The Whole 9… week of Nov. 30, 2009….

1. A.I.’s coming back to Philly
This story headlines this super-long T-Day weekend. Iverson retired, was led to believe the Knicks would sign him, and is now seeming to be ready to return to the Sixers, where he should’ve started the season. I’ve told everyone who’d listen to me since he was still a Nugget that there were only two places A.I. could go that made sense: Charlotte (with Larry Brown, which by the way is not applicable anymore since the team traded for Stephen Jackson), and Philly (which will always love Iverson more than any athlete in the city’s history, except…maybe…Jimmy Rollins). Both those teams also needed a SG who can score. And oh yeah, A.I. certainly can still do that. After the Jack trade last week, the Sixers were the only team that made sense. I almost was able to talk myself into the Knicks, but luckily that came and went before I could fully embrace that idea. But let’s face some facts; the Sixers are 5-11. They suck. AI2 is a second or third banana at best. Elton Brand is probably a second banana in his prime, which we suspect may be over. Lou Williams is hurt, but even before he got hurt this team couldn’t score.  A.I. just might be that spark to take them back into the playoffs.  It certainly would be a wonderful scene if that happened.

We all know Iverson as a Sixer, that’s how it should have always stayed.  Some guys just belong to a city. Bird belonged to Boston. Jeter belongs to N.Y. Probably a better comparison is Ricky Henderson, my favorite baseball player of all-time. Ricky started his career with the A’s, and had his most memorable seasons after returning. He played for many other organizations, but he belonged to Oakland, always. That’s how Iverson belongs to Philly. It always bugged me that he left.

2. Steelers lose to Ravens in OT, Hines calls out Ben, blah blah blah
Under the subject of “nothing to see here,” Hines called out Ben on TV supposedly. Only he really didn’t. He didn’t actually say anything to call out Ben. He did say that he’s played with concussions before and that he wished Ben was playing. Both of those are facts. Neither directly emplies him calling out Ben. On the other hand, the Steelers’ debut of Dennis Dixon was a mixed bag. He was great in the first half, but the Ravens adjusted well to him in the fourth quarter, and were able to shut him down. Well, on we go to next week hoping to cling to a playoff spot. Coach Tomlin says that the Steelers are going to “Unleash hell here in December,” so at least we got that goin for us.

2. Melo drops 50 on the Knicks
And we come to our second 50 point game of the year, this one a little less surprising. It was by the league’s leading scorer, Mr. Melo. However it wasn’t quite as impressive being that the Nuggets almost tripped over a terrible Knicks team, and did lose to an even worse T-Wolves team a couple nights later. They get Golden State tomorrow night which should be a great scorer’s duel because…

3. Monta Ellis scores 42 on Wed, 45 on Mon
Monta had to go and drop 45 tonight on the Pacers, and then fouls out with six minutes to go. The rate he was goin, he definitely would’ve topped 50 had he stayed in, and it was a pretty crappy call that he fouled out on. Actually Monta picked up a couple of terrible foul calls. But nothing could stop him. The best part of Monta’s development is that he’s starting everything on the defensive end. He guarded Danny Granger for most of the night and held him to 7-17 on the night. I think we are seeing the rise of another young superstar out west.

4. The Kings sweep all 3 Games, finally get some attention
While it’s true that the Kings beat the Knicks, Nets, and CP3-less Hornets, it’s also true that everyone else plays those 3 teams as well (at least until Chris Paul comes back). It’s also true that the Kings now sit at 8-8, and currently stand as the biggest surprise of the young season. J.T. and Tyreke are really the consistents, everyone else has sort of pitched in when needed. Donte Greene had a monster game against the Knicks, Beno Udrih was the MAN against the Nets, and Sergio Rodriguez destroyed the hot Darren Collinson and the Hornets.

