duncan228
01-13-2009, 02:15 PM
Roundtable: Who can win it all? (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/basketball/nba/01/13/writers.roundtable/?eref=sircrc)
SI.com NBA writers analyze the latest news and address hot topics from around the league each week. (All stats and records are through Monday's games.)
1. We're about five weeks away from the Feb. 19 trading deadline. As things stand now, how many teams look capable of winning an NBA championship?
Ian Thomsen: The obvious contenders are Boston, Cleveland, the Lakers and San Antonio -- the most likely final four we'll see this May. With the exception of Detroit, those four are the only teams whose core has NBA Finals experience.
As strong and balanced as the Magic are looking, they probably need another year or two of playoff success before beating the Celtics or LeBrons in a seven-game series. Those two teams play a much more physical style than Orlando ... which is why I'm not ready to give up on the Pistons yet. If they continue to recast their new style over the next three months, they have the size and strength to deal with either of the Eastern favorites.
There are a lot of outsiders in the West that could make a run at the Lakers. I still think New Orleans needs another big man to back up David West and Tyson Chandler, but the Suns and Rockets are two teams that could challenge if they're healthy and rolling into the playoffs. I'm expecting the Nuggets to attempt a move at the trading deadline, and the right short-term addition to Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups could upgrade them from an interesting regular-season team to a provocative postseason contender.
Jack McCallum: Six. And I never thought I'd be saying this, but just as many of them are in the East -- Boston, Cleveland and Orlando (notice the alphabetical order because I'm not sure who's best right now). My picks in the West would be the Lakers, obviously, San Antonio and my preseason selection, New Orleans. The Hornets don't look like a championship team (and not just because they lost at home Monday to the Knicks), but they could still make a run.
Chris Mannix: I'm going to say eight. Right now, Boston, Cleveland, the Lakers and San Antonio are right there. Orlando, New Orleans and Denver are intriguing possibilities. And on the fringe sits Houston, which, if it can get its act together in the next two months, has as much talent as any of them.
The favorite, however, has to be Cleveland. The Cavs' complete dismantling of Boston last Friday established them as the class of the East. With Zydrunas Ilgauskas (once he returns from an ankle injury), Anderson Varejao, Ben Wallace and improving-by-the-day rookie J.J. Hickson, the Cavs have enough size to compete with any team that comes out of the West. And this doesn't even take into account what GM Danny Ferry might do with the valuable expiring contract of Wally Szczerbiak.
Steve Aschburner: Our next NBA champion is going to come from a pool of four teams. Boston and the Lakers are obvious choices, for their continued success from last season and their obvious repeat or one-step-further mindsets, respectively. Cleveland can draw on its 2007 Finals experience, its roster upgrades and all of LeBron James' ascendancy since. San Antonio, because playoff basketball is as natural for the Spurs as endorsing checks, seemingly can grab a title every year. And that's it. Orlando would be in for a too-heady experience to get it done this spring, same as New Orleans if the Hornets pushed deep into the postseason. Every other top team lacks one or more key ingredients.
SI.com NBA writers analyze the latest news and address hot topics from around the league each week. (All stats and records are through Monday's games.)
1. We're about five weeks away from the Feb. 19 trading deadline. As things stand now, how many teams look capable of winning an NBA championship?
Ian Thomsen: The obvious contenders are Boston, Cleveland, the Lakers and San Antonio -- the most likely final four we'll see this May. With the exception of Detroit, those four are the only teams whose core has NBA Finals experience.
As strong and balanced as the Magic are looking, they probably need another year or two of playoff success before beating the Celtics or LeBrons in a seven-game series. Those two teams play a much more physical style than Orlando ... which is why I'm not ready to give up on the Pistons yet. If they continue to recast their new style over the next three months, they have the size and strength to deal with either of the Eastern favorites.
There are a lot of outsiders in the West that could make a run at the Lakers. I still think New Orleans needs another big man to back up David West and Tyson Chandler, but the Suns and Rockets are two teams that could challenge if they're healthy and rolling into the playoffs. I'm expecting the Nuggets to attempt a move at the trading deadline, and the right short-term addition to Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups could upgrade them from an interesting regular-season team to a provocative postseason contender.
Jack McCallum: Six. And I never thought I'd be saying this, but just as many of them are in the East -- Boston, Cleveland and Orlando (notice the alphabetical order because I'm not sure who's best right now). My picks in the West would be the Lakers, obviously, San Antonio and my preseason selection, New Orleans. The Hornets don't look like a championship team (and not just because they lost at home Monday to the Knicks), but they could still make a run.
Chris Mannix: I'm going to say eight. Right now, Boston, Cleveland, the Lakers and San Antonio are right there. Orlando, New Orleans and Denver are intriguing possibilities. And on the fringe sits Houston, which, if it can get its act together in the next two months, has as much talent as any of them.
The favorite, however, has to be Cleveland. The Cavs' complete dismantling of Boston last Friday established them as the class of the East. With Zydrunas Ilgauskas (once he returns from an ankle injury), Anderson Varejao, Ben Wallace and improving-by-the-day rookie J.J. Hickson, the Cavs have enough size to compete with any team that comes out of the West. And this doesn't even take into account what GM Danny Ferry might do with the valuable expiring contract of Wally Szczerbiak.
Steve Aschburner: Our next NBA champion is going to come from a pool of four teams. Boston and the Lakers are obvious choices, for their continued success from last season and their obvious repeat or one-step-further mindsets, respectively. Cleveland can draw on its 2007 Finals experience, its roster upgrades and all of LeBron James' ascendancy since. San Antonio, because playoff basketball is as natural for the Spurs as endorsing checks, seemingly can grab a title every year. And that's it. Orlando would be in for a too-heady experience to get it done this spring, same as New Orleans if the Hornets pushed deep into the postseason. Every other top team lacks one or more key ingredients.