NBA Top 10 for '10
 

Now that we have the draft trades and results in I think we have seen a shift in power in the NBA and would even go so far to suggest the Lakers could be the sixth best team in the NBA next year.

1. Cleveland
2. San Antonio
3. Boston
4. Denver
5. Orlando
6. Lakers
7. Portland
8. Houston
9. Chicago
10. Utah


Thoughts?

This is ridiculous. Why would the lakers slip to 6th if not for your bias? Come on...at least be realistic.

Cleveland adds Shaq, San Antonio adds Jefferson and gets back Ginobili, Boston was better than the Lakers when healthy, I still think Denver was better than the Lakers and I think Lawson as the backup PG will be a huge addition, and Orlando added Vince Carter. Meanwhile the Lakers have added nothing, have Kobe getting a year older (which is a huge factor with the number of games he has played), and likely will lose either Ariza or Odom. Everyone else is stepping forward and I think have moved ahead of the Lakers.

Get a grip snipe. Orlando got worse. They added a chemistry killer and lost their second best player. The addition of Jefferson was good but it still doesnt address a couple of basic matchup problems the spurs have with the lakers and thats in the post. The lakers are simply too big for them now and duncan isnt getting any younger. Cleveland adds shaq...it will be interesting to see what 37-38 year old shaq can do for them. Time has told us that adding ancient centers to a contender doesnt work. Denver isnt better than the lakers and adding a backup point guard isnt going to do it. Boston is viable and the opinion that they are better is at least debatable.

You are too good of a gambler to let your personal feelings dictate these bad opinions.

I have Orlando third in the east, I hate Vince Carter (was actually a Nets fan until they acquired him) but there is no denying he has talent and his career playoff numbers are pretty impressive. At the very least a lineup of Nelson, Carter, Lewis, Turkoglu, and Howard is incredibly dangerous. We'll see how they all coexist.

I think with the Lakers you are failing to discount how significant this season will be with Kobe hitting 1000 career games (even ignoring the postseason). Even the ultra-durable Garnett hit the 1000 game dropoff in durability and he's had nowhere near the number of playoff games of Kobe (175 to 73).

Denver is a really good team and they will be ahead of the Lakers next year even if they return intact which is highly unlikely. Most likely either Ariza or Odom is gone.

But Turk is as good as gone. There is no way they are going to pay him now that they have added Carter's contract. And even if they do, you would now have four guys on the floor that can't play defense. Turk is gone though. That team regressed.

If Turk leaves then I'd drop them all the way behind Portland. No doubt the Lakers are still better if they went from Turk to Carter.

So maybe you can make the case that the Lakers are now the 5th best team in the NBA if Turk leaves Orlando.

LOL. they are the world champions. They are the best team in the NBA right now.

The lakers just beat denver and nothing has really changed. They would beat them again if they played over the summer in a pickup game.

Cavs add a 38 year old center. And? Is that going to get them past Boston and then the lakers? Really? Oh...i forgot. They have delonte west.:p

San Antonio just doesnt match up with the lakers. Adding jefferson was great but that alone isnt going to put them back in the mix. They have serious issues in the paint.

The Arizona Cardinals are the NFC Champions, are they the favorite to win the NFC next year?

Denver should have beat the Lakers in 4 games, or at worst been up 3-1 at that point. They couldn't inbound the frickin basketball over Lamar Odom and had it stolen twice by Ariza. Guess what? At least one of them is gone from the Lakers next year.

The Lakers could NEVER beat the Nuggets in a pickup game. For once in their lives they wouldn't get every call.

Really? You are going to marginalize Shaq to the point of calling him a 38 year old center? He averaged 17 and 8 last year and gives them the interior presence that can bang with Howard. They matched up against everyone last year except the Magic.

San Antonio may not match up great with the Lakers but that is one of 30 teams. It still doesn't mean they can't have a better season.

The one and ONLY way the Lakers are a top five team next year is if Bynum steps up. Without Bynum becoming a stud next year there is no way they are a championship team and they are likely not even a top five team.

The basic problem is not the post.

The basic problem is Kobe.
The second problem is the mobility of Gasol.

The basic problem for any team against the Lakers is Kobe.
If Fisher remains point the Lakers are beatable.

Shaq's stats last year were somewhat of a mirage. He is done.

San Antonio is going to have serious problems in the paint and on the boards against most of the top teams. I am surprised that you think they will be a contender.

Denver lost to the lakers during the season and in the playoffs and they arent any better and dont have money to get better.

The kobe thing goes without saying. At the same time, the lakers will have a problem with Tony parker.

The real problem is the lakers size. The spurs simply can't match up with gasol, bynum and odom. The spurs just don't have anyone in the post besides duncan. Thats the problem and thats why they won't contend.

They can always make more moves though. Lots of teams want to get under that luxury tax.