5. Saints destroy Pats, ’74 Dolphins’ champagne ice begins to melt
The Saints and the Colts are both undefeated in one of the strangest football seasons I can remember. In other football news, Alex Smith looks to finally be on the right track, both Vince Young’s Titans and T.O.’s Bills are suddenly in the playoff races, and Desean Jackson and Matt Ryan both got hurt.

6. Brandon Jennings and Derrick Rose square off
In what was billed as this year’s eventual Rookie of the Year vs. Last year’s rookie of the year, Young Money and the Bucks beat Rose’s Bulls. Let me explain this a little more. The Bucks are fairly consistent, but not quite as good on their best nights as the Bulls. The Bulls are the opposite. They can play with anyone, and lose to anyone. Very strange team. And while Young Money has been very good, Andrew Bogut and Ersan Ilyasova deserver a lot of the credit for the Bucks’ turnaround as well. Still, this is definitely Young Money’s ship.

7. Rihanna Flops…sorta
In what seemed like the perfect set-up, Rihanna is not living up to expectations and looks to move slightly less than 200K in her first week. Oh well. None of her singles really took off before the release date, so it didn’t end up mattering that she released her album on the biggest retail weekend of the year. And that thing I wrote about her having the biggest album of the year? Let’s just forget I ever said that. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if Chris Breeze sells better when his album drops a week from today.

8. Clipse, Kellz, Timbo all spring a leak
As we get into the holiday rush, all of the albums that are actually going to be released should be leaking soon. Clipse I’m excited about, Kellz….ehhhh, Timbo….ehhhh. But all the leaked Clipse songs are dope, especially “Popular Demand,” and the “I’m Good” Remix with Rawwwsssee.

9. North Carolina’s Big Week
Having already lost to Syracuse, NC gets both Michigan State and Kentucky this week. We’ll see what the defending champs are made of, as we rarely see so many tough games scheduled so close to each other, so early in the season. Deon Thompson and Ed Davis are both studs, but what else do they have in the cabinet?

 

“In the night I hear them talk/

The coldest story ever told/
Somewhere far along this road he lost his soul….”

Why are there so many “Heartless” NBA teams?

So last night’s games affirmed a couple of things to me:

1.) The Celtics are still hungry

2.) The Lakers are really loaded

3.) The Blazers may be a tad overrated

and….

4.) The Bucks really suck.

On with the NBA preview….

19. Atlanta Hawks

Tell me, NBA experts, why you expect these Hawks to make the playoffs.  It contradicts many of the common “NBA expert” predictions.  First, they say the East is better.  Well, how are Hawks making the playoffs in the better east without their sixth man, and without gaining any rotation players?  Is a whole year of Mike Bibby going to make that big of an impact?  The Hawks are fun, until you realize that the frontcourt is confusing.  Marvin Williams is your starting 4?  And Al Horford is your starting 5?  Or is Josh Smith your 4?  Basically you have two SF’s with one of them playing the PF.  Then you start a PF at C.  This is confusing.  Luckily, the one person Bibby helps out is Joe Johnson.  I fully expect a big year from him.  But with this bench?  Or lackthereof…..this team should slide a bit this season.  Mike Woodson may get fired.

18. Dallas Mavericks

Common NBA wisdom has these guys in the playoffs.  I don’t think so.  It’s going to take a major injury to a

Ason apparently left his J at home for the playoffs again

competitor for the other D to make the playoffs.  Conventional thinking has the Nuggets as the West team on the outside looking in.  I think it’s Dallas.  This is why: The Nuggets can score (as we’ll get to later).  Who scores for Dallas? Dirk may get you 25/game, but what after that?  Are you really going to rely on Jason Terry and Josh Howard to give you 15-20 every night?  Who else? Jason Kidd? Even in his prime he wasn’t much of a scorer.  Jerry Stackhouse?  He’s done.  Erick Dampier?  You must be kidding.  Secondly, how’s this for depth?  Starting Terry on the bench gives you two reliable subs (Terry & Brandan Bass) and four reliable starters (we’ll say Antoine Wright starts for defensive purposes, but really he starts because Terry’s too small to start at the 2).  Sad thing is, they’re probably going to waste another great season for Dirk, and he’s going to complain to Mark Cuban.  They’re going to need a big trade to get into the playoffs.  Otherwise they’re also-rans in the West this season.

