Sports Illustrated's NBA Rankings for 2006-2007 Season

[KIG1]

Got my issue too. I was pretty impressed with the issue altogether. I liked the reads on the Young'ns.

[KDawg295]

yea.. me too.. which cover did u get?.. let me re state that .. who's in the middle on the cover of ur issue?

[Christopherson]

Just remember guys, this is the same magazine that picked the 1-6 Dolphins to play in the Super Bowl...

[KDawg295]

yea... but i would say the suns are a safe bet... if amare is healthy all year.

[BigKaboom2]

I think the Celtics are better than the Sixers, Raptors, and Knicks, but that's just my bias I suppose.

[Oznogrd]

the chicago love comes from a very talented raw team....as i said a dark horse team who flies under the radar and gets enough wins and as was said "almost upset" miami. Their players last year were all extremely young and many of them are still developing (Deng, Hinrich, and Gordon come immideately to mind)...if they stay together and can truly gel as a team, they're only gonna get better....they're actually the NBA team i'm following the most closely right now. Someone give me a stat on the average peak years of NBA players and back me up on this

[Zoom]

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division

New Jersey Nets(3) - Kidd, Carter and Jefferson will keep the show running... how far the Nets get in the playoffs will depend on others like Krstic... and I think it's Vince's final season before he skips town to go home to Florida...
Toronto Raptors (7) - Will surprise man, I predict a slow start where everyone writes them off before they cause many upsets over the course of the season. I'm a fan
New York Knicks (8) - Even bigger surprise... do or die for Thomas... I predict they will make the playoffs and Thomas will still be sacked...
Boston Celtics (11) - I think the Celtics will be looking good to make the playoffs but fall out of the picture in March...
Philadelphia 76ers (13) - I think controversey and a ton more AI trade rumours to ruin their season after the All-Star break

Southeast Division

Miami Heat (1) - Defending champs are the only team I think will be able come first in the East...
Washington Wizards (6) - The team who will knock the Nets out of the first round Gilbert Arenas will score 50 points against the Suns and then 60 against the Blazers
Orlando Magic (9) - Darko Milicic will shine, Reddick will fade into obscurity...
Charlotte Bobcats (12) - Adam Morrison will win Rookie of the Year...
Atlanta Hawks (15) - I'd hate to leave them last but... at least look out for Marvin Williams who is capable of having a BIG year!

Central Division

Chicago Bulls (2) - This is probably a HUGE call but I think the Bulls will surprise many people this season.
Cleveland Cavaliers (4) - LeBron and the Cavs will get home court advanatge and play the Pistons in the first round
Detroit Pistons (5) -- Read above... (plus, Ben Wallace leaving the team will have a negative effect on their fortunes)
Milwaukee Bucks (10) -- A slow start in the season but then a fast finish will be the only thing that keeps them close to the rest of the pack.
Indiana Pacers (14) -- It will be back to the drawing boards for Jermaine and the Pacers... sorry Indy fans.

Western Conference [/b]

Southwest Division

Dallas Mavericks (2) - Dirk and the Mavs will want to play and get a good record for the season
Houston Rockets (4) - There won't be any injuries this season and Yao Ming will be an MVP candidate (maybe the second aprt is a bit of a stretch...)
San Antonio Spurs (5) - I think only a handful of games will seperate the three teams from Texas
Memphis Grizzlies (9) - Pau's injury hurts them at the start...
New Orleans Hornets (10) - A good offseason and it's sink or swim for the Hornets... i think they will swim before going deeper and then sinking... fast...

Northwest Division

Denver Nuggets (3) - They will return to the 3rd seed and lose in the first round...
Minnesota Timberwolves (8) - KG wil be happy to make the playoffs again! So will I!
Utah Jazz (13) - Andrei Kirilenko will go down with a season ending injury, Ronnie Brewer will get robbed in Utah... lots... poor dude Sorta kidding bout the Brewer part...
Seattle SuperSonics (14) - Overacheived two years ago, this is where I think they belong...
Portland Trail Blazers (15) - Young team but I don't see much chance of them moving up the standings... watch out for Roy in the future tho...

