Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Western Conference Predictions

Before I get to the predictions, let’s just take a couple more looks at the Trinity touchdown. 

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/stories/MYSA102707.EN.FBCtrinity.millsaps.1b21f550e.html

http://www.azcardinals.com/blog/post.php?author=1&id=488

All in all, I’d have to say it was a pretty good week for the mighty Tigers.  Hopefully, they roll that momentum into a big win over Centre College this Saturday.

Back to the preview:

WESTERN CONFERENCE:

Pacific Division
1.  Phoenix - (1) They are the perfect team for the regular season.  They get out and run and shoot well.  They score a bunch of points and beat the teams they are supposed to.  Their pace also does not create a lot of wear-and-tear on their players, because of the lack of contact.  However, they still are not set up to beat a team with any semblance of a post presence in the postseason.  Sorry, Phoenix fans.  Maybe something else will happen to your team so you can continue to come up with excuses for why your team has failed to win a title.
2.  Golden State - (7) Baron Davis must stay healthy.  If he can, and that is a huge ‘if’, then the Warriors are playoff bound.  Heck, if Davis plays 75-plus games, he could thrust the Warriors even higher in the postseason standings, and possibly be in the running for league MVP.
3.  Los Angeles Lakers - (8*) Notice the lack of a number after their name.  *If the Black Mamba stays or goes, this team isn’t making it to the playoffs.
4.  Los Angeles Clippers - Losing Elton Brand kills any shot the Clips had at the postseason, which wasn’t much to begin with. 
5.  Sacramento - This team was going to be bad anyway, but wasting a draft pick on an injured white stiff and losing Bibby earlier than usual has completely demolished this team.  They could be the worst team in the league, especially after Artest gets unloaded for chump change.

Northwest Division
1.  Denver - (3) Iverson and ‘Melo together for an entire season, plus a healthy Camby, Nene, and K-Mart off the bench should have the Nuggets big and strong.  They could be a monster in the playoffs.
2.  Utah - (5) I doubt Boozer stays healthy all year (track record), which is why they are not the top seed out of the Northwest Division.  However, you already know my love for Fess as Memo Okur’s backup.  This is a quality team that is incredibly deep. 
3.  Seattle - (8) Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, Delonte West, Robert Swift (once healthy), and Johan Petro will all be solid pros.  They will also play well together with Nick Collison and Chris Wilcox.  However, much like Portland, this team is a couple of years away.  Too bad the people of Seattle will never see the Durant-era come to fruition.
4.  Portland - Losing Oden hurt this team, but it did not kill them.  They will still have a solid frontcourt with Pryzbilla, Frye, and Adlridge (who could have a HUGE season).  Also, they get Oden back next year, they have a plethora of talent overseas that they purchased from Phoenix, and they’ll get a solid draft pick next year.  This team will be scary in two seasons.
4.  Seattle - Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, Delonte West, Robert Swift (once healthy), and Johan Petro will all be solid pros.  They will also play well together with Nick Collison and Chris Wilcox.  However, much like Portland, this team is a couple of years away.  Too bad the people of Seattle will never see the Durant-era come to fruition.
5.  Minnesota - All together Minnesota fans, “Al Jefferson is not K.G. He is gone, and we must move on.”  Keep saying that, and eventually you will make it.  Your team won’t, but you should be in a better place.

Southwest Division
1.  Dallas - (2) Hey, Dallas has the best (or second best) record in the NBA.  Hey, Dallas has nothing to show for it.  The more things change…
2.  San Antonio - (4) …the more they stay the same.  What do you expect?
3.  Houston - (6) Rick Adelman is the perfect coach for Yao Ming.  Expect great numbers from him this season.  More on this team in a second
4.  New Orleans - Chris Paul is so good, but can he counter what Deron Williams did last year?  Unfortunately, Peja will get hurt, and the Hornets have too many games against San Antonio, Dallas and Houston.
5.  Memphis - Year one of the change of offenses with a young team to boot.  Sorry Iavaroni, it will take time.  Steve Nash ain’t walking through that door.

