Ty Tells You How each NBA Team can Win the Title: Spurs, Cavaliers, and Warriors

Before I get to my final 3 teams on my NBA countdown, I have to address something Rockets GM Daryl Morey said on the Ringer's "NBA Show" from yesterday. He said, and I am not making this up, that "James Harden is the best passing 2 guard of all time".

Is he out of his god damn mind!? I mean, I understand backing your franchise player, but come on, does he not have a television, or is he blind?! I have never once seen Harden make a clean, crisp pass to an open teammate. He either holds the ball for 20 seconds, then shoots it, drives to the basket to try and draw the foul, or jacks up a contested three. That is blasphemous, and shows how out of touch Daryl Morey truly is.

Had to get that off my chest.

Anyway, the final three teams today. The cream of the crop. I think you all can glean who I have. It's pretty obvious, because these are the only three teams that have a real shot at the title. It may only be 2 of these teams, but I have three teams left. GM's, coaches and talking heads on sports shows will say that the gap is closing, and other teams, i.e., the Celtics and Pacers and T'Wolves are coming, but they are blowing smoke. There are only three real teams in this league, and it's been that way for the past three seasons. On with the countdown.

At number 3, I have the San Antonio Spurs. Yeah, Tim Duncan is retired, he is an all time great and surefire first ballot hall of famer, and yes, Boris Diaw is gone, but as long as Greg Poppovich is the head coach, the Spurs will be perennial contenders. I love Tim Duncan, he was so much better than any player from his generation, but lets be honest, he was on his last legs a few years ago. He was still putting up numbers, despite playing on one leg, but he was older and his time had come. I actually like the Pau Gasol signing. He will fill in just nice in Duncan's spot. He will probably put up better offensive numbers, and his legs aren't gone yet. It was a good decision on both parts. Manu and Tony Parker are still plugging along. Manu is definitely a few steps slower, doesn't attack like he used to and misses more than he makes, but he is still a threat, somehow. He does the little things this team needs him to do. Tony Parker seems so much older than he actually is, but he still has that killer floater and runs the offense very well, but he is a total liability on defense. That's of no matter though, because the Spurs have the best defender in the game in Kawhi Leonard. He is absolutely lock down on defense on all opponents best players. He is the only guy that I have ever seen totally shut down LeBron. His offensive game has gotten so much better every year. He is becoming a true star, he just needs to accept that. I know that LaMarcus Aldridge's name has come up in trade rumors recently, but I don't think he is gong anywhere. He fit in very well with this team last year, and I like him on this team. He is a great inside out forward/center, and he has become a better defender. Danny Green is still there, and he is still a great defensive player and a good three point shooter. They have Kevin Martin now, and he is an excellent three point shooter and instant offense off the bench. They signed David Lee, who isn't that good anymore, but he was once an all star. Johnathan Simmons is going to get extended playing time this year, and I think he is going to break out. He looked good in minimal minutes last year, and I think he will look even better playing more and more. Kyle Anderson and Patty Mills are both excellent bench players that know their roles. Look, as long as Poppovich is there, the Spurs will win upwards of 55-59 games and be a perennial contender.

So Ty, how will the Spurs win the title? The Spurs can win the title if Leonard takes that next step offensively and dominates both ends of the floor. They also need Aldridge to step up the defense a bit and Gasol to play and score more than Duncan did last year. This could all happen. People are sleeping on the Spurs, and that is never a good thing.

