Post by carmelo115 on Feb 19, 2024 19:13:27 GMT
Taking a look at the top 16 teams (currently in the playoffs) and where they rank in terms of Championship Contenders.
1. Philadelphia 76ers
- I think it’s safe to say that right now, the Sixers are the best team in the league. Fresh off a huge trade deadline netting Brandon Ingram and Zach Lavine, they have the most complete starting lineup in the league. Their 2 stars are arguably the top at their position and their complementary pieces are some of the best out there. I do worry a bit about their depth in the event that there are any injuries, but when healthy, I’m just not sure there’s another team that can compete with them in a 7 game series. With all of that being said, who knows what the hell FBB will do come playoff time, but for now, kudos to Carlos and the team he’s built.
2. Denver Nuggets
- Strange to think that the 2 top contending teams are the 2 teams with the best big men in the league. While they don’t have the top to bottom roster that Philly has, Denver has a top tier big duo that has carried them throughout this season. After coming back, Michael’s team has continued their elite play leading them to what looks to be the top seed out West. With the lack of great guard play, I do wonder how they will stack up against teams who have elite talent at the 1 and 2 position, but there’s no team out west that can really compete with their bigs. Unless…we’re talking about their potential round 1 matchup against the Wolves. Not saying another 8th seed upset is brewing, but if I was Michael, I’d want to avoid that Timberwolves team come playoff time.
3. Indiana Pacers
- The team that was the early on favorites this season. Although they have taken a slight step back to the 2 seed in the East, this roster is still very very good and one that should make it to at least the ECF. Lead by Haliburton and Kawhi, the Pacers can do it all on both ends of the floor. Having 2 top tier scorers this early on in the league is something that not a lot of teams have, which is probably why they have been so successful in the first two seasons of our reboot. Like Denver, I worry a little about their SG play, but not only that, does Mitch and Tobias give them enough at the 4 to win it all? Guess we’ll see.
4. New Orleans Pelicans
- The surprise of last season has come back to prove to us that it was not a fluke. Slough is the king of depth charts and he’s proving that with the roster he has built and how well they are playing. Led by the 3 pt champ, Jalen Brunson and young star Trey Murphy III, New Orleans has a team that can beat you in a variety of ways. Their biggest asset is the ability to put the ball in the hoop efficiently, leading the league in field goal percentage. It’s a common theme right now, but they too do not have a SG that can take over, but they do have LeBron James. Who can back up every position. Feel as though that will be useful come playoff time.
5. Sacramento Kings
- After a few teams out East start off the rankings, we move back to the West with the current 2nd seed Sacramento Kings. The Kings aren’t elite at anything when you look at the numbers (aside from their PG), but they are very well balanced. Their 5 starters average at least 12.5 ppg on pretty good shooting splits. You wonder come playoff time if their inability to block shots will affect them, but either way, Silver has seemed to find a good depth chart that has his guys clicking at the right time.
6. Oklahoma City Thunder
- Bias aside, I like the depth that my team brings. Aside from Tatum, there aren’t any go-to guys on this Thunder roster, but all of the rotation guys do their jobs well. OKC is the top scoring team in the league, as well as tied for the best FG%, but we do not defend the ball well enough from a numbers perspective. Rozier taking a step back really hurts the makeup of this team, but getting Tatum gives this roster something that not many other teams have in the league and that’s elite SF play. Chet’s still coming into his own, but I’m not sure the bigs are good enough to compete with the likes of Denver and Sacramento.
7. Phoenix Suns
- Last season’s number one team in the West has definitely taken a step back, but they are hitting their stride as we come into the final stretch of the season. Booker has dominated again this season, but Dennis Schroder holding his own at the starting PG spot has really allowed them to stay relevant after some roster turnover this offseason. I’m not sure the firepower is there for this team to make noise come playoff time, but FBB does some strange things this time of the season as we all know.
8. Orlando Magic
- After a couple big trades these last 2 seasons, I expected Rog’s Magic to be a bit higher on these rankings and maybe I’m underestimating them a bit, but they’ve underperformed in my eyes. They are led by star PG SGA and have some other really nice guys in Franz and Lauri, but Buddy hasn’t lived up to the hype (at least ppg wise) and Adams has been a bit underwhelming. Regardless of the numbers, they have one of the best rosters on paper top to bottom, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they make a run in the playoffs, but at this point, I figured they’d be fighting for a top 2 seed in the East.
