Season starts tomorrow, I dont know about the rest of you but the NBA bug is biting me. I cant wait. Heres some things I expect.

Denver drops down a notch from last season. Too many things went right, I still dont trust George Karl. I say they win about 50 and lose in the first round.

The Spurs will make everyone feel silly for already annointing the Lakers the West champs.

Artest will not fit in well with LA.

Boston will be back. They'll win the East. The Clippers will make the playoffs. Huge season for Baron Davis. Great rookie year for Blake Griffin.

Big bounce back year for New Orleans. Paul has his best season as a pro. Comeback year for West.

West

1. Lakers
2. Spurs
3. Portland
4. Dallas
5. New Orleans
6. Denver
7. Utah
8. Clippers

East

1. Cavaliers
2. Celtics
3. Magic
4. Hawks
5. Bulls
6. Miami
7. Philadelphia
8. Washington

Spurs beat the Celtics to win the NBA Finals.

MVP Chris Paul
ROY Blake Griffin
DPOY LeBron

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

The top 3 teams in the Eastern Conference are still the Cavaliers, Celtics & Magic. The rest of the East...Hard to say. I heard 670 The SCORE's Jason Goff over the weekend mention something about the Washington Wizards, with a healthy Gilbert Arenas, possibly being one of the teams to watch in this conference. Beyond the top 3 teams in the East, the remaining 5 teams are a crapshoot. If Arenas stays healthy, the Wizards could possibly be as high as #4 in the East. That's a big if...

Out West, Ron Artest will fit in with the NBA Champion Lakers, and while everybody seems to think the Spurs are #2, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and company aren't getting any younger. The other Lone Star teams, the Mavericks & Rockets, will also start to decline this season. The team to really keep an eye on out West are the Blazers, with continuing growth from Brandon Roy on the point, plus LaMarcus Aldridge & hopefully a healthy Greg Oden up front. That team could be the most improved in the whole NBA.

How will the Blazers be the most improved in the NBA? They had a great record last year. To accomplish that they would have to win 70-75 games. The rest of the East isnt as much a crapshoot. The Hawks clearly look like the 4th best teams. Miami and Chicago look like definitely playoff teams if relatively healthy.

I dont think you can be sure Artest will fit in in LA. Much like me saying I dont think he will, its a opinion. Definitely not an easy call either way. Ariza fit in that team perfectly. They shoulda brought him back IMO.

The Spurs additions of Jefferson, Blair, and McDyess make me thing they had the best offseason. Manu should be healthy for the first time in two years. They have the depth to coast now and not rely on big minutes from Parker, Manu, and Duncan just to get home court the first round of the playoffs. Duncan should have at least 1 good year in him. Parker should benefit from a career year last year and the fact he got to lead this team several times. This is actually his prime, probably. People tend to forget just how good Manu is when healthy.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

I completely disagree with you on the Spurs, FF. But I'm not buying the Lakers either, I think Artest will cause 'em to implode too. But I thought the Bulls would implode with Rodman, so I'll give Phil a chance. My predicts:

West

1. New Orleans
2. L.A.L.
3. Portland
4. Dallas
5. San Antonio
6. Denver
7. Utah
8. Golden State

East

1. Magic
2. Celtics
3. Cleveland
4. HotLanta
5. Chicago
6. Detroit
7. Miami
8. Boobcats

Magic beat whoever from the West to win the NBA Finals.

MVP Chris Paul
ROY Blake Griffin
DPOY Dwight Howard

_________________
Ба́бушка гада́ла, да на́двое сказа́ла—то ли до́ждик, то ли снег, то ли бу́дет, то ли нет.

Wow. Love the Okefor and VC deals or something? I can see the Magic, possibly. But NO really doesnt have any depth, and noone to create their own shot really except Paul, although he's pretty good at creating points for others. Im very surprised you have GS in the playoffs, but I have the Clippers so what do I know. I think GS will suck this year. 25-30 wins. I do really like Randolph though.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

my Warriors love is showing through. I think they have a good GM who can get Nellie a little more ammo. Clippers can't make the playoffs, it's not allowed...

what do you mean it happened?

