1. A dark horse has to have better odds than slim-to-none
2. Must have a winnable path to the title
3. Under the radar
4. Irrelevant from the past 5 years, yet prevalent and “good” today

With all of these Criteria, there is a team in each conference that would fit perfectly into the dark horse category.

Like Louis Armstrong, I’m going with the Jazz

Back in the heyday of Salt Lake City basketball, there were two men who led the charge against a great Bulls Dynasty. Karl Malone and John Stockton were at the epoch of basketball in the western conference in the mid-90’s. Now, great basketball has returned to the Beehive state, and the Vivint Smart Home Arena couldn’t be happier. The Jazz have had an awakening of sorts this year. Jumping from 9th in the west to now 4th today is no easy task. To surpass teams like the Clippers, Thunder and Grizzlies is remarkable, to say the least. Their big “Crutch” is their defense. Currently ranked 3rd in the NBA in efficiency and 1st in total points scored against them (96.4), The Jazz have their defense to thank. In a Western Conference where offensive battles rage between teams like Houston, Golden State and OKC, Utah can suppress and contain these high octane teams like no other team in the west.

The probable path for the Utah Jazz is as follows: Vs. #5 Clippers Vs. #1 Warriors Vs. #2 Spurs Vs. #1 Cavaliers. Taking this one series at a time, The Utah Jazz have struggled mightily with the Clippers. Only winning one of 4 matchups. However, the answer to beating them is clear-cut and very achievable. The Jazz have only scored 95 points or less in the three losses (two games with only 73). Their win had them posting a cool 114. If Utah’s offense can be as potent as their defense, The Clippers don’t have enough help on the defensive end of the court to beat the Jazz. The

Warriors, however, seem to have it all. Superstars, Offense, Defense, Coaching. It’s seriously going to be a handful. The Warriors have so far won all of the games of this season series. Winning one in overtime, they have held the Jazz to under 100 each game. However, Kevin Durant was healthy and a huge factor in each of those games. If the Jazz catch a banged up Warriors and continue their offensive momentum from the Clippers series, We could see the former western conference champions fall. Finally, the San Antonio Spurs. Gregg Popovich is no stranger to the NBA playoffs. His coaching style as well as respect earned over the years is unmatched by anyone in the NBA today. This year was another testament to how well the Spurs are as a franchise. Bringing San Antonio a trophy every so often makes being a Spurs fan all the easier. The Utah Jazz are in a Western Conference that is jam-packed with talent and great teams, but if they can beat the Clippers and Warriors, the Spurs are just another rock in the road. The Jazz and spurs split the two games they’ve played this season, and they have two more. The style of play for these two teams is similar, protect the rim and don’t forget the fundamentals. With both teams ranking high in defensive efficiency, it will come down to if Rudy Gobert can win his matchup versus Pau Gasol and LaMarcus Aldridge.  The games between these two teams will be won and lost in the paint.

David Vs. Goliath

In the case of the Jazz versus the probable eastern conference champions, Cleveland Cavaliers, no odds are greater than these. LeBron James with his merry band of players are the biggest powerhouse in the east. And probably, in the NBA. The Cavs have had a rough stretch as of late. Losing to Washington last night and an odd tailspin in the past 5 games, losing 3 and allowing 100+ points in every game. Utah’s defense is the clear-cut crutch for their team, and if LeBron and the Cavs can’t hold a mediocre offense under 100, they won’t be able to score a ridiculous amount on the Utah defense. Not to mention LeBron has not won in Utah since 2011.

Nothing Short of a Miracle

Not since the 1994 Houston Rockets with Hakeem Olajuwon has a team lower than a third seed win the NBA Championship. And really, to be

honest, there is a great chance that we will have a Golden State-Cleveland championship once again. That’s just what the league has been trending towards. It’s exhilarating, however, to see a team like the Utah Jazz, who have not been a serious playoff contender since the days of the Mailman Karl Malone. Utah is the one team I would hitch my wagon to if not Cleveland or Golden State. These playoffs will be fun to watch, and if Katy Perry tells us anything, don’t underestimate that dark horse.  

The post My Dark Horse for the 2016-17 NBA Playoffs appeared first on KRUI Radio.

“Dynasty” is term loosely tossed around to describe successful teams after championship runs. In most modern sports, the talent pool has proven too deep to have a classic, 20^th-century, dynasty such as the 50s Yankees, 60s Celtics or 90s Cowboys. Those squads dominated and left little question as to which team was the best in their respective eras. While that same scenario may not exist in all major United States sports, we can garner at least a debate.

In this piece we will dive into the top dynasties since the first season post-2000 started of each major sport between the college and professional levels and decide which recent squad has had dominated its respective sport the most. There are rules that will be followed.

1. There will be a qualified team picked out of each individual sport before jumping to a final debate on who is the king of kings.
2. One team must be chosen out of each major sport – college football, men’s/women’s basketball, baseball, wrestling, volleyball, MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL.
3. Seasons that are currently in progress (2014-15 college hoops, NBA, NHL) are not included. For example, Kentucky’s current undefeated record in college hoops cannot be applied to their opportunity to be considered college basketball’s top dynasty on the men’s side.
4. Dynasty is a term used far too often. Are the Seahawks a dynasty because of how great their defense is in the past two years? No, because Seattle struggled through a lot of down seasons beforehand. In this piece, a dynasty will be defined as “Dominating a respective sport, while simultaneously competing for championships to the tune of being the greatest team in the discussed era.”
5. A team must consistently be in championship contention, but in order to be a dynasty in this span – a team must have won at least a single title.
6. I cannot compare teams between sports, as that will happen in the follow up article, where I will rank the selections from each league.

Let the games begin.

