Spring '13 GMAT Discussion Thread

[ak7]

1. MIN
2. OKC
3. LAC
4. MIL
5. HOU
6. WAS
7. PDX
8. SAC
9. BKN
10. MEM
11. CHI
12. CLE
13. SAS
14. MIA
15. CHA
16. GSW
17. ATL
18. NYK
19. IND
20. PHX
21. DAL
22. TOR
23. UTA
24. BOS
25. DET
26. NOP
27. LAL
28. DEN
29. ORL

I am not going to post reasonings to my rankings, I have them, just don't feel they should be public because all it does it create arguments. Miami - I had the hardest time ranking you.

[eliasrapp98]

I find it hilariously funny that some of the people ranking Philadelphia high, I have on record stating their players aren't that good, and without Bynum (who I have people on record saying is deadweight), the 76ers are lotto.

Alterior motives maybe?? I'm sure they will be the ones to try and max Bynum in a week lololol

Ikr. How is Philly better than my team (CLE)?

[eliasrapp98]

1. MIN
2. OKC
3. LAC
4. MIL
5. HOU
6. WAS
7. PDX
8. SAC
9. BKN
10. MEM
11. CHI
12. CLE
13. SAS
14. MIA
15. CHA
16. GSW
17. ATL
18. NYK
19. IND
20. PHX
21. DAL
22. TOR
24. UTA
25. BOS
26. DET
27. NOP
28. LAL
29. DEN
30. ORL

I am not going to post reasonings to my rankings, I have them, just don't feel they should be public because all it does it create arguments. Miami - I had the hardest time ranking you.

How do u have 30 teams? Shouldn't it be 29?

[oakleyscarwash]

I like seeing everybody's rankings, so I figured I should share mine.

MIN - The most amazing part of this team is the fact that Luke put this ish together within the first day of trading.
OKC - As others stated, I think this team was better off as it was, but still a contender. Second because of the lack of superteams.
SAS - Might be ranking them a little high, but I think the young guns and depth on this team can get it done in the western conference.
LAC - Was going to put you first until I remembered Rose was out. Will be a powerhouse next season.
CHI - I really like this team. Great defense, depth, and Paul has lots of toys to set-up and pass the rock to. Might not go all the way in the playoffs due to a lack of a second star, but has potential do dominate the regular season.
MIL - If healthy this team is ridiculous. Big question mark with injury prone players (Nash, Wade, Granger, Pau).
MEM - Really nice well-rounded team. Great depth, so AV's absence shouldn't be as big of a deal as people are making it.
CLE - Right on pace with Denver this year. Downgrade at SG and SF, big upgrade at C.
CHA - Nice young team that can easily have a successful regular season.
PDX - Would have ranked you higher if you had better depth. Beastly front court.
MIA - Thought this team was better off keeping Harden and a true C. Still has some ridiculous depth.
SAC - Melo and Garnett is a great tandem, but your other pieces are injury prone and not on the same level as some of your competition. Melo alone can go off for 50 any given night (see 4/2/13 vs. Miami) so the team will always contend on some level.
WAS - Really like your guards and wings. However, the team will have some trouble with interior defense if Dalembert doesn't hold up.
NYK - Thought you were better off holding onto Ibaka and Evans has question marks surrounding his start at SF. Still, Cousins (if focused), a semi-healthy Amare, great wing depth and Dragic should keep this team around .500.
ATL - Pretty much the same team but with a more defensive focus down low.
IND - Huge upgrade at the 2 with Harden, but losing Hibbert, George, and Paul for lesser players will hurt, atleast this first season.
HOU - Lebron, and that's about it. Didn't feel comfortable ranking you higher due to a lack of supporting players.
BKN - Lack of a true starting PG will hurt this team and will make it more difficult for these players to come together.
UTA - Lack of a ballhandler/true PG hurts you. I'm not sure Avery Bradley will work well as the starting PG all year. Partially biased because I think Kanter is a beast that needs to be unleashed.
PHX - A lack of post scoring from Ibaka/Sanders, but overall a much better team/pieces than you started with. Big man depth might hurt you. This is a team that I could see having a turmoil filled first half and than surges towards the end of the season.
DEN - Good going forward. This season will be rocky with Bogut being in an dout of the lineup and a weak SF position.
GSW - Though I like the addition of Smoove, I thought you downgraded in other areas hurting your ranking.
PHI - Obviously Bynum out hurts you this year. Also, I think Thad's tweener status is going to make it hard to utilize both him and Millsap. Really like the addition of Shved. Definitely a playoff team if Bynum was playing.
DAL - I like what you've done with some of this team, but you will get abused down low.
LAL - Should be a good team going forward, but for this year Kyrie, Waiters, & Hickson ain't gonna get it done.
BOS - Dwight is always good for a few wins, even with scrubs like these.
TOR - Great PG depth, but that's it. Gay's late season injuries hurt you, as did your lack of SF depth. I don't think Ray Allen will be as effective without other superstars around.
NOH - I think swapping Gordon for Henderson hurts you as you need offense, and Gordon is the better player for that. Also, a lack of another quality big will hurt you. Hill is nothing more than a back-up.
ORL - You can't teach a turtle to run fast, and you sure as hell can't teach scrubs to win games. Good luck in the draft!

