WEST
1. San Antonio. Spurs are the best "team" in the West. The thing is though, they are the best team, right now. They have been hit by zero injuries and they are getting old. They beat teams because they play well together, play smart, and they have a good coach. In the playoffs, stars take over, and right now they don't have one star that can just take over a game. They are really good, but I'm not handing them the title by any means.
2. LA Lakers. Uninterested. Kobe is still Kobe, hasn't slipped at all. Same with Gasol, he is fine. Odom is playing better and probably having his best year as a Laker. Artest is a shell of himself, he doesn't have a lot left and is very uninterested. Fisher is really old, and really not good. His flopping makes me sick. The kryptonite of the Lakers is going to be their bench. There are no Horry's, Fox's, Harper's, or others coming off that bench. Barnes, Brown, Blake, and the likes are not good.
3. Dallas. Good team. Now that Dirk is back, they are back on track. Losing Butler for the year really hurt. But Marion is playing great complimentary ball. Kidd is back to being good and Terry is a big shot maker. Chandler is a huge huge improvement over Dampier. Dirk is a star and can carry a team, and he just might be able to do that again this year.
4. Oklahoma City. In a league with multiple studly point guards, Westbrook sometimes plays like the best one. With him driving and kicking and Durant scoring at will, this team will be tough to beat. Their big thing is glue guys. Jeff Green, Sefolosha, and Harden all bring it on D and play tough, that stuff gets you through a season.
5. New Orleans. Paul is another one of those guards. They just don't have enough. West is a good low post player, but they won't be able to win a series in the playoffs.
6. Denver. Not a team. Have some good scorers but they also won't be able to win a playoff series. They should probably unload Anthony and get something for him. JR Smith also needs to go. He has talent but he needs a fresh start.
7. Utah. Jekyl and Hyde. Huge wins, bad losses, good players, bad players. Who knows what you are going to get. Other than Williams, they don't have any stars. I actually don't see them making the playoffs.
8. Portland. Injury plagued team. But with Miller and Camby playing well and finding the fountain of youth, I think they'll be able to make the playoffs. Aldridge is a stud and is showing why he was such a high draft pick. He'll be an all star for years to come.
9. Memphis. This team is hard to figure out. Mayo, Gay, and Conley are good guards and shooters. Zach Randolph somehow just puts up ridiculous numbers. I see this team making the playoffs, they win at home and have stars that can take over games.
10. Phoenix. Poor Nash, he's old, still good, but doesn't have a good team. Vince Carter is awful, he doesn't help. Channing Frye is just a shooter, they don't have any inside play. This team will continue to plummet and won't sniff the playoffs.
11. Houston. I don't think I can name hardly any players on this team. Aaron Brooks is good and Luis Scola is one of the more underrated players in the league, but other than that, they have no stars. They try to put their team together with only glue guys, eventually that doesn't get the job done. They should trade a bunch of their pieces for Melo.
12. Golden State. Fun team to watch but don't have enough talent. Montay Ellis is a stud and can score better than almost anyone in the league. He looks like he should be playing in the park. Every time I watch that Biedrins dude play I think he is the worst player in the league. David Lee is good and Curry can score. But they just have scorers and not much else.
13. LA Clippers. Some great talent. Gordon is turning out to be good along with Deandre Jordan. Baron is starting to play better but is still a waste of money and ruins young talent. Blake Griffin is definitely my favorite player to watch right now. The dude brings it on every play, tries to dunk everything, and takes it personal when he gets scored on. If the Clippers wouldn't have started out so poorly they might have a chance to make the playoffs. Not this year, but next year they'll be there if they bring in some veteran presence.
14. Sacramento. Cousins and Evans are going to be good for awhile. Other than that, they have nothing and are thinking of moving the team.
15. Minnesota. Another weird team. Love and Beasley are studs and Milicic is actually playing well. Too bad Rubio didn't go there, doesn't look like he will either. They are really far away from competing.
Regular Season Predictions....
