Is Michael Jordan Really the Greatest Of All Time?

I want to start off by saying I am not denying that Michael Jordan is one of the best players to ever play the game and that what he did for the NBA and basketball was incredible in itself. I know that many see him as clearly the best player of all time but I hope that I can provide enough evidence to sway that opinion. So let’s begin: Is MJ really the best?

For many years it has almost been blasphemous to say anyone other than Michael Jordan is the Greatest Basketballer of All Time. Even if you ask non- NBA fans who the greatest is they will always tell you MJ despite them not even watching a game. This is because the media have told us time and time again that he is untouchable and clearly the premier player of the NBA. This myth is wrong and it is unfortunate that MJ is synonymous with being the best player of all time just because that’s what we have been lead to believe.

Michael Jordan had an illustrious career with many awards these include:

6-time NBA Champion

5 MVP awards

10-time scoring champion

3-time steals leader

14-time all star

6-time NBA Finals MVP

1-time NBA Defensive player of the year

11-time All-NBA

9-time All-Defensive

NBA Rookie of the year

And 2 Olympic Gold Medals

 He averaged 37.1 ppg in one season and 35ppg in another with a career average of 30.1 ppg in his career and 33.4 ppg in playoffs. His well known highlights include the dunk from the free throw line, the Flu game and ‘The Shot”. While the numbers, the awards and accolades are all incredible we are talking about being the best player to ever play the game. This ‘award’ isn’t about stats though if it were then the best would be Wilt Chamberlain or Oscar Robertson, it’s not about Championships either otherwise Bill Russell would be the Greatest of All Time. To analyse the true GOAT we must take into consideration the era, the impact on their team and the way the public perceive the player based on what the media and NBA tells us.

Impact on team

Michael Jordan entered the NBA in 1984 and won Rookie of the Year. The Bulls however went an abysmal 38-44 and lost 3 games to 1 in the first round of the playoffs. He is supposed to be the GOAT yet couldn’t even manage a winning record in his opening season? It’s not like he didn’t have help either he had Woolridge who averaged 22.9 PPG and 5.6 RPG and Quinten Daily averaging 16 PPG.

 In his second year Michael was injured for the majority and the team went 30-52 he did however play in the playoffs and had a game where he scored 63 and the Bulls were still swept in the first round.

His third year despite his 37 PPG average they STILL had a losing record 40-42 (5^th in the Central Division) and again were swept in the first round of the playoffs! Interestingly he only averaged 4.6 assists this year and yet no one labels him a ‘ball hog’.

He was 1-9 in the playoffs until Pippen arrived. 1987 was when Scottie came to the party and in that year the Bulls improved to a 50-32 record (2^nd in the Division) and lost in the Semis.

Surely though when Michael retired the Bulls took a big hit right?

 In 1992-93 they had a 57-25 record and won the championship then MJ retired for the first time. If you lose the Greatest Player of All Time you would assume you’d at least drop 15 games and probably not make the playoffs. But surprisingly the Bulls’ record only dropped 2 games to 55-27 and they lost in seven games in the Semi finals. Only a 2 game drop off after losing the supposed GOAT how do other stars stack up in this category?
Bill Russell:  When he retired the Celtics went from 48-34 to 34-48

Wilt Chamberlain: When he retired the Lakers went from 60-22 to 47-35

Oscar Robertson: The Bucks went from 59-23 to 38-44

Larry Bird: When Larry was injured and only played 6 games the Celtics went from 57-25 to 42-40

Magic Johnson: The Lakers went from 58-24 to 43-39

Take a closer look at this season without MJ, you would assume that Pippen and Grant would’ve had a worse shooting percentage, as the defenses would now focus on them lets look at the stats.
92/93 With MJ
Pippen: 18.6 PPG 47.3 FG%
Grant: 13.2 PPG 50.8 FG%

93/94 Without MJ

Pippen: 22 PPG 49.1 FG%

Grant: 15.1 PPG 52.4%

Furthermore the 9 players who played both these seasons collectively improved their FG% from 48.2% to 48.6%. This is unusual because you would assume with all the double teams MJ demands that he would be able to find open players for great looks!

 How about when he came out of retirement late in the following season? The Bulls actually slipped 8 games and again lost in the Semis.

What about the start of their careers how did the other greats fare in comparison to Michael?

Larry Bird entered the league in 1979 in that year Boston improved from a 29-53 record to a 61-21 record. That’s a 32-win difference in only his rookie year and a turn around from last in the Atlantic division to first. They lost in the Eastern Conference Finals that year and won the Championship in his second year!

Kareem Abdul Jabbar improved Milwaukee from 27-55 to 56-26 in his rookie year and won the championship in his third!

Oscar Robertson improved Sacramento Kings from 19-56 to 33-46 in his first year

Wilt in his first full season with the 76ers improved them from a 40 win team to a 55 win team and won the title with them in the next season

In Wilt’s rookie year with what was then known as the Philadelphia Warriors the team improved from 35-37 to 49-26 and he averaged 37.6 PPG and 27 RPG in only his rookie season.

