Sports Illustrated's NBA Rankings for 2006-2007 Season

Indiana Pacers (14) -- It will be back to the drawing boards for Jermaine and the Pacers... sorry Indy fans.

If the Pacers finish 14th in the Eastern Conference, I swear on everything, that I will put $1,000 (US) in to a paypal account for you. I am being dead serious right now. If you are correct on that prediction, you will get 1000 bucks.

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division
New Jersey Nets(4)- The Nets are the type of team where you really get what you see. There's not going to be any surprises. They'll win 44-49 games, and be a second round caliber team. This year though, they will not be getting out of the first round. It will be interesting to see what happens with Vince in the offseason.
New York Knicks (9)- The Knicks have a surprising year this season.
Isiah will have a long honeymoon period with the knicks because he
will be doing exactly what Larry wouldn't, that will be refreshing to
these guys and they'll play well because they are good basketball
players and can play well regardless of how bad of a coach Isiah
actually is.
Toronto Raptors (11)- They'll be ok, but have some growing pains. I
think they have a lot of guys that will encounter walls in their
seasons and will keep them from getting in the postseason. They will play well enough to satisfy Raptor fans and keep them excited though.
Boston Celtics (13)- Boston is going to struggle big time this year, but next year will be the breakout year. Look for a big name player to be headed to Boston next offseason because this one is not going to be a good year for Paul Peirce and co.
Philadelphia 76ers (15)- Ouch huh? As unbelievable as it may be, Philly is the worst team in the NBA. Couldn't move AI this offseason? Believe me, it'll get done next summer.


Southeast Division
Miami Heat (2)- Defending champs, aging, but still pretty damn good. They'll have a solid regular season, solid first round, second round exit. I wouldn't be surprised if Shaq surprised everyone and retired at the end of this year.
Washington Wizards(8)- They will squeek in to the playoffs, but still be dangerous. They are better then the typical Eastern Conference 8 seed but they'll only be this low because of some surprise teams in the East. 1st round upset of Detroit possible.
Orlando Magic (10)- They just won't be able to score enough. Dwight Howard is a bonifide star, and he'll be fine, but they just don't have enough offense yet to get in to the playoffs. Dwight's a good player, but he's not exactly your typical go to scorer. They are going to rely on JJ Redick for a lot of scoring this year, and he's not ready to be a second or third option on a playoff team yet.
Charlotte Bobcats (12)- In a few years they'll be a playoff team. I really love the way they are building up this team and forming a foundation. They have a lot of guys that just know how to win and are experienced college players. This strategy will pay off in the long run.
Atlanta Hawks (14)- ATL is also on the way up, but they aren't there yet. Give Josh and Marvin 1 or 2 more years, and Atlanta will be on the other side of the standings. Our Eastern Conference bottom feeders are starting to look like they'll be playoff contenders in a few years meaning watch out for Philadelphia, New Jersey and Washington to take a fall in the upcoming years.


Central Division
Detroit Pistons (1)- People are severly underrating Detroit because they lost Ben Wallace. Signing Nazr Mohammad was one of the most important signings of the offseason. Nazr is actually a FAR better low post defender then Big Ben. Granted, he doesn't have the help side defense that Ben does, or the shotblocking. I think Nazr and Dice will fill in for Ben admirably, and the other 4 guys on this club have now played together in deep playoff runs 3 years in a row. They have great chemistry and will lead this team to 60+ wins this year.
Cleveland Cavaliers (3)- LeBron is the best basketball player in the world. If he had a true second scorer with him, he'd be able to get started on winning championships very early in his career, but he doesn't, and he wont.
Indiana Pacers (5)- You're going to be very, very surprised. We have a brand new offense. Rick is proving all his doubters wrong that he can't run a fast pace offense, because we're doing it and it looks damn good. We make faster decisions with the ball now, but they are smart decisions. Watch out for Josh Powell. We are also the deepest team in the Eastern Conference and we have the best frontcourt, possibly, in the NBA. If Marquis Daniels is able to break out and have a big season, the Pacers could cruise to 55+.
Chicago Bulls (6)- The Bulls have a pretty complete team, and I do think they'll be very good. A lot of people think they are a team that's set up to have a big regular season and an early exit in the playoffs, but I actually think they will do pretty well in the playoffs. Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon, Andres Nocioni and PJ Brown are all very good playoff performers. The Bulls will be getting out of the first round this season.
Milwaukee Bucks (7)- Charlie will come close to 20 and 10, and when Bogut returns, they will be a great high/low post combination. What a steal for Milwaukee, getting Villi for TJ Ford. The Bucks would be in better shape if they had gone out and gotten a point guard, but I have no complaints with Mo Williams, he'll be fine and they'll be in the postseason.

