NBA Top 10 as of right now

[flyerhawk]

With the trade deadline over, what does everyone think is the top 10 in the NBA right now?

Clearly the Warriors are still the No 1 team.

The next 5 teams, IMO, get pretty interesting. IMO, as it stands the Bucks, Raptors, Sixers, Celtics and Thunder are all roughly in the same ballpark. I actually put the Nuggets a rung below. Then Jazz, Blazers, Rockets and Spurs competing for the final 2 spots in the Top 10.

Thoughts?

 

[raptorlife4]

I just hope the West makes the Warriors work thru the Playoffs

Whoever comes thru the East is going to be coming out of bloodbath

 

[flyerhawk]

I just hope the West makes the Warriors work thru the Playoffs

Whoever comes thru the East is going to be coming out of bloodbath

Yeah. The 2nd and 3rd round playoffs are going to be grueling for whoever makes it out.

 

[CitySushi]

For me, I'd go:

1) Warriors
2) 76ers
3) Raptors
4) Bucks
5) Nuggets
6) Celtics
7) Thunder
8) Rockets
9) Blazers
10) Jazz

Pacers was a tough one. I had them at 10 initially, but I'm not sure they're just quite the same threat without Oladipo even with the potential adding of Wes Matthews.

I think the 76ers have clearly set themselves up for the title run. On paper, I think they are now the most talented team in the East. We'll see if they put it together. Raptors would be next. I love Marc Gasol's addition, but we'll have to see how much he has in the tank. He'll be valuable against the 76ers, but against a teams that likes to run like the Celtics and Bucks, I'm not sure how much impact he'll have.

Nuggets are at 5 for me because I think they're just a really steady team. Good mix of vets and young players.

Celtics and Thunder were a coinflip for me for position. I think both at peak times can be as high as 2, it's just their inconsistencies make them harder to trust in the long run.

Rockets because Harden. Blazers because of Dame/McCollum combo and Jazz because of their defense to keep games low scoring.

 

[dtgold88]

With the trade deadline over, what does everyone think is the top 10 in the NBA right now?

Clearly the Warriors are still the No 1 team.

The next 5 teams, IMO, get pretty interesting. IMO, as it stands the Bucks, Raptors, Sixers, Celtics and Thunder are all roughly in the same ballpark. I actually put the Nuggets a rung below. Then Jazz, Blazers, Rockets and Spurs competing for the final 2 spots in the Top 10.

Thoughts?

I agree.......clearly the East has caught up to the West (if not passed) at the top. Overall, though, West far better.

 

[seattlefan75]

I disagree with the notion that the East is really good its just that Lebron James left if he were still there with a healthy Cavs or Heat team I think he would still run game all over the top teams. Looking at the eastern conference pretty much every team from the 7th seed down is terrible with Brooklyn being average. In the West the only 2 teams that are bad would be Phoenix and Memphis

 

[raptorlife4]

I disagree with the notion that the East is really good its just that Lebron James left if he were still there with a healthy Cavs or Heat team I think he would still run game all over the top teams. Looking at the eastern conference pretty much every team from the 7th seed down is terrible with Brooklyn being average. In the West the only 2 teams that are bad would be Phoenix and Memphis

Not this year
The top 4 teams in the East this year would destroy last years Cavs

 

[dtgold88]

I disagree with the notion that the East is really good its just that Lebron James left if he were still there with a healthy Cavs or Heat team I think he would still run game all over the top teams. Looking at the eastern conference pretty much every team from the 7th seed down is terrible with Brooklyn being average. In the West the only 2 teams that are bad would be Phoenix and Memphis

agree with 7th down which was why I said "at the top" and "as a whole the West is far better"

 

[seattlefan75]

Not this year
The top 4 teams in the East this year would destroy last years Cavs

Boy do I wish Lebron was still in the East every year for over a decade there was supposed to be a team that would destroy whatever team lebron was on

 

[flyerhawk]

I disagree with the notion that the East is really good its just that Lebron James left if he were still there with a healthy Cavs or Heat team I think he would still run game all over the top teams. Looking at the eastern conference pretty much every team from the 7th seed down is terrible with Brooklyn being average. In the West the only 2 teams that are bad would be Phoenix and Memphis

The Cavs last year should have lost to the Pacers and easily could have lost to a depleted Celtics team. Let's not pretend they were some buzzsaw.

They did beat the Raptors who have since replaced Demar Derozan for some guy named Kawhi something or other. I hear he has done pretty well against Lebron.

As for the bottom of each conference, that really isn't part of this discussion because no one really cares about bottom feeders, but it boils down to the East having 2 or 3 more bad teams than the West right now. So what?

The Bucks are 12-6 against the West.
The Raptors are 16-6 against the West
The Sixers are 14-6 against the West
The Celtics are 15-10 against the West

That's very similar to the top 4 teams in the West against the East.

 

[flyerhawk]

Boy do I wish Lebron was still in the East every year for over a decade there was supposed to be a team that would destroy whatever team lebron was on

Which has what to do with this year?

