1. Heat 2.San Antonio 3.Thunder 4.Bulls 5.Pacers 6.Rockets 7.Clippers 8.Nets 9.Memphis 10.Warriors 11.Knicks As far as winning the championship.
Warriors are overrated Pacers are not because Heat might be their only obstacle from reaching the Finals and Paul Geoge is entering his Prime this year.
I disagree - I don't really think anybody in the East (save Miami, obv.)has proven anything other than the ability to win a moderate number of games against a weak field. It's nice that the Pacers have been able to give the Heat a run for their money, but frankly that's just an issue of matchups and Wade having some awful games as he ages (of course, in part due to the Pacers soundess on D)- the Pacers still have some holes and generating non-Paul George offense is a big issue for them. The Knicks, well - speaks for itself.
Wow. What an idiot. Anyone who thinks the Warriors will have a better record than us is a clown. We will crush those cockroaches. Grizzlies? No chance. New coach, we have significantly better roster than them. I have us slightly ahead of the Clippers (Howard>Griffin, Harden>Paul) and our role players are better. Them having Doc is slightly worrisome, however.
There are a lot of teams, including us, that are bunched up. But the GS, Brooklyn, and NY predictions are pretty terrible. They're all overrated b/c they're in big markets. They're also overrated because they all have well-known perimeter players. Being well-known makes for better hype, but it almost always means that you are old, which DA and the rest of the media love to ignore. The rosters of GS, Brooklyn, and NY are filled with players who could get a season-ending injury while shooting a free throw.
I voted top 5. I think a lot of these folks still want to see which D Howard we will get this year. They are still waiting to see what Lin will do this year also, as he took a 'step back' in their eyes and we still have to see how the Howard/Asik combo is going to work (I personally think it will work out fine). When we can always have a defensive and rebounding presence on the court, that will be huge for us and trouble for other teams 2nd units.
Like I said, those teams would not be guaranteed to win against Indiana, but they would at least give up a really good fight and would possibly even be the favorites. Indiana is built to beat the Heat (great defender for LeBron and a good big man that can exploit the Heats weakness here) and they are a great team - but they are getting overhyped (just like GSW is) by a lot of analysts. This happes every year when a team does something convincingly, that people didn`t think they could do. In my book Indiana is probably a top 5 - top 10 team and number 2 or 3 in the east.
this guy is on narcotics. Heat, Spurs, Houston and pacers round up the top 4. The clippers haven't added the best center in the league. And the thunder are going to not be the thunder while urkel reacquaints himself with the nba grind.
I feel way more offended that Dwight Howard, the biggest offseason acquisition, couldn't make it into his top 10(9) storylines of the season over Marcin freakin' Gortat trade rumors?? As for his actual rankings, Aldridge has always been down on Morey. He doesn't believe in that "analytical crap".
I think your responses convinced me Indiana is not all I thought it would be. Then again, that's what's exciting about this NBA's season. I remember someone on this board saying NBA is predictable...
What have the Clippers, Nets, and Knicks proven so far. It's not a guarantee that Coach Rivers will make the Clippers automatic contenders. It's not a guarantee the Nets will build the right type of chemistry that would thrust them above the Heat let alone the Pacers. And the Knicks most definitely haven't done jack turkey turd either that would make them contenders.
