Wednesday, November 8, 2006

Predictions for Individual NBA Honors in 2006-2007

Individual Honors for the 2006-2007 NBA Season:

MVP: LeBron James.
     Runner-up: Chris Paul
     Sleeper: Gilbert Arenas
     This will be a landslide. If this team plays as well as it should, James is a lock for this honor. It will be the first of many. Think Barry Bonds type-level of MVP awards, sans ginormous cranium and steroid allegations.

 

6th Man: Corey Maggette
     Runner-up: Antonio Daniels
     Sleeper: Donyell Marshall
     Note that Antonio McDyess isn’t on the list. That is because he will end up starting too many games because of Rasheed’s suspensions. I’m telling you, Rasheed may miss 35 games this year because of injuries and suspensions.

Comeback Player of the Year: Amare Stodamire
     Runner-up: Larry Hughes
     Sleeper: J.R. Smith
     This award has practically been given to Amare already. It’s a joke. Sure, he’ll go for close to 21 and 9 this year, but I think Larry Hughes’ return will have a greater impact. I list J.R. Smith as my sleeper because he was left for dead at the end of Byron Scott’s bench last season after an exceptional rookie year. The kid is oozing with potential, and is the only solid shooter on Denver’s roster. He will still have ups and downs as a third-year player out of high school, but the guy will be lights out for a couple of games and be a great addition to the Nuggets.

Most Improved: Darko Millicic
     Runner-up: Francisco Elson
     Sleeper: Andrew Bynum
     I had this award ready to go for Robert Swift until he got hurt. Now, I’m giving it to Darko. There was nowhere to go but up for him. The guy is going to get a ton of minutes, and so far, he’s shown he has the abilities to get it done. Fatigue and conditioning are still issues for him, but the guy looks good. He’s added more muscle, and a mo-hawk to boot. That’s a good combo. Also, he’s already shown a penchant for defense and soft hands in the post. I think the kid may work out after all. Alright, I quit channeling Chad Ford. Unfortunately, I didn’t get these predictions up last week, because my sleeper pick would have knocked your socks off. Now, I look like I’m jumping on the Bynum bandwagon. This sucks.

Defensive Player of the Year: Dwight Howard
     Runner-up: Bruce Bowen
     Sleeper: Tyson Chandler
     Howard should lead the league in rebounding and be in the top in blocked shots, especially with all the help he will receive from Darko and Tony Battie. There will also be plenty of opportunities to block shots on guys driving by Hedo Turkoglu. I think I’ve given up my quest to get Bruce Bowen this award. It just doesn’t seem like the people will listen. He was robbed in each of the last two seasons, and now it seems as if his opportunity has passed him by. It is unfortunate.

Coach of the Year: Mike Brown
     Runner-up: Eddie Jordan
     Sleeper: Gregg Popovich
     Should win: Jerry Sloan
     If the Jazz make it to the playoffs, can we all just agree to give it to Sloan? The guy has deserved this honor at least 5 times that I can think of, yet has never won the award. It is highway robbery at this point. On the flip side, I loved Big Mike Brown when he was a Spurs’ assistant, and am still a fan. Needless to say, I won’t be disappointed when he wins it.

Executive of the Year: R.C. Buford
     Runner-up: Ernie Grunfeld
     Sleeper: George Shinn
     Never thought I would put Shinn on that list, but if the Hornets get to the postseason because of their trades and additions, he should win the award. I listed the other two ahead of him because both teams lost key contributors and starters last season, and replaced them with low-cost players who do exactly the same things. (Read: Deshawn Stephenson and Francisco Elson) Neither the Wizards or Spurs burned any salary-cap money in doing this, and I think they both got better. Sometimes doing the little things is better than making big moves. (That little ditty may have been meant for Marc Cuban.)

Most overrated player this year: Tracy McGrady
     The drop-off from a couple of years ago was almost as meteoric as his rise to prominence. Now he settles for jumpers, doesn’t play defense, and gets hurt for 25 games a year. That sounds a little bit like the guy I normally reserved for this spot, Chris Webber.

First team All-NBA:
Kobe Bryant
Dwyane Wade
LeBron James
Dirk Nowitzki
Ben Wallace

Second team All-NBA
Allen Iverson
Gilbert Arenas
Tim Duncan
Kevin Garnett
Yao Ming

Third team All-NBA
Chris Paul
Steve Nash (should be Tony Parker)
Shawn Marion
Carmello Anthony
Shaquille O’Neal

First team All-Defense
Kobe Bryant
Ron Artest
Bruce Bowen
Dwight Howard
Ben Wallace

Second team All-Defense
Larry Hughes
Rajon Rondo
Tim Duncan
Andrei Kirilenko
Tyson Chandler

Third team All-Defense
Shane Battier
Quentin Ross
Kevin Garnett
Elton Brand
Marcus Camby

Posted by drose523 at 21:28:13 | Permalink | Comments (4)

NBA Predictions

They’re here! Their finally here! Well, it’s about d$#% time. Without further ado, I give you my NBA predictions for the season (Please note that the teams will be broken down by their finish within their respective divisions and the numbers signify the teams’ finish in the overall playoff standings):

EASTERN CONFERENCE:

Atlantic Division
New Jersey (2)
Philadelphia (8)
Toronto
Boston
New York (2nd worst team in the league)