Magic Johnson improved the Lakers from 47-35 to 60-22 and won the title in his rookie year.

Clearly Michael did NOT have the biggest impact on his team even when on the Wizards for his final 2 seasons they did not make the postseason.

The ERA

"We could not have won 70 games playing against 1980's teams."

-Dennis Rodman, starting power forward for the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls

Michael had his success in the 90’s winning all his six rings in this decade. In this era the league

expanded added 6 more teams over 8 years, which meant stars were scattered all over the place and not playing together. The only competition for MJ was really Julius Erving, Clyde Drexler and Dominique Wilkins. They were the best guards at this time and none of them were real rivals like Magic and Larry. In the 80’s you needed 3-4 Hall of fame players to compete, in the 90’s the Bulls had 2 Hall of Famers and Dennis Rodman, who was already a Defensive Player of the Year and a 2 time NBA champion, in a time where most other teams had one HOF player if they were lucky. Other eras had more concentrated talent in each team.

‘There’s nothing comparable to that quality (of the 80’s) competition at the top for these Chicago Bulls’ – an NBA commentator at the time

Compare that to who Kobe Bryant has had to face and beaten in their prime: Allen Iverson, Tracy McGrady, Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, Paul Pierce, Kevin Durant, Vince Carter, Manu Ginobili, Ray Allen not to mention he has had to defend Deron Williams, CP3, Russell Westbrook, Rajon Rondo and more who were way more athletic and better than most of the guards in MJ’s time.

In the 60’s there was Wilt, Oscar, Elgin Baylor, Bill Russell, Jerry West all superstars that competed against each other.  There were also less teams meaning they had more concentrated talent in each team during this era.
Kareem had to go up against players like McHale, Olajuwon, Barkley, Robert Parish, Patrick Ewing.

The teams in the 90s were all spread out whereas in other eras the teams have been stacked with multiple stars going against each other.

Michael Jordan was also a terrible 3-point shooter. Most people don’t know that in the 1994-95 season the NBA made the 3-point line closer. These are the 3-point FG% numbers for MJ before this season:
84-85: 17.3%

85-86: 16.7%

86-87: 18.2%

87-88: 13.2%

88-89: 27.6%

89-90: 37.6%

90-91: 31.2%

91-92: 27%

92-93: 35.2%

 The NBA didn’t change it back until the 97-98 season in which MJ shot 23.8% from 3-point range.

 

The 80s were the toughest in era in the NBA

"I think our best teams could handle them, we had Kareem in the middle, he always made the difference for us."

Earvin "Magic" Johnson on whether or not his Lakers of the mid to late 1980's could defeat the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls.

The Media

“The media now has anointed Michael Jordan the greatest of all time. Is he greatest of all time? No, I don’t think he is.” –Oscar Robertson

 

Is perception greater than the reality? 

The NBA under David Stern excelled financially and the number of viewers dramatically increased. Mainly because of the intelligent marketing put behind Michael Jordan. He created so much revenue for the NBA and for Nike. Two years after he signed with Nike, they recorded $1 billion dollars in profit. We’ve heard terms such as ‘Be Like Mike’ on the Gatorde commercial raking them a lot of publicity and money or ‘His Airness’ this is because at this time the NBA only promoted one player during this time, there was never anything like this in any sports the amount of attention just given to a single player and you could tell on the court that other players were starting to get sick of it.

‘You couldn’t win any points if you said something bad about him’ –Andrea Kremer Chicago Bureau

The movie Space Jam made 450 million because MJ was in it. He brought in 10 billion dollars worth of revenue for the NBA- as long as he was making money the media were going to keep hyping him up.

‘When it comes to Michael Jordan we were in some sought of national denial, everybody made money through Michael Jordan’ –Media Personality

They changed the rules to help MJ win and changed the whistles to make sure that if he wasn’t going to win he would still win.  Even now he still makes money off the Jordan brand, so the media keep pushing him and now we are left to cling to a manufactured image.

"They are trying to sell today's game, not the game from the 1960's, 70's or 80's."

-Wilt Chamberlain on the NBA in 1996

No other player has been so heavily marketed.

“ESPN began distributing sports programming outside the United States in 1983” (Encyclopaedia Britannica 2011). Before this most games were only shown locally not even nationally. So Michael Jordan would have been one of the first players the world had seen on screen actually play.  He was the

headline during this period so everyone got a glimpse of him. Jordan became the first player to have his face on a Wheaties box, the Brand went to Coca-Cola, Chevrolet, Gatorade and McDonald’s. It’s simply a case of the media telling us what we want as consumers. We see Jordan as this enigma because his career coincided with the boom of consumerism and television expansion. Imagine if Kareem, Magic, Wilt or Oscar Robertson were televised worldwide or if they had this much media exposure, everyone would be preaching that they were the Greatest Of All Time. The media has a lot of power and in this instance it was used to enhance revenue by hyping up Michael Jordan.

