Ty Tells You How each NBA Team Can Win the Title: Rockets, Trailblazers, and the Jazz

Day 7 of my NBA countdown has us finally getting to the top 10. It will be team number 10, but we are on our way to the elite. The best of the best. What separates the teams from being elite today are any number of things. Some don't think defense is important. Others are a bit too young, and don't have the necessary experience to go any further than round 2. Some are just one or two players away from being truly competitive. These teams are good, and may make some noise, but none will go any further than round 2 of the playoffs this year. Here we go.

At number 12, I have the Houston Rockets. Man, did this team underachieve last year. They were a year removed from the West finals, and they went out of the playoffs last year with barely a whimper. They did finally get rid of Dwight Howard, but I don't think he was the sole problem. This team does not care about defense at all, and it all starts with their star player, James Harden. Harden is one of the best scorers in the league right now. He can make shots from anywhere. He is deadly from down town. He gets to the free throw line regularly and he will always have the ball in his hands. The problem, he simply thinks that defense is optional. Harden is a horrendous defender. He doesn't even try, which makes it worse. Sure, he can go for 30 any given night, but the guy he is guarding is just as capable of putting up 30. The hiring of Mike Dantoni won't help out his, or the team's defense for that matter. Dantoni is an offensive wizard, but he, much like Harden, thinks defense is optional. This team will score a ton, but they will give up a ton of points too. There are some other decent pieces on this roster. Patrick Beverly is a pesky defender and okay point guard. He may be the only guy on this team that tries on the defensive end. But, when you have Harden as your point guard, having Beverly is kind of pointless. He won't do all that much for the Rockets this year, except annoy their opponents. The Donatas Montejunas hype is over. He is never healthy. He can't score like projected, and he, like most of the roster, could care less about stopping his man. Montejunas is kind of a waste. They signed Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon this offseason. Both are good offensive players. Anderson is a great shooter, but he is just as bad on defense as Harden is. Gordon, when healthy, is a very good, all star caliber player, but he can't stay healthy, and he too thinks defense is optional. They signed Nene, who will bring some toughness to this team, but he looked a step slow in the Olympics. Montrez Harrell will try and take the Nene slack, but he is very inconsistent. Trevor Ariza is a good shooter, but he has lost a step or two, and he doesn't attack like the rim like he used to. He also plays no defense. Clint Capela is the new big man, with Howard gone, but I don't think he is ready to be a starter in the NBA just yet. This team is going to score a ton of points. They may average between 115 and 120 points per game. But, they will give up 110 to 115 points a game. That will net them 43 or 44 wins, but no more. Unfortunately for the Rockets, defense is a very important thing in the NBA.

So Ty, how will the Rockets win the title? The Rockets could win the title if they average about 140 points per game. The only way they can win is if they outscore every other team. That will not happen.

At number 11, I have the Portland Trailblazers. This team surprised everyone last year, including me. They were supposed to be rebuilding, yet they made the second round last year. Damien Lillard is one of the 10 best players in the league. He is clutch, can score from anywhere and is the man on this team. He could be a little better on defense, but man oh man is he elite on offense. CJ McCollum is about to become a perennial all star. He is a great, clutch shooter as well. He also has a very calming demeanor. He is never flustered and plays well within his limitations. This is one of the better backcourts in all the NBA. Allen Crabbe proved to be a decent shooter and a good defender last year. Who knew. Meyers Leonard has been a waste. He is too big and talented to be this mediocre, but he is just average. He also gets hurt way too often. I did not like the Evan Turner signing, but I don't think it will hurt them. He is an okay player, but when you have Lillard and McCollum, I see no reason for Turner. Al Faroq-Aminnu has proven that he is a good enough scorer and defender. He stretches the floor and plays heady defense. Maurice Harkless seemingly came out of nowhere to be a pretty reliable player last year. He doesn't do one thing exceptional, but he seems to do everything pretty well. He's a good basketball player. Mason Plumlee is an average big man, They have a big discrepancy when it comes to big men. Noah Vonleh has also been relegated to bench duties. The lack of a true big will hurt them. This team is so much better than anyone thought they would be. They will continue to win between 44 and 47 games because they have an excellent back court. I love Damien Lillard and CJ McCollum.

So Ty, how will the Blazers win the title? The Blazers will win the title if, much like their first round series last year, every team they run into in the playoffs has a star player get injured. They won't get lucky like that again, but this team is good. Don't sleep on the Trailblazers.

