FULL OUT TANK MODE
30. Milwaukee Bucks
29. Orlando Magic
If you combined these two rosters you’d get a borderline playoff team. In the East. It’s that bad.
With the Bucks luck, they’ll finish with the worst record, get the fourth pick, and add a forward to an already overcrowded front line. Welcome to Milwaukee Julius Randle!* We’d like you to meet John Henson, Ersan Ilyasova, Ekpe Udoh, Larry Sanders, and Khris Middleton! What’s that you say? How are you all going to play? We give everyone 20 minutes here in Milwaukee because we’ve assembled a roster of 13 players all at the same skill level.
As for the Magic, your future remains bright. Great job with the Oladipo pick. Now can you trade Arron Afflalo for say a top 10 protected first round pick to a team vying for a playoff spot? You’ll probably end up with one of the top 2 picks and take Wiggins. Let’s say that second pick comes in around 14. Who knows, maybe the Gordon kid from Arizona will drop to you. Everything is going your way Orlando, it’s bound to happen. All you’ll need after that is a point guard and it shouldn’t be that hard to find one who wants to play with a lineup of Oladipo, Wiggins, Gordon, and Vucevic.
Two franchises. One on the rise. The other on the fall.
Sorry Bucks fans. You know where this team is heading.
Seattle.
*If the Bucks somehow win the lottery, they’ll draft Parker and he’ll decide he needs to go on his Mormon mission. This doesn’t end well.
SOMEONE REMIND THE PLAYERS THAT THEY’RE SUPPOSED TO LOSE!!!
28. Utah Jazz
27. Philadelphia 76ers
26. Boston Celtics
Three teams with 12, 12, and 13 wins respectfully through January 12th and their fan bases couldn’t be happier. Our teams are better than we expected and we’re still going to get a top 5 pick!
First off, the 76ers can say they somehow got 2 of the 3 best players in last year’s draft with the sixth and eleventh picks. Michael Carter-Williams is a triple double machine and don’t forget Nerlens Noel, who is being held out this season and was looking every bit as good as Anthony Davis did the preview season at Kentucky before falling to injury. Add a top five pick this year and you have the makings of a contender for years to come.
The Celtics look to have found a great young coach but for now I’m more interested in Rajon Rondo. His name has been thrown around in trade rumors but Danny Ainge is too smart to even consider trading a player while hurt or even soon after his return.
I anticipate Rondo will return in a limited role in late February and reestablish his value. If the Celtic do decide to move him they’ll wait until the offseason where they’ll get the biggest return. I can see something similar to the draft day deal they pull off this past off season sending Pierce and Garnett to the Nets.
As for Utah, there is a potential elite basketball player who also happens to be Mormon. This has to work out. Doesn’t it? Has anyone double check Joseph Smith’s writing to see if any prophecies pertain to this.
While Jazz fans should be excited for the prospect of adding Elder Parker to their roster, there has to be some serious concerns about Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter. With the departure of Al Jefferson to Charlotte, I anticipated at least one of these two to break out this season. Didn't happen though.
KEEPING UP APPEARANCES
25. LA Lakers
This week the Lakers announced that Kobe, Nash, Henry, Farmar, and Blake will all be re-evaluated and could return by the end of January. There’s still hope Laker fans! If we can survive the next three weeks then Kobe will be back to rescue the season! They followed up this announcement by losing by 36 to the Clippers. Guess not.
I understand teams have to sell tickets and need to keep their fan base engaged. I also understand the Lakers situation is a unique one in that a second NBA team not only plays in their city but shares the same building. You’re the Lakers though! It’s more than ok to tell your fans, “Hey this is one of the deepest drafts in memory. We’re going to trade Gasol and Nash for some young assets and picks. We need to get younger and more athletic to cater to Coach D’Antoni’s style of play. Look at how exciting it’s been to watch Jordan Hill, Jodie Meeks, Nick Young, Wesley Johnson, and Kendall Marshall! Now imagine Russell Westbrook and Kevin Love in this offense in two year!” Actually someone might want to throw that idea by Coach D’Antoni quickly to let him know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Speaking of lights at the end of tunnels, here are two recent quotes from D’Antoni, "there is a light. It could be a train coming. Just the way it is" and "Figured it out. The National Anthem is really jinxing us. Every time they play it, we dont play well". Well in the five stages of loss and grief, D’Antoni is already on stage 4. Depression.