Not to mention that the NBA changed the rules so Jordan could seem even better than what he was such as the shortened 3 point line, hand checking rules and new rules regarding illegal defenses.

"If Michael was here right now, I would say to him: When you are so great that the league tries to change the rules in an attempt to stop you then you can claim you are the best ever.  Every rule change I have seen during your career has been meant to enhance your game." 

-Wilt Chamberlain

Extra Specific Examples

In 1991 Magic Johnson destroyed Michael Jordan in Game 1 of the Finals.

In Games 2-5 Pippen guarded him instead and the Bulls won the series keeping Magic pretty quiet.

Kobe scored 55 on him in 2003.

Game 5 1988 playoffs Eastern Conference Semis

 MJ scored 2 points in the 4^th quarter and his team gets eliminated- but you never hear about this do you?

Game 5 1989

Jordan scores 18 points, only 1 point in the fourth, Detroit take the lead and eventually the series.

After the struggling years for Jordan where he couldn’t beat the Bad Boy Pistons there were many rule changes making it harder to play physical- basically helping Jordan to win and earn more money for the league.

The Reggie Miller and MJ fight proved the biased culture towards MJ. Reggie was thrown out yet MJ threw a punch yet not only wasn’t ejected he wasn’t even given a foul! The Pacers coach showed some emotion and then was given a technical. Incredible.

1993 ECF Bulls vs Knicks
One of the most fixed series in the NBA, down 2 games to zero the refs came to the rescue, calling phantom foul after phantom foul.

“They knew who they were marketing for the business…. You look back and look at the teams who can make the money for the league. Michael Jordan or Patrick Ewing? No question it was Michael Jordan …he got more calls’ –Charles Oakley

1998 season

Interestingly MJ was 35 this season and lost some athleticism. He had his worse FG% year at 46.5 % so how then does he attempt more free throws than he has since 1989 (10 years) when he was much younger and could get to the rim way easier? Because the refs gave him a lot of calls to help him out. In the first round of the playoffs he was clearly struggling but with a little help from his friends the Nets’ best defenders were in early foul trouble and MJ made 23 free throws in this game. He scored 39 points and 23 of these were free throws.

It is sad how even young NBA fans today who barely have seen a Michael game automatically believe he is the best because the media makes it seem that way.

“We protected him more than I’d like to admit’ –Media personality

It’s just not true. The perception is that he is a perfect character and saint-like well we’ve seen the fight with Reggie how about what he said to Cartwright after a bad night:
“Look, if you ever do anything like that again, you will never play basketball again because I will break both of your legs."

In practice Perdue placed a hard screen on MJ, well Michael didn’t like that and punched him in the face! He also punched Steve Kerr in the face as well. Seems like a perfect role model doesn’t he.

Without Pippen Jordan went 1-9 in playoffs

Without Jordan Pippen went 11-15 and made the West Conference Finals. He was older and out of prime too.

Here are some more interesting comparisons
Kareem without Magic (10 seasons)

Championships: 1 MVPs: 5 NBA Finals: 2 Best record in NBA: 3

Bill Russell without Bob Cousy (6 seasons)

Championships: 5 MVPs: 1 NBA Finals: 5 Best record: 2

MJ without Pippen (5 seasons)

Championships: 0 MVPs: 0 NBA Finals: 0 Best record: 0

First 3 years comparison

Kareem:

Championships: 1 MVPs: 2 NBA Finals: 1 Best Record: 1 Playoff record: 23-12 Losing records: 0 Scoring titles: 2

MJ:

Championships: 0 MVPs: 0 NBA Finals: 0 Best Record: 0 Playoff record: 1-9 Losing records: 3 Scoring titles: 1

My Greatest of All Time List

1.    Kareem Abdul Jabbar

6 Championships, 6 MVPs. Played at an elite level for 20 years, which is an extremely hard thing to do. Kareem made the defense worry, he was incredible especially with what he did for Milwaukee. He has 2 scoring titles, 1 rebound title and 4-time block leader. He averaged 24,6 PPG and 11.2 RPG over a 20 year career with his best season averaging 34.8 PPG and 16.6 RPG. His career numbers are lower because his production obviously declined as he neared the age of 40.

2.    Wilt Chamberlain
He could easily be number 1. There has not been a player that has dominated like Wilt did. He had a better vertical than MJ and Lebron, an elite track athlete and could reportedly bench more than Shaq. The 60s were a more physical era than when MJ played and superstars weren’t given the benefit of the whistle and the rules were changed to prevent Wilt from dominating so much but they didn’t work! He was an incredible athlete; over his 14-year career he average 45.8 minutes played per game! No center was able to run with him, in this time the games were like track meets, quick paced and a lot of scoring. He averaged 50.4 PPG in 1961-62 with 25.7 rebounds, has seven scoring titles, 11 rebounding titles and lead the league in assists one year (MJ has never done this and he is a guard!) He was a part of the famous Laker team that won 33 games in a row and went up against Kareem in the 70s. He has 119 50+ point games to MJ’s 29, he has the most points in a game (100) and rebounds in a game (55). He has 6 of the 9 70+ point games in the NBA (MJ has zero). A 4x MVP and 2x Champion. Oh and he has the only 20-20-20 game EVER.

