Dirk Nowitzki and Dwaye Wade Helped Shape the Modern NBA

Last night two great NBA careers ended. Both Dirk Nowitzki and Dwayne Wade played their last NBA games last night. And they both played pretty well. I think they are both doing the right thing walking away now, but both look like they could still contribute, albeit in a small way, to most NBA teams. But I wanted to take a minute today to congratulate both of them on their hall of fame careers.

That's right, both are surefire first ballot hall of famers. Dirk was the first Euro league player I saw that was that big and could shoot that well. He was 7 feet tall, but he played an outside game. He had a nasty pull up jumper. He could also elevate over smaller defenders, which was the majority of NBA players, and hit jumpers with ease. He was the first big guy that made jumpers fun. To see him do the things he did, at his height, amazed me. He was a less athletic KD. He was a stronger Manute Bol. He was a taller Karl Malone. And when he first was in the league, he did a go to the basket move. He, Steve Nash and Michael Finley were a ton of fun to watch when they were all on the Mavs. They ran a great fast break, with Dirk finding the open spot on or near the elbow, and Finley filling the lane. He also came back from some hardships on the floor. He won the MVP awhile back, and that team lost in the first round of the playoffs to the "We Believe" Warriors. But, Dirk came back next year and helped lead the Mavs to the title. The team they beat in that Finals, it was the first year Big Three Heat. The Mavs totally shut down LeBron, and Bosh was neutralized. This helped Dirk play top notch offense, and he led that team to its only title. He totally redeemed himself. And like I said before, he paved the way for big guys like KD and KAT and AD to want to shoot, and make, three pointers. He made the pull up jumper en vogue. If I heard Steph call him an innovator and an influence, I would totally buy it. Dirk was also a great teammate. You never heard anyone complain about him. He took on free agents and rookies like family. He seemed like a genuinely fun guy to be around. He was always good in interviews and on TV. He was the consummate pro. What I loved most about this final season though, he waited until the very end to let everyone know he was retiring. It seemed like a foregone conclusion, but he didn't want the hubbub or fanfare. He left the game like Tim Duncan, on his own terms.

As far as Dwayne Wade goes, he more than deserved his sendoff. I adored that he made this season a farewell tour. Prior to all that though, Wade was a killer and a winner. From his draft day slip to now, he has always played like he has something to prove. People seem to forget that he was the MVP in a Finals before LeBron joined up with him. Wade, and a much older and slower Shaq, beat the Mavs in 6 games to win a title, and Wade was the man in that series. Sure, there is some question to the officiating, but Wade did what he had to do, and dominated those Finals. It was his big time coming out party. It was when he ascended to superstardom. After that, he was always an all star, a perennial all NBA player, in talks as an MVP. He was one of the best shooting guards in the game, and one of the best shooting guards ever. Even when LeBron showed up, I still thought that Wade was the engine that made that team run. He did the veteran move and stepped aside, but without him, the Heat don't win those titles. He always had big time playoff games and would constantly remind the nation that he was a monster on the court. And even when he left Miami and joined LeBron back in Cleveland, he was still important. His one year with the Bulls he almost helped them upset the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs. He then went back to Miami and helped them back to the playoffs with a team filled with no big named people. And while this final season didn't end in a playoff appearance, Wade played really well and seemed to enjoy every moment. I also love that Paul Pierce tried to claim he was as good as Wade, and he was not having it. Wade has better averages across the board, more titles and is much more important to the game than Pierce could've ever dreamed of being. And I think Pierce was a great NBA player, he just isn't Dwayne Wade great. Wade, like Nowitzki, was also a great teammate and a consummate pro. He was just more fun to watch, at least for me. I think it is awesome that he went out with a triple double too.

Last night saw 2 great careers end, but not in a sad way. They both went out on their terms, in their own personal ways, and I loved every second of their illustrious NBA career's. Enjoy retirement you 2, you both more than deserve it.

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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Ty Tells You How each NBA Team Can Win the Title: Pelicans, Mavericks, and the Bulls

Day 4 of my NBA countdown features teams 21, 20 and 19. These teams are good, but they could be better, or it is just a weird collection of players that I don't think will work out that well, or they are way too old to be highly competitive anymore.