DELUSIONS OF GRANDEUR
24. Cleveland Cavaliers
23. Sacramento Kings
When you’re 10 games under .500 and the opportunity to trade for Rudy Gay/Luol Deng is on the table you have to do it to make that playoff push.
In all fairness, the Gay trade has been a great one so far for the Kings and it’s too early to gauge Deng’s impact in Cleveland.
YOU MEAN WE CAN MAKE THE PLAYOFFS THIS SEASON???
22. Detroit Pistons
21. Charlotte Bobcats
20. Washington Wizards
19. Toronto Raptors
Anywhere from one to all four of these teams will make the playoffs this year. In my opinion two of these four get in this year. I’ll go with the Raptors and Wizards as of now. Who’d have thought that the Raptors could trade their best player for essentially a bunch of bench players and get substantially better? Unreal.
Out of these four teams, the one that intrigues me the most are the Bobcats. Kemba Walker has been excellent over the past year. His ceiling as a NBA player is definitely higher than I anticipated. It just shows that the will to win goes a long way even at the NBA level.
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is set to return from a broken hand soon and I’ve read that the Bobcats are interested in trading for Arron Afflalo to help further the Magic’s tanking cause. Those two additions would be plenty enough to get the Bobcats into the playoffs and let Michael Jordan light up a few cigars in celebration.
Side note, while writing this section I looked at the Bobcats Wikipedia page which had four sections for franchise history. 1. 2002-2004 Team Creation 2. 2004-2010 The Gerald Wallace era (I’m not a Bobcat fan and I’m depressed reading that). The person who maintains the Bobcats Wikipedia page probably notices that same feeling so a subheading was included, 2.1 2009-2010 Michael Jordan’s acquisition of the franchise. Bobcat fans’ rejoice! Michael Jordan is here to rescue you from the Gerald Wallace era! 3. 2010-2012 Struggles and worst record in NBA history. Crap, so much for that rescue. 4. 2012-present ‘Buzz City’ – The Hornets Return. Wait a second, I’m getting excited here. This has the makings of something special.
THE FUTURE
18. New Orleans Pelicans
Anthony Davis is special. He defends. He hustles. He is an exceptional shooter for a big man. And believe it or not he’s not the reason I’m most excited about the Pelicans. That reason would be Tyreke Evans. During Tyreke’s rookie season he averaged 20-5-5, a feat that had been accomplished a few years early by none other than LeBron James. The aspect of Tyreke’s game that impressed me most during that season and reminded me most of LeBron was his ability to get to the rim and score. LeBron have evolved into an elite shooter but during his first few seasons he relied heavily on his athletic ability to get to the rim and his strength to shield off defenders. In my eyes, Tyreke was basically a mini LeBron watching that rookie season.
During that rookie season (2009-2010), Tyreke got to the foul line 6.5 times per game. Comparably, LeBron got to the foul line 5.8 times per game during his rookie season. While LeBron’s free throws per game increased (8.0, 10.3, 9.0, 10.3, 9.4, 10.2, *8.4, 8.1, 7.0, 7.3) in subsequent seasons, Tyreke’s dropped (4.7, 4.1, 4.2, 4.0) because he decided he needed to be a jump shooter too soon. Playing on bad Sacramento teams seriously stunted the development of Tyreke.
While it is clear Tyreke Evans is no LeBron James, there is a different NBA player Evans should aspire to be like going forward. Manu Ginobili. Ginobili has won three NBA Championships and a Sixth Man of the Year award. The scouting report on Ginobili is that he wants to drive left and get to the rim. Every team in the league knows it yet he still does it because he’s able to knock down enough open jumpers to force teams to come out and defend him on the perimeter. Tyreke is more than capable of doing these same things and has shown flashes of greatness this season in New Orleans. Perhaps a few years down the road, NBA fans will talk of Davis, Gordon, and Evans much the way they do about Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili now. I know, I'm stretching it there.
