2013 is coming to a close, and we are 29 games into the NBA season (give or take for certain schedules). The topic that many of us NBA enthusiasts ponder on a day to day basis is, who are the best teams in the NBA and how do they rank? Looking into each conference, I’m going to rank the top 4 teams, in their respective order (although the East should probably be a two team ranking, being that there are a mere three teams over .500 at this point). With that aside though, I will finish off this strongly supported article with the overall NBA rankings, and justify these rankings while doing so. Lets start with the easy side, the Eastern Conference. Yes, yes i know, my beloved Celtics are in this wonderful side of the NBA realm, and yes I also know, we are not leading arguably the worst division in the lesser conference of the NBA. BUT I STILL HAVE HOPE (Let’s be honest, it’s not hard to have hope when to get the four seed all we have to accomplish is beating out the Raptors, Knicks, 76ers, and Nets, who are a combined 41 and 77, OUCH). But let it be know, the man, the myth, the legend, Rajon Rondo, is on pace with his recovery and staged to make a historical comeback where we take out the Heat and Pacers in 7 Games and add a 18th banner to the rafters at TD Garden (optimistic right?). Anyway, back to the rankings. Lets start from the top and work our way down. (Drumroll please…) The Indiana Pacers take the cake as the best team in the East! Now it’s a close race at the top right now with the two time defending Champions Heat squad closely behind, but to this point, the Pacers have proved that they are a legitimate title contender, and are not afraid of the Heat. All this has been behind the story making lead of Paul George, who has blazed into this season in MVP fashion, and is making his case for the best player in the league. The reason the Pacer’s squad is having so much success is they are a TEAM. At 24-5, The Pacers have an MVP leader in Paul George, a footwork savvy center in Roy Hibbert, a monster in the paint Power Forward in David West, and a supporting Cast that features the likes of Danny Granger, George Hill, and oh yeah, the league leader in triple doubles, Lance Stephenson. This cast crashes the boards hard, passes incredibly well, moves off the ball as good as any other team in the NBA, and when it comes down to it, they have Paul George to put the team on his back if need be in the fourth quarter. This guy isn’t afraid to shine, and he sure isn’t afraid of making the Heat take Lebron off of him because he is lighting him up in the fourth quarter (see highlights from this season’s first matchup). So in a close second, there are the Miami Heat. Now there is no close third from here, the rest of the teams are bathing in mediocrity and struggling to fight the animal in Mr. .500. The Heat, when healthy, are posed to make a very strong contention at their third title in a row. Lebron James is at MVP form again, shooting incredible numbers from the field, and showing that when it comes to the fourth quarter, he is ready to run the offense and get himself and his teammates high quality looks around the rim. Speaking of high quality, I hope you all watched the game in Christmas against the Lakers, a man should not be able to fly like that, nor have the coordination to catch an off the glass “Dinner’s Served” with his left hand, finish it, and avoid the backboard with his head. (I only dream of the day I would have to duck under the backboard, well, to be honest I have dreams of the day I will be able to touch the rim, as the years go by this seems more and more optimistic). The Heat cause matchup problems. Lebron James is a 6′ 8″ Point Forward, Linebacker, Tight End, UFC Fighter, that is nearly impossible to guard. Dwayne Wade, when healthy, has one of the best drive and slash games we have seen over the past decade, and a court vision to compliment it. The real underlying matchup problem that is often overlooked is Chris Bosh. I know, Chris Bosh isn’t your Dwight Howard, Roy Hibbert, crash the glass and bang around center, but he stretches the floor. He can hit any range of jumpshot, and with this ability, when he is getting guarded by a true Center, he is bringing them out of the paint opening the lane for LJ23 and D Wade to drive to the rack and finish, or look for open shooters in Battier and Ray Allen. Lead with two strong point guards in Mario Chalmers and Norris Cole, the Heat have a deep squad that will contend this year. So now the infamous third ranking, who does it go to? I would like to say it was a given to give it to the Atlanta Hawks, because they are the only other team over .500, but it was a tough decision. In the end, I decided the loss of Al Horford was still not quite enough to move them out of the three spot. The Hawks will need to fill his void, as he lead the team in points and rebounds, but to this point, they have shown that their cast of Jeff Teague, Paul Millsap, Kyle Korver, Louis Williams, and former Mizzou paint moster Demare Carroll, can mesh well together and give opponents match up troubles. The question from here on out is, can Carroll step in and keep up Horford’s rebound pace, along with the help of Elton Brand and two Centers I won’t bother mentioning because I know you haven’t heard of them. So coming in at the last spot, who is it?? That’s right baby, it’s the Green and White! Now most of you are probably blaming this acclamation on the part of my alliance with this squad, but really, is it that far of a stretch to say that we are better than the Toronto Raptors or Detroit Pistons? This spot is very much so, up for grabs. So here’s to justify it. The Boston Celtics are a game back in the division. We have been toying with the roster, trying to establish a point guard that can fill the Rondo void until he is back. So far Courtney Lee and Avery Bradley, along with another Mizzou alum Phil Pressey, have done a fair job. (MIZ!!) Let’s see how good the Heat do if Lebron misses half the season, if Paul George misses half the season for the Pacers, and I am about to prove my very point with how the Hawks will struggle with the loss of Horford. ALL STARS MATTER. We are