Greetings everyone, its time for my NBA Preview for the Eastern Conference
Music to listen to: Harder Better Faster Stronger by Daft Punk
This year is going to be unique in the fact that we have five really good teams (Boston, Cleveland, Orlando, Los Angeles Lakers & San Antonio) and the rest of the league. You would think that with that proposition, there wouldn’t be intrigue, but there is for each and every team and I’m going to tell you why.
Besides my main man Keaton, I’m pretty sure that the rest of you reading this post aren’t big NBA fans and that’s fine. So while you can go to all of the experts about true team breakdowns, I’m going to give you a guide that can help you at least sound like you’re an expert.
Here are my predictions first (all divisions in order):
Atlantic: Boston, Toronto, Philly, New York, New Jersey
Central: Cleveland, Chicago, Detroit, Indiana, Milwaukee
Southeast: Orlando, Washington, Miami, Atlanta, Charlotte
Southwest: San Antonio, Dallas, New Orleans, Houston, Memphis
Northwest: Utah, Portland, Denver, Oklahoma City, Minnesota
Pacific: Lakers, Suns, Clippers, Golden State, Sacramento
Eastern Conference Finals: Boston over Cleveland
Western Conference Finals: Lakers over San Antonio
NBA Finals: Boston over Lakers
MVP:
1) LeBron James, Cleveland
2) Kobe Bryant, Lakers
3) Chris Paul, New Orleans
4) Dwight Howard, Orlando
5) Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City, Derrick Rose, Chicago (tie)
Music to listen to: Harder Better Faster Stronger by Daft Punk
This year is going to be unique in the fact that we have five really good teams (Boston, Cleveland, Orlando, Los Angeles Lakers & San Antonio) and the rest of the league. You would think that with that proposition, there wouldn’t be intrigue, but there is for each and every team and I’m going to tell you why.
Besides my main man Keaton, I’m pretty sure that the rest of you reading this post aren’t big NBA fans and that’s fine. So while you can go to all of the experts about true team breakdowns, I’m going to give you a guide that can help you at least sound like you’re an expert.
Here are my predictions first (all divisions in order):
Atlantic: Boston, Toronto, Philly, New York, New Jersey
Central: Cleveland, Chicago, Detroit, Indiana, Milwaukee
Southeast: Orlando, Washington, Miami, Atlanta, Charlotte
Southwest: San Antonio, Dallas, New Orleans, Houston, Memphis
Northwest: Utah, Portland, Denver, Oklahoma City, Minnesota
Pacific: Lakers, Suns, Clippers, Golden State, Sacramento
Eastern Conference Finals: Boston over Cleveland
Western Conference Finals: Lakers over San Antonio
NBA Finals: Boston over Lakers
MVP:
1) LeBron James, Cleveland
2) Kobe Bryant, Lakers
3) Chris Paul, New Orleans
4) Dwight Howard, Orlando
5) Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City, Derrick Rose, Chicago (tie)
Rookie of the year: Blake Griffin, Clippers
Coach of the Year: Phil Jackson, Lakers
Sleeper (teams outside of top-five teams that can contend for conference title): Chicago (East) and Utah (West)
Best record: Cleveland (East) and Lakers (West)
Worst record: Milwaukee (East) and Sacramento (West)
Predictable NBA Finals: Lakers vs. Celtics
Respectable NBA Finals pick: Cleveland vs. San Antonio
Slightly outside the box NBA Finals pick: Orlando vs. Portland
Ballsy NBA Finals pick: Chicago vs. Denver
Not going to happen but you never know NBA Finals pick: Toronto vs. New Orleans
No chance in heck of happening NBA Finals pick: Charlotte vs. Minnesota
Boston
Yea: Garnett is back healthy, Rondo has elevated game to top point guard-level in league, Rasheed Wallace adds depth to bench
Ney: Star players outside of Rondo a year older, is Garnett really healthy and can hold up for entire season?
