Post by Haberino on Apr 16, 2011 13:10:39 GMT -5
1. Philadelphia 76ers, 10-2
Loaded at every position. Great depth. Gerald, Demar, and Deron still have it, and DeeAndre Rooks has pushed their rebounding and shotblocking over the top.
2. Houston Rockets, 10-3
Earl's emergence as a superstar PG has Houston at the top of the Western Conference. They don't have a conventional SF, but they rebound, block shots, and have the best 3 man rotation of any backcourt in BBS. Bunn's emerging as a do it all; if he can defend and keep his turnovers down, the Bucks might be legit.
3. Milwaukee Bucks, 8-3
PG play will plague this Bucks team, as will their mediocre shotblocking. But they have good defenders everywhere, 3 or 4 guys who could be top option scorers, and because of this, they probably can afford to start Telfair over Holiday. They'd lose some defense, but that team FG% of 43.7 would probably benefit from having a far better ballhandler and distributor. As of now, I don't think this team can contend.
4. Miami Heat, 9-2
Can't ignore that offense any longer. Jacquez Knight is now one of the best players in BBS, and the Heat are loaded with option scorers (including Brad Beal and Marquez Lynch off the bench). They rebound well, keep low turnovers, and the offense does the rest. Question remarks abound, though: can Alec Harper stay on the floor? Will he get dominated against elite bigs? And can the Heat overcome their non-existent shotblocking?
5. New Orleans Hornets, 6-1
I don't know if I believe in them, but that 102.7 oPPG is pretty convincing. Quincy Miller's breaking out. George Hall's free throw shooting is way up. And they're doing all this with John Wall underperforming. Here's why I think they're a fraud: their starting 2 and 3 are bad defenders, and Hall's F outside rating remains. Still, they do 30 APG, and could actually get even better if they started Lesser at the 1 and Wall at the 2.
6. Phoenix Suns, 7-4
With Martell Webster gone, the Suns' scoring and ballhandling takes a big step back. But they still have Derrick Favors and Derrick Rose, the league's best duo. And Horford still blocks shots and rebounds. Wouldn't count them out in the West, although Dunn's minutes need to go down.
7. Chicago Bulls, 3-7
Really. McCracken's been garbage, but he's a lock to play a lot better, and Flint's an immediate superstar. With Drummond's rebounding/shotblocking, a great bench, and an excellent PG now on board, the Bulls are going to hit their stride and be really, really good.
8. Oklahoma City Thunder, 5-3
They pretty much go as Ray McCallum goes, but that's not such a bad thing when the guy is doing 28.8/6/15 with 2.4 SPG, 1.6 TPG, and a triple slash of 50/83/51 #damnson. Josh Smith remains a beast, Enes Kantor has improved a lot, and the Thunder are playing well despite Fab Melo's awful start. They get outrebounded and don't play elite defense. Ray can make up for a lot of flaws, but OKC isn't a contender just yet.
9. Memphis Grizzlies, 6-6
They're probably still a top team, but it's hard to put them any higher when they've played so poorly to start. The turnovers, team FG%, and lack of shotblocking should have the rest of the West feeling optimistic.
10. Utah Jazz, 9-3
Guess I couldn't drop a 9-3 team out of the top ten, but the Jazz allow 117 PPG and have two good (albeit great) scorers. 14+ turnovers a night doesn't help.
11. Orlando Magic, 5-6
Loaded with shotblocking and great positional defenders, the Magic figure to be a lot better once Perry returns from injury. 96 oPPG is crazy low, but it's worth nothing that their backcourt is complete shit.
12. Los Angeles Clippers, 2-6
The defense is so bad that Marty should probably make a trade if he wants the sums to match the talent of its parts. Backcourt defense is among the worst in the league, they have just one shotblocker, and Thompkins is about their only elite positional defender. Their box scores may be fun, but they won't contend without a shakeup.
14. Detroit Pistons, 5-6
A pretty good team once Quentin Derrick returns. Great rebounding, and a defense that would be among the league's best if the bench were any good. The East is down, so they could finish around 50 wins.
15. New Jersey Nets, 4-6
A poorly constructed team, even with Serge Ibaka on board to solve their rebounding and shotblocking woes. They still don't rebound or block shots well, and their PG play isn't at all good enough to make their system work. Jereme Richmond has become a very good player, though.
16. Denver Nuggets, 2-9
The Nuggets are much better than they look, and will probably hover around .500. Al Jeff, Jay Johnson, and Jarrett Jordan will pick up their play, and the Nuggets can fight for a playoff spot. Worth noting that Jay Johnson is actually really bad right now -- no steals, high turnovers, and awful rebounding.
17. Portland Trailblazers, 7-3
Dan will look to ride a great free agency period all the way to the playoffs. I think he'll fall short, unless he's able to squeeze more offense out of Danilo. I had a crazy dream last night where my Danilo warm up jersey turned into a reversible Rangers/Knicks jersey, half Mark Messier, half Willis Reed. #FWIW.
18. Minnesota Timberwolves, 6-6
A good young team with a really great future. They have the scoring and rebounding, but their defense is pretty awful. They're in the mix for the 8th seed, and are a good PG away from having the best future of any team.