When I originally debuted this list almost two years ago, I took some (surprisingly angry) flack for not settling on a 10th player and for ranking a few guys too high.

The idea for the list sprung from a conversation that I regularly have with a buddy when we are tipping back a few adult beverages: If you could have one current NBA player to build your franchise around, with the goal of winning a NBA title in the next five years – who would it be?

Here’s who I had almost two years ago:

10. Dirk Nowitzki, Carmelo Anthony, Carlos Boozer, Chris Bosh, Kevin Garnett, Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce, Tim Duncan and Tony Parker (A reader named “all” was very upset that I couldn’t pick a #10 guy. He’s probably still upset about it.)
9. Derrick Rose
8. Brandon Roy
7. Deron Williams
6. Chris Paul
5. Kevin Durant
4. Dwight Howard
3. Kobe Bryant
2. Dwyane Wade
1. LeBron James

I took some heat for including Rose, but obviously he has panned out very well and is likely to win the league MVP this season. Roy’s knees have killed his stock. The other seven picks look pretty solid.

So let’s take another stab at this. Remember, we’re trying to win a title in the next five years, so youth and health is paramount.

Honorable Mention: Carmelo Anthony (defense), Amare Stoudemire (defense, age, knees), Pau Gasol (age), Tyreke Evans (regressing) Tim Duncan (age), Dirk Nowitzki (age), Paul Pierce (age), Rajon Rondo (moody, in a funk since Kendrick Perkins trade) and Kevin Garnett (age).

NOT QUITE WORTH MAX MONEY…YET

12. John Wall (20 years-old)
All right, I’m projecting a little bit here, but it worked with Derrick Rose and I think Wall has a chance to be in the same league. Check out his month-by-month stats over the course of his rookie season:

So he burst into the league with a good October and November, but struggled a bit over the next two months as teams had a chance to game plan for him. Then in February and March, he’s able to counter that and get back to his early-season numbers. Great sign.

He’s an outstanding playmaker (9.1+ assists in 2-of-5 months) and is lightning quick. His rookie numbers are very similar to Rose’s, only he’s averaging 2.4 more assists per game. He’d likely be the Rookie of the Year if Blake Griffin hadn’t blown out his knee last season. In three or four years he might be vying for best point guard in the league honors.

11. Russell Westbrook (22)
I like Westbrook a lot, but his turnovers (3.9 per game) worry me for a third-year point guard. His assist-to-turnover ratio has actually decreased by 12% since last season, and that shows a lack of progress. Other than a sketchy (yet improving) outside jumper, he’s a great all-around player and his stats are comparable to Derrick Rose’s:

One’s an MVP favorite and the other isn’t even in the conversation. Go figure.

WORTH MAX MONEY, BUT KEEP THOSE FINGERS CROSSED

10. Kobe Bryant (32)
Sorry Laker fans, I had to drop him several spots on this list after that 6-for-24 outing in Game 7 of the Finals. The Lakers still won the game, but it wasn’t because of Kobe. Plus, he’s not even practicing these days, so it would be tough to build a team around him if they can’t build chemistry. Still, he is Kobe Bryant.

9. Kevin Love (22)
What’s not to love about Love? He’s averaging 20-15 and is shooting 42% from 3PT and 85% from the free throw line. His defensive numbers at 82games are a little worrisome (-6.2 net defense?), but the by position PER (24.6 vs. opponents’ 15.7) is very favorable.

8. Blake Griffin (22)
He’s not the long-range shooter that Love is, but he’s averaging 22-12 and is a better playmaker (3.7 apg). His defensive numbers (-1.3 net defense) look better as well. I’m just worried that he’s going to kill himself with one of those acrobatic dunks that he’s become famous for.

THE BONA FIDE ‘FRANCHISE PLAYERS’

7. Dwyane Wade (29)
He’s getting a little long in the tooth for this particular list, but he still has three or four years of dominating play left in him. My only issue with his game is that he takes too many threes (2.7 per game) given his accuracy (31% this year).

