Has Bill Walton Lost his Mind??

[Orange_Blooded]

Hey everybody, long time no post, Been a busy man.

Anyways I've been watching the double Header on ESPN tonight and Bill Walton has repeatedly Stated that the Blazers and Lakers are the teams to beat in the west after the Spurs. Granted they are both vastly improved teams and Its hard to take anything walton says seriously..... but this is just crazy.

I'm not saying he has to acknowledge the suns as a contender but at least pick a team that has won a playoff series in recent memory (or in the blazers case been to the playoffs). I kinda understand the Laker pick seeing as his son plays there but I'm not entirely convinced Roy and the Blazers are even gonna make the post season this year, although I do admit they have looked very good. But its still early, they are very young and the west is very deep as always.

Spurs
Suns
Mavs
Hornets
Jazz
Nuggets
Blazers
Lakers
Warriors
Rockets

Two of these teams are gonna be on the outside looking in. And Im not sure Portland wond be one of them. The Future is very Bright in Portland but I think if they do make the playoffs they will be one and done.

Sorry to go on and on on this but it just got under my skin a bit and wanted to see what others thought about their chances this year..... and whether or not Bill Walton has lost his final screw.

Also Steven A Smith picked the Nuggets as the team to beat not named San Antonio..... but thats a whole other subject....

Go Suns!

[guaves13]

Yeah I think Walton killed a few too many braincells back in his hippie days. You would think that he is talking about the hottest teams right now but to include SA in that would be false. The Spurs aren't playing any better than us right now. He's kindof contradicting himself.

[huk]

i agree that you can't say the blazers or lakers are the teams to beat in the West, but then again i only think that you can say the spurs are the team to beat. they're they only team that has proved themselves in the playoffs and as a result they're the team to beat...the West will still go through SA.

the lakers are playing exceptional ball on both sides. they are getting great production from players like D. Fisher who is shooting well above his career average. can they sustain it? i don't know, but it is premature to label them a top3 team in the west.

i think suns fans are starting to get nervous that other teams are passing them up. i think we could use a lot more youth on our team and i pray to god we draft a 6'10+ athletic and energetic player, but we have a better team than we had last year. yes, no KT but skinner has been 2x as good as anyone could've imagined. i will watch my suns through the regular season and enjoy it, but i'm not gonna read too much into regular season games and happenings. by the end of the season i think you'll see suns, spurs, mavs at the top.

[huk]

i'm tired of people picking deron williams over CP too. CP is having an amazing season and i think if you put him on the jazz they would be a much better team. there is no doubt in my mind that CP is the better player.

anyways, bill walton has his senior moments but he remains one of my favorite nba analysts.

[Orange_Blooded]

San Antonio is Definitely the team to beat.

and Yeah I kinda see us getting passed up in the next couple years....but not this year, not by these teams.

Hopefully ATL stinks it up the rest of the year and we get a lottery Pick. Stern Helped us out for once today by taking a win from them (or at least delaying the win)

[Orange_Blooded]

anyways, bill walton has his senior moments but he remains one of my favorite nba analysts.

Yeah I do enjoy listening to him but Sometimes I just have to scratch my head that he is actually considered an expert.... then again he loved the suns the last few years so maybe he's not all bad.

[fuhgidabowdit]

yea i dont know about the spurs this season, im probably the only one that thinks the mavs are the team to beat, the spurs are old, injured, and no way in hell they repeat, the mavs have height, a go-to player and the best bench in the whole nba. it kills me to say this as im a big suns fan.

mavs
suns
spurs

i guess you just have to look back at how they completely destroyed detroit and detroit on back to back beat the spurs easily.

[impulsenine]

It took you this long to realize he's crazy?

I mean... anybody have that clip of him talking about Diaw being a Renaissance man (I think)?

[Orange_Blooded]

I do remember two yrs ago he had quite the man crush on Borris.

But I think picking the Blazers and Lakers as the teams with the "best chance to dethrone the champs THIS YEAR" is a bit high on the crazy scale even for him.

