What is the most overrated team in the NBA this year?

[Fafnir]

You haven't offended me, and you can easily make the case that there are 5 better players in the NBA than Durant. You just didn't make that case.

OKC isn't being held back by Durant in my view, the rest of the roster isn't good enough to contend yet.

I really don't get what the heck Gerald Green has to do with anything.

[MBz]

Best player in the NBA?   NO , I can name 5 players who I believe are better overall and would make more of an impact to a team than Durant would at this point in his career.
  

Please do.

[Eric_Suede]

You haven't offended me, and you can easily make the case that there are 5 better players in the NBA than Durant. You just didn't make that case.

OKC isn't being held back by Durant in my view, the rest of the roster isn't good enough to contend yet.

I really don't get what the heck Gerald Green has to do with anything.

Because I've made similar statements about Gerald Green years ago, that I felt he was overrated (actually I had more harsh words for him,overrated being one of them) & I was flooded with similar responses. I was given stats, Told over & over again what an upside he has that's to the point of being scary blah blah. So this reminded me of that. That's why I brought Green up.
 Never said Durant is holding OKC back. Again I don't think they're the #2 team in the west or are championship contenders. (Keep in mind title of the thread is who's overrated THIS YEAR) 15-44 things again was a joke. I watched the clippers game (I know it was just one game) and I remember the commentators pretty much worshiping him even though he went like 0-10 from 3.
 I mean again [dang] good player. Fans in oklahoma have something to be excited about but again this is Just my opinion. You guys are entitled to disagree but I don't think the he's NBA's best. I think Kobe,Lebron,Gasol,Dirk & Wade are better. Those are the types of guys who I'd rather see with the ball during a buzzer beater. Those are the guys who either have rings or guided their squads to championships. Again OKC has alot to be excited about but they're not there yet. But watch TNT Nba halftime report , they talk about the west like it's a 2 team race. OKC & Lakers. You guys may disagree but IMO I don't think they are at that level yet.

[Fafnir]

You haven't offended me, and you can easily make the case that there are 5 better players in the NBA than Durant. You just didn't make that case.

OKC isn't being held back by Durant in my view, the rest of the roster isn't good enough to contend yet.

I really don't get what the heck Gerald Green has to do with anything.

Because I've made similar statements about Gerald Green years ago, that I felt he was overrated (actually I had more harsh words for him,overrated being one of them) & I was flooded with similar responses. I was given stats, Told over & over again what an upside he has that's to the point of being scary blah blah. So this reminded me of that. That's why I brought Green up.

And I made those arguments? If you're going to try and discredit what I'm saying with that sort of comparison perhaps you can back it up? I'm curious to what sort of stats were used to prop up Gerald Green.

[Eric_Suede]

You haven't offended me, and you can easily make the case that there are 5 better players in the NBA than Durant. You just didn't make that case.

OKC isn't being held back by Durant in my view, the rest of the roster isn't good enough to contend yet.

I really don't get what the heck Gerald Green has to do with anything.

Because I've made similar statements about Gerald Green years ago, that I felt he was overrated (actually I had more harsh words for him,overrated being one of them) & I was flooded with similar responses. I was given stats, Told over & over again what an upside he has that's to the point of being scary blah blah. So this reminded me of that. That's why I brought Green up.

And I made those arguments? If you're going to try and discredit what I'm saying with that sort of comparison perhaps you can back it up? I'm curious to what sort of stats were used to prop up Gerald Green.

Stats from preseason games & some good games Green had at seasons end during a stretch I want to say back in 2006. Look I apologize I wasn't discrediting you or disputing your facts. Just seemed to come off as being a smarty pants when I told an obvious joke. It'll be like if I was a knick fan and I was bragging saying "Woah did you see my Knicks last night? they killed the baby Bulls Raining 3's from all over they killed Rose & company by hitting 50 3's last night" Then you come around with stats saying "they only hit 16 3's far cry from Killing Rose" it's like dude. You get what I meant. quit being a stats calculator. 
 I don't believe Durant ever went 15-44. Obviously I pulled that number out my butt. Durant is a great player. I simply don't think he's leagues best. I know nor did I say you brought up green or were a green advocate or comparing your statements with that situation. I was just making convo how this reminded me of that argument I had with guys back then.

