My predictions: 1) Thunder 2) Mavs 3) Grizzlies 4) Clippers 5) Spurs 6) Lakers 7) Kings 8) Blazers 9) Rockets 10) Suns 11) Wolves 12) Hornets 13) Jazz 14) Warriors 15) Nuggets It gets tough. I don't think any teams are obvious bottom dwellers.
Home Court Advantage Group: 1) Oklahoma City Thunder (One of the best overall teams in the league) 2) LA Clippers (The only things I do not like about the Clippers is . .. their back up center) 3) Dallas Mavericks (Gained Lamar Odom, lost Tyson Chandler, Caron Butler, and JJ Barea, not being a Dallas hater, I don't see them getting past 2nd round, while I wouldn't be surprised if they get eliminate from the 1st round . . . losing Chandler is going to sting alot, while Barea was that energy off the bench) 4) Los Angeles Lakers (They'll weasel their way in the top 4, but they are one team that doesn't necessarily need home field to win) The Other Guys: 5) Memphis Grizzlies (Should challenge the teams above, for home-field, the talent is certainly there in Memphis with decent coach, but losing Arthur for season and Battier to Miami will sting) 6) Portland Trailblazers (Very solid all-around team, while they've sort of prepared for the worst and averted all at the same time. Even last year, they arguably gave the Mavs, the toughest series. Moreover, they are good enough to pull an upset.) 7) Denver Nuggets (This team doesn't have a true go-to player, but for them to win they do not need one for the season, maybe the playoffs, but this team could finish as high as 3, and I wouldn't be surprise) 8) San Antonio Spurs (Time is passing them by, while I think it is very possible that they might finish higher than this, but I doubt they get past the first round, this year as well. I cannot see them beating anyone in the top 4, even if they manage home-court advantage.) Borderline Playoff teams: Golden State Warriors (Will improve this season, especially with Mark Jackson coaching, he should help Curry improve into an even better point guard, as they'll be in the playoff picture, but won't quite finish the season well enough for the 8th spot.) Houston Rockets (We aren't quite there, yet. Competitive, but there are some really good teams in the West, I feel more confident about right now.) Phoenix Suns (Time has past them by, along with their prime time talent) Minnesota Timberwolves (They'll be better than people expect, but they'll have some hurdles with a losing record. Though, more respectable than the last few years, mainly because I believe in Rick Adelman) Top 5 pick sweepstakes Utah Jazz Sacramento Kings OT: I hate when people diss the NBA for not having parity or only having a few teams competing for a title. For me, this has been the most competitive of decade and half of basketball within the Western Conference (and overall) in NBA history. Especially, if someone takes a real look at how bad the teams were during early to mid 1980s, the teams overall are much better at the bottom. It's gotten to the point where you almost need 44 to even 50 wins to just get an 8th seed the West. That's some really competitive basketball. Some critics will say that the NBA let's too many teams into playoffs, which is kind of true, yet not really. But, for the Western Conference, currently, it's needed, in which there are some really good teams within that 5-10 range.
1- SPURS 2- THUNDER 3- MAVERICKS 4- LAKERS 5- GRIZZLIES 6- CLIPPERS 7- NUGGETS 8- ROCKETS 9- SUNS 10- JAZZ 11- HORNETS 12- BLAZERS 13- WARRIORS 14- KINGS 15- WOLVES
1-Thunder (They have the momentum, they are stacked, if Westbrook doesnt play ballhog they can win it all this year) 2-Clippers (Chris Paul made them automatic contenders) 3-Grizz (They are dangerous, nuff said) 4-Mavs (Home of the old washed up vets, they lost Chandler but they still have Haywood...) 5-Lakers (They go as far as Kobe remains healthy and as long as they are motivated) 6-Rockets (I pretty much think we are better than all the teams below us and can beat a couple of the teams in front of us.) 7-Spurs (Another year older but if there's one thing I learned, dont underestimate them) 8-Nuggets (Could go as high as the 4th seed imo. They are probably the most underrated team this year. They certainly have the depth) 9-Trailblazers (They can make the playoffs, they've dealt with injuries but losing Brandon Roy hurts) 10-Minnesota (The big question. I dont think they'll make it their first year but their future looks bright) 11-Suns (I dont know if they can keep up with their own run n' gun offense. If they do make the playoffs, its because of Steve Nash) 12-Jazz (I hate them) 13-Kings(They have a lot of good players but maybe if they play defense theyll be worth talking about. Hope Chuck helps them with that.) 14-Warriors (I didnt want to rank them this low but they're a big question to me. I dont know if they can run n gun like PHX in the 66 game stretch but their future looks bright. Too early to tell) 15-Hornets (No Chris Paul. You have Jarrett Jack as your starting PG...) Surprise teams: Nuggets, Rockets, Minnesota, Trailblazers Disappointments: Suns, Jazz, Hornets Then again, its just my opinion.
Spurs wont make the Playoffs. Tim Duncan will have a heart attack half way through the season. And I really think the Warriors will drop some jaws this year. Kwame was a great signing for the post and gives them some much needed D. Lee is an all-star PF. They also have two play makers in Curry and Ellis. Yea they will suck at D but their interior wont be terrible with a few 7 footers. I think They can outscore their opponents to a over 500 season and maybe grab the 8th seed of the Spurs or Lakers.
All of you guys, who are putting the Rockets in the playoffs, are gonna be in for a rude awakening. Lottery bound b****es..
