[inasilentway68Participant]

Eastern Conference:

1) Miami Heat
2) Chicago Bulls
3) Orlando Magic
4) Boston Celtics
5) Milwuakee Bucks
6) Atlanta Hawks
7) Charlotte Bobcats
8) New York Knicks
9) Cleveland Cavaliers
10) Philadelphia 76ers
11) Washington Wizards
12) Detroit Pistons
13) New Jersey Nets
14) Toronto Raptors
15) Indiana Pacers

Western Conference:

1) Los Angeles Lakers
2) Oklahoma City Thunder
3) Houston Rockets
4) San Antonio Spurs
5) Dallas Mavericks
6) Portland Trailblazers
7) Phoenix Suns
8) Denver Nuggets
9) Utah Jazz
10) Memphis Grizzlies
11) Los Angeles Clippers
12) New Orleans Hornets
13) Sacramento Kings
14) Golden State Warriors
15) Minnesota Timberwolves

[RUDEBOY_Participant]

WOW!! OKC number 2 best team in the west? they are an up & coming team that surprised alot of people last season..but this year teams know whut to expect from them…

I think Memphis will be among the top 8 teams in the West..

I love the Kings front court players..Cousins,Thompson,Dalembert,Landry & Whiteside..But besides Tyreke”speedy” Evans they dont have much depth in the backcourt..

The Pacers will not be the worst team in the East..i think it’ll be the Raptors or Nets

[JNixonParticipant]

Look for the Charlotte Bobcats to suck next year. Something tells me they will be in the running for the top pick in 2011-2012.

[Pistol Pete. The PelicanParticipant]

Eastern Conference

1. Orlando Magic
2. Boston Celtics
3. Miami Heat
4. Chicago Bulls
5. Atlanta Hawks
6. Milwaukee Bucks
7. New York Knicks
8. New Jersey Nets
9. Charlotte Bobcats
10. Indiana Pacers
11. Toronto Raptors
12. Detroit Pistons
13. Washington Wizards
14. Cleveland Cavaliers
15. Philadelphia 76ers

Western Conference
1. Los Angeles Lakers
2. Dallas Mavericks
3. Oklahoma City Thunder
4. Denver Nuggets
5. Portland Trailblazers
6. San Antonio Spurs
7. Utah Jazz
8. Memphis Grizzlies
9. Los Angeles Clippers
10. Houston Rockets
11. Phoenix Suns
12. Minnesota Timberwolves
13. New Orleans Hornets
14. Sacramento Kings
15. Golden State Warriors

NBA Finals- Lakers vs. Celtics, Lakers in 7
Western Conference finals-Blazers, Lakers
Eastern Conference Finals, Celtics, Bulls

[llperez]

i actually like the sixers to make the playoffs. I think both brand and iguodala bounce back a little. Jrue should step up. And while hawes is not a big piece, i think he fits in great there. They need some shooting and he is a center who can stretch the court and open up some inside space for guys like brand, speights and young to do some damage inside. They have a solid defensive team and decent depth. And even if turner doesnt have a big rookie year, he should provide them with energy and a unselfish ball mover.

[Buckets RevengeParticipant]

I see OKC as a 5 seed in the west at best, people are getting way too carried away just because they like Durant and liked how the Thunder played vs. the Lakers. Did everyone forget that they almost missed the playoffs last year? I think to make it above the 5 seed they would have to make a jump almost the same as they did from two seasons ago to last season. I think it is much more likely that they somewhere between 9th and 6th seed than for them to break into the top four this season with almost the exact same players. I understand that a team can improve over time, but do you guys seriously think that they can jump from terrible to almost championship material within two years? Remember what happened with the Hornets a few years back…

[Buckets RevengeParticipant]

That list is aweful.

I can maybe understand the Bulls over the Magic and Celtics, and mabey the Bucks over the Hawks, but the Pacers as the worst team in the East is a terrible call. and spots 2-4 in the west are just as bad and the Nuggets at 8…?