‘In terms of greatness MJ has to take a backseat to The Stilt’ -Kareem

3.    Michael Jordan

            You can’t deny MJ’s greatness although the media helped enhance a lot of it. He was incredible and did change the NBA for the better. But he was not as valuable to his team as the other greats were. Michael was a great defensive player but it has been blown out of proportion, he did get owned a couple of times by Magic and other stars, and against Kobe. He played 15 seasons most of them in a weak era under expansion and the rules were changed to help him win whereas Kareem played 20 at a high level and Kobe has already played 17 and continuing to dominate. Why do we never hear of Michael’s short comings as I explained previously yet stars of today are put in the firing line: Kobe’s rape case, Lebron quitting on Cleveland and having a flopping reputation. Yet MJ is made out to be some sort of saint that can do no wrong.

4.    Kobe Bryant

Kobe will surpass MJ when it is all said and done take away the media hype off of MJ and they are basically the same player except Kobe is a better 3 point shooter. I have never seen someone take over games like he does. He doesn’t just score the game winner or game tier, he scores the last 4 big shots of a game and he makes the impossible shot seem possible. Look no further than the game this season vs Toronto. He hit 3 ridiculous threes and won them the game or against Portland in his early days. There are numerous occasions where Kobe has just grabbed the game by the throat and won it. He had an 81-point game, a 62 point game in three quarters and averaged over 40ppg in back to back months the only other player to do that was Wilt (MJ has never averaged over 40ppg in a month). He is also a great lockdown defender and takes the opponents best player in the final quarter or against Boston he took Rondo for most of the series and he usually wins these matchups. Unfortunately he spent most of his prime with Smush Parker, Kwame Brown and Luke Walton for starters. If he had of left at this time I feel he would’ve won way more championships but the fact that he didn’t shows his tenacity and adds an interesting aspect to his legacy. He has been able to put up incredible numbers even in his 17^th season in the league. No one has produced like him at this time in his career not even Kareem.
Common misconceptions:
Kobe is a ball hog: Kobe averaged 2.5 more assists per game at this point in his career than MJ did

Kobe has worse stats than MJ: Kobe wasn’t a starter in his first two seasons so his career averages are brought down

Kobe was carried by Shaq: If you actually believe this your kidding yourself, check our Kobe Shaq article.

Kobe only has one MVP: He deserved a lot more; he was robbed a few times in 06 and 07

Kobe has missed the most shots out of anyone in the league: In his prime he had to play alongside the players I mentioned before. Who do you want shooting Kobe or Smush?

5.    Magic Johnson

We’ve talked enough about Magic he had an incredible influence on the Lakers and deserves every accolade he gets. 5X Champion 3X MVP. Played in probably the hardest era of basketball.

6.    Larry Bird

Close to Magic.  3X Champion 3X MVP see earlier for his incredible impact on the Celtics.

7.    Oscar Robertson

Oscar Robertson is one of the most well rounded players ever. In only his first season he averaged 30.5 PPG 9.7 RPG and 9.7 APG. He averaged a triple double over his first five seasons combined! Not to mention he was two inches shorter than MJ. The only reason Oscar doesn’t have more rings is because his teams always lost to Chamberlain or Bill Russel’s teams. He also got stuck playing with small market teams and had little help until he paired up with Kareem and won a ring. If he was in the 90’s or had a better team he would have won more than MJ. He also made players around him better unlike Jordan and lead the league in assists 6 times. Wayne Embry was an all star 5 times out of 6 years that they played together and Embry is a 6 foot 8 undersized center. If we are picking the Greatest Players based on talent and skill Big O would be ahead of MJ.
Side note: For Lebron to be even considered in the discussion he would have to surpass Big O and I don’t see that happening. People say Lebron is better than MJ because of his better all around game yet why don’t they talk at all about Oscar when his game was the most complete ever? I’ll tell you why it’s another case of the media doing its job for revenue!

8.    Bill Russell

11 championships and clearly one of the best rebounders/ shot blockers ever. Why do I put Big O ahead of him even though they were in the same era? Well Big O was always on poor teams except for Milwaukee with Kareem where he won a ring. Big O was chosen 9 times for All-NBA first team compared to Russell’s 3 and was a much better scorer than Bill. The Celtics team Bill had was stacked.

The Big O is the best all-around player the NBA has ever seen.

Who is the Greatest Of All Time?

