Tonight the NBA season kicks off with a trio of games including the Boston Celtics raising their 17th banner before their showdown with LeBron and the Cavs. Also tonight marks the NBA debut of one Greg Oden as the Blazers face the Lakers. I’m looking forward to another great basketball season, many teams have improved themselves thanks to free agency, trades, and the draft. I will get on record now with my picks for playoff teams and individual awards. (playoff teams in bold)
Eastern Conference
Atlantic:
1. Boston Celtics
2. Toronto Raptors
3. Philadelphia 76ers
4. New York Knicks
5. New Jersey Nets
The Celtics will miss James Posey, but not enough to effect them winning the division again. The 6ers made the most noise bringing in Elton Brand, but I like Calderon running the point for a Raps team that, if healthy, have the best 4-5 duo in the East with Bosh and Jermaine O’Neal. Mike D’Antoni will actually keep the Knicks out the basement. The Nets will struggle and eventually trade Vince.
Central:
1. Detroit Pistons
2. Cleveland Cavaliers
3. Indiana Pacers
4. Milwaukee Bucks
5. Chicago Bulls
Pistons got the same crew back, and the Cavs added Mo Williams which should make it a good battle at the top. Pacers are sneaky good with the likes of Danny Granger and a surprisingly good Mike Dunleavy, I think they beat out the Hawks and Wiz for the 8 seed. I liked the Bucks pick up of Richard Jefferson at first, but even he and Michael Redd will need more help, losing the aforementioned Mo Williams is going to hurt. The Bulls have plenty of guards, and they’ll also have plenty of losses.
Southeast:
1. Orlando Magic
2. Miami Heat
3. Atlanta Hawks
4. Washington Wizards
5. Charlotte Bobcats
Can the Heat turn it around? I think they can. Wade looked great in the Olympics and will be one of the best players in the NBA all season. It may be tough but they need to keep Marion happy, by letting him shoot, and throwing him oops. Dwight Howard will continue to improve, scary right? Wizards have the 2nd best “Big 3” in the East, but how many games will they play together? They’re certainly an X-factor.
Western Conference:
Northwest:
1. Utah Jazz
2. Portland Trail Blazers
3. Denver Nuggets
4. Minnesota Timberwolves
5. Oklahoma City Thunder
Deron Williams will miss the start of the season, but once again the debate of who is the best PG in the league will come down to him and CP3 at the end of the year. I know I’m not alone in liking the Blazers, how can you not? Great young team that could be stalled by injuries once again. Nuggets will score plenty of points, but the loss of Camby makes them even worse defensively, they’ll battle for the 8th seen to no avail.
Pacific:
1. Los Angeles Lakers
2. Phoenix Suns
3. Los Angeles Clippers
4. Golden State Warriors
5. Sacramento Kings
Lakers look like the clear cut favorite bringing everyone back from the Western Conference championship team plus Andrew Bynum. After that it could get interesting. A full season with Shaq and Grant Hill in Phoenix with a new coach. Nash and Amare are good enough to get any team to the playoffs. Corey Maggette is now on the Warriors with Baron Davis and Marcus Camby playing for the Clips. The injury of Monta Ellis significantly impacts their chances of a post season appearance.
Southwest:
1. New Orleans Hornets
2. San Antonio Spurs
3. Houston Rockets
4. Dallas Mavericks
5. Memphis Grizzlies
The Celtics lost James Posey and the Hornets found him. He could very well be the missing piece. Ron Artest comes to Houston to shake things up a bit. If Yao and T-Mac stay healthy (goodluck) they could be a major player. The Spurs are the Spurs, and the Mavs have Dirk and a new head coach. Put everything together and you got the toughest division in basketball, and the only one with 4 playoff teams.
Playoffs:
Eastern Finals: Celtics over Raptors
Western Finals: Hornets over Jazz
Finals: Celtics over Hornets
Awards:
MVP: Chris Paul, Hornets
Rookie of the Year: Michael Beasley, Heat
Defensive Player of the Year: Kevin Garnett, Celtics
6th Man of the Year: Lamar Odom, Lakers
Coach of the Year: Nate McMillan, Trail Blazers
All-NBA 1st Team:
Chris Paul, Hornets
Kobe Bryant, Lakers
LeBron James, Cavaliers
Amare Stoudemire, Suns
Dwight Howard, Magic
All-NBA 2nd Team:
Deron Williams, Jazz
Dwayne Wade, Heat
Chris Bosh, Raptors
Kevin Garnett, Celtics
Tim Duncan, Spurs
All-Rookie Team:
Michael Beasely, Heat
Greg Oden, Trail Blazers
Derrick Rose, Bulls
O.J. Mayo, Grizzlies
Eric Gordon, Clippers
Rudy Fernandez, Trail Blazers*
*Some how left him off, the next day had to add him. Watching the Olympics I said he could potentially win the ROY over Beasley and teammate Oden. Also we've seen at least 6 guys be named to the All-Rookie team before, so I'm keeping 6.
