I personally think it goes like this: 5. Sacramento 4. San Antonio 3. Phoenix 2. Blazers 1. Lakers Your thoughts?
5. Rockets [I couldn't, in good conscience, leave them out altogether] 4. Portland 3. Jazz 2. LA Lakers 1. San Antonio
I can understand the sentimental nod to the Rockets at number 5, but how can you place 3 other teams ahead of Blazers? Why do you have Lakers behind S.A. even though they have a much better record and beat S.A. head to head? This was supposed to be a "current state" look at 1-5. Are you guessing about Season-ending rank or is this retrospective?
I'm thinking current state. I have SA first because I think they are better than everyone else. They lost to the Lakers and their record isn't as good, but I don't see those two elements as the end-all of the question. If they had to play one game or seven against any team for the championship right now today, I would put my money on the Spurs over anyone. I've used a similar formula for the Blazers. If the championship was on the line right now in a game against the Jazz, Lakers, or San An, I'd fully expect them to choke. I can see them choking against other teams too, but I'm not as confident there.