Predictions, Predictions, Predictions

I think Houston will take the top spot. Spurs have some old legs on their team, and Greg Popovich likes to rest his team before the playoffs. JVG will run the Rox non-stop even after clinching the playoffs. Thus, Rox on top.

 

I realized after I posted that we were *supposed* to be predicting playoff seeding, not best records.

As for Denver, I see a George Karl implosion mid-season, followed by the traditional turning-of-the-players against him. It usually takes 3-4 years, but as he gets older, I think the process will speed up.

 

West:
1=Spurs
2=Houston
3=Dallas
4=Golden State
5=Phoenix
6=Seattle
7=Denver
8=Sacramento

East:
1=Miami
2=Indiana
3=Detroit
4=New Jersey
5=Knicks
6=Cleveland
7=Philly
8=Chicago

 

Tough call? In 2004-05, the Bulls were 8 games above .500 and the Magic 10 games under .500. The Bulls swept the season series 3-0 with two of the games being blowouts.

The Magic's Lottery pick is staying in Spain so their biggest additions were Travis Diener and Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje. The Bulls may have lost Eddie Curry, but they added Eddie Basden, Malik Allen (MIA), Tim Thomas, Micheal Sweetney and Darius Songaila.

This one is not even close. Bulls will easily finish ahead of Orlando.

 

How is it that only one poster has Minnesota making the playoffs?
West:
1. Rockets (homer)
2. Nuggets (George Karl gets them for the whole season, and it's good)
3. Suns (Loss of JJ hurts, but not enough for them to fall below Warriors)
4. Mavs (2nd best record in West)
5. TWolves (KG has MVP type year, but not good enough to beat Nugs record)
6. Spurs (Injury sidelines one of the big three for a good deal of the season)
7. Warriors (barely)
8. Sonics (barely)

Lakers and Kings will also be in the fight for 7th and 8th place.

Round One:
Rockets over Sonics (4-1), Nuggets over Warriors (4-2), Suns over Spurs (4-0), Twolves over Mavs (4-3)
Round Two:
Rockets over TWolves (4-3), Suns over Nuggets (4-0)
West Conf. Finals:
Rockets over Suns (4-0)

As for the East:
My only predictions are that the Knicks will make the playoffs and that someone other than Miami, Detroit or Indiana will come out of the East.

 

What do they have outside of KG? Remember what happened once Sam I am and Spree didn't show up? They were terrible. Now they got rid of those two guys (like they should have), but added nothing (seriously, Jaric and McCants?? please). T'Wolves may hoover around .500, that's only because of KG's play, no more, no less

 

Whether we are first or fourth, I just do not want to play against Kobe and the Lakers in the first round. Something about the Kobe with Phil combo does not make me feel easy in the stomach.

 

It's hard to play a team in the first round that doesn't even make the playoffs.

East:
1. Miami
2. Boston
3. Indiana
4. Detroit
5. Cleveland
6. Milwaukee
7. Chicago
8. New Jersey

I think New York can slip in if Kidd or Carter get hurt.

West:
1. San Antonio
2. Denver
3. Phoenix
4. Houston (better record than 2 and 3)
5. Seattle
6. Dallas
7. Sacramento
8. Clippers

 

KG made the playoffs plenty of times without Sam or Spree. He is the type of player that can will a team to the playoffs. Sure, he couldn't will injured and angry players there, but as you know, said players are no longer there.
KG and a bunch of CBAer roleplayers should always make the playoffs. Last year was the exception, not the rule.

 

The only thing I want is

4 -Hou
5 -Dallas

That's it. Doesn't matter the rest.

 

Prediction? I predict pain for the Western Conference. Go Rockets! I want the Mavericks again and for us to whip the Pony boys!

 

I'm sorry...just don't see anyone in the WC remotely challenging San Antonio right now, so pencil them in the Finals.

The East will be very compelling. The Indiana-Miami matchup will be the best games to watch throughout...I'll stick with the Pacers since Artest is going to return to all-star status, along with SJax and O'Neal.


Spurs over Pacers in 6.

 

East
1. Miami
2. Indiana
3. New Jersey
4. Detroit
5. Cleveland
6. Chicago
7. Washington
8. New York

West
1. San Antonio
2. Phoenix
3. Denver
4. Houston
5. Dallas
6. Sacramento
7. Seattle
8. Utah/Golden State

 

I was going to post this on Friday but I didn't finish it till now...


