To be fair, I haven't been watching the NBA playoffs as closely as in years past. Maybe because I've had many different things to do during this time, or because the playoffs have been low on drama (sorry, TNT), with many games being noncompetitive and with almost no road teams winning recently. So, I decided to try and conjure up a new list. But what would I talk about?

The inspiration hit me when Mike D'Antoni bolted for the Knicks and Rick Carlisle was hired by Dallas. The list today counts down the best single-season turnarounds in NBA history under a new head coach. The criteria: the coach of the team must have been in his first full season with the team (so if he was an interim the prior year, I'm going with his first full year). So Doc Rivers' turnaround this year doesn't count, because this is his fourth year there.

Without further ado, here's the list:

10. Detroit Pistons 2001-02 (prior year's coach and record: George Irvine, 32-50; next season's coach and record: Rick Carlisle, 50-32): The Pistons weren't seen as a legit contender at this time. The first year after the sign-and-trade of Grant Hill wasn't pretty, even though Ben Wallace had proven to be a nice addition as part of the deal. The 2001 Pistons were a one man gang for scoring, as Jerry Stackhouse set club records for points in a season (2380) and in a game (57), but they still lost 50.

That's when team president Joe Dumars decided a change in attitude was needed, and replaced George Irvine as coach with Rick Carlisle, the ex-Pacers assistant who was a key coach on the 2000 finalist. The Pistons shifted to a tough nosed team that always went to work and hustled for their wins. Despite making only one significant move (acquiring Cliff Robinson from Phoenix), the move paid off. Stackhouse became less of a ballhog, and the team won 50 games and their first division title since 1990. They beat Toronto for their first playoff series win since 1991 before losing to Boston 4-1 in round 2. Two seasons later, after adding Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince, they would win their 3rd NBA title.

9. Portland Trail Blazers 1989-90 (Mike Schuler & Rick Adelman, 39-43; Adleman 59-23): The Blazers' 1989 season was one of their worst in their recent (for that era) history. Coming off a superb 53-29 season in 1988, they failed to break .500 in 1989, replaced former coach of the year Mike Schuler with Rick Adelman, and were swept by the Lakers in round 1 of the playoffs. Changes were needed.

The team made a critical offseason move, trading oft-injured Sam Bowie to New Jersey for Buck Williams, adding soild rebounding, toughness, and (most of all) healthy legs! Adelman installed what would become his trademark; a free-wheeling attack that allowed guards Clyde Drexler and Terry Porter (among others) to launch a ton of threes. Behind that assault, the Blazers improved by 20 games and second to the Lakers in the Pacific Division.

In the playoffs, they beat Dallas 3-0 (the Mavs' last playoff berth until 2001), beat the Spurs 4-3 in a thrilling seven game series, then beat the Suns 4-2 in the conference finals to advance to their first NBA Finals since 1977. Though they lost to the Pistons 4-1, the Blazers had established themselves as a legit contender in the early 90s, and Adelman had established himself as a front line coach.

8. Portland Trail Blazers, 1976-77 (Lenny Wilkens, 37-45; Jack Ramsay, 49-33): Speaking of the Blazers, this is the aforementioned 1977 finalists. What makes this amazing is that Portland had not even had a winning season prior to that year! The Blazers decided to make changes after falling short the prior two years. Lenny Wilkens was out as coach, and former Braves coach Jack Ramsay was in. The team decided to build around oft-injured star Bill Walton, bringing in former ABA players Maurice Lucas and Dave Twardzik. Lucas was the enforcer Walton needed to succeed (and is the reason his son is named Luke), and the team won 49 games to finish second to the Lakers in the Pacific.

The playoffs became Walton's showcase: the Blazers beat Chicago 2-1 in the first round, beat Denver 4-2 in round 2, then rolled past the Lakers 4-0 to reach the Finals. No one expected them to mount a serious challenge to the Dr. J-led 76ers, and after losing twice in Philly, it looked grim. Portland stormed back, hwoever, winning two at home by 22 and 32 points, and the Sixers never recovered, as the Blazers won the title in six. Though Ramsay kept Portland in the playoffs almost every year, the Blazers didn't return to the Finals under him (quick aside: If Portland had kept Moses Malone after claiming him in the ABA dispersal draft, could they have won more titles?).

7. Chicago Bulls, 1989-90 (Doug Collins, 47-35; Phil Jackson, 55-27): The Bulls rode a magic carpet to the conference finals in 1989, from "The Shot" to beat Cleveland, to their hard fought win over the Knicks, to their gallant effort in defeat to the Pistons. However, despite this, coach Doug Collins was replaced by his assistant Phil Jackson for the 1989-90 season.

