Ty Tells You How each NBA Team Can Win the Title: Heat, Timberwolves, and Wizards

Day 5 of my NBA countdown, and we will finally get our first playoff team. Finally, I'll get to write about one team that will be playing some meaningful basketball. Tomorrow is when I start with all good teams, but today, we finally get our first playoff spot. On with the countdown.

At number 18, I have the Miami Heat. Oh how the mighty have fallen. This team played in four straight finals, and were a few Dwayne Wade jumps shots form being in the East Finals last season. But, LeBron is gone, Wade is gone, and now, after some news I read today, they are going to let Chris Bosh go. I feel so bad for Chris Bosh. He has taken so much heat from the media, but the dude is a perennial all star, played big time minutes for the Heat when they had their "big three", grabbed huge rebounds and made some big time shots. He was such an underrated, great NBA player. Totally under appreciated as well. I hope his blood clot problems clears up so he can play again, but he needs to make sure he is fully healthy before he tries to play pro basketball again. So, that leaves this team in the hands of Hassan Whiteside, Justise Winslow and Goran Dragic. While those guys are good, I would not want them to be the core of my team. Dragic can be a wizard with the ball, but he plays a bit out of control at times and he is not a great jump shooter. He also seems to get weary of being on the same team for more than 3 years. Justise Winslow is a very good defender, but he does not shoot the ball like he did his one year in college. I think that he relied a bit too much on Wade being his mentor, so he didn't work on his jumper as much as he should have his rookie year. He is going to become an elite defender, but he needs to get some kind of offensive game going to be a starter in the NBA. Then we have Hassan Whiteside. This dude is a beast. He dunks on everyone. He blocks shots and rebounds at an elite level. He is a very good low post guy. But, he has terrible attitude problems and he can flip at the switch of a hat. He has a worse temper than Boogie Cousins, and that's saying something. I don't think I would have given him a max contract because I don't think that he is a franchise player. He's good, but he can be a headache. The rest of the roster shakes out like this, Udonis Haslem, who is way, way past his prime and frankly, I can't believe he is still in the league, Tyler Johnson, who they massively overpaid, and should probably be a good bench guy, but will start on this team, Wayne Ellington, who has been nothing but inconsistent his whole career, Josh McRoberts, who cares more about his look than his game, and has also had a decline in minutes every year that he has been in the NBA and Jason Richardson, who does some nice things, but I don't think he is ready to fill Wade's shoes. The Heat should be in rebuild mode. They can lure top free agents, so maybe they won't be so good this year, but they can get some top guys next year. I see them winning about 32 games this year.

So Ty, how will the Heat win the title? They could win the title if Whiteside stops being childish. Dragic scores at will and Winslow starts to hit the three like in college. That is not happening, but don't be dour Heat fans, they will be good again in a year or 2.

At number 17, I have my new favorite team, the Minnesota Timberwolves. I am still a little shocked by the Thibodeau hire, but hey, maybe he is the best fit for the job. I love their roster, but I think it is still a year away from being in the playoff picture in the hyper competitive Western Conference. Karl Anthony Towns is an incredible basketball payer. While he may not be as good as Anthony Davis yet, he is damn close. He is unstoppable in the post, he plays good defense, he is a good rebounder and a great teammate. Towns is on his way to super stardom. Andrew Wiggins is hyper athletic. He moves so seamlessly and effortlessly on the court. He is a joy to watch, and he is one of the best young defenders in the league. He needs to work on his jumper and focus a bit more, but man, he is super athletic. Zach Lavine is a better version of Aaron Gordon. Lavine has incredible leaping ability, but he has worked to make his jumper better and worked on his handles as well. He is doing what a pro should do. Ricky Rubio is a wizard dribbling and passing, but he is horrendous on offense. It may not matter, because the T'wolves drafted Kris Dunn, who is great, and they may trade Rubio so Dunn can take over the point guard duties. Kris Dunn was my second favorite player, behind Buddy Hield, in last year's draft. Dunn is going to be good. Shabazz Muhammed has surprisingly stayed out of trouble and stayed in shape, and is a great bench scorer for this team. The additions of Jordan Hill, Cole Aldrich and Brandon Rush, while it may not sound glamorous, will be huge for this team's depth. The NBA needs to watch out for the Timberwolves because they are coming and they look like a team that will be good for awhile. I don't think they are a playoff team yet, but they will win 42-44 games.