Eastern Conference

5 locks – Miami, Indiana, Detroit, New Jersey, and Cleveland
2 with great chances – Philadelphia and Chicago
5 teams that will fight for the eighth seed – Boston, Washington, Orlando, New York, and Milwaukee


1. Miami (2nd overall, 1st in East)

This might be the deepest team ever, starting caliber backups at PG and SF with Payton and Posey or Walker, and great backups at PF and C with Mourning, and Doleac. One problem with this team’s roster is the good possibility that it won’t have a championship caliber defense, but that won’t matter in the regular season. So, they should finish with the best record in the league, they can even sustain injuries to key players here and there.

However, the possibility of problems in the locker room is GREAT, like JVG said, too much competition could be a bad thing, or something like that. Shaq and Wade have already made comments about upping their scoring averages, Walker has already said that he can’t see himself as a backup, Payton has said all the right things just like he did in LA eventually he complained there, Mourning has said that he should see crunch time minutes, and you have Riley wanting to scratch that coaching itch. Yikes! How is Wade going to up his scoring average when they need to find shots for Walker, Haslem, Williams, Posey, Payton, while “feeding” the Diesel? The words SACRIFICE and DEFENSE should be drilled into their heads every day, every hour in practice and team meetings, there should be banners all over their practice facilities, and locker room with those words in bold.

How far do they go? Depends on Shaq, the dude has to realize that his team doesn’t need scoring from him during crunch time, not last season and especially not this season. Also, what’s up with the extra “muscle” he put on? Another thing, Wade is getting an incredible amount of hype right now, how will he handle it? And another thing, who are the five playing the final five minutes of close games?

2. Indiana (4th overall, 2nd in East)

All that talent should make for an outstanding regular season, they should be great defensively and solid on offense making them a very dangerous playoff team. How far do they go? They have the talent to go all the way, can you count on them to close out playoff games? Their two most important players, O’Neal and Artest, are very unpredictable in the clutch. It will fall on the shoulders of their two PGs, Tinsley, and Sarunas, Tinsley is already used to finishing out games for them, Sarunas is used to closing out games for Yugoslavia and Tel Aviv.

3. New Jersey (8th overall, 5th in East)

65 points, 18 rebounds, and 18 assists is what you should see out of Vince Carter, Jason Kidd, and Richard Jefferson, throw in another 18 points and 14 rebounds from Nenad Kristic and Jason Collins and you have an extremely productive starting five. Off the bench they have some solid players in Jeff McInnis, Scott Padgett, Cliff Robinson, Marc Jackson, Antoine Wright, and Lamont Murray, should be enough to not burn out Carter and Kidd. They’re not built to contend for a championship unless they get some unreal performances from Carter and Kidd, they’re just a few good big men short.

4. Detroit (5th overall, 3rd in East)

So, everyone thinks they’ll miss Larry Brown? According to some they lost all respect for him because of his visits with the Cleveland and New York during the regular season and playoffs. If that’s true they made it all the way to a game seven in the NBA Finals with a coach they didn’t like, why can’t they do the same for a coach that doesn’t cause as much drama as Brown?

They still have an outstanding starting five and this season their bench is improved, at least a little, with Darko’s insurance Dale Davis, a full season of Carlos Arroyo, and Maurice Evans. Defensively they should once again be the best in the league, even Darko showed that he is better defensive player than offensive at the European championships. Their problem will once again be scoring and the three point line, they’re just missing a guy that demands double teams and some three point shooters.

5. Cleveland (11th overall, 5th in East )

Oh man, one pop of Big Z’s foot and the hopes of competing in the playoffs are gone, they have no impact big men after him, Drew Gooden does not count. They should be one of the more exciting teams we’ve seen in the NBA though, defensively they are a little weak, but they will cause chaos for teams with Lebron and Hughes playing the passing lanes all night long. Offensively they should kill, they’re going to be a fine three point shooting team and they don’t have too many players that turn the ball over, those are always key on good offensive teams. No MVP season for Lebron though, not enough wins.