NBA

The NBA has always had a lack of parity.  We may no longer be limited to just the Lakers and Celtics, but the situation is still heavily lopsided.

Starting in the 2000-01 season, just three out of 14 Western Conference champions haven’t been named either the Los Angeles Lakers or the San Antonio Spurs. The Dallas Mavericks made two Finals appearances, and the Oklahoma City Thunder briefly showed up before being ousted in five by the LeBron James-led Miami Heat.

The Eastern Conference has been more diverse, but less successful. Seven teams (Philadelphia, Brooklyn, Detroit, Miami, Cleveland, Boston, and Orlando) have won the conference, but just three (Detroit, Miami, Boston) have managed to end the postseason with a victory.

The Heat have an impressive five title appearances and three championships to make a case for a potential top-NBA dynasty in the last 14 seasons. However, they fall well short of the Western Conference rivals from California and Texas.

The Spurs have a cumulative regular season record of 804-328 (.710), a postseason tally of 129-80 (.617), and four championships in five appearances since 2000. Their worst record in that span is 50-32 in 2009, and yet they still made it to the Western Conference Semifinals. Gregg Popovich has led this team to being easily the most consistent of all NBA squads in this era.

Los Angeles, albeit currently in its lowest moment in franchise history, also has an argument to be the representative for professional hoops. While their 690-442 (.610) overall regular season mark is well below San Antonio’s, their post season record of 108-66 trumps the Spurs. In six Finals appearances, the Lakers have taken home four titles – equal to the Spurs. If the 1999-2000 season and the first third of the Shaq-Kobe three-peat were included, my final decision may not have been…

Top Dynasty of the 21^st century: San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs, led by a long-time coach and familiar players, have (somehow quietly) been one of the most consistent teams in all of American athletics. Their YMCA-style of play may not captivate casual audiences with oohs and awes, but their record says all that is needed. The Lakers have missed the playoffs as many times (two) as the Spurs have missed the second round. The ability to avoid down years is what makes the difference. San Antonio and Los Angeles have the same highs, but the Spurs have yet to hit a low this century.

Honorable mention: Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat

NFL

Baltimore, New England, Pittsburgh and the New York Giants have all won multiple titles since Super Bowl XXXV, thus obviously deserving of recognition in this analysis. Tampa Bay, Indianapolis, New Orleans, Green Bay and Seattle will also be included as to compare all Super Bowl victors.

Looking based simply off of this, the answer is penciled in. Let’s engrave it in stone with this next chart. I gave every team a point total for each category – the top team receiving nine points and the bottom receiving one – (regular season win percentage, total postseason wins, postseason win percentage, division titles and Super Bowls). The point total depended on where a team finished in each respective section.

Top Dynasty of the 21^st century: New England Patriots. New England swept the board in each measurable category. It’s hard to tell if they’re farther ahead of the pack than Tampa Bay is behind. Tom Brady and Bill Belichick have created a dynasty and are two absurd catches from having six Super Bowls in this span, including the Brady-Randy Moss 2007 combination that was the best team in NFL history to not win it all.

NHL

The NHL has experienced more parity than its professional counterparts this century. Ten teams have won a Stanley Cup in the last 13 occurrences (plus the 2005 lockout season). The Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins, Anaheim Ducks, Carolina Hurricanes, Tampa Bay Lightning, New Jersey Devils and Colorado Avalanche have all taken home one championship, while the Los Angeles Kings, Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings all have a pair of titles. To avoid confusion in the following chart, the NHL did away with ties during this span and therefore the records will be Win-Loss-Overtime Losses-Ties.

  We have seven categories (Stanley Cups, playoff appearances, playoff series victories, postseason wins, postseason win percentage and regular season win percentage and points). The best team in each category will receive 10 points and the worst will pick up just one. In order to put a stronger emphasis on advancing in the postseason, playoff series victories will count as a point for each accumulated. This should counteract disciplining teams for advancing on to tougher rounds just to be swept.

Top Dynasty of the 21^st century: Detroit Red Wings. Outside of postseason win percentage, Detroit swept the board since 2000. Its 17 postseason series victories is even more impressive when factoring in the lockout season and the fact that no other franchise has more than a dozen. Despite parity among Stanley Cup victors, Detroit has easily been the most consistently dominant in all of professional hockey. Not much of an argument can be made for any other squad from this chart, and therefore none are honorable mention worthy.

Men’s college basketball:

After a relatively easy start, we reach what might be the most complicated of all sports we list. College basketball is about as random as they come (see odds of making a perfect bracket). Of course, Kentucky seems like an obvious choice after winning a national title in 2013-14 and going undefeated so far in 2014-15 (void). Don’t let fresh tastes discount distant memories.

Recent impressions can’t influence this decision, but the Wildcats have enough beyond that to make a pretty decisive statement. A 369-124 overall record is tough to argue with. What’s even harder? Twelve NCAA Tournament appearances, eight Sweet Sixteens, three Final Fours and a 1-1 record in the championship. Take away the two seasons Billy Gillispie coached Kentucky to a 40-27 overall record with zero NCAA Tournament victories and an NIT berth, and the Wildcats may blow the competition out of the water.

One team has been so remarkably consistent in its conference that it’s impossible to leave off this list: The Kansas Jayhawks.

After transitioning from a Hall of Fame coach, Kansas found a fate much simpler than Kentucky. Bill Self took over Roy Williams’ squad and didn’t miss a beat.

Williams’ last three seasons resulted in a 42-6 conference record that was overshadowed by a Sweet Sixteen, Final Four and a championship appearance. Since? Self has given the Jayhawks a 325-69 mark with a 151-31 stretch in the Big 12.