Best player: Paul Pierce
Most important player: Kevin Garnett
Best case: NBA Champions
Worst case: lose in conference semis like last year
Cleveland
Yea: LeBron is still LeBron and in a contract year, if you didn’t know (my attempt at sarcasm, enjoy it), Shaq gives them someone to contend with Howard in Orlando, less pressure on Mo Williams, like Anthony Parker signing
Ney: Outside of LeBron, can they score enough in the playoffs, has offense improved from sad effort in conference finals last season, one LeBron injury from missing playoffs, literally.
Best player: You know who
Most important player: You know who…actually, let’s make it Mo Williams
Best case: NBA Champions
Worst case: Lose in conference finals
Orlando
Yea: Dwight Howard is a beast, Lewis finally playing to potential, Nelson is back healthy to run the point, Vince Carter can add scoring to already lethal scoring attack. Like the Brandon Bass pickup.
Ney: Howard can’t hit free throws and tends to disappear in big games (yeah, I said it!), will miss Hedo Turkoglu more then they even realize, Carter isn’t a prime-time player, it would have happened by now.
Best player: Dwight Howard
Most important player: Rashard Lewis
Best case: NBA Champions
Worst case: loss in first round of playoffs
Chicago
Yea: This is Derrick Rose’s breakout year, meaning double-double average, get Deng back healthy, Noah looked like a major player in the playoffs, Tyrus Thomas seems to have finally seen the light.
Ney: Is John Salmons ready to be a starter and take over Ben Gordon’s departed points? Was the efforts of Noah and Thomas in the playoffs a mirage? Is Kirk Hinrich going to get more playing time, which can be both a good and bad thing.
Best player: Derrick Rose
Most important player: Rose
Best case: Conference finals appearance
Worst case: Missing playoffs
Washington
Yea: Gilbert Arenas is back and healthy, finally! Caron Butler is also back healthy. Antawn Jamison is stil scoring at a nice rate, like the pickups of Mike Miller and Randy Foye. Flip Saunders is a nice addition as the new head coach.
Ney: Brittle team, health-wise. If Gil goes down again, problems, major, major problems. Team didn’t play defense with Eddie Jordan, now they get a notoriously bad defensive coach in Flip Saunders. Might score 110 points per game and be entertaining, but give up 115 points and lose, not a good recipe.
Best player: Gilbert Arenas
Most important player: Caron Butler
Best case: Conference finals appearance
Worst case: losing in the first round of playoffs
Atlanta
Yea: Finally got out of first round of playoffs last year, looking to build on it. Joe Johnson is one of the best players of the league that you don’t think of. Al Horford is always solid and Josh Smith is frustrating but talented. Like Jamal Crawford coming off of the bench.
Ney: Still one of the worst coached teams in the league because Mike Woodson stinks. Josh Smith is frustrating and lacks discipline. Mike Bibby is on his last legs. Johnson is a nice player, just not a franchise-player. Marvin Williams still hasn’t progressed as much as you would like.
Best player: Joe Johnson
Most important player: Johnson
Best case: Conference semifinals appearance
Worst case: lower-half of conference
Toronto
Yea: Can score in bunches. Hedo Turkoglu is a perfect fit for their offense. Chris Bosh is in a contract year and finally has help. Jose Calderon is a good point guard and Andrea Bargnani finally showed some skills of top pick. Like DeMar DeRozan as a rookie.
Ney: Defense still needs work. Will Turkoglu still be motivated after finally getting his money? Bosh is in final year of deal, meaning that if Raptors start bad, he gets traded and season is over. Does Bosh sulk over bad start to season?
Best player: Chris Bosh
Most important player: Andrea Bargnani
Best case: Conference semifinals appearance
Worst case: lower-half of conference
Miami
Yea: Dwayne Wade returned to MVP-level form last year after injury-filled previous year. Jermaine O’Neal is a nice complimentary player. Mario Chalmers is a good point guard in development. Actually like Quentin Richardson. Michael Beasley is still a supremely talented player.
Ney: Wade can’t do this alone and on this team, he’s going to have to. You have to worry about Beasley’s issues off the court. Where do the points come from?
