Post by Haberino on Jan 17, 2011 17:36:26 GMT -5
1. Phoenix Suns
This year there are more, and better, challengers than ever before, but the Suns remain dominant. The Noah deal improved their scoring and rebounding, even if the former isn't yet evident. The Webster deal was a brilliant move; HeatFlash had no reason to take on and older, much worse player, but the reduced turnovers mean Mark once again has this team on cruise control with the perfect formula for a title. Even without Horford, there's plenty of shotblocking in Phoenix. Just like there's plenty of rebounding. And outside shooting. And inside scoring. It's a joke that nobody out there was shrewd enough to outbid Mark for even one of his ever-important bench pieces, but Mark has them all back, and with Favors a bona fide superstar, I don't think anyone can play with the Suns.
2. Chicago Bulls
I think the Clippers and Lakers put together much better teams than any other challenger to Phoenix, but for now, Chicago hangs on at number two. The Bulls have a scary perimeter duo and an excellent tandem of rebounding and shotblocking bigs (boosted by Bogut's ability to score and Perry Jones' amazing rebounding at the 3). But their turnovers are a little high, and Jrue Holiday is a very good, but second tier point guard. I do not believe in the need for the second comma to finish out that dependent clause, but I would agree that I am wildly pretentious. The Bulls need better bench defense.
3. Los Angeles Lakers
I think Shved's emerging as a superstar PG, and I think Nanz can and will get a lot more out of Gilchrist, Kaman, and Gasol. This team reminds me of a lesser version of my Thunder team three seasons ago, and I think the X factor for them will be Gilchrist's performance. Nanz may need to AC his scoring before the Lakers can hang with Phoenix, but with that inside duo and their depth of good scorers, they have the firepower to do so. With four 20+ scorers and a bunch of other guys who can get double figures, it won't be long before their margin of victory climbs to over ten a night. Again, I think Gilchrist will be the guy who needs to step up.
4. Los Angeles Clippers
Martinez put together a great team, but I don't think it adds up to the best team in the league. Phoenix will do way more steals and blocks, and fewer turnovers. I can't overlook the massive edge guys like Deron and Shved have over Calathes. Teams whose biggest strength is their wing combination don't generally dominate, but the Clips do have an elite big in Brook Lopez. If they can get him going at a superstar level, and he can outperform Marc Gasol and Joakim Noah, then the Clips have a chance. That said, much as I like Jonas, his high turnovers and low blocks aren't doing the Clips any favors. There's so much talent in the starting lineup that they could just outclass other teams, but I think that's their only chance at a ring this year.
5. Charlotte Bobcats
The Bobcats need to be taken seriously. They don't rebound well and their field goal percentage is a bit low, but this team is doing 23.9 blocks + steals a night. That's way, way too many possesions they're taking away from the opposition for this team to get overlooked. Anthony Randolph keeps getting better and may have top ten value at this point. ZBo is still a scoring machine. What remains to be seen: can Javal McGee get his offensive game right? The same can be asked about Shannon Brown. If these two can score a combined 5-6 points a night more at improved shooting percentages, the Bobcats shutdown defense will do the rest. I don't think they'd have a chance against the best teams from the West, but I do think they're a better DC away from competing with the Bulls for the best team in the East.
6. Portland Trail Blazers
This is where the second tier begins. The Blazers are 10-5, but they've been very unimpressive so far. They're shooting a ghastly 44% from the field and block under six shots a night. This may indicate that they just need to find the right DC to maintain the wins, but their margin of victory is very low, and Thaddeus Young and Lamarcus Aldridge aren't known for high field goal percentages. Dan also missed out on expiring contracts and is stuck with a pretty bad Jameer Nelson and point guard. So while the Blazers have a potent offense and one of the best players in the league in their frontcourt, I think they fall short of contending for a title.
7. Denver Nuggets
The Nuggets are a clusterfuck. Greeme's leaning on a frontcourt that can't score, wings that don't defend, and a point guard who turns the ball over. Obviously these guys all have serious strengths that could make a contender out of the Nuggets, but that would only be the case if they had a star to solidify their strengths and overcome their weaknesses. Maybe a big like (unbelievably predictable joke is almost here!) Chris Kaman. Lulz. This is an above average team with a lot of good scorers, pretty weak defense and, seriously, a clear need for a legitimate two-way big if they want to contend. Right now I don't think they challenge for anything more than a first round victory, which sucks for Greeme because with pieces like JR Smith, Danilo Gallinari and Darko Milicic (contract considered), the sum was always meant to be greater than the value of the parts in Denver. He can hold on to a 48-52 win also-ran, but I don't think he has a chance to make this team a contender through trades.
8. Dallas Mavericks
Despite the loss of Manu, the Mavs remain a very good team. The backcourt needs to get sorted out -- JJ, in particular, needs to get more minutes and more focus, and definitely should not be playing at the 3. But Greg has the formula right: his bigs are terrific rebounders and shotblockers, and they more than make up for the defensive deficiencies of a guy like JJ. So I expect Dallas to win in the range of 50 games if they can get JJ going. I will say Greg should considering writing articles, because if Lawson were a better distributor, or Bynum a better inside scorer, Dallas would look a lot better.
