Los Angeles Lakers Still on Top: Ranking the Nine NBA Championship Contenders
There are nine championship contenders left in the NBA.
Teams like the Portland Trailblazers, Atlanta Hawks and Memphis Grizzlies might be able to put together a first round upset, but there are only nine teams that can legitimately make a deep run through the post-season bracket.
With certain trades taking place at the deadline along with the recent signings of Mike Bibby and Troy Murphy, the gaps between these nine teams is closer than ever.
9. New York Knicks
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No one in the Eastern Conference wants to play the New York Knicks in a first round series.
Look at it this way, to knock the Knicks out of the playoffs you have to be able to shutdown two superstars, one veteran point guard and win all four games at home or try to sneak one away in a playoff atmosphere at Madison Square Garden. All four of those tasks are incredibly difficult and they have teams like the Boston Celtics, Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls trying as hard as they can to grab a No. 1 or No. 2 seed to avoid playing the Knicks.
The new look Knicks are showing somewhat of a desire to play defense and with the exception of Ronnie Turiaf at center, the rest of the starting five can guard any opponent in the league.
Opposing teams have to worry about proven finishers Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire and Mr. Big Shot Billups all on the floor at once closing out a tight fourth quarter game. This makes the Knicks competitive in any seven game series.
8. Oklahoma City Thunder
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Bringing in Kendrick Perkins put the Oklahoma City Thunder in the conversation for an NBA title.
However, Perkins has yet to prove he's healthy enough for a deep post-season run and even with a healthy Perkins, the Thunder are the fourth best team in the West.
Last year, the Boston Celtics came as close to winning their seven game series with the Lakers as a team possibly could. Many believe a healthy Perkins in game seven would have given the Celtics the victory. Let's say that was true.
Perkins may have been enough for the Celtics, but he will not be for the Thunder.
The Celtics differ from Oklahoma City because of Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. Russell Westbrook and Rajon Rondo are about even at point guard, Kevin Durant is better than Paul Pierce, but Oklahoma City lacks a Ray Allen presence at shooting guard and has no one that can give both the offensive and defensive output like Kevin Garnett.
Kendrick Perkins as the Thunder's center may push a seventh game with the Lakers but it does not mean they will be victorious.
7. Orlando Magic
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The Orlando Magic can still be the best team in the Eastern Conference. If they want to be.
With Perkins shipped out west, there is no one left who can guard Dwight Howard one on one. If Jameer Nelson plays the way he did in the fourth quarter against the New York Knicks on a more consistent basis, the Magic will have as good a point guard as any.
What will make or break this team is whether or not Stan Van Gundy can come up with an effective eight or nine man rotation. We know that he can rely on Howard, Nelson, Jason Richardson and for the most part Ryan Anderson. Throw in J.J. Redick, Brandon Bass and Hedo Turkoglu and that puts his rotation up to seven. The next two spots are crucial.
I think the Magic will find the most success with incorporating Chris Duhon and Quentin Richardson as their eighth and ninth guys. Duhon is a more reliable point guard than Gilbert Arenas and Richardson allows them to shift Turkoglu over to power forward and use a small line-up around Howard.
The Magic have the pieces in place, Stan Van Gundy's coaching will determine how far they can go.
6. Chicago Bulls
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The Bulls answer to Rajon Rondo, Chauncey Billups and Jameer Nelson: Derrick Rose.
The Bulls answer to LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony: Luol Deng
The Bulls answer to Kevin Garnett, Chris Bosh and Josh Smith: Carlos Boozer
The Bulls answer to Dwight Howard and Al Horford: Joakim Noah
The Bulls answer to Dwyane Wade and Ray Allen...
With the exception of the shooting guard position, Chicago has all the pieces in place for a deep playoff run. The Bulls match up well against Orlando, Atlanta and New York but could be eliminated by Boston and Miami if Ray Allen and Dwyane Wade go off.
Ronnie Brewer, Keith Bogans and Kyle Korver are trying to combine together to fill one shooting guard gap, but come second or third round of the playoffs and this may not be enough.
5. Miami Heat
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This team has a few glaring weaknesses.
First of all, down the stretch of the fourth quarter, this year's Miami Heat team becomes equivalent to last year's Cleveland Cavaliers. LeBron takes over the game and defenses adjust to protect the rim. Perfect example of this was Carmelo Anthony trying to keep James in front of him then Amare Stoudemire running over and swatting away the lay-up.