6. Philadelphia (19th overall, 6th in East)

Nice starting lineup, good coach, but their horrible bench will keep them from making any real noise in the playoffs. Outside of the bench you have to worry about Webber’s knees, and probably the biggest concern is how Dalembert plays now that he was paid. Sad to see AI waste his good years on average teams…

7. Chicago (20th overall, 7th in East)

Is Tyson Chandler, Darius Songaila, Mike Sweetney, and Othella Harrington a better power rotation than Eddy Curry, Antonio Davis, Tyson Chandler, and Othella Harrington? Nope. So, Hinrich, Gordon, Deng, Nocioni, and Duhon will have to up their production, better scoring from those guards and better all around play and rebounding from their forwards. Hinrich should make his first All Star team.

8. Boston (21st overall, 8th in East)

A few years ago Paul Pierce made the playoffs with one of the worst supporting casts I’ve ever seen, easily worse than T-Mac’s that same year. So, now he’s with a bunch of young talents, including next year’s MIP Al Jefferson, plus Ricky Davis, Raef LaFrentz, and Mark Blount. That should be enough help for him, he does have to keep from being traded though.

9. Washington (22nd overall, 9th in East)

A starting lineup of Arenas, Daniels, Jamison, Brown, and Haywood probably would have been better than Arenas, Daniels, Butler, Jamison, and Haywood. Arenas could lead the league in scoring, but he does not have enough bigs to earn a playoff spot.

10. Orlando (23rd overall, 10th in East)

I’d bet on them to miss the playoffs, but they have more than enough talent to be at least the 7th even 6th best team in the East and they should be, I just worry about Steve Francis. He just seems to be on a downward spiral to irrelevantville, the move to SG isn’t going to help at all, especially not in the East. I mean, I know he’s not a traditional PG, but he’s much more of an advantage at the PG position than Jameer Nelson is, actually Nelson won’t be an advantage against 75%, probably more, of the starting PGs in the league. However, it was interesting to see that last season Francis was an above average defender at the SG position, not sure if that lasts throughout a full season though. Apparently, he's staying at PG, and Deshawn Stevenson will start at SG, because Jameer Nelson hasn't developed his playmaking game, still more of a scorer.

Years after year of roster mistakes with these guys. If I were them I would have kept a solid two guard, like the one they let go away for nothing in Cuttino Mobley, and kept Jameer Nelson on the bench. If things went south I would have traded Francis and moved Nelson to the starting lineup, but only after a lineup Francis, Hill, Howard, Cuttino, and Cato failed, it never did. Francis is the key, unless Howard comes in killing everyone like Amare Stoudamire and Hill comes in ready to be a playmaker not just a scorer.

11. New York (24th overall, 11th in East)

Stephon Marbury. What more can I say? It’s like saying Michael Bay before talking about a movie. I don’t like that dude and I don’t think Larry Brown likes him either, they should be a playoff team too, but that dude can keep them down.

12. Milwaukee (25th overall, 12th in East)

If TJ Ford is 100% this team could make the playoffs, but I’m not counting on that and who knows how well Bogut plays.

13. Charlotte (26th overall, 13th in East)

They’re building a fine Tar Heel flavor young team down there, that’s about it.

14. Atlanta (27th overall, 14th in East)

Tallest starting lineup in history? And then what?

15. Toronto (29th overall, 15th in East)

Chris Bosh is no Yao Ming.

Western Conference

5 locks – San Antonio, Houston, Phoenix, Denver, and Dallas
8 teams with equal chances at making or missing the playoffs – Sacramento, Golden State, LA Clippers, Seattle, Utah, Memphis, Minnesota, and LA Lakers

1. San Antonio (1st overall, 1st in West)

What do the additions of Finley, Van Excel, and Oberto do? They will keep everyone fresh for the playoffs, including themselves, if Popovich wants to he can play every starter 32 minutes a game. That will take the MVP trophy away from Duncan, but it will keep him fresh for when he has to play 40 minutes a game in the playoffs.

Tony Parker impressed with his play at the European championships, maybe he can carry that on to the NBA playoffs, they’ll really be a scary team if he plays up to his potential when it really counts. How far do they go? I agree with those that say it’s either them or the Rockets that will advance to the NBA Finals, once there they should beat the Heat, Pacers, or Pistons.

