NBA 2013-14 Season: Top 5 Teams to Watch

Between my school semester ending and the Heat winning the championship, I wasn’t in the mood to write about LeBron winning his second ring with Miami when the summer began. But now that summer is almost over and basketball season isn’t too far off, it’s time to get excited about the NBA again!

Here are the five teams to look out for this 2013-14 season:

Minnesota Timberwolves—IF Ricky Rubio (ACL tear) and Kevin Love (broken hand) come back healthy, the Timberwolves can look forward to a good basketball season after a frustrating year of injuries and obstacles. Also with the new addition of Kevin Martin, Minnesota has a real shooting threat from downtown.

Brooklyn Nets—Looks like Brooklyn is the new Boston. With Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce joining the Nets, Deron Williams & Co. should surely make it to the playoffs again in 2014. Did I forget to mention Jason Kidd is the new head coach?  

Los Angeles Clippers—Chris Paul. Blake Griffin. Jamal Crawford. DeAndre Jordan. And let’s not forget the newest Clipper and three-point shooter, JJ Redick. Nuff said.  

Houston Rockets—Fickle Dwight Howard joined the Rockets after an unsuccessful season with the Lakers. Whether you love or hate Howard, you have to admit he’s one of the best big men in the league. With Howard joining James Harden, one of the top scorers in the NBA, the Rockets are definitely a team to look out for this season.  

Golden State Warriors—Steph Curry. Steph Curry. Steph Curry. GS was the most exciting team to watch in the playoffs last season between Curry’s three-pointers and Klay Thompson’s jump shot. Add Harrison Barnes, Andre Iguodala and David Lee to the mix and you have a fast pace team that will make it far in the 2013-14 postseason. Having one of the best fanbases in the NBA is also a huge plus for GS.   

The Los Angeles Clippers: A team of many talents

After winning a franchise record of 17 consecutive games (the longest stretch in the NBA since 2008 when the Boston Celtics won 19 consecutive games) and compiling a record of 25-8 thus far, the Los Angeles Clippers have proven they are a contender for the NBA title this year.

Why do the Clippers work? Simple. The Clippers have created one of the deepest rosters in the NBA and have spread out the responsibilities to all of their players.

The Clippers’ success is due to the fact that the team has depth. They are not like the star-studded Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers. Instead, the Clippers are led by a star, assisted by talented youth and surrounded by skilled veterans. Between MVP candidate Chris Paul, All-Star Blake Griffin and the many gifted players the Clippers have attained in the last two years (including Matt Barnes, Chauncey Billups and Jamal Crawford to name a few), it's easy to see how the Clippers are thriving. The team's roster is exceptional even though none of the names are superstars.

The team’s starters and bench players are equally important as well, which is why the Clippers lead the NBA in second unit scoring and defense. They rank second in bench scoring at 41.7 points per game. Bench players like Barnes and Crawford have been especially valuable this season. Over the last 15 games, Barnes had averaged 55.2 percent shooting and 42.4 percent from the three-point line. Crawford has averaged 16.5 points, and in the start of the season, led the team in scoring.

The Clippers also rank top five in field goal percentage (fifth), rebounds (fourth), assists (third), blocks (second) and steals (first). 

It doesn't get much better than that.

Updates: Lakers, Knicks, Bulls

Lakers Lose

The Los Angeles Lakers continue to baffle basketball fans. Although Kobe Bryant had 42 points & five rebounds and Dwight Howard had 19 points & 20 rebounds, it wasn’t enough to stop the Lakers from losing their eighth straight game in 11 games, this time against the Cleveland Cavaliers (100-94). Poor defense, turnovers, chemistry problems and injuries (starting forward Pau Gasol with knee tendinitis and point guard Steve Nash with a knee fracture) continue to plague the Lakers.

Kyrie Irving of the Cavaliers had a fantastic night of 28 points and 11 assists in his return game (he missed 11 games due to a broken finger). Being a starter for the first time this season, CJ Miles scored 28 points as well for the Cavs, ending their five-game losing streak.  

The Lakers are currently 12^th in the Western Conference (9-13) and the Cavaliers are 13^th in the Eastern Conference (5-17).

Knicks Win

While Carmelo Anthony had a whopping 45 points under his belt, it was Jason Kidd’s 3-point shot with 24.1 seconds left in the game that sent the New York Knicks to a 100-97 victory over the Brooklyn Nets.

The Nets had a 16-point lead on the Knicks, but New York was able to cut the deficit down to four by halftime. The Knicks took their first lead early in the third quarter, but the Nets came back to rally a 10-point lead. Brooklyn also led by five (79-74) going into the fourth. Eventually the Knicks took out a 7-point deficit tying the score at 91 thanks to Kidd’s 3-pointer. The game tied three more times after Kidd’s shot, but Brooklyn never led again.

Kidd finished strong with 18 points, six rebounds and six assists, while Anthony dominated the evening by scoring 45% of the points. The Knicks are number one in the Eastern Conference (16-5) while the Nets are 6^th having lost their fifth straight game (11-9).

Bulls Lose

The Los Angeles Clippers won against the Chicago Bulls (94-89) and their win was a big one: The Clippers’ last seven-game winning streak was 20 years ago. Blake Griffin had 22 points and 10 rebounds, Chris Paul had 18 points and four assists and the NBA’s leading bench scorer Jamal Crawford finished with 10 points. (I heart Crawford by the way, but I’ll talk about him more at a later date). The Clippers closed with a 12-2 run while the Bulls committed eight of their 17 turnovers during this time.

Bulls’ Carlos Boozer had 24 points and 13 rebounds, Joakim Noah had 10 points and 11 rebounds, and Marco Belinelli scored 18 points in his fifth straight start (he’s filling in for Rip Hamilton who is out with a foot injury). This is the first game the Bulls have lost when both Boozer and Noah had double-doubles.

The Clippers are 15-6, holding 4^th place in the Western Conference whereas the Bulls are 11-9, holding 5^th place in the Eastern Conference.