The Midway Point Boasts Plenty of NBA Title Contenders
This year’s shortened NBA season has hit the midway point and there are a number of teams that look like legitimate title contenders.
The Miami Heat seem to be the favorites, and haven’t missed a beat since Dwayne Wade returned from injury. All the controversy about who’s going to take the last shot is all hype. Whether Lebron James or Wade is available they have two of the best options in the game to take it.
The Oklahoma City Thunder might have the most all around talent and depth, but they still remain an enigma. Kevin Durant and Brian Westbrook are two of the best pure scorers out there, but Westbrook is volatile and needs to take better control of the ball. If Perkins and Ibaka can become a consistent dominant force down low it gives them an edge over teams like Miami.
The Chicago Bulls might be the most well equipped team to make a strong playoff run. They have been without their star point guard and last year’s MVP Derrick Rose for a lot of the season, but still find themselves 25 and 8. Their all around talent and depth doesn’t appear to be elite on paper, but they have great rapport with each other, which allows them to overachieve.
The San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks are the ageless wonders. The Spurs (22-9) continue to win while using everyone. They are led by Tony Parker who is averaging 19.4 points per game, but they have seven guys averaging at least nine points. The Spurs will be tough to beat in the playoffs because of their experience and efficiency. I don’t think the Mavs will hold up. Nowitzki is a great player, and they have most of the core group from their championship team last year, but they will wear down by the time the playoffs arrive.
Both of the Los Angeles teams will make the playoffs, but they both lack the make-up to win it all. The Clippers have more all-around talent than the Lakers, but the Lakers have more experience. If the Clippers still had Billups they could have really made some noise. The Lakers will most likely go through at least one roster change by the end of the year so it is tough to say where they will be, but as of right now they lack the guard play and depth to be considered as serious contenders.
There are a few other teams such as Memphis, Philadelphia, and New York that could also rise up and win a championship. Memphis started slow but is starting to look good now, and Philadelphia is a different team when Spencer Hawes is in the line-up. New York, with the emergence of Jeremy Lin, could have the fire power and depth to make a run.
It is still very early, but the team to beat once again is Miami. They are everyone’s rivals so they will get every team’s best games coming down the stretch.
Special thanks to isportsweb.
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