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Wilt Chamberlain

Michael Jordan

Kobe Bryant

Magic Johnson

Larry Bird

Bill Russell

Oscar Robertson

create a poll

References:

http://www.angelfire.com/ks2/airjudden/better.htm

http://airjudden2.tripod.com/jordan/better.htm

http://pw1.netcom.com/~bjalas/basketball/bulls/duhbulls.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9M-KCulzJqg

http://www.aussiehoopla.com/why-michael-jordan-is-not-the-greatest/

2013-14 Eastern Conference Preview

For many years the East has been a weaker conference with only a few good quality teams. However a lot of teams have gotten much better this season through trades and signings. They are still not as deep as the West but they have more elite teams that can contend. The first to fourth seeds will be incredible teams that all can beat each other. This season is a bit different as there is good reason to lose and it’s not just because of Andrew Wiggins. There are even more stars in next years draft that can change a franchise such as Jabari Parker and Julius Randle.

15. Philadelphia 76ers
The 76ers are most likely going to be the worst team this season. Last year they traded Iguodala for Bynum and Bynum didn’t even play a game for the franchise. Jrue Holiday was traded for Nerlens Noel who was expected to go first in the draft and the roster in general looks like it’s in need of an overhaul. Evan Turner and Thaddeus Young are good young pieces and they’d be even better with Andrew Wiggins. Best part is they won’t even have to tank to get him they’ll be bad already.

14. Charlotte Hornets

Charlotte have changed their name back to the Hornets! Which will be the most exciting thing for them all season. They resigned Gerald Henderson and have key young players in Kemba Walker, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and new rookie Cody Zeller. Much has been made of their poor drafting hopefully the luck can turn this season. They acquired Al Jefferson, which may mean they win a few more games this season and possibly make it harder to obtain Wiggins.

13. Orlando Magic

Orlando were the winners of the Dwight Howard trade as they got Vucevic and Afflalo both who are still with the team and solid contributors. I like Tobias Harris he is a really good young SF with a bright future and their new rookie Victor Oladipo has signs of being a future star some have already predicted he will win ROY this year. They are definitely on the rise they just need one more solid young player and they could be set for 5-6 years.

12. Milwaukee Bucks

Gaining OJ Mayo, Luke Ridnour, Gary Neal, Brandon Knight and Carlos Delfino definitely gives them enough depth for the guard position maybe even is a better fit than Jennings and Ellis were. These 5 don’t force as many shots and are better playmakers. However the rest of the roster is pretty average except for Larry Sanders who is a great defensive minded center. These guys could finish a bit higher but after their moves this offseason it seems as if they are focusing on bringing in younger players and maybe having a swing at the lottery picks next season.

11. Boston Celtics

A lot of people are counting them out but I’m even tempted to put them higher than 11^th seed. They still have one of the best competitors Rajon Rondo although he may miss some time with his ACL injury. Jeff Green is rapidly turning into All-Star material, Brandon Bass had pretty important games for them last season and Gerald Wallace is athletic and can do quite a bit. Avery Bradley is a great defender and also has come along nicely. They managed to get Olynyk a big man with range and is number 1 on the rookie ladder and Marshon Brooks an exciting youngster. Not to mention Sullinger who has a bright future. The core has definitely gotten younger but there is a lot of talent in this Boston Celtics team.  The two main questions are will they tank and will Rondo still be in a green jersey by the end of the season?

10. Toronto Raptors

Valanciunas, Kyle Lowry, Rudy Gay and DeMar DeRozan is a great young core. They also acquired sharp shooter Steve Novak and Tyler Hansbrough. They have enough to try to make the playoffs but I don’t think that they will. Wiggins has listed them as his preferred destination but the only way that will happen is if Toronto really tank hard.

9. Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks lost Josh Smith and replaced him with Paul Millsap which means they’ve improved. Smith was a key reason why Atlanta struggled so much last year, he’s erratic shot making and poor decisions on court really made the team pay. Millsap is a much more rounded player and can actually make the long ball. They managed to keep Teague and Kyle Korver as well. While they have a good roster and made the playoffs last year, the East has really improved and I think they will struggle. Al Horford will have to have a big year if they want to contend.

8. Washington Wizards

On draft night they picked Otto Porter who seems NBA ready and will make his mark. He plays the small forward position so he combined with John Wall and Bradley Beal will be scary in the years to come and now Kendall Marshall can back them up off the bench. They have Nene and now Gortat who are solid big men . Martell Webster, Trevor Ariza and Eric Maynor off the bench also helps.  John Wall was signed for 5 years at a max deal many questioning if he is worth it. Yes he is, it’s that simple. He called himself the best PG in the league, while I wouldn’t go that far he could definitely be that in 3 years. This season without Wall they went 5-28, with him they were 24-25. If they had him the whole season they would’ve made playoffs.

Look at these stats:

Without Wall

Martell Webster: 8.6 ppg in Nov
Bradley Beal: 11.2ppg in Nov

With Wall
Martell Webster: 14.9ppg in last month of season

Bradley Beal: 15ppg in January

John Wall averaged 22 points 7.7 assists in the second half of this past season.  The Wizards will be good this year and may just steal a playoff spot.