9. Los Angeles Lakers
- If I would have done these rankings a week ago, the Lakers may have been a lot higher on the list, but after a drunken trip to Cancun, Spikes team has seemed to follow suit and fall down the standings. A roster that really is at least another season away, I think LA overperformed early on and it’s finally all catching up to them. They made a huge deal for Ja, which I loved, but outside him and Reaves, there isn’t much to love. The defense is there, but this is a team that should be star hunting for a big this offseason, regardless of position. They will be very scary going forward and who knows, may Ja goes beast mode and dominates these playoffs to prove me wrong.
10. New York Knicks
- Another team that has made some huge trades over the last month, the Knicks are right in the thick of things out East. They’ve been very hot and cold this season, but I’m just not sure the roster is strong enough yet to truly make noise. After getting a ton of heat for signing Claxton to that deal, NY made a bunch of other moves getting Trae Young and Jaren Jackson Jr, but their most prized possessions may be 2 rookies in DJ Wagner and Aday Mara. Both young guys look like they have what it takes to be great players in this league, so like the Lakers, maybe NY is just a season or 2 away until their young stars catch up.
11. Dallas Mavericks
- Wouldn’t be NBN without Bundy making some gigantic moves that leaves a lot of our minds confused. But regardless, the Mavs are clicking and are playing well down the stretch. After flipping Luka and Tatum for a handful, Dallas has put together a very sound roster, but just seems to be missing something that puts them over the top. I know Bundy was getting bored and wanted to make the team his own, but it would be hard for me to move guys like Tatum and Doncic. After the deals, they are one of the better defending teams in the league, but we’ll see come playoff time if the scoring punch is there to scare some of the top teams out West.
12. Miami Heat
- While they don’t have the records that some of the teams below them have, having a big rotation of Anthony Davis and Bam catapults you in my rankings. After finally getting a new GM, the Heat are going on a little run putting them back into the playoffs in the East. Unsure why guys like Jimmy and Herro aren’t scoring any better, but their 2-5 is really good. The obvious elephant in the room is the PG position, which is obviously going to hurt them when you look at the rest of the East, but who knows, maybe their defense carries them to some wins in the playoffs.
13. Charlotte Hornets
- Hottest team in the league, not called the 76ers? Charlotte is playing at a very high level after some big deals and now has the opportunity to to get a top 4 seed in the East over the next couple of sims. While I didn’t love the deal he made with Toronto, I got it. You have a guy like LaMelo and you don’t want to waste his talent, but I would have stuck another season or two with Brandon Miller and Dillingham. Regardless, Charlotte made the move and is now a much deeper and more balanced team. Like Minnesota out West, I’m not sure Charlotte is a team I’d like to face come playoff time.
14. Utah Jazz
- Well, well. Joseph turned the entire roster over for Luka and somehow is not any worse than last season. Utah has their picks and Joseph wanted his favorite player (I think), so I don’t fault him at all for the deal, but I’m interested to see where he takes this team going forward. There’s not a ton outside of Luka, although I do like Rupert and Edey, but I’m not sure what assets he’s going to use to build up a contender. Regardless, Joseph knows what he’s doing and Utah will be storming soon if I had to guess.
15. Minnesota Timberwolves
- The defending champs have hit some serious rough patches this season after losing D’Angelo Russell (sentence nobody ever expected to say). Their bigs have missed some time, but you’d expect the rest of the roster to step up in their absence and they just have not done so. The defense is still their with Gobert manning the middle, but the offense just hasn’t produced as you’d hope. I still wouldn’t count them out to make some noise in the playoffs with the star power they have, but as they’ve been playing, I wonder if their dominating run was very short lived.
16. Cleveland Cavaliers
- Coming in last and one that is somewhat of a surprise are the Cavs. Yes, they were without a GM for a majority of the season, but the roster is pretty decent with guys like Garland, Mitchell, Mobley, and Allen. Those four alone should have produced a better record, but here we are. Not sure I loved the move to trade RJ, who was playing awesome this season, but I get why it was done. I’m interested to see what this team looks like after this offseason. Seems like Spike has been pretty active in negotiations to get their picks back, so what does that mean for guys like Allen and Mitchell? You also will have to pay Evan Mobley a potential max to keep him around and I’m not sure he’s worth it.
