Contenders, Pretenders, and Sleepers for the 2014 NBA Playoffs

The NBA is a league where in the playoffs the better teams wins most of the time. So the low-seeded upsets we all love in the NCAA are far and few between around this time of year. This makes it easier to pick the Contenders but definitely proposes a difficult choice as to who the Pretenders and hardest of all the Sleepers are of the NBA playoffs.

Contenders- Excellent chance of at least reaching the Conference Finals
Pretenders- Slim chances of making it much further than the 2nd round
Sleeper-Potential to make a deep run

Miami Heat

How can you not pick the back-back defending World Champions led by the 2nd best player in the world. Yeah, I said it. LeBron James has officially lost his title as best player in the world. I know that LeBron will turn on the switch for the playoffs and show us all why he's truly the best in the world but as of now that honor goes to Kevin Durant. If you didn't know, the Heat's playoff success correlates to the health and good play of Dwyane Wade. But would I be crazy to say that the Heat's x-factor is actually one of the other role players for Miami. Ranging from starter Chris Bosh all the way to the Birdman or the return of Greg Oden. The Heat are a bunch of veterans with playoff experience who should have no problem breezing through the soft Eastern Conference. In fact, Charlotte probably poses the toughest threat for the Heat. Call me crazy but the Heat struggle mightily against big men and this is exactly what the Bobcats have in Al Jefferson. I think the Heat win the series 4-2 and advance to the easier of the 2nd round matchup against the Raptors. From there they get either the slumping Pacers or the anemic offense of the Bulls. It appears that Miami is heading back to the Finals.

San Antonio Spurs 

The Spurs are such a boring team to watch. They out coach you, wear you down, and then just flat out beat whoever they're playing. They are good every year and somehow when Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green both go down with injury they don't blink an eye on their way to best record in the league. Meanwhile, they sit Tony Parker, Manu Ginobli, and Tim Duncan throughout the season while calmly posting a 38-14 conference record. They even lucked out with the 1st round matchup against the Mavericks. This will take less of a toll on them than the gritty Memphis team that the #2 seeded Thunder will face. In the next round, the Spurs would get a matchup with either the Trail Blazers or Rockets, two teams that prefer not to play defense. A formula that we've seen not work in the playoffs year after year. Their is no doubt that the Thunder will be the toughest matchup for the Spurs as San Antonio was 0-4 vs. OKC this season.

Oklahoma City Thunder
I know I just picked the 3 favorites to win the title as my contenders. But that's the way it is in the NBA. The best teams just tend to win the games because unlike the NCAA tournament's one win and you move on, the teams must win 4 of 7 games, a system in which the better teams usually wins out. The Thunder will have the hardest road to the NBA Finals though. They get no reward for finishing 2nd in the West. OKC will have to match up with a Grizzlies team that finished 7th in the West because of injuries. With Gasol and Randolph at full strength, this Memphis team is more of a 4 or 5 seed. Don't forget that Memphis went to the Western Conference Finals last season. I believe OKC wins in 6 or 7 which could wear them down throughout the playoffs while the other contenders are looking at sweeps or 5 game series. OKC then would most likely see a face off with a Clippers team who was fighting with OKC for that 2 seed until the last game of the season. It is crazy to think that with all the publicity the Thunder got this season, they could have been a 3 seed entering the playoffs. The first 2 rounds for the Thunder could theoretically be tougher than a Western Conference Final with the Spurs whom they've owned so far this year. But I'm not going to say that facing the best team in the league is easier than playing anyone else. We all know how good KD is. The success of the Thunder relies on Westbrook's willingness to share the ball as well as the play of the big men. Serge Ibaka has been struggling this season while Kendrick Perkins has been a nightmare. If the OKC big men rise to the occasion, I believe the Thunder will be World Champions.

Pretenders

Indiana Pacers 

The Pacers could not have started the year any better nor could they have finished it any worse. It is crazy to think that the #1 seed in the East could be considered a Pretender but the way Indiana is playing it makes sense. The key to the Pacers deep run last season was the excellent play of Roy Hibbert who this season has been virtually non-existent. Throw in the fact that Lance Stephenson has been taking late game shots instead of Indiana's best player Paul George and you have a recipe for disaster. Fortunately for the Pacers they play in the East so they should be able to advance through the 1st round but I would not be surprised if Chicago beat them in the 2nd round.

Portland Trail Blazers/ Houston Rockets 

The Trail Blazers and Rockets get grouped into the Pretender category together because of their 1st round matchup. While one team has to advance, I believe whoever that may be will lose in 5 games to the Spurs. The Trail Blazers burst out of the gates this year similar to the Pacers only to realize that it's a marathon not a sprint. They have an unbelievable young core and with a good offseason could be considered a Contender next season. For the Rockets, it all boils down to Dwight Howard. Ever since his departure from Orlando, he has been a different player. In addition, he is always hobbled with injuries. James Harden is an excellent player but he isn't good enough to carry the Rockets past a deep Spurs team especially with the under performance of Chandler Parsons.

Sleeper

Chicago Bulls 

My sleeper comes from the East by way of the Chicago Bulls. The two things that frighten me bout Chicago is there lack of scorer without Derrick Rose but more importantly the heart/hustle aspect of the playoffs. To touch on the latter, The Bulls play with unmatched passion and intensity throughout the Regular Season. But as we so often hear about teams like the Heat is the ability to turn on the switch in the playoffs. My question is, is the switch already on for Chicago? Can the Bulls take it up a notch? It is hard to imagine they can but I'm never going to doubt Joakim Noah nor coach Tom Thibodeau. Joakim Noah played like an MVP this season and a team with a spectacular defense always has a chance in the playoffs. Add in the fact that they get the Pacers rather than the Heat in the 2nd round. The Bulls inability to score at times could be problematic but they definitely have the pieces to at least reach the ECF or potentially make it all the way to the Finals.