At number 10, I have the Utah Jazz. I know that I have them in my top ten, but I'm not as high as some other people are on them. I think they will be good, but they will go no further than the first round this year. But, they do play some incredibly good defense. I love teams that play good defense. Gordon Hayward is a good NBA player, but I don't think he is as good as others. Some people seem to think he is all star caliber, I don't. I think he is a fine NBA player. He can get you 16 points a night, and he will play some good defense. I do however love Rudy Gobert. He is an excellent big man. His offensive game is coming along quite nicely and he is already a great rim protector and rebounder. Gobert is an all star caliber player. I also really like Derrick Favors. He doesn't jump off the page, but he is consistent and reliable. He is a good low post player. Getting George Hill will be huge for this team. He is a solid point guard and he does everything the right way. This was a great pick up. I also like the addition of Boris Diaw. Sure, he is older and looks a bit out of shape, but he will make open shots and he will find the open man. He is an excellent passer. Joe Johnson was a fine addition too. He doesn't play much defense, but he will be instant offense for a team that needs some instant offense. Alec Burks is a good young player, he is just a but inconsistent. He can fix that. Trey Lyles seems to be coming along just fine. He is a big that can go inside and out. He needs some more time, he is very young, but he looks like he will be a solid NBA player. Rodney Hood has gotten better every year, and I think now is his chance to break through. He's a good shooter and a good defender. This Jazz team is good, and they are on their way back to being a regular in the playoffs. They will win 46 or 47 games this year, about good enough for the 5 or 6 seed.

So Ty, how will the Jazz win the title? The Jazz can win the title if they, much like the Blazers, strike injury luck with their opponents and a star gets hurt on every team they face. They also need Hayward to be more assertive and Gobert's offensive game to drastically improve. They aren't there yet, but they are going to be good for awhile if they all stick together.

That's it for today, come back next week when it is all elite teams that all have a legitimate shot at the title.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. The Head Editor can not get behind the Jazz and Quinn Snyder's pass the ball thirty times and miss a three type of offense. Hey, Ty knows more about these things. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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Ty tells you how each NBA team could win the title: Pistons, Mavericks, & Jazz

I love the NBA, and I really love playoff caliber basketball.

Continuing my NBA countdown, I'll be giving you teams 18, 17 and 16. Today we get our first playoff team. This team will actually replace a team from last seasons playoffs. The three teams I'll be talking about today are right on the verge, or missed their window. They have decent enough rosters, but are just on the outside of the playoffs, with one exception. My first playoff team may surprise you, but that's the fun of making preseason predictions. On with the countdown.

Coming in at number 18 is the Detroit Pistons. There are things I really like about this team, but there's just as much that I dislike. They might surprise, but probably not. First, the dislikes. For one, they completely over paid to keep Reggie Jackson. Being an Oklahoma City fan, I watched Jackson grow into a quality NBA starter, but I also saw how he reacted when he didn't get his way. One year, he'd have a huge impact during OKC's playoff runs, but last season, with Durant and Westbrook out for extended periods of time, he did not respond to the challenge. Instead of being the leader they needed, he became a ball hog, so far as to veterans icing him out and not passing him the ball. He then complained that he wasn't getting the touches or minutes he thought he deserved when Westbrook returned, and basically demanded a trade. His wish was granted much to my delight. Now, GM Stan Van Gundy gave him a max contract and that's insane. He's not a max player, and if he doesn't get his way, he'll openly complain. Another reason the contract baffles me is, the Pistons have a much better point guard in Brandon Jennings. I know he's coming off a torn ACL, but he's ten times the player Reggie Jackson is. He's also a lefty, and lefties are very tough to guard. Jennings can shoot okay enough, and he's really good at finding the open man. Unfortunately, for him and the Pistons, I think he's trade bait since they gave Jackson so much money. Some team will greatly benefit if Jennings is traded, and the Pistons will suffer. I'd take Jennings over Jackson 10 times out of 10.Now, a player I like. Andre Drummond is a good big man to have, but his front court mate, Greg Monroe, left and signed with Milwaukee. That will be tough on Drummond. Drummond is a great rebounder and defender though, and he may strive being the focal point of the Pistons half court offense. They drafted Stanley Johnson, who I like a lot, but he's only 19 or 20 years old. He's another one and done, and it takes time for these guys to develop before they become a true threat. Besides Marcus Morris, who I think is a really good, really underrated player, they "beefed" up their bench with guys like Steve Blake, way too old, Danny Granger, way too old and oft injured, Aaron Baynes, won't succeed outside of the Spurs organization and Ersan Ilyasova, just not that good of an NBA player. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is a good shooter, but he hasn't figured out the NBA game just yet. The overpaying of Reggie Jackson and signing or trading for veterans that are ten years past their prime make the Pistons a 35 to 37 win team. That may get you in the playoffs in the East, but probably not.

How the Pistons will win it all.

The Pistons will win the title if Reggie Jackson and Brandon Jennings find a way to mesh together and play high level basketball, that won't happen, they both think they're alphas, but only one of them is(Jennings), Drummond becomes a 20 point a game scorer, Stanley Johnson becomes a key contributor right away and the old vets find the fountain of youth and play like they did in their primes. Sorry Detroit, that's not happening.