Goes without saying that these rankings are just that...rankings. Please don't take these seriously by any means.

CLE here. Waiters to Mayo and Crawford is a downgrade?

Sorry, I didn't really explain that well. The downgrade was refering to Denver this year (since I was saying you looked very similar). Iggy & Gallo > Mayo & Crawford but Gasol >>>> Koufas & McGee. I wasn't trying to compare your current team to what you started with, since that's for rankings at the end. But to come up with rankings for this season your team reminded me of the current Nugz, which helped me place you.

Did I explain myself?

[eliasrapp98]

I like seeing everybody's rankings, so I figured I should share mine.

MIN - The most amazing part of this team is the fact that Luke put this ish together within the first day of trading.
OKC - As others stated, I think this team was better off as it was, but still a contender. Second because of the lack of superteams.
SAS - Might be ranking them a little high, but I think the young guns and depth on this team can get it done in the western conference.
LAC - Was going to put you first until I remembered Rose was out. Will be a powerhouse next season.
CHI - I really like this team. Great defense, depth, and Paul has lots of toys to set-up and pass the rock to. Might not go all the way in the playoffs due to a lack of a second star, but has potential do dominate the regular season.
MIL - If healthy this team is ridiculous. Big question mark with injury prone players (Nash, Wade, Granger, Pau).
MEM - Really nice well-rounded team. Great depth, so AV's absence shouldn't be as big of a deal as people are making it.
CLE - Right on pace with Denver this year. Downgrade at SG and SF, big upgrade at C.
CHA - Nice young team that can easily have a successful regular season.
PDX - Would have ranked you higher if you had better depth. Beastly front court.
MIA - Thought this team was better off keeping Harden and a true C. Still has some ridiculous depth.
SAC - Melo and Garnett is a great tandem, but your other pieces are injury prone and not on the same level as some of your competition. Melo alone can go off for 50 any given night (see 4/2/13 vs. Miami) so the team will always contend on some level.
WAS - Really like your guards and wings. However, the team will have some trouble with interior defense if Dalembert doesn't hold up.
NYK - Thought you were better off holding onto Ibaka and Evans has question marks surrounding his start at SF. Still, Cousins (if focused), a semi-healthy Amare, great wing depth and Dragic should keep this team around .500.
ATL - Pretty much the same team but with a more defensive focus down low.
IND - Huge upgrade at the 2 with Harden, but losing Hibbert, George, and Paul for lesser players will hurt, atleast this first season.
HOU - Lebron, and that's about it. Didn't feel comfortable ranking you higher due to a lack of supporting players.
BKN - Lack of a true starting PG will hurt this team and will make it more difficult for these players to come together.
UTA - Lack of a ballhandler/true PG hurts you. I'm not sure Avery Bradley will work well as the starting PG all year. Partially biased because I think Kanter is a beast that needs to be unleashed.
PHX - A lack of post scoring from Ibaka/Sanders, but overall a much better team/pieces than you started with. Big man depth might hurt you. This is a team that I could see having a turmoil filled first half and than surges towards the end of the season.
DEN - Good going forward. This season will be rocky with Bogut being in an dout of the lineup and a weak SF position.
GSW - Though I like the addition of Smoove, I thought you downgraded in other areas hurting your ranking.
PHI - Obviously Bynum out hurts you this year. Also, I think Thad's tweener status is going to make it hard to utilize both him and Millsap. Really like the addition of Shved. Definitely a playoff team if Bynum was playing.
DAL - I like what you've done with some of this team, but you will get abused down low.
LAL - Should be a good team going forward, but for this year Kyrie, Waiters, & Hickson ain't gonna get it done.
BOS - Dwight is always good for a few wins, even with scrubs like these.
TOR - Great PG depth, but that's it. Gay's late season injuries hurt you, as did your lack of SF depth. I don't think Ray Allen will be as effective without other superstars around.
NOH - I think swapping Gordon for Henderson hurts you as you need offense, and Gordon is the better player for that. Also, a lack of another quality big will hurt you. Hill is nothing more than a back-up.
ORL - You can't teach a turtle to run fast, and you sure as hell can't teach scrubs to win games. Good luck in the draft!