17. Indiana Pacers

I wanted to put these guys in the playoffs, really did.  But I juuust don’t see it happening.  One thing’s for sure: This will be a fun team to watch.  TJ Ford can certainly run, and Mike Dunleavy (*gulp*) had a career year for them.  Danny Granger is one of the most under-the-radar stars in the NBA.  And they have Jarrett Jack, one of the offseason’s most underrated acquisitions, to step in if Ford gets hurt.  Really, 1-4 they’re loaded two-deep with offensive players, and both Nesterovic and Foster can play D, hustle, and grab boards.  This is going to be an interesting team, I just don’t think the quite get into the playoffs.  I actually think that, top 8 vs. top 8, the East is better than the West this year.  But the Pacers will be the last team out.  That’s a credit to Jim O’Brien, because Obie has one of the teams with the least talent in the league on it.

16. Denver Nuggets

So this is where I have Denver.  They are, to me, the wild card of the west.  They could race out to the best record in the league, grab home court advantage, and no one would really be surprised.  “Well, they do have Carmelo and Iverson,” people would say.  “Plus that bench, with Kleiza and JR Smith!  They sure can score the basketball!  And they have a glutton of bigs!” Or they could sink quickly to the bottom, Iverson could demand a trade, Carmelo would probably be traded too, and they could end up with the worst record in the leage.  Again, no one would be surprised.  “That team was built for self destruction,” they’d say.  “George Karl can’t control them.  Carmelo’s one of the worst defenders in the league.  And Iverson’s done.”  I think they’ll end up pretty much where they have in recent years – in the middle of the pack.  But I do think Iverson gets traded.  Two places really make sense for him: Cleveland and Philly.  He would purrrrrfect in either place.  As the finisher to LeBron’s fast breaks, or as the go-to scorer that Philly needs to ascend to championship contender status.  And by the way, I do not consider Carmelo a bad defender.  I think he would be fine defending the 4.  It’s the athleticism and speed at the 3 that he does not really have.

(Tangent Alert)

That said, these are the 10 Worst Defenders in the League:

10. Monta Ellis, Warriors: He’s obviously hurt right now, but he’s just too small to guard most players, and he can’t guard the pick-and-roll so he can’t guard points.  He is just possibly the worst pick-and-roll defender in the league.  He never knows what to do.  And that’s the most elementary play in basketball!

9. Eddie Curry, Knicks: He’s big, chubby, and slow.  Doesn’t really make for a guy who can guard the athletic centers of the world.  That said, he does allright in staying in front of people.  But shouldn’t a guy that’s seven-foot block more shots and get more rebounds?

8. Brad Miller, Kings: The Kings have a couple of other players who you could argue onto this list (Kevin Martin and Beno Udrih, I’m looking at you), but Brad is the biggest culprit.  He wasn’t always a horrible defender, but since he got to the Kings he’s gotten progressively worse each season.  I’m sure it doesn’t help that he’s possibly the slowest, least athletic player in the league.  But he does so much for you on offense, that you have to play him.

7. Andrew Bogut, MIL: I think this guy is kind of the second coming of Brad Miller.  Not exactly what you expect from a first overall draft pick, but a solid player – especially offensively.  He keeps the ball moving and can hit jump shots.  That said, he has even worse footwork than Miller on defense.  And he isn’t quite as good as him on offense.  Bogut has some time to learn, but not on this Bucks team that has 3 of the 10 worst defenders in the league!