Coming in at number 21, I have the New Orleans Pelicans. This team should be so much better than what they put out there on the floor. I know they had a ton of injuries last year, but that doesn't excuse their horrendous start, and the total lack of defense they "played". I really like their coach, Alvin Gentry, but I think he is better fitted to be an assistant as opposed to the head coach. He did great things while in Phoenix, but that was another team that he was the head man for, and they never reached their full potential. The roster has some great players, but they either get hurt too much, play hero ball or just haven't figured it out yet. Look, I'm about as big an Anthony Davis fan as there is. He is the new wave of centers. He can score in the post, rebound, block shots, run the floor, shoot the three and guard multiple positions. But, he has not been able to stay healthy for one full season since he has been in the league. I think he is a legitimate MVP candidate, if he can stay healthy. Unfortunately, that is a big if. He has all the tools, he just needs to not get injured. I really like their pick of Buddy Hield. As you all know by now, I would have taken Hield over any of the "one and done" players in this most recent draft. I love his game, he can score at will, and he will learn to play defense. He and Anthony Davis should make a fine pair. But, as I look at the rest of the roster, I don't see much. Omer Asik is done. He is garbage now. He can't score, he can't rebound and he doesn't defend like he used to. He and Davis were supposed to be the ultimate rim protectors, but Asik has not lived up to it. Tyreke Evans is not that good either. Sure, he can go for 30 one night, but the next night, he will go for 5 or 6 points on 2 of 15 shooting. He is exactly like Jeff Green. Has all the tools, but can never put it all together for a full season. Jrue Holiday is a very good point guard, but he too, much like Davis, just can't stay healthy. Kendrick Perkins was washed up in OKC, Solomon Hill is, at best, a tenth man off the bench, Norris Cole is a waste of a roster spot, Langston Galloway shouldn't even be in the NBA and they signed Lance Stephenson. Why on Earth would anyone want him on their team? He is a team killer. Their other pick in the most recent draft, Cheick Diallo, barely played in college, so who knows what he brings to the table. This team has one super star, one rookie that should be good, and nothing after that. The Pelicans will hover around 35 wins, depending on health.

So Ty, how will the Pelicans win the title? The only way they win the title is if Davis stays healthy and is the MVP, not impossible, Holiday stays healthy and continues to be lightening quick and the rest of the roster plays the best basketball of their lives, impossible. I feel sorry for Anthony Davis because he is a great player stuck on a mediocre team. Maybe Buddy Hield will be the guy they need to be Davis' sidekick.

At number 20 I have the Dallas Mavericks. This team would be much lower, like near the 76ers and Lakers, if Rick Carlisle wasn't the coach. He is one NBA coach that is near Poppovich's level. The Mavs still have Dirk, but isn't he like a trillion years old? How much game does he really have left? I know he is a great shooter, but he is a total liability on defense, he can't rebound and his legs are going to give out on him soon. Wes Matthews played pretty well last year, coming off a torn ACL, but he may be the new first option for the Mavs. Can he handle that? I don't think so. He is a good spot up shooter and a good slasher, but to be the main guy, that doesn't suit his game. They did end up with Harrison Barnes and Andrew Bogut, after the whole KD signing, but does that even matter? Barnes looked atrocious in the finals. He couldn't make anything, and he was wide open. He also got abused on defense, but the Mavs gave him a max deal. Maybe he needs a change of scenery, but I just can't shake how bad he was in the finals. Bogut is a fine rim protector, but he is always injured, he cannot run anymore and his offense is non existent. He brings nothing to this team. Seth Curry, not Steph, signed with the Mavs, but he is, at best, your tenth or eleventh guy off the bench. The Mavs will look for more out of him, and I don't think he can do it. Deron Williams is still there, and while he played okay last year at times, his career was over while he was in Brooklyn. The rest of the roster has guys like Charlie Villanueva, Jose Barea, Justin Anderson, Devin Harris and Dwight Powell. Anderson and Powell are young, but not really all that good, and the rest of those guys, they are dinosaurs when it comes to NBA age. The Mavs will step back to about 30-35 wins, at best, this year.

So Ty, how will the Mavericks win the title? They can win the title if they find a fountain of youth, everyone drinks from it, returns to their primes and Harrison Barnes plays like a completely different player than what we saw in the finals. It's too far fetched.

