Thanks to those who weighed in on my post earlier in the week regarding NBA contenders. The conversation turned into more of a bashing of the 2007-2008 Celtics. People seem to think that last year's Boston team was the worst to win a title in 3 decades.
It is hard to compare NBA title winners over that long of time period, the game has just changed so much. If you go back to the 1979-1980 season there have been only 8 different franchises that have won it all. (Boston, L.A. Lakers, Philadelphia, Detroit, Chicago, Houston, San Antonio and Miami) The 4 best championship dynasties over the last 30 years without question, in no particular order are the Lakers and Celtics of the 80's, the Bulls of the 90's and the Lakers of the early 2000's. After those teams there is a drastic drop off. In no particular order I would throw together the "Bad Boys" Pistons who won back-to-back titles, and San Antonio who has never won back-to-back titles, but has won 4 rings. I would put Hakeem's Rockets after those grouping of teams. If Michael Jordan is in the league during their back-to-back championship seasons, I don't think Houston wins those titles. That leaves us with the one year teams at the bottom of the list, which includes the 1982-1983 76ers, the 2003-2004 Pistons, the 2005-2006 Miami Heat, and the 2007-2008 Boston Celtics. Here is my list of the who is the worst of these 4 teams, with my number 1 being the worst.
4. 82-83 76'ers-Dr. J was the man and this team swept a great Lakers team in the finals.
3. 07-08 Celtics-Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. This team was put together with great trades and we don't know yet how long their run will last. They struggled in route to this title because of their lack of experience in long playoff runs and poor coaching by Doc Rivers. Prior to winning the title Garnett, Pierce and Allen never made it past the conference finals.
2. 03-04 Pistons- A very well balance team, but lets face it, this team backed into a title because there was conflict taking place in the Laker's locker room.
1. 05-06 Heat-In my opinion, without a question the worst title team in the last 30 years. They were well coached with Pat Riley and had Dwayne Wade and an aging Shaq, but they just don't stack up with the rest. The Mavericks had this team burried until a miracle win by Miami in game 3 of the finals. Wade got way too many calls in the series and this NBA Final will be remembered more for the Dallas collapse then the Miami win.
Back to the original question, who are the top 5 contenders right now? You guys seemed consistant with your top 5's. The comments had the Lakers, Cavs, Spurs, Magic, Celtics, Nuggets, Hornets, Jazz and Hawks mentioned as contenders. Here is my list.
1. L.A. Lakers-This team in my opinion has to be the clear favorite to win it all, with or without Andrew Bynum
2. San Antonio Spurs-Let me make it clear that there is a SEVERE drop off between the Lakers and Spurs. However, it is evident that Greg Popovich is putting his team in the best position to make a long playoff run. He continues to rest his big 3 at a high rate, hence saving them minutes for the postseason.
3. Boston Celtics-They are the defending champs and still a threat, like it or not. Today the team added Stephon Marbury and Rondo has gotten much better this season at the guard position. Also, If Kevin Garnett comes back 100 %, he will be very well rested for their postseason run.
4. Cleveland Cavaliers-Lebron is like MJ in the late 80's, just trying to break through. I don't think Lebron has enough help around him and I don't think "King James" can win a title on his own just yet, but he is capable. Also, I have questions regarding their Head Coach. What has Mike Brown proved? Lebron is the only reason this guy has a job.
5. Denver Nuggets-All the ingrediants are there on paper, especially with Chauncey Billups running the point. Denver's success will be based on two things. 1. Can Nene and Kenyon Martin stay healthy down the stretch? Nene should return soon from a bruised knee. 2. Can Chauncey Billups make this team believe it can get past the first round with his leadership? Denver has the players, the coaching and the bench to be a contender. Don't even comment about Denver's blowout lost to Boston at home. The Nuggets came off a franchise long 8 game road trip and was playing on back to back nights, not to mention they were without Nene.
As for the rest of the teams mentioned in the comments, here are my thoughts.
Orlando-They lost their All-Star Point Guard, Jameer Nelson. They have brought in Rafer Alston to replace him, but they can't replace him. If your point guard goes down, you can't be a contender
New Orleans-I just get a strange vibe from this team. It almost looks like Head Coach Byron Scott is losing his guys. This team has just been too up and down all year.