6. Steve Nash, PHO: A couple of years ago, I would’ve said that Nash isn’t as bad a defender as teammate Amare Stoudemire.  But while Stoudemire is no ace on that end, he’s learned how to use his athleticism and size to stay in front of people.  Meanwhile, Nash has gotten a little slower  – thus regressing defensively.  He may hit the tail end of his career as the worst defender in the league.  But again, he’s a two-time MVP, so I’d think he makes up for it on the other end.

5. Troy Murphy, IND: That he’s sunk to fifth in the league is a tribute to how bad of defenders the top 4 is.  Murphy is pretty horrible on the defensive end of the floor, that’s no secret.  I had season tickets his last season in Golden State.  He gets lost in the pick & roll, he gets lost on the break.  He really just has no defensive awareness.  In fact he doesn’t really have much offensive awareness, but you play him because he’s a big who can shoot.  And somehow seems to be in the right position at the right time to grab rebounds.  But they’re the type of rebounds that you look up and he as 8, and you have no idea how he got them.

4. Luke Ridnour, MIL: Ok, so Luke was always a pretty bad defender.  Even in Seattle with Nate McMillan, he managed to be pretty bad on defense, even losing his starting job to Earl Watson (who is something like 5’8!) because of defense.  When a midget is replacing you for defensive purposes, you got problems.  Now he’s looking like the starting point guard for Scott Skiles’ Bucks.  I find it hilarious that a defensive/tough-minded coach like Skiles decided to take over the Bucks, who may be the worst defensive team in history.  Should be great for shits and giggles.

3. Wally Szerbiak, CLE: Both NBA players and fans had Wally as the worst defender in the league.  I say he’s third.  Not by a wide margin, but he’s pretty bad.  He really does nothing properly on defense.  He’s really just on your team to shoot.  That’s all he does.  Plus he has an expiring contract.  That’s always nice.

2. Zach Randolph, NYK: This is where Z-Bo comes in.  I talked a bit about him yesterday and I’m sure I will talk more about him this season.  He’s one of my favorite subjects.

Yeah, that's what you get for telling Charlie to play D!

1. Charlie Villanueva, MIL: This is the battle, in particular, that looks fun.  Villanueva vs. Skiles.  The showdown in Milwaukee.  They should get a pay-per-view set up!  Villanueva’s actually so proficient on the offensive end, that it makes you scared that he still can’t get on the floor for his lack of defense.  He’s actually a possible 50 points every night.  But yes, he’s really that bad on defense.

(And Now Back To Your Regularly Scheduled Preview)

15. Portland Trail Blazers

Yes I just said that they’re overrated, and I think everyone has them here too.  But screw it.  With Oden, they end up here.  If he’s hurt for any significant time, they (and my Fantasy team) sink.  Bottom line.  This team has everything but a dominant big man.  They have the athletic big man, but not the brute strength big man.  By now I’m sure you’ve read all about the rest of the team: Roy, Aldridge, Outlaw, Fernandez, Rodriguez, Webster, Blake.  Loaded.  I don’t need to go into too much other detail.

14. Phoenix Suns

When you trade for Shaq for defensive purposes, you realize that your team doesn’t really do much on that end.  Nevertheless, this Suns team is still loaded with talent.  Steve Nash, Shaq, Amare, and Grant Hill are all still there.  But Shawn Marion and Mike D’Antoni are gone.  And with the additions of Matt Barnes and Robin Lopez, they now have a pretty good bench.  Nash may have slipped, but he’s still among the elite PG’s in the league.  The Raja Bell/Leandro Barbosa combination at the 2 is still as good as any in the league.  Barnes should take some heat off Grant Hill from wearing down at the end of the year, remember, Hill played at almost an all-star level for the first half of last year.  Boris Diaw and Lopez will come off the bench for Amare and Shaq to give them a pretty solid big man rotation.  This team is still quite loaded, and could definitely make a run for it.  But it’s hard to put them higher than here, since we don’t know what the drop off from D’Antoni to Terry Porter is.

