T Lamont’s Top 10 NBA Teams

With every city having hopes of supporting a winner this time around, the NBA season has kicked off into full bloom.  Here’s a quick look at the cream of the crop in the National Basketball Association:

1. Boston Celtics - Without question, Boston is the best defensive TEAM in the NBA.  The only thing that can stop the Celtics is injuries.  Boston gets the job done without any one particular player with a known reputation as a defensive stopper.  The bench has improved with the additions of Rasheed Wallace and Shelden Williams, along with the steady shooting contributions of Eddie House.  Starting point guard Rajon Rondo is certainly smiling now with his newly agreed-upon 5 year-$55 million extension.  This season has the look of a repeat of 2007-2008.

2. Los Angeles Lakers - The Lakers have looked as good as they could without Paul Gasol – and now Andrew Bynum even sat out last night’s game against the Grizzlies.  And Artest will not get out of line in L.A.  He realizes that there is much more at stake for the franchise than there was for any of his other former teams. 

Before the season is over, Vince Carter will have a big impact on Orlando's success.

3. Orlando Magic - The defending Eastern Conference champs got out of the gate very well by winning five of its first six games.  Vince Carter has already missed the last three games with a sprained ankle, but Orlando is the type of team that won’t miss a beat with him on the shelf…especially once they get forward Rashard Lewis back from his suspension.  Perhaps Magic coach Stan Van Gundy will be a little more excited when Lewis rejoins the starting lineup.

4. Denver Nuggets – Carmelo Anthonyis off to a great start this season.  The Nuggets are not doing have handled their business out of the gate.  Initially, it seemed as if they would have taken a step backward with the losses of bench scorer Linas Kleiza and lockdown defender Dhantay Jones.  But Melo took his game to a level unseen even by his most endearing fans. It remains to be seen whether the talented and erratic J.R. Smith will enable Denver to flourish as a team – his suspension will soon be over and his range and creativity should add some much-needed weaponry to the Nuggets’ arsenal. 

5. Phoenix Suns – The jury is always out on this team, but they scored a huge victory over the Celtics on Friday night.  The game was more tailored to the run-and-gun style of play, with the teams combining for 213 points at the TD Garden in Boston.  Steve Nash isn’t showing any wear-and-tear (yet) and is clearly leading this bunch into a possible overachieving season.  But let’s check back in a few weeks or so before we jump the gun.

6. Atlanta Hawks - Atlanta has the look and feel of a team that is out to achieve bigger and better results.  Too bad they are in a top-heavy Eastern Conference where the top three teams have superstar power…and are comfortably head-and-shoulders above the rest of the field.  That being said, the Hawks are a better squad than they were last year.  Joe Smith, Jamal Crawford, Jason Collins and rookie Jeff Teague are great options to have when Josh Smith decides that he wants to make a boneheaded play.  In fact, Crawford is the second-best player on the roster – including the starters.

7. Dallas Mavericks - The Mavericks are still competing with that same old familiar recipe that has been brewing for years – - a little Jason Kidd here, a little Erick Dampier there, a lot of Dirk Notwizki everywhere, and some Jason Terry when the game is on the line.  It’ll be enough to get them into the postseason, but – in true Dallas fashion – they won’t make any serious noise. 

It's time for Beasley to give Dwayne Wade the help that he desperately needs.

8. Cleveland Cavaliers - If the playoffs started today (talk about your long-term projections), the Cavs would miss the cut…but somehow I don’t get the feeling that anyone is really worried about that.  The big thing with Cleveland right now is getting LeBron James to play like LeBron James.  There’s always a honeymoon period when a new star is paired with an existing star on a team.  They both try to prove that they are going to work together for the greater good of the team – sacrificing their own individual accolades.  I say bump that.  LeBron cannot wait for Shaq to get into the groove in Cleveland.  Last year’s MVP has to bring it every night and perhaps The Diesel will get ignited sometime before mid-season. 

9. Miami Heat - The is the year that Michael Beasley is expected to step up.  12 points and 5.7 rebounds per game is not exactly stepping up.  Jermaine O’Neal and Udonis Haslem can only bring but so much at this point in their careers.  Beasley has to show the requisite versatility to help Dwayne Wade (28.0 ppg this season) take the Heat back to the upper echelon of the Eastern Conference.

10. Houston Rockets - One for all, and all for one.  That’s how the “new Rockets” roll.  No Yao Ming (for a long time) and no T-Mac (for who knows how long) means no preference on who has the most field goal attempts.  Houston has eight players averaging 7 or more points per game.  The true teamwork exhibited by these guys is a testament to Rick Adelman’s resilience in the face of a potential debacle.  The Rockets may not stay in the top 10 for long…and if they don’t, it won’t be for lack of effort.