Puedlfor started a prediction thread a while back, but a lot have happened since that. We've had new GMs, trades and a preseason. To give you something to base your predictions, here is the final preseason standings (remember teams tested their bench here) and last seasonsfinal standings. Preseason 2nd Season Final: Atlantic Sixers 9-1 Knicks 8-3 Nets 6-4 Wizards 5-6 Celtics 4-5 Heat 1-10 Magic 0-10 Central Bucks 8-2 Pacers 7-3 Raptors 6-3 Cavs 5-6 Pistons 4-5 Hornets 3-8 Bulls 1-8 Hawks 1-8 Midwest Spurs 9-0 Twolves 9-1 Mavs 9-1 Jazz 8-1 Grizzlies 6-5 Rockets 5-5 Nuggets 1-8 Pacific Blazers 8-1 Lakers 8-2 Kings 5-5 Sonics 5-6 Clips 3-6 Suns 0-10 Warriors 0-10 Eastern 1 Bucks 58-24 (Central Division Winner) 2 Sixers 55-27 (Atlantic Division Winner) 3 Raptors 57-25 (Central) 4 Pacers 49-33 (Central - No GM) New GM: SamCassell 5 Knicks 45-37 (Atlantic - No GM) New GM: Johny Rocket 6 Nets 42-40 (Atlantic) New GM: CriscoKidd 7 Wizards 37-45 (Atlantic) 8 Pistons 35-47 (Central) Cavs 30-52 (Central - No GM) New GM: PSJ Celtics 30-52 (Atlantic - No GM) New GM: Puedlfor Hornets 28-54 (Central - No GM) Heat 23-59 (Atlantic - No GM) Magic 16-66 (Atlantic - No GM) Bulls 13-69 (Central - No GM) New GM: GettinBranded Hawks 10-72 (Central - No GM) New GM: rimbaud Western 1 Blazers 78-4 (Pacific Champion) 2 Mavs 76-6 (Midwest Champion) 3 Jazz 72-10 (Midwest) 4 Lakers 62-20 (Pacific) 5 Twolves 62-20 (Midwest) 6 Spurs 60-22 (Midwest) 7 Sonics 58-24 (Pacific) 8 Rockets 54-28 (Midwest) Kings 46-36 (Pacific) Grizzlies 36-46 (Midwest) Warriors 16-66 (Pacific - No GM) Clippers 15-67 (Pacific - No GM) New GM: SirCharlesFan Suns 14-68 (Pacific - No GM) Nuggets 12-70 (Midwest - No GM) If you offer comments along with your prediction your insight might be put up on the homepage. Here is my updated view on the western conference: Western <hr> 1. Jazz (3. 72-10)/(5. 8-1) (Midwest Champion) Jazz gave up Jim Jackson (#13) and Jason Williams (#33) to the draft and picked up Toni Kukoc (#16). The 2nd rounder (#34) was traded for Kenny Anderson and a 2nd rounder next year. They also traded Karl Malone and Donyell Marshall for Anthony McDyess, Darius Miles, Shawn Bradley and a conditional pick. They had a good team last year and should expect to be good for upcoming seasons too. 2. Blazers (1. 78-4)/(2. 8-1) (Pacific Champion) Gave up Scottie Pippen (#10) and Dale Davis (#17) in the draft while picking up Marc Jackson (#18) and Ron Artest (#36). Losing Pippen will hurt but they were to dominant last year to fall to much. 3. Spurs (6. 60-22)/(1. 9-0) (Midwest) Gave up Derek Anderson (#3) and David Wesley (#25) to the draft and replaced them with Jim Jackson (#13) and Travis Best (#31). That will not weaken the team much and that is enough to claim third. 4. Mavs (2. 76-6)/(4. 9-1) (Midwest) Gave up Danny Fortson (#9) and Toni Kukoc (#16) and picked up Dale Davis (#17) and Cedric Ceballos (#35). Also traded Anthony McDyess, Darius Miles, Shawn Bradley and a conditional pick for Karl Malone and Donyell Marshall. Will not be as good this year, but should be in reach of hca in the first round. 5. Rockets (8. 54-28)/(8. 5-5) (Midwest) We Rockets fan know small ball works. And Cat will get to prove it this year. Let go of Mo Taylor (#4) and Hakeem Olajuwon (#19) for John Stockton (#8) and Anthony Mason (#26) 6. Twolves (5. 62-20)/(3. 9-1) (Midwest) Gave up Marcus Camby (#2) for Tim Thomas (#32) in the draft as they picked back Wally Szczerbiak (#14) 7. Grizzlies (10. 36-46)/(7. 6-5) (Midwest) Big trade getting Iverson to go with other stars while cleaning out the depth in seasons to come. It will pay, as it gives Grizzlies a playoff spot, but would that last long in the deep west. Also had one of the better drafts I think. Gave up Marc Jackson (#18) and Larry Hughes (#24) for Danny Fortson (#9) and Mo Pete (#27). Traded Mike Bibby and Stromile Swift for Allen Iverson. 8. Lakers (4. 62-20)/(6. 8-2) (Pacific) Gave up Anthony Mason (#26) and Isaiah Rider (#30) for Glen Rice (#15) and Jason Williams (#33) in the draft. 9. Sonics (7. 58-24)/(10. 