[j1232eParticipant]

is a only a sports center watcher, and has nothing to do with the good teams, his list only consist of highlight teams (the top ten) Your list is awfull OKC 2 HOU 3 HA Ha Ha! YOUR Wrong!
1. LAL
2. DALL
3. POR
4. UTAH
5. S.A.
6 DEN.
7. OKC
8. HOU.

[duhrant35Participant]

OKC made the playoffs by 8 games over Houston and were just 7 games back of the number one seed. Not saying its gonna happen but I think a top 4 finish is pretty reasonable

[OhCanada-Participant]

Eastern Conference:

1) Miami Heat
2) Chicago Bulls
3) Boston Celtics
4) Milwuakee Bucks
5) Atlanta Hawks
6) Orlando Magic
7) Philadelphia 76ers
8) Washington Wizards
9) New York Knicks
10) Cleveland Cavaliers
11) Charlotte Bobcats
12) Toronto Raptors
13) New Jersey Nets
14) Detroit Pistons
15) Indiana Pacers

Western Conference:

1) Los Angeles Lakers
2) Dallas Mavericks
3) Portland Trailblazers
4) Denver Nuggets
5) Oklahoma City Thunder
6) Utah Jazz
7) San Antonio Spurs
8) New Orleans Hornets
9) Houston Rockets
10) Phoenix Suns
11) Sacramento Kings
12) Memphis Grizzlies
13) Los Angeles Clippers
14) Golden State Warriors
15) Minnesota Timberwolves

[MagikKnickParticipant]

..How does Orlando fall to #6?

[Toronto16Participant]

Eastern Conference:

1. Miami Heat
2. Orlando Magic
3. Boston Celtics
4. Chcago Bulls
5. Milwaukee Bucks
6. Atlanta Hawks
7. New York Knicks
8. Charlotte Bobcats

9. Washington Wizards
10. Philadelphia 76ers
11. New Jersey Nets
12. Toronto Raptors
13. Cleveland Cavaliers
14. Detroit Pistons
15. Indiana Pacers

Western Conference

1. Los Angeles Lakers
2. Dallas Mavericks
3. Portland Trailblazers
4. Oklahoma City Thunder
5. Utah Jazz
6. Denver Nuggets
7. San Antonio Spurs
8. Memphis Grizzles

9 Sacramento Kings
10. Phoenix Suns
11. Houston Rockets
12. New Orleans Hornets
13. Los Angeles Clippers
14. Golden State Warriors
15. Minnesota Timberwolves

I’ll even do playoff predictions

1st round East
1v8 Heat over Bobcats
2v7 Magic over Knicks
3×6 Celtics over Hawks
4v5 Bucks over Bulls (This would be a great series)

1st round west
1v8 Lakers over Grizz
2v7 Spurs over Mavs
3v6 Blazers over Nuggets
4v5 Thunder over Jazz

2nd round East
1v5 Heat over Bucks
2v3 Celtics over Magic

2nd round West
1v4 Lakers over Thunder
3v7 Blazers over Spurs

Eastern conference finals
1v3 Celtics over Heat

Western Confernce Finals
1v3 Lakers over Blazers

NBA Finals
Celtics over Lakers

[McWinningParticipant]

Eastern Conference:

1. Miami Heat
2. Orlando Magic
3. Chicago Bulls
4. Boston Celtics
5. Milwaukee Bucks
6. Atlanta Hawks
7. Charlotte Bobcats
8. New York Knicks

Western Conference

1. Los Angeles Lakers
2. Dallas Mavericks
3. Oklahoma City Thunder
4. Portland Trailblazers
5. San Antonio Spurs
6. Utah Jazz
7. New Orlean Hornets
8. Denver Nuggets

[Mr. JewboyParticipant]

I don’t get why most of you have chicago over boston, orlando and sometimes miami
they got better this year, but not thaat much better. last year they barely made the playoffs while the magic were favorites to win the east, so what makes you think they’ll have a better record than them?

[WizardofOzParticipant]

How do you ave the Cavs over he Wizards?