Western Conference

Southwest Division
Dallas Mavericks (2)- I think Dallas may have missed their one and only chance to win a title with this team last season. On the other hand, the league is pretty wide open. There isn't anybody that is really distinguising themselves from the pack, so Dallas is still going to contend. I don't see them getting out of the West though.
San Antonio Spurs (3)- Same old same old from San Antonio. I think they'll get their revenge on Dallas in the second round this year. I like the new Center rotation they have. They picked up guys that compliment Duncan well.
New Orleans Hornets (8)- This team is too complete to not make the playoffs. They have a great mix of players that all play different roles. Tyson is going to have the same year he always had in Chicago, but New Orleans fans will be satisfied, because they aren't going to need scoring from Chandler, they'll just need his 9-10 rebounds a game, and they'll get them.
Houston Rockets (10)- What is this, the Atlanta Hawks of the West? In the offseason they go out and get Bonzi Wells and Shane Battier without getting rid of anyone? Not to mention the fact that they already have TMac on the wings? I know there's the back issue with him, but if he gets hurt, Houston's going to be in trouble anyways.
Memphis Grizzlies (14)- Memphis is in a free fall, and this season will not be nice to Grizz fans, if there are any left. (Besides you Mafia)


Northwest Division
Denver Nuggets(4)- JR Smith is my pick for most improved. I just think if there is a situation he can thrive in, this is it. He is going to get lots of minutes and touches, and he'll take advantage of it. This is a really great athlete and a very good shooter we're talking about. There aren't many coaches better at sculpting players games. If JR pans out, the rest of these guys will be fine.
Utah Jazz(7)- Utah is a good team. They did a good job building a team that resembles to championship caliber Jazz teams from the 90s. They are hard nosed, tough and bruising. They could finish even better then this is Boozer is healthy all season.
Seattle SuperSonics (11)- I think new look Robert Swift is also a very likely MIP candidate. Seattle will be better this year, but they won't be in the city of Starbucks for much longer.
Minnesota Timberwolves (9)- I think Minny is just barely going to miss out, but they are on the right track. One more solid offseason and they'll be back in the playoffs.
Portland Trail Blazers (15)- They had a pretty good draft (although I still don't see why they had to swap picks with Chicago) but why the hell are Randolph and Miles still on the team? I don't see this season going on without a disaster.


Pacific Division
Phoenix Suns (1)- With Amare healthy, and the rest of the team returning, Phoenix is headed for the promise land. There won't be a 3rd straight MVP in the books for Steve though.
Los Angeles Clippers (5)- The Clippers are a very deep, well rounded team that does a lot of things well. I think Elton Brand is a championship caliber number 1 scorer, and he will take the Clippers deep in to the playoffs this season.
Sacramento Kings (6)- Look for them to gain some chemistry and have a good season. This will be Ron's honeymoon season for Sacramento, just like he had in Indy, and then next year it will all explode.
Los Angeles Lakers (12)- Kerplunk. Injury to Kobe send LA back down to the bottom of the pack. Next year they will try hard to get a big name free agent and to trade Lamar Odom, but they will end up worse off.
Golden State Warriors (13)- Who's going to rebound the basketball for this team? They are much worse then they look on paper.

Eastern Conference playoffs: I'm going to withold from doing the playoffs because of superstitions.

