The NBA season is young but the Boston Celtics are not. Most teams are 16 games through the semi-shortened season. Five teams have clearly erected themselves more than others in my opinion.
#5: The Philadelphia 76ers (11-5) seem close to the real deal. They score 99.8 (third in league) and give up a measly 88 points per game (second in league). The margin of victory is substantial. The true test will be the challenging upcoming schedule during the first 10 days of February. Opponents consist of the Bulls, Heat, Hawks, Spurs and Clippers. Bottom-line is, the Sixers have no egos getting in the way of their victories. Seven guys average double figures. In fact, I am almost positive most of you reading have never heard of the guys leading the way. Having said that I am most skeptical of Lou Williams being the leading scorer with 15 and a half a game.
#4: The Orlando Magic (11-4) are a tough team. Dwight Howard is getting an absurd 20 points and 16 boards a game. The only problem is the questions about his future with the team. Jameer Nelson has struggled a bit thus far, but looks to be getting back on track. Lastly, Ryan Anderson has been a pleasant surprise to the Orlando offense. The crew is strong and will be a top three Eastern Conference team as long as Howard buys into staying put.
#3: The Chicago Bulls (15-3) allow the least points and bring down the most boards a game. And yes they have the best closer in the league and MVP, Derrick Rose. Additionally, the Bulls are extremely deep at the guard position getting a mountain of help from C.J. Watson, Mike James and Richard Hamilton. My only concern for Chicago is their reliance on Rose to come through late in games.
#2: The Miami Heat (11-4) are the highest scoring team in the league with 107 a game. They are scoring seven more a game than the third ranked scoring team. LeBron James is getting the usual 30 a game, without much change to his late game abilities. Norris Cole is a surprising rookie out of Cleveland State, getting an impressive nine off the bench. Udonis Haslem is ripping down a career high 9.5 boards a game. Miami looks progressively more like a championship team with the role players more in place now than ever. But who takes and makes the big shot? Wade will be the guy. And he will make it.
#1: The Oklahoma City Thunder (13-3) are the real deal. Kevin Durant is getting 26 and 7 per game. I think an issue they have to unravel is the amount of shots Russell Westbrook is taking.
I believe in order for them to fully reach their potential he needs to dish out more than five assists a game and become a less selfish player. Durant has to be the guy there. The spotlight cannot be shared, as we saw it was their downfall in the playoffs last year, losing to the Dallas Mavericks. Every team has their flaws and that is why I still believe the Thunder are the number one force.
Notables not mentioned:
The Los Angeles Lakers (10-7) are an interesting group. I love Kobe Bryant, but I don’t know if he will have any gas left in the tank putting up the minutes and production he is now with injury and age concerns. However, I can be proved wrong with the motivation of the divorce. Likewise, I don’t know how long Andrew Bynum will be playing like Shaquille O’Neal.
The Atlanta Hawks (12-5) are in the mix. Yes, Tracy McGrady and Jerry Stackhouse are alive and playing for the Atlanta Hawks. It must be great to have the veteran presence in the locker room. Overall, they have a favorable combination of young and old. The Hawks have a shot to become dangerous around playoff time and knock out a top seed.
Keep an eye on the Grizzles, Clippers and T-Wolves as well for the remainder of the season.
Tim Shanahan can be reached at tshanahan@spartans.ut.edu.