Jackson installed his now-famed triangle offense to try and maximize the talents of everyone on the team, not just Michael Jordan. Despite this, Jordan won his fourth straight scoring title (raising his average by 1.1 point over 1989 with a 33.6 PPG average). Even so, Jackson set a record for a rookie coach (broken by Larry Bird) with 55 wins, securing the third seed in the East.

The Bulls returned to the Eastern Finals by breezing past Milwaukee 3-1 and crushing the 76ers 4-1, before the Pistons once again ended their season in seven games. The Bulls, and especially Jordan, learned from defeat. Jordan grew to trust his teammates more, and the result in Jackson's second season, was a NBA title. By the time Jackson left the team in 1998, he added five more titles to his mantle, and has since added three (and possibly) more to tie Red Auerbach for most won by a coach.

6. Phoenix Suns, 2004-05 (Frank Johnson & Mike D'Antoni, 29-53; D'Antoni, 62-20): How many people said the 2005 Suns were a legit contender? Not after a disasterous 29-53 record that saw them trade star PG Stephon Marbury to the Knicks (the best move ever made) and saw Mike D'Antoni (whose only prior NBA coaching job was a 14-36 record with the Nuggets in the lockout year of 1998-99) take over. Nobody paid much attention when the Suns signed Steve Nash away from the Mavs that offseason. But it proved to be the best move made by any team that year.

D'Antoni used Nash to ignite a fast-breaking attack in Phoenix, and the Suns became the highest scoring team in the league. Nash led the league in assists, and won his first MVP award. The Suns finished with the West's best record, and dispatched the Grizzlies and Mavs before the Spurs (how familiar is this?) beat them 4-1 in the conference finals. It proved to be too difficult to overcome the Spurs hill, and the Suns now have serious questions entering the offseason.

5. Philadelphia 76ers, 1966-67 (Dolph Schayes, 55-25; Alex Hannum, 68-13): There doesn't look like there was much to improve here, but the Sixers (and Wilt Chamberlain) couldn't get over the Boston roadblock. Even with the top seed and Chamberlain winning his seventh scoring title, they lost 4-1 to the Celtics in the division finals. What was needed was a change in philosophy, and new coach Alex Hannum provided it.

Hannum convinced Chamberlain to focus more on rebounds and defense, and Chamberlain responded. He still finished third in scoring (24.1 PPG), but led the league in FG% and rebounds (24.2 RPG), and was third in assists (7.8 APG). The SIxers started 46-4 and ended up with a league record (for the time) 68-13 record.

After dispatching Cincinnati 3-1, the Sixers finally gained their victory over the Celtics, trouncing them 4-1 as Chamberlain claimed his only postseason series win over Bill Russell, and the Philly fans chanted "Boston  is dead!". The Finals against the Warriors were a mere footnote, as the SIxers won 4-2. They finished the 1968 season 62-20, but lost to the C's 4-3 in the division finals, and soon after traded Chamberlain. They didn't return to the Finals until 1977.

4. San Antonio Spurs, 1996-97 (Bob Hill and Gregg Popovich, 20-62; Popovich, 56-26): The only thing you can really say is that the Spurs' 1997 season was a total disaster. With David Robinson missing 76 games, and with ancient Dominique Wilkins as their leading scorer, they lost 62 games and fired Bob Hill 18 games into the season. GM Gregg Popovich replaced him, and luck soon danced at the Spurs' table.

Winning the lottery (over distraught Celtics fans), the Spurs selected consensus #1 pick Tim Duncan. Duncan teamed with a healthy Robinson to form a potent Twin Towers duo that held opponents to near 40% shooting. Duncan averaged 21.1 PPG and 11.9 RPG to easily win ROY honors. The Spurs posted the best (at the time) turnaround season ever as they improved by 36 games. They beat Phoenix 3-1 before losing to the Jazz 4-1. One year later, they won the first of four titles in nine years.

3. New York Nets, 1973-74 (Lou Carnesecca, 30-54; Kevin Loughery, 55-29): What the hell, I'll throw in an ABA season just for fun. The Nets had been a mid-level team in the ABA up to this point. Behind Rick Barry, they had made the 1972 ABA Finals, but with Barry bolting back to the NBA the following year, things fell apart. Then, they took advantage of a messy situation to land one of the best players in the game.

