Top teams in the nba will they or won't they

[Cleveland wins]

Who are your top 10 teams this year in the nba? And will they or won't they be in the nba finals?

1.La Lakers
2.Boston Celtics
3.Miami Heat
4.Dallas Mavericks
5.San Antonio Spurs
6.Orlando Magic
7.Chicago Bulls
8.Oklahoma City Thunder
9.Atlanta Hawks
10.Utah Jazz
__________________
I don't really think there are any other teams in the nba that can compete for the nba championship, here are my reasons why each of these top teams can compete, more or less this year.

Lakers-Best player in the game today Kobe Bryant, enough said? Wait there's more, Pau Casol, Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom. All 3 of these players are good contributers to their team.

Celtics-Probably the most complete team in the nba at all positions, more or less though at the center position, now that they've trade Kendrick Perkins, actually less now.

Heat-If Wade can stay healthy and be the main scoring leader then the heat can, win it all this year, underrated defender as well. Other reasons, Lebron James, Chris Bosh to a lesser extent, he needs to step up, James Jones, Mike Miller and Zydrunas Illgauskas.

Mavericks-Pretty deep team with good scorers, Dirk could be an mvp this year, Jason Terry who is a great 6th man and Tyson Chandler is a good player.

Spurs-To a lesser extent, this team can but probably won't compete for an nba championship this year, if they add one very good offensive big man then they could compete for a title, in the finals. Tim Duncan is going to have to contribute big, very big offensively and defensively, if the spurs want to win it all this year.

Magic-I have big doubts for this team this year, yes they have Dwight Howard, socring machine and great shot blocker rebounder. Yes they have Hedu, but who elese is going to step up and score? Arenas? Richardson? They have to prove themselves in the playoffs. Ryan Anderson is a decent and underrated shooter i think and can stretch the floor, and Brandon Bass has to contribute with rebounding.

Bulls-Great team, but do they have enough? Yes, Rose, Boozer, Noah, Gibson and a decent bench with Korver and Gibson, hopefully they can stay healthy. Will they win a championship this year? That's a big question that will be answered in the playoffs.

Thunder-They really only have two great scorers in Durant and Westbrook, but other than that, i don't think they can compete for an nba championship. Meaning, they won't be in the finals this year.

Hawks-Not nearly enough pieces to compete in the nba finals, but can, probably get pass the first round of the playoffs this year, pass the second round? I highly doubt it, as they would have to play the Heat or the Magic in the second round

Jazz-Can they make it pass the first round? Maybe, but they can't beat the lakers or any of the top 3 teams in the west in the playoffs, but could possibly make it to the second round. But they will not be in the nba finals this year.

[Lamrock]

Utah is a lock to miss the playoffs this season.

[Andrew]

The Spurs, only fifth? I'd give them a lot more credit than that. As far as needing a big man that can score, they have one: Tim Duncan. His minutes are down and he's taken a bit of a back seat, but he can still score when they need him to.

[Lamrock]

I'd put the Spurs in 5th as well, but with the Bulls in fourth instead of Dallas. The Spurs have been overachieving mightily. In addition to outdoing their Pythagorean record by quite a few games, they are also playing their best ball and are lacking defensively. Don't see them beating the Lakers when they put it in playoff gear.

My rankings would probably go: LA, Boston, Miami, Chicago, San Antonio, Orlando, Dallas, OKC, New York, Portland, but what do I know?

[rise]

1.Celtics
2.Mavericks
3.Spurs
4.Heat
5.Bulls
6.Thunder
7.Lakers
8.Magic
9.Knicks
10.Nuggets
11.Trailblazers
12.76ers
13.Grizzlies
14.Hawks
15.Bobcats
16.Suns
17.Rockets
18.Hornets
19.Pacers
20.Warriors
21.Nets
22.Clippers
23.Raptors
24.Jazz
25.Minnesota
26.Pistons
27.Kings
28.Wizards
29.Bucks
30.Cavaliers

[[Q]]

LOL at #10 Jazz.... they're barely #10 in their own conference

[Martti.]

#1 - Spurs
#2 - Celtics
#3 - Bulls
#4 - Heat
#5 - Lakers
#6 - Mavericks
#7 - Thunder
#8 - Magic
#9 - Hornets
#10 - Nuggets

[shadowgrin]

Lakers-Best player in the game today Kobe Bryant, enough said? Wait there's more, Pau Casol, Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom. All 3 of these players are good contributers to their team.

Disagree.

[rise]

I need to bring the Celtics down on my list. They're playing so bad right now. I beleieve they're on a three-game losing streak and they look like they're going to drop a fourth one against NO. In the near future, they have a chance to get raped by teams like Chicago, San Antonio, Miami, and New York. Shit, after that loss to Houston, I think they could even find a way to get dumped on by the Grizz or Indiana.

[shadowgrin]

Your point being?
The Heat had that losing streak but they still are in anyone's radar as far as championship contention is concered.
The Lakers get dumped by the Bobcats on a regular basis (or was it only for the previous seasons?).
Spurs raped the Heat a few weeks back.
Heat raped the Spurs a days ago.
New York also loses to some mediocre teams.
What's your point again?

[Andrew]

The Celtics were also written off last year by a fair few people (I know I certainly underestimated them) and ultimately came within a quarter of winning another championship, without their starting centre.

