What team will have the most pressure on them in '08-09?

JordansBulls · Post #1 » by **JordansBulls** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 4:21 pm

What team will have the most pressure on them going into the 2008-2009 Season?

Boston Celtics (Defending Champions, and they have to show that last year was no fluke)

LA Lakers (Favorites going into the season and everyone predicting they will win it all)

San Antonio (It's an odd # year, which means the pressure is on them to win it all)

Dallas Mavericks (championship window is closing, can they win it all with this group, or will it be another missed opportunity?)

Phoenix Suns (probably the last opportunity they will have with nucleus to win it all, can they?)

Detroit Pistons (always a contender, but will they fall short again and risk the team being blown up?)

Houston Rockets (if the Yao and T-mac duo want to stay together, they need to do some damage in the playoffs)

Portland Trailblazers (The team of the future, will they be better or worse than expected and how will Oden be?

Chicago Bulls (missed the playoffs, but got the #1 pick, will they make the playoffs, or have teams figured them out now)

Miami Heat (got the #2 pick, was last year just bad because of the Wade injury or was it something more?)

Toronto Raptors (Lost in the first round the last 2 years, can they make some noise now with the JO trade?)

Washington Wizards (A team that has underachieved for a while now, can they put it together and do something in the playoffs?)

Philadelphia Sixers (Was able to get Elton Brand and now they have a good unit to make some noise, will they?)

LA Clippers (can they get back to the postseason like they did in 2006)

Denver Nuggets (The AI and Melo has not worked so well yet, can they focus on defense and show just how good they can be as a team?)

Orlando Magic (another year under the belt of Dwight, can the Magic get further)

Cleveland Cavaliers (can they return to the finals this year or will they concede they are not trying to help LBJ?)

New Orleans Hornets (did they overachieve last year or are they this good, well the pressure is on to show that they are just this good?)

Utah Jazz (Solid team and nucleus, but will the bigs play like bigs or will we steadily here how Boozer or AK-47 want out?)

NOTE: Only 10 options could be used

ChocolateThundr · Post #2 » by **ChocolateThundr** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 4:23 pm

I say the Suns. It is their last chance. And Shaq's reputation is on the line. He has been talking too much this past season and this offseason. Im not sure he can walk the walk anymore.

cjs55 · Post #3 » by **cjs55** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 4:25 pm

I'd say Dallas. They gave away much of their future for Kidd, and if he doesn't work out this year they will have wasted both Nowitzki's prime and their future...a pretty terrible combination for a team that was 2 games away from winning a championship a few years back.

Phoenix has made their runs, and while it would be certainly unfortunate for them to fail again this year, they seem to have a better future if they do fail. With nash and shaq expiring they can proceed to build around a still young Amare and hopefully be competitors for a long time to come.

Serpo · Post #4 » by **Serpo** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 4:26 pm

I say Lakers . Everybody expects them to win the Western Conference and at least reach the finals again.

ChocolateThundr · Post #5 » by **ChocolateThundr** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 4:28 pm

I disagree about the Lakers b/c we dont know how well Bynum is going to play. Our chances rests on Bynum. But I think our chances are good.

Serpo · Post #6 » by **Serpo** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 4:30 pm

ChocolateThundr wrote:I disagree about the Lakers b/c we dont know how well Bynum is going to play. Our chances rests on Bynum. But I think our chances are good.

Maybe not pressure from within the team but def. most from the media and the fans .

That Nicka · Post #7 » by **That Nicka** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 4:40 pm

Lakers Rockets and Pistons imo

GuyverX · Post #8 » by **GuyverX** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 4:40 pm

Serpo wrote:
ChocolateThundr wrote:I disagree about the Lakers b/c we dont know how well Bynum is going to play. Our chances rests on Bynum. But I think our chances are good.

Maybe not pressure from within the team but def. most from the media and the fans .