So the playoff standings for the Western Conference should look like this:
1.  Phoenix
2.  Dallas
3.  Denver
4.  San Antonio
5.  Utah
6.  Houston
7.  Golden State
8.  Seattle (assuming Kobe gets dealt)

Phoenix, Dallas, Denver, and San Antonio would all advance under this scenario.  Houston fans welcome to the “Rick Adelman Playoff Collapses” portion of the program.  So sorry.

The conference semifinals should be awesome then.  San Antonio will defeat Dallas, and I actually think that Denver might have enough firepower to beat the Suns, assuming Iverson and ‘Melo are healthy.  Remember all those big guys I rattled off for Denver, yeah, Phoenix can’t do anything about that.

The Western Conference finals will be a slugfest.  I hate picking against the Spurs, but I did it last year and they won it all, so…

Denver versus Washington in the NBA Finals, and Iverson gets a ring!!!! Even with George Karl as the head coach and no three point shooting?  Oh, I forgot to mention that mid-season deal where the Nuggets unload somebody (read, Chucky Atkins and a draft pick) to pick up a quality deep threat.

Let’s hope the mojo of picking against San Antonio works again.

Posted by drose523 at 19:04:09 | Permalink | No Comments »

2007-2008 NBA Preview

This upcoming NBA season is one of the most hyped seasons I can remember in recent history.  There are many reasons for this, including the already impressive rookie class, the fallout from Donaghy, the impending disaster when Phoenix and Dallas fail to get the job done again (pleasurable for me, and a little foreshadowing), LeBron’s opportunity to continue to shine, a full season of the Iverson-Melo tandem in Denver, the disaster that will be the Isiah (and his continued fall from grace) and the Knicks (I believe Curry and Randolph will have a brawl that will put Etan Thomas and Brendan Haywood to shame), a healthy Agent Zero in a contract year, and the resurgence of green in the East (read, Boston).

In consideration of my crazy, going out on a limb, prediction from last season, let us try to forget that one, I am going to have to go with the smart and safe pick.  But not yet.  Let’s take a look at how each division will play out, starting in the East.  The teams will be broken down by their finish in their division, and the numbers in parenthesis will represent the playoff seeding.

EASTERN CONFERENCE:

Atlantic Division
1.  Boston Celtics - (2) Their big three is better than most starting fives in the NBA.  Don’t worry too much about their lack of depth either.  I have a feeling Juwan Howard or some other savvy veterans will end up in green before too long.
2.  Toronto Raptors - (6) The Raptors should be playoff bound once again after they get healthy, glue guy, Jorge Garbajosa back.  He is a solid all-around player that will help CB-4, T.J. Ford and Andrea Bargnani develop into a very good team.  I give them one more year before this team really turns some heads.
3.  New Jersey - With Kidd’s body starting to break down, and the always brittle Richard Jefferson ailing, I can’t back a team with a center that is coming off of major knee surgery and Vince Carter with a new, fat contract.  I can’t wait to see Jay-Z’s face when he watched Vinsanity jack up 25-footers on a consistent basis. 
4.  New York - Between Quentin Richardson’s bad back, Jamaal Crawford’s 28% shooting, the uber-crazy Starbury, the buffet-friendly Eddy Curry, the lady-loving, overdealing Isiah, the criminally insane Randolph, the hihgly unmotivated Randolph Morris, the release of Demetris Nichols, the $200 million payroll, and the incoherent owner of this mess Jimmy Dolan, what’s not to love?
5.  Philadelphia - It will be a good year for Andre Iggy fans, too bad the team will suck.