At number 19, just missing out on the playoffs, I have the Chicago Bulls. This team is so much like the Knicks, with one major difference, it is scary. First off, I loved when they moved Derrick Rose to New York for Robin Lopez. I thought that was one of the best offseason decisions, but everything after that, total chaos. To go out and sign Dwayne Wade and Rajon Rando made absolutely no sense at all. First off, those two guys hate each other. Go back and watch some old Boston-Miami games, they despise one another. Second, they are both ball dominant players. Spoiler alert, there is only one ball, so only one guy can have it at a time. Third, Wade is only good for about 41 games of full effort now and Rando, he couldn't hit the ocean with a pebble. This may end up being a disaster. The only reason they aren't as low as the Knicks is Jimmy Butler. He is a much, much, much better all around player than Carmelo Anthony ever was/is/will be. Butler is a great defender, a great scorer, a great slasher and an awesome teammate. I would take him one hundred times out of one hundred to be on my team over Carmelo. He is the one reason the Bulls aren't as low as the Knicks. But, how will he fare playing alongside Rando and Wade? Will he get the touches he has earned? Who knows, but Jimmy Butler deserves better. He is an awesome basketball player. From there you have guys like Doug McDermott, average shooter, horrible defender, Nikola Mirotic, great shooter, even worse defender than McDermott, Taj Gibson, good glue guy, but not great at any single thing, Robin Lopez, good big man, but not even the best Lopez brother and Bobby Portis and Tony Snell, neither has had a real chance to play all that much. Not a loaded roster. I think Denzel Valentine could be good for them, but I don't know how often he will see the floor, considering all the three point shooters they seem to think they already have. He is a much better defender right now than both Mirotic and McDermott though. The Bulls could be the first team to crack 40 wins, or they could totally implode with this odd roster and only win 25 games. I'll go with the 40 wins because I think Jimmy Butler is that good.

So Ty, how will the Bulls win the title? The Bulls could win the title if all these weird pieces find a way to coexist and play team basketball, and the Cavs or Celtics or Raptors suffer catastrophic injuries to their star players. I just think teaming up Rondo and Wade, while you already have a great, young star, is going to blow up in their faces. What an odd offseason the Bulls had.

That does it for today. come back tomorrow for the next three teams. We are finally at the playoff eligible teams. Woo hoo!

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. What a difference a year makes. Both New Orleans and Chicago were in his top ten teams last year. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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Mid Season Checkup on Ty's NBA Predictions.

Ty's picks are actually in better shape than the hoop.

Now that we have made it to the All Star break in the NBA, I want to go back and look at my giant, 10 day NBA preview I did before the season and see how it looks now. I did get some things wrong, we all do, and I will address those first, but I feel like I picked the top teams pretty well, with one exception.

So, before I pat myself on the back, let's get to the stuff I was off base on. First of all, I was way off on the New Orleans Pelicans, the Dallas Mavericks, the Portland Trailblazers, the Houston Rockets, the Washington Wizards and the Milwaukee Bucks. In the case of the Pelicans, I thought they'd be much, much better than they've shown this season. Sure, they've suffered a plethora of injuries, but they just don't look like that good of a team right now. I watched them play the OKC Thunder last night and they got blown out. The game wasn't even competitive mid way through the third quarter. Sure, they didn't have Eric Gordon and Tyreke Evans, but they still have Anthony Davis, my preseason MVP and Defensive Player of the Year winner. Davis has looked good, but he was supposed to look great. He was supposed to be the new face of the NBA. He hasn't shown that he is ready to take the next step, but he still has time. This is a lost year for the Pelicans. Too many injuries and a terrible start doomed them. They should blow it up and try to get a decent pick to add next to Davis.

I also thought that the Bucks would be a much better team than they are right now. They haven't really had to deal with any injuries, they just can't play competent defense and they have no go to scorer. Giannis Antentekoumpo has not taken the leap he was expected to take, becoming kind of a nuisance. Jabari Parker has not lived up to the hype that he can be a top tier scorer and he plays no defense whatsoever. The Greg Monroe signing has been an absolute disaster and their back court is mediocre at best. They have looked pretty awful this year. They already had their highlight of their season, when they ended Golden State's perfect start.

The Washington Wizards can't stay healthy and they can't get John Wall any kind of significant help. Wall is a star. He is one of, if not the, top point guard in the NBA, but he has no help at all. Bradley Beal was supposed to be his wingman, but he can't stay healthy and when he is in there, he's been ice cold from the field. Marcin Gortat looks slow and is not scoring like he did a year ago. Nene looks disinterested and I wouldn't be surprised if he gets traded. Otto Porter Jr has been hit or miss and other than those guys, they have very average NBA players. But, it all really boils down to piss poor coaching from Randy Whitman. The fact he still has a job is ridiculous. He is the one wasting John Wall's talent. I feel bad for John Wall because he's a really great basketball player.

