[samsonpeParticipant]

The rich got richer this offseason with a number of the better teams in each conference making significant moves to better themselves; Cleveland (Shaq), Orlando (Vc), Boston (Sheed) in the East, and L.A. (Artest), San Antonio (Jefferson), Dallas (Marion) in the West.

Who has the 5 man unit then?

In the East I gotta give it to the Celtics followed by the Cavs, Hawks, Magic and Raptors.

Rondo, Allen, Sheed, KG, Perkins
Mo, Delonte West, Lebron, Varejao, Shaw
Bibby, Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Marvin Williams, Al Horford
Jameer Nelson, VC, Pietrus, Rashard Lewis, Dwight
Calderon, Demar DeRozen, Hedo, Andea Bargnani, Chris Bosh

sleeper; Philly, if that starting five can ever learn to play together…Louis Williams, Andre Iguodala, Thaddeus Young, Elton Brand, Sam Dalembert

In the West, Lakers, Spurs (granted you count Manu in S.A.’s starting five based on minutes played*) Nuggets, Mavericks and Jazz

Fisher, Kobe, Artest, Pau, Andrew Bynum
Parker, Manu(*), Jefferson, Duncan, McDyess (or Bonner/Blair)
Chauncey, J.R. Smith (*), Melo, K-Mart, Nene
Kidd, Terry (*), Josh Howard, Dirk, Eric Dampier
Deron Williams, Ronnie Brewer, Kirilenko, Boozer, Okur

sleeper; Thunder, they added a playmaking 2 to the great, young nucleus of Westbrook, Durant and Green, if only the Chandler trade went through last year eh.
Westbrook, Harden, Durant, Green, Nick Collison (or Nenad Krstic)

Overall the Lakers get my nod. I wouldnt be suprised if, barring major injuries, we could be seeing another edition of the Lakers vs. Celtics come springtime next year.

What do you all think?

[bakimm]

lake show and the attack of the green fisher,kobe,artest,gasol,bynum,vs rondo, allen,paul,kg.sheed,or perkins

[Bison 49Participant]

You have the Celtic’s starting five as being: Rondo, Allen, Sheed, KG, Perkins? Did Paul Pierce get traded? Is he playing off the bench? I agree that they have a killer front line, but I would think they would play: Rondo, Allen, Pierce, KG, and Sheed.

I agree with your list in general but would suggest that the top starting five in the East are:

1) Boston – Rondo, Allen, Pierce, KG, and Sheed
2) Cleveland – Mo, Delonte West, Lebron, Varejao, and Shaq
3) Orlando – Nelson, VC, Lewis, Bass, and D12
4) Toronto – Calderon, DeRozen, Hedo, Bosh, and Bargnani
5) ATL – Bibby, Johnson, Smith, Williams, Horford

With these starting units it will be difficult to tell. Some will age (Boston), Some have yet to develop (Toronto, and ATL). Also many have had significant additions (Celtics, Cavs, Magic, and Raptors), and will have to find a way for them to mesh together. Finally injuries/games played will play a key role.

[Meditated StatesParticipant]

Boston

[esperanzafleet69Participant]

cleveland is a 1 man show and if u took lebron off of that list theyre about as good as sac town…

[JNixonParticipant]

Boston I’d say. Lakers and Boston in the finals

[simos15Participant]

easy boston they would have one the title if kg wasnt hurt, and for the record i hate the celtics, Raptor fan. They will win the title this year and adding sheed just made them a whole lot better

[xbadgerhustlerParticipant]

hahahaha, yea, paul pierce is definitely in the Celtics lineup. I looked at that like, huh?

I’m not sure why u guys are so high on a Toronto lineup that features a starting backcourt of Calderon/DeRozan… do u guys really think that is one of the top lineups? DeRozan is nowhere near a legitimate starter,,, he was barely a legit starter at USC for 95% of the season

I would take Louis Williams-Iguodala-Thad Young-Brand-Dalembert over Calderon-DeRozan-Hedo-Bargnani-Bosh, and if Andre Miller is the PG, I’ll go with Philly FOR SURE. As the Microwave would say, the raptors are soft.

Also, whomever had the Hawks starting 5 below the raptors, I just don’t see that. Bibby-Joe Johnson would eat the raptors backcourt alive

[Biased2ShortGuardsParticipant]

Yeh… I cant stand the celtics… especially Paul Pierce… his game is jus so ugly, but he gets it done on the court… i hate that… but u cant deny them… thats a great team… Celtics vs. Spurs in the Finals

[xbadgerhustlerParticipant]

Paul Pierce is one of the most crafty players in the game… don’t hate cuz he overcomes his underwhelming athletic abilities

[TH38L4CKM4M84]

Sessions/Jennings
Redd
Ilyasova
Amir Johnson
Bogut

Blake
Roy
Outlaw
Aldridge
Pryzbilla

[justin22443Participant]

Either the Spurs or the Lakers. The Spurs were already a damn good team when everyone was healthy and now they add Richard Jefferson, a guy who is finally on good team after playing for the Bucks. As much as I love the Celtics and Rasheed Wallace it’s going to be tough to get it done in the east this year

[the microwaveParticipant]

badger , thanks for the credit lol… I like hedo but they are pretty soft..

[Untouchable JParticipant]

Orlando aint startin Bass, they are successful b/c of Lewis at the 4. It will be:
Nelson,Carter, Barnes, Lewis, Howard

[thepoopsmithParticipant]

why’s marion not in the starting lineup? you could definately make a case for them being a top 3 or 4 team in the league if you did. depending on the matchups, they could go small and put out:

kidd-terry-howard-marion-dirk

that’s a pretty sick squad

[BasketballGuru24Participant]

Raptors improved significantly but with derozan as their starting SG……i really don’t think its going to work, i honestly do expect derozan to get to start mid-way through the season……but i don’t think he should start right off, but i do think they improved by alot……My prediction is 4th seed

[ghostfaceParticipant]

Rasheed is going to start ahead of Kendrick Perkins? Really? Rasheed is an over the hill center who shoots too many 3’s. Perkins is like a decade younger and his rebounding and shot blocking average were better while playing fewer minutes than Rasheed. I can’t see Rasheed starting ahead of Perkins, unless the Doc is a complete idiot.

I’m not a Lakers fan but I would say as of right now the Lakers have the best starting five. They have the best player in league, one of the best big men in the league, and one of the best defenders in the league. Add to that a young 7′ center who was playing well before getting injured last season and a Finals experienced point guard and you have your best 5.

[knicksfreakParticipant]

Sheed will come off the bench.

[nthegoodlifeParticipant]

If they had a solid pg, they could be one of the best ever. Their defense looked so bad at times, due to Fisher getting destroyed by anyone and everyone.

[ckowalskiParticipant]

Fisher is a liability but he is tough as hell. He puts his body on the line for you. I don’t think Scola will ever try to screen Fisher again. Yea Fisher is old but he does what you want him to do. He can still get in the lane, still hit open shots, still find the open man, he’s just not going to be a top tier PG.

[Author]

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