Nosebleeds: The True Contenders

By Jacob Durt & Nathan Janick

We hope you have enjoyed the first two parts of our NBA previews. In order not to bore you, allow us to get to the teams who will actually compete for a title this year.

Chicago Bulls (Janick: 5, Durst: 5)

Jacob Durst: This team is like a better version of Memphis. They have the elite center, Marc Gasol, and the up and coming wing, Jimmy Butler, but the real difference is that they actually have another go-to-guy, that is if we can take Derrick Rose pre-injury.

Nathan Janick: I see this team as a team of question marks. Rose's health is the first issue. If he can be 90 percent as good as he was when he won the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award, this team is locked to at least get the two seed in the East. I also want to see how much Pau Gasol has left in the tank. He's looked washed up at times the past two years on the Lakers, but at 34, I could see him being rejuvenated now that he is on a winning team with a good coach in Tom Thibodeau.

JD: I think Doug McDermott will really help this team. If he can get minutes from Thibodeau, despite his defense, he's going to get plenty of open threes. And if there's one thing that McBuckets likes, it's open threes.

NJ: I don't see him having an impact early in the season. He is going to have a steep learning curve, especially with the task of learning Thibodeau's complex defensive scheme. Yes, his college, Creighton University (Neb.) was in the Big East, but it was at a time long from the conference's glory days, so the NBA will be a major upgrade in competition.

JD: I agree his learning curve will be steep and he won't be playing for his dad anymore, but I don't think it'll take him too long. I also like Nikola Mirotic. He's a mature player who's been playing at a high level in Europe for a long time. I'm sure Thibodeau can find some use for him.

NJ: We can argue about the supporting cast, but this team's ceiling is entirely dependent on Rose's health.

(Note: We refrained from all jokes in this section to avoid jinxing Rose's health).

Oklahoma City Thunder (Janick: 3, Durst: 4)

NJ: Anthony Morrow! Who is excited for the Anthony Morrow era in Oklahoma City?

Its OK if you have no idea who this is. The sad thing is that this was Oklahoma City's biggest offseason acquisition.

JD: I think you mean the Russell Westbrook era. I think Westbrook might actually shoot 25 times each game until Kevin Durant comes back. Then the real fight begins. There's no way that Russ goes back to the old days of at least five awful fast break 20-foot pull-ups a game when Durant gets healthy.

NJ: What if Westbrook makes a leap similar to the one Durant made last season while Westbrook was out? What also frustrates me about this team so much is that they have two of the most exciting players in the league, yet their offense resembles that of an intramural team here at Emory, with almost no movement or innovation.

JD: I mean Scott Brooks might as well be the coach of an intramural team here. I've seen a more innovative offense in the B-League. Well, as a Rockets fan, I also have to thank Sam Presti. If you actually knew the salary cap, we wouldn't have James Harden.

NJ: Presti is smirking about the results of that trade. Oh wait, Kevin Martin is no longer on the team, Jeremy Lamb was relegated to the back of the bench during the playoffs, and hey, Steven Adams had some great technical fouls throughout the season.

JD: But in all seriousness, Oklahoma City would be a higher among these last few teams if Durant hadn't gone down. He actually challenges LeBron as the best player in the league now, and he's the only one even close. If they can hold the ship together until he gets back they still have a shot at the No. 1 seed.

NJ: Another what if: There is a strong possibility that this Oklahoma City team beats San Antonio if Serge Ibaka doesn't get hurt in the playoffs. That Heat team was so warn down in the finals that there was a strong possibility that Oklahoma City would have won had they made it.

JD: I agree, the Spurs and Oklahoma City were pretty much even last year. Why couldn't the Western Conference Finals just have been the real Finals?

NJ: The East is depressing. Time to move on to our final Eastern Conference team.

Cleveland Cavaliers (Janick: 4, Durst: 3)

JD: They will play offense. They will score buckets. But they will not be able to stop opposing teams from doing the same. The historical threshold for a championship caliber team is having a top-10 defense, and this team won't be able to do that. Let's remember that LeBron James was a below-average defender last year.

NJ: I agree with all of that, but LeBron will be an above-average defender this year. Last year, he was forced to carry such a load offensively, especially with Dwyane Wade sitting out of so many games. That's why his defense was so bad by his standards. He knows this team will need help on defense, and I guarantee you will see a shift in his game to adjust for that.

JD: Alright, lets break it down. Kevin Love is at best average. Varejao is hardly a rim protector. Do I even need to talk about the defense of Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters? Even if LeBron is an above-average defender again, their starting lineup will approach Harden-level defense as a whole unit.

NJ: That's harsh. My prediction is they have a very slow start, much like during LeBron's first season in Miami, but they will figure it out and then lose in the Finals. Kyrie Irving's and Dion Waiters' lack of playoff experience and past locker room issues make me worried.

JD: I think, with a healthy Rose, Chicago beats them in the Conference Finals. Chicago's lower ranking is based entirely upon my uncertainty on Rose's health.

NJ: There are so many question marks with both teams that we won't have answered until the season is well underway. In these next two teams, we know pretty much what we are getting.

Los Angeles Clippers (Janick: 2, Durst: 2)

JD: We both agreed on these last two teams. I think the Clippers are pretty much the same team we saw last year. They're going to be really good and I really like the addition of Spencer Hawes. He and Blake Griffin will cause nightmares for people who have to game plan against them.

NJ: Now that they are free of the Donald Sterling stink and have a second year with Doc Rivers as head coach, I was very tempted to pick them to win the title. They were two questionable calls away from likely beating Oklahoma City last year. Griffin is emerging as a legitimate superstar and Chris Paul is still the best pure point guard in the NBA.

JD: This is just a really, really good team overall. I'm not sure if they have any real weaknesses. The only thing I would be worried about is the fact they can't play DeAndre Jordan at the end of games, or he'll just be fowled and forced take free throws that we know he won't make. That leaves them without a real rim protector when it matters most.

NJ: You really summed this up perfectly. Spencer Hawes might be able to help at the end of games, but this team is still one piece away from being great. This might be a year when a very good team wins the title though especially if other teams have to deal with injuries.

JD: I completely and utterly agree with you. Lets move onto our number one team.

San Antonio Spurs (Janick: 1, Durst: 1)

NJ: Yes, everybody is a year older. Yes, they won't have the same motivation that they had last year. Yes, they probably won't be as healthy this year. People seem to be down on this team this year, but one thing we should all know by now is never to count out Gregg Popovich and the core of this Spurs team.

JD: I've given up betting against the Spurs, because they just don't get bad. I'm 95 percent sure at this point that Tim Duncan is immortal.

NJ: Kawhi Leonard also continued to emerge as a star in last year's playoffs. I really think this is the year that the Spurs will finally win back-to-back titles.

JD: Spurs or bust. They have the same core, the same Hall of Fame head coach in Gregg Popovich, they're going to do Spurs things. It'll be tough, but I think they have the best shot of winning the title this year.

– By Jacob Durst & Nathan Janick, Contributing Writers

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