1. Philadelphia 76ers
- I think it’s safe to say that right now, the Sixers are the best team in the league. Fresh off a huge trade deadline netting Brandon Ingram and Zach Lavine, they have the most complete starting lineup in the league. Their 2 stars are arguably the top at their position and their complementary pieces are some of the best out there. I do worry a bit about their depth in the event that there are any injuries, but when healthy, I’m just not sure there’s another team that can compete with them in a 7 game series. With all of that being said, who knows what the hell FBB will do come playoff time, but for now, kudos to Carlos and the team he’s built.
2. Denver Nuggets
- Strange to think that the 2 top contending teams are the 2 teams with the best big men in the league. While they don’t have the top to bottom roster that Philly has, Denver has a top tier big duo that has carried them throughout this season. After coming back, Michael’s team has continued their elite play leading them to what looks to be the top seed out West. With the lack of great guard play, I do wonder how they will stack up against teams who have elite talent at the 1 and 2 position, but there’s no team out west that can really compete with their bigs. Unless…we’re talking about their potential round 1 matchup against the Wolves. Not saying another 8th seed upset is brewing, but if I was Michael, I’d want to avoid that Timberwolves team come playoff time.
3. Indiana Pacers
- The team that was the early on favorites this season. Although they have taken a slight step back to the 2 seed in the East, this roster is still very very good and one that should make it to at least the ECF. Lead by Haliburton and Kawhi, the Pacers can do it all on both ends of the floor. Having 2 top tier scorers this early on in the league is something that not a lot of teams have, which is probably why they have been so successful in the first two seasons of our reboot. Like Denver, I worry a little about their SG play, but not only that, does Mitch and Tobias give them enough at the 4 to win it all? Guess we’ll see.
4. New Orleans Pelicans
- The surprise of last season has come back to prove to us that it was not a fluke. Slough is the king of depth charts and he’s proving that with the roster he has built and how well they are playing. Led by the 3 pt champ, Jalen Brunson and young star Trey Murphy III, New Orleans has a team that can beat you in a variety of ways. Their biggest asset is the ability to put the ball in the hoop efficiently, leading the league in field goal percentage. It’s a common theme right now, but they too do not have a SG that can take over, but they do have LeBron James. Who can back up every position. Feel as though that will be useful come playoff time.
5. Sacramento Kings
- After a few teams out East start off the rankings, we move back to the West with the current 2nd seed Sacramento Kings. The Kings aren’t elite at anything when you look at the numbers (aside from their PG), but they are very well balanced. Their 5 starters average at least 12.5 ppg on pretty good shooting splits. You wonder come playoff time if their inability to block shots will affect them, but either way, Silver has seemed to find a good depth chart that has his guys clicking at the right time.
6. Oklahoma City Thunder
- Bias aside, I like the depth that my team brings. Aside from Tatum, there aren’t any go-to guys on this Thunder roster, but all of the rotation guys do their jobs well. OKC is the top scoring team in the league, as well as tied for the best FG%, but we do not defend the ball well enough from a numbers perspective. Rozier taking a step back really hurts the makeup of this team, but getting Tatum gives this roster something that not many other teams have in the league and that’s elite SF play. Chet’s still coming into his own, but I’m not sure the bigs are good enough to compete with the likes of Denver and Sacramento.
7. Phoenix Suns
- Last season’s number one team in the West has definitely taken a step back, but they are hitting their stride as we come into the final stretch of the season. Booker has dominated again this season, but Dennis Schroder holding his own at the starting PG spot has really allowed them to stay relevant after some roster turnover this offseason. I’m not sure the firepower is there for this team to make noise come playoff time, but FBB does some strange things this time of the season as we all know.
8. Orlando Magic
- After a couple big trades these last 2 seasons, I expected Rog’s Magic to be a bit higher on these rankings and maybe I’m underestimating them a bit, but they’ve underperformed in my eyes. They are led by star PG SGA and have some other really nice guys in Franz and Lauri, but Buddy hasn’t lived up to the hype (at least ppg wise) and Adams has been a bit underwhelming. Regardless of the numbers, they have one of the best rosters on paper top to bottom, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they make a run in the playoffs, but at this point, I figured they’d be fighting for a top 2 seed in the East.