13. Washington Wizards

Everyone seems to be counting these guys out.  I’m not.  This is a very good team.  They still have Butler and Jamison, and if he ever gets healthy, Gilbert.  They still have the role players DeShawn “I Can’t Feel My Face” Stevenson, Antonio Daniels, and now Juan Dixon.  And they have the kids in Nick Young and Andray Blatche.  This is a very good team without Gilbert.  They are a Championship contender with him.  Last year they showed that they can win with defense.  With Gil they obviously can score with anyone.  Caron Butler has developed into one of the best 3’s in the league.  That leads me to my second tangent of the day:

The Top 10 SF’s in the NBA:

This is a situation where the top 4 are pretty much set in stone, then you work your way down.

10. Kevin Durant, OKC: Obviously this guy is the future of the position (I also think that, when all is said & done, Beasley will be a SF too), but he’s got a lot of ways to go.  He sure can score though.

9. Josh Howard, DAL: While I’m not sure where else to put him, Black Gumby goes here.  Unfortunately, this summe rhe let his mouth overshadow his game.  And that’s sayin somethin cuz his game is crazy hype.

8. Tayshaun Prince, DET: A difference-maker on both sides of the court.  He is among the best defenders in the game and can shoot it out from behind the stripe.

7. Shawn Marion, MIA: This may be a surprise to a lot of people, but I think he’s started his descention this past season.  This year we’ll see how he does in Miami playing next to a superstar and with a talented rook tryin to take his spot.

Danny would like you to know he's underrated

6. Danny Granger, IND: Yes, he’s really this good.  Granger has been under-the-radar since he came into the league backing up Ron Artest.  But this might be the year he really breaks out, as the Pacers will make a playoff run.

5. Ron Artest, HOU: This seems like the best spot for him at the moment.  No one’s sure what he’s going to do in Houston, but if he plays up to this ranking, they are going to be making a deep trek into the playoffs this season.

4. Caron Butler, WAS: A very solid #4 on this list, Butler has developed into the positions top two-way player.  An all-defense team-level defender and an all-star scorer, Butler can beat you in the post or the around the arc.

3. Carmelo Anthony, DEN: I like to say that he’s a more advanced offensive version of our #2 guy, but he’s not anywhere near him on D.  And that’s really the difference between the two teams as well.

2. Paul Pierce, BOS: Again, the 2/3 matchup here is pretty even.  But something tells me Pierce has a huge season, now that he’s clearly the #1 weapon out of the big 3.

1. Lebron James, CLE: You expected something else?

(And now back to the Preview)

12. Philadelphia 76ers

I know, I know.  This is where they were last year.  And I know, they added Elton Brand.  But you know, they still have the same hole they did last year.  They merely improved a part of the team that was already pretty good, and made it championship caliber – post play.  But they still need a go-to scorer, preferrably on the wing that can drop 20-25 a night and score in the clutch when needed (see: Iverson, Allen).  Just as the Nuggets never quite replaced Andre Miller, the Sixers never replaced Iverson either.  And while they have a ton of nice pieces, they still lack a number one option.  But they do have Miller at the point with Louis Williams draining it off the bench.  Iguodala is a 2/3 swingman, but he’s more of a third scorer.  Thaddyeus Young should ideally be a bench guy at this point of his career.  Elton Brand and Sam Dalembert will play really well together, though they do a lot of the same things with weakside defense.  Again, I think it’s going to come down to the trade deadline.  If they go after a number one guy, they could be right there with the Celts and Cavs.  The downside of going after Iverson: they probably have to give up Dalembert to do it.  We’ll see what happens here, things could get very interesting in Philly.  Even if they wait until the offseason, i think the chance of them landing Iverson might actually improve.  But without him, I think they’re still the seventh best team in the East.

