Today we enter the top 5. It would not surprise me if any of the teams I have today finish as the runner up to the Warriors in either the West Finals, or the Finals. These teams have stars, they know how to win and they are ready to win. Lets go.

At number 6 I have the Toronto Raptors. They soared up the rankings when they acquired Kawhi Leonard. Now, the whole trade, the Raptors trading the much beloved DeMar DeRozan, has been met with plenty of scrutiny, as it should have been. But, when you have a chance to get a healthy Kawhi, and you play in the East, I really can't blame them. What they did to DeRozan was shady as hell, but Kawhi, when healthy, is a much better overall player. He is one of, if not the, best defenders in the NBA. He is one of the few that can "shut down" LeBron. He can pretty much shut down anyone. He has also really improved his offensive game as well. He can get to the rim, he can hit jumpers and he gets to the line. It may just be a one year rental, but a motivated and healthy Kawhi is a player every team should want. And while they traded away DeRozan, and Jakob Poeltl, they still have a very solid roster around them. Kyle Lowry, for all his playoff short comings, is an all star guard. He is a good scorer. He plays solid defense. He is a willing passer, and now that he will control the ball, I think he will have one of his better years. I hope that translate to playoff success for him. Serge Ibaka is not the player he once was, but he can shoot from the outside, thus stretching the defense. But, he doesn't protect the rim like he used to and isn't a very good rebounder. OG Anounoby is a budding star. The fact that the Spurs tried real hard to get him should speak volumes. He is due to break out. I really like Fred Van Vleet. He is a great second point guard, he knows what to do on the floor and he is a great leader. Danny Green came over in the trade as well, and while he is in his early 30's, he can still shoot, and he plays solid defense. They still have Jonas Valenciunas, and while he is a good banger in the post, he doesn't do much else for the team. He might be their best rebounder, but that is about it. I do really like Pascal Siakim. He is young, has bounce, can play D and will learn to score. He has a future. I'm not crazy about the Greg Monroe signing, he is a lot like Valenciunas, but he does give them a solid option at the 5 off the bench. Delon Wright is a big, good scoring 2 guard. Norman Powell can shoot. And CJ Miles is a good vet. This team got so much better when they acquired Kawhi. He may help them exercise their playoff demons. And if he stays, this team can be a threat for years to come in the East.

At number 5 I have the OKC Thunder. Getting rid of Carmelo was the best thing they could have done. They also finally got rid of Kyle Singler. Also, Nick Collison finally retired. This team is a classic example of getting better by players leaving. Addition by subtraction if you will. Oh, they also have Russell Westbrook. While he is wildly frustrating to watch, and I would not want to play with him, he is an amazing basketball player. He goes 100 percent every night. He gives his all. He plays hard and tough. He is a former MVP. Westbrook might be, next to Giannis, the most athletic player in the league. Paul George decided to stick around, and I think that was a good move on his part. He is much better as the second option, and he is a great defender. He can also shoot the three pretty well now. And with a year of playing with him, and 2 off seasons together, I think he and Westbrook will click now. Steven Adams has not lived up to my personal hype, where I thought he might become one of the best centers in the league, but the dude is still a beast. He is as good a rebounder as their is in the NBA. He plays solid post defense and can score in the post. Other than that though, he doesn't do much else, and he is constantly in foul trouble. I like the addition of Dennis Schroder, as long as he doesn't think he is the first, second or third option. He will be great for the second unit, if he buys in, and when he gets to play with Westbrook, George and Adams, that could be a dangerous lineup. Andre Roberson is still not fully recovered from his ACL injury, but he will be back in a few months. When he comes back, he and George may be the best back court defenders in the NBA. Roberson just cannot shoot. At all. I love that they got Nerlens Noel on a one year, prove it to the league deal. He will give his all every night, and with his ability in the pick and roll, he and Westbrook or Schroder could be lethal. He is also a nasty defender. Jerami Grant sticking around was a low key great move. He is a do it all guy off the bench, and the Thunder needed him to stay. Alex Abrines showed glimpses of his outside shit last year. He will definitely get more looks. Raymond Felton is back, and while I like chubby pro athletes, it will be hard for him to find minutes on this team. Patrick Patterson didn't really play up to the contract he got last year, but he was hurt for a lot of the season. If he is right, and ready to play, he could have a decent impact on this team. I like the Thunder. I love that George stayed. This team should be much better than they were last year.

My final team for the day, coming in at number 4, I have the Boston Celtics. This team is loaded. In fact, the reason that aren't in my top 3, they might be too loaded. They have very good players at all positions, but it may be hard for Brad Stevens to find minutes for everyone. Kyrie Irving is back from injury, and he should be the face of this team. He is a wizard with the ball he can score from anywhere and he has won a title. He is also on the last year of his contract, so I expect a big year out of him. But, the Celtics also have Terry Rozier and Marcus Smart, both of whom are point guards. Rozier is a fan favorite, and he is also in the final year of a contract. Will he see the minutes he needs to get paid next offseason? I don't think so, unless Irving gets hurt. Smart didn't get the big offer he was hoping this offseason, so he had to come back. Will this light a fire under him, or will he mope? Also, he is probably the third best point guard on this roster. He is the best defender, by a wide margin, but Rozier and Irving are much, much better on offense than he is. Gordon Hayward comes back. I am not a fan of his. I think he is wildly overrated. He is also a fan of the current "government", and a religious weirdo, so I am fully out on him. But, he is back. But, Jayson Tatum played fantastically in his absence, he is younger and he is not coming off a devastating injury. Who will Stevens go with in crunch time? Will he pick the kid he recruited in high school and coached at Butler, Hayward, or will he go with the younger and more crowd pleasing Tatum? That will be a tough call for him. Jaylen Brown is easily the most athletic guy on this team. He can also shoot the three. He also plays defense. The fact that people don't mention him that much when they talk about this team blows my mind. He has future all star written all over him. He is also, without a doubt, the best 3 they have on the roster. No one else is even close. Al Horford is probably the smartest player in the NBA. He may be boring, but he is exactly who the young players need. He makes the right decision every time. He knows exactly where to be and when. He is a great interior defender. He made Joel Embiid vanish in the playoff last year. Horford is great, but he is older. That is why I love that they took Robert Williams in the second round. He will greatly benefit from learning from Horford. I also love that Semi Ojeleye is learning from him too. Honestly, Ojeleye is a younger, and stronger, version of him. Marcus Morris is a great vet, but I kind of feel like he will get lost in the shuffle of the amount of talent on this team. Aron Baynes is strictly there for toughness and nothing else. And Daniel Thies is a pure scorer off the bench. The Celtics have loads and loads of talent. They are also a popular team to take over the East. I want to see how Stevens creates time for all these players. He proved me very wrong last year, and I expect him to now. But, you never know. It will be interesting.

That's it for today. Come back tomorrow for the final three. The NBA season is almost here people. Time to get excited.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet. 

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