5 Early NBA Title Pretenders

It's very important for every team to get off to a good start with the shortened and jam-packed schedule. Dig yourself too big of a hole and it may be too steep to climb out of.

However, some teams have avoided that and got themselves off to very nice starts to the season. That doesn't necessarily make them contenders, though.

Here's a look at five early NBA pretenders.

Portland Trail Blazers

I like this Portland team a great deal and LaMarcus Aldridge is off to a great start, but I need to see a little more from the Trail Blazers before they are considered real contenders.

The 4-1 start is very nice, as is the win over Oklahoma City, but let's see if they can put together back-to-back good months.

Orlando Magic

Orlando has won four of its first six games to start the season, but those wins have come against Houston, New Jersey, Charlotte and Toronto.

The Magic have shown they can win most of the games they should win, but let's see how they do against the better teams in the NBA.

Atlanta Hawks

Another team I like a great deal, the Hawks are off to a 4-2 start to the season.

It's hard to take this group seriously, though, until it finds a way to get out of the second round of the playoffs, something it's been unable to do.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Don't let the over-.500 start fool you—the Cavs are still destined for the lottery.

The three wins look nice, especially with a young team, but again, the wins have come against New Jersey, Charlotte and Detroit.

San Antonio Spurs

The Spurs were looking to take one more run at a ring, but it's unlikely. Tim Duncan looks like a shell of his former self and the injury to Manu Ginobili may be too tough to overcome.

They could still be a playoff team, but aren't likely title contenders.