6. Deron Williams (26)
5. Chris Paul (25)
I’m still going to give CP3 the edge despite the sore knee since he didn’t clash with a Hall of Fame coach like Williams did. I still think the Nets got a great deal in the trade and that Deron Williams is definitely a franchise point guard, but right now I lean Paul.

4. Dwight Howard (25)
Let’s see, he’s averaging 23-14 with 2.4 blocks, and is shooting 60% from the field. Plus, he’s just 25 years-old and is a bona fide center in a league that doesn’t have very many. He already has one Finals appearance under his belt, but he’s going to need a great perimeter player to take the load off.

3. LeBron James (26)
I dropped him one spot because of “The Decision” (I don’t need the drama) and another spot because he has been very unclutch in big moments the last few years. If I’m going to pay max money, I need a guy who is going to give max production, especially in those last few possessions in the game (his solid clutch stats notwithstanding).

2. Kevin Durant (22)
Yes, I’d take “No Drama” Durant ahead of LeBron because he’s my kind of superstar: quiet and unassuming. He leads by example and he’s arguably the best scorer in the league. After all, the team with the most points usually wins.

1. Derrick Rose (22)
Rose is the front-runner for the league’s MVP award after (possibly) leading the Bulls to a #1-seed in the East despite having to deal with the absence of Joakim Noah and/or Carlos Boozer for long stretches this season. His three-point shooting (34%) is now respectable, which makes him nearly impossible to guard. He’s not a classic pass-first point guard, but drops enough dimes (7.8 per game) to keep his teammates happy. It looks like it may be his year.

So those are my Top 12 — who are yours?

Box Score

The Celtics shot 60.3% from the field and 52.9% from three-point range en route to a 13-point win over the Lakers at Staples Center. It was a very poor showing by the Laker defense, which is ranked 8th in the league in defensive efficiency and 4th in opponent FG%.

Boston’s “Big Four” showed up, and in a big way. Paul Pierce (32 points), Ray Allen (21), Kevin Garnett (18) and Rajon Rondo (10) combined to shoot 33-for-51 (64.7%) from the field. They’re going to be awfully tough to beat when they are scoring this easily.

Kobe hit 16-of-29 shots for 41 points but had ZERO assists. That pretty much tells the story, doesn’t it?

Kobe Bryant played a miserable offensive game, going just 6-of-24 from the field, 0-for-6 from long range and turning the ball over four times. But the rest of the Lakers stepped up. Whether it was Pau Gasol’s travel layup with 1:30 to play, Ron Artest’s timely three-pointer with 1:00 remaining or Sasha Vujacic’s clutch free throws to seal the game with 0:11 to play, Kobe’s supporting cast came through when they needed to.

Lakers win, 83-79.

Kobe finished with 23-15-2, which looks pretty good until you realize that he missed 18 shots and forced some terrible attempts. Gasol added a gritty 19-18, and had nine of the Lakers’ TWENTY-THREE offensive rebounds. (The L.A. absolutely pounded the C’s on the glass, which was one area where Boston desperately missed Kendrick Perkins.) Artest had 20-5 and five steals. He wasn’t terribly efficient offensively, but he hit some important shots and bothered Paul Pierce into 5-of-15 shooting. Artest no longer has to live with the specter of Trevor Ariza circling his entire existence in Los Angeles. In his own weird way, he has truly become a Laker.

For the Celtics, Kevin Garnet (17-3, four blocks) played well offensively (8-of-13), but he just didn’t get it done on the defensive glass. Rajon Rondo (14-8-10) had a very nice game, but wasn’t able to push the ball enough to take it over. Paul Pierce (18-10-2) and Ray Allen (13-2-2) combined to go a dreadful 8-of-29 from the field.

It wasn’t a cleanly played Game 7, but it was tight the whole way and it was one of the best defensive Finals games I’ve ever seen. To put this in perspective, the Lakers shot 32.5% from the field and still won the game…and the title.