The Houston Rockets have been a mess from the start of preseason. James Harden decided he'd rather party than stay in shape. Dwight Howard can't get touches, but he also mopes and complains more than any NBA player I've ever watched. The trade for Ty Lawson, which I loved, has been a complete disaster. And this team, as a whole, plays absolutely no defense. The offense they run is equally terrible. I swear, they tell Harden to dribble for 20 seconds, then either shoot a 3 or try to drive to draw a foul. It's atrocious. They fired their coach after 11 games, but they haven't been any better since letting McHale go. As was reported last night, this is truly "a broken team".

Now, to get away from teams I thought would be good that aren't so good to teams that I expected to take a step back, but are playing much better than I thought. First, the Trailblazers. They traded away 4/5 of their starting lineup and made some interesting offseason moves, but damn it if it isn't kind of working for them. They lost LaMarcus Aldridge, Robin Lopez, Wes Matthews and Nic Batum, but still find themselves in the playoff race. If they do end up making the playoffs, it will be as an eight seed and they will get crushed by Golden State, but I thought there was no way they'd win more than 25 games this year. Damien Lillard really is that good.

The other team that I kind of crapped on, thought they were too old and that they missed out on some key free agency moves, the Dallas Mavericks, have been very competitive. Dirk is still Dirk. He is still getting 18 to 20 points per game and his jump shot is still unguardable. Wes Matthews, their only free agent signing after the DeAndre Jordan fiasco, has been great, coming off a torn ACL. He has actually looked really good, considering his injury. Chandler Parsons has been okay, he just does what he does, and that's enough for this team. But, Deron Williams has been rejuvenated by his move to Dallas. He was done in Brooklyn. His career seemed to be over, but he has played some pretty good basketball since joining the Mavericks, much to mine, and everyone else's surprise. He looks like a decent NBA point guard again. You have also got to give a lot of love to Rick Carlisle for the job he's doing with this team. He is a top of the line NBA coach. .

Now, let's get to the stuff I was on the mark with in my preseason preview. Golden State and San Antonio have been great. Golden State, whom I've written about a couple of times already, has been historically great. They are the most fun to watch NBA team that I've ever seen. Steph Curry is the best player in the NBA, no questions about it, and they also have Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Harrison Barnes, Andrew Bogut and Andre Igoudala, and I could name a lot more. They are so, so good.

The Spurs are right there as well. The Aldridge signing has been great and Aldridge has taken very easily to playing the "Spurs Way". David West, who they signed for the veterans minimum, has been a great addition as well. Then they still have Kawhi Leonard, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobli. I know Ginobli just recently got hurt, but they can plug Patty Mills, Danny Green, or anyone on their bench to take over until Ginobli returns. Sure, they got blown out by the Warriors recently, but the Spurs save their best for the playoffs. I still really like the Spurs to compete for the title this year.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have been pretty good as well, yet no one is really talking about them. They won their 40th game last night and Kevin Durant looks like he is 100 percent back. To go along with Durant, Russell Westbrook is still doing all the great and reckless things he does on the court, but he's found a way for it to help his team this year. Serge Ibaka is still one of the top rim protector and he has increased his range all the way out to the three point line. Steven Adams is the new Bill Laimbeer and the rest of the team knows their place. Andre Roberson is a lock down defender, DJ Augustin and Cameron Payne are strictly there to give Westbrook short breaks. Enes Kanter is instant offense off the bench and Dion Waiters, when he is on, can score in bunches. OKC is lurking and I wouldn't want to play them in the playoffs if I were either San Antonio or Golden State.

In the East, there are two teams and that is it. The Cavs, another team I've written plenty about, is the best team in the East, but they have a problem with their roster and since they fired David Blatt, Tyronn Lue hasn't really set the NBA coaching world on fire. I wouldn't be surprised if they make some moves, trading guys like Kevin Love, Timofey Mozgov and/or Tristan Thompson or Anderson Varajo and bringing in more shooters, but it won't matter, they will still lose in the Finals. LeBron James and Kyrie Irving are great, but then you have guys like JR Smith, Iman Shumpert, Matthew Dellavedova and James Jones that are playing critical minutes in the playoffs. LeBron the GM needs to make better player personnel decisions and sign good NBA players, not his buddies.

