2003/2004 Season Preview (West)
Western Conference
@weetee,
@Solius and
@The Cat on the Seattle Supersonics (54-28, Conference Finals)
No big changes in the prediction here - the Seattle Supersonics should still be a title contender.
weetee got a bit worse, but at the same time
Solius got even better.
The Cat didn't get worse
or better. He's on the last year of his contract though, so he'll have to decide if he wants to stay in Seattle and probably not start every game, or move to a worse team where he probably won't be a champion. Jermaine O'Neal's contract also expires this season, so it's possible it's now or never if the Seattle Trio wants to win another title.
@hobbers on the San Antonio Spurs (39-43, 1st Round)
90! The absolute madman.
hobbers is getting dangerously close to not having to be dangerously close to the basket to be able to score. Is it going to be enough to do anything in the playoffs this season? It's hard to say, but the Spurs' three best players' contracts expire after the season, so if they want to keep a good thing going they probably have to make some waves this time.
hobbers is currently not very happy having to drag them to the playoffs only to get eliminated in the 1st Round.
@altodevil on the Sacramento Kings (60-22, NBA Champions)
Our most recent champion also got better. Truly the rich get richer. Although Sacramento aren't particularly rich, so maybe that doesn't really work. In any case,
altodevil has seen some of his teammates take steps backwards over the summer, including the guy who certainly seemed to unlock him, Shaq. On the other hand, DerMarr Johnson took a veritable leap. On the third hand,
altodevil's contract runs out after this season. And despite winning the title he doesn't seem to be overly attached to the Kings. Could we get a new super team next season? Could hobbers and altodevil swap teams? Anything is possible.
@Dr. Dwayne on the Denver Nuggets (36-46)
Dr. Dwayne has to be the poster boy for not sleeping on players who have slow starts. He got drafted as a 45, and now he's a 74. Though
Salt Bailly left him, the team is predicted to do quite well this season. No doubt the fact that Salt Bailly was seemingly replaced by Kevin Garnett has something to do with that. Two 74-rating players can do a lot of good together, even if the rest of the team is distinctly mediocre.
@Stobzilla and
@P-Nut on the Memphis Grizzlies (37-45)
Stobzilla is still on the team that drafted him, but that might not be the case after this season. He doesn't seem
very unhappy, but nor does he seem particularly happy either. The fact that he got a little bit worse over the pre-season probably doesn't help. At least some of that skill seems to have rubbed off on
P-Nut, who is now getting quite good. It's not a bad team, but nor is it particularly good. It's certainly not impossible we'll see them in the playoffs this year.
@Dan on the Utah Jazz (25-57)
Dan had clearly had enough of Philadelphia, so he decided to go to sunny Utah instead. Dan is eternal, so hasn't changed at all since last season. Unfortunately we can't say the same for his new teammates, who almost universally got ever so slightly worse. It's not a particularly young team either, with the exception of Chris Bosh. Still, that might mean Dan just has to suffer a few seasons of bad results for good draft picks. Maybe.
@Samid on the Houston Rockets (33-49)
It's a miracle,
Samid is on the same team as he was last season! It's still not a very good team, though. At least 31-year old Chris Webber improving to 72 is a good sign for those of you worrying that entering your late 20s is going to be the end of your improvement. Anything can happen.
Samid might even make the playoffs. He won't, but he could.
@sebsheep on the Portland Trailblazers (38-44)
sebsheep saw some marginal changes over the summer, but they probably won't amount to much difference when it comes to actual games. His Trailblazers didn't make the playoffs last year, and it's not looking particularly likely this season either if we're honest. The two best players left in free agency (Kevin Garnett to the Nuggets and Keyon Dooling to the Timberwolves), and though they signed 3x MVP and 2x Champion Michael Finley to replace them, he's getting old.