So Ty, how will the Timberwolves win the title? The T'Wolves can win the title if Towns takes that next step to super stardom, Wiggins unleashes hell on the league, Dunn becomes an elite point guard and the bench helps out immensely. I love this team, but they are a year or two away from being a legitimate threat.

At number 16, aka my first playoff team, I have the Washington Wizards. They have fallen on hard times, but John Wall is too talented to let this team miss out on the playoffs again this year. And, as frustrating as it was to watch a Scotty Brooks coached team in OKC, he is definitely a step up from the disaster that was Randy Whitman. John Wall is awesome. He is one of the best point guards in the league. I love how fast, yet controlled he plays the game of basketball. He is great, and he is definitely one of my personal favorite players. Bradley Beal, on the other hand, has proven time and time again that he can't stay healthy. I do not understand the contract they gave him, and if I were John Wall, I'd be upset that the Wizards seem to value Beal more than him. When in there though, Beal is a great shooter. He doesn't play a whole lot of defense, but man can he score. Marcin Gortat is still there, but no more Nene. I think they will miss Nene's toughness, but Gortat is a better offensive player and a better fit to run the pick and roll with Wall. Otto Porter is in now or never mode. He looked really good two years ago, but last year was a bit of a step back. I think he is a good player, but he needs to show it. He can score and defend pretty well, but he needs to put it all together for a full season. This may be his last chance to do that with the Wizards. Kelly Oubre is still incredibly young and needs work, but he could be a very good bench player. They traded for Trey Burke, but he just hasn't been able to translate his college game to the pros. He is a bit too short, and bigger defenders completely shut him down. Markieff Morris is still there, and while being a good player, he is a total head case. They also signed Ian Mahinmi, but that was a pretty blah signing. This team is playoff good, especially in the East. They won 40 games last year, and I don't see how they don't up that to 44 or 45, especially if Wall stays healthy for most of the year. I like them to be the 8 seed in the East.

So Ty, how will the Wizards win the title? The Wizards can win the title if they have a miraculous run through the playoffs and beat everyone as the underdog. That won't happen because Brooks could not do that with a really good team in OKC. I love John Wall, but his team is destined to be a first round out for a long time in the playoffs if they keep giving guys like Bradley Beal max money.

That's it for today. Come back tomorrow for the next three teams.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He knows it is fall not by the leaves changing color, but by the reemergence of Colin Cowherd's inexplicable racism towards John Wall. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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Tom Thibodeau Took the Wrong Head Coaching Job

The sign Tom Thibodeau should have heeded in Minneapolis 

The Minnesota Timberwolves announced earlier today that they are finalizing a deal to hire Tom Thibodeau as the coach and the president of basketball operations. Now, I think Thibodeau is a good, possibly even a great head coach, but I don't like him taking over this team and I don't like that they made him the president. Sure, it seems nice on paper, and I'm sure Timberwolves fans will be jumping for joy, but he puts players to work. He grinds every last ounce he can get out of his players, but with a roster this young, I don't know how that will work.

Thibodeau achieved pretty good success with the Bulls, even taking them to a conference finals once, but those teams, by that time of year, were spent. Thibs worked them, maybe, a bit too hard. These guys are pro athletes and they should be used to a heavy workload, but Thibs can push a bit too far. Derrick Rose was great when the Bulls hired Thibs. He won an MVP one year, but his body has completely broken down on him. I'm not saying that it's all Thibodeau's fault, but if he let him rest a bit more and gave him a few off days, maybe he wouldn't be as frail as he is now. Joakim Noah was a beast defensively and on the boards during Thibodeau's first year. He was even being mentioned as a possible MVP candidate himself, but his body has worn down too. He barely played last year or this year. Jimmy Butler is a star in the making, but Thibs never let him run the show, and he too has started to get injured. All of this simply cannot be a coincidence. Yes, the Bulls letting him go was one of the dumber decisions last offseason, I mean look at how bad they played this year, but Thibodeau seems like a coach that will wear out his welcome in three or four years. The Bulls also had a roster of veterans when Thibodeau came in. They knew what it took to be NBA players. They knew the dedication and work it took when he was hired.