The other team from the East that is setting the world on fire completely took me by surprise. I thought the Toronto Raptors would be good, but not this good. DeMr DeRozan and Kyle Lowry are playing All Star level basketball, although Lowry is the only one that made the team. Jonas Valenciunas is becoming that rebounder and low post scorer that they need him to be. Corey Joseph has been awesome since he signed there this offseason, scoring points and playing good defense. DeMarre Carroll, who's been out with an injury, looked just as good as he did last year in Atlanta, playing lock down defense and hitting open shots. The Raptors have been a whole hell of a lot better than I thought they would be, especially after their rough finish in the playoffs last year, and they look like a real threat to the Cavs. I would love if the Raptors faced the Cavs in the East Finals, swept them and then get crushed by either OKC, Golden State or San Antonio. That would be hilarious to me because it would freak out David Silver and make the fans in Cleveland that much more miserable. I really, really like Toronto.

As far as award predictions, Steph Curry is the MVP. I picked Anthony Davis, but it's Curry. Emmanuel Mudiay, my preseason rookie of the year, has been hurt and can't shoot, so I will now go with Karl Anthony Towns. He is a star in the making. Kawhi Leonard is hands down the Defensive Player of the Year and Gregg Popovich has to be coach of the year. You can't give it to Steve Kerr, and Adam Silver doesn't have the cojanes to give it to Luke Walton, so it's Poppovich.

To close it all out, at the All Star break, my finals prediction is going to be Golden State and Cleveland. I know I picked San Antonio and Cleveland, and that could still happen, but Golden State is something special this year. Not only will Golden State repeat, probably sweeping the Cavs out of the Finals, but I think they will break the single season record of wins. In 1996 the Bulls finished 72-10 and I think the Warriors will finish this season at 74-8, besting them by two games. The Warriors are that good and they will finish their historic season with a second straight NBA title.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He really wanted an all Canada final of the Raptors and the Grizzlies, but then he realized that Memphis is not in Canada. He also realized their are no Grizzlies in Tennessee, no lakes in LA, and definitely no Jazz in Salt Lake City. The NBA is weird. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

The Warriors may be the best team in NBA history

Steph Curry would average over 60% on these rims

As you all know by now, I'm a HUGE NBA fan. It is on my TV whenever possible. I wrote a ten part season preview. I love the NBA almost as much as college football.

NBA basketball is getting back to the good ole days. Sure, teams don't shoot the midrange jump shot as well anymore, and if you turn on ESPN, all they show are Clippers highlights and the men's college game is becoming borderline unwatchable, with all the one and done players, but the NBA has gotten a wee bit better. It's more enjoyable to watch games now than it was 5 or 6 years ago. Most of the teams have become pretty competitive, save for the 76ers, Lakers and Nets. The East has even improved from last year. The West is still much better though and will continue to be for awhile. The Spurs signed LaMarcus Aldridge and resigned Kawhi Leonard. They also still have Tony Parker, Manu Ginobli and Tim Duncan. When the Thunder are at full strength, Durant has missed the past 10 days, they're as competitive as any team in the league. The Clippers look bad right now, much to my delight, but they will fix things and still win in the 50's. The Mavericks have played surprisingly well 15 games into the season. Dirk is still Dirk, and Wes Matthews, coming off a torn ACL, looks pretty good. The Pelicans had a terrible start, a possible playoff hopes crushing start, but Anthony Davis is back completely healthy, and they've won their past two, beating the Spurs in one of those games. The Rockets are a mess, I'll give you that. Firing Kevin McHale may prove to be a huge misstep. It's not his fault that Dwight Howard doesn't care about basketball that much anymore. And what in the world has happened to James Harden? He was the MVP runner up last year, but this year, teammates are griping about playing with him, calling him a diva and a ball hog, and he spent the entire offseason partying and not staying in shape. It's gotten so bad with him that even Bill Simmons has cooled on the Thunder trading him being the worst thing that ever happened in the NBA, and he hasn't shut up about it for five straight years. The Grizzlies and Jazz are .500 teams right now, but they, much like the Clippers, will figure it out.