Best player: Dwayne Wade
Most important player: Dwayne Wade
Best case: First-round playoff win
Worst case: Missing the playoffs
Detroit
Yea: Finally settled on backcourt of Rodney Stuckey and Rip Hamilton. Rasheed Wallace is gone, relieving some tension. Additions of Charlie Villanueva and Ben Gordon are good. Tayshaun Prince is a good player who gets overlooked too often nationally.
Ney: Lack talent to compete in conference. Gordon is not a consistent player, at least for this team. Defense is going to lack significantly for team known for defense.
Best player: Rip Hamilton
Most important player: Rodney Stuckey
Best case: Making the playoffs
Worst case: lower-half of conference
Philadelphia
Yea: Healthy Elton Brand is back. Andre Iguodala has emerged as go-to player. Thaddeus Young is continuing to improve. Eddie Jordan is an excellent coach that will be a positive for the team. Still have love for Sam Dalem-Beast!!!!
Ney: Is Lou Williams really ready to step up to the starting point guard role to replace Andre Miller? Can Brand stay healthy? Will offense stall with lack of skills on that end from Dalembert?
Best player: Andre Iguodala
Most important player: Elton Brand
Best case: Making the playoffs
Worst case: lower-half of conference
Indiana
Yea: Danny Granger emerged as an All-Star player. Troy frickin Murphy averaged a double-double last year, really. Tyler Hansbrough will have his moments. T.J. Ford is ok.
Ney: Outside of Granger, what does this team have. Hansbrough will be a terrible pro player, FYI. Nothing personal, just stating a fact. T.J. Ford is ok but is also selfish.
Best player: Danny Granger
Most important player: T.J. Ford
Best case: Finishing with a winning record, which will get you into the playoffs in East.
Worst case: Worst record in East
Charlotte
Yea: Boris Diaw emerged as best player on the team, which was a nice revelation. Tyson Chandler may revitalize career this season after rough go last year. Gerald Wallace is a good player, so is Raja Bell.
Ney: This isn’t a good team. They need to decide between playing Raymond Felton and D.J. Augustin at point and stick with it (my vote is for Felton). Larry Brown has mailed it in as a coach three years ago (yes, I’m a bitter Knicks fan).
Best player: Boris Diaw
Most important player: Gerald Wallace
Best case: Winning record
Worst case: Worst record in East
New Jersey
Yea: Young core of Devin Harris, Brook Lopez and Courtney Lee is solid and exciting. Losing Vince Carter is a good thing. Bench of Terrance Williams, Josh Bonne and Rafer Alston isn’t that bad.
Ney: Losing Vince Carter is also a bad thing. How does Harris handle accolades? Yi Jianlian is what he is and that’s not a good thing for the Nets
Best player: Devin Harris
Most important player: Brook Lopez
Best case: Winning record
Worst case: Worst record in East
New York
Yea: Play an entertaining style of basketball for the masses. David Lee tries hard…that is all.
Ney: Everything else…that’s not fair. When Nate Robinson is averaging 17 points a game, that’s not a good thing for a winning basketball team. I’ve never liked Al Harrington. Darko Milicic is terrible. Eddy Curry can go kick rocks.
Best player: David Lee
Most important player: David Lee
Best case: Winning record
Worst case: Worst record in East
Milwaukee
Yea: If healthy, Michael Redd can still put up some points. Andrew Bogot tries hard.
Ney: Projected starting lineup besided Redd and Bogut is terrible. Furthermore, those two guys are extremely brittle. Don’t know a lick of rookie Brandon Jennings based on his year in Europe.
Best player: Michael Redd
Most important player: Andrew Bogut
Best case: Winning record
Worst case: Worst record in East
Western Conference coming tomorrow…
Coach of the Year: Phil Jackson, Lakers
Sleeper (teams outside of top-five teams that can contend for conference title): Chicago (East) and Utah (West)
Best record: Cleveland (East) and Lakers (West)
Worst record: Milwaukee (East) and Sacramento (West)
Predictable NBA Finals: Lakers vs. Celtics
Respectable NBA Finals pick: Cleveland vs. San Antonio
Slightly outside the box NBA Finals pick: Orlando vs. Portland
Ballsy NBA Finals pick: Chicago vs. Denver
Not going to happen but you never know NBA Finals pick: Toronto vs. New Orleans
No chance in heck of happening NBA Finals pick: Charlotte vs. Minnesota
Boston
Yea: Garnett is back healthy, Rondo has elevated game to top point guard-level in league, Rasheed Wallace adds depth to bench
Ney: Star players outside of Rondo a year older, is Garnett really healthy and can hold up for entire season?