5-6) (Pacific) Turned the team around with trades and drafts, an even if they took players in the draft I didnt expect to go as high I think they fit the team. Gave up Jermaine O'Neal (#5) and Brian Grant (#6) for Eric Snow (#12) and Isaiah Rider (#30). Traded away Gary Payton, Ruben Patterson and got Dikembe Mutumbo, Bryon Russell, Lawrence Funderburke. I have them just out of the playoffs but its going to be tight around the last few spots so they could edge out anybody for one of the bottom seeds. 10. Kings (9. 46-36)/(8. 5-5) (Pacific) Gave up Vlade Divac (#11) and John Stockton (#8) in the draft for Derek Anderson (#3) and Chris Mihm (#21). Also traded Bryon Russell and Lawrence Funderburke for Juwon Howard. I do not think they will be to many games behind the last playoff spot, but my bet is that they will not be close enough to really contend for a place in the playoffs. 11. Clippers (12. 15-67)/(11. 3-6) I think they made a good move for both the future and this season when they traded their picks for next season for players and picks. They should now be a whole lot better than their preseason record suggest as they have picked up 4 new players in the last few days. They will not be anywhere near the playoff race, but with more smart moves like this they could be a western postseason team sooner than anyone thought. The No-GM teams have no chance and will not get over 20 wins this season either. Warriors 16-66 (Pacific) Suns 14-68 (Pacific) Nuggets 12-70 (Midwest) I have made some slight changes from my previous prediction, and my prediction for the very open east will shortly follow. ------------------ The CC.net NBA Sim Homepage - Rosters & Stats - Official Trades
i dont want to seem biased but i think ill be in the playoffs..i mean i have a good starting five of mihm,webber,odom,mobley,davis..and a stellar bench of pollard,williams,howard,derek anderson,doug christie and deshawn stevenson.. ------------------ How Sweet It Is! How Sweet It Is! Gene Peterson on the rockets winning the 1995 championship over the Orlando Magic
and i forgot to mention kerry kittles(whose healthy on the game) as well ------------------ How Sweet It Is! How Sweet It Is! Gene Peterson on the rockets winning the 1995 championship over the Orlando Magic
Eastern <hr> 1. Sixers (2. 55-27)/(1. 9-1) (Atlantic Champion) I really thought I was going to have an in-between season this year after trading away Iverson and Mutumbo. But Payton is really doing more than I expected for my team, so I can see me getting the top eastern seed. Gave up Tyrone Hill (undrafted) and Eric Snow (#30) to the draft and picked up Marcus Camby (#2) and Hakeem Olajuwon (#19). 2. Bucks (1. 58-24)/(2. 8-2) (Central Champion) Gave up Theo Ratliff (#1) and Tim Thomas (#32) in the draft while picking up Vlade Divac (#11) and Charles Oakley (#29). They will not be as good this year, but the in the eastern rat-race they will still be good enough to win the Central. 3. Nets (6. 42-40)/(6. 6-4) (Atlantic) Gave up Chris Mihm (#21) and Tim Hardaway (undrafted) to the draft and replaced them with Brian Grant (#6), Scottie Pippen (#10) and Larry Hughes (#24). They are among the teams that I think have improved the most in the east, and earlier I thought they would go all the way to the top of the east, but that was before I discovered my own "new" team. 4. Wizards (7. 37-45)/(7. 5-6) (Atlantic) They exploded in last seasons playoffs, and if they can find a way to build from there they should be able to fight for HCA in the first round. Gave up Jahidi White (undrafted) and Glen Rice (#15) and picked up Jermaine O'Neal (#5) and Austin Croshere (#23). 5. Knicks (5. 45-37)/(3. 8-3) (Atlantic) With FA signing Grant Hill there should be no need to ask why do the Knicks play so good. I do not see them higher than last year though as I think last years record was bloated. Let go of Jud Buechler (undrafted) and Charlie Ward (#34) for Patrick Ewing (#7) and David Wesley (#25) 6. Pacers (4. 49-33)/(4. 7-3) (Central) Why won't the Pacers go away? This have been a question that has pondered the league. I have one of the answers: Of course you have the play of Jonathan Bender, but IMO Tyrone Hill should never have gone undrafted. Now Pacers got him as a FA and new GM SamCassell will see to that the Pacers wont go away anytime soon. 7. Raptors (3. 