Day five of my preseason NBA countdown brings us the start of the top ten. These are the top teams. These are the teams with real title aspirations.

At 10 I have the Memphis Grizzlies. This is my team. This is who I root for. I want nothing but the best for them. The hard part is they have floundered in the playoffs and Ja Morant, due to his own fault, is suspended for the first 25 games. They are going to miss him a lot. He is a very important guy to this team and their playoff hopes. They did get Marcus Smart in a trade. I like the defense, grit and willingness from him to shoot. Desmond Bane is getting better every year, he is their best shooter and he is a solid enough defender. Steven Adams should be back from injury. He brings toughness and much needed rebounding. Brandon Clarke should, hopefully, return at some point this season, and he is a great glue guy and bench player. Jaren Jackson Jr is the reigning defensive player of the year. He is also a good stretch four. He just needs to stop making dumb fouls. I like the addition of Derrick Rose. He is a solid vet and he is returning to the place that he dominated basketball. Kenny Lofton Jr should get spot minutes. Luke Kennard is a decent shooter, but he is inconsistent. Ziaire Williams has looked better this preseason. Santi Aldama is an okay backup big. The Grizzlies have a ton of talent. Now that talent needs to translate to the playoffs. They also need to play big while Morant is suspended.

At 9 I have the Sacramento Kings. The Kings are fun and good again. I feel like it is the late 90's, early 2000's all over again. De'Aaron Fox is awesome. He is fast, he is clutch and he is the perfect point guard to run this offense. Domantas Sabonis is a bruising big man who is one of the better low post passers in the league. Keegan Murray played well above his years last season and was dominant in summer league. Davion Mitchell is a superior perimeter defender. Malik Monk is a microwave shooter. Harrison Barnes is still around and still productive. Kevin Huerter is better than people give him credit. Chris Duarte has got range. This team has gotten better over the years and hiring Mike Brown was a wonderful decision by the front office. They are tried and true and will be for a good long time now.

At 8 I have the LA Clippers. The Clippers have so much talent on their roster. They have stars almost everywhere. Will that talent be healthy all year though? That is the million dollar question. Kawhi Leonard is an amazing basketball player. He is one of the best defenders in the league. His offense has gotten so much better. He is a terror for opponents. He can single win games single handed. But he has to play more than 20 games. Paul George is a bit more durable, but not by much. But when he is out there, boy oh boy is he awesome. He can shoot from anywhere. He is one of the best shot creators in the league. He is an awesome defender. There is not much he cannot do, except stay healthy for long stretches. Russell Westbrook rebuilt himself going to the Clippers. It seemed like an odd fit, but he slid right into that sixth man spot and was a great addition last season. I see that getting even better. Norman Powell is awesome when he isn't the first option. The dude can score in bunches, and when the Clippers have their stars on the floor he is always open. Ivica Zubac is a very good rebounder and a solid defensive presence. He just gets kind of dazed on offense from time to time. Terance Mann is amazing. I enjoy watching him play basketball. I also loved how he was messing with Chris Paul in the playoffs last season. Mason Plumlee and Nic Batum add veteran leadership. And Kobe Brown looks like a nice draft pick. The Clippers should be very good this year, but it all depends on health.

At 7 I have the Golden State Warriors. The names are all the same and they should win a lot of games. But man are they getting old. Steph Curry is the greatest shooter in the history of basketball. He is amazing to watch play and I am so happy that I am around to witness his greatness. Klay Thompson is still recovering from two horrendous knee injuries, but the guy puts up buckets. He has also started trash talking a lot, which I appreciate. Draymond Green is still a pest and the best system player this league may ever see. He is also still a top tier defender in the league and he is the only guy that I truly believe can guard all five positions with no drop off. Kevon Looney is the best rebounder in the NBA and he is the perfect center for this team. He just isn't much of a scoring threat. Johnathan Kuminga is seemingly getting better. Moses Moody may have a make or break year for this team. Andrew Wiggins should be fully back all season and he should be engaged. I love them bringing over Rudy Gay on a small deal. Gary Payton II should be full go and he had his best years within the Warriors system. And they brought over Chris Paul. I don't know how or if that will work, but I do know that he is maniacally trying to win a title. The Warriors will win a ton, but the old legs may be their downfall in the playoffs. I wouldn't bet against them though.

The final team for the day, another old team, at 6 I have the LA Lakers. The Lakers got so much better this offseason, and last year they made the conference finals. LeBron James is back and looks as good as he always has. He is the second greatest player of all time. He does amazing things with the ball in his hands. He is the best modern leader this game has ever seen. James rules. Anthony Davis looked awesome in the playoffs last season and I think that will translate to this season. He is such a good player when he is engaged and focused. He just needs to stay on the floor. I do not like, nor do I get the cult of Austin Reaves. But, the dude can shoot and playing alongside James is in his best interest. Rui Hachimura really found himself as a bench player with the Lakers. He looks like a trade steal. D'Angelo Russell is not as good as advertised. He can shoot, but he is often a minus on defense and can be a turnover machine. Getting Gabe Vincent is going to be big for their bench units. He can shoot and defend. Cam Reddish may actually be an okay bench player for this team. Jaxson Hayes is going to love grabbing lobs from LeBron. Jarred Vanderbilt is a long, switchy defender. The Lakers went out and found guys that fit around LeBron and AD. That is what they have needed to do for quite some time now. They did it and I think it will work in their favor.

That is it for today and for the week. Come back Monday for my top five teams. 

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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