Guess it's prediction time!!

[Pedro Cerrano]

The season is, FINALLY, less than a week away, so may as well toss the predictions out there. I'll go first:

ATLANTIC
New York (3)
Boston (4)
New Jersey (7)
Philadelphia
Toronto

SOUTHEAST
Miami (1)
Orlando (5)
Atlanta (6)
Washington
Charlotte

CENTRAL
Chicago (2)
Indiana (8)
Milwaukee
Cleveland
Detroit

SOUTHWEST
Dallas (2)
Memphis (4)
San Antonio (6)
Houston
New Orleans

NORTHWEST
Oklahoma City (1)
Minnesota (7)
Denver (8)
Utah
Portland

PACIFIC
LA Lakers (3)
LA Clippers (5)
Golden State
Phoenix
Sacramento

East Finals: Miami over Chicago
West Finals: Oklahoma City over LA Lakers
NBA Finals: Miami over Oklahoma City in 6
MVP: Kevin Durant
MIP: John Wall
ROY: Derrick Williams
COY: Rick Adelman

[mweb]

I'll wait to see the rest of the moves. I also need to analyze it more.

Are you banking on the Lakers doing something else or is your pick based on them as is?

As is, I think a pretty big drop off very well may occur.

[napbow]

I like Philadelphia to make the playoffs as the seventh seed over NJ and GS to make the playoffs over Denver. Other than that, I agree with you on pretty much everything.

I'm just hoping the Wiz get a top 5 pick.

[Pedro Cerrano]

I'll wait to see the rest of the moves. I also need to analyze it more.

Are you banking on the Lakers doing something else or is your pick based on them as is?

As is, I think a pretty big drop off very well may occur.

Banking on something -- but everyone should reserve the right to change their selections if something major happens (like Howard gets traded). This is all in fun.

[Birds of B'more]

ATLANTIC
New York (3)
Boston (5)
New Jersey (8)
Philadelphia
Toronto

SOUTHEAST
Miami (1)
Atlanta (4)
Orlando (6)
Washington
Charlotte

CENTRAL
Chicago (2)
Milwaukee (7)
Indiana
Cleveland
Detroit

SOUTHWEST
Dallas (1)
San Antonio (4)
Memphis (5)
Houston
New Orleans

NORTHWEST
Oklahoma City (3)
Denver (6)
Portland (8)
Utah
Minnesota

PACIFIC
LA Lakers (2)
LA Clippers (7)
Golden State
Phoenix
Sacramento

East Finals: Miami over Chicago
West Finals: Dallas over OKC
NBA Finals: Miami over Dallas



Like others, I'll reserve the right to modify if a major trade occurs before Christmas.

[Pedro Cerrano]

ATLANTIC
New York (3)
Boston (5)
New Jersey (8)
Philadelphia
Toronto

SOUTHEAST
Miami (1)
Atlanta (4)
Orlando (6)
Washington
Charlotte

CENTRAL
Chicago (2)
Milwaukee (7)
Indiana
Cleveland
Detroit

SOUTHWEST
Dallas (1)
San Antonio (4)
Memphis (5)
Houston
New Orleans

NORTHWEST
Oklahoma City (3)
Denver (6)
Portland (8)
Utah
Minnesota

PACIFIC
LA Lakers (2)
LA Clippers (7)
Golden State
Phoenix
Sacramento

East Finals: Miami over Chicago
West Finals: Dallas over OKC
NBA Finals: Miami over Dallas



Like others, I'll reserve the right to modify if a major trade occurs before Christmas.

I can't believe you have the worst team in the NBA making the playoffs!

[Birds of B'more]

I can't believe you have the worst team in the NBA making the playoffs!

It all depends on Aldridge. They have a relatively easy schedule early on. If the others can hold down the fort they could be 5-3 on Jan 10, and if he's back by then and absent any other catastrophes (knock on wood), they have the talent to steal an 8-seed. However, the Blazers have been typically vague and tight-lipped about Aldridge's recovery and timetable, so I may be overly optimistic there.

