It's still summer, so things still can happen from now to October. But based on teams rosters right now, who are your top 10 NBA teams?

1. Los Angeles Lakers - To be the champs, you have to beat the champs

2. Boston Celtics - Thats right! Miami has 3 all-stars, but from top to bottom Boston has the better team.

3. Miami Heat - Enough Said

4. Orlando Magic - I have a feeling Dwight will have a breakout season.

5. Oklahoma City Thunder - My Sleeper team

6. Dallas Mavericks - Had a great second half of regular season this past year.

7. Portland Trailblazers - If their players can remain healthy, watch out!

8. Denver Nuggets - This team can go either way. Make the finals or exit the first round

9. Chicago Bulls - Boozer will certainly help

10. Atlanta Hawks. Has improved each of the last three seasons. Could be a sleeper.

Not sold on the Bulls or the Hawks.

I would put San Antonio and Utah ahead of those 2.

Skyhook79;442693 wrote:Not sold on the Bulls or the Hawks.

I would put San Antonio and Utah ahead of those 2.

They are good teams as well. What worries me about Utah is the loss of Boozer, which now may make them one dimensional. The Spurs seems to be getting worse the past few years. I'm starting to think their run as a elite team is over.

I think the Heat will really struggle with the Magic.

When I look at the Celtics & Heat rosters with the starters in the playoffs being:

Celtics:
C - Perkins PF - Garnett SF - Pierce SG - Allen PG - Rondo

Heat:
C - Ilgauskas PF - Bosh SF - James SG - Chalmers PG - Wade

Looks pretty even but with younger bodies a slight edge goes to Miami. But in the playoffs in long series you'll need bench and depth and that strongly goes to the Celtics....

Celtics Bench:
Nate Robinson
Shaq
Glen Davis
Marquis Daniels
Von Wafer
Jermaine O'Neal
Sheed
Avery Bradley
Harangody

Heat Bench:
Carlos Arroyo
Eddie House
Haslem
Magloire
Mike Miller
Juwan Howard
Joel Anthony
De'Sean Butler

The C's will/should dominate the paint in every series with Miami

After this year's Lakers series it'll be hard to convince anyone that the Thunder are a sleeper. They're the second best team in the West, hands down.

GOONx19;442751 wrote:After this year's Lakers series it'll be hard to convince anyone that the Thunder are a sleeper. They're the second best team in their division, hands down.

Fixed

Eh, I was definitely wrong to say hands down, but I do think they will win the Northwest this year.

1. Miami - Just too much talent. I really think if the big 3 stay healthy they make a run at 73 wins in a couple years
2. Lakers - I actually think they got better this offseason with Blake, but the Heat are just more talented
3. Oklahoma City - Had a good draft and are a year older. I really think they are a threat to the Lakers in the West
4. Chicago - Got dramatically better this offseason with Boozer and Rose/Noah are a year older


Big Drop Off
5. Orlando - Everyone seemed to get better other than Orlando with the loss of Barnes
6. Denver - Carmelo is ready to move on, but gives Denver one last run
7. Boston - Still competitive, but another year older and just added even more age. I think last year was their last real run at it.
8. Utah - Western Conference finals last year, but lost their 2nd best player. I don't know enough about Jefferson to know how e will fill that void
9. Houston - If Yao can play more than half the season, they are back in the middle of the playoff picture. They have a solid roster from top to bottom.
10. Dallas - Still in that 2nd tier and can't get over the hump, I think they take a step back with age this year

mallymal614;442713 wrote:They are good teams as well. What worries me about Utah is the loss of Boozer, which now may make them one dimensional. The Spurs seems to be getting worse the past few years. I'm starting to think their run as a elite team is over.

Utah picked up Al Jefferson,Raja Bell and drafted Gordon Hayward (who is going to be a good one imo) to replace Boozer and Korver. I think they got a little better actually.
SA didn't lose anyone and signed Splitter who could be a force.

Im not sold on the bulls in the least bit.


And the Northwest IMO is the best division in basketball, again this year

Lakers- best in the league
Celtics- miami will not beat them in a 7 game series, miami has no chance down low
Heat- great starting 5 bench is terrible
Bulls - got some pretty good pieces in the off season

Lakers
Celtics
Magic
Heat
Thunder

1: Miami
2: Lakers
3: Thunder
gap
4: Celtics
5: Magic
6: Mavs
7: Blazers
8: Jazz
gap
9: Bulls
10: Rockets

Ill put 100$ down that says the Nuggets dont finish behind the Rockets, smh

Hb31187;443261 wrote:Ill put 100$ down that says the Nuggets dont finish behind the Rockets, smh

V-Cash because I might take that bet and I like the Nugs.

gerb131;443267 wrote:V-Cash because I might take that bet and I like the Nugs.

The Rockets though? What are you puffin on haha?