LeBron James- Are We Witnessing Greatness?

LeBron James-Are We Witnessing Greatness? 

If you haven't heard, LeBron James claimed his 4th MVP in the last 5 years officially Sunday afternoon. James averaged 27 ppg, 8 rebounds a game, and topped that off with 7 assists per contest. LeBron led Miami to the number 1 overall seed in the East, was obviously the key component of their 27 game win streak, and guided the Heat to a 1st round sweep over the Milwaukee Bucks. That's just a short statistical recap of James' unbelievable MVP season which is far from over.

James received 122 of the 123 1st place votes. Not really sure who had anyone else in the top spot...
Anyways, with James winning his 4th Most Valuable Player trophy in the past half-decade, the question must be asked is he the greatest or will he be the greatest?

Me personally, have never cared for LeBron after his shenanigans in leaving Cleveland but as a sports fan I would be doing a disservice to not at least respect him. LeBron James does not belong in the sport of Basketball. He is a physical specimen that the game has never seen before and quite possibly might never see again. He can guard your Point Guard one possession, than battle down low with your 7 footer the next. He can take the inbounds and run your offense one possession, than take you down into the post the next. He's a 6 foot 8, 250 pound machine which is why as sports fans we must appreciate what we have.

James in Cleveland had no supporting cast which is why he had to score 40 points a night for them to compete. Now that he has the talent around him like Jordan had we can see that he can truly do it all. He's the most powerful dunker in the league but can also hit the deep 3. The reason I'm writing this post tonight is to understand what we truly have in LeBron James. In your lifetime, you will never see another player like this which is why I think it's important to appreciate his greatness.

Now the most ridiculous part about LeBron James. How high is his ceiling? As I predict, the Heat will cruise, yes cruise, to their 2nd straight title with Bron Bron casually leading the way. But the crazy thing is, will he get better. Like most players in their prime, they gradually get better and it's a scary thought to think that Mr. James could be a more dominating force than he already is.

With all this being said, and we much more could be, I think their are still many but very possible goals for LeBron to reach before he is declared the Greatest of All Time.

Win a Title without another Star player (Dwyane Wade)- I understand that MJ won it with Pippen and Shaq with Kobe, but because of the way he left, the critics will never let that go until he does it himself.

Compete in the Dunk Contest- One of Jordan's most iconic moments is his Free Throw line dunk in the Dunk Contest. All LeBron has to do is show up and he'll win.

Hit the Big Shot in the Big Game- This final task would seal the deal for me. Michael Jordan's most famous moment is sinking a game winner in Game 6 of his last Finals with the Bulls. LeBron's whole career has been down played because he has been missing the "clutch factor". While James seems to be finding his confidence late in games, he still needs that Iconic Moment to be the best to ever play the game.

NBA Hot News-LeBron, Rose, and Parker injury updates

NBA Hot News-Injury updates

In the past few days there have been many interesting stories to cover and Sportacular Sports will now break them down.

Miami Wins 15 in a row but how's LeBron?
The Miami Heat are absolutely on fire right now. After their 97-81 defeat over the Timberwolves tonight, the Heat have extended their franchise record winning streak to 15 games. While this is quite a feat, the bigger story is how LeBron James knee is holding up after the scare Sunday against the Knicks. On an attempted alley oop, James landed extremely awkwardly on his knee but did not leave the game to much surprise.

 He actually performed better from that point on totaling 15 more points and leading a come from behind victory over New York at MSG. LeBron's knee appeared fine in tonights game against Minnesota as he scored 20 points while adding 10 boards. His partner in crime, Dwyane Wade, picked up the "slack" with 32 points himself as the Heat cruised to a victory. With question before the game, answers were given and LeBron appears to be perfectly fine.






Derrick Rose-The Return?

Could we possibly see a return from Chicago Bulls all-star Derrick Rose in the coming days? While Rose appeared on the Chicago bench for the first time this season, my guess would be no but I believe it is very possible we could see the 2011 MVP back this season. Two questions need to be answered during Rose's recovery process. Does DRose trust the surgery and everything that has gone into it. With a knee injury, more than half the battle of coming back, especially for a quick player like Rose, is trusting that the knee will hold up. This leads up to the next question, is it worth the risk for Rose to come back in a season where Miami is unstoppable? While Rose could make the Bulls a Championship Contender, will he even be the same player coming off a torn ACL. Rose relies on his quick cuts and extreme athletic ability to be the dynamic player he is. I believe Derrick Rose will return this year but when is the question Check Rose's progress in him dunking in a pre game warmup. This is a great sign for the Bulls and all basketball fans as DRose is one of the best players in the league to watch.

Tony Parker sidelined up to 4 weeks-What does this mean for San Antonio?



Tony Parker is the most underrated player in the NBA not only at the Point Guard position but in the entire league. What he means to the Spurs is incalculable. Parker went down with a broken ankle against the Sacramento Kings leaving him on the bench for about 4 weeks. The Spurs lead the West and it would not surprise me one bit if San Antonio relinquishes their 3 game lead over the Thunder in the coming weeks. With that being said, the Spurs aren't going to care what seed they are, they are the classy vets who are just going to win games. When it comes playoff time, Parker will be ready to go and Ginobli and Duncan will be rested. While the Spurs might lose their lead in the West, this could be a blessing in disguise as backup Point Guard 2nd year vet, Corey Joesph could get some useful experience for the postseason. I think the Spurs will be just find come playoff time.