Honestly, I'd be just fine if they missed the playoffs this year and end up in the lottery. With all of the cap space they will have next summer, and possibly a high pick in a deep draft, they should have the opportunity to do a re-make, get a great player to pair with Aldridge, and fill out the rest of the roster with some decent players. Now if Paul Allen would only get over himself and hire a GM, so there's someone capable of actually making it happen.

EDIT: This was just published online by The Oregonian about an hour ago. Very encouraging news on Aldridge.

Aldridge update
Speaking of Aldridge, McMillan said his starting power forward is on track to participate in all portions of practice Tuesday— including drills and scrimmages involving contact. Aldridge eased into practices over the weekend on a limited basis.

Although Aldridge has not yet been cleared, the hope remains that he plays in Wednesday’s exhibition finale at Utah.

[napbow]

I think the Timberwolves will surprise some people. I don't think they will make the playoffs but I expect them to be playing well by the end of the year.

[Floater]

I think the Timberwolves will surprise some people. I don't think they will make the playoffs but I expect them to be playing well by the end of the year.

I'm starting to think so too. Rubio looked pretty decent in his first game, Beasley lost weight and has a ton of talent, Kevin Love is Kevin Love, D Will is nasty, W Johnson could break out and Berea will be a nice spark off the bench.

[mweb]

EAST (in order of record):

MIA
CHI
IND
ORL
PHI
NYK
BOS
MIL
ATL
DET
NJ
WAS
TOR
CLEV
CHA

WEST:

OKC
DEN
LAC
DAL
SAS
MEM
LAL
POR
HOU
MIN
GSW
UT
SAC
NO
PHX

East Finals: MIA over CHI
West Finals: OKC OVER LAC

MIA over OKC

[Pedro Cerrano]

Interesting how low you have Memphis ranked and how high you have Denver ranked.

[Birds of B'more]

Interesting how low you have Memphis ranked and how high you have Denver ranked.

I had Denver as a #6 seed, but I could easily see them being a #4 seed. But not #2. And I'm not so high on the Clippers' bandwagon that I would rank them #3 in the West, let alone ahead of the Lakers. But we'll see. Should be interesting.

[Pedro Cerrano]

Who's going to be the primary scorer for Denver? Nene? Lawson? They're both decent scorers but the Nuggets don't have anyone to turn to for reliable offense.

[mweb]

Interesting how low you have Memphis ranked and how high you have Denver ranked.

Well I don't think the gap between 4 and 6 is large at all, so I could see Memphis as the 4th best team record wise.

Arthur getting hurt is a big blow to the depth of Memphis. They really have a lack of front court depth now.

Depth is a big thing this year, and Denver has tons of it. They played great in the regular season last year after the trade and should again this year. It may not be a formula for postseason success, but going a legit 10-12 deep and spreading the ball around on offense should work well in the regular season.

[mweb]

I had Denver as a #6 seed, but I could easily see them being a #4 seed. But not #2. And I'm not so high on the Clippers' bandwagon that I would rank them #3 in the West, let alone ahead of the Lakers. But we'll see. Should be interesting.

Dallas is not as good as they were last year since their older players are a year older, they lost their best real big man and defensive presence, and they lost a good spark for them off the bench. Odom will help make up for some of that difference, but not all of it imo. He's in a similar situation to what he was with the Lakers, meaning they can't really play him all that much when the other front court players are healthy.

The Nuggets and Clippers are absolutely better suited for this regular season than the Lakers imo. Look at that Lakers roster. I mean really look at it. Why is that team the 2nd best team in the West during a compressed regular season? Who do they have after their top 3 guys? 3 guys who are hard to count on to play a lot of minutes each game. Kobe already has an injury issue, Bynum is suspended for the first 5 games and is a big injury risk, and Gasol is getting up their in age. Their next best players are Josh McRoberts and I don't know, maybe Matt Barnes. Last year, they were a 4 man team that got 82 games out of 3 out of 4 of them. This year they are a 3 man team that already has an injury and a suspension to deal with among those top 3. Plus, a new coach and system to implement in a shortened training camp/preseason.

The Lakers may beat the Nuggets in the playoffs due to having a better roster at the top, but the Nuggets depth and homecourt advantage (altitude is even better this year for them) should give them the edge during the season.