2007-2008 NBA Preview

So I will pick everything that is to happen in the NBA this season. When doing this I found that the Eastern Conference actually has more parity than the Western Conference. I can't remember the last time this was the case. Certainly it's the first time since the Grizzlies moved to town. There were a lot of moves by a lot of teams and there are more to come (Kobe). All of those factors weighed into my predictions. Here goes......

EASTERN CONFERENCE

ATLANTIC DIVISION
1. Boston Celtics (their role players aren't incredible, but their big 3 is better than New Jersey's big 3 so that's why they'll finish 1st)

2. New Jersey Nets

3. Toronto Raptors (I don't think they have the talent that the Knicks do, but they have a better GM who knows how to assemble a roster. Watch out for Bargnani this year)

4. New York Knicks (Marbury, Crawford, Richardson, Randolph, Curry---that's a lot of talent, but not enough shots to go around)

5. Philadelphia 76ers


CENTRAL DIVISION
1. Detroit Pistons (Apparently Rasheed Wallace has lost 25 pounds. That really doesn't matter to me, they still are the best team in this division and proved it last year against the Bulls in the playoffs. Yes, I know they lost to Cleveland, but you'll see why Cleveland is where they are in a sec...)

2. Chicago Bulls (They could finish atop this division if Luol Deng continues where he left off in the playoffs)

3. Cleveland Cavaliers (Pavlovic and Varejao still haven't signed and it doesn't look like they will. Having said that, LeBron and co is still better than Kobe and co)

4. Milwaukee Bucks

5. Indiana Pacers


SOUTHEAST DIVISION
1. Miami Heat (The trade for Ricky Davis tells me that D-Wade could be out for a long time. Davis can fill in w/ perimeter scoring while he gets healthy. It's better to have Wade hurt now than at the end of the season (see last year). They'll get to January and have a big 3 of Shaq, Wade and Davis. They will win this division.

2. Washington Wizards

3. Orlando Magic (They overpaid for Rashard Lewis. Dwight Howard still hasn't reached his potential. A lot of people think Howard will be a superstar that can lead a team to Championships. I don't believe that. I compare him to a Kevin Garnett type. He's great and fills out the stat sheet, but you need a better player around him to win it all. Rashard Lewis is not that player.)

4. Atlanta Hawks (I like Law and Horford. In the long run, they will need to run this offense through Horford to be successful, but Joe Johnson is better right now and the Hawks will continue to be bad.)

5. Charlotte Bobcats

WESTERN CONFERENCE

SOUTHWEST DIVISION
1. Dallas Mavericks (They will not go out in the first round this year.)

2. San Antonio Spurs

3. Houston Rockets (They made a good coaching hire and have players to play the way Adelman wants. I still can't put a team whose best player has never made it out of the first round ahead of San Antonio or Dallas.)

4. Memphis Grizzlies (Good changes. I think Darko will be a disappointment though. JCN is the real deal and has a shot at the 6th Man Award. Pau will be Pau. Rudy will average around 18ppg. Bottom line, this team will go nowhere with Pau Gasol as its best player.)

5. New Orleans Hornets (I would have them ahead of the Grizzlies because I do believe Chris Paul is better than the Grizzlies' best player, but I have a feeling Stojakovic gets hurt again.)

NORTHWEST DIVISION
1. Denver Nuggets (A full year of AI and Melo to go along with a healthy Kenyon Martin = division title)

2. Utah Jazz (They weren't a fluke last year. Deron Williams is the real deal, but the Kirilenko situation could cause problems and the bottom line is they aren't as talented as Denver.)

3. Portland Trail Blazers (They lost Oden for the year and traded Randolph. They're still good enough to finish 3rd. Brandon Roy will be improved and look out for LaMarcus Aldridge to have a breakout season.)

4. Seattle Sonics (Durant will be Rookie of the Year, but they are way too young.)

5. Minnesota Timberwolves (They are the Boston Celtics of last year minus Paul Pierce.)

PACIFIC DIVISION
1. Phoenix Suns (Does anyone else even have a chance to win this division?)

2. LA Lakers (They can't trade Kobe. Or can they? The Lakers want a lot for him and Kobe wants to win a title wherever he goes. The Bulls will have to give up too much and Kobe knows they wouldn't have enough left over to win big in Chicago. The most logical places are Dallas (for Dirk), San Antonio (for Parker and Ginobili) or Phoenix (for Marion, Bell and a pack of skittles). San Antonio and Phoenix aren't happening either.

3. Golden State Warriors (They could finish with a better record than the Lakers, but that means Baron Davis will have to be healthy for another 2 years. Not gonna happen.)

4. LA Clippers (Brand is out for awhile, but they're still better than the Kings.)

5. Sacramento Kings

PLAYOFFS
Eastern Conference Seeds
1. Boston
2. Detroit
3. Chicago
4. Miami
5. New Jersey Nets
6. Washington Wizards
7. Cleveland Cavaliers
8. Toronto Raptors

1st round
Boston over Toronto

Detroit over Cleveland

Chicago over Washington

Miami over New Jersey

2nd round
Boston over Miami

Detroit over Chicago

Eastern Conference Finals
Boston over Detroit

WESTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFFS
1. Dallas
2. Phoenix
3. San Antonio
4. Denver
5. Houston
6. Utah
7. Memphis
8. LA Lakers

1st round
Dallas over LA Lakers

Phoenix over Memphis

San Antonio over Utah

Denver over Houston

2nd round
Dallas over Denver

San Antonio over Phoenix

WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS
Dallas over San Antonio

NBA FINALS
Dallas over Boston