Self’s initial tournament resume left much to be desired with two first round exits sandwiched between a pair of Elite Eight showings. That turned around quickly with Kansas’ lone national title during this span in 2008.

Kansas boasts similar marks to Kentucky, with one extra championship loss thrown in, and its down years were first round exits over being completely left out.

So how about ex-Jayhawk coach Williams’ new squad – North Carolina? The Tar Heels have two national titles and another Final Four on their record and they may not even be the best dynasty in their own state.

Recent 1,000 game winner Mike Kryzewski’s Duke Blue Devils are.

Duke has a pair of national titles, has appeared in the tournament in each covered year, and has lost in their opening matchup just three times. Their conference dominance may not be as high as a team such as Kansas, but the competition is relatively stellar each season.

The Blue Devils hold an absurd 412-87 (.826) record in this span. So it has to be them, right?111

Let’s head over to Big Ten country where Tom Izzo is standing by for a quick lecture on postseason play. Michigan State, although missing its 1999-2000 national championship by just one season, has made nine Sweet Sixteens, five Elite Eights, four Final Fours, and has won one title. They haven’t missed the tournament a single time, and have been eliminated before the Round of 32 just four times.

What about UConn’s three title runs? Florida’s star-studded squads? Kentucky’s heated-rival Louisville? We need a way to rank these teams accordingly as to put all bias aside and assign an overall score. Postseason play in college basketball has always taken precedence over any other measurement of success. Here is the scoring chart to decide the top NCAA Tournament team since 2001’s tournament when solely considering those whom have a title to their name in this span:

Round of 64 loss: 0 points
Round of 32 loss: 1 point
Sweet 16 loss: 2 points
Elite Eight loss: 4 points
Final Four Loss: 8 points
Championship loss: 12 points
Championship: 16 points

NCAA Tournament champions results since 2000-01 March Madness: Kansas 68, UConn 67, Duke 59, North Carolina 56, Florida 55, Kentucky 55, Michigan State 51, Louisville 44, Syracuse 37, Maryland 30.

Shockingly, outside of its three titles runs, UConn only scored 19 points on this scale. The Huskies fell just a point shy of claiming this all important statistic in pushing forward to choosing men’s college hoops’ most dominant dynasty of the 21^st century. Despite just one title, consistency overcame roller coaster levels of postseason success and your winner is…

Top Dynasty of the 21^st century: Kansas Jayhawks. Not only has Kansas (almost surprisingly) performed as the top overall team in March Madness, but it also has the most eye-popping accomplishment. I’m going to type this out to make it even more drastic: Kansas has won at least a share of (ahem) back to back to back to back to back to back to back to back to back to back regular season Big 12 championships. That’s 10. Read that out loud and you’re likely to need to catch your breath. This isn’t Kansas playing in the Summit League or intramural athletics – this is a major conference with a tough road to the top every season. Ten?! In a row? And just for the record, it’s also 12 of 13, but who’s counting? The Huskies have a legitimate argument when it comes to this discussion due to three incredible runs to the championship, but Kansas has been a more consistently feared team. Welcome to a new postseason tournament, Jayhawks. Let’s see who else is joining you.

Honorable mention: Duke, UConn

Women’s College Basketball

I went from one of the more difficult sports to choose to what might be the easiest. UConn women’s hoops is out of this world. Seven championships since the turn of the century. Average margin of victory in those title-winning contests? 15.4 points. That’s 15 points better than the second best team in the country. Talk about a talent gap. I can’t put into words how unbelievably incredible the Huskies’ overall record has been, so I’ll leave two simple numbers on its own.

486-38.

That’s a .927 winning percentage.

I could play myself in checkers and not win 93 percent of the time.

Connecticut has missed out on the Sweet Sixteen in this span only…well, they haven’t. And just once were they limited to that. On top of the Sweet Sixteen and seven titles, the Huskies have made two Elite Eight appearances along with four Final Fours. Therefore, your clear cut winner without any hesitation is…

Top Dynasty of the 21^st century: Connecticut Huskies.

College Wrestling

If the 70s, 80s and 90s were included, this wouldn’t even be a competition. The Iowa Hawkeyes took home 20 titles from 1975-2000. Despite those all being out of the picture, Iowa is still in contention for the 21^st century title post-Dan Gable. The Hawkeyes have three titles to their name, which comes shy of Penn State and Oklahoma State, who put together four each. With the overall team title competition so close, our answer comes from individual championships. The Nittany Lions have nine, Hawkeyes 13 and Cowboys 18.

Oklahoma State’s 2005 season was the best of the era, fielding five individual champions in 10 weight classes, and scoring 153 points – best since the 1997 Hawkeyes scored 170. Therefore the winner is…

Top Dynasty of the 21^st century: Oklahoma State Cowboys. The Cowboys are tied for the lead in titles, have the best overall team of the era and can claim having the most individual titles. They may be fortunate to wrestle outside the Big Ten, but national titles don’t lie.

Honorable Mention: Iowa Hawkeyes, Penn State Nittany Lions

MLB

Four teams have won multiple titles since 2000 – the Red Sox (three), Giants (three), Yankees (two) and Cardinals (two) – to give a clear starting point when trying to declare the top 21^st century dynasty of professional baseball.

It’s clearly visible that this is a dead heat. You know the drill. In order to decide, I assigned a point total to each stat category. The top finisher in each category – World Series victories, division titles, regular season winning percentage, playoff appearances, total playoff wins and postseason playoff winning percentage – receives four points, followed by three for second place and so on. I also gave teams an extra point for each playoff series they won. The final tally came out as followed:

Top Dynasty of the 21^st century: St. Louis Cardinals. Any fan of one the final four teams can state a statistic on how their team deserved to be the one represented. New York dominated the AL East. Boston and San Francisco won a third World Series and were more efficient in the postseason when they did make it. None of that jumped out the way this did:

The Cardinals took the cake with 16 postseason series victories.