Westeren Conference playoffs:

1.) Phoenix
8.) New Orleans
Phoenix in 5

2.) Dallas
7.) Utah
Dallas in 4

3.) San Antonio
6.) Sacramento
San Antonio in 7

4.) Denver
5.) L.A. Clippers
Clippers in 6

1.) Phoenix
5.) Clippers
Phoenix in 7

2.) Dallas
3.) San Antonio
San Antonio in 7

1.) Phoenix
3.) San Antonio
Phoenix in 6

Western Conference Champs: Phoenix Suns.

Last edited by Indy on Wed Oct 25, 2006 2:37 am, edited 1 time in total.

Cervantes...BRAVE picks my friend. I completely disagree on three of them.

The nets cannot ride kidd for much longer. I'm sorry, they're done...first round exit in the playoffs and the only reason they make playoffs is the east is relatively weak.

Pacers: i dont are what anyone says about artest being gone helping, this team has much deeper problems than anyone wants to admit

Suns: i agree

Hornets: too young to reach the finals, not enough experiene, they'll be a threat to anyone, but they wont make it past the 2nd round

New York Knicks (13)-Isiah:all star cast, only one problem..THEY ALL PLAY THE SAME POSITION ...wake up

..and one more problem...THEY PLAY NO DEFENSE!!!!!!! In today's NY Daily News, Isiah expressed his concern about that. Isiah won titles with a team that lived off it's defense, yet he builds the Phoenix Suns Lite. Go figure.

Knicks ain't doing sh!t this year, or the next five years.

heh interestingly enough, I just wrote an NBA preview for my school newpaper. here it is:

NBA 2006-2007 Preview
Eastern Conference
The Outside Looking In

With a lot of young, inexperienced teams on the rise, there will be many teams with talent but not enough experience to make the playoffs. This includes the Hawks, Knicks, Bobcats, Celtics, and Magic.

The Pretenders

Indiana Pacers

Indiana traded Ron Artest last year making this Jermaine O’Neal’s team. He will continue to carry this team but will need help from new (and former) Pacer Al Harrington as well as Danny Granger, who is coming off a great rookie year. With a roster with eight swingmen, Indy will struggle with a lack of depth at key positions.

Toronto Raptors

They are going to implement an up-tempo, Phoenix-style offense with newly acquired T.J. Ford leading the way. Chris Bosh will still carry the load and the number 1 overall draft pick Andrea Bargnani will contribute off the bench. With Anthony Parker coming back to the NBA from Tel Aviv and the experienced “rookie” Jorge Garbajosa, the Raptors will make a strong push for a playoff seed this year.

Philadelphia 76ers

Last year, they couldn’t stop anybody from scoring, period. A seemingly rejuvenated Samuel Dalembert should be blocking shots in the middle along and Allen Iverson with a roster almost intact from last year should make it to the playoffs if they can learn to close out games this season.

Milwaukee Bucks

Veteran sharpshooter Michael Redd will still keep them in playoff contention but a few key injuries in the preseason raises issues of durability and depth. Will their bench players be able to fulfill the Bucks’ needs this year or will they fade into obscurity?

Washington Wizards

Scoring machine Gilbert Arenas will continue pouring on the points but the Wizards still need help in the frontcourt. Without any solid big men, the they will struggle to make it out of the first round of the playoffs.

New Jersey Nets

Yes, the Nets have a dynamic trio in Jason Kidd, Vince Carter, and Richard Jefferson, but Kidd is getting older and his minutes will be limited. The starters will play big minutes again, as their bench isn’t improved that much from last year. Like many teams, their lack of solid big men will keep them from going deep into the playoffs

Contenders

Chicago Bulls

Yes, “Big Ben” Wallace who has terrorized many players in Detroit has a new home. However, his lack of offensive skills does handicap the Bulls, as they don’t have as much offensive firepower to surround him with. Ben Gordon will provide the points and rookies Tyrus Thomas of LSU and Thabo Sefolosha figure to also contribute defensively. They will need help from the veterans to help Gordon with the scoring load or else they will fail to keep up with the elite teams.

Cleveland Cavaliers

One man-child in Cleveland will continue to carry the workload. Lebron James, who is still only 21 years old (and just as old as any 3rd or 4th year student on campus), will team with skilled big man Zydrunas Ilgauskas and an injured Larry Hughes to propel the Cavs to the second round of the playoffs. The Cavs added to their bench with a few veterans and will look to upset some favorites in the playoffs. If James improves his shot selection and long range shooting, look for them to not only contend for the Eastern Conference championship, but the NBA championship as well.

The Elite

Detroit Pistons

The loss of Ben Wallace doesn’t hurt them too much, because the other starters from last year’s dominant team are returning. They tried to fill the big gap in the middle with the Spurs’ Nazr Mohammed who will be good enough for the Pistons. Rasheed Wallace and Chauncey Billups will lead the Pistons in contention for the Eastern Conference championship this year.

Miami Heat

The 2005-2006 NBA Champions return a year older, but also a year wiser with Pat Riley as head coach. Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O’Neal will lead this veteran (but aging) team deep into the playoffs again, but everyone on this team must stay healthy for them to capture back-to-back championships.

yeah I know the west is missing.
Some other guy is writing one for the west...

and I hate SI AND ESPN because they are so huge now that they can shit on a magazine and slap their name on it and people will still buy it.

but here are my predictions:
East (reasons are quickly summarized above):
1. Miami
2. Detroit
3. Cleveland
4. NJ (cuz they will win their shitty division)
5. Chicago
6. Washington
7. Philly
8. Milwaukee
9. Indy
10. Toronto
11. Orlando
12. Boston
13. Charlotte
14. NY
15. ATL

West:
1. Dallas
2. SA (they're still good even without a center)
3. Phoenix
4. Nuggets (cuz they'll win their shitty division)
5. Clips
6. Houston (someone's bound to get hurt on this team)
7. NO (CP3 + Peja= wins)
8. Lakers (as much as I hate it, Kobe will score them into the playoffs. they don't belong here)
9. Sacto (still a decent team)
10. G State (assuming everyone stays healthy and they all listen to Nelly)
11. Minnesota (KG can't do it all)
12. Memphis (Pau's injury hurts)
13. Utah
14. Seattle (Allen and Lewis can only do so much)
15. Portland (ROY for ROY!)

If the Pacers finish 14th in the Eastern Conference, I swear on everything, that I will put $1,000 (US) in to a paypal account for you. I am being dead serious right now. If you are correct on that prediction, you will get 1000 bucks.

Well, that bet is too risky I aint putting 1000 bucks on it

Indiana Pacers (14) -- It will be back to the drawing boards for Jermaine and the Pacers... sorry Indy fans.

yeah Zoom I would put a thousand bucks on that too. There's no way they would finish that low unless Jermaine & Harrington gets hurt for the season or something

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

<falls off of chair and spits soda all over monitor as he laughs his ass off wildly>

The Timberwolves are going to win the Northwest Division. I'm not saying the team will win it all, because they probably won't, but I think they will surprise a lot of people. The other teams in the division have injury concerns (Jazz and Nuggets) or just have poor rosters (Blazers and Sonics). The Timberwolves will be right up there and I think they will win the division. I don't see the Nuggets getting the division again this year. J.R. Smith and George Karl won't get along too well I think.

My predictions (im not goin do it by division)

Eastern Confrence

1.Miami Heat 60-22 Defanding Champs
2.Cleveland Cavaliers 55-27 Lebron Will shine and led his team to this record
3.Chicago Bulls 49-33 Big Ben will win defense player of the year shoot 50% from the free-throw line and lift his team
4.New Jersey Nets 46-36 Kidd Carter Jefferson will dominate but will fall short in the playoffs
5.Detroit Pistons 43-39 Big Ben will hurt the pistons but Ronald Murray and Nazr Will help them
6.Orlando Magic 42-40 Grant Hill will have a great season and Dwight Howard will shit 70% from free-throw line
7.New York Knicks 41-41 Marbury and Francis will combine to lift the team
8.Toronto Raptors 40-42 Bosh will shoot 3's and Mo Pete will win the 3pt Shootout
9.Milwaukee Bucks 39-43 Charlie V will come out big in the 1st half of the season but they will lose there last 2 games and will not clinch the playoffs
10.Charlotte Bobcats 37-45 Morrison and Gerald will come big in the season but will screw up at the end of the season
11.Indiana Pacers 35-47 Jermaine O'neal will get suspanded for the last 10 games of the season and Indiana will start losing
12.Philadelphia 76ers 34-48 Iverson will start shitting on the team and there will be millions of trade rumors
13.Atlanta Hawks 33-49 Josh Smith will fly like a bird but Joe Johnson will go out with injury after the all star break
14.Boston Celtics 26-56 Sebastion Telfar will start hating the team and he'll be in gang realated themes
15.Washigton Wizards 21-61 The team will just plan crash and burn lol jk

Western Confrence

1.Phoneix Suns 72-10 they will break the nba record and Amare Nash and Marion will kick ass

2.Dallas Mavericks 64-18 they will be hunting for tht trophy

3.San Antonio 60-22 same thing as Dallas

4.Minnasota Timberwolves 54-28 Garnett will have great season and will have 35% from 3pt

5.La Lakers 50-32 sounds crazy but Kobe will be healthy and the lakers will make a couple trades

6.La Clippers 49-33 Elton Brand and Tim Thomas will help the team but Corey will go out with injurys

7.Denver Nuggets 41-41 Carmelo will have a great season and might win MIP

8.Houston Rockets 40-42 McGrady will lift his team at the end of the season and will clinch the playoffs

9.Golden State Warriors 38-44 Baron Davis will have a great season but will go out with injurys unfortunly

10.Portland Trailblazers 37-45 They will all do very well and Roy will most likly be rookie of the year

11.Seattle Supersonics 33-49 Ray Allen wont do very good in the season

12. New Orleans 30-52 Chirs Paul will have a excellent season but his team will do poorly

13.Memphis Grizzles 29-53 Pau Gasol will go out with injurys most of the season

14.Sacramato Kings 23-59 Ron Artest will do shit for his team and they will do bad

15.Utah Jazz 15-67 I can't say anythin

The Timberwolves are going to win the Northwest Division. I'm not saying the team will win it all, because they probably won't, but I think they will surprise a lot of people. The other teams in the division have injury concerns (Jazz and Nuggets) or just have poor rosters (Blazers and Sonics). The Timberwolves will be right up there and I think they will win the division. I don't see the Nuggets getting the division again this year. J.R. Smith and George Karl won't get along too well I think.

yeah this could definitely happen... and I hope it does cuz I'm not a Melo fan. Foye & James could definitely help KG out this year.

14.Sacramato Kings 23-59 Ron Artest will do shit for his team and they will do bad

You do realise they were shit without him last season until they traded for him. They made the play-offs after the trade.

2.Cleveland Cavaliers 55-27 Lebron Will shine and led his team to this record

keepin dreaming

5.Detroit Pistons 43-39

Wait, so Ben Wallace is 21 wins to Detroit? This team has had better records with worse squads.

1.Phoneix Suns 72-10 they will break the nba record and Amare Nash and Marion will kick ass

2.Dallas Mavericks 64-18 they will be hunting for tht trophy

3.San Antonio 60-22 same thing as Dallas

4.Minnasota Timberwolves 54-28 Garnett will have great season and will have 35% from 3pt

5.La Lakers 50-32 sounds crazy but Kobe will be healthy and the lakers will make a couple trades

6.La Clippers 49-33 Elton Brand and Tim Thomas will help the team but Corey will go out with injurys

7.Denver Nuggets 41-41 Carmelo will have a great season and might win MIP

8.Houston Rockets 40-42 McGrady will lift his team at the end of the season and will clinch the playoffs

it'll take at least 44 wins to get 8th in West.....Suns equalling Bulls record?

lay off the pipe buddy

Sacramato

8.Toronto Raptors 40-42 Bosh will shoot 3's and Mo Pete will win the 3pt Shootout

If Bosh shoots 3's regularly the Raptors will go like 2-80.

Hmm, interesting.. more wins than losses next season. I'm anxious to see those games where both teams win.

Boston Celtics (14)-Pierce is way past his prime, they need to start rebuilding

Pierce way past his prime? Are you forgetting that Paul is coming off his best season statistically to date? PP is only 28 and easily has another 4 20+ ppg seasons.

Oh my god this is hysterical. NBA_Bryant, you are so stupid.

Well, that bet is too risky I aint putting 1000 bucks on it

It's not even a bet, I'm so confident that that isn't going to happen, I don't even want anything back from you when you are wrong.

Ok here are my predictions:

Eastern Conference
1. Detroit Pistons
They might have lost Ben Wallace but the team is way too experienced and good to drop very low. They have still a great Squad and due to their experience I'd pick them over the Cavaliers and Heat to finish first

2. Miami Heat
They are the defending champs but I don't expect them to be that good in the regular season. Payton, Mourning and Shaq are on the decline. Don't get me wrong, they can still play amazingly but not on a consistant basis. But look for them to be maybe the toughest matchup in the Playoffs.

3. Cleveland Cavaliers
The squad is good. LeBron a perfect player but he's not that kind of a leader this team needs. They may challenge the Heat for the 2nd seed but they are not the best in the east.

4. New Jersey Nets
A very solid team with great players. But when you look to their bench they're not as solid as the other prime teams are. 4th seed seems to be a good pick.

5. Indiana Pacers
This is the great question mark in the east. They have a very solid lineup but it all comes down to staying healthy. Jermain O'Neal is the X-Factor here.

6. Chicago Bulls
They surely have improved but predicting them higher than the 6th seed seems a little bit odd. It's a matter of chemistry. I predict them to start the season slow but improve in the second half of the season.

7. Milwaukee Bucks
They did it last year and there's no reason why they can't do it again this season. They have added depht to the team and may even be a bit tougher than last year

8. Washington Wizards
The Wizards have the squad to finish even higher but the team lacks chemistry. They may battle with the Sixers for 8th seed.

9. Philadelphia 76er's
Still a great team. But the bench is crap. With Iguodala improving and Iverson playing consistantly I can't see them falling down even further.

10. Toronto Raptors
Maybe the most improved team besides the Hornets. They added a lot of talent to the team but talent isn't everything. They will surely improve compared to last year, but making the playoffs seems impossible for me.

11. Orlando Magic
I don't know why everybody is ranking them so high. They added pretty nothing important to the team besided JJ Redick. They're talented but not a playoff caliber yet.

12. New York Knicks
Could be the surprise this season. Seeds 15 to 10 are possible. But considering their performance last season anything higher than the 12th seed is off.

13. Boston Celtics
Finally they have a better PG and Pierce is still an awesome player. May as well end up higher than 13th seed.

14. Atlanta Hawks
Almost every player is some sort of a swingman. They improved at the PG position with Claxton and on the 5 with Wright, but still there's no hope to even come close to a playoff spot.

15. Charlotte Bobcats
Give them 2 more years and they will end up way higher. The team has a lot of talent with guys like Okafor, Morrison, Felton, Wallace etc. but this needs time to develop. May end up a bit higher.



Western Confrence
Very hard to predict something here. Too many teams are nearly even.
Every team mentiond from seed number 5 to 12 can make or not make the playoffs depending on injuries and whatever else is a factor. This is only my personal prediction.

1. Phoenix Suns
My safe pick for number one for the regular season. But I don't see them reaching the finals against teams like San Antonio or Dallas.

2. San Antonio Spurs
Duncan will bounce back this season. He showed that he still can do it in last year's playoffs. They added a couple of players this off-season. Bonner, Elson, Williams, Vaughn and Butler. They have a very deep frontcourt now and may have the answer for the quick forwards like Amare and Nowitzki. My prediction: Whoever wants to reach the Finaly has to go past the Spurs.

3. Dallas Mavericks
They really surprised last year, but now the teams are aware of what they can do. Will battle with the Spurs for seed number 2.