1. Miami Heat- Some big time stars with some very good bench players. My opinion differs from many, I don't envision Miami having a hard time down low. I've watched a lot of Joel Anthony and the guy will gain respect throughout the year. He's an undersized C, but he's very active on defense and does his job. Getting a 7'3" guy also helps. I think the only team that can hurt them down low is LA. Anthony has done a very good job on Howard. I don't envision JO, Shaq, or Perk giving the Heat big problems down low. If Bynum can stay healthy, I think he causes some issues. I just think the Heat will eventually gel and I see enough talent on that team to win a championship.

2. LA Lakers- I think this team can be better than last year. A healthier Kobe and Bynum help. Not much to be said, they're the depending champs.

3. Orlando Magic- Still a pretty good team. Another year of experience being a top team helps them. They still don't make noise unless Howard gets an offensive game.

4. Boston Celtics- Still a very good team when they need to be. Perk not being there and Shaq being there aren't good things. Still, I like this team when it's go time. I'd probably take them over the Magic in a series.

5. Dallas Mavericks- Same team they usually are. Get 50 plus wins but don't make a lot of noise in the playoffs.

6. Portland Blazers- I like this team if they're healthy. They were hurtin' last year but still got the 7th seed. With people healthy, I think they can get top 3.

7. San Antonio Spurs- Still a team I wouldn't want to match up with when healthy.

8. Oklahoma City Thunder- A very up and coming team, but I don't see going from the 8th seed to a top 2-3 seed in the west. They still need more down low for me to think that.

9. Denver Nuggets- I don't know what to expect. Are they the top 2 team in the west they looked like last year or are they a team ready to crumble after this year?

10. Chicago Bulls- I give them the slight edge over the Hawks for the last spot. I like Rose makes bigger strides and they're a very nice team down the stretch. Lack of a good 2 guard hurts them tho.

Why do people think the Lakers would dominate down low against the Heat? Gasol and Bosh cancel each other out. Bynum is the most overrated player in the NBA and if he's on the bench it moves Odom into the lineup which plays into Miami's strengths.

If the Lakers have Gasol at C and Odom at PF, the Heat can match up with Haslem and Bosh or even Bosh at the 5 and Lebron at the 4 against Odom.

Bosh is SOFT!

I call Gasol soft but he would eat Bosh alive down low. Bosh doesn't even know what its like to play defense especially in tough playoff environments.

Any team with decent bigs who are somewhat tough are going to kill Miami down low. Z, although I love him, cannot defend any C in the NBA anymore and Bosh is a terrible defender who may be one of softest in the game.

devil1197;443694 wrote:I call Gasol soft but he would eat Bosh alive down low. Bosh doesn't even know what its like to play defense especially in tough playoff environments.

Any team with decent bigs who are somewhat tough are going to kill Miami down low. Z, although I love him, cannot defend any C in the NBA anymore and Bosh is a terrible defender who may be one of softest in the game.

Gasol and Bosh are almost identical players. Both would be considered soft by most. And I don't know what you mean by "would eat Bosh alive"? Bosh would get his as well, which is why I think they would basically cancel each other out.

1...Lakers(got deeper and until they lose, as much as I hate this team, they are the top team)
2...Celtics(the big four and then some. Can Wafer fill in for T.Allen since he left town? Should be fighting with Miami and Orlando for top spot).
3...Heat(not enough depth, especially down low.)
4...Magic(might be the best shooting team in the league)
5...Mavs(is Cuban ever going to get himself a championship w/Dirk?)
6...Spurs(might be a personal bias since I am a huge Duncan fan, but I think him and Tiago Splitter will do very well together)
7...Thunder(will build on the playoff experience from last year)
8...Rockets(a ton of depth on the team, hopefully Yao can bounce back).
9....Nuggets(wish Melo would re-sign already so it can keep the fans at ease. Would love this team to do well with Karl back on the sidelines)
10...Bulls(rookie coach on the sideline who is a D guru. Interesting to see what he can draw up against the big 3 of the conference).

wes_mantooth;443062 wrote:Lakers
Celtics
Magic
Heat
Thunder

Bucks and Nets are still 1-2 right?

I couldn't disagree more with people about Miami down low. I think they'll be perfectly fine with what they've got. Miami is a defensive team, and a damn good one at that. Not too shabby that they brought in a guy who many of you were raving about on defense this past year. They have Bosh and Haslem-- they won't be 'eatin alive', whatever the hell that means anyways. They've got Joel and Z, which obviously aren't sexy names. Joel will earn his respect this year. People will come away from games saying that dude is a real good shot blocker and is very active-- he's the perfect piece for a big ego team. They go 4 and possible 5 deep at center. They will use their fouls that's for sure. I just don't see it happening. They're a defensive minded team. They've got 2 of the better defenders in the league on the perimeter-- that alone will help the inside defense. Pau is a very good player, but what do people still say about him? He looks soft at times. Sometimes he is a beast, some games he looks quite soft. I just don't see a player or team that can eat Miami alive down low. LA is about the only team that can give them an issue. Sorry, but Miami isn't afraid of what Orlando offers down low. They deal with that guy quite well, they just havn't had the horses in other areas. Unfortunetly, we've got a long time to see how it turns out. Somebody save this so they can serve me my crow when the times comes. I can already see the shit I'd get if the Heat lose just because I'm the only fan on here.