That’s out of this world consistent. The Yankees came close, carried by consistently owning the division crown, whereas the two teams that take advantage of playoff appearances the most, Boston and San Francisco, found themselves looking up.

Honorable Mention: Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants

College Volleyball

Some of these don’t take much time. Penn State has six championships, including two 38-0 seasons. USC, Stanford, Nebraska, Texas and UCLA have had strong programs, but none have approached the dominance by the Nittany Lions. Let’s just get to the point. Without a hint of doubt, your winner is…

Top Dynasty of the 21^st century: Penn State Nittany Lions.

College Baseball

Unlike most of the other sports in the discussion, the full 2000 season is included since it began post-millennium. Texas, South Carolina and Oregon State all have a pair of titles, with nobody else claiming more than one. Naturally, only those three are in consideration. However, the Beavers have only made four CWS appearances compared to six for South Carolina and eight for Texas. Typically that would lead one to believe that the answer is obviously the Longhorns.

Take a look at overall winning percentage: Texas is 661-294 (.664) in this millennium, lagging considerably behind the Gamecocks at 713-289 (.712). So what do we value? Winning more regular season games against what is typically stronger competition, or taking overall postseason play? The latter carries more weight. Here is how each team fared in NCAA Tournament play with its overall statistics tallied at the bottom.

Top Dynasty of the 21^st century: Texas Longhorns. In what ended up being the closest contest of any sport so far, Texas prevailed because of one statistic: CWS appearances. South Carolina may hold a relatively significant advantage in regular season record and have a slim lead in postseason record, but they couldn’t get the job done in enough Super Regionals. One could argue that Texas’ lows were below South Carolina’s, but they consistently made the trip to Omaha and that familiarity with getting to the final eight put them over the edge.

College Football

Alabama, Ohio State, LSU, and Florida all have multiple FBS championships to their names, while Appalachian State and North Dakota State have dominated the FCS level well enough to be included in the discussion. USC vacated one of its two national championships and will not be considered. As we’ve come to find out, tables can be really useful when measuring statistics of multiple teams. Unfortunately, college football has more variables than most so let’s compare like it is 2000 (and we’re using WordPad).

Alabama: The Crimson Tide are the only team in this span with three FBS national title victories. Their overall record takes a hit because of 21 vacated wins, but stands at 116-57, including a 6-5 bowl mark – which is also hindered by one vacated victory and two seasons in which ‘Bama was ineligible for the postseason. They have garnered three SEC titles and five SEC West crowns – most of which have come under Nick Saban. The pre-Saban era was somewhat dark for Alabama, which had a (now shocking) 3-8 season in 2000. The loss of 21 victories could really come back to bite the team that is likely the first one on everybody’s college football power shortlist.

Florida: Florida boasts two national titles (thanks, Tebow) complemented by a 137-56 overall record. If Alabama had kept its wins, Florida would be one game ahead in the loss column and tied with the Tide for overall victories. In bowl play, Florida has a lackadaisical 7-6 mark. They have picked up three SEC Titles and have headed the SEC East four times.

LSU: Consistency in a more than tough conference is what could separate LSU from the group. Like every team on this list besides Alabama, the Tigers have a pair of national championships. Their overall record of 151-45 is only topped by Ohio State. They’ve won nine bowl games compared to six losses and have not missed out on the postseason. They’ve picked up four conference titles and five SEC West titles along the way to top both Florida and Alabama in those areas.

Ohio State: Surprised to see a Big Ten team here? You shouldn’t be. Despite a negative stigma built around the conference in recent years, Ohio State has been among the most dominant teams lately. The Buckeyes’ 157-36 overall record is hard to argue with. An 8-7 bowl record with a few postseason embarrassments could be improved on. What really couldn’t be is a sensational seven conference titles – which reasonably would be eight if not for a postseason ban on a 12-0 squad in 2012. The Buckeyes may not have the numbers to claim best of this century now, but with Urban Meyer pulling the strings, it might not be too long until they do.

North Dakota State: If we were only talking about the last four years, the Bison would breeze through the competition. Their 63-3 record with four national titles is, well, absurd. Before that? North Dakota State swiftly comes back to Earth with a more reasonable, but still strong, 74-40 mark. Did you already do the math? That’s an overall record of 137-43

…and I should probably mention they have a 20-2 postseason record.

20 wins. Two losses.

The Bison made the move from Division II to FCS in this time period and were ineligible for postseason play in multiple 10-1 seasons, otherwise they very well could have added to that title total. Which, quite frankly, is a little scary. One thing that isn’t as scary is this game. And this one in the same season. Sometimes you find things while researching that you wish you never did. Those qualify.

Appalachian State: While the Bison were fiddling around with moving up from Division II, another squad was busy winning national championships and knocking off the winningest-program in FBS history. That was the Mountaineers of Appalachian State. Their record of 131-52 is a modest amount below North Dakota State’s. It isn’t the regular season that separates these two FCS programs. The Mountaineers postseason mark, despite a three-peat from 2005-2007, is 19-8, considerably worse than the Bison’s…let me say it again…20-2.

Top Dynasty of the 21^st century: North Dakota State Bison. I get it. Strength of schedule for the Bison isn’t anywhere near what Ohio State, let alone Alabama, Florida and LSU, face on a week-to-week basis. Their national titles are much less publicized and viewed. They don’t have NFL prospects filling up the first round. They weren’t even in the FCS for part of this era. There are a lot of reasons not to pick them.