57-25)/(5. 6-3) (Central) Raptors traded away this years bench for some higher picks next year. I think this will hurt them bad. And I'm not to sure that it will be a good move for the future either. Gave up Charles Oakley (#29) and Morris Peterson (#27) for Al Harringtom (#28). 8. Celtics (10. 30-52)/(9. 4-5) (Atlantic) FA Alonzo Mourning and overall #1 pick Theo Ratliff should bring Celtics back to the postseason. I earlier thought they could end up as high as #5, but the weak eastern conference runs deep in teams aspiring for a playoff place. Gave up Vitaly Potapenko (undrafted) and Bryant Stith (undrafted) for DerMarr Johnson (#20) and Ratliff (#1) in the draft. 9. Pistons (8. 35-47)/(9. 4-5) (Central) Gave up Patrick Ewing (#7) and Corliss Williamson (undrafted) for Mo Taylor (#4) and Brad Miller (#22). 10. Cavs (9. 30-52)/(7. 5-6) (Central) Signed FA Penny Hardaway to help them back to the postseason. I think they will be in contention all year and can even clinch a berth but will probably end up just short. 11. Hawks (15. 10-72)/(13. 1-8) The first season is going to be hard for the new GMs for the bottom east teams 12. Bulls (14. 13-69)/(13. 1-8) The first season is going to be hard for the new GMs for the bottom east teams The No-GM teams will struggle to get 10 wins this season. Hornets 28-54 (Central - No GM) Heat 23-59 (Atlantic - No GM) Magic 16-66 (Atlantic - No GM) I think that the playoff race in the east will be even closer than the west. The top 3 teams (4 before Raptors raped themself) will get away some while seeds from 4-8 is up for grabs among the top 10 teams. ------------------ The CC.net NBA Sim Homepage - Rosters & Stats - Official Trades
West 1. Blazers-82-0? . This team might not be that good, but pretty damn close 2. Jazz-I honestly didn't think they were that great a team before we started simming last season, but it was. With younger players, this team will be even better 3. Wolves-I will go out on a limb and say my team will finish here. I finished 19-2 last season, took the Blazers to 7 games, and this season I added a gunner by the name of Tim Thomas. I lost by star big man, Camby, but I think Googs will play well in the absence of a true center. 4. Spurs-Surprised that they didn't do better last season. Solid core with Duncan, Rose, Miller. Had a great preseason 5. Mavs-Don't agree with the Malone trade(Don't you remeber the Webber-Richmond deal...Who benefited?), but this team is still one to beat. 6. Rockets-If the move to the two benefits Steve, then this team could climb up to the 2nd spot, if not, It will probably land from 4-6. 2nd best starting 5 7. Grizz-No bench, Who cares? Best starting 5 in league. KG, Rahim, Iverson, Mo, and Fortson make for a good team, but unless they land a point guard, they will be stuck in the bottom half of the playoffs(4-8) 8. Lakers-This could go to a couple really good teams(Kings, Sonics) but i picked the Lakeshow because they have, well the best player in the league in Shaq. East coming soon...Stay Tuned! ------------------ Never Underestimate the Heart of a Champion
Heath, I agree that it is a risky trade, but if I had waited until I knew the clippers would get the number one pick in the draft, there is no way SirCharles goes for that deal. As far as my bench goes, I didnt lose much. I gave up two power forwards, but I had four on my team. Most people dont know this, but keon clark plays great at the power forward position, much better than Kenyon Martin, off the bench. And since I put him on the bench, he can spell both Jerome and Dirk. Jerome is a kept secret, and he WILL shock you with his production this year. Mark my words. I have always been light in depth at the guard position, so that doesnt change with the trade since I have the same guards I have had before. Bottom Line, although I dont think I will win the championship this year, I wont lose any ground either. WATCH and LEARN. ------------------ I am an invisible man. [This message has been edited by kbm (edited May 14, 2001).]
