West
1. Oklahoma
2. Dallas (Mavs are here out of respect. I can see the Clips taking this spot easily...)
3. Clippers (Cant undervalue what Paul brings to table in terms of skill, leadership)
4. Lakers
5. Memphis (With Gay in tow, they are going to be even more dangerous)
6. Portland (McMillian always has the team playing hard on the defensive end.)
7. San Antonio (older team that could battle injuries this year.)
8. Denver

The west is going to be crazy this year. I think a team like Minnesota should be vastly improved this year with coach Adleman and the young guns on that team. They'll be tough to play on the end of a back-to-back. Houston will also be a tough out this year aswell.

in the west, it's hard to see dallas being better without tyson chandler and but adding odom so i might flip flop dallas and the clips.

otherwise that's a good top 8 for both conferences.

Uptown wrote:

FistOfOakley wrote:i might have milwaukee instead of philly since i can't see brand lasting the whole season. orlando would def be ahead of indiana if they kept howard the whole yr, it's not a bad team but it's looking like that's unlikely.

in the west, it's hard to see dallas being better without tyson chandler and but adding odom so i might flip flop dallas and the clips.

otherwise that's a good top 8 for both conferences.

Cant see Howard lasting the season with the Magic which is why I placed them so low. Even if he remains for half the season, they'll win some games, but the distractions that team will endure will hurt the chemistry and team play. Either way, I dont see the Magic as much of a factor anymore.

Agree with you on Dallas. Without Chandler, their D will take a hit. Also, JJ was a big factor for them in the playoffs. Like I said, I can see the Clips taking over the 2 spot and the Mavs slip to 3. But, dont underestimate Carlise. He's an exceptional coach. They wont slip too much....

i will pick a 1-99 horse, Wolves!

I think the Clips will be even better than people expect. Griffin will improve. Most importantly I think Jordan will really come into his own. They have plenty of additional scoring punch with Billups, WIlliams and Butler too. Miami showed how good they were down the stretch and into the playoffs. Orlando is alway is in the mix with Howard. Boston is going to take a dive this year due their aging roster. I think we'll be behind Chicago and Miami but if we play a balanced offense and try on D we can go toe to toe with either. If we sprint to the 3 point tape and watch as different people shoot us out of games I think we will be behind Boston with the same order for the rest of the conference.

West:
1. Oklahoma
2. Dallas
3. Clippers
4. Lakers
5. Memphis

Wizards, always sucks, but on paper, if McGee and a few others could step it up, they can have a chance too.
Being young has its physical advantages this year and well as a disadvantage. *experience*
I am not banking on this one, but I think their is a chance with the Wolves.

I really like the PG's on the Wolves, they really have a nice mix going.
A lot of talented wings, SF/PFs, good combo of PGs, and Love looks solid.
They have like a 10 man deep rotation, they should come out n play similar to Denver last year, after the trade.

Wizards, is like the Clippers of the East, they have sucked for a long time.
Although Clippers are going to finally be solid this year, potentially, outshining the Lakers.
Of course things may change, especially if Superman comes flying to save the day.
They still have that 8.5m exemption, I don't know if they are planning to use it or package it for a trade?
There are still decent players to use the 8.5m on, between Kris Humphries and Dalembert.
Or are they targeting AK47 and other players? Maybe Wilson Chandler, J.R. Smith, or Martin?
2 for 1 for Dwight Howawrd, Bynum and Gasol, I am not sure if you still give out picks and take back bad salaries.
However, they both don't look too good, especially Bynum, judging from the preseason game with Clippers.
I look forward to watching them after the Knicks game 2night, mainly Cp3 and the Clippers.
I am glad Billups is in the West, he can shoot, and I hope he stays in the West until he retires.

Back to the Wizards, they added 3 interesting SF/PFs to their young core, Vesely, Singleton, and Rashard Lewis.
Jordan Williams, McGee, Blatche, Nick Young, and John Wall all have potential and another year under their belt.
Turiaf and Mo Evans with the defensive mentality are on the bench, Turiaf was a steal for their price.
He isn't an ideal starter, especially with Amare together because of their size, however, with McGee, it could work.

There are teams that come out every year, unexpectedly, it could be 1 of these teams, it could be another.
In the East, I think is still slightly easier than the West, with the top 4 teams including Heat, Bulls, Knicks, and Celtics.

