A LEGEND IS BORN III

[Fresh8]

Nooo. It's sad when this kind of thing happens. On the bright side, the shimmy is reborn in Toronto!

He got owned in Portland. Would have been cool to see him off the bench in our first round matchup last playoffs. Didn't even realise he was on the team

But he did play 81 games.

[hova-]

We will definitely make the Playoffs. I dunno why they even hired Nate. I mean, he won't see many minutes. This will be the year of Chris Hova.

[puttincomputers]

Hey Kings the TWolves are coming. Be prepared to shake in fright! Martin wants a piece of you Chara

[Fresh8]

Hova, Nate was a great acquisition. The Raptors didn't really have much depth.

Manfred, I do like the Wolves actually. Balanced team across the board.

[Valor]

but I must note to him that he better not be taking advantage of that Krispy Kreme endorsement and feeding his team too many doughnuts.

Martti's gonna become an overweight crybaby now

[puttincomputers]

I like Toronto's Chances in the East. They have a wide verity of semi-decent to players that can change the game. When Bosh is out Fry can pull the bigs out of the paint with his shooting.

[Martti.]

Valor, yeah. So, how's being the third-string SG?

[Houndy]

I'm not a big part of the 76ers, awesome!

[Fresh8]

I like Toronto's Chances in the East. They have a wide verity of semi-decent to players that can change the game. When Bosh is out Fry can pull the bigs out of the paint with his shooting.

Yeah, I do like Toronto as well. Frye and Nate Robinson will be a good combo off the bench. Don't forget about Toine!

[hova-]

I feel ashamed that I'm not considered a potential All-Star Guys don't know how much I've worked on my game, I mean I spent all my points on my game (and I had a lot of points)

[Fresh8]

The depth of PG talent is insane... you're not even top 10

[Lamrock]

L-Train is definitely a potential all-star.

[Mark.]

Hawks still look pretty solid, but Prince and Manu's age has to be a worry. That Warriors front court is biiiiiiiig!

[Fresh8]

L-Train is definitely a potential all-star.

Um... no.

Hawks still look pretty solid, but Prince and Manu's age has to be a worry. That Warriors front court is biiiiiiiig!

Hawks are pretty good in the East but nowhere near the good teams in the whole of the league. Your Hornets are much much better

[Fresh8]

September 14, 2013
Team Rankings: 10-1
By Willard Smith

In anticipation of the 2013-14 season, I will attempt to rank all 30 teams from 30 to 1.

Here are the top 10 teams in the league based on performances from last season and the hard work put in over the offseason to improve rosters or even to keep them intact.

10. New Jersey Nets (Last season: 43-39)

The enigma of the NBA. Much like the Washington Wizards of two or three years ago with Lamarcus Aldridge, Antawn Jamison, Caron Butler, Gilbert Arenas and Klemen Pirc; the Nets are great on paper loaded from 1 to 12 on the roster but terrible on the court. They seem to be giant underachievers and after predictions of multiple Wizards-Nets Eastern Conference Finals after Melo joined the team; we all know how Washington ended up after three seasons of no results. Hopefully, that does not happen to this Nets team that has such great depth. On another note, the trading away of super sub Raymond Felton has raised a few eyebrows though and generated talk of a trade for another All-Star.

Starting Five: DJ Schmidt | Yi Jianlian | Carmelo Anthony | Jeremy Mason | Barney Steele
Key Reserves: Aaron Flores | Rudy Fernandez | Corey Maggette | Sean May
Potential All-Stars: Anthony, Steele

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9. Miami Heat (Last season: 43-39)

Miami lacks the depth to compete with the very best teams in the league for a title. Their reliance on their All-Star duo and high flying third wheel is going to be brutally tested again this season – even in the Eastern Conference. If the Heat want to get back into the winner’s circle, then they are going to have to add more depth in the frontcourt. The failed Bosh trade could hurt them more than they are letting on to expect. JR Smith isn’t the kind of guy who is going to forget what happened. He will either play really really good or really really bad this season. And his play will affect Miami’s final standing.

