NBA Power Rankings: Title Contenders Doomed for Playoff Reality Check
If there's one thing we know about the NBA, it's that the teams that look really strong during the regular season end up looking very strong in the postseason as well.
Case in point: the Miami Heat last season, and the Los Angeles Lakers in 2009 and 2010.
The are exceptions, of course. The San Antonio Spurs finished with the best record in the Western Conference last season and lost to the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the playoffs. And who can forget the Golden State Warriors' upset of the Dallas Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs in 2007?
Thankfully, apparent title contenders do end up crashing and burning every now and then.
We're getting pretty close to the 2012 playoffs, and by now we have a pretty good idea of who the title contenders in either conference are. When I look at them, there are four in particular that I'm not sold on. They will get to the playoffs, but I'm certain they won't go all the way.
Boston Celtics
The Celtics have been one of the most frustrating teams in the league this season. They've never looked brilliant, and they've occasionally looked quite awful. Right now, they're in one of their good stretches, having won six of their last 10.
Because the Celtics have managed to avoid exploding this season, there's still a chance they'll get hot once they get into the postseason. They still have the Big Three and Rajon Rondo, after all.
But none of us should kid ourselves. Boston is not a better team than it was last year, and those Celtics could only make it as far as the conference semifinals, where they were totally outclassed by the Heat.
These Celtics won't do any better. They're a weak team, and the Eastern Conference is a lot stronger now than it was when the Celtics were contending for championships in recent seasons. Every team projected to make the Eastern Conference playoff cut is good enough to beat the Celtics.
There's a very good chance the Celtics will end up facing the Heat in the first round of the playoffs. On the bright side, that means the Celtics could get the inevitable disappointment over with quickly.
New York Knicks
Am I stretching the definition of the term "title contender" by including the Knicks in this conversation?
Only a little bit. You have to give the Knicks credit for having a very talented roster, and they've played much better basketball ever since Mike D'Antoni quit his post as the team's head coach.
The way things are going now, the Knicks should be considered a lock to at least grab the No. 8 playoff spot in the East, and nobody should be surprised if they end up grabbing the No. 7 or No. 6 spots. They have the talent to do it, and the team's overall chemistry has changed for the better.
Once in the playoffs, the Knicks will surely be a trendy sleeper pick to end up going to the Finals, as all it would take is the talent on their roster clicking on all cylinders.
But somewhere in New York is the same Knicks team that completely fell apart under D'Antoni. That team had very little chemistry, as the different personalities out on the floor just couldn't find a way to coexist.
A stiff challenge from one of the conference's top contenders will threaten the chemistry the Knicks have established under Mike Woodson. When that happens, the old Knicks will come rushing to the forefront, and Woodson will be powerless to stop it.
Los Angeles Clippers
There's no shame in admitting it: We all liked the Clippers a lot better when Chauncey Billups was in the mix.
Of course we did. He was a key veteran presence with an ability to hit big shots—the perfect Robin to Chris Paul's Batman.
The Clippers did well to keep on trucking after Billups was lost for the season, but his absence has definitely been felt during the month of March. The Clippers just haven't played well, and the team's chemistry seems to be falling apart at the seams.
The Clippers are still in line to make the playoffs, of course, and they still have time to find themselves again after spending much of this month in a funk. Their season can still have a happy ending.
But it won't. The Clippers have the talent to match up with the best of the best in the Western Conference, but they've shown this month that talent is only worth so much, even when a player like CP3 is in charge of it all out on the floor.
What we're seeing now is not a head coaching problem, in my opinion. What we're seeing now is a team that simply needs more time to come together. The Clippers were made into a contender overnight, but making them into a championship contender was never going to be so easy, even if Billups had been able to stay healthy.
San Antonio Spurs
What the Spurs have done since the start of February is something that the Spurs would do. They've played methodical team basketball and have won game after game after game. This is something the Spurs have been doing since the dawn of time.
Or so it seems.
But it's perfectly fine to have doubts about this Spurs team. They pulled this exact same trick last season, but were ousted in the postseason by a team that simply wanted it more than they did.
That's the biggest worry when it comes to this Spurs team. Their professionalism and their precision when playing the game of basketball makes them a consistent force during the regular season, but winning in the postseason requires a little extra something.
The Spurs didn't have that little extra something last season. I'll believe they have it this season when I see it.