Photo from fOTOGLIF

Here’s where the 2-3-2 format in The Finals gets really interesting. With a 92-86 win in Game 5 behind a big 27-point effort from Paul Pierce, the Celtics are in position to close out the Lakers, but they’ll have to do it at the Staples Center.

Pierce was amazing offensively, hitting 12-of-21 shots from the field, which mostly offset Kobe Bryant’s 38 points. The Lakers only had one other player in double figures (Pau Gasol, 12-12), and Kobe grew visibly frustrated as the fourth quarter wore on.

Along with Pierce, Rajon Rondo (18-8-5) controlled this game for Boston. He made four huge plays late in the game, including two steals (though curiously, he was only credited for one in the game), a timely tip-in on an offensive rebound and a very nice catch and layup on a late pass from Pierce. Kevin Garnett (18-10-3) and Ray Allen (12-3-2) also played well for the Celtics.

Heading back to L.A. it will be interesting to see if the Lakers can turn things around. So much momentum swings with one game, and now that the Celtics have won three of the last four, the Lakers will be feeling the pressure. If they can rally together and win Game 6, they’ll regain control of the series.

A couple of other random thoughts from the game:

- Jeff Van Gundy had a great line about Derek Fisher’s propensity to flop. Mike Breen said that Fisher did a nice job of selling the call. Van Gundy responded, “If I never hear ‘selling’ and ‘basketball game’ together again, I’ll be happy.”

Breen: “Veterans know how to sell.”

Van Gundy: “How do you fool…these guys have all refereed this guy for 14 years. They know every time he goes up it looks like there’s sniper fire in the building.”

Classic.

- There was a weird sequence between Pierce and Rondo at the end of the first half. The Celtics were running the clock down and Pierce felt that Rondo “looked him off.” As Rondo started to penetrate into the lane (and looked to pass the ball to Pierce again), Pierce was already walking towards the Celtics’ bench in frustration, wiping his hand away at Rondo in dismissal. When asked about it moments later by Doris Burke, Pierce said he wasn’t upset when it was very obvious that he was.

That play was the opposite of ubuntu. What if the Celtics had lost by one point and that play could have made the difference between Boston winning and losing? Why is Pierce pouting about not getting the ball on a play like that?

Photo from fOTOGLIF

The Lakers withstood a lights-out shooting clinic by Ray Allen in the first half (7-for-7 from long range) and only trailed by six at halftime. They actually led by three with 5:20 to play, but the Celtics rattled off 11 straight points to take an eight-point lead with just 1:12 to play. They went on to win, 103-94.

The Boston backcourt was the key to the game. Rajon Rondo posted his fifth career playoff triple-double (19-12-10) and Ray Allen poured in 32 points on 8-of-11 shooting from long range. Nate Robinson also came off the bench to score seven points in a crucial six-minute stretch early in the fourth quarter. His play gave Doc Rivers an opportunity to rest a winded Rondo, which made him fresh for the stretch run (where he made several key plays to win the game).

Kevin Garnett (6-4-6) didn’t play very well but had a few nice assists in the second half. Likewise, Paul Pierce went 2-of-11 and scored just 10 points. In the pregame, Mark Jackson stressed that the C’s had to outplay the Lakers at the forward positions, but it was the Boston guards who decided the game. When the Celtics were able to get stops, they were really pushing the ball via Rondo, and that led to open shots.

Kobe finished with 21-5-6 but shot just 8-of-20 from the field and was saddled with foul trouble the entire game. His fifth foul, a charge drawn by Glen Davis, was a bad call. Davis was not even close to set when Kobe was in the air. The announcers get so caught up at looking to see if the feet are outside of the restricted area that they ignore the fact that the player’s feet are still moving.

Pau Gasol (25-8, six blocks) had another nice game and was incredibly efficient, scoring all of those points on just 10 shots. There was some media-created controversy over some comments he made about how both he and Garnett have lost a step, but Gasol clearly got the better of KG again tonight. Andrew Bynum posted 21-6 and had seven blocks, so how did the Lakers lose?

