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David Robinson stands next to soccer star Mia Hamm.

Hi all,  

This being the first post on here I thought I’d just do a quick write up to see how things work.  Don’t expect anything too Earthshattering or insightful.  This is being written for the sole purpose of getting the blog going.

I am making my prediction now, yes I realize it’s August 22 and there is two months before the NBA regular season, but like I said this is being done to get the blog started.

Eastern Conference.

I see three teams in the east as the odds on favorites to be on top when the season draws to a close 9 months from now.

Boston is the team I see comming out a head, that is if Kevin Garnett can stay healthy.  A healthy KG and I expect Boston to win 60-65 games.

Orlando is the team I see as Boston’s biggest challenger.     They have the depth and they have a big man capible of containing KG.   

Cleveland is the last of the top three eastern teams.   They are a one man show, unless you’re into clown show’s than Shaq also qualifies, and that is going to hurt them.  Shaq’s not going to help them very much and I expect them to regress from last year.  Their biggest weakness was the pick-and-roll and they did not address this in free agency.   They will still be good but will likely finish third in the east.

The bottom of the eastern playoff bracket is much more difficult to figure out.   Many of these teams have done some moves I am really not sure of.

I see the Atlanta Hawks once again taking the four seed in the east.  They have a solid team that is just middle of the pack and nothing else.

Detroit is the team I think will surprise a lot of people.   They have some solid players and I think getting rid of Allen Iverson is addition by subtraction.   Gordon and Villaneuva are going to make the Pistons a better team but not a great team.

Miami, if Wade stays healthy, will struggle somewhat but should make it in at about six.  Now if they somehow acquire Carlos Boozer or another big stay this will change but as of now they are right here.

I am not sold on the Chicago Bulls yet.  They have some pieces and will probably make the playoffs because of lack of competition, but there is something about them that to me at least makes them seemed destined to fail.

The last playoff spot will go to the Washington Wizard.  They could move up if Gilbert Arena’s stays healthy and can return to his former self.  But Agent Zero has had three major knee surgeries in the past 18 months and few if any players return to all-star form after that.

Indiana and Charlotte will just miss out of the playoffs and I expect them to be in contention until the last few weeks of the season.

Philadelphia may make a push but the loss of Andre Miller is going to hurt this team a lot.

Toronto made some moves, but they are still somewhat of a mess and unless Chris Bosh can prove he is a leader they wont be doing much.   Though this is the one lottery team in the east I am really unsure of.  If they can get things together they could be a 4th or 5th seed.

The bottom feeders in the east will be Milwaukee, New Jersey and New York.   Milwaukee and New Jersey have some pieces which may give them hope and may get them some additional wins.  But the Knicks are a mess.  if they cannot get Lee and Robinson back the Knicks could seriously win 15 games.

The west is a bigger mess than the east.  In the west there is one great team, followed by 5 really good teams, and 2 pretty good teams.

The Los Angeles Lakers are the great team in the west.  It’s not hard to see why.  They have the best player in the game, a top 2 all-time coach, are the defending NBA champions and they got better by adding Ron Artest.   Lakers will finish a top the west with about 65 wins.

The Spurs are the biggest threat the Lakers have in the west.  The Spurs have more championship experience and got better by adding Richard Jefferson.

I’m going to take some heat here, but I think the Utah Jazz are the third best team in the west.  Pending another late season collapse and another run of injuries they are one of the deepest teams in the NBA and have three all-star caliber players and a HOF coach.

Denver is close to Utah though, very close.   Denver is going to suffer a bit with the loss of Linas Klieza because they will not be able to spread out the floor much.  But I expect them to still be a top seed in the west.

Portland is another team not to take lightly.   They have a lot of youth and added a veteran point guard.     I actually expect the difference between Utah, Denver, and Portland will come down to a sprained ankle or wrist in November, it will be that close.

New Orleans is going to be around as well.  I like to Okafor trade for them.  Chandler was hurt and they got a guy who can do what he did and much more.  I did not like the Butler trade as is hurts their already poor depth.

Dallas will be the 7th seed in the west.  They made some moves but Nowitizki is getting older and will not be able to carry the team.   Signing Kidd like they did is mind boggling as well.  He was below average last year and has been regressing for years and they expect him to play at a high level in a conference with Steve Nash, Tony Parker, Chris Paul, Chauncy Billups and Deron Williams.  Sorry to say Mav’s fans, but that isn’t happening.

The final playoff spot goes to the Phoenix Suns.   Amare and Nash will make them a 50 win team but don’t expect much more than that from them.

Golden State and the Los Angeles Clippers will make pushes for the post season, but neither has the depth to get it done.

Oklahoma City and Memphis will surprise a lot of people this year.  I don’t expect either to have a winning record but they could be hanging around the 8th seed as late as the All-star break.

Minnesota is still a few pieces short and wont do much at all.

Sacramento and Houston round out the west.   The Kings have some interesting pieced but they’re young and not expecting much.  The Rockets will be terrible without Yao Ming or T-mac. 

My awards predictions:

MVP- Kobe Bryant

MIP- Charlie Villenueva

ROTY- Blake Griffin

6th Man- Lamar Odom

COTY- Stan Van Gundy.

I know I said this would be a quick write up, and it ended up being close to 1,200 words but I hope you enjoyed.

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