Jordan suited up.

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Spurs beat the hell out of the Clips and Grizz to start the season.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

They also had the 2nd best record in the league last year....

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Manu makes that team roll. With him they are a title contender.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

If title contender means they will make the playoffs.

_________________
"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

You guys wish, I don't see them being healthy come playoff time, but if they are watch out.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Even if they are healthy they are not a title contender any longer. Their window has closed. They will still win a lot of games and get a spot in the playoffs. But they cannot hang with the big dogs any longer in a 7 game series.

_________________
"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

Hopefully we'll get a chance to see. Many people think the Clips are a contender even though they have no depth at all. We saw last year that a team with good defense, good coaching, and who plays smart offensively can beat a much more hyped team. You underestimate how much they miss Ginobli when he's not in there.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

OKC should rightfully be regarded as the favorite. Nobody should be very confident picking any other team to win the West right now, which means a healthy Spurs team has as good a chance as the rest.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

I hope we get to see as well. I think the Clips are contenders because of the Chris Paul impact. He is good enough to take them to the Western Conference finals with the talent that surrounds him. Granted they are not very deep and their coaching is a question, but I think the talent there trumps the weaknesses.

No doubt the Spurs do all the things you mentioned and have one of the best coaches in the game. But they are missing something extremely important that the Mavs had last year and that is a driven hungry Dirk. I think the Spurs have lost that and it was evident in the Griz series last year. They have won their titles, they are content to be what they are.

_________________
"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

I didn't see a complacent team past spring. I saw an old team who was missing their best player trying their asses off against a younger, more athletic team. Manu is their best player and I disagree with you if you don't think he's really hungry. They wanna make one last run for Duncan(might retire after this year) plus Manu has said he's been really upset that he hasn't been there come playoff time lately. If that team is intact come April they will be more dangerous than the Clips.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Spurs don't stand a chance in the playoffs.

They quietly put up the 2nd best record last year, I don't see that happening again this year.

_________________
You never miss your wealth, till your well went dry
Seem like only yesterday, you were here smiling
Now you gone away, but I know you in a better place
No traces of you, what can I do?
Alone and confused

As JORR would say, men are discussing basketball here Ajent. Move along to The Rating System thread, where your contributions are welcome.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Why don't you bring your ass back to Chicago and get done up on the court?!

If you think that the Spurs actually have a chance at even going to the Finals..well I'd suggest you stop drinking!

_________________
You never miss your wealth, till your well went dry
Seem like only yesterday, you were here smiling
Now you gone away, but I know you in a better place
No traces of you, what can I do?
Alone and confused

I think you are overvaluing Manu. He is the best player right now, but he is not enough to carry a team to a title like Dirk did last year.

But in reality we will probably never know the answer. The likelihood that this team is healthy come the playoffs is extremely slim.

_________________
"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

The biggest concern the clippers have is their coach and of course their owner

_________________

Depending on Chauncey having anything left and the name on the front of the uniform is right after those.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

He's fun to watch. Like a better Javelle McGee. They are gonna need defense and rebounding though, they got Blake to hold down the Lob City mantle and score. They can't give up the inside points they did to a team like the Spurs and win. So, I don't think he's gonna be what they need this year.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

The glorious Raptors fell to the Pacers.

The Killer B's did combine for 46 points, 7 rebounds, and 7 assists.

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So Westbrook and Durant got into it again last night? Is this officially a young Marbury-KG situation?

Since Boston inexplicably seems hell-bent on trading their franchise guy, a Rondo-Russell trade would put OKC over the top IMO. Another really interesting scenario would be a Westbrook for Rubio/Derrick Williams/protected first round pick type of trade.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Considering Maynor is serviceable, I wonder if OKC has the balls to do a Westbrook-for-Dwight powerplay towards this year's deadline, if the Magic reconsider trading him. Dwight doesn't seem to care about winning titles though, so that's probably not going to happen since he probably wouldn't sign an extension there.

Denver would be another enticing trade partner. Ty Lawson has the look of an All Star and the depth to make a great offer. Or if Mark Jackson is serious about defense, call his bluff. Offer Westbrook straight up for Curry.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

3 out of 4 of those are must-watches for me tonight. I'm not so interested in Denver vs. Portland but I did catch a bit of Denver/Utah last night. Nene is a grown-assed man, I'll tell you that.

_________________
Kid Cairo's Boers & Bernstein YouTube Channel

Kid Cairo: 2013 March Madness Tournament Winner!

"Cowabunga? Cowa fucking piece of dog shit! This game is diarrhea coming out of my dick!"

Denver-Portland will be quite a game too. Both have really fun teams and a lot of depth. Im loving the Aldridge/Wallace combo.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Charles not trying to downplay the Westbrook-Durant situation.
I agree. Can't have that on the bench.

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Thunder looking like a well-oiled machine against Dallas. Game is still relatively close, but OKC's offense runs so smoothly. And Ibaka is a nice little player.

Dallas' offense is still looking too jerky and starty/stoppy.

_________________
Kid Cairo's Boers & Bernstein YouTube Channel

Kid Cairo: 2013 March Madness Tournament Winner!

"Cowabunga? Cowa fucking piece of dog shit! This game is diarrhea coming out of my dick!"

One thing though: Durant, please just shave your head. You'll be rocking a George Jefferson in 2 years if you don't.

_________________
Kid Cairo's Boers & Bernstein YouTube Channel

Kid Cairo: 2013 March Madness Tournament Winner!

"Cowabunga? Cowa fucking piece of dog shit! This game is diarrhea coming out of my dick!"

The Drexler?

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Exactly. Cut that shit off. It's almost 2012 and you're under 24 years old.

_________________
Kid Cairo's Boers & Bernstein YouTube Channel

Kid Cairo: 2013 March Madness Tournament Winner!

"Cowabunga? Cowa fucking piece of dog shit! This game is diarrhea coming out of my dick!"

Agreed. That's just a sad look. No matter how good Clyde was, you can't take someone who looks like that seriously.

And the Rockets looking not bad against San Antonio.

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