2. Phoenix (6th overall, 3rd in West)

So! They lose Joe Johnson and Quinten Richardson, now they’re supposed to drop like a rock? I remember seeing them beat Dallas without Johnson and with an ineffective Richardson, how did they do that?

Amare, who I believe will finish 2nd or 3rd in the MVP voting, will still be an absolute beast on offense, too quick for whoever is guarding him, too quick for the double teams. Wrote this before news came out about Amare's injury, if it's serious the Suns are finished, it will change everything in the West. Steve Nash will still be the leagues top PG, D’Antoni will adjust their pick and roll to be more like Utah’s pick and roll instead of the three point shooters there will be cutters and layups, equally as dangerous IMO. Shawn Marion will still be his usual 20-10 self that he was before his move to PF, Kurt Thomas will bang his way to a near double double, and Jim Jackson will make tons of threes. Off the bench Leonardo Barbosa who had an outstanding tournament in South America will finally play well, Raja Bell will contribute as he does everywhere, Jones will hit threes, and Diaw has a chance to surprise people now that he can play in a European style offense.

Their problem, and the reason they won’t go very far in the playoffs again, is their back up big men, if Brian Grant doesn’t stay healthy they will have nothing, I can’t even think of who they have besides him now that Hunter is in Philly.

3. Denver (9th overall, 5th in West)

The Nuggets really don’t have any weaknesses, they’re not particularly great at anything, and they don’t have that one true superstar player. Carmelo Anthony should make his first All Star Game, but their most important player by far will still be DPOY candidate Marcus Camby, if that dude plays close to 70 games they should run away with their division. They have one of the best big man rotations in the league, made better by the fact that Nene is in a contract year and Kenyon Martin is said to be as healthy as ever. Their guard situation is strange though, 3 PGs and no SG? I guess Voshon Leonard, but he’s no sure thing coming off his knee injury, they would probably be at their best playing a crunch time lineup of Watson, Anthony, Martin, Nene, and Camby.

4. Houston (3rd overall, 2nd in West)

Forget the regular season opener I can’t wait for Tuesday’s PRESEASON game against the Sixers, we won’t get a good look at the starters, but there are anxious eyes ready to see what Swift, Anderson, and Head are capable of doing. Those guys should get a lot of playing time.

Aside from age (Not that big of a deal anyway) this team has no weaknesses, it has two superstars who are the best at their positions in 2006 MVP Tracy McGrady and 1st team All NBA Center Yao Ming, a quality playmaker ready to get them the ball, a pair of quality PFs, the best backup center in the league, a couple of solid SGs, a deep bench, and one of the best coaches in the NBA directing them all.

I’ve been looking around the net and came down to this with Rafer Alston, if the Rockets get the Miami Heat version they will be set at the PG position for years to come.

It’s been said by a lot here that this team is capable of scoring 100+ points a game, I agree, you combine that with great defense and you get an outstanding regular season and playoff team capable of playing any style necessary to win the game.

It sucks that the possibility of losing in the second round to the Spurs (after the revenge 4 game series against the Mavs) is there, but I believe that there’s an equal possibility at beating those dudes. Once the Rockets are passed them it’s a possible 5 game or easy 6 game series against the Suns or Nuggets to advance to the NBA Finals. Once there? Well, anything can happen, the drought might only be 11 years long.

5. Dallas (7th overall, 4th in West)

Did anyone see Dirk Nowitski play in the European championships? With a weak German squad he absolutely dominated the competition reaching the gold medal game before PREDICTABLY putting up a bad shooting game against Greece. So, he failed when it counted the most, the story of his basketball career?, but you can’t ignore the fact that he achieved great success just by getting there. That’s why I don’t think we will see much of a drop off from this Maverick team in the regular season. You know they can and they’re not afraid of pulling off a big trade if things start slow, I doubt they do, they should win 55 or so games before getting their asses handed to them against the Rockets in the first round.