[Celtics4ever]

The Heat obviously no other team comes close.  Not even leading their division with ATL ahead of them.  I know they won 4 in a row but this team ain't taking home the title and that was the consensus of the goober talking heads.

[jambr380]

When I saw the subject headline, I instantly thought, 'Thunder', and thought about the SI cover w/ Durant, Krstic, and Sefolosha. You guys have pretty much covered why this is true.

I do disagree with the Heat, though. I hate them as much as the next guy, but they are REALLY good and are definite contenders. They have six years to figure this thing out and I find it very difficult to believe that they won't pull out a championship or two. Sure, it makes me sick, but I am not going to pretend that they don't have a chance.

In the subject line it says this year. They might not be the most overrated team but  I think they can certainly be classified as overrated. With people saying they are going to get 72 plus wins this year (a lot of people), being dubbed the greatest trio of all time (Dwayne Wade) and for them to be the clear favorite to win the championship with the lakers being the only one to pose a threat (jeff Van Gundy) I think you have to consider them a bit overrated.

The next six years could be different but  i think they are overrated for not proving anything yet. They have 3 REALLY good (maybe 2) players on their team then after that they have none

I see what you mean, but I think it would be quite short sighted of us to think that a 'big three' in their first year doesn't have a decent chance at a championship. Sure, 72 wins may be a stretch, but there is no reason they shouldn't get well into the 60s and by the end of the year, they will 'know' each other even more. Their supporting cast isn't all that, but I think it's better than most expected it would be when they first got together (and Mike Miller should make an impact).

[Eja117]

The Magic (I don't see what has changed, certainly not for the better)

OKC - Jeff Green plays out of position, I still think KD is overdue for an injury, Jeff Harden isn't doing much, I'm not 100% sold on the center yet

[CelticSooner]

The Thunder got overrated because everyone remembers the last thing they did, which was giving the Lakers a tough series.  And everybody is big on Durant, and with good reason.

But they're still a young team and none of their main players has ever won even a road playoff game, much less a series.  And the number of "teams of the future" who have lived up to expectations is a lot smaller than the number that have fallen apart.  They'll be good, but they're at least a year away.

Not everyone. Watching a bunch of Thunder games last season they were a very good team. They played really good defense for team with a small frontcourt. That is something they aren't doing so far this season though. I picked them to make it to the WCF. That was most likely a mistake but the west is very wide open outside of LA.

Your right about teams of the future though. Consistency is something that is earned not given.

[Celtics4ever]

GO HORNETS they beat MIAMI.   

[mmbaby]

Why it's the Lakers, of course. Way overrated!!! We're going to take 'em out this year.

[barefacedmonk]

Why it's the Lakers, of course. Way overrated!!! We're going to take 'em out this year.

Actually the Lakers are better than last year. They are the defending champs and only added to that squad. Blake is better than Farmar and they also acquired Matt Barnes.

In this very young season, I would have to rate Miami as the most over rated team. They have a very good squad...but based on the media hype, I'll have to vote for them. They haven't showed anything that points to 2011 NBA champs yet. I'll consider them favourites if they beat us, LA and Orlando in all the regular season match ups or a big majority of them.

[nba is the worst]

When I saw the subject headline, I instantly thought, 'Thunder', and thought about the SI cover w/ Durant, Krstic, and Sefolosha. You guys have pretty much covered why this is true.

I do disagree with the Heat, though. I hate them as much as the next guy, but they are REALLY good and are definite contenders. They have six years to figure this thing out and I find it very difficult to believe that they won't pull out a championship or two. Sure, it makes me sick, but I am not going to pretend that they don't have a chance.

In the subject line it says this year. They might not be the most overrated team but  I think they can certainly be classified as overrated. With people saying they are going to get 72 plus wins this year (a lot of people), being dubbed the greatest trio of all time (Dwayne Wade) and for them to be the clear favorite to win the championship with the lakers being the only one to pose a threat (jeff Van Gundy) I think you have to consider them a bit overrated.