Go ahead, write an article on why LSU’s consistency in the SEC makes them the best dynasty of this century, or why Alabama’s three titles set it apart, or how Ohio State’s conference dominance make them the frontrunner. They all have strong cases to disprove my choice.

To me, these issues have to be made relative, not directly compared. Of course North Dakota State doesn’t have to play the LSU defense, the Tim Tebow offense or Nick Saban’s game plan on an annual basis, but they ought to be held to the standards of their competition, not of a league above them. North Dakota State has simply dominated about as much as a modern college football team can in this span. 137-43 in the regular season? Incredible – just as incredible as the others on this list, especially considering transition seasons. That doesn’t set them apart.

A .909 winning percentage in the postseason will. When the Bison play the best competition, they don’t just compete – they absolutely own everyone. Alabama doesn’t. Florida doesn’t. LSU and Ohio State don’t. They’re all tremendous teams, but have not set themselves apart at any part this century the way the Bison have.

Conclusion

The aforementioned follow-up article will now include the St. Louis Cardinals, San Antonio Spurs, New England Patriots, Detroit Red Wings, Kansas Jayhawks men’s hoops, UConn Huskies women’s basketball, Oklahoma State wrestling, Penn State volleyball, Texas baseball and North Dakota State football. Those ten dominant teams will be ranked to determine an ultimate “dynasty of the 21^st century.”

Be sure to check out Night Stuff on KRUI at the stroke of midnight Wednesday mornings as we discuss topics such as this, other sporting news and a few outrageous topics mixed in with a phone always ready to hear your takes. Did you like the article or happen to disagree with some of the choices? Tweet @TheMainStevent or @KRUISports to share your opinion.

The post The 21st Century’s Best Dynasty appeared first on KRUI Radio.

Western Conference
Regular Season Standings
Playoff Teams

1. San Antonio Spurs: I want to choose against the Spurs, and the Cavaliers for that matter, with all of my being. However, it’s pretty difficult in San Antonio’s case when they’re night in and night out the most fundamentally sound squad. The ageless Tim Duncan returns with Tony Parker and Manu Ginobli once again. Add in NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, alongside Danny Green, Boris Diaw, Marco Belinelli and the best coach in the game, and you have yourself a recipe for success. See: The last decade or so.
2.  Los Angeles Clippers: How would things in the NBA be different if the original Chris Paul trade went through? Would CP3, Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard be headlining this city for the Lakers and the Clippers stuck in their usual second-tier rut? We’ll never know, but what we can expect is Doc Rivers to have one of the best squads in the NBA this season, especially with his system implemented for another year.
3. Oklahoma City Thunder: Russell Westbrook may be the highest scorer in the league come December. Afterwards? Not so much. That’s when Kevin Durant will return and lead what will potentially be a middle of the road team back to the top three in the West. Steven Adams showed he could be a decent big man in the league, so Kendrick Perkins may find more and more pine. Anthony Morrow and Jeremy Lamb still aren’t a replacement for James Harden, but they should stretch the floor consistently. That is, if Westbrook and Durant don’t do it enough.
4. Dallas Mavericks: Dirk Nowitzki finally has help again in Dallas. Monta Ellis, Chandler Parsons and Tyson Chandler should form a dangerous starting lineup run by Jameer Nelson. If the Mavericks do make a top four seed in the West, does Rick Carlisle have a case for coach of the year? There’s a strong chance. Remember, the Mavericks took the Spurs to seven games last season. They’d meet them in the second round this year.
5. Golden State Warriors: And here we have the Western Conference team that everyone wants to play as in video games. Do you want scorers? Well, they have Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes, Andre Iguodola, Shaun Livingston, Brandon Rush, David Lee and Andrew Bogut. Even new head coach Steve Kerr can knock it down from range. The defense might be a little
6. Portland Trail Blazers: If Damian Lillard played in a bigger market than Oregon, he’d be a superstar in this league. Lamarcus Aldridge is a top tier power forward, but I felt was overhyped during his magnificent stretch of last season. It didn’t carry deep into the playoffs, losing to the Spurs in the second round in five games after eliminating the Rockets in the first. Nicolas Batum might be the key factor if the Blazers can take the next step, while Robin Lopez, Wesley Matthews and Steve Blake will also play significant roles.
7. Houston Rockets: Don’t get me wrong, the Rockets are a strong team with Dwight Howard and James Harden. However, the loss of Chandler Parsons will really hurt. Trevor Ariza ought to bring a strong third option, but I’m not too sold on the depth of this squad. I wouldn’t hold my breath on a championship run.
8. Memphis Grizzlies: The Grizzlies won 50 games in 2014 despite multiple missed games by their stars. Marc Gasol may not be on the squad a year from now, but Tony Allen, Tayshaun Prince, Zach Randolph, Vince Carter and Mike Conley should be enough to push the Grizzlies into postseason play.