At number 2, I have the defending champs, the Cleveland Cavaliers. Some may say they should be number one, but they didn't sign KD. They do have the best payer in the league in LeBron. He proved that in the finals last year. LeBron is so much better than everyone else in the league, its not even fair. He does it all and can impose his will whenever and wherever he wants. LeBron is an all time great NBA player. As long as he is there, he will make the Cavs the team to beat in the East. Kyrie Irving, while being a mediocre defender, is a wizard with the ball, and was on fire throughout the playoffs last year. He is a deadly scorer, and pairing him and LeBron, on the offensive end of the floor, is dangerous for opponents. Irving could legitimately challenge for the MVP this year. Kevin Love, who looked like a shell of himself at times last year, seemed to figure out his role for this team in the finals. They don't need him to be the T'Wolves version, they need him to get double figures in rebounds, throw excellent outlet passes and score 12-15 points a night. As I said, he seemed to finally figure it out in the finals. Tristan Thompson played some incredible defense in the finals last year, now he just has to do that for the whole season. He is a great rebounder as well. He and Love should grab every board if they are in the area. JR Smith just re signed, and he knows exactly what to do on this team. He is an okay defender and an excellent offensive player. He hit some huge shots last year. Iman Shumpert has fallen off a bit. He is not the defender or shooter he was when he got traded there, but he is a fine bench player. Channing Frye will stretch the floor, and he can play a little defense too. Their rookie, Kay Felder, is a huge step up from Matthew Dellavedova. He is super fast and can get a ton of buckets. Chris Andersen is an okay signing, but I don't love it as much as others. He is an okay player, but they already have 2 guys that do what he does, except they are way better than he is. Richard Jefferson, James Jones and Mike Dunleavy Jr are all about a million years old, and I don't think they will play all that much. This Cavs team is good, they are the defending champs. They could easily win 60 games if they want to, and they will definitely be the one seed in the East.

So Ty, how will the Cavaliers win the title? The Cavs can win the title if they do exactly what they did last year. They need to slow the game down, let LeBron run the show, let Kyrie Irving slash and shoot and let Love and Thompson do the dirty work. They can also get help from officials, as game 4 of the finals showed last year, so they are more than capable of winning back to back titles.

And then there was one.

My number one team is the Golden State Warriors. I mean, who else could it be? They signed KD this offseason. They added another devastating shooter to an already devastating shooting team. How on Earth is any team going to beat these guys in a series? They have threats all over the court. And, I don't want to hear about, well their bench has been ripped to shreds to get KD. Who cares, they got KD. They also still have a decent bench anyway. I'll get to that in a minute. This back court is incredible. It's like nothing I have ever seen before. Steph Curry is the 2 time MVP, the best shooter I've ever seen and cannot be stopped, unless the refs get involved, see the finals last year. Klay Thompson is the second best shooter that I have ever seen. He gets the ball and has a quick release, and more times than not, the shot goes in. He is also this team's best defender, and he is really good at defense. And now, they have KD. He is probably the third best shooter in the game right now, and he is on the same team with the best and second best shooter. He also totally stepped up his defense last year. He needs to stop with these little side comments, and he better get used to people booing him and rooting against him, but he is still an excellent player. The Warriors back court has the last 3 MVP winners. I don't know how any team is going to stop these guys from scoring at will. Then, they have the best swiss army guy in Draymond Green. He needs to quit kicking guys in the groin, and stop talking trash, but he is really good on this team. He isn't their best player, not by a mile, but he is their most important. He is the key to this team and he is their toughness. He is also the only guy that showed up in game 7 last year. Andre Iguodala, two seasons removed from being finals MVP, is still on this team, and he is still good. He is a good shooter, another very good defender and a great veteran on this team. Shaun Livingston is still coming off the bench, and anywhere else, I think he would be a starter. He is a really good player. They don't have any dominant big men, but was Bogut ever dominant? No. Anderson Varejo, ZaZa Pachulia and JaVale McGee will split time, and they are all fine, even if McGee has had some crazy stuff happen to him in the NBA. David West signed on, and he is still ultra tough, can shoot the jumper and, like Iguodala, a great veteran. Even James Michael McAdoo got some run last year, and he looked okay. This team is absolutely loaded. They will be impossible to stop. I know people are trying to temper expectations, but I'm going the exact opposite direction. If this team doesn't win at least 70 games, and the title, it should be deemed a failure. They are just too good, loaded with too many scorers and have one of the better coaches in the NBA. No team with 2 of the best shooters ever has ever added a third, lethal scorer. This signing was unheard of. It definitely watered down the league, but the Warriors are going to be fun to watch, and also, root against. They were the lovable underdogs 2 years ago, but now, they are the hunted. They are the bad guys. They are the team that everyone outside of the Bay Area wants to lose. They will be the most scrutinized team by a wide margin this year. Hopefully those guys have thick skin, because a lot of people will be hating on them all season.

So Ty, why will the Warriors win the title? The Warriors should win the title simply because of this collection of shooters. There has never been a team like this put together before. They will be unguardable. I know it's just the preseason, but they have already been putting up ridiculous shooting numbers. As I have already stated many times, they should expect nothing less than a title this year, and they should have little to no resistance from anyone, not even LeBron and the Cavs.

