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.

Sportacular Sports Los Angeles Lakers Shoe Game

Here are the shoes that the Lakers players will be sporting this season.

Kobe Bryant-24-SG

The Lakers finally got their first win last night against the Pistons and move to 1-3. Throughout the season Kobe has been sporting his own brand of Nikes.

Dwight Howard-12-C

Similar to Kobe, Dwight rocks his own brand of Adidas. The adidas Adipower Howard 3 shoes. 

Pau Gasol-16-C

Pau rocks the Hyperizes from Nike in the team colors of White, Gold, and Purple. Look at the rest of the team and you see Metta World Peace in the Kobe's as well as Steve Nash.

Sportacular Sports Los Angeles Lakers Season Debut

Are the Lakers in trouble?

Last night, the NBA season opened with three major story lines. Rookie of the year Kyrie Irving defeated the Washington Wizards without John Wall, LeBron James and company recieved their Championship rings in a win over the Celtics, and the Dallas Mavericks traveled to L.A. to face the new look Lakers.

To much surprise, the Mavericks won the game 99-91 spoiling Steve Nash and Dwight Howard's first regular season game in a Laker uniform. This defeat comes after an 0-8 pre season which Kobe Bryant didn't participate in.


Unlike the Lakers, the Mavericks new additions, Darren Collison and Elton Brand, meshed well with their new team. Veterans Vince Carter and Shawn Marion filled in nicely for Dirk Nowitzki, each scoring 11 points. Dirk should be out for about 6 more weeks after his knee procedure went smoothly a few weeks ago. In his absence, the Mavericks will use a team approach with rookie Jae Crowder seeing time in Nowitzki's place.

Back to the Lake show. The new Laker's motion offense better involve more time for Steve Nash with the ball. Nash had only 7 points and 4 assists in 34 minutes of play. In Phoenix, Nash always had control of the ball which is why he was so dominant. It should be interesting to see what adjustments L.A. makes to give Nash more freedom to run the offense. On a bad foot Kobe Bryant had 22 points and he should get better as the season progresses. Kobe's shooting numbers should increase with more attention on Nash and Howard.

The biggest expectations though come from the addition of the top center in the league, Dwight Howard. Everyone that works in the NBA business has already crowned the Lakers Western Conference Champions. Next they've set them a date with Miami in the Finals. With this talent, who could think otherwise. When LeBron left for South Beach the same expectations were created only to be let down in a Finals loss to the same Mavericks. So you ask, what should we expect?

Your expectations should be that this Lakers team will win its 17th NBA title in Los Angeles. Why? I see two major differences in this team. First, is the big man presence that Howard brings that Miami has always lacked. Last night, the Lakers best player was indeed Pau Gasol, 23 points 13 rebounds, who is an All-Star that will see more open looks than any All-Star in NBA history. Pau can match up with Chris Bosh inside with Dwight free to defend the paint against James and Wade slashing to the basket. Not only will Dwight be key defending the paint but should be dominating against the Heat down low. 
Finally, I believe the Lakers will win the title, unlike the Heat, because of the differences between LeBron and Kobe. While LeBron might be showing more will to win, everyone knows the greatest competitor in the league is Kobe. When that Heat team reached the 2010 Finals, Lebron faded away as he choked away the Title to an under matched Mavs team. If Kobe Bryant every disappears in an NBA Finals, well he won't, it's that simple. So yes indeed, there might be some early season problems meshing together but come May and June expect the Lakers to live up to expectations and win the NBA title.