Well apparently I stink Apparently losing Dale Davis and replacing him with Marc Jackson is going to cost me. Apparently the loss of any aging Pippen to be replaced at the 3 by the apparently weaker and on the slide Paul Pierce will hurt, which in turn will open up the starting 2 spot for the ever declining Bonzi Wells and then i still have Mercer, Artest and Steve Smith to back them up. And Jason Terry at the 1, well he is slumping. And Mr Kemp check out the preseason numbers, who says the Drugs don't work (some stupid UK band) he's coked up to the max and ready to fire. So i am not sure why anyone would think the Blazers have gotten worse, cause all i did was off load Two 35 plus players for two up and coming youngsters and opened up some more minutes for some young blood at the 2&3 spots and I still have all my depth. But I'm no expert. ------------------ "The things I enjoy most, I suck at: 1) Sex: everything's fine until she makes noises." - Achebe
Smeg, I guess that was directed at me as I'm the one who didn't pick you at #1. But I still do think you are one of the top western teams, and I wont be surprised if you land the first seed all over again. But no way will you go through another season with just 4 losses. I have Jazz as a team that did good this offseason with their trades and picks so I had them staying put, or improving. It was a tossup if I was going for you or Jazz for the top seed. I opted for change. kbm - No way will SirCharles get the #1 pick after this season - even if he plays in the hard west. I don't think he would have gotten before the trade, and he most certainly wont get it now. ------------------ The CC.net NBA Sim Homepage - Rosters & Stats - Official Trades [This message has been edited by Heath2000 (edited May 15, 2001).]
Like I said Heath, the trade is risky. But you will soon understand that at best my pick will be in the 12 to 15 range. My team is that good. As it stands now, Sircharles will have the third pick in the draft (by your prediction). So essentially I traded the nets pick in the rookie draft, which will be in the 7 to 10 range, Kenyon Martin, and Al Harrington, to move up around ten places in both the common and rookie drafts. ------------------ I am an invisible man.
I do agree. You basically traded up 10-12 spaces in both drafts. But I still think Clippers won the trade as you got worse this year by doing that trade. I think they would get around the 3rd pick anyway, while you lost some spaves, and will probably get anywhere from 5 (very unlikely, but could happen if you got an injury) to 12. If I go with my predictions over you will land around 7 or 8, but I could be wrong, perhaps you don't need a deep bench in this sim. ------------------ The CC.net NBA Sim Homepage - Rosters & Stats - Official Trades
How dare you put me so low, Heat! Well, at least I am ahead of the Bulls, right? Anyway...I have made a great many changes, unfortunately, it is not that visible on the roster. I am talking about attitude! The addition of Robinson and White helps, but the real change is that I will digitally b****-slap any players that do not perform properly for me. I also might trade away half of my team for even worse players that have better attitudes. That way, it will ensure more victories. The Hawks will be at least # 7 in the pathetic East...even if I go into "super tank" mode, we will still get victories. Next year I will go far in the playoffs. ------------------ You sanctimonious philistines, who scoff at me!
I hope you right RIM SHOT. I move up a notch if you are. BTW, I will be happy to tank a game or two when we play to insure your rise to first round elimination! ------------------ I am an invisible man.
I think depth is very important in the sim. BGM's team proves that. I mean look at his team. He has Mcdyce and a bunch of above average role players. The other important element is a good point guard. Teams that have one play better on the whole than teams that dont have one. The sonics are a good example. They are playing worse this year than last year despite having the best defense center and shooting guard in the game. You on the other hand are playing head and shoulders above last year since you traded for bibby and payton. And while I am on the subject, Vancouver has not improved over last year either despite having by some accounts the best starting five. So the question is how will I do this year. I think I will be better than last year because I have improved my depth at the guard position while at the same time keeping the depth I had at the small forward position since Shandon can play both. I think also I have found the right spot for Keon Clark in that I learned he is very productive at the power forward position. My biggest question mark is how good Jerome Williams will be as the starter. I am hoping he will be an improvement over Kenyon Martin, who I thought was a bust for my team. ------------------ I am an invisible man. [This message has been edited by kbm (edited May 15, 2001).]