[ChrischiParticipant]

East:

1. Miami
2. Orlando
3. Bulls
4. Celtics
5. Hawks
6. Bucks
7. Knicks
8. Sixers
9. Pistons
10. Bobcats
11. Pacers (they had 50% wins before Granger got injured, people like to forget that)
12. Cavs
13. Wizards
14. Nets
15. Raptors

Now that the Celtics got Shaq I think they might get home court advantage, although it might be close, dunno how much Doc Rivers will rest the big three, but they’re froncourt looks really good.

West:

1. LA
2. Dallas
3. Blazers (if healthy, if not they might easily drop out of the playoffs)
4. OKC
5. Jazz
6. Nuggets
7. Spurs
8. Memphis
9. Rockets
10. Clippers
11. Hornets
12. Suns
13. Kings
14. GSW
15. T-Wolves

It’s so hard to predict, because you don’t really know weither a team decides to rebuild and trade their best players away. I think that the Pistons have a shot to make the playoffs, but if they decide to rebuild and trade players like Prince, then they will suck.

Another thing are injuries. If 100% perfectly healthy I think the Blazers and Hornets will make the playoffs. Also, some teams are so dependant on certain players that they could easily miss the playoffs if they injure. I’m thinking about the Jazz and D.Will. I think it will be tough for the Nuggets aswell. If K.Martin doesn’t return and plays the way he did last season it will be tough for the Nuggets. He was they’re defensive presence and without him it’ll be tough because teams like Memphis, Clippers and the Hornets (if Paul healthy) can easily steal a spot in the playoffs.

And stop overrating the Kings!!! Yes they have the ROY and a Big-men that might be the next ROY, but their team is still way too young and they have to shooters. Give them time. I think you can compare them to OKC. Did OKC explode and make the playoffs the year they drafted Westbrook and had Durant? Of course not, it’ll take a bit more time. Same with the Wizards.

And I really think the Suns won’t make the playoffs. If you look at teams like the Clippers, Memphis and Houston (who are so deep, if they resign Scola) they show much more promise than Nash (who is still great), Hedo and Childress. You never if Robin Lopez is healthy and they haven’t resigned Amudson yet. They can’t play defense.

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

East:

1. Heat – They’ll be the main attraction. You have to give Pat Riley his credit for the way he’s handled their cap situation. You have to think they could challenge the 72 game record.

2. Magic – I think they’ll play w/ a chip due to all of the attention the Heat will be getting in their state and division. Howard should be a legit MVP candidate. He worked with Hakeem in June, so I’m anxious to see what he’s learned.

3. Bulls – They had a great off-season without overpaying for anyone. Thibodeau is a wierd person to me, but he’s a genius on the defensive end. I’m expecting Rose to have a MVP caliber season.

4. Bucks – They had a very good off-season as well. They’ve leaped the Hawks in my opinion. Bogut needs to stay healthy though.

5. Hawks – They had to re-sign Johnson to stay rellivant, but it came at a high cost. I’m interested to see what kind of offense Larry Drew will run. That’ll be important.

6. Celtics – They’re built for the playoffs, not the regular season. It’ll be wierd seeing Shaq in green, but I think he’s a solid pick up. IF healthy come playoff time, we all know they’ll be serious contenders.

7. Knicks – Adding Stoudemire and the other moves they made should be good enough to get them into the playoffs, despite being one of the worst defensive teams in the NBA.

8. Bobcats – I still like them to make the playoffs despite stiff competition. They’re offensively challenged, but they’re one of the top two or three defensive teams in the NBA. Plus they’re still led by MJ, Larry Brown, Jackson and Wallace.

9. 76ers
10. Pacers
11. Nets
12. Cavaliers
13. Wizards
14. Raptors
15. Pistons

West:

1. Lakers – A summer of rest for Kobe and Pau is huge. They’ve added some quality players this off-season without losing anybody of major significance.

2. Trailblazers – They don’t have any holes, are arguably the deepest team in the NBA and have more size than the Lakers. IF they can stay healthy, I have no doubts about this team. I love the coaching staff McMillian has put together.

