[dalakhani]

Lakers- As presently stands, there is not a team in the NBA that can beat them in a 7 game series. Period. A trade before the deadline can always change that but it would have to be one hell of a trade. The "trade" of Artest for Ariza wasnt designed to match up with teams in the west, it was for the potential matchups in the finals ie Cleveland (lebron), Boston (pierce), Orlando (Vince). At this stage, Ariza is the better offensive player and probably a more athletic defender than Artest. However, he certainly isnt physical enough to guard those guys like Artest is.

Wizards- Like it or not, they are married to Gilbert. You just cant buy out 80 million dollars and you certainly can't trade that kind of baggage away. Gilbert's op-ed was just the start. He will be a wizard for the foreseeable future. I say that you get what you can for the rest of them and you rebuild.

Dallas- Going to spend more money and make another worthless trade before the deadline to prop up this "contender". Forget it. The team is old and will be out early...again.

Denver- Gosh this team is good. Chauncey Billups never gets the credit he deserves. A shame they got this good at the wrong time. They defend the post well but they just can't score from it. At the end of the day, that is the difference between them and the lakers. Still, they have advantages over the lakers in overall athleticism and the all important point guard. It will be another fun western conference final.

San Antonio- They got as much juice out of that lemon as they could. If anyone mentions them as a contender though...

Boston- They are looking old right now. They are injured a lot and losing a lot of games in the second half. Rondo still can't hit a jump shot. Still talented enough to contend in the east but they just don't seem able to beat Orlando.

Orlando- At the end of the day, letting Hedo go was all about the money. Do you really want to pay 31 year old Hedo Turkoglu 50 million over 5 yrs? Trading for VC in his place is an experiment. He has one year after this one left on his contract and if it doesnt work out, the expiring contract becomes trade bait next year and you are back in the free agent pool. VC can still take over a game as evidenced the other night. "half man, half retired" is the line of the year.

Cleveland- This team is not as good as last year and Shaq better be saving it for the playoffs. Lebron is still the man but in a 7 game series, who is going to step up and make some shots? Jamario Moon? Anthony Parker? Delonte West??? (sorry cannon). They need a trade for Caron or Jamison or BOTH! Shaq and Delonte for Caron and Jamison. Now THAT would be a trade and it would work cap wise.

Atlanta- The wild card of the east. Still not ready though.