4. LA Clippers
The Clippers did a great job last year and with the addition of Tim Thomas, the improvement of Kaman and Co. they will be a tough team to beat.

5. Denver Nuggets
With K-Mart being healthy and Anthony playing on the same level he did at the end of last season they are a tough team.

6. Utah Jazz
Should be a safe playoff pick this year. They have great players and a solid bench

7. Minnesota Timberwolves
Garnett is still one of the best players in the league. They added Mike James to solve the PG issue and with Randy Foye they have a great Rookie. This time they should make the playoffs.

8. Houston Rockets
The starting 5 is awesome. And with Bonzi Wells or Shane Battier coming off the Bench they have a great guy here to. But it will come down to the teams depht when they want to make the playoffs.

9. Sacramento Kings
This team can cause trouble for every challenger. But it seems that they can't do it on a consistant basis. With Wells gone they may drop 1 or two spots compared to last year.

10. New Orleans Hornets
This team was going crazy on the market last off-season. They added a bunch of great guys but they have to learn to play together. May battle for a playoff seed.

11. Los Angeles Lakers
Kobe Bryant is still awesome. They even have improved their depht. It will all come down to Kobe to lead them to a playoff spot.

12. Seattle Supersonics
Same with the Sonics here. It will come down to Allen if they want to end up higher

13. Golden State Warriors
Richardson and Davis are great players but especially the frontcourt is their problem.

14. Portlant Trailblazers
They were very active on the market last season. They added a bunch of solid players. Maybe not this year but next season they will end up way higher.

15. Memphis Grizzlies
The team is great. But with Gasol out and Stoudemire still not very healthy they will struggle in the first half of the season.

Playoffs
Eastern Conference

(1) Detroit Pistons vs. (8) Washington Wizards 4-1
(2) Miami Heat vs. (7) Milwaukee Bucks 4-0
(3) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (6) Chicago Bulls 3-4
(4) New Jersey Nets vs. (5) Indiana Pacers 4-3

(1) Detroit Pistons vs. (4) New Jersey Nets 4-2
(2) Miami Heat vs. (6) Chicago Bulls 4-2

(1) Detroit Pistons vs. (2) Miami Heat 2-4

Western Conference

(1) Phoenix Suns vs. (8) Houston Rockets 4-3
(2) San Antonio Spurs vs. (7) Minnesota Timberwolves 4-3
(3) Dallas Mavericks vs. (6) Utah Jazz 4-1
(4) Los Angeles Clippers vs. (5) Denver Nuggets 4-2

(1) Phoenix Suns vs. (4) Los Angeles Clippers 4-1
(2) San Antonio Spurs vs. (3) Dallas Mavericks 4-3

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

Finals
Miami Heat vs. San Antonio Spurs 4-3[/b]

14.Boston Celtics 26-56 Sebastion Telfar will start hating the team and he'll be in gang realated themes

This season of "The Boston Celtics" is rated MA. It contains Gang-Related Themes. I just found that really funny.

Dwight Howard will shit 70% from free-throw line

ROFLMAO

flite stats dont tell the whole story. He had higher stats because he was the only option on his team, not because he was better IMO....but hey we'll wait and see in the season

14.Boston Celtics 26-56 Sebastion Telfar will start hating the team and he'll be in gang realated themes

This season of "The Boston Celtics" is rated MA. It contains Gang-Related Themes. I just found that really funny. meh i dont think boston will do tht well

Dwight Howard will shit 70% from free-throw line

ROFLMAO

i dont see wats so funny in fiba hey shot very well

i dont get u ppl im just showing wat i think jezz u dont have to make fun of but if u think thts funny meh i dont give

NBA_Bryant, you have to be a joke account. I just don't believe that a person can really be that stupid. Jae, did you check the IPs? Does it match anybody?

stop calling me stupied i didnt do nuthin wrong jezz

ok look if u think its fun to make fun of ppl on the net its not so stop

nba_bryant, you're egging them on and further proving it...rather than saying "oh stop it for making fun of my guess" go find the preseason stats that led you to believe howard will shoot 70% FTs....(nope, not gonna happen but still, trying to help a young guy out)