-Keefe
Showing posts with label Raptors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Raptors. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
NBA Mid-Summer Report: Atlantic Division
-Keefe
In the next few days I will put my gynecologist’s gloves on and examine each team in the NBA, see what moves they did and didn’t make. The Draft, free agency, and trades have changed the look of many of these teams like Janice Dickenson. Plus, it’s been awhile since I’ve talked hoops on here right? I’m going by alphabetical order on this one, not how I’m predicting finishes in April of 2009, on the end of July. New acquisitions in bold and rookies in italics. (6 segments for each division)
Boston Celtics
Starters:
Rajon Rondo
Ray Allen
Paul Pierce
Kevin Garnett
Kendrick Perkins
Bench:
Eddie House
Leon Powe
Glen “Big Baby” Davis
Tony Allen
Brian Scalabrine
Gabe Pruitt
J.R. Giddens
Bill Walker
Patrick O’Bryant
Out of town:
James Posey
P.J. Brown
Sam Cassell
The defending champions will have their entire starting 5 back for a shot at back-to-back titles, that’s the good news. Check out that bench… James Posey is going to be a big loss for this team; they don’t win it all last year without him. I’d be surprised if Danny Ainge was done molding this team. The only off season moves they’ve made so far was re-signing House and T.Allen, picking up O’Bryant, and drafting Giddens, Walker, and Semih Erden. Love the starters, but concerned about the 2nd unit. Of course, everyone was worried about the bench last year too…
New Jersey Nets
Starters:
Devin Harris
Vince Carter
Bobby Simmons
Yi Jianlian
Josh Boone
Bench:
Jarvis Hayes
Sean Williams
Keyon Dooling
Brook Lopez
Ryan Anderson
Chris Douglass-Roberts
Maurice Ager
Trenton Hassell
Out of town:
Richard Jefferson
Nenad Krstic
Bostjan Nachbar
Marcus Williams
The Nets are clearly waiting out LeBron James’ contract. This team is going to struggle. I did like what they did with their 3 draft picks; I think all of them could play. Yi is terrible. I don’t know if those 5 will start, but whatever, it’s going to be no fun to watch this team Jay-Z. NJ Nets are officially 1 of his 99 problems.
New York Knicks
Starters:
Stephon Marbury
Jamal Crawford
Quentin Richardson
Zach Randolph
Eddy Curry
Bench:
David Lee
Chris Duhon
Danilo Gallinari
Nate Robertson
Mardy Collins
Wilson Chandler
Anthony Roberson
Out of town:
Renaldo Balkman
Biggest acquisition for the Knicks is clearly Mike D’Antoni. Can he turn it around? We’ll see. Not this year, not with this group. I may be one of the few out there that thinks Marbury can still play, but you just never know with him. Randolph and Curry in the up and down system? Good luck with all that…
Philadelphia 76ers
Starters:
Andre Miller
Willie Green
Andre Iguodala*
Elton Brand
Samuel Dalembert
Bench:
Thaddeus Young
Louis Williams*
Kareem Rush
Marreese Speights
Jason Smith
Reggie Evans
Out of town:
Rodney Carney
Calvin Booth
The 6ers made a big splash with the signing of Elton Brand. Whether he stabbed the Clippers in the back or not, the big man from Duke is coming to the Eastern Conference. Iguodala is still a restricted free agent, and is a must sign for Philly is they want to be dangerous in the East. The Warriors and Clippers have spent a lot of money so I would be surprised if any team swoops in and grabs the new A.I. Should be an exciting year in the city of brotherly love.
Toronto Raptors
Starters:
Jose Calderon
Anthony Parker
Jamario Moon
Chris Bosh
Jermaine O’Neal
Bench:
Andrea Bargnani
Jason Kapono
Kris Humphries
Joey Graham
Hassan Adams
Out of town:
T.J. Ford
Carlos Delfino
Rasho Nesterovic
Maceo Baston
Big question here obviously is if O’Neal can stay healthy. He and Bosh could combine to be one of the best 4-5 combos in all the NBA. Calderon is an upgrade over Ford, but also losing Delfino weakens their bench severely. They will be one of the most intriguing teams in the East; don’t be surprised if they add a couple more pieces to the puzzle.
