It just seems to me that resigning Howard might be a mistake in LA. He's a cancer, and it showed all season long that he doesn't have what it takes to win. Also, Kobe is on the downside of his career, and Gasol wasn't all that great this year either. Also, I agree with you regarding D'Antoni. Let's just say how I see D'Antoni is pretty much how you saw Nelson during the Warriors playoff run.
Some of your perceptions of Dwight are likely based on what happened in the first half of the season. He was a different player after the break. Most people outside L.A. are unaware of this. He stopped complaining about lack of touches and finally seemed to come to grips with the fact that he was not the primary focus on offense -- although he was right about the (retooled) offense needing to be run throuh him or Pau in the low post.
Pau Gasol is still an elite low post offensive player. His problems though, can be directly linked to D'Antoni's continued failure as a head coach. Even if Dwight signs elsewhere, we'd still have Pau and he is stilll better, on offense at least, than most other centers in the league.
BTW, IMO, Don Nelson was a better coah head coach than D'Antoni, so that gives you an idea of how I feel about Mikey.
Lastly, the "downside" of Kobe's career is still better than nearly every other player's "upside" in the league. However, his recovery does at least raise a question.
As for the Warriors, tough loss last night but they showed they didn't quit. I have this strong feeling they will get it done at home in Game 6.
I agree that the end will likely come in game six. It had better, if the Warriors hope to move on.
Not only do I continue to believe that Denver is not a team built for the playoffs, I also don't have that much faith in George Karl. Any coach who has trouble managing superstar egos is not going to win many (maybe "any") NBA championships. That's Karl.