Pacific Division

Phoenix Suns (1) - Amare is back and the Suns are ready to run... keep an eye out for Nash... he's getting old...
Los Angeles Lakers (6) - The Lakers will improve on their position last year... if it doesn't happen, I see the other LA team in this spot...
Los Angeles Clippers (7) - The addition of Tim Thomas helps this team, I predict Elton Brand is going to have a poor year...
Sacramento Kings (11) - Ron Artest is going to skip games to promote his album... then he's gonna get shot... at least he's gonna have a rap career... all rappers become popular after they get shot
Golden State Warriors (12) - The Warriors are missing something, I just can't think of what it is...

[nets4life]

New Jersey Nets(3) - Kidd, Carter and Jefferson will keep the show running... how far the Nets get in the playoffs will depend on others like Krstic... and I think it's Vince's final season before he skips town to go home to Florida...

ohhh hell no! VINCE IS SIGNING THE EXTENSION !@#S!@#!@

your analysis is okay but Raps at 7 ? lakers above clippers ?

[Zoom]

VINCE IS SIGNING THE EXTENSION !@#S!@#!@

He might go to Orlando... maybe... or even Charlotte

Raps at 7

For sure, I see it happening...

lakers above clippers

I wrote 'if it doesn't happen, I see the other LA team in this spot...'
^^ I'm being realistic there But I think the Lakers could get one better than the Clips.

[---]

Heres my predictions, I included W/L regular season records as guidelines of how I think each team will do.


Eastern Conference:

1. Miami Heat (57-25)
2. Cleveland Cavaliers (54-28)
3. New Jersey Nets (48-34)
4. Detroit Pistons (53-29)
5. Chicago Bulls (47-35)
6. Washington Wizards (41-41)
7. Indiana Pacers (40-42)
8. Boston Celtics (38-44)
---------------------------------------------------
9. Orlando Magic (37-45)
10. Milwaukee Bucks (35-47)
11. Toronto Raptors (35-47)
12. Atlanta Hawks (33-49)
13. New York Knicks (29-53)
14. Charlotte Bobcats (28-52)
15. Philadelphia 76ers (22-60)

Western Conference:

1. Phoenix Suns (66-16)
2. Dallas Mavericks (60-22)
3. Denver Nuggets (49-33)
4. San Antonio Spurs (58-24)
5. Houston Rockets (55-27)
6. Los Angeles Clippers (49-33)
7. New Orleans Hornets (48-34)
8. Seattle Supersonics (44-38)
---------------------------------------------------
9. Los Angeles Lakers (43-39)
10. Memphis Grizzlies (41-41)
11. Sacramento Kings (41-41)
12. Minnesota Timberwolves (38-44)
13. Portland Trail Blazers (36-46)
14. Golden State Warriors (35-47)
15. Utah Jazz (31-51)

Playoffs:
Eastern Conference

1st Round:

(1) Miami Heat def. (8) Boston Celtics: 4-2

(2) Cleveland Cavaliers def. (7) Indiana Pacers: 4-3

(6) Washington Wizards def. (3) New Jersey Nets: 4-2

(4) Detroit Pistons def. (5) Chicago Bulls: 4-3

2nd Round:

(1) Miami Heat def. (2) Cleveland Cavaliers: 4-1

(4) Detroit Pistons def. (6) Washington Wizards: 4-2

Conference Finals:

(1) Miami Heat def. (4) Detroit Pistons: 4-1

Playoffs:
Western Conference

1st Round:

(1) Phoenix Suns def. (8) Seattle Supersonics: 4-2

(2) Dallas Mavericks def. (7) New Orleans Hornets: 4-0

(3) Denver Nuggets def. (6) Los Angeles Clippers: 4-3

(4) San Antonio Spurs def. (5) Houston Rockets: 4-3

2nd Round:

(1) Phoenix Suns def. (2) Dallas Mavericks: 4-3

(4) San Antonio Spurs def. (3) Denver Nuggets: 4-1

Conference Finals:

(1) Phoenix Suns def. (4) San Antonio Spurs: 4-2

NBA Finals:

(1) Phoenix Suns def. (1) Miami Heat: 4-3


EDIT: Messed up the playoff format. Will fix it soon.