All these teams pale in comparison to what the Golden State Warriors are doing right now. As you all know, the Warriors beat the Nuggets last night and tied for the best start in NBA history at 15-0. Sure, they've had some close calls to inferior teams, the Nets, but other than two or three games, they've been blowing out teams. Each win seems to be by at least ten, and the starters rest almost all of the fourth quarter. Steph Curry has been unbelievable to start the year too. He's averaging something like 33 or 34 points a game, shooting almost 50 percent from three, 60 percent from two and 90 percent from the free throw line. That's incredible! I don't know that there's ever been a 60, 90, 50 player ever. It would be astounding if Curry can accomplish that this year. He's also stepped up his game on defense as well this year. Sure, he won't be first team all defense, but second or third team is a real possibility. But, it's not just Curry winning these games. You're probably thinking, well it's him and Klay Thompson scoring in bunches. Nope, Thompson has, I don't want to say struggled, but he hasn't been scoring like he normally does. He still is playing absolute lock down defense though. That part of his game has never wavered. He's one of the best, if not the best, maybe a step behind Kawhi Leonard, the best defender in the NBA. Harrison Barnes, who turned down an extension, betting on himself, has been a beast so far. His numbers may not show it, I think he's a 14 point per game and 5 or 6 rebound per game player statistically, but what he's doing for the Warriors is awesome. He's already had two of the best dunks of the year, he's is getting to the line more frequently, and he's hitting midrange and floaters on a regular basis. He's going to get paid this offseason if he keeps this up. Draymond Green is proving that he's an elite defender, rebounder and he's becoming a pretty good scorer. He's also a total pain in the ass with the opposition, and the Warriors love that about him. I've never seen a guy under 6'8 that can guard centers like he does. It's amazing. He made the right decision to stay in Golden State. This is the perfect team for him to be on. The other players on the team are doing whatever they need to do to help this team to continue to dominate. Andrew Bogut is protecting the rim and grabbing rebounds like he has his whole career. Andre Iguodala is knocking down open threes and dominating on defense like he has his whole career. He's also taken to being a sixth man better than anyone who used to be a franchise player that I've ever seen. He clearly just wants to win. Shaun Livingston is still a point guard in a 6'7 players body. He has command of the second unit and he finds the open man every time. Festus Ezeli is still crushing it on defense for the second unit and he seems to have found a bit of a scoring touch lately. Mo Speights and Leandro Barbosa still play out of control at times, but they are both instant offense off the bench for a team that has a ton of offensive weapons. The only other bench player that kind of contributes is James Michael McAdoo and in his limited playing time, he hustles his ass off. That's great for an 11 or 12th man off the bench. You usually don't see a lot of hustle from guys that deep on the bench.

The main reason I'm singling out the Warriors today is, I feel like I didn't give them enough love in my preseason preview. I had them as the second best team coming into this season behind the Spurs. Time will tell, but the Warriors, right now, are far and away the best team in the NBA. They may be historically one of the greatest teams of all time if they continue to play like this. I never thought, not only would I say it, but see a team that has a chance to win as many games as the Chicago Bulls did in the 95-96 season. That was the team that went 72-10. That was unreal to watch that team play because they could've won 75 or 76 games that year. The Warriors won't win all 82 games, that's impossible, but I think they have a real chance to tie, or even surpass the Bulls team that won 72 games. Their schedule will get tougher and players will get injuries, it's a long season, but they seem to have a goal in mind. This offseason a lot of people said that they didn't earn the title, they didn't have to play all the tough teams, they faced teams with key injuries and so on and so forth. The thing that was said that really got to them, in my opinion was, that they were "lucky", and that they weren't "true" champions. First of all, that's bull shit. Any team that's won a title in any sport needs luck, be it with health of their players, bounces going their way, a player on a hot streak, any kind of luck has been involved with every champion in every sport. But saying they weren't "true" champions, that just gave a team that won 67 games and a title last year, a chip on their shoulder. Now, they don't just want to beat you, they want to destroy you. That's the killer instinct that people talk about when it comes to champions. Sure, they won last year, but they want to continue to win and they want to crush you while doing it.

I'm not a Warriors fan, I'm indifferent when it comes to the Warriors. They're a ton of fun to watch, and Steph Curry has surpassed LeBron James and Kevin Durant as the best basketball player in the world, but I'm a Thunder fan, so that's who I root for.

Oh, they are also doing this without Steve Kerr. Luke Walton has been the interim head coach while Kerr's back heals. That's crazy.

I just want to apologize to the Warriors fan base and the Warriors organization for not ranking them as the preseason number one team in the NBA. They're doing something magical right now, and this could be a historic season. Just sit back and realize when you watch the Warriors this year, you could be watching a historically great NBA team. Maybe the greatest of all time. The rest of this season will be the judge.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He has seen one team go 82-0 in an NBA season, his Oklahoma City Thunder on NBA 2K13. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

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.