1. Thunder 2. Mavs 3. Clippers 4. Griz 5. Lakers only cause they will rest players 6. Spurs same as Lakers 7/8. Rockets, Nuggets, Blazers I can see any of the 3 getting the last 2 spots. When i look at the Nuggets Lineup, I dont think they are better than the Rockets. They lost Chandler, Martin, JR Smith, and Felton and replaced them with Andre Miller, Corey Brewer, Rudy Fernandez. Blazers lower cuz they are cursed and something could go wrong.... again. They are one Camby injury away from falling out of race.
1. Thunder 2. Mavericks 3. Spurs 4. Clippers 5. Lakers 6. Nuggets 7. Grizzlies 8. Jazz 9. Warriors 10. Rockets 11. Timberwolves 12. Suns 13. Blazers 14. Kings 15. Hornets
NBAonESPN The NBA on ESPN [rQUOTEr]Houston Rockets: 32-34 (9th in West). ESPN’s NBA Winter Forecast: es.pn/11-12WestForec… #NBApicks[/rQUOTEr] [rquoter]In the great tradition of the ESPN NBA Summer Forecast, it's time to roll out our first Winter Forecast. (Thanks, lockout!) For foresight, we consulted with 115 of ESPN's best basketball minds, including contributors from ESPN.com, the TrueHoop Network, TrueHoop TV, Daily Dime Live, ESPN TV, ESPN Radio, ESPN Deportes, espnW, ESPN The Magazine, ESPN Insider, ESPN Fantasy, ESPN Games, ESPN Dallas, ESPN Los Angeles, ESPN Boston, ESPN Chicago, ESPN New York, ESPN Stats & Information, ESPN Topics and ESPN Analytics. And yes, our voters slid their ballots under the door before the season started. To participate in the discussion and perhaps get your opinion published on this page, #NBApicks is the Twitter hashtag to use. Or you can just follow along at @NBAonESPN. We'll be rolling out the predictions every half hour starting at 12 p.m. ET. Enjoy, argue, agree, disagree ... Forecast: 2011-12 Western Conference Standings 1. Okla. City Thunder (Proj: )48-18 .727 (2011)55-27 .671 @mmm9731: OKC has young stars in Durant & Russell, Thabo, Serge & Perkins on defense and Harden coming off the bench. What more do you want? @EugeneOliver: 48 for OKC is low. Best team in a weaker West, young, and Durant/Westbrook/Harden still improving. A lock for low 50s at least. 2. Dallas Mavericks (Proj: )45-21 .682 (2011)57-25 .695 @EugeneOliver: Don't see how Mavs are winning 45 games this year. Odom not a good fit, they'll miss Chandler ... Playoffs? Yes. Division title? No. 3. Los Angeles Lakers (Proj: )42-24 .636 (2011)57-25 .695 @joaquin_trillo: I say LA Lakers won't make it even in top 5 in West and will end up 10th or 11th counting both conferences. @vemparty: Lakers will be 37-29 or worse if they don't get Dwight. Bynum back is the only reason they will win 37 games. 4. Los Angeles Clippers (Proj: )41-25 .621 (2011)32-50 .390 @talkhoops: Would be more of an outrage about the Clippers "only" ranked 4th in the West if we hadn't watched Chauncey Billups shoot on Xmas. 5. Memphis Grizzlies* (Proj: )40-26 .606 (2011)46-36 .561 @ljreardon2024: Why is MEM so low? I think they will be better than DAL -- really, how bad have they looked? MEM should be 4 seed, if not higher! @RobertoAedoC: Memphis will be a top 2 team, only below OKC ... 6. San Antonio Spurs* (Proj: )40-26 .606 (2011)61-21 .744 @TaylorHair50: Love the low ranking for the Spurs. The same team that won 61 games last year and kept most of its core players. Haters. @RawkStarr1980: Short season lockout prediction: San Antonio Spurs 54-12 (#1 in West overall). P.S. -- Will win just like in '99 lockout 7. Denver Nuggets (Proj: ) 35-31 .530 (2011)50-32 .610 @jorhadmusic: 7th seed? Somebody forgot that it's a shortened season and Denver has a young, deep, explosive team and the 2012 Coach of the Year. @minutemandan: Predicting the Nuggets go 46-20, picking over if they can repeat first half from Dallas game. 8. Portland Trail Blazers (Proj: )34-32 .515 (2011)48-34 .585 @iPlay2K: You know the competition in the West is tough when an Aldridge & Wallace-led team falls to the 8th seed. 9. Houston Rockets (Proj: ) 32-34 .485 (2011)43-39 .524 * -- Teams tied in win totals ordered by decimal rankings from our experts' predictions[/rquoter]
I think we will be 10th in the standings this year. Regress despite having a better team than last year.
1.)Thunder 2.) Clippers 3.) Spurs 4.) Lakers 5.) Mavericks 6.) Grizzlies 7.) Trailblazers 8.) Nuggets 9.) Rockets 10.) Jazz 11.) Timberwolves 12.) Suns 13.) Hornets 14.) Kings 15.) Warriors Wishful thinking has me putting the Rockets between 6 - 8th seed but if I had to bet money on it I wouldn't.
how is our team better???? we lost chuck hayes and shane battier... And I don't understand how you guys think that the kings and wolves are worse than us. They have better players and better coaches. I really don't get it at all.
1. Thunder 2. Nuggets 3. Spurs 4. Mavericks 5. Lakers 6. Trailblazers 7. Clippers 8. Grizzlies But I expect the Spurs to go to the finals.