I'm not going to rank every team in the league. I am flattered you guys think my team will improve to win the midwest, and I was going to post something right away, but I thought I'd wait to see what others thought about my team. If my team does well this year, that's great, but I'm not counting on it, like I said in another thread, next season is the season I'm counting on. The blazers are definitely the number 1 team because smeg's been using his bench this whole preseason and he's only lost once. That one loss was against my starters and I barely won that game. This season I'm just going to have fun tweaking my lineup, for one simulation I will put out all 4 of my centers in the starting lineup just for fun. I'm confident in my team making it to the playoffs, so the regular season is just for fun. I realized this after last year my team only lost 10 games, but still got eliminated in the first round. Anyway I pick the Blazers and T-wolves as the main contenders with the Mavs and Spurs falling into the 2nd tier of great teams. Then you'll have the Lakers and Jazz. That leaves the Sonics, Rockets, Kings, and Grizz fighting for the final two playoff spots. That should be fun to watch. I don't care about the weakass east so I'm not going to make any predictions. Good luck with the season my fellow GM's... ------------------ You must always give the Dream back his change! [This message has been edited by Band Geek Mobster (edited May 15, 2001).]
BGM, I wouldn't be so quick to count yourself out of contention. IMHO, anyone in the top 6 of my rankings could easily become the frontunner for the title. ------------------ Never Underestimate the Heart of a Champion
I haven't weighed in yet on predictions, so I might as well do it here. I'm not going to predict all 8 East and West, because that is too hard to call. The one thing I will say, however, is that everyone seems to be underestimating the Mavs. This was the championship team last year, and they have only gotten better. They kept the best backcourt in the game in Kidd and Finley, improved from Kukoc to Donyell Marshall at SF, from McDyess to Malone at PF, and stayed roughly the same at center with Dale Davis this year compared to Danny Fortson last year. I still think they have to be considered the favorites; but the Blazers, Wolves, Spurs, Jazz, and Lakers aren't far behind. The race for the last few spots should be close between my Rockets and the Kings, Sonics, and Grizzlies. ------------------ President of the Mo Taylor, Jason Collier, and draft Richard Jefferson fan club! Draftsource.net-- the premier source for draft info. Profiles, rankings, mock drafts, and more! Sign up for season 2 of the CC.net NBA Sim League! http://bbs.clutchcity.net/ubb/Forum12/HTML/000328.html
Oh yeah baby, tha Grizz are gonna bring it down. Haha. ------------------ The next time I have meat and mashed potatoes, I think I'll put a very large blob of potatoes on my plate with just a little piece of meat. And if someone asks me why i didn't get more meat, ill just say, "Oh, you mean this?" and pull out a big piece of meat from inside the blob of potatoes, where ive hidden it. Good magic trick, huh?
I cannot predict this with the same authority as I could last season, but I honestly belive that I will win it all AGAIN. I really just dont see any teams that are obviously better than mine. I also dont see how any of the teams that hung with me last season have improved. so it just comes down to playoff luck/injury luck, and we will see what happens. I DO know that I had the playoff MVP last season in Finley. he scored 40pts/game against portland, and acertage close to 30 all playoffs. Ifjust one of my 3 superstars plays like that I get another ring PEACE ------------------ Hanta-Force Paintball www.hanta-force.com
Wanted to bring up the prediction thread to check the predictions made for season 2, before making a new thread for next season. Well my prediction for the west was not all that bad - I had Blazers and Spurs right on the money but read the big Utah/Mavs deal all wrong. I missed one playoff team - The Kings that grabbed 8 spot over Grizzlies who fell to 10th - but who didnt think Grizzlies would atleast get into the playoffs. ------------------ The CC.net NBA Sim Board/Homepage
I think I did real good when predicting the east. I think I was one of few who had Raptors low, although I still had them in the playoff - who would have thought they imploding totally? I got 1-3 right on the money, switched 4 and 5, but my #4 won out in the playoffs anyway - also got 6 and 8 right, while pistons took the spot left open for a sinking raptors ship. I also thought Piston would be in the running for a spot, and also stated that Cavs (picked them right in 10th) would be in the running for most part of the season, but miss out in the end - and they were in the running and tied for 8th with Celtics until they gave up way to much to get their hands on Mutombo. So now when I prepare my predictions for next season you pretty much know how it all will go. ------------------ The CC.net NBA Sim Board/Homepage