9. Detroit Pistons
The Pistons didn't have a very long window to contend, but this is the worst case scenario. Redd, Curry, and even Jennings look like they got worse. So even as PJ Tucker emerges, and even as half the GMs in the East put together rosters worth getting fired over (seriously: how are we letting a new GM take stars like McCants and Dwight and try to tank around them? It's offensively stupid, and if he does it successfully, it's pretty much cheating. Also will Styro ever build a good team? LOL @ looking to rebuild with two 25 year-old superstars. Write articles for Melo. Be proactive with trades. For the love of god, you have more than enough cap room for a max, and all your picks to deal with. You don't think you could maybe build around what you have on hand?), it doesn't look like Andy has many years left before rebuilding. Probably good for 48 wins these next few seasons though.
9. New Jersey Nets
They're only this low because I think Jeff's about to rebuild. It's a shame, because the East is so bad and so full of bad GMs that one more rebuilding team will be sort of painful to watch, but that's not to Jeff's discredit. He can probably put together a great rebuild and have the right pieces on hand to compete in no time. As of now, the Nets are still very good and could win the East. Jeff's quietly done a pretty good job in FA and trades. I really liked the Sullinger addition. But I don't think the Nets are going to be able to improve, and I don't think they can compete against the West any longer, and I think Jeff's rightfully getting bored of having the same results year after year, so I'm guessing he rebuilds.
10. Nobody
Eh, I'm not doing this to be cute at all. I could've put Skillz's team here but it's not very good and losing Sergio for an unproven Westbrook was a needless risk in my opinion. It's really to the detriment of the league that so many of the East GMs come in here and their first instinct is to tank for top picks and then sit around and do nothing. Maybe North, Mops, Bryan, Andrew, Styro are just all really bad GMs. You guys can come and individually defend yourselves but what are your combined records? How many seasons over .500 do you have combined? Has tanking actually worked out for you? No. You've all been awful for the parity of the league. I like you guys for the most part, and your activity on the whole has been good, but there are a lot of good GMs in BBS and building a good team requires more than you guys are doing. So, so much of the top talents are in the West. I really think it's around 75%, and it's not helping that Bryan took two stars and decided to waste their primes tanking. It's not helping the East that DJ and Tiger aren't great GMs anymore and are sort of just floating at this point. I don't know. I think these guys need shorter contract years and people need to get on them for sitting on their squads. Styro, especially. He's a good member of the league and he belongs here but it's pretty laughable that might rebuild. If there are interested guys on the waiting list, some of these guys should be fired. Mops. Mops. Mops.
This year there are more, and better, challengers than ever before, but the Suns remain dominant. The Noah deal improved their scoring and rebounding, even if the former isn't yet evident. The Webster deal was a brilliant move; HeatFlash had no reason to take on and older, much worse player, but the reduced turnovers mean Mark once again has this team on cruise control with the perfect formula for a title. Even without Horford, there's plenty of shotblocking in Phoenix. Just like there's plenty of rebounding. And outside shooting. And inside scoring. It's a joke that nobody out there was shrewd enough to outbid Mark for even one of his ever-important bench pieces, but Mark has them all back, and with Favors a bona fide superstar, I don't think anyone can play with the Suns.
2. Chicago Bulls
I think the Clippers and Lakers put together much better teams than any other challenger to Phoenix, but for now, Chicago hangs on at number two. The Bulls have a scary perimeter duo and an excellent tandem of rebounding and shotblocking bigs (boosted by Bogut's ability to score and Perry Jones' amazing rebounding at the 3). But their turnovers are a little high, and Jrue Holiday is a very good, but second tier point guard. I do not believe in the need for the second comma to finish out that dependent clause, but I would agree that I am wildly pretentious. The Bulls need better bench defense.
3. Los Angeles Lakers
I think Shved's emerging as a superstar PG, and I think Nanz can and will get a lot more out of Gilchrist, Kaman, and Gasol. This team reminds me of a lesser version of my Thunder team three seasons ago, and I think the X factor for them will be Gilchrist's performance. Nanz may need to AC his scoring before the Lakers can hang with Phoenix, but with that inside duo and their depth of good scorers, they have the firepower to do so. With four 20+ scorers and a bunch of other guys who can get double figures, it won't be long before their margin of victory climbs to over ten a night. Again, I think Gilchrist will be the guy who needs to step up.
4. Los Angeles Clippers
Martinez put together a great team, but I don't think it adds up to the best team in the league. Phoenix will do way more steals and blocks, and fewer turnovers. I can't overlook the massive edge guys like Deron and Shved have over Calathes. Teams whose biggest strength is their wing combination don't generally dominate, but the Clips do have an elite big in Brook Lopez. If they can get him going at a superstar level, and he can outperform Marc Gasol and Joakim Noah, then the Clips have a chance. That said, much as I like Jonas, his high turnovers and low blocks aren't doing the Clips any favors. There's so much talent in the starting lineup that they could just outclass other teams, but I think that's their only chance at a ring this year.
