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While we all might be caught up in the college madness, there is quite the race going on in the NBA right now. Keeping up with one of my past articles, I am going to choose the top five contenders for the NBA championship.
5- Orlando Magic
I believe this team has the talent to win the title this year, but lack the experience. If you think that Dwight Howard will end his career without multiple championships, you are kidding yourself. This man will end his career as one of the most dominant centers of all time, and as long as the Magic surround him with capable talent, he will be fine. Unfortunately for Orlando fans, we’re talking about this year, and this supporting cast is not adept enough to bring a parade back to Florida. You could argue the team-surrounding Superman is one of the most talented, but in a seven-game series against more experienced teams such as the Celtics, Cavaliers or Spurs, I will take one of the latter.
4- San Antonio Spurs
It’s hard to say that anyone would want to play this team in a seven-game series. I could easily see the Spurs solidifying themselves as the team of the generation with another championship this year, but I feel that they will slip up at some point. They are not as deep as they have been in years past, and against youthful teams like the Lakers, that could be their weakness.
3- Los Angeles Lakers
With the Lakers in the three spot, you probably can see my pick is coming out of the east. However, just like the entire season, these last three teams are all interchangeable. This Lakers team is better than the one that came close to winning the championship for the first time post-Shaq, but came up short because of the absence of a bruising, bashing center. Unluckily, that could be the same reason on why the Lakers come up short for the second year in a row. If Andrew Bynum were in the lineup, then this team would leap frog the next two teams, and would most likely hoist another banner into the rafters.
2- Cleveland Cavaliers
As a Celtics fan, this team scares me more than anyone. LeBron James has the ability to win a series by himself (2006 conference finals vs. the Pistons anyone?). Since 2006, James has improved his game tenfold. With his previous otherworldly skills, he has the defensive capabilities of Scottie Pippen and the leadership of Michael Jordan. The Celtics have more talent than this team, but James is gifted enough to beat the Celtics if he needed to. Yes, he came up short against Paul Pierce in their memorable playoff game last year, but he has added a drive that only the Olympics could give you to surpass Pierce this year and raise his first Bill Russell Trophy along with his first of many, many championships.
1-Boston Celtics
This team might be giving up their number one seed right now, but it will pay dividends when they are fully healthy going into the playoff stretch, and this team fully healthy is the most adept to go back to back. As skeptical as I was at first, the addition of Mikki Moore and especially Stephon Marbury will be the difference maker, giving them a much deeper bench that will put them over the top against the Cavs and the Lakers. Don’t worry about the “Big Three” losing their drive. They have repeatedly shown they want to be remembered along with the other great Celtic teams, and their young guns are dying to be apart of that. Expect another banner added to the Garden.
Bangor Daily News