NBA Top 5

As I recently explained in my rant about Doug Gottlieb, I always listen to Mike and Mike in the Morning on ESPN radio on my drive to work. A few days ago Greeny and Golic were talking about how the NBA is as top-heavy as Johnny Drama, pointing out that only eight teams have won championships in the past 30 years. This led to a discussion of how many players are capable of leading a team to a championship, which somehow ended with a debate over who is higher up on the NBA pecking order: Carmelo Anthony or Chris Paul. I see myself as a guy who loves 4 things: Friends, family, free markets, and Chris Paul. So I was clearly interested in the debate. Unfortunately, I arrived at my place of work before I heard their take on the argument so, in case you missed it too, I thought I'd hash out the NBA pecking order myself. Without further ado, the top 5 players in the NBA for next season:



1. Lebron James, SF, Miami Heat

Wow, that looks weird. It's going to take a while to get used to putting Miami Heat after Lebron's name. The people in Miami are already getting acclimated, though. Did anybody see the weird, creepy pep rally/fashion show that Bosh, James, and Wade held the other day? It was a cross between a Madonna Concert and a Wrestlemania event. I was on the edge of my seat, thinking there was about a 50/50 chance The Big Show would pop out and be introduced as the Heat's new starting center. Anyway, Lebron clearly deserves this number one spot. After the season he had locked up the Lebron/Kobe debate, but suddenly since two bad playoff games and "The Decision" a large contingent of people wants to say Lebron is a lesser player than he was a month ago. As for the playoff games, those were the first two bad playoff performances in his career. Have you seen how many poor playoff games Kobe's had? Did anybody watch game 7 of this year's Finals? The fact that Lebron's poor games caused such a stir is a testament to the fact that he has had so few of them. As for "The Decision," maybe we realized he's less of a person than we thought, but that doesn't make him any less of a player. He has put up ungodly stats across the board, led a team of also-rans to the best record in the league for two straight years, won two consecutive MVP awards, and put more butts in seats than anybody since Jordan. Look for his scoring numbers now that he has other viable scoring options around him. But having those options around him will bring the best out of Lebron, allowing him to fully utilize his playmaking ability. It's not a stretch to say he could average a triple-double. With Wade and Bosh around he should easily be able to add two assists per game to his average of 8.6 from last season. If he sacrifices some of his patented run-outs in favor of staying in the paint to rebound (something he'll be able to do since Dwayne Wade can take over the run-outs on the fast break) he could honestly lead the league in rebounding. Plus, at 25 years old, he's just entering his prime. The next 3-4 years should be the best basketball we've seen from Lebron James.



2. Dwyane Wade, SG, Miami Heat

I might take a lot of heat (pun intended) for this one, as most of the other experts out there would have a certain Laker in this spot, but all year I've had Wade ahead of Kobe in my rankings and I certainly think that next year he will be the better player. Like Lebron, DWade is in the prime of his career and will be playing with the best supporting cast he's ever had. For a lot of guys this wouldn't matter but DWade is an extremely underrated playmaker, averaging 6.6 assists per game for his career. Plus, his crazy athleticism will absolutely shine on the fast break with Lebron. While he's not a deadly shooter like Kobe, he can get to the rim (and the foul line) better than anybody in the league. Combine this with great perimeter defense, and I give the slight edge to DWade based on his playmaking ability.


3. Kobe Bryant, SG, Los Angeles Lakers

For much of this past season, and the first round of the playoffs, Kobe looked like he had fallen out of the top 5 of the league's best players. He lacked lift and elevation on his shots and was struggling to get to the rim. He wasn't explosive, and he wasn't the Kobe we all knew. Then he got rested, got healthy, and got tired of the criticism and went on one of the greatest playoff runs we've seen in a long time. He basically told the Jazz, Suns and Celtics to "bend over and take it like a 19 year-old Colorado hotel worker." After the subpar performance against the Thunder in Round One he averaged about 31, 7, and 6 through the rest of the postseason (for those of you keeping track, Lebron put up similar numbers for the entire season). Kobe is still the best clutch player in the league, still a great defender, and still has one of the most well-rounded offensive games we've seen in a long time. But lately he has tended to disappear for long stretches, and when he's been frustrated all game and still tries to take over in the fourth quarter he ends up taking more shots than Amy Winehouse on New Year's Eve. Sometimes they go in, sometimes they don't, but usually they are ill-advised. And going forward his age/health will be issues. For this reason Kobe is no longer in the top 2 players in the league.