Central Division
Cleveland (1)
Chicago (4)
Detroit (6) (thanks in part to the departure of Ben Wallace, and in part to Rasheed for missing 12 games for
suspensions as a result of too many technicals)
Milwaukee (one year away from being a playoff contender)
Indiana (time to shuffle things up)

Southeast Division
Washington (3)
Miami (5)
Orlando (7)
Charlotte
Atlanta (worst team in the league)

Eastern Conference Playoffs:

Round 1:

1. Cleveland defeats 8. Philadelphia 4-1 (the one win is the requisite Iverson going for 50+)

2. New Jersey defeats 7. Orlando 4-3 (the world will see how great Dwight Howard is, and how scary this Orlando team is going to be in the future. Unfortunately, Hedo Turkoglu will cost them two games when he disappears from the face of the earth in the postseason. I’ve seen it before.)

3. Washington defeats 6. Detroit 4-3 (once again Detroit will get burned by Rasheed’s antics, and Gilbert Arenas averages close to 35 per game.)

5. Miami defeats 4. Chicago 4-3 (Chicago just doesn’t have what it takes to be a winner in the postseason…yet.)

Round 2:

1. Cleveland defeats 5. Miami 4-3 in what will be one of the greatest postseason matchups in NBA history. LeBron and D-Wade will go back-and-forth like Larry v. ‘Nique or Jordan v. Isiah. It will be awesome.

3. Washington defeats 2. New Jersey 4-2 (Vince doesn’t care enough to stay tough for 82 games and two grueling postseason series. He’ll struggle against the vastly underrated defensive abilities of Deshawn Stephenson and Antonio Daniels)

Eastern Conference Finals:

1. Cleveland defeats 3. Washington 4-2 (in a rematch of the East’s best postseason series last year. Without Jared Jeffries size to fight LeBron, King James will torch the Wizards. Gilbert Arenas will keep it close, but it won’t be enough. And yes, I really think LeBron is that good.)

Eastern Conference Champs: Cleveland Cavaliers

WESTERN CONFERENCE:

Northwest Division
Denver (3)
Minnesota (7) (my “see, I really did have these predictions set before the season started” team. You can pencil these guys out of it, and replace them with …)
Utah (vastly underrated, but I can’t trust Kirilenko to stay healthy. He’s one injury away from being dealt for young
gunners and picks to turn the keys over to Ronnie Brewer)
Seattle
Portland (much better than previously believed, but still too young to figure it out for 82 games. They’ll be exciting in the years to come)

Pacific
Los Angeles Clippers (2)
Phoenix (4)
Los Angeles Lakers (6)
Golden State (still on the outside looking in)
Sacramento (Brad Miller’s already hurt. Any question as to when Bibby goes down?)

Southwest
San Antonio (1)
Dallas (5) (too many roster moves yet again. I don’t like what they’ve done, and will get into that more in a separate piece)
New Orleans (8)
Houston (finishing just a game and a half out of the postseason. Injuries to McGrady and Yao, and a Bonzi goes crazy moment will absolutely kill this team)
Memphis (Rudy Gay may be the superstar to couple with Pau Gasol, but it will take a year. I don’t think Gasol will come back as tough as he was last year. It will take some time to mesh these guys together. Plus, I think Eddie Jones might actually turn to dust on the court this year.)

Western Conference Playoffs:

Round 1:

1. San Antonio over 8. New Orleans 4-1 (Tony Parker v. Chris Paul. I cannot wait for this matchup. Unfortunately, Paul’s assist numbers will take a huge hit when Peja stops making shots in the second quarter of game 1, and then sits for at least one game in the series.)

2. Los Angeles Clippers defeat 7. Minnesota 4-0 (Minny won’t even be here. But, nobody in the 7 spot will be able to compete with the Clippers.)

6. Los Angeles Lakers defeat 3. Denver 4-2 (Carmelo starting to assume the role of K.G. as “superstar who can’t get out of first round” or “superstar who can’t win in postseason” according to the media despite the fact that he carried a group of freshman to the national championship at Syracuse. How quickly they forget.)

4. Phoenix defeats 5. Dallas (in a series where the teams may score 120 per game.)

Round 2:

1. San Antonio defeats 4. Phoenix 4-3 (Steve Nash just breaks down by the end of this series. The guy’s motor has logged a ton of miles in the past 2 years. He just won’t be able to withstand it. However, this will be a close series.)

2. Los Angeles Clippers defeat 6. Los Angeles Lakers 4-2 (Kobe and nobody else, including a broken Lamar Odom won’t be able to defeat this loaded Clippers group.)

Western Conference Finals:

2. Los Angeles Clippers defeat 1. San Antonio Spurs 4-3 (partly as a way to show that I’m not completely biased towards San Antonio, only 98% biased. Also, I wanted to get crazy with these picks to break up the monotony that I’ve seen EVERYWHERE.)

Western Conference Champs: Los Angeles Clippers

NBA FINALS:
Los Angeles Clippers defeat Cleveland Cavaliers 4-2. Admit it. This would be an exciting series to watch. LeBron. The lowly Clippers rising up to win a title in Lakerville, USA. It is a feel good story, and would do the NBA some good.)

NBA CHAMPS: LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I’ll be back this afternoon with individual honors. Peace out, G.

 

Posted by drose523 at 14:31:29 | Permalink | No Comments »