10 Teams That Are One Player Away from an NBA Championship

When discussing teams that lose in the NBA Finals or even the Conference Finals, for that matter, one phrase that comes to mind is "so close, yet so far."

The New York Knicks can certainly relate to this, as they turned a season of high expectations into one that was largely disappointing, mostly because of the lack of an experienced point guard who could feed the ball to stars Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire.

Jeremy Lin showed promise at that position, but really just fell into it by accident.  Sure, they made the playoffs, but as a No. 7 seed and not the upper-tier team they hoped to become.

Something similar can be said for last year's Miami Heat, whose over-reliance on the Big Three ultimately cost them a shot at championship glory.

Needless to say, San Antonio and Miami aren't the only teams so very close to bringing home title gold.  Here are 10 (including the two) who are a player away from a spot in the history books.

No. 10: Denver Nuggets

The Nuggets are a very young team, so no matter how you look at it, even if they do get the one player who turns out to be the key to success, chances are it will take a couple of years for them to get as far as the Finals.

The team already has a fine point guard in Ty Lawson (pictured), two great shooters in Danilo Gallinari and Arron Afflalo and a top power forward in the making in Kenneth Faried.

All that's really missing in the Mile High City is a legitimate center, one that can defensively shut down the opposition as well as put some points on the board when need be.  At this point, Denver is stuck with the god-awful Kosta Koufos and the immature JaVale McGee, neither of whom has what it takes to help lead the Nuggets to a championship.

Fill in the hole at the 5, and Denver could soon be reaping the benefits of some freshly mined championship gold.

No. 9: Memphis Grizzlies

Memphis is a great team in the making, having gone from being a No. 8 seed last year to being a No. 4 this season.  Rudy Gay is a true scorer, and Marc Gasol is proving to be a dominant force at center while Mike Conley Jr. runs the point like a pro.

However, the team has one glaring weakness, and it's at shooting guard.  This is a position traditionally meant for larger guards who can score points, and in Memphis's case, Tony Allen and his 9.8 per game aren't going to cut it.

I understand that the team's offensive system relies heavily on the scoring to come from the forwards, but that type of play becomes predictable.  Put a true scoring shooting guard in the starting lineup and move Allen into a bench pest role, and the results should speak for themselves in Memphis.

No. 8: Philadelphia 76ers

The best thing about the Sixers for most of the season was their team first approach.  No one player outshone the other, and the leading scorer was sixth man Lou Williams with 14.9 points per game.

Yet, despite their miracle run in the playoffs, the Sixers underwent an epic collapse during the regular season, one that saw them go from division leader to No. 8 seed that just made the postseason.

Why did it happen?  Well, despite having big names like Andre Iguodala (pictured) and Elton Brand on the roster, not one player on the team stepped up in the clutch to try and be the star.

Long story short, Iguodala needs to take on this role, and team management needs to bring in a more consistent power forward to play alongside him if the City of Brotherly Love is to become Titletown, U.S.A. once again.  Once those changes are made, the Sixers will once again be atop the Atlantic Division and will stay there.

No. 7: Minnesota Timberwolves

Minnesota already has a great upside now that Ricky Rubio and Kevin Love are on the team and playing together well.  I have no problem in saying that had Rubio not gotten injured, the Timberwolves would have made the playoffs and gotten past the first round.

Yet, even if they did make the postseason, Minnesota wouldn't have gotten anywhere close to the NBA Finals.  Save for Rubio and Love, they have no consistent options at any of the three remaining positions.

Nikola Pekovic is starting to look like a decent center, but Martell Webster and Wesley Johnson provide nothing but inconsistency at small forward and shooting guard.

Fill the hole at either position, and the Timberwolves immediately look a lot more like a title contender and not just a young team with spunk.

No. 6: Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers are only a couple of years removed from back-to-back championships, but the team has looked different enough the past couple of postseasons that they just aren't the same anymore.  To be perfectly honest, all that's really missing is a consistent point guard who has good enough leadership qualities to actually run the offense.

Nothing against Ramon Sessions and Derek Fisher (before he was dealt to make room for Sessions), but neither is really what I would call an adequate floor general.  Yes, they'll dish out assists from time to time, but their first inclination in L.A. is to get Kobe the ball and let his shot dictate the outcome of the game.

Seriously, the fact that Sessions averaged just 3.3 dimes per contest in the playoffs this year is flat out disturbing.

Had the rest of the league not thrown a hissy fit and let the Lakers acquire Chris Paul, then perhaps the team would be enjoying a trip to the Finals this season.

No. 5: Indiana Pacers

Danny Granger is one of the premier scorers in the league, and his 18.7 points per contest were instrumental in the Pacers entering the playoffs as a No. 3 seed.  Still, though the team went toe-to-toe with the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference semifinals, their lack of a pass-first point guard hurt them.

Darren Collison is a fine player, but his 4.8 assists per game just aren't the mark of a true leader on the floor.  The same can be said for George Hill, who is basically just a three-point threat.

Fix the hole at the point, and this team will become reminiscent of the Indiana teams of the 1990s.

No. 4: Atlanta Hawks

The Hawks are a very interesting team.  On one hand, it can be argued that this past season was a fluke for them as star big man Al Horford missed most of the season with an injury.  On the other hand, it's easy to see that their lack of a consistent small forward hurts them.

Josh Smith (pictured) can easily play both small and power forwards, but his explosive style and athleticism is more suited to the 4.  That said, if they are to win a title, Atlanta needs to get a physically tough Bruce Bowen-type pest to man small forward.  Think of Knicks guard Iman Shumpert but with some more size.

Add that player, and Peachtree Road may have to be renamed Championship Boulevard.

No. 3: Los Angeles Clippers

I know I run the risk of receiving a lot of hate mail with this next statement, but hear me out on this one.  Had Chauncey Billups not gotten hurt, the Los Angeles Clippers would have been NBA champions.

Think about it.  The team already has the best point guard in the league in Chris Paul and two decent options at forward and center in Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan.  All that was really missing from Lob City this season was a pure scorer who could help shoulder some of the load.

Given how Billups was averaging 15 points per game on horrendous 36 percent shooting before he tore his Achilles tendon, I'm inclined to think that he's still more than capable of putting points on the board the way we all expect him to.  Long story short, the Clippers need him or a very similar player at shooting guard, and they could basically be locks to win it all.

No. 2: New York Knicks

Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire are scorers, nothing more and nothing less.  Yet, put them in a lineup with a dominant center like Tyson Chandler and a decent point guard, and the possibilities could be endless.

That said, as a Knicks fan, it's pretty clear which hole needs to be filled the most.  Nothing against Jeremy Lin, but he has a lot to learn about playing his position, and if it came down to him or a veteran with years of experience running an offense, I would choose the latter.

The Knicks have two of the best players in the NBA in their starting lineup and are more than capable of winning it all.  All they need is an experienced distributor to get their stars the ball.  Otherwise, what's the point of having the two of them on the team?

No. 1: Miami Heat

This could all change over the next couple of weeks, but I just don't think that the Miami Heat have what it takes to win a championship this year.  Save for the addition of Shane Battier, the rest of the team is virtually unchanged from last year, and we all know how that panned out.

As talented as the Big Three are, they would greatly benefit from one of two things: a top point guard to get them the ball or a center who can play the shutdown game a la Shaquille O'Neal during his time in South Beach.

That said, I think it's safe to say that GM Pat Riley will push hard to sign either Steve Nash or even Chris Kaman this summer should Miami fail in its quest for the title.