7. Detroit Pistons
I would like to say they will miss the playoffs, and they very well might. However getting Brandon Jennings and Josh Smith for basically Brandon Knight is going to improve them quite a bit. They reunited with former champion Chauncey Billups as well. They had 3 picks in the draft: At No.8 they chose a long-range shooter Cadwell-Pope which was interesting as they could’ve taken Trey Burke or CJ McCollum. Tony Mitchell was their next pick who was one of the best athletes in this draft and then Peyton Siva who had a bit of media attention before the draft. These two may be steals. They still have Drummond and Monroe, two young centers with a lot of potential. Will they be able to get Rondo though? If they do they could make it to 6^th seed. However as it stands: Josh Smith, Brandon Jennings, Will Bynum, Rodney Stuckey: It’s going to be BRICK city. A lot of forced shots, not much ball movement and a lot of bricks. It would actually be smart to tank this year and reinforce their young talent with another superstar because with this roster they won’t win a championship but add a Wiggins and they might.

6. Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cavs had one of the most productive off seasons gaining Jarret Jack, Earl Clark and Andrew Bynum. They also had the number one draft pick, which they used to choose Anthony Bennett. They have a great future with Kyrie Irving leading them they can be a real threat if all remain healthy. Varejao and Bynum have had a history with injuries though. I’ve written about the Cavs in two other articles so I won’t go into any more detail here.

5. New York Knicks

The Knicks will look to gain a healthy Stoudemire after last year was hindered with injury. They resigned Kenyon Martin and took Metta World Peace after he was amnestied. These two players alone will make sure the other team has a few bruises by the end of the match. The concern is that JR Smith is undergoing knee surgery and will miss 3-4 months. Jason Kidd retired and Chris Copeland left giving a bigger role to Prigioni and new signing Tim Jr Hardaway. Andrea Bargnani was an interesting signing who will come off the bench and add some range, however he isn’t a good as shooter as Steve Novak who they gave up and is notoriously soft. They may play second fiddle to their hometown rivals.

4. Brooklyn Nets

A lot has been said about the Brooklyn Nets. They probably have the best starting five on paper. Deron Williams, Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce, KG and Brook Lopez have all been All-Stars at some point. These moves were made to beat Miami. The biggest thing these two Celtics add is defense.  Paul Pierce guarded LeBron pretty well last year and KG actually troubled the Miami defense. Off the bench they have Jason Terry and Andrei Kirilenko. Terry will add a spark but the big addition really is Kirilenko he is a much better defender than Gerald Wallace and also did a nice job on LeBron when they met. He can also spread the floor and add offense. Reggie Evans and Andre Blatche off the bench as well means they will be constantly pounding the boards. If they get the chemistry right they will be a hard team to beat. However Jason Kidd has had no experience in coaching and we are yet to see how he will fair. Will the Celtic players stay out of injury and can the chemistry work itself out?

3. Chicago Bulls

They welcome back just about every starter. Derrick Rose, Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich all ended the season with injuries. Rose’s return has been widely anticipated and he will have to return to full form if they are a chance at a ring. They lost Nate Robinson and Bellinelli, which could hurt, but they are a tough team and have always caused trouble for Miami. Jimmy Butler was incredible in the playoffs and his transformation into an All Star will be interesting to watch. If they could somehow upgrade Boozer they would be a much scarier team but as it stands they can compete with just about anyone still.

2. Miami Heat

Miami have had a quiet offseason losing Mike Miller and gaining Greg Oden. If Oden is healthy that could shake things up however he has only played 82 games since 2007. Mike Miller was influential in both finals series where they won so it may be a surprise that he was amnestied. I think some of the Heat players will be a little bit complacent this year. Ray Allen achieved what he set out to do I think he should’ve retired he can’t top Game 6 and Shane Battier was on his last legs. Chris Bosh was terrible for most of the playoffs he got dominated by the Pacer big men and didn’t even score in game 7. Wade will decline even more this year, he was struggling with his health and barely got through the Finals. I don’t think they will win this season, they could lose second round to the Bulls. Its basically the same roster and you can’t stay still in this league especially when older players make up most of the roster. To make matters worse for the Heat LeBron is better playing elsewhere next season. Won’t make a difference to Heat fans they will just all shift on the bandwagon back to Cleveland where it all started!

1.     Indiana Pacers

Indiana came so close to knocking off the Heat last year and that was with a terrible bench. The starters literally had to do everything for that team. This year it’s different they added a whole new bench: CJ Watson, Chris Copeland, Luis Scola and Lance Stephenson will now be on the bench because their number 1 player for so many years Danny Granger returns. They have no weaknesses now, Luis Scola was the cherry on top. By adding him it means they have someone to back up their two big men West and Hibbert, this will further destroy Miami. They have fixed up their own holes and addressed Miami’s weaknesses. They are my tip to win the championship this season with their biggest threat matchup wise coming from the Nets. 

