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Good to see that the Spurs still command respect.
Roundtable: Who can win it all?
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 le 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.
Good to see that the Spurs still command respect.
Cleveland looks really tough. The defense they play is very agressive. The bad boy Pistons played physical defense. The Spurs played smart defense. This Cav team plays relentless defense. They are much better that ever before. If they maintain this level of play they are going to be extremely hard to beat in the playoffs.
Spurs are on every ones mind right now and the media hates it. but its great to see that they are getting the respect they deserve
Thanx for posting Duncan228. Always appreciated.
It looks like Utah is flying under the radar this year. I still consider them as serious contenders if Boozer comes back on time
I can never take Utah seriously enough as a le contender.
Cleveland = peaking at the wrong time forum
how is san antonio a contender???? how can you homers seriously justify this?? we aren't on the level of boston/lakers/cavs/magic/hornets but somehow we're still a contender???? come on lets be real, we have the potential to be, we should be, but the truth is RIGHT NOW we arent. we haven't been a championship contender since 05. why do guys act like we can win a championship as we are right now??? duncan is duncan, parker is too inconsistent, manu doesn't look hes gonna be back to pre surgery manu, bowen is washed up, finely is washed up, hill and mason have yet to prove themselves...this is what you guys think can win it all?? against the champs boston ??.. Lakers who knocked us out and now have bynum??.. hornets, cavs, magic????? its one thing to root for the home team but for s sake lets be real! the spurs aren't winning this year or ever again if we don't get some better talent on this team.
It's a pipedream to consider the Spurs a contender this year. The Blazers have a better chance than San Antonio.
yeah right
did somebody just say that New Orleans and Portland have a better chance than us? LOL..
can somebody explain to me how NO is behind us in the standings, despite Parker and Ginobili being out for a month and 15+ games?..
I also love how the media is showing more love to the Spurs than the "Spurs fans" on this forum..it used to be the opposite..
Tlong never fails to deliver
Darius Miles.....
I watched Cleveland and Boston's highlights the other night, and I'm gonna be labled an idiot and clueless, but I'm still not sold on the Cavs. Their defense is good, but I'm not sold on guys like Mo Williams, and the others picking up the slack.
I just don't see it.
I guest the league learned that when the year is odd, you can't just ignore the spurs.
At least you're consistent.
just to let you know, darius miles entered the game against the cavs. harharhar!
They may seem like contenders but they never do. Some people are starting to figure out that the worst thing to do is fall asleep on the Spurs. As boring as they supposedly are, they tend to be the most surprising.
Cleveland is great, but I think they still lack some offensive power outside of Lebron James in a 7 game series.
Jayem, I had a look to your 179 messages on this forum. The first one was posted in 2006, 3 years ago... in 3 year you didn't post one positive message about the Spurs.
Why do you keep "rooting" for the Spurs? Can't you find another team to "support"?
he's not a Spurs fan..
I haven't been on this forum for a long time, but it's pretty easy to tell who is an actual Spurs fan, and who isn't..I'd say around 25% of the posters here that have their "Team" as the San Antonio Spurs aren't actually Spurs fans..you can tell by their comments, and how they refuse to say anything positive about the Spurs, despite logic being against them in almost every argument..
it's actually pretty sad that fans of other teams take the time to troll on another team's forum..of course I'm not talking about the good fans of non-Spurs teams, since there are a lot of good ones here..but there are plenty of trolls around here, it's pathetic..
You are right...
dude, he doesn't even know the spurs won the championship in '07. that alone is proof enough he ain't a fan.
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