5. Charlotte Bobcats
The Bobcats need to be taken seriously. They don't rebound well and their field goal percentage is a bit low, but this team is doing 23.9 blocks + steals a night. That's way, way too many possesions they're taking away from the opposition for this team to get overlooked. Anthony Randolph keeps getting better and may have top ten value at this point. ZBo is still a scoring machine. What remains to be seen: can Javal McGee get his offensive game right? The same can be asked about Shannon Brown. If these two can score a combined 5-6 points a night more at improved shooting percentages, the Bobcats shutdown defense will do the rest. I don't think they'd have a chance against the best teams from the West, but I do think they're a better DC away from competing with the Bulls for the best team in the East.
6. Portland Trail Blazers
This is where the second tier begins. The Blazers are 10-5, but they've been very unimpressive so far. They're shooting a ghastly 44% from the field and block under six shots a night. This may indicate that they just need to find the right DC to maintain the wins, but their margin of victory is very low, and Thaddeus Young and Lamarcus Aldridge aren't known for high field goal percentages. Dan also missed out on expiring contracts and is stuck with a pretty bad Jameer Nelson and point guard. So while the Blazers have a potent offense and one of the best players in the league in their frontcourt, I think they fall short of contending for a title.
7. Denver Nuggets
The Nuggets are a clusterfuck. Greeme's leaning on a frontcourt that can't score, wings that don't defend, and a point guard who turns the ball over. Obviously these guys all have serious strengths that could make a contender out of the Nuggets, but that would only be the case if they had a star to solidify their strengths and overcome their weaknesses. Maybe a big like (unbelievably predictable joke is almost here!) Chris Kaman. Lulz. This is an above average team with a lot of good scorers, pretty weak defense and, seriously, a clear need for a legitimate two-way big if they want to contend. Right now I don't think they challenge for anything more than a first round victory, which sucks for Greeme because with pieces like JR Smith, Danilo Gallinari and Darko Milicic (contract considered), the sum was always meant to be greater than the value of the parts in Denver. He can hold on to a 48-52 win also-ran, but I don't think he has a chance to make this team a contender through trades.
8. Dallas Mavericks
Despite the loss of Manu, the Mavs remain a very good team. The backcourt needs to get sorted out -- JJ, in particular, needs to get more minutes and more focus, and definitely should not be playing at the 3. But Greg has the formula right: his bigs are terrific rebounders and shotblockers, and they more than make up for the defensive deficiencies of a guy like JJ. So I expect Dallas to win in the range of 50 games if they can get JJ going. I will say Greg should considering writing articles, because if Lawson were a better distributor, or Bynum a better inside scorer, Dallas would look a lot better.
9. Detroit Pistons
The Pistons didn't have a very long window to contend, but this is the worst case scenario. Redd, Curry, and even Jennings look like they got worse. So even as PJ Tucker emerges, and even as half the GMs in the East put together rosters worth getting fired over (seriously: how are we letting a new GM take stars like McCants and Dwight and try to tank around them? It's offensively stupid, and if he does it successfully, it's pretty much cheating. Also will Styro ever build a good team? LOL @ looking to rebuild with two 25 year-old superstars. Write articles for Melo. Be proactive with trades. For the love of god, you have more than enough cap room for a max, and all your picks to deal with. You don't think you could maybe build around what you have on hand?), it doesn't look like Andy has many years left before rebuilding. Probably good for 48 wins these next few seasons though.
9. New Jersey Nets
They're only this low because I think Jeff's about to rebuild. It's a shame, because the East is so bad and so full of bad GMs that one more rebuilding team will be sort of painful to watch, but that's not to Jeff's discredit. He can probably put together a great rebuild and have the right pieces on hand to compete in no time. As of now, the Nets are still very good and could win the East. Jeff's quietly done a pretty good job in FA and trades. I really liked the Sullinger addition. But I don't think the Nets are going to be able to improve, and I don't think they can compete against the West any longer, and I think Jeff's rightfully getting bored of having the same results year after year, so I'm guessing he rebuilds.
10. Nobody
Eh, I'm not doing this to be cute at all. I could've put Skillz's team here but it's not very good and losing Sergio for an unproven Westbrook was a needless risk in my opinion. It's really to the detriment of the league that so many of the East GMs come in here and their first instinct is to tank for top picks and then sit around and do nothing. Maybe North, Mops, Bryan, Andrew, Styro are just all really bad GMs. You guys can come and individually defend yourselves but what are your combined records? How many seasons over .500 do you have combined? Has tanking actually worked out for you? No. You've all been awful for the parity of the league. I like you guys for the most part, and your activity on the whole has been good, but there are a lot of good GMs in BBS and building a good team requires more than you guys are doing. So, so much of the top talents are in the West. I really think it's around 75%, and it's not helping that Bryan took two stars and decided to waste their primes tanking. It's not helping the East that DJ and Tiger aren't great GMs anymore and are sort of just floating at this point. I don't know. I think these guys need shorter contract years and people need to get on them for sitting on their squads. Styro, especially. He's a good member of the league and he belongs here but it's pretty laughable that might rebuild. If there are interested guys on the waiting list, some of these guys should be fired. Mops. Mops. Mops.