Starting Five: Tracy Kennedy | Michael Beasley | JR Smith | Dwyane Wade | Marcus Williams
Key Reserves: James Jones | Dorell Wright | Luke Ridnour
Potential All-Stars: Wade, Beasley

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8. LA Lakers (Last season: 41-41)

Trevor Ariza and Jose Calderon are two important pieces to the Lakers quest for another title. Ariza should start at small forward for his former team while Calderon, close friend of Pau Gasol, is likely to be the starter at point guard. The Lakers want to run and the two players are going to help facilitate that wish. LA has a strong bench as starters Rodney Stuckey, Luke Walton and James Carter are all relegated to the bench. The Lakers have never had luck in the health department and that is why they have only won 1 championship in the Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol, Kobe Bryant era.

Starting Five: Andrew Bynum | Pau Gasol | Trevor Ariza | Kobe Bryant | Jose Calderon
Key Reserves: Rodney Stuckey | James Carter | Luke Walton | Udonis Haslem
Potential All-Stars: Bryant, Bynum, Gasol

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7. Milwaukee Bucks (Last season: 44-38)

Milwaukee sure did surprise a lot of folks with their playoff run that only ended in early June. No one expected the Bucks to make it past the first round. Now that the rest of the league is on alert, should we expect them to struggle? Probably not because the entire team has been training hard during training camp and Liam Washburn has called himself out as an All-Star caliber forward this season. I believe this is my most dangerous pick. The other 9 teams in my top 10 are surefire high-caliber teams in my books. The Bucks are a bit of a hit and miss. I hope that they prove me right though. There have been reports that Charlie Villanueva has dared the franchise to trade him away and maybe they will be able to do so and get a good solid veteran player in return for his expiring contract.

Starting Five: Hilton Armstrong| Jay Gray | Liam Washburn | Deshawn Stevenson | Michael Conley
Key Reserves: Jordan Farmar | Andrei Kirilenko | Antawn Jamison | Beno Udrih
Potential All-Stars: Gray

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6. Orlando Magic (Last season: 41-41)

Gerald Wallace is definitely an upgrade over Rashard Lewis. Many Magic fans are hoping that Crash is going to be able to be more than just an upgrade. The Magic have suffered through meritocracy for a long time and it is only a short while before they break up their core group of players. Dwight Howard doesn’t have much time to help this current Magic squad make some real noise in the playoffs. With the drop-off in talent of several key Eastern Conference teams from last season and the addition of a versatile player in Wallace, Orlando may find itself as a top 4 team in the East.

Starting Five: Dwight Howard | Ryan Andersen | Gerald Wallace | Courtney Lee | Jameer Nelson
Key Reserves: Corey Brady | Donte Greene | Keith Bogans | Zydranus Ilgauskas
Potential All-Stars: Howard, Nelson, Wallace

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5. Dallas Mavericks (Last season: 44-38)

The Mavs surprised everyone by eliminating the New Orleans Hornets in last year’s first round before stretching their second round series against NBA champion Sacramento Kings to 7 games. The loss of Steve Nash may have seem to be devastating but it seems that their offseason moves may have mitigated that loss. Andrew Watson will bring stability to the shooting guard spot while Aaron Brooks should fit into Jerryd Bayless’ role quite nicely. The onus is on Bayless to perform well in the starting point guard role and act more as a facilitator. No one thinks he can do it but if he is able to then the Mavs are going to be one heck of a team.

Starting Five: Mark Chaney | Dirk Nowitzki | Kenneth Dela Cruz | Andrew Watson | Jerryd Bayless
Key Reserves: Hedo Turkoglu | Leo Lai | Aaron Brooks
Potential All-Stars: Nowitzki, Dela Cruz

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4. New Orleans Hornets (Last season: 52-30)

Chris Paul has backed down from last season’s trade requests ever since the acquisition of swingman Mark Moore. Moore recommitted to the franchise after he went into free agency and the forecast for the Hornets is finally fine and sunny again. Moore’s addition was invaluable for New Orleans as he made them serious contenders. Unfortunately, the Hornets were knocked out in the first round by the Dallas Mavericks. However, Paul and Moore have both vowed that they will have an even better showing next season after having the entire Summer to prepare to play with each other and build better cohesiveness. The Hornets do have two huge stumbling blocks in the way of the NBA Finals and they are the two Western Conference teams listed below.

