The basketball season has had some interesting twists so far and many people have been off with their initial predictions to say the least. The Cavs and Lakers aren’t dominating their opponents, and I think I know the reasons. Let’s take a look at the best teams in the league to see where they’re at right now.

Sure, a lot can change over the course of the season and it probably will. Still, I have some strong opinions about the state of the league right now and some of the teams that many predicted would dominate.

All due respect to some of the players that I’m about to put down, but I’m simply stating my opinions here. I believe that a player can be great on paper, and possibly a great fit for certain teams, but there are three players who’ve all flocked to elite teams this season, and I believe that none of them are the types of players who win their teams games. In fact, I believe just the opposite.

In Los Angeles, I think the Lakers were better off with Trevor Ariza than they were with Ron Artest. The conventional wisdom would say the Artest is the better player, but I disagree.

I don’t believe that Ron Artest wins his team games. He’s a dramatic distraction to a team that had incredible chemistry.

Then we have Shaq in Cleveland. My thoughts are the same. For direct evidence of this, look at the Suns before Shaq, the Suns during Shaq, and the Suns without him now. They went from elite to average, back to great this season. Cleveland is struggling.

Vince Carter hasn’t found his rhythm in Orlando, and I’m not convinced that he ever will. I believe that he’s a ball hog who did more bad for the Nets than good.

The only team that I think got it right with its major acquisition was Boston. Rasheed Wallace plays his heart out, and was a huge contributor to the Pistons. It’s no wonder the Celtics are still undefeated.

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