11. San Antonio Spurs

This is another team that’s difficult to project.  It’d be easy to say “oh yea, they can get it together again once Ginobili gets healthy.”  But that’s overlooking a couple of things.  First, Duncan and Parker are going to have to shoulder this offense by themselves.  All of the role players either can’t score (Bowen, Oberto), or got old really quick (Finley, Thomas).  The result of this is Duncan and Parker are likely to be carrying assortments of injuries into the playoffs.  Secondly, this team no longer has any depth.  RC Buford has been as good of a GM as there’s been in the league.  But this team desperately needed a reloading this offseason.  And they simply didn’t get it.  They look like they could be in serious trouble going into this season.  They may fall even further than I have them right now.  Especially realizing that Duncan and Ginobili are also getting up there in age themselves.

10. Miami Heat

This is really high for them by most people’s standards.  I’m not most people.  I’m the same guy that was saying that the 2005-2007 Dwayne Wade until his injury in 07, was the best player in the league.  Offensively, this guy was Jordan reincarnated.  Now obviously Wade is a mildly average defender, and Jordan was all-world, but offensively, Wade is the closest thing to Jordan we’ve ever seen.  Beasley and Marion fill out the forward spots, but they play, essentially, the same position.  Though I do think we will mainly see them playing together, they’ll start the season with Beasley coming off the bench for Udonis Haslem.  Haslem will probably move up to Center for the majority of the time.  They do have holes at center and at the point, but Mario Chalmers and Haslem will eat most of those minutes.  This team is really the wild card of the conference.  Everyone seems to say that they’ve all gotten behind new head coach Erik Spoelstra.  And they do have plenty of talent.

9. Orlando Magic

I think they come back to the pack a bit.  It won’t really show up in the standings, as they’ll still win the Atlantic and end up with the 4-seed, but I think there are 4 teams in the East better this year.  Of course, Dwight Howard would need to dversify his offensive game in order for them to improve.  And over the Olympics, he routinely looked worse than Chris Bosh.  I know that they don’t actually play the same position, but they tend to guard each other.  Bosh also has a better supporting cast.  Though I do think Hedo has developed into a stud, the rest of the team leaves a lot to be desired.  Rashard Lewis is a mediocre player with a superstar’s salary.  Jameer Nelson and Keith Bogans form the least potent backcourt in the league.  And bench?  What bench?

8. Toronto Raptors

Thus I put Bosh’s Raptors right ahead of Howard’s Magic.  Bosh is another of those silent superstars.  This kid is really good.  And he has a very good team around him.  Jose Calderon is a budding star, Anthony Parker is very solid, and Jamario moon can jump over anyone.  Then there’s the team’s x-factor in Jermaine O’Neal.  He can give them a defensive boost and complement Bosh in the post.  If he works out for them, they should challenge for the title.  If he doesn’t, they still probably end up here.  Jason Kapono can shoot the lights out and Andrea Bargnani does a little bit of everything off the bench.  So this team’s biggest weakness is depth.  But Bosh has gotten really good and caused me to make another tangent.

The 10 Best PF’s in the NBA:

10. Carlos Boozer, UTA: Slightly overrated, but he’s very good.  Might be in Miami next year playing with Wade and Beasley.  Now wouldn’t that be a team?

9. Pau Gasol, MEM: Somwhat weak-minded.  I could see him disappearing into a secondary role with the Lakers as the season progresses.

Antawn's been pumped since he left the Warriors

8. Antawn Jamison, WAS: Slightly under-rated.  Jamison creates matchup problems with his shooting, and goes to the boards and plays D better than he ever has before.

7. David West, NOH: Very good player, but I’m not ready to put him ahead of Brand.  He doesn’t play D quite as well.  He does score better than him, but doesn’t play D or rebound as well.

6. Elton Brand, PHI: He has to show me he’s fully healthy before he can even sniff the top 5.  But with West on his heels, he might not even be 6 for long.