Goes without saying that these rankings are just that...rankings. Please don't take these seriously by any means.

CLE here. Waiters to Mayo and Crawford is a downgrade?

Sorry, I didn't really explain that well. The downgrade was refering to Denver this year (since I was saying you looked very similar). Iggy & Gallo > Mayo & Crawford but Gasol >>>> Koufas & McGee. I wasn't trying to compare your current team to what you started with, since that's for rankings at the end. But to come up with rankings for this season your team reminded me of the current Nugz, which helped me place you.

Did I explain myself?

I get it. Thanks.

[BlackIce]

1. MIN
2. OKC
3. MIL
4. LAC
5. MEM
6. BKN
7. WAS
8. SAC
9. PDX
10. MIA
11. HOU
12. SAS
13. GSW
14. CHI
15. NYK
16. CLE
17. ATL
18. CHA
19. IND
20. PHX
21. DAL
22. TOR
23. PHI
24. BOS
25. DET
26. LAL
27. DEN
28. NOP
29. ORL

I will post reasoning for my rankings at the end of the game in regards to who wins, but this is just for playoff seeding/draft position. No need imo.

[SCourGe OF GoD]

yeah i wont post mine because this is just for playoff seeding...writeups is where you post them publicly and explain why u rank them where u did based on the team they started out with imo.

[SCourGe OF GoD]

I understand Lebron isn't surrounded by superstars but he's the best player in the nba,Cleveland went from 60 wins to 20 without him in 1 year that just shows his impact. Kemba is the best pg he's ever played with and the team has some decent vets and a good big in Thompson. It's as good as most Cleveland teams he played for in my opinion

Mo Williams was an allstar

[WillyJakkz]

Puttin' my name on it:

1.Wolves- By far one of the very best starting fives I've ever seen in any GMaT because they all fit together as a collective perfectly (Not even sure if Rose was healthy my Clips could beat you). Easily NBA Champs, not even close
2.Thunder- Chandler was a huge pickup but not sure he'd be utilized properly as he's a PnR player, woulda been best to put Felton as starting PG to get most outta Chandler offensively and WB at SG then this team has huge shot to beat Spurs...I mean Wolves.
3. Bulls- Love Paul in Chicago woulda been better off staying put after Paul Rose trade and they are maybe winning the Finals instead of losing to the Wolves
4. Bucks- Wade has alot of lifting to do if Nash can't stay healthy but if he can, Nash Pau Wade is sweet, too bad Granger isn't healthy
5. Blazers- Noah is gonna be pissed not getting the ball from Jennings and Co as he and Aldridge will do all the heavy lifting but love PG LMA Noah core
6. Nets- Weird mix of players but like PP and JJ with Z Bo Monroe frontcourt, a PG away from making some noise.
7. Heat- Good players bad fits, consolidate for a championship move w that talent
8. Grizzlies- Gonna be hard to keep up with em but not so much knowing Nelson and Monta will take majority of shots
9.Bobcats- Nice moves getting EG Lopez Conley Hayward core
10.Sixers- Tough season for em if they retain Bynum and he's healthy 2013....look out
11.Kings – Good thing is gettin' rid of DMC and getting Melo and KG, bad news not much else
12. Cavs- Huge improvement, may be best trading Gasol for better compliments to Lawson Faried
13. Wizards- Deng D Will Al Jeff will only get em so far.
14.Pistons- Odd mix but kinda like it though they can't shoot the ball for ****
15.Spurs- Love the transformation to a young contender for years to come, best youth as a team moving forward possibly but don't love it at the expense of a team who was already on the verge of a title.
16. Rockets- Clearly a FA 2013 move by leaving LeBron w low salaried youth, only like TT with James
17. Mavericks- Dirk countered by Tony Allen is a nice start
18. Knicks- Poor Dragic probably won't even get to run that dismal team offense though I think he and Amar'e go well together
19. Suns – Lovin' the dismantling then reconstruction of that team, scoring in the paint is gonna be a real chore..one of the better young teams heading into the offseason.
20. Nuggets- Took a step back in young talent to gamble on a Beal Favors duo....I like it
21. Pacers- Harden etc not bad but clearly wishing for a FA to come help out
22. Hawks- Got slightly worse in their quest to trade Josh Smith but like Horford Asik
23. Warriors- Took step back though Josh Smith was a plus
24. Raptors- Better than they were but still treadmill team
25. Pelicans- Getting rid of Gordon and Vasquez for not as talented players will have fans wearing "Pelican't" shirts
26. Lakers- Not seeing the results from Kobe and Dwight being traded
27. Celtics- Dwight is outta there if a FA doesn't come to Beantown to help
28. Jazz- Not really seeing the upside in this unit and trading the 2013 1st was a huge miscalculation. Def can't go into next season with MKG and Barnes
29.Magic- Tough team to work with, if Lamb gets right he'll be great with Harmless who is gonna be a stud

[HornetJail]

1 LAC - This team deserves love. It's a top 3 team with Rose, yet it might be one with him out. This roughly equates to the current Clippers team only you traded Paul for injured Rose, and somehow added Kobe out of thin air. Props!

2 CLE - This is an incredibly lazy comparison, but this is what the Grizzlies and Nuggets would look like if they got married and had a baby. Lawson and Gasol is an excellent duo, Mayo and Faried are terrific young guys, and the backcourt depth is so good they manage to squeeze three extra minutes into the backcourt rotation. Not a contender yet, but they're as close as the Grizzuggets would be.

3 WAS - You have a nice trio in Jefferson, Williams, and Deng, and a terrific fourth guy in my main man Jared Dudley! I don't mind Dalembert and Udoh covering up Jefferson's woes on the defensive end, but you'll be relying on your big 3 1/2 a lot. The lack of depth will hurt in the playoffs.

4 MIN - LOL, this is essentially the Spurs, plus an injured Love, minus the genius that is Gregg Popovich. I can't see the Spurs winning more than 50-55 games without Popovich coaching them and with Love out most of the season, that is essentially what it is. Still a tremendous team that might give my team a few issues in the WCF.


5 HOU - This team's ceiling is incredible if Thompson, Williams, and Walker pan out as expected. Unfortunately, right now it's a two man show (Lebron and Kemba) with a nice big (Thompson) and absolutely nothing else. Any team with Lebron is automatically a major threat, but I can't see more than a second round exit right now. Good news is cap space though. Rockets fans have a great reason to be excited

6 POR - One backcourt stud away from contention. Udrih / Price / Gibson / Jennings / Foye is probably bottoms in the league in terms of backcourts, but you more than make up for it with the best front court with Aldridge/Noah/George, all of whom fit perfectly.