3. Mavericks – I like the Chandler/Haywood rotation at center. I expect the the Mavericks to have another great regular season.

4. Thunder – Durant will be even better this season, but what I like about the Thunder is that they defend. They still lack size down low to be contenders, but I think they’ll have a great season with all of their players being a year older.

5. Spurs – Splitter coming over is huge. The Spurs have some youth in Splitter 25, Hill 24, Anderson 21 and Blair 21. There won’t be too much strain on the big three during the regular season.

6. Nuggets – All three of their bigs (Nene, Martin and Anderson) are coming off of knee injuries. They’re not getting younger. Let’s keep an eye on the Melo contract situation and see if it becomes a distraction.

7. Jazz – They replaced Boozer, Matthews and Korver with Jefferson, Bell and Hayward… I’m interested to see how Jefferson will play in Sloan’s offense. I also need to see if his knee is 100%. They could move up.

8. Rockets – It all depends on Yao’s health. The supporting cast is there. IF Yao can stay healthy, I think they could move up. IF Yao isn’t healthy, then they’ll be in a fight for the 8th seed with the Suns and Grizzlies.

9. Suns
10. Grizzlies
11. Hornets
12. Clippers
13. Kings
14. Warriors
15. Timberwolves

[SubZeroParticipant]

I don’t think the Wizards will be worse than the Cavs next year. Also, the Kings could make a huge improvement over last year

[stanford hoops]

to be realistic out side of the top 6 in the east miami,bos,atl,mil,orlando,chi its up for grabs

the bobcats could make the 7th or 8th spot
same with knicks,cavs,wiz,nets,etc since none of those teams are much better then the others

As far as the west goes we have seen how that playsout so after the lakers at 1 any of these teams could be 2-dal,ut,den,okc,hou,S.A,port

[inasilentway68Participant]

Decided to create that list at far too late/too early in the morning. However, I still stand by it.

I think everyone agrees on two-time defending champions LA Lakers being the top seed in the Western Conference. As for my choosing OKC Thunder as the #2, consider this: they improved their win column by 27 regular season games from the 08-09 to the 09-10 season. 27. Next year, Kevin Durant will be 22, Russell Westbrook will be 22, Jeff Green will be 24, and James Harden will be 21. Does anyone really think that individually and as a team these players have already reached their plateau? Honestly, I’ll be disappointed if the team does not play in an NBA Finals within the next three years, barring the creation of another superteam.

Houston Rockets at #3 is certainly a hopeful placement, but these predictions are based off of the idea that everyone remains healthy for the entire year, because how can you predict injuries even with often-injured players (like Yao Ming)? Rockets had no earthly reason to win 42 games last year, but they still did it, played tough all-year long with their traditional “see-you-next-year” attitude. They kept their tough-as-nails squad intact and will have Kevin Martin for a full-year, Trevor Ariza in his correct position at small forward, and have yao ming and brad miller to plug the center position. Slap me silly and call me foolish, but that’s a team that competes for upper echelon.

And to be fair, the standings in the Western Conference are going to be the difference of a few games (again), so standings #2 through #8 won’t really differentiate teams’ success too much. In the playoffs, it’s all about matchups. Because who here really thought that after San Antonio beat Dallas in the first round that they would then be swept in the next one against Phoenix? I would like to bump the Trailblazers’ standing up more, but they have too much executive-level infighting and too many players demanding to be traded for that to not carry-over into their competitive health.

As for the Eastern Conference, Boston went from a team that one 66 games to 62 to then 50. That championship run was a surprise to all, but could they really duplicate that again with 4/5 of their entire squad two years away from retirement. I think they’ll still be in the middle of the playoff standings at #4 from a hangover of prior playoff swagger/determination, but old is OLD.

As for the bottom-dwellers in the Eastern Conference, hard to say who is going to implode more furiously. Cavs now minus Lebron? Raptors now minus Bosh? Pacers now minus still a point guard?