Best player: Paul Pierce
Most important player: Kevin Garnett
Best case: NBA Champions
Worst case: lose in conference semis like last year
Cleveland
Yea: LeBron is still LeBron and in a contract year, if you didn’t know (my attempt at sarcasm, enjoy it), Shaq gives them someone to contend with Howard in Orlando, less pressure on Mo Williams, like Anthony Parker signing
Ney: Outside of LeBron, can they score enough in the playoffs, has offense improved from sad effort in conference finals last season, one LeBron injury from missing playoffs, literally.
Best player: You know who
Most important player: You know who…actually, let’s make it Mo Williams
Best case: NBA Champions
Worst case: Lose in conference finals
Orlando
Yea: Dwight Howard is a beast, Lewis finally playing to potential, Nelson is back healthy to run the point, Vince Carter can add scoring to already lethal scoring attack. Like the Brandon Bass pickup.
Ney: Howard can’t hit free throws and tends to disappear in big games (yeah, I said it!), will miss Hedo Turkoglu more then they even realize, Carter isn’t a prime-time player, it would have happened by now.
Best player: Dwight Howard
Most important player: Rashard Lewis
Best case: NBA Champions
Worst case: loss in first round of playoffs
Chicago
Yea: This is Derrick Rose’s breakout year, meaning double-double average, get Deng back healthy, Noah looked like a major player in the playoffs, Tyrus Thomas seems to have finally seen the light.
Ney: Is John Salmons ready to be a starter and take over Ben Gordon’s departed points? Was the efforts of Noah and Thomas in the playoffs a mirage? Is Kirk Hinrich going to get more playing time, which can be both a good and bad thing.
Best player: Derrick Rose
Most important player: Rose
Best case: Conference finals appearance
Worst case: Missing playoffs
Washington
Yea: Gilbert Arenas is back and healthy, finally! Caron Butler is also back healthy. Antawn Jamison is stil scoring at a nice rate, like the pickups of Mike Miller and Randy Foye. Flip Saunders is a nice addition as the new head coach.
Ney: Brittle team, health-wise. If Gil goes down again, problems, major, major problems. Team didn’t play defense with Eddie Jordan, now they get a notoriously bad defensive coach in Flip Saunders. Might score 110 points per game and be entertaining, but give up 115 points and lose, not a good recipe.
Best player: Gilbert Arenas
Most important player: Caron Butler
Best case: Conference finals appearance
Worst case: losing in the first round of playoffs
Atlanta
Yea: Finally got out of first round of playoffs last year, looking to build on it. Joe Johnson is one of the best players of the league that you don’t think of. Al Horford is always solid and Josh Smith is frustrating but talented. Like Jamal Crawford coming off of the bench.
Ney: Still one of the worst coached teams in the league because Mike Woodson stinks. Josh Smith is frustrating and lacks discipline. Mike Bibby is on his last legs. Johnson is a nice player, just not a franchise-player. Marvin Williams still hasn’t progressed as much as you would like.
Best player: Joe Johnson
Most important player: Johnson
Best case: Conference semifinals appearance
Worst case: lower-half of conference
Toronto
Yea: Can score in bunches. Hedo Turkoglu is a perfect fit for their offense. Chris Bosh is in a contract year and finally has help. Jose Calderon is a good point guard and Andrea Bargnani finally showed some skills of top pick. Like DeMar DeRozan as a rookie.
Ney: Defense still needs work. Will Turkoglu still be motivated after finally getting his money? Bosh is in final year of deal, meaning that if Raptors start bad, he gets traded and season is over. Does Bosh sulk over bad start to season?