Jersey *especially if DH is added to core*
Bucks
Wizards
Toronto
Detroit

In the West, I think they are more teams that are slightly deeper than the East. This will be an interesting year, I think the Wolves and Utah
could be the X factors that can sneak in. Dallas and Lakers, I think, are in for a big drop off if they don't do any trades/acquisitions.
Dalas looking Chandler is big but it would be interesting how Odom/Sean Williams will replace Tyson Chandler.

I think Sean Williams has chance to step it up and turn it around. He was one of our FA's pickups before we acquired T. Chandler. Haywood doesn't exactly
bring the same things Tyson Chandler does but he is a big body with good defense as well. He isn't nearly as athletic, long, and great help defender
but will be given the chance to regain his job. Sean Wiliams, Mahinmi, and Odom will be asked to solidify front court with Dirk, Marion, and Brandon Wright.
How Terry performs, another year older, without the penetration of Barea and defense of Tyson Chandler. He has been producing and very clutch
for the past couple of years in Dallas, the Jet, must continue to do so if they make the playoffs and advance.
Beaubois, Haywood, Vince Carter, Delone West, Mahinmi, Sean Wiliams, Brandon Wright, and Jerome Randle

Anyway, I think these games could be the unexpected for the West, with Wolves and Utah being my first 2 choices. However, I see the 7th and 8th spot
on both conferences being a big toss up, with the West being a bit more challenging...

Wolves
Utah
Houston
Golden State
Phoenix
Kings
New Orleans

1. Okla City 50-16
2. Dallas 45-21
3. LA Clippers 43-23
4. LA Lakers 41-25
5. Memphis 39-27
6. San Antonio 36-30
7. Portland 34-32
8. Denver 33-33

Miami is clearly the team to beat, not just in the East but the whole League. I think Chicago over-performed last year and could see them falling to 3rd behind NY. ATL was 5th last year and should be about the same this year (if Orlando doesn't trade Dwight this season, then Orlando will be here). Indy's got nice young talent and depth, they should be solid. Philly, same as Indy just slightly less so. Boston is old and has little depth; they're should coast most of the season and play just hard enough to make the playoffs so they can save their legs. As long as they trade for Dwight early enough, NJ with DW and DH with nobody else around them should still be good enough to make the playoffs as an 8 seed. Otherwise, Milwaukee should be here.

1. OKC
2. Clippers
3. Denver
4. Dallas
5. Memphis
6. Spurs
7. Lakers
8. Portland

OKC finished 4th last year and the three teams that finished ahead of them should all be worse this year. I'm all in on the Clippers; I thought they finished well last season. Now with the addition of CP and the growth of Blake Griffin and DJ they could be great this year. Denver is very deep and young which should help them this year more than others; Ty Lawson and Gallo could break out this year as well. Dallas will have lost Tyson Chandler, Caron Butler, JJ Barrea, and DeShawn Stevenson by the time the season starts, that's really bad. They also brought in Vince Carter (I'm sure Kidd will love being reunited with him) and Lamar Odom. Memphis has a great front court and should be able to build on last year's success. SA is in the same boat as Boston, they'll coast for most of the year and try to turn on in the playoffs. Of course if Manu gets hurt again and Duncan's lost another step, they might just shut it down this year and try to regroup for next year, kind of like in 96-97, the year before they drafted Duncan. The Lakers have been the most confusing team this offseason; they haven'd seemed to have much of a plan. Right now their five best players are Kobe, Gasol, Bynum, Josh McRoberts(?!) and Metta World Peace(?!) and I'll pretty much guarantee that Bynum will miss at least half the season. They might not even make the playoffs. Portland has some good pieces and could finish higher than this though I would worry about their psyche after Roy's retirement and losing Oden yet again. By the way, if the Lakers or Spurs or both don't make the playoffs then those last spots will be a crap shoot between Houston, Phoenix, Golden State, and Minnesota.

Bonus picks: Utah will finish with the worst record in the West while Toronto and Charlotte will battle to see whose worst in the East. Toronto will win (lose?) and finish with the worst record in the NBA.

WEST
1. Oklahoma City
2. Dallas
3. LA Clippers
4. LA Lakers
5. San Antonio
6. Houston
7. Portland
8. Phoenix