[mkot]

Most people are off the Suns bandwagon this season. I do think he is a bit insane to say the Lakers is ahead of the Spurs as being the team to beat but can you blame him? The Spurs's been up and down, losing 5 of their last 10 (we talked about being blown out by the Jazz missing 3 starters, they got blown out (although not as much) by the Lakers missing just 1 starters too). The Mavs look a bit regressed from last season, and then we've been inconsistent all season. The Lakers has been beating up teams consistently by double digit and the Blazers had put up double digit winning streak. The Blazers I don't think they can win a playoff series against any of the playoff team in the West, but the Lakers do indeed look like they can beat anyone right now.

Of course people would still put the Mavs, Spurs and Suns as the top 3 teams in the West because they've been dominated the West for the past few years, but when you look at their roster, they really didn't improve much in recent years, while teams like Portland, Lakers, NO, and Jazz had all improved through drafting and developing young players and using cap space to sign quality FAs. The rest of the league had caught up, that's the reality. Just take a look at the record in the West right now.

[myron]

bill walton hates his son. I dont think i've ever heard one compliment directed towards Luke yet

but i dont listen to what bill walton says. Its hilarious, but he changes his mind every 5 seconds

[Frank Lee]

Careful Mkot....you are getting dangerously close to the edge of reality.... and that can rankle the minions.

In a post a while back I mentioned the fLakes and Blazers as teams on our equal...or atleast ones that will target us and be happy with a first round match up. Neither team should be overlooked. We are not the juggernaut of old.

Walton gets a little excited 'about the moment'....remember, he was Gerbiling Diaw a few months back as being one of the top up and comers.

[K0BE-24]

well my friends, its not just bill walton picking the lakers ahead of the suns, other analysts are as well . . watch out, this is a different laker team . . . and yes you knocked us out of the playoffs two years in a row but that doesnt have anything to do with this year . . .

[WTFsunsFTW]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSZS6sRVWsk

[impulsenine]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSZS6sRVWsk

Yup, that's the one. Wow... and strangely enough, during a Lakers/Suns game.

[eastsidecrossover]

Lakers and blazers are playing good ball right now. Walton is in the moment when he speaks. His man crush on the celts, than he switches to the pistons, back to the celts. Its just walton.

I rather have analyst pick them right now. This team needs a fire under them to freakn play up to there talent.

I know faker fans are all jumping back on the band wagon, but please, wait till the playoffs. Its only January, and the suns are playing mediocre are still ahead of your team in the west.

[NapoleonII]

It's too early to make any bold predictions....Bill Walton is a crackpot, but he knows good, consistent basketball when he sees it. And there's nothing more consistent than rebounding and defense, especially in the playoffs. He's taking a bit of a chance with the blazers, but I fully see the Lakers as a rival with the ability to knock out ANY team in the West.

Kobe has been playing 2v5 on the offense, and 3v5 on the defensive side of the ball for three years....not so much anymore. They're a legit defensive team with Bynum in the middle, and Kobe no longer bitching about being on a crappy team.

[ma_falaa_50]

the addition of Derek Fisher make this team better because he keeps kobe in check and he adds veteran leadership. He also helps the triangle by making shots in the wing. Bynum can get 20 and 10 as much as he wants to but he is not like shaq. He dominates the game to a point but he wont be the guy that can make them go over the top.

Fact is Lakers are playing good ball but they cant beat the mavs or the spurs. The reason they beat the suns is because the suns has no answer for bynum while the mavs has diop, and dampier. The spurs has elson, oberto, TD. when the lakers play Bynum has to be consistently good and has to outplay the other bigman but vs dallas and SA he wont do that.


Its a long season and although I think the lakers are playing well I have to see it for a whole season. As for PHx vs LA, Dantoni should let LB loose on them because the lakers has a hard time defending LB but adapting is never MD greatest asset so we shall see who folds first.

[-SDU-]

well my friends, its not just bill walton picking the lakers ahead of the suns, other analysts are as well . . watch out, this is a different laker team . . . and yes you knocked us out of the playoffs two years in a row but that doesnt have anything to do with this year . . .

i dont get laker fans, when we eliminate them all they do is talk about past successes

now they are telling us the past doesnt matter?

which is it?

as far as im concerned, the suns are the second best team in the west, but we arent gelling well at all at the moment to the point where a good team could definately upset us in the second round

hopefully we get it together come playoff time and get some of that confidence back

[-SDU-]

that youtube commentary was hilarious

check the first half of this one, WOW, what the hell was he smoking!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1YI06ZT ... re=related