NBA Mid-Season Rankings = The Title Contenders

9. Washington Wizards
24-23, 5^th in Eastern Conference
Good News = John Wall has established himself as a top-5 point guard.
Bad News = After a promising start to the season, Bradley Beal has been hampered by injuries and a minutes cap on a nightly basis.
What They Should Do = At first glance, it seems laughable to include the Wizards in a post titled “Title Contenders”, but hear me out. Most assume that a Pacers-Heat Eastern Conference Finals is inevitable (mostly because it is, but again, hear me out), but of any of the other East teams, Washington is the only one that has the parts to pull off an upset. John Wall is talented enough to carry a team, Bradley Beal should improve as he returns to full strength, and the Nene-Gortat combo could wreck havoc with the Miami Heat. By default, Washington is the only team besides the top two to have any smidge of hope of reaching the Finals. Furthermore, the Wizards already pushed their chips into the middle of the table before the season when they sent their first round pick next year to Phoenix for Marcin Gortat. Washington doesn’t have a great deal of assets left to move, as Trevor Ariza has actually been a fairly integral part of the rotation. He does have an expiring contract, so if they were able to get an upgrade at the 3, his would be the logical starting point of a trade package. Eric Gordon, Evan Turner, or Gordon Hayward would all be dream pickups for Washington.

8. Houston Rockets

32-17, 5^th in Western Conference
Good News = James Harden has rediscovered his shooting stroke.
Bad News = They are short a point guard.
What They Should Do = Dwight Howard has fit in nicely with the Rockets, but an upgrade at the point is sorely needed. Patrick Beverly hasn’t reached his potential, and Jeremy Lin is better suited as an offensive spark plug off the bench. Unfortunately, the list of quality point guards that will be likely be on the trading block is slim. Here’s the list of possible trade targets as identified by No Credentials’ Research Department.

Rajon Rondo, Celtics – I don’t think a trade package built around Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik would be enough to get Rondo in Houston, unless the Rockets throw in a shit load of draft picks.

Kyle Lowry, Rockets – The former Rocket has been one of the league’s top-15 players since Rudy Gay was shipped to Sacramento. Toronto’s management team has an interesting decision to make, as Lowry is a free agent after the season, but they also have a chance for home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. If the Raptors opt to move Lowry, Houston is the most likely landing spot.

Isaiah Thomas, Kings – Reportedly Sacramento is working on an extension for Thomas (who quietly has put up a 21.4 PER this season), but if they get a feeling that he won’t re-up for next year, they could look to move him for draft picks. 

7. Golden State Warriors

29-19, 7^th in Western Conference
Good News = For the first time in his career, Stephen Curry is on track to stay mostly injury free for two straight years.
Bad News = They have the lowest scoring bench in professional basketball, and likely will have to visit either San Antonio or Portland in the first round of the playoffs.
What They Should Do = When the jumpers are falling, there’s no more enjoyable team to watch in the NBA than the Golden State Warriors. Fortunately for them, there’s a little more substance to them this year, as they’ve actually been a quality defensive team. Andrew Bogut has been healthy, and has been great at masking the defensive deficiencies of David Lee. Andre Iguodala has fit in perfectly as an elite wing defender who takes pressure off of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. Golden State sold off most of their draft picks to Utah in a salary dump deal to open up space to sign Iguodala, so it’s unlikely that they will be able to trade for bench help. They’ll need to hope for improved production from Harrison Barnes (one of the most disappointing sophomores of the year) and Draymond Green to help solidify their reserve units.

6. Los Angeles Clippers

34-16, 4^th in Western Conference
Good News = Blake Griffin is quietly having a career year, and has carried the team during the absence of Chris Paul.
Bad News = Paul’s injury makes it unlikely the Clippers can move up into one of the top two seeds.
What They Should Do = They have incredible depth on the perimeter, but beyond Griffin and DeAndre Jordan, you’re not getting any other quality big-man minutes on this team. Los Angeles doesn’t need to acquire a superstar, just someone that can give them a competent 15-20 minutes a night (for Celtics fans, think of the 2008 version of P.J. Brown).

5. Portland Trail Blazers

34-14, 3^rd in Western Conference
Good News = Portland boasts the highest scoring offense in the league.
Bad News = While better than last year, the bench still leaves something to be desired.
What They Should Do = Portland is a scary place to go as a road team, so if they can land in either of the top-2 spots in the West, you can book them for the Conference Finals. Acquiring solid wing defenders would be their best bet.

4. San Antonio Spurs

35-13, 2^nd in Western Conference
Good News = Much like Jason Voorhees, the Spurs just won’t go away.
Bad News = They haven’t looked good against their fellow elite teams.
What They Should Do = San Antonio is ridiculously deep at shooting guard and small forward, but like Los Angeles, it’s a reserve big man that could really help. Boris Diaw is a finesse player, and Matt Bonner is essentially a three-point specialist. Someone that could sub in if Tim Duncan or Tiago Splitter is in foul trouble would be a wise addition for the playoffs.

3. Miami Heat

34-13, 2^nd in Eastern Conference
Good News = Lebron James is still Lebron James, and Chris Bosh has stepped up in a big way over the past month.
Bad News = Dwyane Wade has been forced to manage the health of his knees since opening night.
What They Should Do = If I’m in charge of Miami, I’m shutting down Wade for the rest of the regular season. They have an 8.5 game lead on the third seed in the East, so they can cruise the rest of the year and still end up second to Indiana. Unless Greg Oden goes down, there isn’t a need for a roster move here, but Wade’s health is vital to Miami’s chances of capturing a third straight championship.

2. Indiana Pacers

37-10, 1^st in Eastern Conference
Good News = Paul George has officially ascended into the top-5 players in the league discussion, and they just added Andrew Bynum for peanuts.
Bad News = For now, none.
What They Should Do = I had a well written paragraph about how the Pacers should sign Andrew Bynum, but they beat me to the punch and did that this past weekend. Danny Granger’s expiring contract is a massive trade chip, and it wouldn’t be shocking to see them use that to land two or three more bench players. How they utilize Granger’s contract will ultimately determine how much of a favorite they will be in the Eastern Conference Finals.

 



1. Oklahoma City Thunder

39-11, 1^st in Western Conference
Good News = Two words…Kevin fucking Durant. Also, Russell Westbrook will return within two weeks.
Bad News = Kendrick Perkins still trots out onto the court for them.
What They Should Do = For the love of God, amnesty Perk already. In terms of per-minute production, Perkins is one of the least valuable players in the league. The Thunder flow much better when they have Nick Collison on the floor, and play small ball with Serge Ibaka at center and Durant at the four. Their small ball lineup is the most frightening in the league, with the capability to roll Durant-Westbrook-Ibaka along with Reggie Jackson and Thabo Sefolosha. Oklahoma City owns the rights to Dallas’ first round pick, so they could use that to add a cheap big.