Denver lost to the Lakers during the season with Iverson. They are an entirely different team with Billups.

The Spurs will be a completely different team with Ginobili back and the addition of Jefferson. They can only struggle so much in the paint with Tim Duncan.

Shaq is one hell of a mirage. Let's face it, he is there for nothing more than the playoffs. He can coast through the season and you better believe come the playoffs he will be much more of a force inside against Howard than Zydrunas Ilgauskas or Anderson Varejao.

Shaq is still a liability on defense these days. You have to get real.

Who will play in the paint for the spurs besides duncan?

Denver just lost a 7 game series to the lakers. Period.

The Spurs are hoping Mahinmi has recovered.
He has been working out and looking good.
This remains to be seen.

If Bynum does not "recover" he will not be a problem for any team.
The Lakers were clearly a better team without him on the floor in the playoffs.

I wonder WHAT your Betting line would be on this listing..? If you feel this way would the (World Champs) Lakers be 10-1 ?

I actually think the top six would all be right around 6-1 with no one else having much of a chance at all. If Orlando loses Turkoglu then they would drop into the no else having much of a chance at all category. I think anyone betting Cleveland or the Lakers at 2-1 when they are going to hold your money for the next year is completely insane. I'll take a shot on San Antonio and Denver at 12-1 but even then I feel like I'm getting ripped off when they get to hold my money for a year.

Anyone betting on San Antonio or denver would be getting ripped off because they will be holding your money a lot longer than a year.

1. Cleveland (Shaq helps and they are supposedly looking hard at Wallace. Obviously short term moves but they have one year or they go back to being irrelevant again)
2. San Antonio (The Jefferson giveaway helps, Blair is a nice addition but Ginobilli's health is a question mark and Duncan is one year older)
3. Boston (I would rank them far down the list. They have done nothing to improve, Garnett is a question mark coming off a serious injury, Allen is in a decline which may become rapid and Ainge has been shopping without success. Last year seems like a long time ago)
4. Denver (Lawson was a nice addition but hardly is a difference maker. They also need to resign Anderson)
5. Orlando (The Carter thing was a strange move as they not only traded a promising player making peanuts, in essence they traded Turkeyglu also. I dont think they are better)
6. Lakers (Stood pat while others got better. Remains to see what will happen with Ariza and Odom. Losing one is an issue in my mind because they dont have a readily available replacement and an Ariza-like improvement from a mid level guy cant be expected every year. The team to beat but lots of question marks not to mention the coaching situation.)
7. Portland (Still a bit away from primetime)
8. Houston ( Yao is hurt, MeGrady is coming off being hurt, artest is still nuts, and they aren't doing anything)
9. Chicago (They arent as good as Atlanta or Miami)
10. Utah (They arent as good as Dallas)

1-Cleveland. I thought they were the best team this year but they couldn't match up well with Orlando. That's how it goes sometimes. There can be one or two teams that you don't match up well with but still be the best overall team in the league. If the Lakers had to play Charlotte in the Finals, they might get swept (lol). The addition of Shaq is huge. The don't even need him to repeat this year but if he can give them 13-7 a night, it's over. I love the addition of Danny Green as a perimeter defender with some length.

2-Boston. The injury to Garnett gave him half a year off. But more important, it gave guys like Davis and Powe a chance to gain significant experience. Rondo really stepped it up big time in the playoffs too. I think that the drafting of Hudson is going to pay big for them. I see him a lot like Rodney Stuckey in Detroit. He can play both guard positions. He can shoot the ball, something Rondo can't do. He can create and finish, something Allen can't do.

3-Denver. They gave the Lakers all they could handle and had a very realistic chance of beating them. I'm a believer in the feeling that teams need to go to through the process to know what it feels like and I think having this season under their belt and a better backup for Billups will make them the team to beat in the West.

4-Los Angeles. Right there with Denver. Never count out Kobe Bryant. He's getting up there and has put a lot of wear on his body but he's just so damn good. I think it's more important for them to keep Odom than Ariza but losing either one drops them just below Denver. If they keep both, I'll put them right ahead of the Nuggets. I think Odom is the key, not Bryant or Bynum.

5-Orlando.
6-Porland.
7-San Antonio.
8-Utah.
9-LA Clippers.
10-Dallas.