After Julius Erving attempted to join the Atlanta Hawks (he signed a contract with them in 1972, but the Hawks didn't have a 1st round pick, and Milwaukee had his NBA rights), the Nets swooped in with a complicated deal involving 2 ABA and 2 NBA teams. The main part of the deal was that Erving was now a Net, and with Erving joining Brian Taylor, John Williamson, and Larry Kenon, new coach Kevin Loughery won 55 games in the 84 game ABA season. Erving won his second straight scoring title (27.4 PPG).

The playoffs saw the Nets beat Erving's old team, the Virginia Squires, 4-1, the Kentucky Colonels 4-0, and the Utah Stars 4-1 for their first ABA title. They added a second title in 1976, but after the ABA folded, the Nets were forced to sell Erving to Philadelphia for cash, and their run was over.

2. Boston Celtics, 1979-80 (Tom Sanders & Dave Cowens, 29-53; Bill Fitch, 61-21): The Celtics had been through some rough times in the late 1970s. John Havlicek had just retired in 1978, and terrible trades by the owenrship (the Bob  McAdoo trade the worst among them) had made Red Auerbach contemplate joining the Knicks front office! But the C's coonvinced him to stay, and in 1978, he used his first round pick (#6) on Larry Bird, even though Bird had made it clear he was staying in college for his senior season.

Though the Celtics almost didn't sign Bird, he was the piece in the 1980 Celtic puzzle. dave Cowens, no longer the coach, and Cedric Maxwell added front-line help, and the team dumped McAdoo on the Pistons for Chris Ford and M.L. Carr (along with a 1st round pick, which proved crucial). The C's, under new coach Bill Fitch (liberated from Cleveland), rolled to the best single-season improvement (at the time) in NBA history, winning 61 games, as Bird won ROY honors (among the many Celtic award winners; Auerbach was exec of the year, and Fitch coach of the year). After beating Houston 4-0 in round one of the playoffs, however, the Sixers smashed them 4-1 in the conference finals. One year later, with the additions of Robert Parish and Kevin McHale, the C's won the first of three titles in the 80s.

1. Los Angeles Lakers, 1971-72 (Joe Mullaney, 48-34; Bill Sharman, 69-13): The Lakers are #1 because no one expected 69 wins out of this unit. Wilt Chamberlain and Jerry West were aging, and Elgin Baylor retired nine games into the season after he couldn't keep up with new coach Bill Sharman's fast-paced style. Time, it seemed, had passed them by.

However, Sharman's style, and the role player's abilities to complement Chamberlain and West, made the Lakers the winningest team (at the time) in NBA history. Chamberlain led the league in rebounds, and Happy Hairston became the first teammate of Chamberlain to pull down 1,000 rebounds in a season. Gail Goodrich (5th at 25.9 PPG) and West (7th at 25.8) were among the top ten scoring leader, and the Lakers went on their fabled 33-game winning streak and finished 69-13.

The final piece of the puzzle was to win a title, and the Lakers buried the ghosts of their past, smahsing Chicago (4-0), Milwaukee (4-2) and New York (4-1) for their first L.A. title. Even today, that Lakers team ranks among the greatest of all time, and one can only wonder how much Baylor's legacy would be different had he been able to survive that season. But nonetheless, the Lakers in 1971-72 is #1.

Honorable Mentions:

Memphis Grizzlies, 2003-04 (Sidney Lowe and Hubie Brown, 28-54; Brown 50-32): Didn't make ir because they failed spectacularly in the playoffsm (again, and again, and again). They didn't win any playoff series (or game) and thus are not up here.

Phoenix Suns, 1988-89 (John Wetzel, 28-54; Cotton Fitzsimmons, 55-27): If they had faced Utah instead of Golden State in round 2, would they have made the Western Finals? And the sweep by the Lakers took some luster off the improvement.

Houston Rockets, 1992-93 (Don Chaney & Rudy Tomjanovich, 42-40; Tomjanovich, 55-27): Their real moment came a year later, and they weren't a terrible team to begin with.

New York Knicks, 1991-92 (Stu Jackson & John MacLeod, 39-43; Pat Riley, 51-31): The Knicks miss because their style didn't do them any favors, and they had Patrick Ewing to build around.

Indiana Pacers, 1997-98 (Larry Brown, 39-43; Larry Bird, 58-24): Bird didn't have to do much coaching; the team simply needed health and motiviation, and got both.

What about it? Any teams you think should be on here? Let me know. As for the chances that D'Antoni, Carlisle, and new Bucks coach Scott Skiles make the list; no chance in hell, slim, and as Mark Jackson might say, ARE YOU KIDDING ME!