[Lamrock]

Boston played .500 basketball for the majority of last season and came one game with an intact Perkins ACL away from a title. Was thinking about title odds though. My largely objective rankings would be:

Lakers -- 35% | It's pretty hard to beat this team 4/7 times with its size and depth. Bynum's health is key.
Heat -- 25% | I'd put them as the third or fourth best team, but a team with Bron, Wade & Bosh can beat anyone.
Celtics -- 15% | They'll be better come playoff time, and have a legit shot, but health concerns and losing Perkins makes Miami my favorite to win the East.
Bulls -- 10% | I'm not totally sold on this team. They'll probably make the ECF if they get the 1 seed and they play great D but their starting frontcourt (which is as important as Rose) is made of glass. Furthermore, they barely beat Miami in all three games, with Bosh having an outlier 1/18 shooting night.. David Stern is the X-factor though, as we could see 20 free throws a game for the league's simplest superstar.
Magic -- 5% | They have the most dominant big man - nay, player in the league, and are better than their record (Consider pythag + half the team being dealt in December). They are very solid defensively, and that, combined with them making threes makes them unbeatable. Unfortunately, the threes don't always fall. Realistically, this team could very well lose in the first round, and yet they are also contenders. Their standard deviation is quite high. I don't like the team as much as Otis Smith does though...
Spurs -- 5% | You can't count San Antonio out, especially when they have like 55 wins already. They aren't that good though. Like Dallas last year, they are overachieving mightily. I think their lack of size and reliance on threes will kill them in round 2 or 3.
Other teams (Mavs, Thunder, that's about it) -- 5% | OKC and Dallas would need everything to go right for them and a little luck to win a title, but with Dallas's depth (and phenomenal acquisition Tyson Chandler) and OKC's popularity and newfound inside presence, it's not out of the question. Unless Stern decides to make the playoffs one-and-done a la March Madness, the Knicks, Nuggets, Hawks, etc. won't be playing for anything more than a second round sweep.

[rise]

I forgot to mention that Kendrick Perkins was an enormous part of their playoff run, and the whole thing collapsed last year when Perkins did.

They only have Nenad Krstic right now. Let that sink in. Nenad Krstic is Boston's only active center. KG, Glen Davis and Troy Murphy are power forwards, not centers. We don't know when/if the O'Neal's will be back, and if they don't come back for the playoffs the Celtics are screwed. Really. They let 6'6 Chuck Hayes take a shit on them. Not a good sign.

[Oznogrd]

I forgot to mention that Kendrick Perkins was an enormous part of their playoff run, and the whole thing collapsed last year when Perkins did.

Except even without perk they came within 8 minutes of another championship. You guys have really short-term memories. Acting like only the last 10 games matter is insane.

[Jackal]

Look who posted that, do you seriously even need to counter it with a response?

[Cleveland wins]

Boston played .500 basketball for the majority of last season and came one game with an intact Perkins ACL away from a title. Was thinking about title odds though. My largely objective rankings would be:

Lakers -- 35% | It's pretty hard to beat this team 4/7 times with its size and depth. Bynum's health is key.
Heat -- 25% | I'd put them as the third or fourth best team, but a team with Bron, Wade & Bosh can beat anyone.
Celtics -- 15% | They'll be better come playoff time, and have a legit shot, but health concerns and losing Perkins makes Miami my favorite to win the East.
Bulls -- 10% | I'm not totally sold on this team. They'll probably make the ECF if they get the 1 seed and they play great D but their starting frontcourt (which is as important as Rose) is made of glass. Furthermore, they barely beat Miami in all three games, with Bosh having an outlier 1/18 shooting night.. David Stern is the X-factor though, as we could see 20 free throws a game for the league's simplest superstar.
Magic -- 5% | They have the most dominant big man - nay, player in the league, and are better than their record (Consider pythag + half the team being dealt in December). They are very solid defensively, and that, combined with them making threes makes them unbeatable. Unfortunately, the threes don't always fall. Realistically, this team could very well lose in the first round, and yet they are also contenders. Their standard deviation is quite high. I don't like the team as much as Otis Smith does though...
Spurs -- 5% | You can't count San Antonio out, especially when they have like 55 wins already. They aren't that good though. Like Dallas last year, they are overachieving mightily. I think their lack of size and reliance on threes will kill them in round 2 or 3.
Other teams (Mavs, Thunder, that's about it) -- 5% | OKC and Dallas would need everything to go right for them and a little luck to win a title, but with Dallas's depth (and phenomenal acquisition Tyson Chandler) and OKC's popularity and newfound inside presence, it's not out of the question. Unless Stern decides to make the playoffs one-and-done a la March Madness, the Knicks, Nuggets, Hawks, etc. won't be playing for anything more than a second round sweep.

Oh yeah i agree, especially about the lakers and Bynum's health. But i think Bynum's health will be fine through out the playoffs, in order for the lakers to win it all (Which i don't think they will do this year) is if Bynum scores, rebounds and blocks.

I thought that the celtics would win it all this year, but it may be the heat, especially if Wade and Bosh does most of the scoring. Because there's something i've noticed after the allstar week. Most of the times when the heat win, Wade and Bosh does most of the scoring. Lebron scores 20 points, get several rebounds and several assists, i think when that happens, the heat are unstoppable. It'll probably be the Lakers and the Heat in the nba finals this year, but i also agree that you can't count the spurs out.