This Minnesota team is very talented, but they are also very, very young. Rick Rubio is considered the veteran and he is in his mid twenties. The players on this team, guys like Andrew Wiggins, Karl Anthony-Towns and Zach Lavine, among others, look like they may have what it takes to succeed, but I worry about the amount of pressure that Thibodeau will put on them. Don't get it twisted, I don't want these players to be treated with kid gloves, but they also shouldn't be treated like freshman on a JV or varsity team in high school. Coaches make so much less than players in the pros, so if Thibodeau comes in and punishes some of these young guys, they can walk after their contract is up. That would be a disaster for Minnesota. I really, really like this Timberwolves team. As I already said, they are loaded with young talent. Wiggins looks to be a perennial all star. Towns can be the next Anthony Davis. Lavine can sky out of the gym and Rubio is very crafty with the ball. But, what if Thibodeau rears his ugly head and over works these guys? That would be dreadful.

In today's NBA, guys leave when they don't like their current situation or they get a coach fired. That's what happened to Thibodeau when Chicago let him go. That's what happened to David Blatt when the Cavs fired him. That's what happened to Scott Brooks in OKC. It happens all the time now. Chicago grew tired of a very stressful workload. LeBron didn't want Blatt to be the coach anymore. Scott Brooks couldn't utilize two of the five best players in the NBA properly. Coaches today get let go for miniscule details.

Another question, why would Thibodeau want this particular job? He clearly had choices. He was the hottest commodity in the coaching market by far. He could have went anywhere with a vacant head coaching job that he wanted. Hell, I bet some teams with a head coach would have fired their current coach and taken him. I'm looking at you Memphis. But, he has chosen the Timberwolves. That is puzzling to me. Thibodeau seems like the type that wants to win right away. That's how it was when he took the Chicago job and that's how it was when he was an assistant on Doc Rivers staff in Boston. Those teams where built to compete and win right away. This Timberwolves team though, they seem content to be mediocre for the next couple of years and then try to make a free agency splash. I don't think that will work for Thibodeau's demeanor. Like I said, I love watching this team, but they are not ready to compete for anything, especially in the West, for at least two years. How is that going to make Thibodeau feel? What is he going to be thinking when he is in year three of his five year deal and the Timberwolves are at home during the playoffs for the 13 or 14th straight year? He seems like the kind of guy where something like that would drive him insane. It just doesn't make sense to me at all.

I feel like there were two better options for Thibodeau to take over as head coach. I already mentioned one, and that's Memphis. They are staggering right now. Yes, they have lost a ton of players to injury and yes, they look absolutely dreadful in the playoffs right now, but their roster, when fully healthy, is pretty good. They also have the look and feel of a Thibs team. I know they have a coach, Dave Joeger, but they are looking for any reason to get rid of him. Had they had a shot at Thibodeau, I bet they would have taken it. The roster is good, as I said above, too. They have Mike Conley Jr, who is a free agent, but hiring Thibodeau would keep him in Memphis I bet, and he is a good, gritty point guard. They have Marc Gasol, who is a younger, better version of his brother, whom Thibodeau coached for one year in Chicago. They have some decent vets that play gritty defense and get good shots at the wing. Guys like Matt Barnes and Tony Allen, who Thibodeau coached while at Boston. The Memphis roster just seems like a Thibodeau roster and I think, had they tried, they could have hired him.

