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)