NBA Lockout: If Shortened Season Happens, Which Teams Are Title Contenders?

The latest edition of the NBA Lockout will begin at midnight tonight and, by many accounts, looks to be a lengthy lockout.

I want to be optimistic and say when and if we get to see professional basketball in the United States this upcoming season, it seems clear at the very least games will be missed.

This has not happened since 1998 when the 1998-1999 NBA season was reduced to 50 games.

If the season is cut short, which teams have the greatest advantage?

The season would become more of a sprint rather than a marathon and with that coaching strategies change, player training might change and team chemistry will be crucial heading in.

Obviously, the labor situation is up in the air. The salary cap may change, free agency might change and this has a lot to do with what teams can do.

Trades may also happen.

That said, it's always fun to call it now rather than waiting for things to happen.

Note: 1998-1999 NBA Finals featured the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs.

It was the first of four championships for San Antonio.

The Knicks were the 8th seed in the East.

Follow me on Twitter: @ZackFarmerWOTF

Zack Farmer is a freelance reporter who has written for the San Francisco Examiner, Patch.com, Bay Area News Group and CSNBayArea.com.

New York Knicks

The Knicks are scary when they are hot. Come to think of it, they are scary when they are bad too.

But when you have three of the best at their respective positions you will be in the conversation.

With a pseudo-full season together, the Knicks will be a team that has a chance but that chance highly depends on how consistent they can be.

The Knicks are a more balanced offensive team than the Heat but lack the defensive presence.

Mike D'Antoni ran his system in Phoenix to much success and now has a team with superior talent, which could be the difference between the conference finals and the NBA Finals.

Los Angeles Lakers

If there ends up being a similar lockout to the 1998-1999 season, teams with older teams would have a very big advantage.

The Lakers were very much exposed in the playoffs and looked very tired in the postseason.

There is also the speculation about whether Lamar Odom, Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol will be traded to get a younger, more athletic player in return.

They have a huge hole at the point guard position, have injury problems with Bynum and are not very deep on the bench.

That said, with only 50 games in the season there is a better chance the Lakers could put something together and stay healthier than they normally would with a full 82 game schedule.

San Antonio Spurs

Cohesion and chemistry cannot be overlooked.

The Spurs might be old and slow but they still get the job done. In fact, last time there was a lockout it was Tim Duncan's Spurs that won the title.

A shortened season changes things for the Spurs, much like the Lakers.

They do still need to work out the point guard situation but the trade of George Hill may keep Tony Parker wearing black and silver.

The trade for Kawai Leonard was the steal of the draft and is bigger than a lot of people may think. San Antonio has proven to be a great evaluator of talent and great and adding pieces that fit its system.

So long as Greg Popovich and Duncan are with the Spurs organization, they will be in the title discussion.

Miami Heat

LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh.

I begrudgingly admit the Miami Heat could win a title next year after squandering its opportunity this past season.

But Miami has some huge holes.

They don't rebound enough. They don't have a good point guard. They have nobody to protect the rim.

The ball is not in the hands of Wade often enough in the fourth quarter.

Despite all of this, they won two games in the NBA Finals against a team that had nowhere near the star power they had.

But I didn't expect this team to win it in year one.

But with a year of that all-important cohesion, the Heat could find themselves back in the Finals and claim that title next year.

Oklahoma City Thunder

The Oklahoma City Thunder were an underdog pick to come out of the Western Conference and, although they didn't get the job done, they advanced further than the year before and look to be a dangerous for the foreseeable future.

The most important player on this team is Kendrick Perkins.

His brute strength and tough play under the basket makes the Thunder an immediate contender, but Perkins has had health problems over the past few seasons and they may not manifest in a shorter season.

He can be paced a bit more in the regular season and saved for the postseason.

This team has the most potential of any collective unit in basketball and could claim its first title in Oklahoma City.