 

[seattlefan75]

The Cavs last year should have lost to the Pacers and easily could have lost to a depleted Celtics team. Let's not pretend they were some buzzsaw.

They did beat the Raptors who have since replaced Demar Derozan for some guy named Kawhi something or other. I hear he has done pretty well against Lebron.

As for the bottom of each conference, that really isn't part of this discussion because no one really cares about bottom feeders, but it boils down to the East having 2 or 3 more bad teams than the West right now. So what?

The Bucks are 12-6 against the West.
The Raptors are 16-6 against the West
The Sixers are 14-6 against the West
The Celtics are 15-10 against the West

That's very similar to the top 4 teams in the West against the East.

Shoulda woulda coulda but the pacers didn't beat the cavs and you cant assume how great the Celtics would have been if they weren't injured because they look worse now with irving not to mention Gordon Hayward averaging only 10 points per game. They lost to LeBron james lakers the other night.

The records against the west are great and all but I remember one year I cant remember if it were the Nets or Wizards that had swept Lebrons cavs during the regular season and people thought this would be a bad match up problem for LeBron in the first round then they ended getting swept so really regular season wins and losses aren't everything. If Golden State played in the East they would run game easier in the East than they would in the West. I really wish the NBA had a 16 team tournament to see what this would be like

 

[flyerhawk]

Shoulda woulda coulda but the pacers didn't beat the cavs and you cant assume how great the Celtics would have been if they weren't injured because they look worse now with irving not to mention Gordon Hayward averaging only 10 points per game. They lost to LeBron james lakers the other night.

You are completely missing the point. Everyone understands that Lebron dominated the East for the past 8 years. But that dominance was already showing cracks last year. And this year the top of the East got DRAMATICALLY better. To pretend that the Raptors this year are the same as last year is to ignore the obvious.

The records against the west are great and all but I remember one year I cant remember if it were the Nets or Wizards that had swept Lebrons cavs during the regular season and people thought this would be a bad match up problem for LeBron in the first round then they ended getting swept so really regular season wins and losses aren't everything. If Golden State played in the East they would run game easier in the East than they would in the West. I really wish the NBA had a 16 team tournament to see what this would be like

Ohhh you are just generically whining about how the 2 conferences are disparate.

I couldn't possibly care less about whether they went to a 16 team team seeding or not. The bottom 8 teams are at best winning one playoff series and getting bounced. So last year the Nuggets could have made the playoffs over the Bucks and got smoked by the Rockets.

 

[MizzouFalcon]

The Cavs last year should have lost to the Pacers and easily could have lost to a depleted Celtics team. Let's not pretend they were some buzzsaw.

They did beat the Raptors who have since replaced Demar Derozan for some guy named Kawhi something or other. I hear he has done pretty well against Lebron.

As for the bottom of each conference, that really isn't part of this discussion because no one really cares about bottom feeders, but it boils down to the East having 2 or 3 more bad teams than the West right now. So what?

The Bucks are 12-6 against the West.
The Raptors are 16-6 against the West
The Sixers are 14-6 against the West
The Celtics are 15-10 against the West

That's very similar to the top 4 teams in the West against the East.

It’s even more similar if you just start comparing the head to head of the top teams in each conference.

Take the top 5 in the West (Warriors, Nuggets, Thunder, Rockets, Blazers) against the top 5 in the East (Bucks, Raptors, Celtics, Sixers, Pacers) and the West leads 18-11. The best team is the Blazers at 5-1. The worst is the Pacers at 0-4.

But if you drop Portland and Indiana and just focus on what most believe are the 4 best in each conference its a 10-10 split.

Best teams are the Nuggets and Bucks at 4-2. The worst is the Warriors at 2-4.

I think we will finally get some really good finals match ups this year because the top has evened out.

 

[Dobsie]

It’s even more similar if you just start comparing the head to head of the top teams in each conference.

Take the top 5 in the West (Warriors, Nuggets, Thunder, Rockets, Blazers) against the top 5 in the East (Bucks, Raptors, Celtics, Sixers, Pacers) and the West leads 18-11. The best team is the Blazers at 5-1. The worst is the Pacers at 0-4.

But if you drop Portland and Indiana and just focus on what most believe are the 4 best in each conference its a 10-10 split.

Best teams are the Nuggets and Bucks at 4-2. The worst is the Warriors at 2-4.

I think we will finally get some really good finals match ups this year because the top has evened out.

Don’t you go giving us facts!

 

[MizzouFalcon]

Don’t you go giving us facts!

Opinion: The East has nicer uniforms than the West as a whole.

 

[CB3UK]

1) Warriors

...)it doesnt fucking matter.

 

[Zoop]

Fact:
Warriors
Bucks
Raptors
Nuggets
Celtics
76ers
Blazers
Thunder
Jazz
Pacers

 

[flyerhawk]

1) Warriors

...)it doesnt fucking matter.

The Warriors are still the presumptive favorite. But not nearly as overwhelmingly as they were the past 3 years.

 

[Zoop]

1) Warriors

...)it doesnt fucking matter.

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