What makes the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers so effective is multiple, different types of options. Rajon Rondo can pass to a driving Paul Pierce, a spot up shooting Ray Allen, a mid-range Kevin Garnett or a crafty Glen Davis who always seems to land big time and-ones at the end of games. With the Heat, LeBron has the ball at the top of the key, Wade stands around and Chris Bosh is the only other reliable offensive option on the floor.
The addition of Mike Bibby may help them at the point guard position, but they still are exposed to Derrick Rose, Rajon Rondo and Chauncey Billups. Down low they have no answer for Dwight Howard.
However, LeBron James's Cavaliers were always able to get out of the first round and even made it to the NBA Finals. Adding Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to the mix and the Heat should be able to make the Eastern Conference Finals.
4. Boston Celtics
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The Boston Celtics have a lot of "ifs" on their roster.
If Shaquille O'Neal can give them 20 minutes a night in the playoffs. If Delonte West can play the way he did in Cleveland. If Jermaine O'Neal can be healthy in April. If Troy Murphy can give them quality minutes. If Jeff Green can guard LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony.
With the loss of Kendrick Perkins, the Celtics went from having one of the best front-courts in the league to becoming an enormous question mark. Think of it this way, if Shaquille and Jermaine O'Neal can not return to this line-up, the Celtics will throw Glen Davis, Troy Murphy and Nenad Krstic at Dwight Howard.
That will not equal success.
The Celtics are still capable of winning the NBA Title, but they will need nearly all of their "ifs" to come true to get there.
3. San Antonio Spurs
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Last night's beat-down to the Memphis Grizzlies showed just how important Tony Parker is to this team.
Without him, the Spurs might not even win a first round series against the No. 8 seed Grizzlies.
The Spurs have been the best team in the NBA this season, but they remain vulnerable if Parker goes down. They also have aging parts with Manu Ginobli, Tim Duncan and Antonio McDyess that have to begin to tire out at some point.
During the regular season, there are games against teams like Minnesota, New Jersey and Sacramento that allow older players to rest, but come playoff time the older Spurs will have to go through the Grizzlies/Trailblazers then Oklahoma City then Los Angeles/Dallas and then whoever makes it through the East.
Last year we saw the Celtics begin to wear out in the final few games of the NBA Finals. I would imagine the same would happen for the Spurs.
2. Dallas Mavericks
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The Dallas Mavericks are loaded at every single position.
This year's Mavericks go ten deep, they have actual size and they play defense. Unlike the Spurs, if Jason Kidd gets injured they insert Jose Barea and continue on without missing a beat. When Caron Butler went down to injury earlier this season, the Mavericks simply inserted Rodrigue Beaubois and continued on. Peja Stojakovic has proven to be a strong addition and Shawn Marion and Jason Terry are huge sparks off the bench.
With Tyson Chandler, Brendan Haywood and Ian Mahinmi as their big men, they can compete with any front line in the NBA.
Then there's Dirk Nowitzki. Nowitzki creates match-up nightmares for every team, because of his seven foot size and ability to play like he's 6'6. If the Mavericks play the Lakers, Ron Artest would most likely guard Nowitzki but then who guards Stojakovic? Pau Gasol?
If it weren't for the Mavericks shortcomings in recent playoff history, I would have them listed as the number one threat to win the NBA title this season. However, since they have a history of coming up short in the post-season, I leave them behind the proven champions.
1. Los Angeles Lakers
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Derek Fisher always rises to the challenge in the playoffs. This year he has Steve Blake to help share the load.
Ron Artest proved last week he can still frustrate Kevin Durant.
Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom is still the most dynamic front-court in the NBA.
Shannon Brown is becoming a more effective sixth man and Matt Barnes will help Artest guard Pierce/LeBron/Carmelo in the NBA Finals.
Finally, the Lakers have Kobe Bryant.
Kobe is still the best player in the NBA and has proven again and again why he is also the game's best finisher. If you look at other teams, they are structuring their rosters based on how they could beat the Lakers (there's a reason you hear "Beat L.A." chants all over the country). The Mavericks and the Thunder went out and found centers, the Spurs built some depth at shooting guard and the Miami Heat signed three stars to try and combat the Lakers' one mega-star.
The Lakers are still the team to beat and remain on top of the list of contenders.