The one team with a head coaching vacancy that would be perfect for Thibodeau is the Washington Wizards. This is clearly a veteran laden team in need of a defensive minded coach. Two years ago they were on their way to a conference finals until John Wall broke his hand. This year, they forgot how to play defense and where terribly coached and stunk it up. Tom Thibodeau could have done wonders with the Wizards. They have all the pieces, they just need a good, hard nosed coach. That's Tom Thibodeau. He could have done for John Wall what he did for Derrick Rose. He could have turned Bradley Beal into a poor man's Jimmy Butler. His bigs, Marcin Gortat and Nene, I feel like they would thrive with a coach like him. Otto Porter Jr is already better than Mike Dunleavy Jr. And, all these guys are multi year vets. They wouldn't mind being whipped into shape by a tougher coach. The Wizards made the most sense to me of any team. But, he has apparently chosen a reclamation project in the West. I think it will be very tough sledding for him, and I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't last his entire reported contract.

I know a lot of basketball people will disagree with me, but I think, both Thibodeau and the Timberwolves, have made a not so good decision. Hopefully they prove me wrong because I like Thibodeau and I love this Timberwolves team, but I don't think that will happen.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He is thinking all about coaches while the useless first round of the NBA playoffs commence. That is the type of guy he is. It is your destiny to follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.

Ty tells you how each NBA team can win the title: Timberwolves, Suns, & Kings

I love basketball.

Continuing my NBA countdown, today I will be giving you my number 24,23, and 22 teams. We are getting to teams that are just on the outside of a playoff push. These teams are either too young, or have veterans that are too old. They may have been in the playoffs recently, but haven't been in awhile. They are still in the lottery, but in the later half of the lottery. Hell, the Heat picked in the late lottery last season. These teams are one or two players away from becoming competitive.

My number 24 team is the Minnesota Timberwolves. Yes, they had the worst record in the NBA last season, but they were fun to watch at times. They have young players throughout their entire roster. First, they traded Kevin Love last season to the Cavs in exchange for Anthony Bennett, who they just bought out, and Andrew Wiggins. Wiggins was excellent as a rookie. He showed his lock down defensive ability last season, and he found a jump shot midway through the season and he can jump out of the gym. He's probably my favorite young player to watch. Zach Lavine is a mystery to me. He has incredible hops, but can he shoot the ball? Can he play strong defense? Is he ready to take the next step? I don't know, but he's in year three, so he's either going to take a step forward, or slide back. Ricky Rubio cannot shoot the ball, doesn't want to either, but he's a wizard passing the ball. He plays out of control sometimes, and he seems to be on the trading block every year. Nikola Pecovic is not living up to his big contract. I think he's the only player on the Timberwolves that misses Kevin Love. He's been a disappointment. I think their first pick, and overall number one in the 2015 draft, Karl Anthony-Towns can slide into Pecovic's place. It's going to take time for him to develop because he's so young, but he has the look of a perennial All Star. The bench is okay, but nothing to write home about. Shabazz Muhammed has surprised me with how well he's adjusted to the pro game. He looked like a head case in college and part of his rookie year, but something must have clicked for him, and he looks like a decent bench player in the NBA. Unfortunately, for himself and the Timberwolves, they start him out of necessity. They also have Gorgui Dieng and Kevin Garnett come off the bench. Dieng was expected to make a leap last year, but it never really came together for him. He seemed nervous being the focal point of the second unit. I love Kevin Garnett, and him being back with the Timberwolves is strictly nostalgic, but he should've retired three years ago. He's going to be an excellent coach. Other than that, it's slim picking for the Timberwolves. This team is way too young to fight for any playoff spot, but give them three more years, they could be a powerhouse.

How the Timberwolves will win it all.

The Timberwolves will win the title if Wiggins becomes the elite player he will be in three years this season, Lavine becomes more than just a dunker, Pecovic regains his form from two seasons ago, and plays ten times better than that and Karl Anthony-Towns is an immediate All Star. That's not happening. The Timberwolves will be improved, but they will only get somewhere in the 20 win column. They'll be fun to watch, but give them time, about three years, they'll be legitimate playoff contenders.