2013-14 Western Conference Preview

The West is going to be a BLOODBATH this year. There are so many good quality teams that will fight for a playoff position. There are three ‘groups’ this year: 1-6 any of these teams could finish between these seeds and just as easily make the NBA Finals. All 6 are elite and will stretch any team this season. Then there are the 7-12 group any of these teams can make the playoffs and just as easily get a great draft pick for next years star studded rookies. Finally the 13-15 group the Tank for Wiggins group. These teams are rebuilding still and not up to the competition in the West.

15. Phoenix Suns

The Suns cleared out their roster for a full on tanking season this year. Allowing Scola and Dudley to leave for Bledsoe, Caron Butler and Gerald Green. It will be interesting to see how Bledsoe does in a starting role, he is a great athletic player and can spark an offense. Other than that young players such as  Alex Len will be given plenty of time to prove themselves, which may annoy Goran Dragic. But in the end there is only one thing the Suns can do this season: #TankForWiggins.

14. Utah Jazz

The Jazz decided to let Jefferson AND Millsap go to keep Kanter and Favors a clear indication they are looking toward the future. Trey Burke is supposed to be a great rookie and should contend for ROY but other than these 3 players they really don’t have much except for a few washed up players like Biedrins and Jefferson. It will get ugly for the Jazz this season they don’t have enough on their bench or their starting lineup. #TankForWiggins

13. Sacramento Kings

The Kings have some nice players now.  DeMarcus Cousins is a one of the best Centers in the league, Jimmer Freddette plays well with limited minutes, Isaiah Thomas has been great for them and Grevis Vasquez will be a good pickup and can set up the offense. They managed to get Luc Mbah a Moute a great defensive player and Carl Landry, this will add a lot of toughness to the team. Ben McLemore however didn’t impress in summer league, maybe they should’ve chosen McCollum but we will see. They have a good future if they keep their core and an even better one if they can get number 1 draft pick next year.

These two will make a great duo for years to come if they stay together

12. Portland Trailblazers

I would love to put them higher, however I don’t know if they have enough experience or if LaMarcus Aldridge is going to stay with them. They have a young core with Rookie of the Year Damian Lillard, one of the best PFs Aldridge and they signed another great rookie CJ McCollum. Wesley Matthews and Batum are also good role players. They have another future star Thomas Robinson but for this season I don’t think they have enough experience to really push for a playoff spot. They have enough young talent though to improve over the next few years.

11. Dallas Mavericks

It just seems as if all of Dallas’ great free agency plans never work out. Plan B was to sign Monta Ellis, Jose Calderon, Dalembert, Devin Harris and Ellington.  Shane Larkin is a good rookie that they got from the draft. They made a lot of roster changes  last season, which didn’t work, and I don’t think it will work now. Dirk has declined ever since he won his title and become a bit complacent. Monta doesn’t make teams better, he is a high volume shot taker and its no surprise why Golden State chose Steph Curry over him. They have overpaid Jose Calderon and to be honest the Mavs are going to struggle this season.

10. New Orleans Pelicans

Pelicans have been busy this offseason. They welcomed Jrue Holiday, Tyreke Evans and Anthony Morrow to the list. They have a great starting 5 and now a great sixth man in Tyreke. They are a young up and coming team that in 2-3 years may be a contender. They have the defensive presence with Anthony Davis and the offense with Eric Gordon. Could surprise a few team higher up this season.

9. Denver Nuggets

George Karl might’ve won Coach of the Year but he had to leave. He had been at Denver too long and wasn’t producing the results.  Brian Shaw is an outstanding coach he worked under Phil Jackson and will impress this season. They have acquired JJ Hickson, Nate Robinson and Darrell Arthur while giving up Kosta Koufos and Iguodala to Free Agency. Iguodala is a big loss and Gallinari won’t be back for a while as he recovers from his ACL. This year in the West you need to be at your peak to compete so they will struggle to make the 7^th seed but I think they will do it. They have great point guard in Ty Lawson and a monster rebounder in Faried. Chandler, JJ Hickson, Nate and JaVale McGee are all exciting players that have important roles.

8. Los Angeles Lakers

Everyone is counting out the Lakers just because Dwight left. Dwight never meshed with the Lakers, Nash was not Nash last year. Everyone was too focused on making Dwight happy that their own play declined. Kobe will back for game 1, Nash is healthy and we can expect a lot more from him. The Free Agency has been kind to them too. They signed great young players who want to play for LA and took less money to do it! Nick Young, Jordan Farmar and Wes Johnson are all athletic and can all contribute. They are deeper than last year and Pau is now in his comfortable position as number 1 big on the offense I expect him to have a big season. Lakers will be better than last year and if they really click could even finish higher. I wouldn’t bet against the mamba.