*Denotes first year in Miami.
BETTER LATE THAN NEVER
17. Brooklyn Nets
16. New York Knicks
I was very tempted to put both these team 9th and 10th on this list. With the improvement of play of the Nets and Knicks I find it much more likely that one of these teams pulls an upset of the Heat or Pacers than the 7th or 8th seed from the West making it through to the finals or even the depleted Bulls and Hawks coming out of the East. More on that in a second.
The Nets began the season with an absurdly deep roster and a rookie coach, a true recipe for disaster. Minutes and roles were bound to be an issue. It’s tough on any coach let alone a first year coach to look at the eight players on his bench, who all want more minutes and say you’re sitting here because the guy on the court is better than you. Well Jason Kidd could probably do that to Mason Plumlee but it wasn’t working with Pierce and KG. That is why the injury to Brook Lopez may end up being a blessing in disguise. Recently the Nets have been going with a starting lineup of Williams, Livingston, Johnson, Pierce, and Garnett. Playing small ball with KG in the middle allows him to have an advantage of speed over his defenders that he wouldn’t have had at the 4.
While the Knicks slow start is mostly due to a lack of ball movement on offense and dissention between teammates, the return of Tyson Chandler will do wonders to mask all of that. Chandler’s interior defense covers for the short comings of many of his teammates and as we all know, everyone is always happier when they’re winning. If Carmelo can learn to trust his teammates to do some of the scoring and Amar’e embraces his role as the sixth man on this team then James Dolan might not look so foolish for his championship or bust aspirations. I know, seems simple, but an awful lot to ask for.
SMOKE AND MIRRORS
15. Chicago Bulls
14. Atlanta Hawks
Two teams, both lose their best players respectfully (Rose and Horford) for the season and they’re still finding ways to win. Add in the fact that the Bulls traded Luol Deng as well and you have to ask how these teams are doing this. Coaching! Genius! Thank you! Thank you! (Meant to be read in Jon Lovitz’s Master Thespian voice)
The Hawks bring in a guy, Mike Budenholzer, who spent 18 seasons with the Spurs. Enough said. Tom Thibodeau could even get Carmelo Anthony to play defense. Uh-oh, I went there. Word on the streets here in New York is Coach Thibs is destined for the Knicks next year. Time will tell.
THE CASE FOR A PLAYOFF PLAY IN TOURNAMENT
13. Memphis Grizzlies
12. Phoenix Suns
11. Minnesota Timberwolves
10. Denver Nuggets
9. Dallas Mavericks
We have five candidates, but only 2 openings. Sorry. ESPN writer, Bill Simmons, has championed a single eliminate play in tournament to both curtail tanking and bring playoff excitement to all 30 teams. While I was completely behind the idea at first it creates a possible issue of too much time off between games for the top teams. I think it is reasonable to have the 7th through 10th placed teams in each conference play two play in games for the rights to play the top two seeds in each conference. Based on the current standings, who wouldn’t want to watch Kevin Love and the Timberwolves go into Phoenix for a do or die game and the rights to play in his first playoffs? I’m all in on that.
The argument against? The Eastern Conference. Actually forget that. Expand it to 6th through 11th for three do or die games per conference! Sorry Houston, you now have to play either Z-Bo and Memphis or The Brow and New Orleans in a one and done. No pressure.
In other news, Dan Gilbert is currently begging Commissioner Stern for the league to make this change immediately. Think of the ratings Commissioner! Kyrie Irving vs. John Wall! Winner goes on, loser goes home!
For effect, Round Ball Rock needs to be playing during this pitch sequence.
