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Title Contenders and Everyone Else
By Robert Doyen September 23, 2004
 There are essentially three dominating forces in the NBA. One is a single player and two are teams. Those forces: Shaquille O'Neal, the San Antonio Spurs, and the Detroit Pistons. This year's offseason moves by each of those entities looms portentous for the rest of the league.
Wherever Shaq goes, a team follows. He could instantly turn the Atlanta Hawks into title contenders. Orlando was his team, LA was his team (whatever Kobe Bryant might have to say about that), and now he is the King of Miami.
The Heat picked up Wesely Person off of the free agent market. His shooting will make Shaq's job a little easier. Christian Laetner is a good acquisition to shore up the front line, but he's too old and injury prone to be a difference maker. And Dwayne Wade is an exciting young player who will grow a lot with Shaq there to take some pressure off of him.
It just doesn't appear that Miami has the right pieces this year for Shaq to make a run at another title. They will probably win over fifty games on O'Neal's shoulders alone, but even though Coach Steve Van Gundy has a talent for getting the most out of his players, they need a better supporting cast to take them over the hump. Of course, that's also what everyone said about the Lakers.
Detroit went from best to better in the offseason. They kept the basic structure of their championship team together while adding even more size underneath the basket.
Joe Dumars is gobbling up all of the talented yet aging power forwards he can get his hands on. Last year they traded for a supposedly "past his prime" Rasheed Wallace to bulk up their front court. This year they're headed even further in that direction acquiring Derrick Coleman from the Sixers for Corliss Williamson and signing Antonio McDyess as a free agent.
It must have been hard to let Corliss Williamson go. He earned the 2002 sixth man of the year award and shot the ball with consistent accuracy for the Pistons. But Coleman is a tougher presence--a rebounder who pounds the ball down low. McDyess also plays a tough brand of basketball, and though his prime passed him by before he ever had a chance to reach it, he could make the Pistons B teamers very formidable if he stays healthy. That's a big if though.
With the movement of Shaq to the Eastern Conference the question in the West is no longer "Will the Spurs or the Lakers make it to the Finals?" it is, "Who will the Spurs face in the Finals?" The Yao/McGrady combo is too young to get them deep into the playoffs, and while the Timberwolves have a great team that can win a lot of games, they still don't have the kind of team that wins championships. Cassel is not a great defender, Sprewell is getting old, and Garnett is too soft. He has a bad habit of settling for jump shots when he gets frustrated by tough defenders.
San Antonio's addition of Brent Barry isn't just perfect, it's Spurfect. Barry was born to be a Spur, it just took him a few years to get there. He's more confident than Hedo Turkogolu, a better ball handler than Stephen Jackson, younger than Steve Smith, and he even took a paycut to play with the Spurs, proving that he is also unselfish. His predictable three point accuracy should free up a lot more space for Tim Duncan to perform, because sagging off of Barry to double team the post is a very bad idea.
The Spurs also managed to keep budding superstar Manu Ginobili and the uber annoying defensive specialist Bruce Bowen on the team. Manu is helping to bring new fans to the Spurs with his exciting brand of hoops. He's probably been on Sportscenter more often than any other Spur in history. Teamed with Tony Parker, the Spurs have one of the fastest and most unpredictable backcourts in the league.
The Spurs are also seeking their own talented yet aging big man in Karl Malone who would solidify the backup power forward position. Malone appears torn between the Spurs, the Heat and the Lakers. While his best option to stay healthy enough to chase his scoring title and win a championship would be in a backup role with San Antonio, he may be persuaded to play with Shaq for another year or stay in Los Angeles where his children attend school.
While many other teams around the league are close to this level, none of them did enough to catch up with these three over the summer. Denver got better with the addition of Kenyon Martin, but Carmello Anthony must mature a bit before they are ready to contend. Indiana made no significant moves, and while trading Artest for Peja would really help them, it doesn't look like that's going to happen.
So, the race for a Championship comes down to Miami, Detroit and San Antonio. Look for Detroit's depth to get them past the Heat and into the finals. Then the championship series between the Pistons and the Spurs, two almost identically structured teams, may come down to whoever gets lucky at the right times. But since luck has a lot to do with having the best mix of players, it looks like San Antonio will bring The O'Brien trophy back to the Alamo city this year.
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