6. Seattle (10th overall, 6th in West)

Yeah they lost Antonio Daniels and Jerome James, replaced them with a combination of Rick Brunson and more playing time for Flip Murray, not sure what they will do at the forward and center positions though. Nick Collison should start already, Radmanovich wants to start, they still have monster rebounders Evans, and dirty Forston, Potapenko, and Moore should duplicate James production, Damien Wilkins earned some PT in the playoffs, I guess Robert Swift and Johan Petro go to the NBDL. Man, I’d hate to be the guy that has to divide playing time to them. Their three most important players Ray Allan, Rashard Lewis, and Luke Ridnour will lead them to another 50 win season, but they won’t advance due to the down grade in coaching.

7. Sacramento (11th overall, 7th in West)

I’m not very impressed with these guys, but they can potentially be a very good 50+ win team again. They won’t win games with as crisp of an offense as they did before, no more great passes from the PF and SG position is the reason why, but with all that talent on offense and a fine coach they will find a way to score a lot. Peja Stojakovich is probably the key, if he plays MVP caliber basketball like he did a couple of years ago, the Kings will be good, if not the Kings era will end.

8. Los Angeles Clippers (13th overall, 8th in West)

Maybe I’m being a bit of a homer saying that Sam Cassell and Cuttino Mobley will provide the veteran leadership required in playoff push, so what? They have a good enough roster, no doubt, one of the better PFs in the league, a forever underrated PG, solid starters at SF and SG, Chris Kaman who should at the very least a big seven footer out there, with Livingston, Wilcox, Rebraca, and McCarty coming off the bench. They can’t afford a bad injury to either of their starters though, maybe injuries will decide the 6-8 seeds in the West.

9. Golden State (14th overall, 9th in West)

I’m buying their hype. I love the backcourt of Davis and Richardson, Troy Murphy should average another double double, Mike Dunleavy is one year more experienced, the overpaid Foyle provides some rebounding and shot blocking, and off the bench they have Fisher, Biedrens, Carbarkapa, Pietrus, Diogu, and Calbert Cheany. Will probably miss the playoffs, but winning 45-48 games in the West is something to be very proud of in Golden State now a days.

10. Memphis (15th overall, 10th in West)

They’re insanely deep again, and they have a good coach, but they’re missing the playoffs this season. They're a boring team to think about.

11. Utah (16th overall, 11th in West)

I wouldn’t be surprised if Jerry Sloan somehow makes all this talent work, but for now I don’t think a horrible team makes the playoffs after adding a rookie PG and their old Center. Another boring team.

12. Los Angeles Lakers (17th overall, 12th in West)

Some consider an above .500 season for this Laker team a great accomplishment. If you break down their roster you can see why, they lack quality big men. I thought Kwame Brown was the best available PF for the Rockets, but that was because of what he could do beside Yao Ming, beside Chris Mihm? And Chris Mihm? Phil Jackson thinks he can be a quality triangle center, I doubt it, they’re usually big guys who are smart, can shoot and pass, their big bodies are extremely important because of the screens they set in the triangle offense. Off the bench they have Slava Medvedenko, Brian Cook, Corie Blount, and the 18 year old Andrew Bynum, YUCK! Who would you bet on having a good season?

You move on to the PG position and see Aaron McKie, I think he’ll do fine as PG in the triangle offensively and he’s not that old, defensively? Backing him up is Sasha Vujacic.

The only bright spots on this team are Phil Jackson, Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, and the depth at SF. Well, really who knows what Lamar Odom does on a night by night basis, he has to be more aggressive and not let Kobe take over every game. It’s not something that started with Kobe either, he’s been like this his entire career, if Phil Jackson doesn’t find a way to make him consistent the Laker’s slim playoff hopes will disappear.

13. Minnesota (18th overall, 12th in West)

KG’s career is following the path of AI’s, one MVP season, one great playoff run followed by average seasons, it’s too bad, two of the greatest players in NBA history will be remembered for what they couldn’t do in their careers. Anyway, Wally should have a big bounce back season, fantasy players should look out for him, Marco Jaric will have a solid season and that’s pretty much all the bright spots on that team.

14. Portland Trailblazers (28th overall, 14th in West)

You have to go this low to find a team in the Western Conference that can’t win 41 games, that’s impressive. I’ve heard good things about Martell Webster, will probably be better than the hometown kid, we’ll see.

15. New Orleans Hornets (30th overall, 15th in West)

I think Chris Paul is next year’s ROY, but outside of him that team has way too much to overcome even if they did have a better roster. Good luck to them.