The 2009 world champions are the unquestioned favorites to win the 2010 NBA title, as they should be, however there is no shortage of quality teams in the western conference looking to derail the Lakers in their quest for banner no. 17. Let’s evaluate the top 3 teams with the best chance of beating the champions, which (as of now) are the Phoenix Suns, Portland Trailblazers, and Dallas Mavericks. Short of Kobe Bryant or Pau Gasol suffering a late-season injury, these are the only teams with the key elements needed to topple a giant like the Los Angeles Lakers, those key elements being a deep roster filled with athletic talent, a star capable of making big shots. , and perhaps most important of all… a mission. Let’s start in order of the most likely contenders to take the Western conference crown outside of Los Angeles.
The Phoenix Suns: “Back to the Future.”
It seems like so long ago when Steve Nash won back-to-back MVPs and the Suns eliminated the Lakers two years after the season in a row, but while the power structure has changed once again in the NBA (thanks to Pau de the Grizzles from Memphis Gasol to Los Angeles) one thing is back to normal, the Suns are playing high-scoring fast-paced basketball again and blowing away their opponents. The Lakers are very good defensive teams, but when they play up-tempo teams like Phoenix, too often they walk away from their defensive game and let things quickly turn into a shootout, not that LA isn’t capable of winning that kind of game. battle either, but it’s very much the game of Phoenix.
Although Phoenix had considerably more talent than LA during the ’05 and ’06 seasons, the roster for the two teams isn’t as lopsided anymore. Make no mistake, the Lakers have arguably the best roster in the league, but the Phoenix team isn’t too bad either with perennials like Steve Nash and Grant Hill, and guys who have pro seasons like Jason Richardson, topped off by a star. great man in his prime *ahem* Amare Stoudemire. The Suns are not short of talent at any position and in some cases have plenty of talent like Leandro Barbosa and Robin Lopez to come off the bench. The big guys are going to be vital against the Lakers and their three frontcourt stars in Gasol, Bynum and Odom, but the Sun have covered as well as anyone in the league with Stoudemire, Lopez and Frye.
Next up is the guy who can bail out his team with a clutch three or a late game and-1, luckily for Phoenix, they have one of the best playmakers in the game in Steve Nash. All these advantages aside, the best thing the Suns have going for them is their quest to prove their elite once again after sending their 350-pound anchor in the middle all the way to Cleveland and returning to the “7 seconds or shoot” offense that the has in the first place. place so far in the young NBA season, but it could eventually give them home field advantage during the playoffs, putting them at the top of this list. This, in combination with other X factors like a new head coach, a lights-shooting veteran (J-Rich) and a superstar in a contract year (Stoudemire), makes the Phoenix Suns the Los Angeles team most likely to I would rather never face this position. -season.
The Portland Trailblazers: David beating Goliath during the regular season.
There are a couple of places that LA rarely comes up with a W and one of those places is Portland. Unfortunately for LA, there may not be another team with more to prove than Portland and they are very capable of beating the Lakers at home (8 straight home wins vs. LA). The Trailblazers have plenty of talent and athleticism in the frontcourt with a lineup that features the likes of LaMarcus Aldridge, Joel Pryzbilla and Greg Oden. Oden’s late development has been the main story of the Trailblazer’s season thus far and in his previous absences, Joel Pryzbilla has filled him in pretty well, but he’s providing a solid push off the bench. The main X factors for Portland are the emergence of Greg Oden as a downward force and the blossoming of Brandon Roy into a true NBA superstar, if anyone can hit big shots it’s Brandon Roy. The Blazers as a team want more than any other team in the West to be considered “elite” and toppling the Lakers would pretty much cement that status.
The Trailblazers also have one of the best defensive head coaches in the league in Nate McMillan (Team USA’s defensive coordinator), who played no small role in Portland’s previous hometown dominance over the Lakers. If they face the Lakers, Game 1 of the series will be crucial because they won’t have home field advantage in a potential meeting with LA, so it would be better to steal Game 1 on LA’s court (since teams of Phil Jackson are perfect at making the playoffs after winning the first game of a series), but even if they don’t it might not matter anyway, one thing about historical upsets is that history doesn’t apply because being done. As long as Portland’s home dominance continues against LA, they may only need to play one game on the Lakers’ floor to pull off the upset, but that’s more than a few ifs.
The Dallas Mavericks: A team in search of redemption.
The Dallas Mavericks need redemption for many things, for some it may be missing out on a 2-0 lead in the Finals, for others it may be losing in the first round to the eighth-seeded 42-win Warriors after a historic 67-win win. season, and for one thing he may be talking too much to league officials, resulting in millions in fines and a potential title… Either way, everyone on this current Dallas Mavericks roster has a chip on their shoulder. , if not more than one . Dirk Nowitzki has been criticized as much as anyone in the league for his soft play during crucial moments and his tendency to back down when he takes a punch to the mouth (and he’s on a contract year), Jason Kidd just hit his last achievable career milestone, yet still without a ring, Shawn Marion always plays like a man with something to prove, and half the roster has been to the finals before and came up short.
Dallas head coach Rick Carlisle has been looking to capture the NBA title that barely eluded him when he was fired as Detroit’s head coach before the 2003-2004 title-winning season, and this very well may be his chance to wash his hands of the redemption that is the Larry O’Brien trophy. The Mavericks have the size and talent at #4 and #5 with Dirk Nowitzki, Drew Gooden, Tim Thomas and Erik Dampier. They also have promising young guys like JJ Barea, big free agent acquisitions like Shawn Marion, a perennial sixth man of the year candidate in Jason Terry and a toughened veteran in Jason Kidd. The Dallas Mavericks have as complete a roster as any team in the league, and if it’s redemption you’re looking for, this may be your best opportunity.
There are plenty of reasons to pick the Lakers to win the 2010 NBA title, and it could certainly be argued that no other team in the West is capable of keeping the Lakers out of the Finals. However, the biggest hurdle for the LA Lakers in this postseason will likely be complacency and if any number of these hopeful giant killers go on a mission, it could well be the recipe for historic upset…