1. Spurs
2. Mavericks
3. Thunder
4. Lakers
5. Hornets
6. Blazers
7. Nuggets
8. Grizzlies
Again, if you made it this far, you are awesome.
Curt
I figured out that I had to be signed it to post haha but heres what I got
ReplyDelete1. Spurs--Can't go against them right now. They are playing out of their minds this season. Makes you wonder how good this team would have been if they had stayed this healthy in previous years because they are considered old right now, its kinda scary actually
2. Lakers--I do not care how bad they are playing right now or have been all year, well its bad for their standards. I got the Lakers in the finals but for regular season they finish 2nd.
3. Thunder-- They are not playing as well as i thought they would this year, especially after showing they could hang with the lakers last year in the playoffs but they still have some glaring weaknesses. They are a solid center away from getting over that hump. Durant and westbrook are superstars (ya i called westbrook a superstar) and durant can carry that team far in the playoffs if they click in time.
4. Mavericks--Were right up there with the spurs for awhile then injury bug got them but this is another team that when it comes to playoffs i feel they could be knocked out by anyone. Never been a big mavericks fan so maybe that has something to do with it (love cuban though, i kno it doesnt make sense that i dont like them)
5. Hornets--hard not to like chris paul but i still dont think he is someone that im gonna depend on and put my team on his shoulders. hes a playmaker but i have more faith in west to pull through than paul. They wont make it past the first round.
6. Jazz--Always been a big deron williams fan. Talk about a rollercoaster ride for these guys. They go through an east coast road trip that faced orlando, miami, and boston and was victorious in each game. But like curt said, they have some terrible losses and i think we all expected more out of them after the way they started.
7. Denver--They dont play defense and the carmello trade talk is so damn annoying. ive already said too much about them.
8. Portland--This is a team i thought was gonna be in the top 4 in the league as a young team that explodes. The talent on this team is undeniable but injuries havent helped. Imagine if oden has been healthy this whole time? we are talking about prolly a better ben wallace ( odens stats were not to shabby when healhty) and put that with aldridge and roy...thats some nasty young talent
15. T Wolves are a team loaded with young college talent. If some of these guys develop they could have a decent young team in a year or two. I'm glad K Love was chosen to take Yao's spot on the all star team. The guy is a machine, averages 21 and 15, not to mention he shoots 44% from 3 and 87% from the line. Lets not forget that 31 and 31 game he had against the Knicks. First 30 30 game since Moses Malone back in the early 80's.
ReplyDelete14. Goodwin pretty much summed it up. The Kings are terrible.
13. I like the Clips to be good in a year or two. I dont like Baron Davis at all as the PG of this team.
12. Agree with Goodwin on the Warriors, they play the Bulls tonight. Curry and Ellis are studs, bot much other than that. They are 28th in the league at points against, a team that doesnt much D and they wont imporve until they do.
11. Scola is good, Kevin Martin is one of the more efficient scorers in the league, and other than that nothing. Courtney Lee has been rumored as one of the Bulls possible targets to upgrade our shooting guard position.
10. Nash needs to go, for him and the team. For him to have another chance at a ring. For the team its time to blow it up and start over. Their 3 supposed top players are 34 or older, and they have no young talent to build around. I didnt check their contract situation but im assuming they will have some expirings this offseason.
9.I agree with Goodwin again on the Grizz, they have some good young players. Rudy, is good but has averaged around 20 for the past 4 years, has never been able to take that next step and break into the elite group of scores. Not really why sure they arent better than they are.
8.Injuries have killed this team. Brandon Roy is probably the most versatile player in the league, love his game. LA is nasty, sure wish we would have kept him instead of trading him for Tyrus Thomas. I really like most of their role player as well, Mathews is good, Camby and Miller are still getting done, and Fernandez is improving with minutes since they traded Bayless.
7.I agree with both of you guys on Utah, Deron Williams is one of the best PG's in the league. Other than that you dont know what you are going to get. Jerry Sloan is one of the best coaches of all time, he has done more with less than any other coach i can think of. They lost Boozer, Kyle Korver and Ronnie Brewer to the Bulls and Wes Mathews to the Blazers. Added Big Al, who seems to be having some trouble in Sloan's system. They are going to need make some changes sooner rather than later if they want Deron to stick around for another contract.