Contenders

9. New Orleans Pelicans: Honestly, I had to fix the mistake of putting “Hornets” down. Look at this lineup, though: Jrue Holiday, Tyreke Evans, Eric Gordon, Anthony Davis and Omer Asik. Austin Rivers and Ryan Anderson can come off the bench and form a pesky team throughout the season. I have them ninth, but they should be in the playoff hunt up until the end.
10. Denver Nuggets: Kenneth Faried looked like a top-level player in the FIBA games. Nate Robinson will be back and healthy as a sparkplug. Danillo Gallinari, Ty Lawson, JaVale McGee, Aaron Afflalo, Wilson Chandler and Timofey Mozgov put together a pretty talented roster that might be in the running for a final seed.
11. Phoenix Suns: The Suns played as well as anyone could have expected last year…and still just missed the playoffs in the loaded Western Conference. A step back is more likely than a step forward as they played a little over their heads in 2013.The Rest
12. Los Angeles Lakers: I’m not as low on the Lakers as most. They finished second to last without Kobe in 2013, so with Kobe it ought to be a little better. Or at the very least more entertaining. Carlos Boozer, Jeremy Linn and Nick Young don’t exactly form a stellar “Big Three” to tag along. You might as well have Kobe go for the record 100 points every single game.
13. Sacramento Kings: The Kings could be a surprise team in the sense they might be around the 10^th-seed by year’s end. Could. We’re talking Dumb and Dumber level chances. Ben McLemore, DeMarcus Cousins, Rudy Gay, Derrick Williams and all of the Big Ten’s favorite Nic Stauskas form a young core. If someone like Sim Bhullar turns out to be more than height, they could be dangerous. But don’t count on it.
14. Minnesota Timberwolves: “Why can’t this be Love?” “Do you believe in life after Love?” “Love is a battlefield.” This might as well be the Timberwolves pregame music. Wiggins should sell some tickets, but they won’t win many games.
15. Utah Jazz: I mean, the Jazz have players who could be decent in the future. As for right now? Derrick Favors, Enes Kanter, Alec Burks, Trey Burke, Enes Kanter and Gordon Hayward aren’t exactly striking fear into anybody. Daunte Exum may end up being a good draft pick, but he has looked a little overwhelmed in our limited viewing.

    

Eastern Conference
Regular Season Standings
Playoff Teams

1. Chicago Bulls: The Bulls boast the deepest roster in the league. Rumor has it that rookie Doug McDermott may find a starting role so it looks something like this: Derrick Rose, Jimmy Butler, McDermott, Pau Gasol, Joakim Noah starting, Kirk Hinrich, Tony Snell, Mike Dunleavy, Nikola Mirotic, Taj Gibson rotating off the bench, and Aaron Brooks with Nazr Mohammed available for spot minutes. What worries me? Despite the depth, Rose and Gasol’s health are vital, especially the former. We’ve all heard that enough throughout the past few years for the former.
2. Cleveland Cavaliers: We keep being force fed information about LeBron James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving, so I’ll stray away from them. If Dion Waiters can take a step forward, Mike Miller stays healthy, and Anderson Varejao does the same, the Cavaliers should win the East. The biggest, underrated offseason move of the season? Cleveland getting Shawn Marion. He can provide some defense where Love and Irving don’t.
3. Toronto Raptors: And here we hit the ridiculous amount of solid teams that East has relative to last year. But honestly, most of these teams aren’t making the playoffs in the West. Toronto boasts Kyle Lowry, DeMar Derozan and Jonas Valanciunas among a group of good role players.
4. Washington Wizards: I could see any order happening from teams ranked 3-6, and then again from 7-12. The Wizards are here because they, and I’m going to make up a few words here, outgritted the grittiest team in basketball last year in the playoffs. Sure, it was a banged up Bulls team, but Nene and Gortat took it to Noah and Gibson. John Wall, Bradley Beal and Paul Pierce finish up a starting lineup that could make some noise.
5. Miami Heat: Sure, the Heat lost the best player in the game to Cleveland. That doesn’t mean they’re going to fall as fast and hard as the Cavaliers did when they originally lost James. Wade, Bosh, Chalmers and Anderson all return to the squad. One of the best two-way players in the game in recent years, Luol Deng, joins them and so does Shannon Brown, Danny Granger and rookie Shabazz Napier. The Heat still have plenty of firepower to make an impact on the East.
6. Charlotte Hornets: Outside of any of the Cavs’ moves, Lance Stephenson is the biggest name in the East to change homes this past offseason. Combined with Kemba Walker, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Al Jefferson and Cody Zeller, the Hornets have their best team in the Michael Jordan ownership era. Don’t be shocked if you hear something along the lines of “Al Jefferson” and “MVP” at some point. He won’t win, but he could very well be mentioned if the Hornets get off to a blazing start.
7. Brooklyn Nets: I have so many problems with the Nets. First of all, I said immediately that the Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett trade was one of the worst I’ve ever seen. Secondly, remember when Deron Williams versus Chris Paul was actually a thing? Two more stars of yesterday are featured in this lineup: Joe Johnson and Andrei Kirilenko. Brook Lopez only managed to play in 17 games last year. This team has enough to make the playoffs, but not much more. They’ll be at the very bottom of the East in about two or three years.
8. New York Knicks: Carmelo Anthony received a ton of hatred last year, and in his whole career for that matter, for being lackadaisical, not winning playoff games and struggling defensively. From my perspective, very few played harder for their team – if you can call what is around ‘Melo a team. Phil Jackson’s influence should bring improvements across the board to get this team into the playoffs, and then next year the real rebuilding begins.