4. Chris Paul, PG, New Orleans Hornets

Hold on a second...Let me clean myself off and get a new pair of boxers......OK I'm ready to go. I LOVE Chris Paul. I'm not gay so I can't say I'd do ANYTHING for him, but I'd definitely take him out for a nice seafood dinner followed by a relaxing back rub. A lot of NBA analysts pencil Dwight Howard in as the number 4 player in the league, but I don't see it. Yes, he's a freak athlete. But at this point in his career it's looking like Howard will never be a great offensive player, and that's disappointing given his physique (again, not gay) and potential. So back to Paul (Video Alert: watch this to see how he feels about some people who say Howard is the better player). In my mind the guy is the perfect point guard: he's a floor leader, he dictates the pace of the game, he's freakishly quick, he scores, he passes, he creates easy shots for his teammates, he has sick handles, and he's basically unguardable. Oh, and he is always one of the league leaders in steals. His game is basically a combination of the best attributes of Steve Nash and Allen Iverson. Without the assault charges. If he wanted to he could score 27 points a game, as he can get to the rim at will and also shoots threes at 35% for his career. But he does his best to get his teamates involved and win games, which is why he boasts career averages of 20-10-5, putting him in third place all-time in assists per game. The guys ahead of him? Magic Johnson and John Stockton. Assuming last year's knee injury was a fluke, I look for Paul to come out next year and definitively reclaim the crown of League's Best Point Guard from Deron Williams. With the emergence of Darren Collison on the Hornets in Paul's absence last year, there's a chance he'll be traded to a better team. If so, expect CP3 to have a seamless transition, as he is one of the rare players who instantly improves everyone around him.

5a & 5b. Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant

OK, so I cheated. I couldn't decide which guy to put in this spot and here's why: right now I give Carmelo a very slight edge based on his offensive rebounding ability. But I also think that by some point during the next season Durant will surpass him as the better all-around player. I really love both these guys and think either of them can win an MVP (especially since Lebron's stats should take a small hit in Miami) and/or a championship as the best player on his team. So here's what I'm going to do: I'll make a case for both Carmelo and Durant and then let you decide who you would take.
 Let's start with Carmelo. He's an incredibly strong player, and he's also a vastly underrated athlete. He can score from anywhere on the court, whether that be posting up, driving to the rim, hitting the mid-range jumper, or stepping back and shooting the three. He also shoots a ton of free throws. Defensively he's not really a liability or an asset. Rebounding is where he currently has an edge over Durant, especially on the offensive end: Carmelo uses his strength to dominate down low and scores a lot of second chance points that no player at his position has any business getting. He comes up big when he needs to; who can forget him outdueling Lebron last year? His main problem is that he sometimes gets lazy, probably a result of smoking far too much weed for his own good. I mean, just look at the players around him. J.R. Smith? Kenyon Martin? Birdman? The current roster gives a whole new meaning to the team name "Nuggets."
Now for Durant. First off, let me say that I hate the nickname "Durantula." It just creeps me out. So that's the first thing KD has to fix. After that, though, there's not much to dislike. He's made vast improvements in every area of his game since college. He improved his scoring average by 5 points per game from year one to year two, then did it again from year two to year three. He led the league in scoring at age 21. There's no reason to think he won't do so again next year, with an even higher average. He's an absolute matchup nightmare: almost seven feet tall with range out to thirty feet, handles like a guard, and posts up like a power forward. Plus, he can get his shot off on absolutely anybody with his quick release. Did I even mention that he got to the free throw line more than anyone else in the league last season (and made 90 percent of his attempts)? And while he has room to improve as a rebounder, he did average nearly eight per game last season. If he really tries as a rebounder I think he'll be a 30 and 10 guy. When he comes back next season with ten added pounds of muscle I really don't see how anybody will hold him under those numbers. It's been a long time since we've seen somebody 6'10" and this athletic. The only thing keeping him from being higher on this list is that he has not yet shown the ability to raise the game of his teammates the way Paul, Lebron, DWade and Kobe (to a certain extent) do. But I believe that will come in the next couple years, maybe even next season.
You know what, after writing this, I've made my decision: I'm taking Durant over Carmelo for next year. Shots all around.