THE BEST OF THE WEST
8. LA Clippers
7. Houston Rockets
6. Golden State Warriors
5. Portland Trailblazers
4. San Antonio Spurs
3. Oklahoma City Thunder
Depending on match ups come playoff time, any of these six teams could end up representing the Western Conference in the finals this season. Each one of these Western hopefuls faces questions ranging from lack of experience to old age. Can Lob City transition to a team that defends and make free throws down the stretch of playoff games? Can the Rockets figure out how to get Dwight Howard the ball on the block? Are the young Blazers ready for the stage of the NBA Playoffs? Is this the year that father time finally catches of to the trio of Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili? Can the Warriors continue to win and stay health with essentially a six man rotation? Can the Thunder get and keep Russell Westbrook healthy? As stated in those last two questions health will also be a major determining factor. Regardless of the sport, any team is one key injury away from having its seasons’ dreams derailed. We’ve already seen Russell Westbrook return from injury and go back out again, Chris Paul is going to be out up to six weeks with a shoulder injury now, and Andre Iguodala missed time with a hamstring injury.
The best looking team so far has been the Portland Trailblazers. GM Neil Olshey and head coach Terry Stotts has put together a starting five that would be the envy of most teams around the league, having a big that can score on the block or in the pick and roll (Aldridge), a guard who can get to the rim (Lillard), a shooter (Matthews), a glue guy who does a bit of everything (Batum), and a center that rebounds and defends the rim (Lopez).
The team I’m watching closest and think has a strong chance of eventually coming out of the West are the Houston Rockets. Having watched a great deal of Rockets games this year, I get to hear Clyde Drexler repeatedly talk of how he and teammates got the ball to Olajuwon. I’m paraphrasing a bit but Drexler is repeated saying that these Rockets need to “let Dwight get position and he’ll put his hand up and call for the ball when he’s ready. If he doesn’t have position, allow him to kick it out, repost and give the ball back to him!” Stop telling me and the viewers at home Clyde! Get in these guys ears at practice and before the game.
Another great thing I’ve learned from Clyde this season, Dwight used to be left handed. What?! No wonder this guy can’t make anything consistently from more than four feet from the rim. In all seriousness, this was pointed out because Dwight has been using a left handed hook shot frequently this season and it looks real good. Story goes; Dwight did everything left handed as a kid. Shot, wrote, ate and then he goes and breaks his left hand. Oh well.
THE NUMBER ONE CONTENDER
2. Indiana Pacers
There’s an old saying, to be the man you have to beat the man. Wooooo!!! So until that happens, the Pacers are destined to be second in these rankings and hold the title of number one contender at this point. The Pacers have been the best team in the NBA this season and with the return of Danny Granger they sport the deepest roster in the league as well. Their nine man rotation (Stephenson, George, Hill, West, Hibbert, Granger, Watson, Scola, Mahinmi) conjures memories of the deep champion rosters of the Lakers, Celtics, and Pistons during the 1980s. Another thing the Pacers have in common with those great teams of past is the ability to dominate on their home court. Through January 12, the Pacers hold a league best 18-1 home record. If they retain the top seed in the East, defending that home court will be the key to knocking off the Miami Heat in a potential Eastern Conference Final showdown.
THE CHAMPS
1. Miami Heat
The two time defending NBA champs are exactly where you’d expect them to be at this point. While the team is most likely to fall short of last season’s 66-16 record, the addition of Michael Beasley is a needed boost to this year’s roster. A spoil of riches to have a player so talented filling a bench role. The only question the Champs need to answer at this point is if they want to continue with the Greg Oden project or abandon it for a title run with Andrew Bynum coming off the bench to play in the middle. Having read Pat Riley’s book The Winner Within, I know firsthand Riley’s ability to motivate by using his own history within the game. Perhaps he can talk Bynum into the chance at history over a chance to play for a few extra million this season in say Dallas. He knows the pitfalls that all champions face and the addition of Bynum might be the piece that put the Heat over the top and gets Riley the Three-peat he’s longed for since his days in LA.
Odds are they're getting title three either way.
Odds are they're getting title three either way.
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