Contenders

9. Indiana Pacers: Lance Stephenson left, Paul George broke his leg and there isn’t a bigger head scratcher in the NBA than Roy Hibbert…literally. The core of this team that was supposed to dethrone the Heat is in shambles. It could still have enough to find a postseason berth, but it could also tank to a top pick.
10. Detroit Pistons: This is where the East falls apart. It has no depth on outsiders looking in. The Pistons feature a front court of Greg Monroe, Andre Drummond and Josh Smith. It bothers me to this day that the Pistons shelled out so much cash for Smith, but fortunately, I’m not a fan of any Detroit sports. Brandon Jennings and Jodie Smith will head the backcourt, as the Pistons will make an effort at being swept in the first round of the playoffs. Stan Van Gundy will help matters some, but the current Pistons roster is like three different puzzles thrown into one box.The Rest
11. Atlanta Hawks: The Hawks are here simply by default of making the playoffs last year, albeit finishing 38-44. There may not be a more boring team on paper in the NBA. Or on the court. Kyle Korver is fun to watch shoot threes. That’s it, we’re done here.
12. Orlando Magic: Roy Devyn Marble will score 20 points per game and…oh, forget it. The Magic actually have one of my favorite underrated players in Nikola Vucevic. Victor Oladipo, Aaron Gordon, Even Fournier, Tobias Harris, Channing Frye, Mo Harkless and Seth Curry might be the biggest group of average players to ever grace a professional team.
13. Boston Celtics: Just give it time and that trade off of Pierce and Garnett will look great. Unfortunately for Rajon Rondo, he has to play during that time. I wouldn’t be surprised if he is in another uniform by the All-Star break. There is potential on this squad in Marcus Smart, Evan Turner, Jeff Green and Jared Sullinger, but that’s for down the line.
14. Milwaukee Bucks: At least the Brewers didn’t have a complete meltdown and miss the playoffs after having a huge division lead or anything. Jabari Parker and O.J. Mayo are an interesting backcourt, but that’s about the extent of my interest in this team. It will take a few drafts for the Bucks to be back in the playoffs.
15. Philadelphia 76ers: Outside of Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid, name two players on this team right now. Try it. If you can, I’m sorry, but you shouldn’t be able to. Here is the rest of the roster: Michael Carter-Williams, K.J. McDaniels, Hollis Thompson, Henry Sims, Luc Mbah a Moute, Brandon Davies, Chris Johnson, Jerami Grant, Arnett Moultrie, Alexey Shved, Elliot Williams, Jason Richardson, Tony Wroten and Casper Ware. Yes, Jason Richardson is still in the league, apparently. And yes, the 76ers will have the worst team in the NBA.

Playoff Predictions and Awards

Eastern Conference Finals: Cavaliers over Bulls in six. The Bulls will have the better regular season record, but will continue to struggle to get past LeBron James. At this point, it’s going to put Chicago in a bind about how it can compete going forward. 2014-15 is the window for this Chicago squad. Cleveland will take a little bit of time to get all the kinks out, but should hit their stride come playoff time.

Western Conference Finals: Clippers over Mavericks. That’s right, no Spurs or Thunder in this matchup. The Mavericks will take out the Spurs in the second round, but run into a tougher matchup in the Doc Rivers-led Clippers. Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan and company continue taking positive steps on both ends of the court and get on a hot streak to finish the season.

NBA Finals: Clippers over Cavaliers. The “Jordan wouldn’t have lost,” arguments gain even more fuel as LeBron James reaches his fifth straight Finals. Cleveland will continue to be a threat however by adding a few role pieces and defensive additions in the next offseason to make what should be multiple consecutive deep playoff runs.

Coach of the Year: Rick Carlisle, Dallas. If the Mavericks are able to make a top four seed in the West, I can’t see anybody else staking a claim to this award.

Rookie of the Year: Doug McDermott, Chicago. The rookie will be getting a lot of shot attempts on a Chicago squad desperate for offense. If he does end up starting and Thibodeau continues to like his “swag,” as the coach said during the preseason, then he could out-perform Parker, Wiggins and company.

MVP: Chris Paul, L.A. Clippers. If Chris Paul plays a full schedule last year, his name is right up there with LeBron and Durant. With Durant’s injury, it’s going to be difficult for a repeat MVP performance, so it may come down to CP3, who averaged nearly 20 points to complement 10 assists per game, and James.

Defensive Player of the Year: Marc Gasol, Grizzlies. Once again, LeBron finishes second in this category. Gasol will be the best defensive player on the best defensive team.

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Along with some new players, there will also be some noticeable differences in this series compared to last year.

First and likely the most important, the Spurs have home-court advantage unlike last season. This means if there is a game seven, it will be in San Antonio.

Second, the format of the series has changed to be just like any other NBA playoff series. The format in the first three rounds is 2-2-1-1-1, while the NBA Finals has been 2-3-2 for many years. Now it is 2-2-1-1-1 all across the board, which is a good move in my opinion. No team should have both the sixth AND seventh games of the NBA Finals in their home arena.

The old format really hurt the Spurs last season in the Finals. Up 3-2 in the series going to Miami, they had to win at least one of the last two at American Airlines Arena. Now this year they will not have to worry about potentially winning Game 6 OR Game 7 in Miami.

Here are some keys for Gregg Popovich and friends to win another championship:

1. A healthy Tony Parker

Parker missed the entire second half and overtime of the Spurs’ series clinching win against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals with an ankle sprain. He is going to have be at the top of his game for the Spurs to have any chance of dethroning the defending champs.

2. Pushing the pace.

The Spurs are at their best when they are out in transition and getting shots in the paint. If they are converting high percentage shots at a high volume, this team is very tough to beat.  All the games off and limiting minutes during the regular season for Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, and Manu Ginobili have paid dividends for the Spurs, and now they should have plenty in the tank as they prepare for battle against Miami. There has been five days in between games for the Spurs, so everyone should be fully rested and raring to go.

3. Bench

San Antonio is much deeper than Miami. They have guys like Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard, and Tiago Splitter who the Spurs can turn to for production along with their big three. Miami has vastly fewer options than the Spurs, as they rely on their big three of LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwayne Wade for the majority of their production.

Ultimately, I think the Spurs will win their fifth NBA championship in the Gregg Popovich in seven games. This series will be just as exciting and thrilling as last year. The Spurs will not let this title slip through their grasps as they did the last one. The fact that Game 7 will be in San Antonio also helps their chances to outlast Miami. Buckle up! It is going to be a wild ride!