There's no question that anything less than the NBA finals again with or without Bynum will be considered a massive failure for the Lakers. They have the reigning MVP, they have the all-star PF they acquired for basically nothing. The pressure is on the Lakers...even more than last season because most of their fans have hyped Bynum up to be a superstar already. Even Bynum's agent wants a max contract for a 13/10 guy who played without Gasol. There will be no more "we didn't have Bynum" excuses.

TrueRain · Post #9 » by **TrueRain** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 4:47 pm

ChocolateThundr wrote:I say the Suns. It is their last chance. And Shaq's reputation is on the line. He has been talking too much this past season and this offseason. Im not sure he can walk the walk anymore.

QFT.

Outside the Suns/Shaq, I could probably see Boston as they're trying to prove they can do a repeat.

Kyrama · Post #10 » by **Kyrama** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 4:59 pm

It could be the Pistons, but I'm praying for some major trades.

Manocad · Post #11 » by **Manocad** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 4:59 pm

I don't think there's too much pressure on the Pistons. Detroit fans, while being disappointed with the outcome of the past few years, are realistic. We know it takes a lot to win a championship and that winning one doesn't automatically mean you should win more with the same group of players. The only people that call the Pistons 'failures' for so many straight ECFs with just one championship are the media and fans of other teams. Quite frankly, all the Pistons fans have accepted (and expect) that falling short again with the current group means the team as it stands today will be broken up.

Mr Smoke Weed · Post #12 » by **Mr Smoke Weed** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 5:20 pm

i dont see anyway its not the lakers
the sunds to a lesser degree but not because shaq has anything to prove, its mr. nash who does

JordansBulls · Post #13 » by **JordansBulls** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 5:49 pm

TrueRain wrote:
ChocolateThundr wrote:I say the Suns. It is their last chance. And Shaq's reputation is on the line. He has been talking too much this past season and this offseason. Im not sure he can walk the walk anymore.

QFT.

Outside the Suns/Shaq, I could probably see Boston as they're trying to prove they can do a repeat.

I think the Wizards have to have a lot of pressure as well considering they just gave Jamison 12.5 million a year and Arenas 18.5 million a year and they still haven't gotten out of the 1st round the past few years.

eatyourchildren · Post #14 » by **eatyourchildren** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 6:57 pm

Of the 3 teams that made major major trades/acquisitions--Celts, Suns, Mavs, Lakers--there's 2 left to prove that they were worth it.

Post #15 » by **SOUL** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 7:24 pm

Rockets, Lakers

RMbChillen42 · Post #16 » by **RMbChillen42** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 7:35 pm

Cleveland Cavs will have pressure to get Lebron a sidekick. Especially with teams like the Celtics and Pistons being better than them already and Philly, Toronto and Orlando viewed as being on the same level if not better than Cleveland. Plus all that media speculation with Lebron and 2010 will certainly provide added pressure for Ferry to get something done.

Post #17 » by **rsavaj** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 8:57 pm

Phoenix for sure. It's officially their last chance at a title for the forseeable future. Steve Kerr/Terry Porter/Shaq/Nash/Grant Hill's legacies depend on what they do this year IMO.

Post #18 » by **SOUL** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 8:59 pm

Oh yeah, I forgot about Phoenix...

CB4MiamiHeat · Post #19 » by **CB4MiamiHeat** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 9:06 pm

Lakers - theyre odds on favorites to win it all everywhere....

durka · Post #20 » by **durka** » Tue Jul 15, 2008 9:58 pm

rsavaj wrote:Phoenix for sure. It's officially their last chance at a title for the forseeable future. Steve Kerr/Terry Porter/Shaq/Nash/Grant Hill's legacies depend on what they do this year IMO.

Well I do agree that Phoenix has the most pressure, the only legacies on the line are Nash and Kerr. It's Porters first year and Hill and Shaq already have their books written for the most part. The difference between winning and losing for Shaq is finishing his career washed up or as a seasoned vet. When it's all said and done Hill will be rememberd for his Pistons days and his injuries, not the twilight of his career.