_________________
Ба́бушка гада́ла, да на́двое сказа́ла—то ли до́ждик, то ли снег, то ли бу́дет, то ли нет.

SHARK's NBA Predictions

Eastern Conference
1. Cleveland
2. Boston
3. Orlando
4. Miami
5. Atlanta
6. Toronto
7. Chicago
8. Washington

Western Conference
1. L.A. Lakers
2. Portland
3. San Antonio
4. Utah
5. Denver
6. Dallas
7. New Orleans
8. Phoenix

MVP: LeBron James, Cleveland
Rookie of the Year: Blake Griffin, L.A. Clippers
Defensive Player of the Year: Dwight Howard, Orlando
NBA Finals: Lakers over Cavaliers in 5

Blake will break the curse. That kid is gonna be awesome. Combine that with a healthy, rejuvenated Baron, Gordon, Thornton, Kaman, etc. There's alot to like about the Clips IMO. I was going with them or OKC for the 8th seed. I really think both teams win about 45 games and fight for that spot.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Put me down for the opposite of that /\

the clippers are the clippers. I do dig Gordon's game though.

_________________
Ба́бушка гада́ла, да на́двое сказа́ла—то ли до́ждик, то ли снег, то ли бу́дет, то ли нет.

Well.. yeah. I mean, that really is the only flaw in my theory though.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Neil Funk=Moints Pal?

Yeah, I'm not too high on the Spurs this year, either.
Consider this an 'experimental' projection:

East
1. Magic
2. Cavs
3. Celtics
4. Heat
5. Hawks
6. Pacers
7. Knicks
8. Pistons

West
1. Lakers
2. Mavs
3. Nugs
4. Blazers
5. Jazz
6. Spurs
7. Hornets
8. Warriors

MVP: Danny Grainger
ROY: Tyreke Evans
DPOY: Josh Smith
FINALS: Lakers over Cavs

_________________

Suckers, Orlando and Miami cant both be top 3 seeds. Top 3 go to division winners only.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

You are correct...Unless FavreFan thinks the Heat will have a better record than the Celtics...

Fixed

_________________

Not a chance in hell. I dont buy Beasley's supposed revelation and improvement. It's still Wade and a bunch of nobodies. The Celtics are pretty deep, deep enough to let Rondo do alot of the heavy lifting in the regular season and try save some knees for the postseason. If they get their intact, that'll be a real tough squad to stop.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Beasley is the next Bison Dele. In every facet. Life is bad sometimes.

_________________
Ба́бушка гада́ла, да на́двое сказа́ла—то ли до́ждик, то ли снег, то ли бу́дет, то ли нет.

Sucks to be Beasley. Keep the guy off the boats in Miami

_________________

mental illness is a tough tough thing. I wouldn't wish his on my worst enemy.

_________________
Ба́бушка гада́ла, да на́двое сказа́ла—то ли до́ждик, то ли снег, то ли бу́дет, то ли нет.

Beasley isn't the lynch-pin of the Heat, though, especially with Jermaine O'Neal and Quentin Richardson on the team.

_________________

I predict that some black guys are going to get into a sissy slap fight at some point during the season...

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team Mully & Hanley
team Meatpants

Agree with sp that Evans will be ROY. I like Spurs over the Magic in the Finals

I do not see any way in the world Golden State makes the playoffs. I do agree with some I think the Clippers are going to be much improved and have a shot at a lower seed in the west. I will put together my complete list later.

_________________
"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

you disagree with my G.S. prediction, but you say nothing about my BOobcat prediction? That's the one I thought was going out on a limb...

_________________
Ба́бушка гада́ла, да на́двое сказа́ла—то ли до́ждик, то ли снег, то ли бу́дет, то ли нет.

You're right, that one was worse.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

I picked the Warriors, as well. Thunder might be a viable candidate for the 8 seed in the West, as well.

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Yeah I think it'll be between the Thunder and Clippers for the 8 seed. I think Houston will be better than everyone(except jimmypasta) believes. I can see 40 wins for that team.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

philly is a perennial 7th or 8th seed. iggy will get them their 40 wins and they'll be one and done again...

Brand might be good...again...

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul