Ok, ill post what i think for both of them, starting with the west:
1 - Lakers, 4 HOF idd, im no lakers fan, but i would just love to see this great ballers play together, im no fan nor a hater i just wanna see some good ball
2 - Spurs,became even more solid then last year, duncan will have to carry the load though
3- Dallas, nice addition of jamison, they lost NVE though, they are good but lack an inside force(they have length but no force) to get up there with the big two
4 - Kings, another nice addition and long term replacement for divac in the person of miller, lost clark and turkoglu though, i think they missed the chance of a lifetime past year and they wont make it anymore
5 - Minny, big offseason, team chemistry will determine their outcome(if things work out they could overpower dallas and the kings and move up to n°3 imho)
6 - Blazers, like kobe4 said, lots of talent, too less chemistry, they should give Randolph a starting spot(trade sheed for a big C or something, or a star PG)
7 - Suns, kept their core, if amare continues to improve and matrix and starbury keep their level they will be just fine and could surprise/upset one of the above teams in the first round
8 - Rockets, Van Gundy will make them listen and will tune the game to Ming, who should improve(and will be tutored by Ewing right?)but Francis' play will be the key
Possible 8th place contender : Seattle, they cant be forgotten, Allen played like a superstar once he was in seattle and Lewis should finally get his game up another level and then they will be a force to be reckoned with(a shame the GS team fell apart, they could have been battling again for that 8th spot,denver will win more games but just not enough to contend for that final seed im afraid)
So i can only agree on kobe4's vision of the playoffs in the west, now the so much more difficult East:
1 - Nets, improved with Zo and kept kidd, Martin should only get better(if he doesnt become a crybaby for a max contract he definately doesnt deserve just yet)and it's time jefferson improves his jumper and becomes a legitmate(constant)threath
2 - Detroit, close call, they will give the Nets a tough opponent, just like the pacers will, they also improved, lost barry though but still will be very good, also have one of the best (defensive)coaches there is
3 - Pacers, lost miller but pollard is a solid replacement, couple of youngsters should only get better, if o'neal is a pro and deals with Carlisle, who is a good coach imho, they will be all right, if harrington and bender finally break out, they could move to the n°1 seed
4 - New Orleans(they aint gonna move west this season or am i wrong
,if that happens just throw in the bulls instead), great team, they kept the Mashburn, Brown and Davis threath,i dont know what the effect of the loss of silas will be though
5 - Phillie, went trough a cuple of changes, but they should still easily be a top 6 team in the east, iverson gets older and wiser and if robinson can handle being second option they will do fine(jackson could be a good C in the east)
6 - Orlando, added Howard(but are likely to lose kemp?), dont know how it would work out with Gooden though(who imho can develop to a great PF), if mcgrady's back holds together, he alone will carry them to the first 8 in the east(if lue turns out to be great they could be even higher)
From now on it gets really hard imho, ill put the possible seeds in MY opinion, though it could turn out(and probably will) very different from what i will say here
7 - Raptors, if vince can produce they will definately be up here, if spared from injuries normally a certainty
8 - Celtics, pierce is just too good to be stopped that easily, if walker would only started to rebound again in stead of shooting 3's they could be a lot higher, cuz as a tandem they are too hard to stop
Then others who will fight for the 7th/8th seed(imho):
-Bulls, i would really like to see them in the playoffs, rather than the Celts, but i think they come up short just a little(unless Curry and Chandler become twin towers of the east, or even shaq towers
),though they cant be underestimated,and maybe vince alone(with some help of alvin) aint good enough to stop scottie, jalen and jamal
- Washington, if arenas stays at the same level or improves and stackhouse gets back to his detroit-form, they will give the raps and celts a very hard time imho, but kwame should finally do his thing
- Miami, never underestimate a team with Riley, acquiring Odom was great, Butler is a good player, now Wade still has a lot to learn and normally Jones will be a starter(so unfortunately butler could go to the bench unless grant plays c and odom pf)
As much as most lebron fans would like to hear it, im afraid the cavs wont get a shot at the playoffs, bron will have a lot to learn and ricky should learn the word "team", but silas could get the job done and also Z is one of the better C's in the east(when healthy), sports are unpredictable and thats what makes them so exciting so im curious what the outcome of the season will be.
This wass a kickass post, way too long but hell, i still have a half week of vacation
? (werent u a supporter of mash 
if phil can pull his magic i give them number one, easy, but it might take a few learning games and i dont know if patience is a word that bodes well with such players. good side - malone, payton and to an extent shaq have nothing to prove statistically anymore so maybe more willing to share.