7 MIA - I like this team but not enough to call it a contender. Bosh, Lee, and Javale make an excellent front court, Parsons, Derozan, and Batum comprise a sick wing trio, and Lillard rounds out the lineup in style. My main question is if this team could pull off a '04-Pistons-like playoff run, or if they're just another awesomely talented team without a clear identity.

8 BKN - Will be a handful for any team, but it lacks a go-to option, with Pierce, Randolph, Johnson, and even Wallace well out of their primes. Your 2-5 positions can stack up with any team, you've got a real good 6th man, but the rest of the roster really bothers me.

9 MEM - Simply a playoff team, would be a bit more if Anderson Varejao didn't have a life-threatening blood clot. The PG position is holding you back. Your team could make up for Varejao by playing small ball and having Chandler or Iguodala play the 4, but you also need a pretty creative point guard to be able to run small ball effectively and I've got my doubts about Jameer and Darren. Otherwise, your wing rotation is top-notch, and you've got quality bigs, but Varejao's absence takes a big toll.

10 MIL - This would've been a dynasty five years ago. Unfortunately, Wade is 31, Gasol is pushing 35 and has become injury prone, and Nash is no longer in Phoenix- The Land Where 39 Becomes 29. Let's be honest, they've got the talent, but they're simply too old and there's nothing behind the starters to spell them. Granger's injury hurts the team significantly as well.

11 SAC - Love the Melo/Garnett duo, [insert honey nut cheerio's reference] but outside of that, there are three over-the-hill vets in the starting lineup, and the 6th and 7th men are Gary Neal and Kenyon Martin getting 36 and 24 minutes a game. Add to the fact that Mo Williams, Kaman, and Sheed have missed significant portions of the season, the team is a marginal playoff team at best.

12 CHI - Paul obviously makes this a playoff team, but is it any more? Gortat and Nene are solid, but they've missed time this year, leaving Nazr Mohammed as the only big on the roster capable of playing the 5. Unless Shane Battier can play center, the two bigs' injuries really cost this team.

13 ATL - Good trio of Horford, Teague, and Asik, but I'll be honest, there is nothing else there. I guess Gerald Green, Ivan the Terrible, and Devin Harris are decent role players, but there's a lot to be desired.

14 GS - I feel that this team falls short in a few ways. Curry, Turner, and Smith are a great trio and I like Sessions as a backup a lot, but there's just a ton of garbage stashed in at the 3 and the 5. Kendrick Perkins/Festus Ezeli/Brendan Haywood/Andris Biedrins might be the most offensively-challenged center rotation ever. As Bobcats fans used to call our center rotation, Frankencenter. A decent center gets this team to the playoffs.

15 SAS - Honestly, the team is Rubio with a bunch of elite role players. A go-to option will help a ton. In no way should Klay Thompson be a team's 1st scoring option at this point in his career. It's a nice young team with potential though.

16 PHI - Bynum's injury does you in. Minus Bynum, there are only five rotation caliber players here. Granted four of them are really good (Holiday, Millsap, Young, and Thornton, with another excellent prospect in Shved), but there's a lot to work on if you want to be any more than this.

17 DAL - Worse than the current Mavericks, especially with Dirk missing a chunk of the season and with Vince Carter as the first option, I can't see anything close to playoff contention.

18 CHA - I personally don't like it much. Gordon is always hurt. I have my doubts about Conley being anything more than average, and Gibson is best suited as a sixth or seventh man, and the bench needs serious work. Lopez is a bright spot. The team makes or misses the playoffs contingent on Gordon's health, which unfortunately has been negative this year.

19 NY - Two words. Lacking defense. The team is built around Stoudemire, Cousins, and Martin. Add in Tyreke and my man Goran Dragic, plus a sixth man in JR Smith, and that's as good as it gets offensively, even with Stoudemire hurt. But there's so little depth with Stoudemire, Shumpert, and Josh Howard all missing half the season or more. Put all this together, and there's a lot to work on.