5. Amare Stoudemire, PHO: He’s actually #1 if we’re talking stats, but with his defensive weaknesses and injuries I’m keeping him lower.

4. Chris Bosh, TOR: Bosh has grown into himself finally.  And this kid is a freakin monster.  Bosh will give you scoring, rebounding, energy, physicallity, and he can run or post.

3. Dirk Nowitzki, DAL: At one point, I considered him the second best player in the league.  He’s not quite there anymore, but being third at the most top-loaded position in the league is not bad either.

2. Tim Duncan, SAS: The Duncan/KG argument can continue in terms of legacies, but it’s pretty clear that TD is slipping at this point.  He’s not quite as good of a defender, and can’t score or pass as well.

1. Kevin Garnett, BOS: KG is still the best defending big man in the league (though a healthy Jermaine O’Neal would challenge him), and he still drops 18 and 12 every night.  Oh and he finally won a ring.

(Now back to the preview)

7. New Orleans Hornets

David West is very good.  Chris Paul is very good.  Tyson Chandler and Peja Stoyakovic are pretty good as well.  But what about the rest of the roster?  Ehhh….James Posey fills out the starting lineup, but an injury to West, Paul, or Chandler would be devistating.  And even with them, I don’t know how they beat Utah or L.A.  And who knows about Houston.  I think they over-achieved a bit last season, but they should make it up this year.  I see them as another second round playoff team (they are the new Suns).  Paul in particular should take a step backwards this year.  But he’ll still have a very good season.  I actually wouldn’t be surprised if the other three had better years this season.  Actually I think they will.  Very good team.  Not quite championship caliber.

6. Utah Jazz

Deron's so much better than Parker, he shoves it in his face!

Like his buddy CP3, I see D-Will going out in the second round.  The Jazz, as a team, play over their heads.  Only D-Will is really that good.  And he really doesn’t get the credit he deserves.  He makes Boozer, Okur, and Brewer look better than they really are.  Well, he and Jerry Sloan.  I see Boozer playing the second half with a foot out the door.  Ak-47 should really start at the 4 for this team.  Or Paul Millsap.  Bozer can leave, they have 2 PF’s here that might actually play better without him.  The swingman spots are a bit of a hole, with Brewer being the best of the bunch.  Matt Harpring’s age is finally catching up with him, and Kyle Korver is almost exclusively a three-point specialist.  But Sloan is good at getting the most out of his players, and with a pass-first PG in D-Will, these guys should all be kept happy with plenty of shots.  If you continue to wait for the Jazz to go away, they won’t.  This is a very good team, and they still will be very good for the seasons to come.

5. Detroit Pistons

The Pistons are as deep as they’ve ever been.  But you wonder if all those deep playoff runs are wearing down the starters.  Amir Johnson looks to get more looks this year, and with Stuckey and Maxiell, this young bench is only getting better.  But despite the offseason promises, Joe Dumars made no real move of interest.  The same Billups/Hamilton/Prince/Wallace/McDyess starting 5 still remains.  Dice might be out of the starting lineup this year, and wither Johnson or Maxiell are likely to replace him.  Dice just isn’t enough of an option on offense anymore to keep him in there.  Maxiell (offense) and Johnson (defense) are each more of specialty players at this stage of their careers, but either would fit the starting 5 fine as Rasheed Wallace, the other starting big, is a threat at both ends of the floor.  As are the rest of the starting 5.  Each seems to be slipping a bit (with the exception of Prince), but they are all still right around all-star-caliber players.  Look for the Pistons to make another deep run, but ultimately fall short of yet another Conference Finals appearance.