Well, Ron Artest shot 1-10 from the field and had a couple of bad plays down the stretch, including a terrible post feed that rolled out of bounds and a possession where he dribbled the ball around and forced up a double-clutch three-pointer. He did play good defense on Pierce, however. Lamar Odom was a no-show, scoring just three points in 15 minutes. He finished with five fouls and Bynum’s fine play kept him on the bench.

You have to hand it to the Celtics. The chips were down and their backs were up against the proverbial wall, and they pulled out a much needed win. Now the series heads back to Boston for Game 3 on Tuesday, and I’m a little worried about how the Celtics’ old bones are going to deal with the cross country flight and quick turnaround.

Photo from fOTOGLIF

WORKING IN THE LAKERS’ FAVOR

The “Big 3″ are two years older. (So is Kobe, but he doesn’t look it.)
Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen are 34, and Paul Pierce is 32. They’re not over the hill, but they aren’t spring chickens, either. The way that the schedule is set up, Game 2 is on Sunday and then both teams will have to fly to Boston on Monday for Game 3 on Tuesday. There is also just one day of rest between Game 5 and Game 6. These are going to be tough turnarounds for the 30+ crowd. In terms of play, KG is playing as good as he has in the last two seasons, but he’s still not in ’08 form. After a substandard regular season, Ray Allen has played well in the playoffs. Only Paul Pierce is playing at nearly the same level as in 2008.

The Lakers have home court advantage.
Last time around, the first two games were in Boston. This time, the series starts in L.A., where the Lakers were 34-7 on the season and 8-0 in the playoffs.

They’re starting Ron Artest at SF instead of Vladimir Radmanovic and Luke Walton.
Artest may be a little crazy, but he definitely makes this Laker lineup tougher. Radmanovic, Walton and Sasha Vujacic got major minutes in ’08, but are now either gone or relegated to spot duty. We can debate Ron Artest vs. Trevor Ariza all we want, but there’s no doubt that Artest is an upgrade over the Radmanovic/Walton combo that faced the Celtics two years ago. He’ll also make Paul Pierce work for his points, which will allow Kobe to worry about Ray Allen.

They want revenge.
The Lakers were embarrassed after losing Game 6 by 39 points. Their win over the Magic last year was nice, but if they had any heart, they wanted to face the Celtics again. A win over Boston would squash any talk about how the C’s would have had a dynasty had Kevin Garnett stayed healthy.

WORKING IN THE CELTICS’ FAVOR

They owned the Lakers last time around.
The C’s definitely have the psychological advantage. When the chips are down, keep an eye on the expressions on the Laker faces. Do they show resolve? Or does it look like they’re wondering if they’re tough enough? Boston will play physical, and if the refs don’t take over the series, then the Lakers are going to have to be a lot tougher than they were two years ago. Thus far, the Lakers haven’t seen a defense like Boston’s.

Rajon Rondo is emerging as a top 5 point guard.
While the “Big 3″ are two years older, Rondo is two years wiser and two years better. He thrives in an uptempo game, and the Lakers will look to push the ball (even though the C’s would like to slow it down). Point guard is the one position where the Celtics have a decisive advantage. If he can abuse Derek Fisher offensively (and limit Fisher’s open looks defensively), then Boston will be in a good position to win.

They have better chemistry.
The Lakers still look like a group of guys that have to play with each other while the Celtics look like they actually enjoy each other. Kobe has behaved better of late, but he still barks at his teammates and his body language is often negative. Will this decide the series? It’s not likely, but it can play a factor.

MY PICK

I’ll be (grudgingly) rooting for the Celtics, but I think the Lakers win this series in seven. I’d pick them in six if I thought they were as mentally tough as the C’s, but I think Boston’s sheer will pushes this series to the limit. We’ll know after the first two games whether or not the Celtics have what it takes to win again — if they go 0-2 in L.A., they’ll be in a tough spot. They need to go home tied at 1-1 (or up 2-0) if they hope to win the series.

Photo from fOTOGLIF