20 TOR - Tough to place, you might have enough talent to contend for a playoff spot but I can't help but think that everyone on the roster outside of Vasquez has either underachieved or been hurt this year. I also bumped you up one spot since you've played without Bargnani, out with a bruised vagina? :p

21 DET - I can't decide whether the vets are good enough to keep the team afloat, or whether the youth and injuries pulls the team down too much. Wall, Drummond, and Marion have all spent a lot of time on the bench this year. Wall's current play as of late, pulls this team to roughly 25 wins by season's end.

22 PHX - This was a difficult one to place. Your front court will annihilate opponents on defense, but will be annihilated almost as badly on offense. Your backcourt has a lot of firepower and will be unstoppable when your guys are on, but it'll be inconsistent, and your two point guards are both well under six-feet and will get slaughtered defensively. Ross and Gallo help somewhat, but unfortunately not enough.

23 LAL - Kyrie's a borderline superstar, but he simply can't bring this team out of the gutter this year. Should be a fun two man game with him and Hickson, with Waiters hanging around. there's a ways to go though. Laker Nation is probably antsy as anything.

24 NO - I'll be totally honest, even with his torrid 10-game stretch of averaging close to 25ppg, Gerald Henderson will never be a legit first-option for a team hoping to win more than 25 games. Second, third, and fourth options are Hill, Davis, and Budinger, simply doesn't get it done. It's a good thing NO has plenty of picks coming up.

25 IND - There's James Harden and David West, a top 10 and a top 50 player in the league. Outside of that, no starting caliber talent. Honestly doesn't cut it. Harden can score out of his mind, but he can't do enough to keep this team afloat.

26 ORL - Essentially the current Magic team with two studs named Jeremy added. Enough to not be the worst, but not much more. Hopefully the ping-pong balls are nice to you!

27 DEN - Nothing but young, fairly raw talent, and one injury-prone center. Nice future with Favors, Beal, and all the picks, but this is going to be a rough, rough year for fans who were expecting a playoff run.

28 UTA - I have serious doubts as to whether this team is better than the real life Bobcats right now. Bradley isn't a natural point, Redick is only a shooter (which is a plus on this team actually as the only consistent three-point threat on the entire roster), MKG and Kanter are energetic young guns, and Ilyasova is solid. Barnes is a great sixth man. Good future with all the picks, unfortunately that's not the present.

29 BOS - The Rondo/Howard combo is absolutely lethal, with one major snag. Rondo has nobody to pass to while Howard's hurting, and once Howard returned to form, Rondo tore his ACL. If the two were healthy all year you'd still have a hard time making the playoffs with Mike Dunleavy as your third guy. This team is bottoms in the league. Howard can't play all five positions at once.

[Slot Machine]

25 IND - There's James Harden and David West, a top 10 and a top 50 player in the league. Outside of that, no starting caliber talent. Honestly doesn't cut it. Harden can score out of his mind, but he can't do enough to keep this team afloat.

I don't mind being ranked low but I really don't understand this. Splitter and Green start on the 2nd best team in the league and Chalmers starts on the best team in the league.

[sterncohen]

As some others have said, I will do comments at the end of the game, just rankings for draft purposes now.


1. Minnesota
2. LAC
3. OKC
4. Milwaukee
5. Miami
6. San Antonio
7. Portland
8. Chicago
9. Brooklyn
10. Cleveland
11. Washington
12. Memphis
13. Indiana
14. Sacramento/Seattle
15. Charlotte
16. Philadelphia
17. Phoenix
18. Detroit
19. Houston
20. NYK
21. Atlanta
22. Golden State
23. Denver
24. Boston
25. Dallas
26. LAL
27. Toronto
28. Utah
29. New Orleans

[HornetJail]

25 IND - There's James Harden and David West, a top 10 and a top 50 player in the league. Outside of that, no starting caliber talent. Honestly doesn't cut it. Harden can score out of his mind, but he can't do enough to keep this team afloat.