[Jugs]

Do you think if Philly does go 22-60, that'll it'll be AI's "wake up" call and ask for a trade?

And thanks on giving love to the Blazers . You also forgot that the top 4 is determined by who's got the better record. So that means Nuggets and Nets are 4th.

Edit: I do think the Suns'll get 60 wins, but not 66.

[---]

Do you think if Philly does go 22-60, that'll it'll be AI's "wake up" call and ask for a trade?

I think this will be AI's last year as a 76er if it plays out how I think.

And thanks on giving love to the Blazers

With their recent additions, the only way to go is up. The Warriors have had talent for years, but never manage to put it together, so why should they be ahead of the Blazers now? As for the Jazz, I just can't put them ahead of any other West teams and I think AK will have another injury ridden season.

You also forgot that the top 4 is determined by who's got the better record. So that means Nuggets and Nets are 4th.

I always thought it was seeds 1-3 are the Division winners in order of records, then 4-8 are the "leftovers" in order of records, hence the Mavericks being the 4th seed and the Nuggets being the 3rd last year. It was changed quite recently if I remember rightly.

I do think the Suns'll get 60 wins, but not 66.

I think they will blow away all competition in the regular season, much like the Pistons last year, but remember Detroit rested there players and lost 4 of their last 10 games, so 66 is not out of reach for (imo) the most talented team in the league. Amare must be healthy for them to go 66-16 though.

[J@3]

The Warriors are better than the Blazers. All of the Blazers additions are rookies or overrated guys like Magloire. They'll be better than last season obviously, if Randolph stays healthy I guess they might be ok, but I think the Warriors have them quite easily.

[---]

Warriors have all the tools, no doubt, even to go to the playoffs. I have them behind the Blazers because the Warriors just never seem to put it together.

[Jugs]

Dan Dickau is our saviour . My only gripe is the addition of LaFrentz .

[---]

Dan Dickau is our saviour

On that show on NBA TV where they show a whole practice, Dan Dickau was actually really impressive. I didn't notice any turnovers and he made alot of smart passes. Far from a saviour, but he actually did look really good. A whole lot better than Steve Blake

[Jugs]

Ugh, Steve Blake .

You did over-rate Rockets at 5th :P.

[---]

You did over-rate Rockets at 5th

I don't think so. The only thing stopping them from getting the 5th is the PG spot, but its still not bad. They have arguably the best C in the game, two great undersized rebounders that can both score (Bonzi + Battier), A top 5 (when healthy) scoring machine in McGrady who can also rebound, pass and play good defence. They look to have good defence and if Yao and T-Mac can stay healthy, they will score as much as anyone. It all depends on Yao and T-Mac, and unless they win a championship this year, I will never forgive the Rockets for trading away Rudy Gay...

But yeah, I don't see anyone under the Rockets in my rankings that are sure-bet's to finish higher than Houston, again, as long as those 2 are healthy.

[Laxation]

The only thing stopping them from getting the 5th is the PG spot,

Hmm...
two words
FOOT
BACK

can you figure it out from there?

[---]

Laxation, you obviously didn't read my post. I said numerous times that if McGrady and Yao are healthy that (the PG spot) is the only thing holding them back. I'm not stupid man, maybe I should make my post in big red letters like those two words you used to get my point across to people like you aswell?

[Laxation]

to be honest i stopped reading after the first line...

too much writing in one big chunk for this time of night

[---]

No problem, I don't blame you.

At your edited post

[Silas]

what is kinda funny is that I get LeBron on my cover, yet they say the covers are regional and Carmello is not only closer to Seattle, but both Denver and Seattle are in the northwest division...

[KDawg295]

lol.

[CERVANTES]

I'm sure Pacers and Raptors will end up higher at the end of the season that Sports Illustrated says. How the hell can be Minnesota higher than Sonics? They have no team, it's only Garnett and some other players, but it's not a team.

I guess the Conference Finals will be...

EASTERN - Nets vs Pacers
WESTERN - Suns vs Hornets