talking about a guy who has the court vision of Pistol Pete, the speed of Chris Johnson, and the hand size of Shaquille Oneal to go with it (maybe a slight exaggeration, but I mean come on, look at this dude’s hands). His consistent over 11 assist games are gone, his ability to score 30 points, get triple double numbers, and steal the ball at key times in the game, of course we are going to have a void that is not quite fillable. To this point though, Jared Sullinger has shown a vast improvement in his game, Jeff Green is making his case as a worthy all star, and Avery Bradley is an excellent defender, and with Crawford off of the bench, this team will be just fine when Rondo comes back. So there it is! The Top 4 Teams for the East. Just like they say, opinions are like as….yea I’ll leave that analogy in my pocket but I feel very confident that the contenders in the East will be down to these four teams in the end. Now to the WILD WILD WEST. The West has proven to be deep this year, and I mean very deep. There are a legitimate 8 playoff contending teams, and even the bottom feeders of the division have matchups that can cause the bigs of the league to struggle (See the Sacramento Miami game from this weekend). The West is DEEP! So that makes it that much harder to rank a top four teams, but after the pain staking research was finished, and the countless 60 odd games I have watched this season, I have narrowed it down. Atop the list is clear, for right now, and when I say right now I mean this week, because the division leading OKC Thunder have lost a star point guard in Westbrook, and that load will now be dumped onto the back of the already league leading scorer in Kevin Durant. But still, they have shown form of this point that they are ready to get back to the finals and give the Eastern Conference winner a run for their money. Durant clearly highlights this squad, with the ability to score in a vast arrangement of ways, and the height that makes it hard to distinguish his role as a 2,3, or 4. The supporting cast stars the up and coming Jeremy Lamb, Thabo Sefolosha, Serge iBLOCKa, death staring Kendrick Perkins, Reggie Jackson, and Veteran Guard Derek Fisher. (Which by the way, when is that guy going to retire? I seem to remember him throwing an alleyoop to Wilt Chamberlain, or maybe I’m just mistaken, but to his credit, this guy is in great shape for his age and a great leader to have on the squad. Hopefully he doesn’t make the mistake Jason Kidd did and become a coach and the scrutiny of the Brooklyn Nets. Jason, may the Illuminati be with you (Jay Z reference). Back to the topic though, this team plays well with each other, and is not afraid to give up a good shot for a teammate to get a great shot. The number two spot in the West is clear, and is frankly giving OKC a run for their money also. That is the Portland Trailblazers. With the rise of dominant Lamarcus Aldridge, and Ice Veins Damian Lilliard, this team is set for great things. With guys who don’t get enough credit in the league with Wesley Matthews and Nicolas Batum, Thomas Robinson, and “The Other” Lopez, this team has a strong defense, and the belief that they are contenders THIS YEAR. (I think 2014-2015 is their season though, a little early to be claiming Championship rights this year). So who falls in third? I have never liked the San Antonio Spurs, and when looking at the top teams in the league aren’t we looking at teams who could win the conference and win it all? I just can’t see the Spurs slow roster doing this, so they have fallen right out of my top four. (Take that Tony Parker). Coming in third….we have the Super Splash Bros and the Golden State Warriors. Steph Curry has been a scoring legend since his Davidson days, and Klay Thompson is eqaully as good from downtown. When you combine this with paint powerhouses in David Lee and Andrew Bogut, and oh yeah, mix in a health Andre Igoudala, this team is STACKED. Arguably, well not even arguably really, they have the best back court in basketball. When you have the best backcourt in basketball and you add two post forces that can get rebounds and second chances, you have a team that can match up against anyone, and they have done so thus far. The only downfall to this team is they have seemed to struggle when Curry has an off night, although that didn’t prove harmful against the Clippers on Christmas. And rounding uo the West, we have the Los Angeles Clippers. This team has the best point guard in basketball in Chris Paul, a surprisingly improved Blake Griffin, excellent 6th man Jamal Crawford, Deandre Jordan, and 3 point sniper in JJ Reddick. This team is posed to make a run and create those match up issues that prove relevant in 5 and 7 game series. Take note that every good team has a good 6th man, and in this case, the Clippers have a great sixth man in Crawford, this guy can burn the nets down. So the Clippers round off the top 4 in the West, and an honorable mention goes to the Rockets, with a star in James Harden and a maturing Dwight Howard. So how do they all rank..well here we go. The NBA top 8 rankings!
1. Indiana Pacers 2. Miami Heat 3. OKC Thunder 4. Portland Trailblazers 5. Golden State Warriors 6. Los Angeles Clippers 7. Houston Rockets 8. San Antonio Spurs (Yes, I put two honorable mentions over the other two teams in the East, it’s a down year, don’t count the Celtics out though!)
So there you have it, if you don’t follow the NBA, I hope you have gained some knowledge that will propel you in any argument you come to face, and that you have a VERY reliable source in Cruz’s Sports Corner. This is my opinion, but again, the numbers don’t lie, and I think the likes of Bill Simmons, Jalen Rose, Magic Johnson, and the ever so knowledgable Skip Bayless would tend to agree also. So there you go! Broadcasted live from a booth in Panera Bread Co., with a coffee that is way too bold, and a baby that is crying in the background, the Commandments of NBA Rankings has been established, 2013 has came to an end, but Cruz’s Sports Corner has just surged into its arrival. Until next time Knuckleheads (Wilbon Voice) #CruzsSportsCorner
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