Next: Central Division
-Keefe
In the next few days I will put my gynecologist’s gloves on and examine each team in the NBA, see what moves they did and didn’t make. The Draft, free agency, and trades have changed the look of many of these teams like Janice Dickenson. Plus, it’s been awhile since I’ve talked hoops on here right? I’m going by alphabetical order on this one, not how I’m predicting finishes in April of 2009, on the end of July. New acquisitions in bold and rookies in italics. (6 segments for each division)
Boston Celtics
Starters:
Rajon Rondo
Ray Allen
Paul Pierce
Kevin Garnett
Kendrick Perkins
Bench:
Eddie House
Leon Powe
Glen “Big Baby” Davis
Tony Allen
Brian Scalabrine
Gabe Pruitt
J.R. Giddens
Bill Walker
Patrick O’Bryant
Out of town:
James Posey
P.J. Brown
Sam Cassell
The defending champions will have their entire starting 5 back for a shot at back-to-back titles, that’s the good news. Check out that bench… James Posey is going to be a big loss for this team; they don’t win it all last year without him. I’d be surprised if Danny Ainge was done molding this team. The only off season moves they’ve made so far was re-signing House and T.Allen, picking up O’Bryant, and drafting Giddens, Walker, and Semih Erden. Love the starters, but concerned about the 2nd unit. Of course, everyone was worried about the bench last year too…
New Jersey Nets
Starters:
Devin Harris
Vince Carter
Bobby Simmons
Yi Jianlian
Josh Boone
Bench:
Jarvis Hayes
Sean Williams
Keyon Dooling
Brook Lopez
Ryan Anderson
Chris Douglass-Roberts
Maurice Ager
Trenton Hassell
Out of town:
Richard Jefferson
Nenad Krstic
Bostjan Nachbar
Marcus Williams
The Nets are clearly waiting out LeBron James’ contract. This team is going to struggle. I did like what they did with their 3 draft picks; I think all of them could play. Yi is terrible. I don’t know if those 5 will start, but whatever, it’s going to be no fun to watch this team Jay-Z. NJ Nets are officially 1 of his 99 problems.
New York Knicks
Starters:
Stephon Marbury
Jamal Crawford
Quentin Richardson
Zach Randolph
Eddy Curry
Bench:
David Lee
Chris Duhon
Danilo Gallinari
Nate Robertson
Mardy Collins
Wilson Chandler
Anthony Roberson
Out of town:
Renaldo Balkman
Biggest acquisition for the Knicks is clearly Mike D’Antoni. Can he turn it around? We’ll see. Not this year, not with this group. I may be one of the few out there that thinks Marbury can still play, but you just never know with him. Randolph and Curry in the up and down system? Good luck with all that…
Philadelphia 76ers
Starters:
Andre Miller
Willie Green
Andre Iguodala*
Elton Brand
Samuel Dalembert
Bench:
Thaddeus Young
Louis Williams*
Kareem Rush
Marreese Speights
Jason Smith
Reggie Evans
Out of town:
Rodney Carney
Calvin Booth
The 6ers made a big splash with the signing of Elton Brand. Whether he stabbed the Clippers in the back or not, the big man from Duke is coming to the Eastern Conference. Iguodala is still a restricted free agent, and is a must sign for Philly is they want to be dangerous in the East. The Warriors and Clippers have spent a lot of money so I would be surprised if any team swoops in and grabs the new A.I. Should be an exciting year in the city of brotherly love.
Toronto Raptors
Starters:
Jose Calderon
Anthony Parker
Jamario Moon
Chris Bosh
Jermaine O’Neal
Bench:
Andrea Bargnani
Jason Kapono
Kris Humphries
Joey Graham
Hassan Adams
Out of town:
T.J. Ford
Carlos Delfino
Rasho Nesterovic
Maceo Baston
Big question here obviously is if O’Neal can stay healthy. He and Bosh could combine to be one of the best 4-5 combos in all the NBA. Calderon is an upgrade over Ford, but also losing Delfino weakens their bench severely. They will be one of the most intriguing teams in the East; don’t be surprised if they add a couple more pieces to the puzzle.
Next: Central Division
-Keefe
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