Tuesday NBA Discussion
Who is the best team in the West?
Andrew: Right now I will have to say the Thunder. Kevin Durant is playing at an extremely high level as well as Westbrook. When those two are playing as well as they are right now I’m not sure this team isn’t the best in the entire league.
Michael: It is hard to argue anyone else other than the Thunder. However, I am going with the Clippers. The starting five are obviously really good with Chris Paul, Willie Green, Caron Butler, Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. Then you have Jamal Crawford, Chauncey Billups, Matt Barnes, Lamar Odom, and Grant Hill coming off the bench. That is very deep.
Who is the best team in the East?
Andrew: I think this a very simple question; the best team in the East is the Heat. The reason? LeBron James. Also along with LeBron surprisingly Mario Chalmers is playing some great basketball. If the Heat can continue getting good production from him, then that makes them an even deadlier team than they already are.
Michael: I agree with Andrew here. This is an easy question. The Miami Heat may not have the leagues best record. They don’t care either. They go out there and get into the playoffs and then turn it on.
Who is the MVP so far?
Andrew: I’ve been saying Carmelo Anthony all season, but Kevin Durant lately is making a strong push. But I am going to stick with Carmelo, after the season the Knicks had last year being the eight seed, Carmelo has started the year off very strong. He has elevated his game to heights it has never been, making the knicks an actual title contender.
Michael: No doubt it is Kevin Durant. He is having the best year he has ever had and he probably won’t win the scoring title for the first time in three years? Why? He has an edge he is playing with. He want’s to win and that is it. He is as focused as I’ve ever seen. He seems to be playing with a chip on his shoulder. He got a taste of the NBA Finals last year. He is on a mission to go all the way this year. No one is playing like that right now. Well, Russell Westbrook is close.
Biggest surprise so far?
Andrew: The Golden State Warriors have been my biggest surprise. Stephen Curry and David Lee are playing the best basketball of their career, and Klay Thompson is playing very well too. They are the second best team in California (first is the Clippers). Look for the Warriors to keep making noise the rest of the year.
Michael: Most people will go with Golden State here. They are extremely deserving. But how about the Chicago Bulls? Currently they are sitting at 21-15 without the MVP from a two years ago. No Derek Rose in the playoffs and the Bulls were swept in the first round. Still no DRose and they are sitting at fifth in the east, waiting for their leader to return. I am truly surprised that the Bulls are playing at this high level without Rose.
Can the Lakers recover and make the playoffs?
Andrew: I guess anything is possible with Kobe, but I just do not see it happening. First everyone needs to be healthy, then they would have to stay healthy and nothing has shown me they can. Then they need to play better defense, which under D’antoni they have played little to no defense. So I just do not see them getting into the postseason.
Michael: In the West, you have to win nearly 50 games in a season to make the playoffs. They are at 16-21 right now. The Lakers have 45 games left this season. To get to 50 wins, the Lakers would have to go 34-11 over those 45 games. With the age, injuries and egos in that locker room, I seriously doubt the Lakers can pull that off.
Michael Doutey
Andrew Doutey
Mike I cant disagree with you on the Lakers but we haven’t seen them totally healthy yet either
True. But for anyone to finish 34-11 is really difficult. They might be able to but they haven’t given anyone much of a reason to believe otherwise. It will be really interesting to see.