You said “parody” when I think you meant “parity.” I’m not pointing this out to correct your grammar, but because it’s actually quite funny that way. Indeed, if the top teams are all parodying each other, prediction will be very difficult. Let’s see….

Imagine a farcical game in which the L@kers wear special black uniforms, K()be comes off the bench (with a big old baldspot shaved into the top of his head) and flails and flops his way to 20-5-5, Gasol bugs his eyes out even more when he gets called for a charge, but has an uneventful 22 and 8, and Farmar comes to the game with designer jeans on and a really bad rap album, and continues to look befuddled by the American game.

Meanwhile, the Spurs have special yellow jerseys (Real spurs are made of brass sometimes, right? That’s the slim justification.) and Pop refuses to talk during timeouts. Ginobili scores 38 by taking 60 shots, Ime gets way ripped before the game and chests up to little players only to run away when they stand up to him, and Tony Parker puts on ridiculously large dumbo ears that slow down his drives, but magically strengthen his outside shooting.

I could go for a year of parody, I think….

but I don’t think there will be that much changing week to week during the summer. An in season ranking would be a good idea. I wasn’t here last season, so I don’t know if that’s already been done, but I like it.

Dallas and Phoenix are the real wild cards. I think they’ll both significantly drop this season. If they don’t Portland could be in trouble. But I really think they’re getting too old. Especially after trades (Kidd and Shaq) that aged them about 50 years.

Didn’t the Rockets have the longest winning streak in the league after Ming went down?

The Hornets were killed by their lack of depth two years ago. Then they signed Mo Peterson. Hilton Armstrong came alive as a backup to Chandler. David West became an All-Star. And if they resign Jannero Pargo, they’ve found their “sparkplug off the bench.” But you’re right, their health concerns from two years ago are a major issue. Some actual basketball analysis would be:

2 .n.o hornets 55-27 – We’ve seen as far as Chris Paul can take this team with David West and Tyson Chandler as his main options. Their biggest questions lies with Peja Stojacovic, who at his best is the perfect 3rd scoring option to have beside Chris Paul. He’s a great three-point shooter, but he has major health concerns, and if his back isn’t 100%, then it may be another second round and out for the Hornets.

Golden State has some awesome match ups. So did the 2006 Atlanta Hawks. But with no point guard to speak of, they aren’t winning 42 games. Unless they make a move and acquire a distributor, they’re a roster full of gunners and second/third/fourth bananas. Assuming Golden State plays with their current roster, I would gladly make a friendly wager (say, a piece of Blazers memorabilia) that says they do not finish the season over .500. But hey, feel free to turn me down. Wouldn’t want your weekly update to have any accountability or anything…

Two years ago, the Mavericks were over matched by “fun ‘n gun” basketball. Dirk was out of his element as he’s not an up-tempo player and the rest of the Mavericks roster (including their coach) was flat out unable to match the intensity of the now deconstructed Warriors team. But how many games did they win during the regular season? How many games did they win the following year? They’re going to be a great regular season team, even if they continue to face bad match ups in the first round of the playoffs. They’re built to beat the Spurs, but their weakness is up-tempo. GS met them with an up-tempo game and destroyed them. So, they reacted hastily and pulled the trigger on a deal for one of the most well rounded point guards of our generation (and a sure-fire Hall of Famer).

Even if you’re considering Dirk a complimentary player, he’s been arguably the second or third most consistent player in the NBA after Tim Duncan and your choice of Lebron/Kobe. Consistency wins games during the regular season and it takes a “go leader” (I think that’s good leader) to win night in and night out (something Dirk has proven during the regular season).

Oh and by the way, nice name drop with the “Mike Rice” line. You should apply to be my Rebecca Haarlow.

I know you’re new to the whole Blazersedge thing, but this kind of post should probably fall under the junk drawer. Fanposts have traditionally been bringing new information to Blazersedge, or have brought a new solution to a blazers issue, and this post really doesn’t do either.

Plus it is definitely not a good idea to call someone out who has written a full critique of your fan post where your justification for your rankings are one sentence no-analysis blurbs. I mean I know you think that what you have to say is important, but look at the way guys such as mortimer and jscot write up their fanposts, they are well reasearched and have some thought behind them. No offense, since you haven’t been here that long, but stuff like this just clutters up the side-bar, and could easily find a better home in the junk drawer.

If this site were not realistic, I’d probably go somewhere else.

That said, I do have my fun moments like proclaiming that if Rose is any good the blazers will find a way to snag him. They didn’t so obviously he’s not.

I now maintain he sucks and Bayless will be seen as the best PG of the draft. I am now completely convinced of this.

Yeah, I have my homer moments for sure.

So does Greg’s. Both are going to be major forces. The Lakers are certainly not a lock to win the west, but they are certainly the favorites.

I used to do it all the time. We’re still cool with you. You can hang out anytime. My name is Tom and I’m darn proud to meet another Blazers fan. Welcome to Blazers Edge.

No matter what is all about, you started a conversation and we took our time to be a part of it. That means something IMO.

they come mostly at night… mostly…

Kidding, mostly. No, really, I’m kidding.

But this is a community for basketball discussion. You should be prepared to defend your opinion like it’s the last green pasture left in Braveheart. If you can’t back up your opinion with basketball analysis and facts, and you result to throwing out indignities, you should be prepared to be face the fury of numerous, well-educated basketball minds.

This isn’t O-Live or ESPN Commenting. I come here because I want to actively pursue opinions about basketball and the rest of the league. No one has to agree. It’s not the end of the world if two people don’t agree, but both sides should be able to present their argument in an analytical and factual manner.

A fan post should be like a fast break… If you try and finish soft, with some fluff, you’re going to get rejected. But if you finish strong, with flair, then you’ll get all the respect in the world…