Best player: Chris Bosh
Most important player: Andrea Bargnani
Best case: Conference semifinals appearance
Worst case: lower-half of conference
Miami
Yea: Dwayne Wade returned to MVP-level form last year after injury-filled previous year. Jermaine O’Neal is a nice complimentary player. Mario Chalmers is a good point guard in development. Actually like Quentin Richardson. Michael Beasley is still a supremely talented player.
Ney: Wade can’t do this alone and on this team, he’s going to have to. You have to worry about Beasley’s issues off the court. Where do the points come from?
Best player: Dwayne Wade
Most important player: Dwayne Wade
Best case: First-round playoff win
Worst case: Missing the playoffs
Detroit
Yea: Finally settled on backcourt of Rodney Stuckey and Rip Hamilton. Rasheed Wallace is gone, relieving some tension. Additions of Charlie Villanueva and Ben Gordon are good. Tayshaun Prince is a good player who gets overlooked too often nationally.
Ney: Lack talent to compete in conference. Gordon is not a consistent player, at least for this team. Defense is going to lack significantly for team known for defense.
Best player: Rip Hamilton
Most important player: Rodney Stuckey
Best case: Making the playoffs
Worst case: lower-half of conference
Philadelphia
Yea: Healthy Elton Brand is back. Andre Iguodala has emerged as go-to player. Thaddeus Young is continuing to improve. Eddie Jordan is an excellent coach that will be a positive for the team. Still have love for Sam Dalem-Beast!!!!
Ney: Is Lou Williams really ready to step up to the starting point guard role to replace Andre Miller? Can Brand stay healthy? Will offense stall with lack of skills on that end from Dalembert?
Best player: Andre Iguodala
Most important player: Elton Brand
Best case: Making the playoffs
Worst case: lower-half of conference
Indiana
Yea: Danny Granger emerged as an All-Star player. Troy frickin Murphy averaged a double-double last year, really. Tyler Hansbrough will have his moments. T.J. Ford is ok.
Ney: Outside of Granger, what does this team have. Hansbrough will be a terrible pro player, FYI. Nothing personal, just stating a fact. T.J. Ford is ok but is also selfish.
Best player: Danny Granger
Most important player: T.J. Ford
Best case: Finishing with a winning record, which will get you into the playoffs in East.
Worst case: Worst record in East
Charlotte
Yea: Boris Diaw emerged as best player on the team, which was a nice revelation. Tyson Chandler may revitalize career this season after rough go last year. Gerald Wallace is a good player, so is Raja Bell.
Ney: This isn’t a good team. They need to decide between playing Raymond Felton and D.J. Augustin at point and stick with it (my vote is for Felton). Larry Brown has mailed it in as a coach three years ago (yes, I’m a bitter Knicks fan).
Best player: Boris Diaw
Most important player: Gerald Wallace
Best case: Winning record
Worst case: Worst record in East
New Jersey
Yea: Young core of Devin Harris, Brook Lopez and Courtney Lee is solid and exciting. Losing Vince Carter is a good thing. Bench of Terrance Williams, Josh Bonne and Rafer Alston isn’t that bad.
Ney: Losing Vince Carter is also a bad thing. How does Harris handle accolades? Yi Jianlian is what he is and that’s not a good thing for the Nets
Best player: Devin Harris
Most important player: Brook Lopez
Best case: Winning record
Worst case: Worst record in East
New York
Yea: Play an entertaining style of basketball for the masses. David Lee tries hard…that is all.
Ney: Everything else…that’s not fair. When Nate Robinson is averaging 17 points a game, that’s not a good thing for a winning basketball team. I’ve never liked Al Harrington. Darko Milicic is terrible. Eddy Curry can go kick rocks.
Best player: David Lee
Most important player: David Lee
Best case: Winning record
Worst case: Worst record in East
Milwaukee
Yea: If healthy, Michael Redd can still put up some points. Andrew Bogot tries hard.
Ney: Projected starting lineup besided Redd and Bogut is terrible. Furthermore, those two guys are extremely brittle. Don’t know a lick of rookie Brandon Jennings based on his year in Europe.
Best player: Michael Redd
Most important player: Andrew Bogut
Best case: Winning record
Worst case: Worst record in East
Western Conference coming tomorrow…
No comments:
Post a Comment