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Dwight Howard and the Kobe-less Lakers

After a whirlwind of a regular season, the once-laughable Lakers somehow managed to sneak into the postseason. However, between the devastating news of Kobe Bryant’s ruptured Achilles tendon and the daunting task of facing San Antonio in the first round, Lakers fans have little to celebrate. Without Bryant, arguably the greatest competitor in the game, the herculean task of carrying the Lake Show to an improbable title chase is centered squarely on the massive shoulders of Dwight Howard. With the possibility of free agency looming, Howard’s future in Los Angeles will likely be determined by his performance in the playoffs.

Prediction:

Bryant’s absence is too much for Howard and the Lakers to overcome, and the center turns in underwhelming performances against the Spurs’ big men. Los Angeles musters one win in the friendly confines of the Staples Center, but ultimately drop the series to San Antonio by a count of three games to one.

Boston copes with injuries, tragedy

Less than a week removed from the tragic Boston Marathon bombings, the Celtics were given an opportunity to lift the spirits of their proud city in their first round matchup with the Atlantic Division champion New York Knicks. Under head coach Doc Rivers, the Celtics have already demonstrated their resiliency, having earned a playoff berth after losing star point guard Rajon Rondo to a torn ACL midway through the season. Meanwhile, the streaky Knicks entered the postseason as the East’s greatest threat against Miami’s quest for a third straight Finals appearance.

Prediction:

The people of Boston deserve another gutty Celtics postseason run to distract them from the pain of Marathon Monday, but without their magician at the helm, Boston comes up short in a thrilling series. New York will advance, but I would not be surprised if the C’s stretch this to six games.

Harden vs. Oklahoma City

(Battle of the Offensive Juggernauts, Part I)

By dropping the regular season finale to the Lakers, James Harden and the Houston Rockets likely sealed their postseason fate, as the eighth seed in the West earned them the dubious honor of facing reigning conference champions Oklahoma City in the opening round. For Harden, this series is an opportunity to make the Thunder regret trading him to H-Town, after OKC refused to offer the former Sixth Man of the Year a max contract. Harden has obviously proven his star caliber abilities as the featured man in Houston, but a stellar performance in this series would cement his status as an elite player.

Prediction:

Harden will get his numbers, but Houston’s inexperience against the ultra-talented Thunder results in a commanding series win for OKC. I really hope the Rockets can extend the series to at least six games, but I don’t expect them to do so.

The Wild West

(Battle of the Offensive Juggernauts, Part II)

Despite the fact that Miami is expected to repeat as NBA champions, the Western Conference is still the superior league from top to bottom. As such, the West has provided some of the most thrilling playoff series in recent years, and the Denver-Golden State matchup has all the makings for another highly competitive, highly entertaining bout. Both the Nuggets and Warriors have a knack for scoring a ton of points, and the young talent on each squad should make for some outstanding battles.

Prediction:

I fully expect this series to go to seven games, with the Nuggets’ incredible home court dominance carrying them to the second round. Denver and Golden State both suffered tough blows with the injuries to Danilo Gallinari and David Lee, respectively. Nevertheless, I still believe the offensive firepower of each team will make for an awesome series, including the deciding seventh game in the Mile High city.

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The NBA Playoffs just kicked off and this is where all the hard work in the offseason and regular season pay off.  This year’s playoffs are going to excite with teams like: Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, San Antonio, Boston, Orlando, Oklahoma City, Denver and Dallas. These and other teams are more than  capable of winning it all.

Eastern Conference

#1 Chicago Bulls vs. #8 Indiana Pacers

• Chicago is the #1 overall seed with a 62-20 record; they have the league’s best ranked defense and arguably, the MVP in Derrick Rose. The bench has played well and that should not change in the playoffs. Indiana is a young team with a lot talent, but it’s not their time.

Chicago wins the series 4-1

#2 Miami Heat vs. #7 Philadelphia 76ers

• Miami and Philly are similar in their up-tempo style of play. The glaring difference is Miami has two of the top five players in Dwayne Wade and Lebron James. Just the two of them alone is too much for Philly to handle.

Miami wins the series 4-1

#3 Boston Celtics vs. #6 New York Knicks

• The most exciting series in the Eastern Conference, the number of star players could light up the Milky Way galaxy. Carmelo Anthony, amare Stoudemire, Chauncey Billups going up against the Boston four party. This has seven games written all over it.

Boston wins the series 4-3

#4 Orlando Magic vs. #5 Atlanta Hawks

• This Orlando team is not as good as they have been in the past, but they still have Dwight Howard and he is the best center in the league. Atlanta has no answer for Dwight and that will really make it hard to advance any further.

Orlando wins the series 4-2

Western Conference

#1 San Antonio Spurs vs. #8 Memphis Grizzlies

• If the spurs stay healthy they should be able to handle this dangerous Memphis team. This series has upset all over it, the veteran spurs going against the young grizzlies. In this situation I think that experience determines everything.

San Antonio wins the series 4-2

#2 Los Angeles Lakers vs. #7 New Orleans Hornets

• The hornets haven’t beaten the Lakers all year and their star forward is out with a torn ACL. The Lakers ended the season losing five out of their last seven games so they are most vulnerable but you need more than luck to beat the two time defending champs in a playoff series.

Los Angeles wins the series 4-1

#3 Dallas Mavericks vs. #6 Portland Trail Blazers

• This is a tough first round matchup for the Mavericks; Portland is not a true #6 seed. Home court advantage definitely comes into play in this series. Ultimately I think that Dirk Nowitzki will be too much for Portland.

Dallas wins the series 4-2

#4 Oklahoma City Thunder vs. #5 Denver Nuggets

• Oklahoma City is a great team, but the Denver Nuggets have a lot of depth. Denver can go ten deep and that can wear any team down. The Thunder have home court advantage, but the Nuggets are more than capable of stealing one on the road.

Denver wins the series 4-3

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