Number 17 on my list is the Dallas Mavericks. What a crummy, terrible, horrible, asinine way to lose your top free agent this summer. I wrote about how cowardly this all made DeAndre Jordan look, and it was a huge blow to the Mavericks hopes of making the playoffs. Now, as I wrote in my piece, Jordan wouldn't have made them an NBA championship contender, but he would've kept them in the playoffs at least. I feel bad for Dirk Nowitzki as well. How many other legitimate superstars have left as much money on the table to help the team get better. Nowitzki will go down as one of the best big men shooters of all time, but the end of his career is going to be tough because the Mavericks aren't going to be as good as they've been lately. Not only did they miss out on DeAndre Jordan, but they let Tyson Chandler walk without trying to sign him, Monta Ellis left in free agency and their "big" offseason additions were Wes Matthews, coming off a torn ACL, Deron Williams, who hasn't been an impact player in about 6 years and JaVale McGee, who is the most out of control player in all of basketball. Go google some JaVale McGee "highlights" and watch with amazement at how absurd some of the stuff he does is. They still have Chandler Parsons, but is he truly a quality starter in the NBA? I haven't seen it since his third year in Houston, and he gets injured all the time. He may have been a one season wonder. Devin Harris is still around, but all he's any good for anymore is shooting the three. JJ Barea is still there, but he's just getting older and older. Samuel Dalembert may end up being a good defensive center, but he will not help this team on offense. I want to touch on the Wes Matthews signing again for a minute. They ended up giving him a max contract after the whole DeAndre Jordan thing, and while that was a poor decision, Wes Matthews is a really good NBA player. He led the league in three point percentage last year. That's right, Wes Matthews and not Steph Curry hit threes at the highest rate. He also plays excellent defense. He is a very, very good basketball player. The Mavericks are going to step back this season. The question is, how far of a slide back will they take? Will they be a mid 30 win team, or will they tank? I'd guess they will end up in the mid 30 win column. Dirk has too much pride to give up at this point in his career and Wes Matthews will want to show people he's worth the big contract. Unfortunately, the rest of the roster is average.

How the Mavericks will win it all.

The Mavericks will win the title if they can get the Steve Nash from ten years ago to come back and play for them, Dirk finds the fountain of youth, Matthews becomes an MVP candidate, Parsons proves he's not a one season wonder and the bench highly exceeds expectations. This will be a rough year for the Mavericks, Mark Cuban and, most importantly, Dirk. They will struggle in the West and Dirk may call it quits after this season. We will have to wait and see.

Finally, my first playoff team. Coming in at number 16 is the Utah Jazz. I thought that I'd never say this, but Quinn Snyder may be a competent coach (ed note: That sentence makes me angry). He has a young team that's buying into playing team basketball and being stout on defense. Gordon Hayward is becoming a really good NBA player. He's playing like a max contract guy and I didn't expect that. He looks likes he's going to be good for a long time. Trey Burke has had a rough start to his young career, but the Jazz have tempered that problem by drafting Dante Exum last season. He got hurt, but he's a 6'6 point guard, and he looks to be really good. Burke is more of a bench player anyway, but it pains me to say that because he was a star when he played for Michigan, and you all know I'm a huge Michigan fan, both football and basketball. Derrick Favors is a pretty good NBA player and forward. He's a good post player and very good rebounder. Alec Burks is quietly becoming a pretty good scorer in the NBA. He's instant offense for the Jazz. Rodney Hood is a lefty sharp shooter, and he's playing good basketball right now in his young career. Rudy Gobert is an upgrade from Enes Kanter, especially on defense. He's not the scorer that Kanter was, but his imposing presence in the post made it an easy decision for the Jazz to trade Kanter to OKC last season. The issue with the Jazz is the rest of their bench. They took a shot, it may end up working out for them, by drafting Trey Lyles in the lottery this past draft. He barely saw the floor in his one season at Kentucky, and no one knows how good he really is. He has a ton of potential, but he's extremely raw. He is the definition of a prospect. And, other than Hood and Trevor Booker, the rest of the bench is question marks. Is Jeff Withey really worthy of an NBA roster spot? Trevor Booker is okay, but will he take the next step? The rest of the bench, literally, who are these guys? I don't know much about them. Like I said, the Jazz will make the playoffs, taking the Mavericks spot from last season, in the hyper competitive West, but they will get swept out of the first round. They will win either 44 or 45 games this season.

How the Jazz will win it all.

The Jazz will win the title, now they're the first team in my countdown that has a "shot" simply because they will be in the playoffs, if they catch fire at the exact right time and run off a series of monumental upsets. They will be the eight seed in the West and they will have to go through a murderers row of opponents. That won't happen this year. they'll be a nice story and Jazz basketball is on it's way back, but they're not elite. Not yet.

So, there are my 18, 17 and 16 teams in the NBA. Come back next week and we will get into the upper echelon of teams in the NBA. All the teams next week will be playoff teams and you will get my Finals prediction and my pick to win the Finals next Friday.

It will feel good to write about teams that are actually good.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. We all watch sports here at SeedSing, but Ty is the only one that really knows what he is talking about. Follow him on twitter @tykulik.