I still think the Lakers are too big for the Spurs and the Thunder are too young and fast for them. With some favorable matchups and a bit of luck, I could see the Clippers, Nuggets, Pacers, and Knicks being on the next tier of teams that could surprise, but right now, I have trouble seeing many teams beat the Heat, Celtics, Lakers, and Thunder.

They are a 7 game playoff series system just like the NBA and teams with stars have an advantage, but the one difference is the Hard Salary Cap. Teams who have stars with big contracts can’t afford to give them much help so they are still very beatable to teams with no stars, but still a lot of really good players. It would be like having Kobe and the Lakers with not much help around him against the Nuggets. That is a much more interesting match-up than a stacked lakers team of stars against the Nuggets.

But I understand that we b-ball fans have gotta talk about something. Kind of makes me appreciate the all out sports fan, and how, say, the relevance of discussion is supplemented by hockey… doh!

The Bulls are pretty much toast if Rose is out for the year as some speculate. Denver, Utah and Milwaukee will make some noise. But don’t have the horses like the top 8. Bottom line is this. Any team in that top 8 believe they can beat any of the others in a 7 game championship series. And belief is half the battle once you get there. Just ask Dallas from 2 years ago.

That’s an interesting argument. Maybe u should be writing on this website instead of guys like Kurt Helin, because that is a great point. You can relate that argument to Rondo’s statements, because Helin’s words are more opinions than facts. Going into the 2013 season one can assume Miami is the fav which is true, because they won the 2012 title, but it’s no lock Miami or OKC makes a return to the finals.

Realistic NBA Title contenders
1.Heat
2.OKC
3.LAL?
4.Celtics
5. Spurs

The Lakers are a big if, because they’ve performed poorly over the past 2 season especially in the post-season. And just, because they added Howard(back surgery) doesn’t guarantee they’re a lock. The Lakers are much older than some of the other veteran teams going into 2013.

Boston needs a little slip from Miami to catch up, they are half a step behind. Wrong again, Kurt. You don’t need to be a genius to see that Boston’s upgraded bench is much better than Miami’s bench. Boston’s only concern is limiting Lebron especially with Pierce being a yr older.

Meanwhile, New York, the biggest market of all, suffered from 10 years of playoff obscurity. The Celtics had a string of awful years until the Big 3 arrived. Why have the Clippers been the laughing stock of the NBA for 3 decades (until recently)? Certainly, LA should have no trouble attracting stars. You can even see a problem with the Knicks now – they were able to attract stars, but at a huge price tag that still cripples their ability to find the needed supporting players. A big market can’t make Melo and Amare play well together.

Big markets do not guarantee dominance. It helps, but at the end of the day, it’s about how well the franchises are run.

Smaller market teams like Pittsburgh Steelers, Arizona (Phoenix) Cardinals, Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts, New Orleans Saints, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers have all played in a Super Bowl since 2000.

Could you imagine the Suns, Bucks, Hornets, and Pacers in the NBA Finals this year?
Probably not, since they’re “smaller markets and can’t attract stars” – a problem that those markets’ NFL teams don’t seem to have for some reason (hard cap anyone?)

if the nba postseason were setup like that of the NFL or college hoops, where it’s one and done each round, the disparity wouldn’t matter.

besides, all the bottom teams get the best rookies lol. that has to be some sort of consolation. well…until that player bolts for the limelight in the pretty cities.

number 5 can be anyone’s guess. but that’s just rondo’s thoughts. someone with more basketball expertise may feel there are actually 6 or 7 teams who can realistically contend. no need to box ourselves in rondo’s thought process (or Doc’s, who is probably the one preaching some of this stuff to his team).

I think Boston is in the mix as a contender even if Miami is the favorite. Say what you want about injuries, but a team that took Miami to seven games who got significantly better is a threat. I still think Miami is the team to beat, but Boston is the type of matchup that can beat them.