4. Cleveland Cavaliers

Here’s what I don’t like about putting these guys here: I think last year’s squad was better than this year’s.  But I think the Pistons have slipped enough to put the Cavs into the #2 spot.  To me, Mo Williams has nice numbers, but is not an upgrade over Boobie Gibson and Delonte West in terms of wins for the team.  Of course if they make the Iverson trade, all bets are off.  But even if they got him, I still don’t think they’re beating Boston.  I could sit here and talk about how great LeBron is, but he still needs more help.  The Cavs don’t have nearly the talent around him that their rivals in Detroit and Boston do.  This seems like beating a dead horse, but lets look at the three major players they got in last year’s trade deadline deal; Ben Wallace, West, and Wally Szerbiak.  Szerbiak is a taller version of Damon Jones.  He can shoot, but can’t do anything else.  And he probably doesn’t shoot the 3 as well as Jones.  Wallace was an entirely defensive player in his prime, and at this point is slipping every year.  And West is a very strong defender, but doesn’t really have an offensive position.  This is a team of a bunch of loose parts and role players, but none of which really fit together around the superstar.  But even with that, LeBron is so good that chemistry has gone out of the window and the team competese for a title every year anyway.

3. L.A. Lakers

This might be a huge suprise to some, but I have them going down in the Conference Finals.  I just think something’s got to give with these guys.  Lamar’s unhappy coming off the bench (he’s in a contract year).  I see Pau being resigned to being an understudy.  Bynum still has little offensive game.  And sans Kobe, the second team might be better than the first team.  But with all that said, they’re just too talented not to get far in the playoffs.  I think they need more of a systematic approach, and don’t doubt that Phil Jackson will eventually give it to them, but not this year.  The Lakers will look like the best team in the NBA for stretches, even dominating at times.  But they eventually go down in the Conference Championship to….

2. Houston Rockets

Any excuse to throw up this classic

Yes, Ron Artest is a headache.  But every team he’s been on has been significantly better immediately.  That’s great news for Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady, as the new big 3 will be taking over the Western Conference.  Much has been made about Tracy’s Paul Pierce-like transition into a team player from an individual superstar.  Yao is the best center in the league (Dwight Howard, get back to me when you learn some offensive moves), and Ron provides a star third scorer.  Shane Battier is the best defensive player in the game.  Rafer Alston is the heart and soul of the team, a gunner with a never-say-die attitude.  Luis Scola and Carl Landry were so great at combining at Power Forward, that they decided to re-unite and do it again.  But this time they have reinforcements in Joey Dorsey and Chuck Hayes.  The wing spots are deep too with Luther Head, Brent Barry, and Aaron Brooks coming off the pine.  This team is so loaded, they couldn’t find room for Dikembe Mutombo to come back.  T-Mac has the team he’s always wanted.  Actually, he has a team that just about everyone has always wanted.  Now it’s time to prove your worth.  You too Yao.  Ron’s been to the Conference Finals before.  He’s seen what it took.  Now you guys have to go take him to the promise-land.  But in the end I have them coming up juuuuust short.

1. Boston Celtics

The Lakers and Cavs are the trendy picks because of Kobe and LeBron.  The Hornets and Rockets are the fun picks because they resemble the Suns and Heat of the past.  The Jazz and Spurs are the boring picks that are there every year, but no one wants to make them.  But the Celtics are still the best team.  And that’s really all there is to say.  Kevin Garnett?  Still in his prime.  Still a super-duper-star.  Still the best PF in the game (see above).  Paul Pierce?  Also still in his prime.  Now a super-duper-star.  The second best SF in the game (see above).  Ray Allen?  Past his prime a bit.  But still has a ton left in the tank.  Still one of the best pure shooters in the game.  Rajon Rondo?  Very good point guard.  Already among the upper tier of PGs.  Plus they have the Bynum/Howard-type center in Kendrick Perkins, who I might mention, is a freakin monster.  And Perkins and Rondo are just getting better.  Plus they got Bill Walker, a personal favorite, who can jump over skyscrapers.  Plus that bench, Big Baby, Leon Powe, Eddie House, Gabe Pruit should make a splace.  This is a championship caliber team.  No, this is a multiple championship-caliber team.  And I like them to win #18.