Starting Five: Tyson Chandler | David West | Julian Wright | Mark Moore | Chris Paul
Key Reserves: Martell Webster | Anton Semenko | Christopher Blake | Darrel O’Neal
Potential All-Stars: Paul, Moore

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3. Cleveland Cavaliers (Last season: 46-36)

Talk about making some major additions! Cleveland are definitely the best team in the Eastern Conference if they can integrate their new guys in and if New Jersey continues to underachieve. The Cavs needed an inside presence and they added 7’2” centre Byron Brock. The Cavs needed a pass-first point guard and they added Raymond Felton. The Cavs needed a leader for the second unit and serviceable Mo Williams moves into a sixth man role. The Cavs even upgraded with some fresh blood by opting to not re-sign mainstay Daniel Gibson and add a younger and better shooter in Terrell Hicks. Everyone, including the new guys, is playing with a chip on their shoulder. Cleveland finally has the depth to challenge the Western Conference powerhouses for a title.

Starting Five: Byron Brock | Joakim Noah | Lebron James | Rudy Gay | Raymond Felton
Key Reserves: Mo Williams | Terrell Hicks | Corey Brewer | Lambros Papadopoulous
Potential All-Stars: James, Gay, Brock

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2. Seattle Stealth (Last season: 59-23)

One of the age-old questions about a good team is ‘age’ (pun intended). So how good can Seattle be after they have been so good for nearly 3 years now? Jason Kidd is going to turn 41 and Allen Iverson is pushing 39. Andrew Bogut and David Lee are both in their late 20s and the Stealth are known not to trust their younger players to play big minutes. Can these guys really play out another 82+ game season and make a deep playoff run? Seattle is easily the second best team in the league – all that is stopping it from being the best is a championship. Many have doubted whether Seattle are built to be a championship side even though they look great on paper. If last season wasn’t the season to prove it, then this season will be their last.

Starting Five: Andrew Bogut | David Lee | Kevin Durant | Reshawn Tyson | Jason Kidd
Key Reserves: Allen Iverson | Aaron Karl | Mingyu Li | Jao Wu | Adam Morrison
Potential All-Stars: Durant, Tyson, Bogut

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1. Sacramento Kings (Last season: 52-30)

The defending champions got even stronger as they landed another scoring weapon in Rashard Lewis over the offseason. The Kings are the first serious contender for back to back titles in a long time. They have kept their entire team from last season in-tact and the addition of Lewis puts them in even better stead. Watch out for this team to play even better than they did post-Jefferson trade as they have had time to learn to play together. The Kings could push for 65+ wins this season and Moses Chara could push for back-to-back MVPs.

Starting Five: Al Jefferson | Jason Thompson | Moses Chara | Michael Redd | Russell Westbrook
Key Reserves: Rashard Lewis | Joe Alexander | Andres Nocioni | Jerry Stackhouse | Donnie Myers | Steve Blake
Potential All-Stars: Chara, Jefferson, Redd, Westbrook

[kibaxx7]

'Shard to the Kings, I love their team man.

[George7]

Kings back to back champs,or your Stealth is going to strike back?
Those two teams will definitely share the spotlight.

BTW,who is Lambros Papadopoulos in Cavs roster ?

[The X]

Looks like Bucks could've used me

[newc]

Great read Sit

I always like these season previews, where you can familiarise with other teams a bit

[hova-]

Wow, Hilton Armstrong next to Jay Gray. If they had a somewhat capable C next to him their inside game would be A+. I like your chances, but the Kings are just looking way too good. I hope X performs for my Mavs

[Houndy]

Agreed with Hov, you better play good X

[Fresh8]

'Shard to the Kings, I love their team man.

They have a talented squad that will be tough to beat. To be honest though, I think I have a much better one.

BTW,who is Lambros Papadopoulos in Cavs roster ?

Do a search of his name and you can find out his history.

Looks like Bucks could've used me

They could have but the Mavs could have used you more.

Bucks got Deshawn. He's pretty good

Great read Sit

I always like these season previews, where you can familiarise with other teams a bit

Thanks NewC. Glad you enjoyed it. Took ages to write. Not sure if I will do player rankings as it's such a bitch to rank all the top players... :S

I've started on all of them but it's just taking way too long...

Wow, Hilton Armstrong next to Jay Gray. If they had a somewhat capable C next to him their inside game would be A+. I like your chances, but the Kings are just looking way too good.

The frontcourt is already A+.

[Valor]

Valor, yeah. So, how's being the third-string SG?

At least my team actually Wins and I don't cry every second interview

@Sit Kings is STACKED man....

[Mark.]

Yeah that Kings team has it all. Didn't realise my Hornets were so highly rated.

[dare]

The Kings are really loaded, it's going to be tough to defeat them. The Bucks are good too maybe some trades for them and they will be the top team in the East.