Guess it's prediction time!!

[Birds of B'more]

You could make the exact same argument for a lack of depth on the Clippers as you can the Lakers. Billups is getting old, and like Bynum, Paul has had health issues in recent years too.

[mweb]

You could make the exact same argument for a lack of depth on the Clippers as you can the Lakers. Billups is getting old, and like Bynum, Paul has had health issues in recent years too.

I don't think you can.

Clippers top 3 is Paul, Griffin, and Billups. After that they have Jordan, Butler, Williams, Bledsoe, Gomes, Foye, and Cook. I'll easily take that over McRoberts, Barnes, Blake, Murphy, Fisher, Ebanks, and Metta.

Now they should make a deal of Williams or Bledsoe for another big or a SG and I think there's a good chance they do that. I also think they'll probably pick up a cheap vet to fill one of those holes.

Their roster may not be great after the top 3, but it's easily better than the Lakers and it fits better imo. Their starting 5 has maybe their 5 best players, at least 5 of their best 6, none of which are weaknesses. The Lakers have bad situations at the 1 and the 3 unless Blake really rebounds and/or Ebanks really progresses. I have no faith in Metta or Fish and Barnes is guy who should be a solid bench player.

And the Clips don't have one of their best players suspended for the first 5 games and another with an injury that will probably cause issues throughout the year.

[Pedro Cerrano]

At this point I'm putting the Lakers as division winners solely because they are the more experienced, veteran team. The Clippers obviously have the better roster top to bottom.

[J.D.]

I'm so excited that my Clippers actually matter, for a change. I fully expect Chris Paul's knee to explode in February.

[Pedro Cerrano]

I'm so excited that my Clippers actually matter, for a change. I fully expect Chris Paul's knee to explode in February.

Haha, that's very possible, but I'm happy for Clips' fans. I can't stand the team (for obvious reasons) and their owner is abysmal, but I hope their fans enjoy this.

[MikeAD]

Shoot, season starts tomorrow, better put in my picks:

West:

Northwest:
Thunder (1)
Blazers (6)
Nuggets (8)

Southwest:
Dallas (3)
Spurs (4)
Grizzlies (5)

Pacific:
Lakers (2)
Clippers (7)

Conf Finals: Lakers over Thunders

East:

Atlantic:
Celtics (3)
Knicks (4)

Central:
Bulls (2)
Pacers (7)
Bucks (8)

Southeast:
Heat (1)
Hawks (5)
Magic (6)

Eastern Finals Heat over Bulls

NBA Championship: Heat over Lakers

MVP: King James
ROY: Rubio

[J.D.]

Haha, that's very possible, but I'm happy for Clips' fans. I can't stand the team (for obvious reasons) and their owner is abysmal, but I hope their fans enjoy this.

It's hard to like the team with such a terrible owner (but I'm an O's fan, so I'm used to it). I started liking them in college (during the Darius Miles days) and the last decade or so has been an exercise in "Get hopes up, then have them horribly shattered."

So I'm enjoying it while I can. I still expect him to take an arrow to the knee.

[mweb]

Well so far most of my more against the grain picks are looking pretty good.

The Nuggets as one of the best teams in the West.
The Clippers being better than the Lakers.
The Pacers and Sixers being good.
The Knicks not being as strong as most thought, and they may even be worse than I predicted.

But it looks like I was wrong on the Hawks as they have been much better than I expected.

[mweb]

Well so far most of my more against the grain picks are looking pretty good.

The Nuggets as one of the best teams in the West.
The Clippers being better than the Lakers.
The Pacers and Sixers being good.
The Knicks not being as strong as most thought, and they may even be worse than I predicted.

But it looks like I was wrong on the Hawks as they have been much better than I expected.

And of course right after I say this, Billups is lost for the year, the Nuggets suffer some key injuries, and the dawn of Linsanity begins.

[Pedro Cerrano]

And of course right after I say this, Billups is lost for the year, the Nuggets suffer some key injuries, and the dawn of Linsanity begins.

Still somewhat early. Tough tough break for the Clips (but as a Laker fan I love it).

I really like what Indiana has done up there. They've put together a pretty damn solid squad.