I don't mind being ranked low but I really don't understand this. Splitter and Green start on the 2nd best team in the league and Chalmers starts on the best team in the league.

Splitter and Green have the benefit of having defenses focusing 90% of their attention on two of the top 15 players in the league right now in Parker and Duncan, and another very good one in Ginobili. Chalmers plays alongside the greatest player since Jordan, the second best shooting guard since Jordan, and an all-star big man to boot. All three of Green, Splitter, and Chalmers are starters due to circumstance. They are role players who fit with their stars. They'll be exposed in a starting role where defenses will only have to keep track of one player, Harden.

For example, I have Kyle Korver and Brandon Bass starting for me. Korver is a three-point marksman and nothing else. Bass is a hustle guy who simply provides offense next to Tyson Chandler and little else. Playing next to Durant, Westbrook, and Tyson Chandler will make these two seem a lot better than they really are. They will just shine in their roles like Chalmers, Green, and Splitter do.

[Slot Machine]

25 IND - There's James Harden and David West, a top 10 and a top 50 player in the league. Outside of that, no starting caliber talent. Honestly doesn't cut it. Harden can score out of his mind, but he can't do enough to keep this team afloat.

I don't mind being ranked low but I really don't understand this. Splitter and Green start on the 2nd best team in the league and Chalmers starts on the best team in the league.

Splitter and Green have the benefit of having defenses focusing 90% of their attention on two of the top 15 players in the league right now in Parker and Duncan, and another very good one in Ginobili. Chalmers plays alongside the greatest player since Jordan, the second best shooting guard since Jordan, and an all-star big man to boot. All three of Green, Splitter, and Chalmers are starters due to circumstance. They are role players who fit with their stars. They'll be exposed in a starting role where defenses will only have to keep track of one player, Harden.

For example, I have Kyle Korver and Brandon Bass starting for me. Korver is a three-point marksman and nothing else. Bass is a hustle guy who simply provides offense next to Tyson Chandler and little else. Playing next to Durant, Westbrook, and Tyson Chandler will make these two seem a lot better than they really are. They will just shine in their roles like Chalmers, Green, and Splitter do.

Chalmers put up 10 points a game as a rookie when he was a significantly worse player, playing next to Wade and not much else. This team is far better than the '09 Heat and Chalmers is a much better player now as well. He fits next to Harden too, since he can be the off guard and isn't ball dominant.

Green is a 3 and D guy, I'm not sure how teams could expose him when he'd be doing the same thing he does now. Play quality defense and space the floor with his shooting. Same goes for Splitter, I'm not sure how he could be "exposed" when he's played significant minutes without Duncan when he was part of the bench unit before. He's a good P&R big while also being a good rebounder and defender.

I agree that these guys are role players, but I think you're way underselling them. They also fit well, which I think should count for something.

Sorry if I come off as a whiner here, but just wanted to clarify a few things.

[BlackIce]

I guess I got some work to do with my Jazz.

[ak7]

I guess I got some work to do with my Jazz.

Wanted to rank you higher but there's just too many "good" teams this time around, not a lot of rebuilding teams per say.

[XXIV]

1. MIN
2. OKC
3. MIL
4. LAC
5. BKN
6. CHI
7. POR
8. WAS
9. SAC
10. MEM
11. SAN
12. CLE
13. PHX
14. CHA
15. IND
16. DEN
17. HOU
18. MIA
19. NYK
20. DAL
21. TOR
22. DET
23. BOS
24. LAL
25. PHI
26. UTA
27. ATL
28. ORL
29. NOH

[RiotPunch]

LOL @ Gasol pushing 35. SMH.

[orangeparka]

When are rankings supposed to be due?

[RR9]

12 CHI - Paul obviously makes this a playoff team, but is it any more? Gortat and Nene are solid, but they've missed time this year, leaving Nazr Mohammed as the only big on the roster capable of playing the 5. Unless Shane Battier can play center, the two bigs' injuries really cost this team.

I have nene/gortat/okafor/nazr ! you forgot okafor...he's not nothing! he's a great defensive anchor.