If Turk goes to Portland:

1. Cleveland
2. San Antonio
3. Boston
4. Denver
5. Lakers
6. Portland
7. Orlando

I think next year is going to be one of the best we've had in the league in awhile. If all of the principles have good health, there have been some big moves made by top contenders that should make it very competitive up top. You've got Artest to the Lakers while losing Ariza. Bynum will start off the year healthy. The question is will they still have the hunger? It's always harder to defend a title but if there's one guy you want leading your team in that situation, it's Kobe Bryant. Cleveland has added Shaq? Can he play like he did this past season? If he can, the season might be a mere formality. The Celtics may have been the best last season if healthy. Now they've added Wallace and possibly Grant Hill so they should be even better. Orlando lost Turkoglu and that will hurt the way their offense flows but they got in Carter a guy that's always been the kind of guy that you could go to when the shot clock is winding down that can create a shot. That's one thing they didn't have last year. San Antonio has added Jefferson and if Ginobili can stay healthy, they may have one more run in them before Duncan's knees give out. Utah showed last year in the playoffs that they could be a pretty good team when healthy. If Boozer stays healthy, they will be a factor. Denver took a big step last year and that's usually a huge experience to help a team get to the next level. Billups is getting a little slower and the addition of Lawson should help keep him fresher when the big time moments come. One move that is not talked about at all but might turn out to be significant is the signing by Dallas of Gortat, or however you spell his name. While he's not a superstar, he did play very well in Howard's absence in Orlando and he's an upgrade over Dampier. They need Josh Howard to stay healthy though and if he can, they can't be counted out of having a big impact on the West. Portland is going to be tough too. How good can they be if Oden can up things to say 12-8 a night and figure out a way to stay out of foul trouble all the time?

It keeps getting better. Now the Mavs are adding Shawn Marion and the Spurs are adding Antonio McDyess. The Lakers are dragging their feet on Odom. It's an odd situation. The market says there isn't a lot out there for him but he's almost got the Lakers in a position where they HAVE to re-sign him if they want to remain among the favorites.

The mavs are old and hopeless. The spurs are old and less hopeless. It would have been interesting if they could have added rasheed though.

The Spurs are old and hopeless but adding an old Wallace would have made it interesting? I think that things in the West got a whole lot tougher. The Celtics brought in old Garnett and Allen and won a title. A few years ago, the Lakers brought in an old Malone and Payton and nearly won a title. These two teams are not too old. Dallas played Denver pretty tough last year and they have gotten a lot better real quick by upgrading at two positions. Three really because you can now move Howard to the two-guard. This gives them more defense too. I also would not be surprised if by the trading deadline, Michael Redd is on that team.

I'm hearing that there may be another trade in the making involving Chicago, Utah, and Portland. What I heard is that Boozer may end up in Chicago, Hinrich to Portland, and Tyrus Thomas in Utah. I don't really see the point of this trade at all.

Odom has the Lakers over the barrell. They have to sign him. If they don't, they are noticeably weaker while all of their challengers have gotten stronger. If they don't, I wonder where he'll end up. This is interesting. I haven't seen an off season like this before.

I hope you are typing about Dallas adding Rasheed.

We do not allow guys with bird droppings on the fro
in San Antonio. Or idiots that leave Robert Horry open
when told not to and help lose a championship (give us one).

Rasheed would be a low post threat that can still rebound and defend. He would address the glaring hole in the middle of the spurs line up. yeah, he would have made it interesting. A starting five of jefferson, duncan, parker, sheed and ginobli/whoever would have been very interesting.

Are you seriously going to keep touting the mavs after all of these years? Lets check out that lineup. Shawn Marion is supposed to be the answer? Please. He is 31 now and the luster is off the diamond. They still don't have an adequate low post threat. This lineup will get smoked by the top teams. Old, slow and poor down low usually doesnt make for a good team. You bring up malone and payton but conveniently leave out that they were being added to kobe bryant and Shaq. Dirk and Jason "notta" kidd arent kobe and shaq.

Replace with McDyess.

Thank god we did not get Rasheed.
A definite no fit in my mind.
McDyess will fit.

Dallas blew it huge getting rid of Devin Harris.

Situation is getting interesting with Odom now. Reportedly, the Lakers have taken their offer off the table. It's been said that it was for three years and $27 million. That's not far off the $10 million a year he's been asking for but the biggest problem is that he wants more years. He wants five and $50 million. So now word is that Dallas has offered five at the mid-level for a total of about $34 million. It's less per year than the Lakers offer but for more years so it's more guaranteed money. Also hear that Miami is making the same offer. The interesting thing is that both Texas and Florida have no state tax so that makes the offers a little better. Or he can maybe take a three year offer from either of those teams and then hope to negotiate a bigger contract from them when they have his Bird rights. I think that's a very risky move though. Then there is Portland. If Utah does indeed match the Milsap offer, Portland has the cap space to offer Odom what he wants. Remember, they offered $10 million a year to Turkoglu. They probably figured like everyone else did that Odom was a lock for LA but if not, why not offer to him now? Weaken the Lakers while strengthening yourself.

I love the pickup of Andre Miller by Portland. He's a very underrated and steady guard and can lead the offense and let Roy take a break from that and he's more an offensive threat than Blake was.

Crazy NBA offseason, the gap between the haves and have nots keeps widening.