Like the NBA but need a team to support?

Hoops fans can rejoice - the National Basketball Association resumes on Christmas Day (well, our Boxing Day) after a protracted dispute between the players and the owners. But which team should you support? Hayden Meikle offers some tips.

Reporters, especially those who dabble in the oft-repetitive world of sport, are sometimes guilty of slipping into cliche.

Thus, whenever the topic of conversation switches to the sports teams we follow, a certain sports editor always reaches for this line:

"You don't choose your team. Your team chooses you."

As cliches go, it's really not bad. It rather neatly sums up the often random history behind our (unconscious?) decision to follow the Boston Red Sox, the Penrith Panthers or beautiful, glorious Liverpool.

But sometimes, a team DOESN'T choose us. I have a colleague who has just discovered the joys of American football, and wanted to pick an NFL team to support. With my help, he sorted through the chaff, did some research and agonised for a while before settling on the Baltimore Ravens.

Now, with basketball's glamour competition finally set to resume, it is time to choose an NBA team to support, if you have not already done so.

I have made the job easier for readers by breaking down all 30 teams into categories.

BANDWAGON TEAMS
As in, you should avoid choosing these teams lest you be accused of jumping on board simply because they are good.-

1. Dallas Mavericks
A team with a superstar (Dirk Nowitzki) and an entertaining owner (Mark Cuban). But they're the defending champions, so to suddenly support the Mavs would be the ultimate example of bandwagonism.

2. Miami Heat
Ugh. Supporting the Heat would be like suddenly discovering rugby and deciding to follow the Crusaders. The NBA's best player, LeBron James, jumped ship to the Heat last summer to form a super-team. Miami made the finals but fell short, much to everyone's delight.

3. Los Angeles Lakers
There are a LOT of Lakers fans around, and fair enough.

Great history, "showtime", Magic Johnson, Jack Nicholson sitting courtside, Kobe Bryant etc. But come on, they are way too glamorous and successful.

HOPELESS CASES
Those teams which, for whatever reason, should be avoided.-

4. Minnesota Timberwolves
Possess one of the most intriguing players in the league, Spanish firebrand Ricky Rubio. But they never win anything and it's only a matter of time before their general manager wrecks the place.

5. San Antonio Spurs
One of the dominant NBA teams for a decade but now look too old to contend.

6. Detroit Pistons
Fading rapidly.

7. New Orleans Hornets
Just lost their best player, point guard Chris Paul. And the NBA-owned team might not even be in N'awlins for long.

8. Philadelphia 76ers
This is not 2001, and Xavier Silas is not Allen Iverson.

9. Houston Rockets
Their relevance disappeared as soon as Yao Ming retired.

10. Milwaukee Bucks
Australians like them because Andrew Bogut plays there.

11. Golden State Warriors
One of those classic mid-level, win-nothing teams.

12. Utah Jazz
Stockton to Malone seems a long time ago.

13. Sacramento Kings
Plenty of young talent, including a cult college hero in Jimmer Fredette (seriously, that's his name), but you win nothing with kids in the NBA.

14. Washington Wizards
A very average player called Rashard Lewis is earning $21 million this year. Madness.

15. Toronto Raptors
Wait, they play basketball in Canada?

16. Cleveland Cavaliers
It's going to be years before they recover from LeBron James' acrimonious departure.

17. Charlotte Bobcats
The worst team in the NBA is owned by the sport's all-time greatest player, Michael Jordan.

TEMPTING
Teams which have some redeeming features.-

18. Atlanta Hawks
Really, I only include the Hawks to appease their biggest New Zealand fan, All Black physio Peter Gallagher.

19. Denver Nuggets
Denver won 50 games last year. The Otago Nuggets weren't QUITE as successful.

20. Memphis Grizzlies
A surprisingly good team, built around a core of Zach Randolph, Rudy Gay, Marc Gasol and OJ Mayo.

21. Orlando Magic
Tiger Woods' team. And one of the more entertaining teams in recent seasons. But star player Dwight Howard is set to leave, and that will be a disaster.

22. Indiana Pacers
Play in a basketball-obsessed state and inside one of the league's great theatres, Conseco Fieldhouse. The team is rebuilding nicely and, if it plays smart in the free agency market, will be a contender.

23. Phoenix Suns
Probably would have been a better pick five years ago. The great Steve Nash is not getting any younger.

24. Portland Trailblazers
Have come a long way since the "Jailblazers" days. But will their potential star, Greg Oden, ever be fit?

25. New Jersey Nets
Set to move to Brooklyn. Bankrolled by an interesting Russian. And have one star player, Deron Williams. Need more building blocks. Possibly a year away - so buy low!

TAKE YOUR PICK
So, that leaves us with a list of just five teams from which, if this humble opinion is sought, you should be declaring your NBA allegiance.-

26. Boston Celtics
You rarely, if ever, find someone with a bad word to say about the Celtics. The green team had two glorious eras, in the 1960s (Bill Russell, Bob Cousy, coach Red Auerbach) and the 1980s (Larry Bird, Robert Parish, Kevin McHale). Another title was won in 2008 behind the "big three" of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. That trio remains - none getting any younger - alongside gun point guard Rajon Rondo.

27. New York Knicks
My team! Typically, it's a team with a tortured past, not having won a title since 1973. And over the past 10 years, the franchise has blown obscene amounts of money on players, while getting rubbish results. But things are looking up for the Knickerbockers, with Carmelo Anthony, Amar'e Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler forming the heart of the team.

28. Oklahoma City Thunder
The best young team in the league. Formerly the Seattle Supersonics, the Thunder already looks to be among the best three or four teams in the NBA, and could get better. Years of success ahead if Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Kendrick Perkins stay healthy.

29. Chicago Bulls
Oooh, the Bulls. Jordan, Pippen, Rodman, Phil Jackson - everyone loved the Bulls in the 1990s. Some lean years followed, inevitably, but the team is back in a big way. Led by Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer, the Bulls had the best regular-season record in the NBA last season.

30. Los Angeles Clippers
Finally, we have the team that has been a laughing stock for years, making dumb decisions while constantly in the shadow of the Lakers. But the Clips possess the league's most exciting player, dunk king Blake Griffin, and just signed star point guard Chris Paul. They'll be fun to watch.

- hayden.meikle@odt.co.nz