My number 23 team is the Phoenix Suns. This is another team that seems to be falling apart at the seams, a la the Denver Nuggets. They were legit playoff contenders the last year and a half, but quit midway through last season. They had way too many point guards and traded Goran Dragic and Isiah Thomas for little to nothing. They did get Brandon Knight out of these trades, but I feel like they overpaid him this offseason. Who knows if he'll live up to that contract. They did sign Tyson Chandler, but that was in hopes of luring LaMarcus Aldridge, and that obviously didn't happen. Chandler is good, but who will throw him the alley oops he needs? Not Eric Bledsoe or Archie Goodwin. Bledsoe needs the ball in his hands at all times to be effective. He's really good, but not franchise player good. Archie Goodwin is young and inexperienced. He's a one and done kid, from Kentucky, so who knows what his future in the NBA holds. They did draft Devin Booker, another one and done from Kentucky, who looks to be a lock down perimeter shooter, but what else can he do? And he's not going to take shooting guard minutes away from Brandon Knight. Alex Len hasn't panned out like they hoped. He was the big man of the future, but he's been a disappointment so far. He can't guard any fives, and gets beat up by most when they're guarding him. They completely botched the Marcus Morris trade to the Pistons, pissing off his twin, Markieff in the process. I don't believe his talk of being happy now, after claiming he'd never suit up for the Suns again this summer. Other than these guys, the bench is another group of question marks. I don't understand what management is trying to do with this team. Are they going to try and make the playoffs, or are they going to tank? Who knows, but management hasn't made many good decisions the last half of this year.

How the Suns will win it all.

The Suns will win the title if Bledsoe gets the whole team involved, Knight becomes the star that they hope he will be, Tyson Chandler gets a time machine and goes back to his form during his first go around with the Mavericks, Alex Len suddenly becomes good at basketball and Booker hits 70% of his threes. They also need to trade Marcus Morris to achieve any success. The Suns are a 32 or 33 win team at best. Management needs to get their act together before this team is highly competitive again.

My number 22 team is the Sacramento Kings. Talk about a problem at the top. First of all, the coach, George Karl, doesn't like the star player, and one of the best centers in all of the NBA, DeMarcus Cousins. Their owner is out of his mind, going so far as to suggest playing 4 on 5 defense so they'll always be running fast breaks because it worked for his child's little league basketball team. And players can't wait to get out of there. They did sign Rajon Rondo, but he's not elite anymore, and he's a tough teammate. He's an extremely smart player and expects everyone on the court to be as smart as him. That's not happening, a lot of his new teammates are really athletic, and that's how they play the game, they use their athleticism. They drafted Wille Cauley-Stein number seven overall. That's way too high for a guy that only plays defense. He has no offensive ability. Ben McLemore and Rudy Gay are fine players, but not thriving within this offense. They also have Darren Collison, but what are they doing with two starting point guards. You can't play them at the same time, that won't work. They also signed Seth Curry, Steph's little brother, but he may have just been a summer league star. Who knows. The rest of the roster is not good, but not terrible. All this being said, they do have Boogie Cousins. He's a legitimate MVP candidate, and if he get his head on straight, who knows what this team's ceiling is. Unfortunately, I don't think that's happening with this team, especially after all the offseason drama. The Kings are going to win in the mid thirties once again.

How the Kings will win it all.

The Kings will win the title if Cousins becomes the newer, younger , better version of Shaq. It's possible people. They also need McLemore to continue to get better and for Rudy Gay to become a veteran leader. Cauley-Stein would have to become a double digit scorer, not happening, he's so bad at offense and Rajon Rondo somehow, some way returns to his Celtic days. That's a tall, tall order. Cousins is so good, but this team isn't ready to make the leap, especially in the West. It's just too tough. But, things can get better in Sacramento, Boogie Cousins just has to be the dominant force that he's capable of being.

There you have it, teams 24, 23 and 22. Come back tomorrow for 21, 20, 19. We are starting to get to the better teams in the NBA.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He doubled up his dependents today and all wish him the best. I said he could take a break, but NBA rankings keep him sane. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.