9. Los Angeles Lakers
- If I would have done these rankings a week ago, the Lakers may have been a lot higher on the list, but after a drunken trip to Cancun, Spikes team has seemed to follow suit and fall down the standings. A roster that really is at least another season away, I think LA overperformed early on and it’s finally all catching up to them. They made a huge deal for Ja, which I loved, but outside him and Reaves, there isn’t much to love. The defense is there, but this is a team that should be star hunting for a big this offseason, regardless of position. They will be very scary going forward and who knows, may Ja goes beast mode and dominates these playoffs to prove me wrong.
10. New York Knicks
- Another team that has made some huge trades over the last month, the Knicks are right in the thick of things out East. They’ve been very hot and cold this season, but I’m just not sure the roster is strong enough yet to truly make noise. After getting a ton of heat for signing Claxton to that deal, NY made a bunch of other moves getting Trae Young and Jaren Jackson Jr, but their most prized possessions may be 2 rookies in DJ Wagner and Aday Mara. Both young guys look like they have what it takes to be great players in this league, so like the Lakers, maybe NY is just a season or 2 away until their young stars catch up.
11. Dallas Mavericks
- Wouldn’t be NBN without Bundy making some gigantic moves that leaves a lot of our minds confused. But regardless, the Mavs are clicking and are playing well down the stretch. After flipping Luka and Tatum for a handful, Dallas has put together a very sound roster, but just seems to be missing something that puts them over the top. I know Bundy was getting bored and wanted to make the team his own, but it would be hard for me to move guys like Tatum and Doncic. After the deals, they are one of the better defending teams in the league, but we’ll see come playoff time if the scoring punch is there to scare some of the top teams out West.
12. Miami Heat
- While they don’t have the records that some of the teams below them have, having a big rotation of Anthony Davis and Bam catapults you in my rankings. After finally getting a new GM, the Heat are going on a little run putting them back into the playoffs in the East. Unsure why guys like Jimmy and Herro aren’t scoring any better, but their 2-5 is really good. The obvious elephant in the room is the PG position, which is obviously going to hurt them when you look at the rest of the East, but who knows, maybe their defense carries them to some wins in the playoffs.
13. Charlotte Hornets
- Hottest team in the league, not called the 76ers? Charlotte is playing at a very high level after some big deals and now has the opportunity to to get a top 4 seed in the East over the next couple of sims. While I didn’t love the deal he made with Toronto, I got it. You have a guy like LaMelo and you don’t want to waste his talent, but I would have stuck another season or two with Brandon Miller and Dillingham. Regardless, Charlotte made the move and is now a much deeper and more balanced team. Like Minnesota out West, I’m not sure Charlotte is a team I’d like to face come playoff time.
14. Utah Jazz
- Well, well. Joseph turned the entire roster over for Luka and somehow is not any worse than last season. Utah has their picks and Joseph wanted his favorite player (I think), so I don’t fault him at all for the deal, but I’m interested to see where he takes this team going forward. There’s not a ton outside of Luka, although I do like Rupert and Edey, but I’m not sure what assets he’s going to use to build up a contender. Regardless, Joseph knows what he’s doing and Utah will be storming soon if I had to guess.
15. Minnesota Timberwolves
- The defending champs have hit some serious rough patches this season after losing D’Angelo Russell (sentence nobody ever expected to say). Their bigs have missed some time, but you’d expect the rest of the roster to step up in their absence and they just have not done so. The defense is still their with Gobert manning the middle, but the offense just hasn’t produced as you’d hope. I still wouldn’t count them out to make some noise in the playoffs with the star power they have, but as they’ve been playing, I wonder if their dominating run was very short lived.
16. Cleveland Cavaliers
- Coming in last and one that is somewhat of a surprise are the Cavs. Yes, they were without a GM for a majority of the season, but the roster is pretty decent with guys like Garland, Mitchell, Mobley, and Allen. Those four alone should have produced a better record, but here we are. Not sure I loved the move to trade RJ, who was playing awesome this season, but I get why it was done. I’m interested to see what this team looks like after this offseason. Seems like Spike has been pretty active in negotiations to get their picks back, so what does that mean for guys like Allen and Mitchell? You also will have to pay Evan Mobley a potential max to keep him around and I’m not sure he’s worth it.
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