The Jordan Effect: Seven Teams That May Never Win a Title in the Miami Era
In the 1990's, The Chicago Bulls were dominant. Considering that in a span of 10 years, the Bulls had two three peats in which both were separated by the retirement and comeback of Michael Jordan.
The best player of all time worked his way into the homes of millions like a pinch of salt in a deep cut. He become the most polarizing figure in basketball at the time.
Either you were a Bulls fan and you loved him, or you were a fan of the Blazers, Magic, Celtics, Pistons, Lakers, Knicks, Phoenix Suns, Utah Jazz, Seattle Supersonics, Rockets, or the Spurs and you hated him.
If you didn't know, each of those teams that I listed above, were teams that had their championship hopes ended by Michael Jordan.
Michael Jordan was the ultimate roadblock to many a NBA Title dreams.
So that go me thinking. Now that LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh have formed their supertrio in Miami, Which teams will suffer from the new era Miami roadblock?
In other words, Which fanbases are going to despise the Miami Heat because they will inevitably block their home team from a chance at NBA stardome.
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Orlando Magic
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Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic have already made an NBA Finals appearance.
But as long as the Miami Heat have the Supertrio on their roster the Orlando Magic are going to have a much more difficult time producing an encore.
If Howard can develop an array of post moves he will increase his teams Championship chances, but as it stands, superman is more of a robin (if that makes any sense at all) and he needs a batman to be successful.
Right now, the Orlando Magic are my favorites to challenge the Miami Thrice for the Eastern Conference Championship.
But they will be up against tough competition.
The Orlando Magic are one team that have had their championship window, not significantly shortened, but have been damaged.
Denver Nuggets
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The Denver Nuggets probably have the smallest Championship window out of everyone on this list, but that doesn't mean that they don't have one.
Carmelo Anthony still plays in Denver and that can be a championship window in itself.
As Carmelo ages, the Nuggets chances at a ring dwindle.
Especially because Chauncey Billups only continues to age as well.
Denver's supporting cast is pretty good.
Good enough to get you to the Western Conference Finals. The Nuggets want to be in the finals and to get there, they are going to need to land another piece to the puzzle.
and I don't think that piece was Al Harrington.
The current Denver roster is just one or two moves away from becoming title contenders, but even if they get those pieces there is a formitable opponent on the other side of the table.
That being the Miami Heat.
Oklahoma City Thunder
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Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder has one of the widest championship windows in the league... if not the widest.
The scoring champion is only 21 years old, and his supporting cast hovers right around the age of 22, and they only have one player on their roster that is over 30 years of age.
Giving the Oklahoma City Thunder a playoff window of at least 6 years (but probably more).
The problem with that is Miami.
Each of the three superstars have 6 year contracts.
LeBron.
Dwayne Wade.
Chris Bosh.
All will be in South Beach for the next 6 years.
Leaving Miami in a great position to compete for the rights to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals each and every year.
The Thunder have a few holes to fill if they want to become Champions.
First, they need to find their center. Whether that turns out to be Serge Ibaka, Cole Aldrich, or someone else, the Thunder need a post presence and someone to disrupt shots in the paint.
Also, they need to find a defensive stopper. Right now, they are getting by with team defense and in most cases that is good enough. But once you get into the playoffs, things change.
The Thunder will be alright for the next six years and beyond.
But I for see them having a difficult time getting past the likes of LeBron, Wade, and Bosh with their current roster.
New Jersey Nets
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"I am very straightforward, and I go no other way," he added. "Just to play it safe I could say that we will make it to the conference finals in five years or something like that.
"Nope. Championship. And I take all the responsibility of what's going on (with) the team."
That is Nets Owner Mikhail Prokhorov, talking about the promise he made to New Jersey, soon to be the Brooklyn Nets.
Which, I mean most of you will think it is completely far fetched, as do I, but if the owner promises it then we must open the Championship window for the New Jersey Nets.
In 5 years, what can you really do with a team that was once the worst in the NBA? Sure, you can build through the draft and hope that the prospects you have turn out, but in order to do that in five years, you need to already have all of those players.
You can't get 5 lottery picks in five consecutive years and then suddenly catapult yourselves into an NBA championship.
Right now, the Nets have a good roster.
One that I actually think will land them in the playoffs.
They also have young talent.
The future is in the hands of Derrick Favors, Brook Lopez, and an array of role players (Outlaw, Morrow, Lee, and Williams).
Devin Harris is injury prone and is already getting too old. (In five years he will be 32)
If the Nets can find themselves in a place to get a high lottery pick next season, their championship hopes will be closer than many of us expect.
So can they beat the Heat in a 7 game playoff series? No.
Not even just no, but Hell No.
Not yet.
Maybe never.
Unless they address their needs and build around their future.
because right now, the only thing propping up their NBA Title hopes is a promise by their owner.
Atlanta Hawks
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Al Horford, Joe Johnson, and Josh Smith are all still relatively young.