Central Division
1.  Chicago - (1) With or without the Kobe deal going through, I think the Bulls win the Eastern Conference regular season.  They just have that type of roster that will win every game that they are supposed to, especially with Skiles at the healm.
2.  Detroit - (4) This is the year that you start to see a real decline in the Pistons.  Rasheed’s playoff meltdown will carryover into this season, and he could be a major liability.  Also, Rip and Chauncey (not Mr. Big Shot) cannot continue to handle the load like they did the past few seasons, especially with the lack of depth in the Pistons backcourt.
3.  Cleveland - (5) Eventually, the Cavs will get one or both of Pavlovic and Varejao back.  However, Larry Hughes might spend 70 games on the injured list at this point, and Big Z’s feet ain’t holding up forever.  Daniel Gibson could be in the running for some major minutes this season, which could be fun because his shooting is such a great complement to LeBron.
4.  Milwaukee - I want to like this team, I really do.  However, Charlie Villenueva, Andrew Bogut, Mo Williams, Earl Boykins, and Charlie Bell are all injury prone players.  That leaves Michael Redd to do the majority of the lifting, and just like Ray Allen, that can’t be done by a one-trick pony.  And for ‘Chair’man Yi, it could take a while.
5.  Indianapolis -They would be the worst team in the Eastern Conference were it not for Jermaine O’Neal’s professionalism.  Still, they won’t be very good.

Southeastern Division
1.  Wasington - (1) The aforementioned healthy Agent Zero in a contract year is more than enough for this team.  However, they have the added bonus of having two other excellent scorers that also do little things well in Antawn Jamison (highly efficient scorer-rebounder) and Caron Butler (tremendous all-around and mid-range game).  They also have quality veteran guards in Antonio Daniels and Deshawn Stephenson that can score when needed, but they also defend very well.  If they can get anything from Brendan Haywood, then the Wizards should have a very strong regular season.
2.  Miami - (7) They will have the super-duo of Shaq and Dwyane Wade together for just enough games to land the number 7 seed, because Wade may miss over two months of the regular season.  However, if they get healthy at the end, they could be a monster in the postseason.
3.  Orlando - (8)  This is what spending $20 mil a year on Rashard Lewis gets you, an eighth seed in the East.  Note to GM’s everywhere, “STOP OVERPAYING!”
4.  Atlanta - Seriously, they are one year away from possibly sitting atop the Southeastern Division.  Too bad nobody in Atlanta will ever notice.  And no, I will not change the font color for the Hawks.  They will continue to be orange in my heart.
5.  Charlotte - Also knocking on the door for recognition.  The Bobcats will be much better, and I really like what a lineup of Raymond Felton, Jason Richardson, Gerald Wallace, Emeka Okafor, and Primoz Brezec can do.  Add Walter Hermann and Matt Carroll to the lineup and that is a quality team.  However, Felton, Richardson, Wallace, Okafor and Brezec will all miss a handful of games this year, which doesn’t help considering the team has already lost Morrison and May for a lenghty amount(if not all) of the season.

So, the Eastern Conference Playoff Picture should look something like this:
1.  Washington
2.  Boston
3.  Chicago
4.  Detroit
5.  Cleveland
6.  Toronto
7.  Miami
8.  Orlando

I believe that Washington, Boston, Chicago and Cleveland will all win in the first round of the playoffs leading to a conference semifinal slate of: Washington v. Cleveland, and Boston v. Chicago.  Both series are very intriguing.  The Wizards should finally get the upper hand on Cleveland and will likely battle Boston for the Eastern Conference finals.  That will be a very fun series to watch, and will probably go all seven games.  I still like the Wizards this season.  I think they have something to prove. 

Eastern Conference Champs - Washington Wizards

Stay tuned for who I think the Wizards will meet up with in the 2008 NBA Finals.  I will have that information for you this afternoon. 

Posted by drose523 at 14:19:23 | Permalink | No Comments »

Yet Another Version of the Trinity Play

Below is the link of the video of Trinity’s fifteen lateral play as seen from the enzone.  Click on the link to watch it on YouTube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7oF4ZDigjM

I will be back later today with an NBA preview, but for now, rest assured that Tim Duncan will not leave San Antonio until at least 2012.  Good times.

Posted by drose523 at 12:15:40 | Permalink | No Comments »