Deandre Jordan is OK and all, but talking about him being the key to anything is insane talk IMO. They key to the Clippers is how coach and PG mesh. And if Blake Griffin moves forward....

Yeah...THAT'S going to remain a problem lol. What are your impressions of the Blazer's Damian Lillard? I know some people believe he has pretty much peaked but I love what he's done so far, and think he has more upside. Defense is still a work in progress.

This is what Skip Bayless and Wilbon and those types of guys want you to believe because they dont actually watch games not on Sunday afternoon or not involving the Heat or Lakers. However the coach/PG nonsense is pretty close to immaterial in this case. Obviously Paul signed off on Rivers. Paul isn't going to play any differently than he has. The key is Jordan because he needs to get better and the obvious weak area here is defense. His back up is Ryan Hollins. Think that they are getting through Memphis (Gasol and Randolph) and Houston (Howard) with Hollins playing big minutes? The NBA is the most misunderstood of the big sports as everyone just focuses on the stars but truth is they are amazingly consistent from year to year with what they give you. The difference is usually the development of guys like Jordan who needs to improve in a few area's which can create a domino effect on other players. Teams spend 50% of the time of defense, trying to stop the other team from scoring and with minus defenders like Collison, Crawford, Jamison, Dudley and Mullens scheduled to play big minutes, Jordan protecting the rim and covering their weaknesses means a lot. Even Griffin is only an average defender who relies too much on his athleticism as opposed to fundamental concepts and positioning.

I don't know why anyone would think he peaked. He got a little tired down the stretch but thats understandable considering how many minutes he played as a rookie. He needs to improve the obvious, better shot selection as a shoot first PG, needs to get to the line more, needs to work on his defensive positioning, cut down on bad turnovers, etc. Typical stuff small college guards need to develop with experience. Bringing in Williams and Watson should help with leadership and maybe cutting Lillard's minutes back a little considering he led the league in minutes played last year as a rookie.

DeAndre Jordan is clearly the key to the Clippers.

Derrick Rose is clearly a top 10 NBA player but is probably also a little bit overrated but that's only because they gave him an MVP award. By the way, Nash getting back to back MVP's was worse than Rose getting one.

Assuming good health for all, I like Indiana to win the East and the Clippers to win the West.

James
Durant
Wade
Bryant
Rose
Paul
Westbrook
Howard
Anthony
Irving

Those are my top ten fully healthy players in the NBA.

Top four East-Indiana, Miami, Chicago, Brooklyn/Cleveland
Top four West-LA Clippers, OKC, Houston, SA

I believe people are way overrating Cleveland.

The East is pretty much boring as far as top teams who are legit contenders to win that conference.

Heat
Pacers
Bulls

With the rest of the playoff teams being:

Nets
Pistons
Knicks
Hawks
Wizards


The West on the other hand is so wide open.

Clippers
Rockets
Warriors
Thunder
Grizzlies
Spurs

And to round out the eight possible playoff seeds I'd go:

Blazers
Nuggets

i can't stand bayless. is there a more arrogant sports talking head then him?

I would not argue with you there. Read Bennett was diagnosed with asthma and sleep apnea and it's been a struggle with him. Mike Brown said it was difficult for him to even watch him at times. Probably not a good thing to say about the number 1 pick in the draft. I think Bynum was a good gamble as it's only a 1 year thing contract wise if it works or doesn't work. Varejao back if he can actually play will also help. Waiters isn't very good, Tristan Thompson's switch to right-handedness now has actually gone pretty well. I think they can be in the mix for a low playoff seeding if Bynum and/or Varejao can actually play most of the year. Neither has a great recent history of doing that however.

I saw them play a few days ago and Bennett looked sluggish and heavy. He might eventually be an effective player but I dont know how much he gives them this season. Bynum is a certainly worth a short term deal plus they needed to get over the minimum salary line. That being said how much he gives them is a huge question mark. He didn't exactly distinguish himself in Philly with his rehab work. Waiters has ability but needs a defined role. Varejao being healthy and in shape gives them a big leg up on last years team but that's not exactly a given right now. I think the Jack and Clark signings are solid moves but this is a team that went 24-58 last season and has a lot of lingering issues.

It's how he became a "star" I suppose. Would be hard to believe that he actually believes a lot of the nonsense he says

Speaking of terrible teams, Milwaukee is horrid. Watching them play the Bulls right now and they have no skills at all, albeit with Mayo tonight.

Its gonna be 95% Bulls fans in Milwaukee this year instead of the customary 75%

They made a huge mistake last year trading Harris for a few months of Reddick. Supposedly the owner told the GM last year to "win now" which of course was impossible. Bizarre team.

Well his stay in Philly didn't last long...released by the Sixers today. Philly now has to swallow the $1.7 million owed to him during the second year of his rookie contract. I really can't see him getting anymore chances in the NBA.

They got money from Houston to cover this years salary and have team options the next 2 which they will obviously not exercise. So essentially he cost them nothing. He seemed to have played decently but maybe it is just too big of a pain in the ass to deal with his issues. He seems to have NBA level talent but only star players probably are worth all the headaches.

Looks like it's back to the D-League, although he refused to report two times last year.

Did you see Sports Illustrated's NBA preview issue? They have the Lakers #6 out West with Memphis at #9. I don't know which ranking is worse...can't understand that whatsoever

I havnt seen it yet. Not sure I want to now

Other than those two, I would switch out their #7 (Mavericks) and #8 (T-Wolves) with the Blazers and Nuggets.

In the East I'd go with the Pistons their #9 a bit higher...maybe somewhere between #5 an #7 and move the Raptors out of the top eight seeds.

Wizards might have locked up 8 seed and sure 0-4 sweep with the Gortat trade. Hard to believe that teams like this still don't value number 1 picks enough not to make these types of trades. Which I suppose is why they are "teams like this".