Utah-This is a very dangerous team if they get healthy. I just don't think their health is going to hold up this season in order to make a good run in the playoffs.
Atlanta-Interesting. They are a cute story, but lets get real.
Sleeper not mentioned-Watch out for the Houston Rockets, who have quietely won 6 in a row. This team is better without Tracy McGrady. McGrady is extremely overrated and the Rockets will be better without him.
Thanks again to those who weighed in on this topic this week.
On to the PGA. Tiger's return was entertaining despite his 2nd round exit at the WGC Accenture Match Play. I watched Tiger's entire round on Wednesday and it was great to see him back. The guy is amazing, you think he would have been nervous having the long lay-off, and he starts his comeback with a birdie on one and eagle on two. I said it after last year's open and I'll say it again. Tiger winning the U.S. Open with a torn ACL and fractured leg was the greatest accomplishment in the history of sports.
NFL Free Agency opened last night, here is the latest.
-Albert Haynesworth goes to Washington for the price of 7 years-100 million (41 million guaranteed). This is typical Dan Snyder, he is always making a big splash in free agency, yet his moves never work. All I know is that is alot of money to pay a defensive tackle.
-Kellen Winslow Jr. gets traded to Tampa Bay. This is a good pick-up for the Bucs and it will help their passing game. Winslow had to get out of Cleveland and now that he is, he will become a better player.
-Bart Scott goes to the Jets. New Jets Head Coach Rex Ryan knows Scott from Baltimore and Scott will provide much needed leadership to a soft Jets defense.
-Fred Taylor to the Patriots. Why? Taylor is on his last leg.
-Mike Vrabel traded to the Chiefs. This is a good move for Kansas City. Vrabel will bring leadership to a young defense.
-Jonathon Vilma to the Saints. Nice pick-up for New Orleans, who can score but not defend.
-And this just in...Brian Dawkins to the Broncos. Since John Lynch broke down, Denver's secondary has been terrible. This signing will help that problem big time. This was a big time loss for Philadelphia.
Picks-49-29-1 overall ATS
NBA Plays Tonight
@Boston - 11 1/2 Indiana
@Atlanta -4 Miami
@Minnesota +6 Portland
@Phoenix -3 Toronto
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4 comments:
If the Lakers are your favorite, wouldn't an Eastern Conference team have to be 2nd on the list? Why would the Spurs be favored to win the title if they have to go through the best team just to get to the finals. That doesn't make any sense.
1. Lakers
2. Cavs
3. Spurs
4. Magic
5. Celtics
My point is that the clear #1 at this time is Los Angeles and the team I think that has the best chance to knock them off is San Antonio. This has been a conversation about the top 5 contenders to win a title. I think at this point in time atleast 2 West teams would beat any team in the East in a 7 game series, hence me putting 2 West teams at the top. I understand East and West have to meet in the finals, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the two best teams that meet in the finals are the two best teams competing for a championship. Can you really tell me that one East team is better then the top contenders in the West right now? Throw out overall records, Popovich is resting his top players, the West has 9 good teams that could possibly win 50 games, and besides Boston and Cleveland the East is garbage. Boston and Cleveland's record is also inflated because of more games against terrible teams.
I know you think they are the two best teams, but then you should say that instead of ranking them as the best chance to win the title. You have to be in the finals to win it, so naturally an East team has to have better odds of winning the title than the 2nd best team in the West if the Lakers are a clear cut #1. It's all about odds to win the championship, not who is better. I think a healthy Utah team is better than Boston, but they don't have a better shot to win the title because they won't get through the West.
I understand what you are saying about the odds,however that is a completely different discussion. The conversation was intended as a type of power rankings board for contenders. You are right, the balance of power in the West compared to the East is a huge difference and you have to take that into account. In a non conference league, my NBA Final pick would be LA vs. San Antonio, but that can't happen. The balance of power in the NBA is just off and it sucks. Utah being better then Boston? possibly. But you are right, there is no way to find out because the West is so tuff.
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