That's my countdown. Tomorrow I will have predictions for the title, I think you all know where I'm leaning, as well as awards predictions and some surprises that will happen. And on Friday, I will have a NCAA basketball preview. Come back for those in the next couple of days. Thanks for the eyeballs.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He wanted to say that the Warriors were going to win at least 80 games, but the head editor made him lower the expectations. Follow Ty on instagram and twitter.

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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 can win the title: Cavaliers, Warriors, Spurs

I do believe I have mentioned that I love the NBA, and championship basketball is the best of all.

We've now reached the end of my NBA countdown. Today I will give you my number 3, 2 and 1 team. I will also give you my Finals matchup and winner and hand out all the other big awards. Let's get on with it.

Coming in at number three I have last years Eastern Conference champs, the Cleveland Cavaliers. First of all, they have the greatest player in the world in LeBron James. He is the MVP every season, but it wouldn't be fair if they gave it to him every season. He single handily won two games in the Finals last year, one of the games in Oakland. It goes without saying that, as long as he's on the Cavs, they will be one of the top teams not only in the East, but in all of the NBA. Kyrie Irving is still recovering from his knee injury last season, but when he's healthy, he's one of the better scoring guards in the league. He shoots a bit too much, but LeBron will get him to be more of a distributor. Kevin Love is coming back from his shoulder injury, but if the Cavs continue to use him like they were at the end of the regular season and in the first round of the playoffs against the Celtics, the Cavs "big three" could be unstoppable. Love is a good outside shooter, but is better with his back to the basket and stepping back to shoot threes. He's also the best outlet passer in the NBA and the Cavs are devastating when running the fast break. Timofey Mozgov is one of the better rim protectors in basketball and he's got semi decent post moves. Tristan Thompson still hasn't signed his offer and if he continues to hold out, it will be rough for himself and the Cavs. They need him for his rebounding prowess and he needs the Cavs because playing with LeBron makes everyone better. He's not a max contract player and the sooner he realizes that, the better it will be for all parties involved. Anderson Varejao comes back from injury, but that's becoming his story every year. He comes back in great shape and then he, inevitably, gets a season ending injury. He can't be counted on anymore. Matthew Dellavedova was a flash in the pan. He played two okay games, ESPN covered him like he was an All Star, and then Curry brought him back to Earth by crushing his soul at every moment possible in the Finals. He's a tenth man off the bench, at best. James Jones is too old and can't hit the open three anymore, Mo Williams is back, but he left last time around with the Cavs because he couldn't coexist with James for some unknown reason and Joe Harris is too young and inexperienced. JR Smith and Iman Shumpert are both back. Smith is an excellent streak shooter, but he fades in crucial moments and gripes about his playing situation too much. Shumpert is hurt, but when he gets back, he's this teams best defender by far. He can also hit the wide open three. They signed Richard Jefferson this offseason, but he's so old, I thought he was retired and out of the league. No one else on the bench really plays that much. The Cavs "big three" is one of the best in the league and when they're all healthy and playing their game, they are deadly. The problem lies within the rest of the team, mainly the bench. Smith needs to play hard every night, Varejao needs to stay healthy, Williams needs to find a way to coexist with LeBron and Shumpert needs to get healthy. The Cavs will win 55 or 56 games and be the clear number one seed in the East this year.

How the Cavs can win it all.

The Cavs will win the title if LeBron keeps being LeBron and Irving and Love stay healthy and are actively involved in the offense. The surrounding players need to contribute more and keep their heads in the game. They also need to resolve this Thompson situation before the season starts.

