As the NFL season enters its period of slumber before the draft (owners and Goodell, you better not be sleeping), my attention and focus tightens on the NBA. This has been an incredible season so far. The All-Star weekend has been great, and the rest of the season will continue to be enjoyable, especially once the Melodrama ends.
1. San Antonio Spurs – In my mind, they are the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NBA. Boring, grind it out, not very personable but damn if they don’t win season after season. This season’s version has more offense than usual, but the defense has slipped lately, especially to point guards (DRose lit them up recently). This season will be the last for Duncan as a true impact player…and how much he has stored away will dictate exactly how far they go.
2. Boston Celtics – I know the Heat have more wins, but really? The San Antonio of the East continues to crank out victories with significant injuries. And they are 3-0 against the Heat. Enough said. 4 All Stars, 4 Hall of Famers. I am not ever going to count them out.
3. Chicago Bulls – Really high rank for them, I know. But, they have a really well put together team. More so than the Heat, Lakers, or even Boston this is a team with clearly defined roles: Go to scorer and playmaker (Rose), scoring PF who can pick and roll/pop and not have a problem deferring (Boozer), a defensive center who can run on the break (Noah), and some good vets who can contribute (Kurt Thomas, Luol Deng). Their only hole is at SG, and they have enough to get by. Adding OJ Mayo would be a coup. Mark it down: either the Celtics or Bulls will come out of the East for the Finals.
4. Los Angeles Lakers – Their lack of ability to get up for some games this season worries me a bit, but we do this every year it seems. They will be fine in the playoffs. They are about a 75% chance lock to play in the Western Conference Finals, minimum. And I cannot believe I am saying this, but the Spurs are going to have a problem defending them in the playoffs because they aren’t big enough. And I’ll never bet against Kobe Bryant.
5. Dallas Mavericks – Still no Miami, huh? That’s right. I’d rather have Dirk and company. Partially, this is because the Heat don’t match up well. Dirk can still own Bosh, and the PG play of the Mavs, especially Roddy back, is far superior to the Heat’s 2 headed disaster of Chalmers and Arroyo. The Mavs are right there year after year, and have continuity….assuming they don’t blow it up with a trade in the next week (though I am intrigued at Butler/Barea for Iguodala).
6. Miami Heat – One of the most supremely talented teams in the NBA. But the truth is, I have a hard time making an argument putting them above any of the teams ranked 1-5 here. They have 2 great players that do almost the same thing. They have a third great player who has huge limitations in rebounding and defensively in the clutch. They can score and play some good man defense. However, they get killed by teams with dynamic PGs or scorers down low, and Boston for some reason also plays them hard. With Haslem hurt, I just don’t see them being a team any better than the semifinals. Yeah, the record is pretty good, especially if you throw out their first week. They may even make a run at 70 wins next year. But they have a terrible record vs. above .500 teams. That catches up to you.
7. Oklahoma City Thunder – They have two of the top 25 players, and 1 of the top 3. This team players well together, and is just missing one tough interior defender. They are one of the only teams who can give the Lakers a run for their money early in the playoffs. They are probably one year and a Jeff Green trade away though.
8. Atlanta Hawks – This team easily could have had 3 All-Stars and Joe Johnson has almost made us forget that he was grossly overpaid….almost. They can play a variety of ways and if they upgrade at the point they will be dangerous. You know, unless they run into the….
9. Orlando Magic – This team is still feisty, but does not have the talent to overcome it deficiencies anymore. The Carter-Turkoglu trade has gone okay for them, but the Arenas-Lewis one is looking like a disaster. Arenas is going to cripple that team in about a year, and in 2013 this is going to be a team headlined by Turkoglu and Arenas, with Ryan Anderson taking 15 shots a game. Dwight will leave because they are set up so badly. But for now, they are a semi finals team that can go to the ECF if they get the Heat, because Dwight can dominate down low. They were probably be beaten badly by the Celtics or Bulls though, but they will have their yearly sweep over the Hawks at some point.
10. Portland Trailblazers – The Brandon Roy situation is a disaster, and while they have an impressive record considering the injuries, they may fall off if they trade everyone away. However, for now this team isn’t terribly set up. The salary situation with Roy is bad, but Aldridge is dominating, and Wesley Matthews is very underpaid for what he is doing. I give them a ton of props for keeping their record around .600. They aren’t going anywhere in the playoffs though, and this shows the cutoff in talent for the league. New Orleans was close to being number 10, but they aren’t going anywhere either.
Honorable Mention: Denver (melodrama), Jazz (not enough wing play and Center defense), and Hornets (no bench, health).
BLISS
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