6. Carmelo single handedly handcuffed this team this year. He clearly wants to sign an extension before the new CBA next year, but not with Denver. If he doesn't get traded and a deal done he will miss out $20 Mil over the next 3 years. Goodwin you are right on with JR, he needs a change of scenery, do you think that would straighten his attitude up? If so i would take him as our new SG in Chicago. And i love Ty lawson, i think he becomes a stud once given the minutes.
5. Chris Paul is a stud, a David West can play but nothing other than that. First round loss.
4. Love the Thunder, another one of those teams that people who dont like the NBA should watch. Their home court advantage is off the charts, their fans are true fans not rich business men filling out the the bottom bowl of the arena. Great College atmosphere. KD35 is my favorite player in the league not named D Rose. The guy can do it all, he will lead the league in scoring for the next 10 years. Westbrook is sick continues to improve. I like the role players they have in place. If they can add someone to dump it into in the post and give Durant and Westbrook added space this team is lethal.
ReplyDelete3. Dirk is the most skilled 7 footer the NBA has ever seen, and he continues to put sick numbers and has even developed some toughness and fire over the past few years. I can see them getting knocked out in the first round, but I could also see them playing for the championship.
2. In my opinion the most talented big duo in the game. Perfect compliments to each other, Bynums a monster inside and Gasol is a stud in the high post, but also has the game to go down to the block. Oh, and they have some guy named Kobe, i heard he is pretty good. The road to the championship still runs through LA. Phil might as well get his 4th three peat and return to his meditation in the Montana wilderness with the owners daughter.
1. The Spurs are one of those teams i have never liked but always respected. Pop is a great coach, Duncan has been doing for ever, parker can break down a D and get into the lane at will, and Manu, well screw Manu, as good as he is I have a hard time saying anything nice about him. I hope they lose in the first round, but will probably be playing LA in the conference finals.
Champions: Celts. End of the year I see LA and Boston again in the finals. With Boston winning a tough 6 or 7 game series. These guys want one more, the clock is ticking on them, this might be their last chance at it. The Heat, Bulls and Magic take over as the cream of the crop in the east next year.
ReplyDeleteMVP: Derrick Rose, he has carried this team to a 34-14 record while fighting through some injuries showing his toughness. He has hit multiple game winners, consistently kills other teams runs and has shown the ability to absolutely take over a game. Not to mention he possess that special skill that only the great PG's have, he knows when to score and when to get his teammates involved. He cares about one thing winning, while being the hardest working player on the team. How can you not root for a guy like that.
Defensive player of the Year: Without looking at the stats Dwight Howard. For the next 5 years Dwight Howard. He owns the paint every night against everybody. Rebounds, blocks shots, and most importantly puts fear into almost anyone who thinks about taking it to the bucket on him. He is physically a freak, and has been working with The Dream and Ewing the past few years, while continuing to improve. If he ever learns to shot free throws and adds a little jumper out to 15 ft, we will be talking about him as the MVP.
Most imporved: A few guys could be considered here: Ray Felton, Aldridge, K Love, even Nick Young since Gilbert left town. I could even make an argument for Rose to win this award as well. It probably has more to do with the system than player development but I'm going with Felton.
Sixth man: I have no clue who every team in the leagues 6th guy is. I do know Crawford comes off the bench for Atl and can score in bunches. Im pretty sure Jason Terry comes off the bench. My homer pick, Taj Gibson, he doesnt have the numbers, but has played a huge role with boozer and noah out. Lamar Odom is also having a good year.
Ill go with Crawford, he is one of only a handful of players to score 50 with three different teams.
Coach of the year: Thibs, all the way. No one thought they would be this good, not even me with my optimistic views. You factor in team improvement to go along with shuffling the line ups and rotations due to injury, hes the man. Leading the league in defensive fg%, and 2nd in rebounding and 3rd in points against.