Coming in at number 2, I have the reigning NBA champs, the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors didn't really change too much about their roster and this is a team coming off a 60 plus win season. They caught every break they needed, stayed healthy all season long and beat the teams they were supposed to all the way to a championship. Their best offseason decision was to resign Draymond Green. He is the perfect fit with this team. Had he gone anywhere else, it would have been a mistake for him and the Warriors would've missed him dearly. Getting rid of David Lee was a good choice too. Sure, he helped them in the Finals, but he was a huge contract wasting away on their bench. The Warriors have the best backcourt in all of the NBA. Steph Curry, the reigning MVP, is a wizard with the ball and can shoot the three from anywhere on the floor. He also has the fastest release I've ever seen. Curry is the best shooter of all time, yeah I said it. Klay Thompson is a great shooter, but he excels on defense. He locks everyone down that he guards and when he and Curry are shooting well, this team is unstoppable. Harrison Barnes didn't sign the extension the warriors offered him, betting on himself, but he's finally living up to the hype that was praised on him coming out of high school. I think the put back dunk on LeBron in the Finals gave him the extra confidence he needed. He's starting to come into his own. Andre Iguodala, the reigning Finals MVP, is back and while he's older, he still contributes on both ends of the floor. Shaun Livingston is a 6'6 back up point guard and fits in very well with what the Warriors do. Festus Ezeli and Marreese Speights are a two headed monster in the frontcourt. Ezeli is a fierce defender and rebounder and Speights gets points in the paint. Andrew Bogut is still one of the best rim protectors, when healthy. Leandro Barbosa comes off the bench and he's a bowling ball that provides instant offense. The Warriors are one of the best teams in basketball, and they will win 60 games again this season. They will fight with my number one team all year long for the top spot in the West.

How the Warriors can win it all.

The Warriors will win the title if they do exactly what they did last year. They would also need every break to go their way again. It's hard to repeat in the NBA, but the Warriors could and, may do it.

Coming in at number one I have the San Antonio Spurs. This team got the premiere free agent, and they don't even really need LaMarcus Aldridge. They have an older version of him in Tim Duncan, but this feels like a passing of the torch. Duncan has been the face of the franchise for over a decade now, but when he retires, Aldridge will slide right into his place. The naysayers will say that they're too old, but that doesn't matter with the way Poppovich regulates minutes. Everyone should be fresh come playoff time. The back court still has Tony Parker and Danny Green. Parker, when healthy, is probably the smartest player in the NBA. He knows when to shoot and when to get guys involved and he runs the Spurs offense to perfection. Danny Green is an elite defender and he can hit the open three. Besides Duncan, the frontcourt has the best young small forward in Kwahi Leonard. He's an excellent offensive player, he's a great rebounder and he's the only guy that can shut down LeBron James on defense. He, along with Anthony Davis, is the next big superstar in the NBA. Duncan is Duncan. He may be playing on one leg and can barely get up and down the court, but he's one of the better low post scorers, and still protects the rim and rebounds at a high rate. Aldridge will join Duncan and Leonard in the front court and they will be an unstoppable force. Leonard will lockdown the opposition and score in double figures, Tim Duncan will do Tim Duncan things, and when Aldridge fully figures out the Spurs system, watch out. Aldridge will be an MVP caliber player in a year or two. The Spurs bench is elite. It's the best bench in basketball. Manu Ginobli, while getting older, is still a wizard with the ball, and still hits clutch shots. Boris Diaw has had a major resurgence with the Spurs and he's one of the best passing big men in the game. Patty Mills comes in the game and he can put up 20 points in 10 minutes. David West left a ton of money on the table to come and compete for a title with the Spurs. His addition is almost as big as Aldridge, but for different reasons. West is a veteran who loves to play defense, rebound and score when needed. He's a perfect fit with San Antonio. The Spurs look really, really good going into this season. Once Aldridge gets acclimated to the Spurs way of basketball, they will be dominate. I expect the Spurs to win at least 62, maybe 64 games and be the one seed in the West.

Why the Spurs will win it all.

The Spurs will win the title once Aldridge and West figure out Spurs basketball and the rest of the pieces continue to do what they've done for a decade. This team is the best coached team in the NBA and they now have, if they didn't already, the most talent in the NBA. I love this Spurs team.

That's my countdown, all 30 teams. I will revisit later in the year, but this is how I see the NBA looking right now. As for my predictions, my Finals matchup is the Spurs-Cavs and I have the Spurs winning in 6(Sorry LeBron). My MVP is Anthony Davis and he will also win Defensive Player of the Year. Coach of the year will be Erik Spoelstra simply because the Heat will be the most improved team in the NBA. And finally, Rookie of the Year will be Emmanuel Mudiay. I love the way he plays the game and while the Nuggets will be bad, he will get a ton of playing time and I think he will be good immediately.

Thanks everybody.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture Editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man podcast. He once drained 25 straight threes with Shawn Kemp on the Seattle Supersonics in a game of NBA Jam. Follow Ty on twitter @tykulik.