The next six years could be different but  i think they are overrated for not proving anything yet. They have 3 REALLY good (maybe 2) players on their team then after that they have none

I see what you mean, but I think it would be quite short sighted of us to think that a 'big three' in their first year doesn't have a decent chance at a championship. Sure, 72 wins may be a stretch, but there is no reason they shouldn't get well into the 60s and by the end of the year, they will 'know' each other even more.

I disagree that they will win 60+, and last night's game is a perfect example.

6'10" Emeka Okafor averaged 9.25 pts and 7.5 rebs in the Hornets' 1st four wins.

Last night he went 26/13 on 12-13 from the field in 35 minutes.

Heat centers were 12/8 in 36 minutes.

So the heat are 0-2 vs teams with great PGs and less than great centers so far.

Bosh has been exposed as a SF masquerading as a PF (ONE rebound in 34 minutes this game, 5.5 rpg in 32 mpg so far this season).

Joey Crawford performed as he usually does for Wade/leBron, awarding 21 fta's to them while CP3 shot just 3 (in spite of being bumped frequently) and the Hornets just 17 to the Heat's 24 - or the heat would not even gotten the lead (which they did on 2 LBJ fts with 59 seconds remaining, only after a highly debateable charging call and followup tech on CP3 - which took 3 points from the Hornets).

They are on pace for 55 wins including their 3 wins over the Nets, TWolves, and 76ers (4-13 so far).

They will need to improve substantially to avoid 3rd in the Southeast division.

Obviously, with actual serious articles written about breaking alltime records for regular season wins and win streaks - the Heat are without question the most overrated team in the NBA.

[Celtics4ever]

Yeah there is no doubt its the HEAT and all those articles were wrote on their potential for wins not a proven track record. 

James is averaging 4.8 TOs a game, not good.  He is shooting a woeful 45.3% from FG land which is pretty bad for a guy who shoots tons of layups and dunks.  He is an amazing productive stat producer in terms of his productivity.  He has zero leadership skills and its not easy as he thought it would be.  Dare I say, we could see him quit on the team before its all over.  He seems to have regressed must be terrible from going to being the chosen one to the depised villian.  He has always had ability in spades but lacks mental toughness.  He is human pyrite or fool's gold to build a team around.

Bosh as I have stated several times is not a bonafide inside player.  He is a good player but prefers the perimeter.  But he would rather shoot jumpers than bang inside.  Easy to put up numbers with touches when your the man on a team not so easy to do so when your sharing.

Wade, I think has the best head of all these three in terms on mental toughness. He is shooting the best and scoring the best at decent FG%.  But he has a SF pretending to be a PF and a prima donna who is Dominique Wilkins with some passing skills rather than the next MJ for a running mate.  If they have any chance he is going to have to be the MJ and let LeBron be the Pippen other wise James will wilt under the pressure.

I think they lack the maturity and the desperation that the Big Three to win a title.  Its early but give them time, I think the adversity will only hurt a candy butt like LeBron this year as he is despised.  The post said this year not in the next six years but some of us can read and some cannot I guess.  Also, some are so drunk on the NBA Kool-aid on LeBron and don't watch how he has choked, quit or lost throughout his NBA career when games mattered.

[wiley]

The media did and continue to do some major Heat-anointing.  But Celtics bloggers have taken a wiser view imo, a yes they'll be good but let's see how good without ideal bigs kind of approach.  And some here have predicted major struggles for them in their first year.  So the blog pegged Miami pretty well I think.  And the media did the media thing.

There seems to be a consensus that Ok. City has been given too much props and are overrated.  I'd like to go out on a limb and say no.  What happened is this:  last year they were way better than anyone thought.  I see no reason to call it over-achieving.  I think they'll be just as good this year, perhaps not better, which means not ready to take down Lakers, but certainly good enough to make the Western Conference Finals if they play well and stay healthy.  But I agree they'll need all their bigs, Collison, Ibaka, Aldrich and Kristic, including good to excellent play from one or both of the latter two (the rook and the Serb), in order make it there.