Johnson is currently on his final big numbers contract so now has to be the time for the Hawks if they want to make a run at a ring.
Because in signing a max contract deal for Joe Johnson, the team basically said that wherever Joe Johnson goes, we go.
If Johnson ages, the team is worse off.
If Johnson continues to be the same player he is currently, well then the team will continue to be the same team.
If Johnson decides to be the leader and best player, the the team will have a legitimate shot at contending for a title.
Other players will need to improve as well.
Right now, I consider the Hawks best asset to be their front line of Al Horford and Josh Smith.
Both guys are incredibly athletic big men that can rebound, block shots, and score in the paint. Having a duo that is that strong is good for every team.
Right now the Hawks championship window is about 3 years.
Their roster is aging.
What they could do to widen the window would be to draft a point guard.
Mike Bibby has done an excellent job for the Hawks, but I think he may be coming to the end of the line.
Eventually his body is going to break down and then the Hawks will be in a lot of trouble.
Drafting a point guard, especially one that can carry a load offensively, could push the Hawks over the edge. Getting a guard like Darren Collison (who was recently traded to the Indiana Pacers) would allow the Hawks to slowly turn the page on the Joe Johnson years.
What the Hawks should have done was let Joe Johnson walk. JJ is a player that is in the middle of the road. One on hand, he still has a lot to give, but he is also coming up on those years where his age could start to become a problem...and now you've just given him a max contract.
Talk about locking down your future.
It would have hurt to let Joe Johnson go, but it would have been better for the future of your franchise.
Giving the keys to Al Horford and Josh Smith, who are both 24 years old, wouldn't have been the worst thing you could have done.
But as it currently stands, the Hawks has a limited championship window and one that I don't think allows them to surpass the Miami Heat.
Portland Trail Blazers
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The Portland Trail Blazers, like the Oklahoma City Thunder, have a very wide championship window.
Starting with Brandon Roy, who just turned 26, the Blazers have a proven floor general that is as clutch as they come. The three time all star and rookie of the year is already the face of this franchise and will continue to be as long as he is in a Blazers uniform.
Much like Kevin Durant, Roy is the leading scorer and in the national eye. They are the constants within their teams.
But unlike the Thunder, the Portland Trail Blazers have big men galore.
Marcus Camby, Joel Przybilla, LaMarcus Alrdidge, Greg Oden, Dante Cunnigham, and Jeff Pendergraph.
and even while two of them are at least 30 years old, they are still on the top of their game.
Rip City is still counting on Greg Oden to play consistently,and even while that could never happen it would almost certainly catapult his team into instant title contention.
Greg Oden averaged 11.1 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks on 60% shooting in 23.9 minutes.
projecting his numbers to around 30 minutes a game would look something like 16 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 2.9 blocks a game.
and in the Western Conference, I think that would be worthy of an all-star nod.
WIthout Greg Oden, this team is still in a great position to make a deep playoff run.
Andre Miller is good right now, but the team will need to find its future guard.
Many within the organization think that guards Elliot Williams or Armon Johnson could be that guard. But that is still up for debate.
The teams is also expecting forward Nic Batum to improve exponentially over the next two years, could he be this teams answer?
At this point, the Starting Lineup looks like this:
PG Andre Miller
SG Brandon Roy
SF Nic Batum
PF LaMarcus Aldridge
C Marcus Camby
but after next season, who's to say that Andre Miller will still be as good as he is right now?
So why not start Brandon Roy at point guard?
next seasons starting lineup?
PG Brandon Roy
SG Wesley Matthews
SF Nic Batum
PF LaMarcus Aldridge
C Greg Oden
Who knows? I mean really, at the pace Andre Miller is playing, he will continue to play until he's 50.
and it's not like he's a scrub anyways.
and neither are the Blazers.
Currently their Championship window is at around 6 years, but could be longer.
Sacramento Kings
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The Sacramento Kings have put together a fantastic roster through the draft and trades.
and the future superstar Tyreke Evans is the face of this franchise.
The biggest question surrounding the Kings, has got to be about DeMarcus Cousins.
Is he going to become mature enough to play in the NBA and become a force in the paint? Complex question to ask about a player that hasn't even played in an NBA uniform yet.
But that is how important Cousins is to this teams championship aspirations.
I mean, if he can average 15 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks with just 23.5 minutes in the NBA, just like he did in college, I would push this teams Championship window up a few years.
At this point, the Kings Championship window has been nudged open. It has been opened a crack, but It wont budge until the Kings can bring in a few more players to make that realistic.
Right now they have the young pieces with Tyreke Evans, DeMarcus Cousins, Hassan Whiteside, Jason Thompson, and Omri Caspi. But they just aren't there yet.
The Kings best bet at winning a championship might be just simply outlasting the Miami Heat.
Because even if they do add a big piece to this team, I don't think they would have enough to make it interesting.
The Verdict? The Kings can see their championship hopes like a house on the side of a mountain, but to get there they are going to need to find a big name player to ride the rest of the way.
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