry about them keeping up with teams especially in the west with great offenses. The have prided themselves on defense all year but have dipped in that category even allowing the most points per game in the league. I think this team is similar to Golden State a few years back when they beat Dallas in the playoffs. They have the match-ups to beat the Heat but will struggle against other, better teams come playoff time. Luckily they may have an easy road to meeting the Heat in the Eastern Conference Championship with how weak the other teams in the East are.
The Thunder are next for me. Similarly to what Ty said they are a scoring machine but can't stop anyone n defense without guys like Perkins and Sefalosha. That worries me especially come playoff time when they play other western opponents that can put up big scores. I know they can maybe keep up with anyone offensively but to use football as an example the Broncos fanfare of an offense ran into a great defense in the playoffs and well we saw what happened. Different sport but bottom line is you gotta be able to play defense.
The Heat are obviously the least worrisome to me. Look I've said it all year, I'm not gonna worry about a team that isn't even full strength every night. I'm not gonna fall for this trap where the Heat aren't crazy good and then when they make the finals be all surprised. No way Dwayne Wade is going to miss games in the playoffs, they're saving him for that time of year, and no way Lebron isn't gonna push through fatigue in the postseason either. We know who the Heat are.
The Houston Rockets have the best record in the league since the beginning of 2014. Do you think that they have to be considered as a legitimate threat to win a championship?
Ty-
The Rockets are a legitimate threat to win the championship. I'm not saying they are a favorite though. They would need for everything to break their way in order to do that. But they have been playing outstanding because James Harden and the rest of the team have been playing a lot better defensively. It seems like Harden has finally figured out how to output on offense at an all-star level while still playing defense. Dwight Howard is obviously a big part of their defense and his offense has looked a lot better than he did last year. The reason why I don't think they will win the championship is because the top 3 teams, (Clippers, Spurs, and Thunder) all have a guy who can guard Dwight Howard one on one and The Rockets survive too much on their 3 point shot falling. Right now they are shooting well but that usually takes a hit in the playoffs. But if they continue to play like they are playing now then they will have more than a punchers chance.
Spencer-
I thought they were a contender from the beginning of the year honestly. Just like when the Heat first got together with their big three I thought it would take some time for the Rockets to build the chemistry and play as a team with Dwight, Harden and company. They have reached their peak I think and at the right time with the regular season winding down over the next month. They can score (hence the 3rd best points per game average with 106.6) and rebound (5th best in rebounds per game with 45.5) and are right in the thick of things in a competitive Western Conference. I don't know if they are my favorite to win it all necessarily but I think the deserve the respect of being in the running especially if they continue to win games against conference opponents. Wouldn't be surprised to see them there come June if they play like they are right now.
The Wichita State Shockers are now 34-0 and ranked #2 in the nation. Is it time to start recognizing them as a threat to make the Final Four again?
Ty-
I didn't know how else to phrase this question without seemingly admitting that people don't really believe in this team. Now people have their arguments when it comes to who they have played on their schedule. Although they have played an easy schedule, it still means something to win every game. Even their tougher out of conference schedule has to be looked at as a plus. The other reason we should take this team serious is because they made the Final Four last season! So it is not as if they can't do it. This team has to remind everyone of Butler when they went to the Championship game in back to back years. This team just knows how to win and we all have to start recognizing that. Now I also wouldn't be surprised if they lost early in the tournament, because nothing in the tournament surprises me anymore. But we should probably give these guys a little more respect. Mainly in a year like this when the tournament will probably be wide open.
Spencer-
They have been a threat in my mind for a while. Despite playing in the Missouri Valley Conference it's been evident that they are more than just a good team in a bad conference. They have been beating teams in their conference by nearly 20 or more points most games. Now that doesn't necessarily scream that they will do that against teams like Florida and Kansas and Duke but I think they can at least play with those teams. For that reason I don't doubt they could repeat to the Final Four. A handful of guys on their team were there last year and know what it takes to win in the tournament, and their coach, Gregg Marshall, is a phenomenal leader and keeps his team focused but confident that they can beat anyone. The biggest thing working against them in my opinion is they haven't played a ton of close games this year, and went to overtime just once so I wonder how they will do in a tight game with time winding down. Still lets not discredit going 34-0 no matter what conference you play in and lets not be surprised if they make a run again. This time around though I wouldn't consider them a Cinderella because they have earned my respect as a top team.
Tiger Woods was bothered by a persistent back problem for the second straight tournament in a row yesterday. Do you think that people Tiger Woods will ever be able to get back to Majors winning form?
Ty-
It is crazy how much the world has changed for Tiger after his scandal. Tiger isn't losing because of that though, it is more just a landmark in time that people remember as a turning point to when Tiger became a less feared opponent to the rest of the golf field. Now this has happened because he has been injured over the last few years. First he had a knee problem and now he has a back problem and both of those body parts are extremely important in the sport of golf. He finally seemed to get over the knee problem but i'm not sure if he is having a back spasm problem, if he can return to majors winning form. Back problems are one of those things that are hard to shake but if he ever gets healthy for a stretch I think he can still win a major this year because he has been putting a lot better lately.
Spencer-
The older Tiger gets the tougher it gets for him to get back to major winning form. I know in golf you can win majors in your 40s but Tiger's body is already bothering him now with these issues I don't see that just getting better with age. That doesn't mean he won't win a major again. When Tiger was dominating the game it was almost like he had major winning form weekend after weekend. The thing is you don't need that every weekend you just need it one weekend. I find it hard to believe that Tiger won't find his form ever again for a major, especially cause we see glimpses of it now and then.
What we learned.
Ty- Carmelo Anthony should go to the Chicago Bulls whether the Knicks get Phil or not.
Let me just say that I doubt that Phil Jackson will take the Knicks up on their offer to become the President of Basketball Operations. It also doesn't matter because it is a stupid idea for both parties. Phil Jackson usually only go to situations that are already promising. He is not a fixer, he is a coach who can put an already talented team over the top. I can't see him wanting to go to the Knicks, with that team and those players. On the Knicks side it's stupid because Phil Jackson has never had a front office position and nothing about Phil Jackson really screams somebody who is good at evaluating talent in that capacity. He also seems to laid back for the demands of an executive position.
(Update: Sources tell ESPN that Phil Jackson is expected to take the job)
But none of that even matters because regardless of if they get Phil Jackson or not, Carmelo Anthony should leave New York if he wants to have a legitamate chance to win a championship. He should become a Chicago Bull! Why? Because for all of the flack that Melo takes, people can't dispute that he has been a winner in the NBA. This season could be the only season in Melo's career in which he didn't make the playoffs. So I don't think Melo would enjoy having to be bad in New York again next year because the Knicks have all their money tied up in Amar'e Stoudemire, Tyron Chandler, and Andrea Bargniani.
This is why Carmelo needs to go the the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls and Tom Thibodeau with how well they play defense. There is no question that Thibs could get Melo to exert himself on defense. While Melo has the offense that the Bulls are surely lacking right now. I honestly think that if you added Carmelo to this Bulls team now, even without Derek Rose, that team would be better than the Knicks were last year. A team with the starting five of......
Pg- Derek Rose
Sg- Jimmy Butler
Sf-Carmelo Anthony
Pf- Taj Gibson
C- Joakim Noah
That is a great team with 3 All-Star starters. Carmelo and Derek Rose are 2 of the top 15 players in the NBA at least. While Noah is one of the 5 best Centers in the league. how could that not be enticing for Carmelo Anthony after the year he has had in New York.
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