7. Minnesota Timberwolves

The Wolves have made great acquisitions in Kevin Martin and Corey Brewer however they lost Andre Kirilenko and Luke Ridnour. Their best player and the best PF in the game Kevin Love will come back, but he has a history of injuries. They need to sign Pekovic or there is really no chance at playoffs. He is clearly not happy and wants a bigger contract. A big part of their success depends on Ricky Rubio and will he be able to take a step forward especially with his shooting.

The Wolves need Kevin Love healthy!

6. Memphis Grizzlies

If any team was going to come from 6^th seed and win a championship it would be these guys. They are the best defensive team in the NBA. They have DPOY Marc Gasol and two defensive specialists Tayshaun Prince and Tony Allen in their starting 5. However they removed head coach Lionel Hollins who did a fantastic job with this team and brought in David Joerger a first time NBA coach. I am not convinced this what a good move at all. What made me put them this low was not the coaching however, it was the lack of offense from the starting 5. They rely too heavily on their bench to bring scoring: Pondexter, Bayless, Koufos, Dooling, Ed Davis and new recruit Mike Miller will be expected to contribute a lot of the offense. I don’t know if they have enough to compete with the best offensive teams but if they land Mo Williams their bench is definitely strong enough to compete. Mike Conley needs to take another step forward as well if this team is to win. The offense is questionable but defense wins championships. Will be interesting to see how they fair.

5. Houston Rockets
The big players in the offseason apparently. Signing Dwight Howard to a max contract. But after that they just sat back and watched other teams chase free agents. They put all their focus on Dwight which is not the way to win a championship. Their bench is pretty solid though: Brooks, Beverly, Casspi, Camby and Asik can match it with most benches in the NBA, although Asik isn’t happy and they let Delfino go. James Harden is the 3^rd best SG in the league behind Kobe and Paul George, he is a stud and makes any team better. However if Dwight had issues with Kobe (who averaged 6 assists per game) then he will have issues with Harden’s 5.8 a game too. Will Dwight even have that much of a positive effect for them? He is a player who seems to think the grass is always greener on the other side but when he gets there things never go to plan. He can’t be relied upon down the stretch of games and he has no post game. What surprises me the most about the Rockets are the media and fans saying they have a big 4. I’m sorry but Chandler Parsons and Jeremy Lin are important Role Players, not stars. These two especially Parsons have been so overrated coming into this season. I think they will lose first round of playoffs because the chemistry won’t be right and it won’t be a great super team like most people think it will. 

4. OKC Thunder

Such a great duo in Westbrook and Durant is wasted by most of the roster. Ibaka and Sefolosha are great defensively, other than that they have very little. Kendrick Perkins should’ve been amnestied or traded a long time ago, they went from Harden to Kevin Martin to no sixth man and to make it worse Mike Miller chose Memphis because he thought they have a better chance to win a title. The bench is non-existant: Reggie Jackson, Derek Fisher, Jeremy Lamb, Steve Adams and Nick Collison is in no way a championship caliber lineup. The downfall is quickly coming for OKC as I said in a previous article, the General Manager is failing this team KD and RW can’t carry the whole load without taking injuries. Im surprised a lot of people still have OKC in their top 2, I was considering putting them as low as sixth and it could very easily happen should either of their two stars be slightly off the mark.

These two will play a monumental task if they are to win the Championship

3. San Antonio Spurs

The Spurs suffered such heartbreak last season and it is really up in the air how they may respond to it. They were literally a free throw away from a championship and to have it stolen at the 11^th hour is devastating. Their big 3 are only getting older and Ginobili looked terrible in the Playoffs. A lot of the upcoming season relies on their health and mental attitude. Can they put the past behind them; do they have enough in the tank to make a championship push? Marco Bellinelli is a great signing he was so good for the Bulls in the postseason. But they did lose DeJuan Blair and Gary Neal and I just don’t see how the same roster can improve over last season. They could easily drop to 6^th in the West, having said that they could win the Championship too. All depends on health and desire to win.

2. Golden State Warriors

Their starting five is arguably the best in the league. They have the best shooter in the league Steph Curry, one of the best defensive SF’s Andre Iguodala and the best all around center in Andrew Bogut. Harrison Barnes will probably be their sixth man and will compete for 6^th man of the year. Mark Jackson does an incredible job and I wouldn’t be surprised if they make the NBA finals this year however they need to get over their bad finishes to games. The only question now is whether the new additions of Douglas and Speights can fill the void left by the departure of Landry and Jack.

1. Los Angeles Clippers

The Clippers have one of the best rosters in the league. They are strong at every position except Small Forward. Last season they struggled with outside shooting and they have made up for it by signing JJ Redick, Jared Dudley and Mullens as outside threats. The acquisition of Doc Rivers as head coach will help them immensely and should see them with the best record out West. I don’t think they can win the championship because I the pairing of Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan isn’t an elite one. However their depth will make them a hard team to beat

Who will Earn First Seed in the West?

Los Angeles Clippers

Golden State Warriors

San Antonio Spurs

OKC Thunder

Houston Rockets

Memphis Grizzlies

Other

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