I like to think that Doug Collins’ can right the 76ers’ ship but trades are unavoidable for that team. Same with the Wizards, now way do you corrupt John Wall by keeping Gilbert Arenas longer than you have to. Unless Joe Dumars reclaims his former basketball sense, Pistons are not going anywhere with a logjam of Richard Hamilton/Ben Gordon at SG.

Ball don’t lie.

[Pistol Pete. The PelicanParticipant]

Wow seriously how many of you are going to jump on the heat bandwagon, Lebron, Wade, and Bosh aren’t going to automatically bring them a number 1 seed or an nba title.

They’re going to have growing pains, and bad coaching from spoelstra. I can explain why I have every team where they are. The magic didn’t get any worst. and I think Gortat, Brandon Bass, and reddick will get more pt this year. The Celtics have a team tat can knock off anyone with the signing og Shaq. A front court with big baby, shaq, kg, jermaine o’neal, and eventually kendrick perkins is the best front court in the league. Miami is going to get 52 wins just because of their talent, but everyone predicting all of these records broken are just stupid. Chicago made themselves better by getting Boozer, Korver, brewer, and we still don’t know about T-Mac. Noah, Rose, Gibson, will all get better. Deng will stay consistent. Atlanta didn’t get better but they didn’t get worst. The bucks, Jennings and Bogut will be better year 2 together, and jennings will be special. plus they picked up, drew gooden, and corey maggette, and the wildcard if healthy Michael Redd. The Knicks got better by adding Felton and Amare, but they also got the steal of the summer in my opinion, Anthony Randolph, plus Danillo will only get better. The Nets, they’ll be healthy, Brook Lopez will only get better, Devin Harris won’t be injured. Terrance Williams is a beast. Morrow will provide good shooting. And Favors will provide adequate defense and rebounds. Let’s not forget Avery Johnson is a defensive coach they will play better defense. That’s the east.

The lakers actually got better,shannon brown’s agent said he is coming back, plus they picked up Barnes, Ratliff, and Blake. Dallas will be better, roddy playing more, and the team being together longer than the trading deadline last year. OKC, will only get better, some say they barely made the playoffs, they also barely missed the number 2 seed last year. Denver will start off slow but when everyone is healthy, plus al harrington will be great off of the bench. Portland, this year they will finally put it together. I don’t have to mention their talent, they just have to stay healthy. San Antonio will be healthy and Tiago Splitter will help. Utah will drop only because I don’t think jefferson is as good a fit for the jazz as boozer. but jerry sloan will keep them tough. And Memphis will make the 8th seed, because they have ton of talent and they actually improved their team that was fighting for the 8th seed until the last couple of weeks of the season.

[stanford hoops]

yeah old is old but kg was never fully healthy and the regular season doesnt mean much to a team like boston. one year isnt gonna make them that much older

with everyone beinbg healthy houston and portland are better then okc. if im not mistaken okc was the only team to basically be injury free all year

[dwat4444Participant]

1. LA Lakers(58-24)———1. Orlando Magic(56-26)
2. Dallas Mavs(54-28)——2. Miami Heat(52-30)
3. OKC Thunder(53-29)—-3. Chicago Bulls(51-31)
4. Portland(52-30)———–4. Boston Celtics(47-35)
5. Utah Jazz(52-30)———5. Milwaukee Bucks(45-37)
6. Denver(50-32)———— 6. Atlanta Hawks(44-38)
7. SA Spurs(48-34)——— 7.NY Knicks(41-41)
8. Houston(45-37)———– 8.Charlotte Bobcats (39-43)
_________________________________________
Ok, first off, Miami is going to need a year to reach their maximum. A change this big is going to take some getting used to, they’ll need time to adjust to new roles. Also, I see Boston saving themselves and Atlanta dropping off, they just don’t seem to have fan support and any excitment and I think JJ will lay off the gas now that he’s paid. NY and charlotte just beat out Washington and Philly for the last 2 spots. Chicago jumps up 10 games because just because a real post presence in boozer and shooting in Korver will really help Rose(24 and 8??).
In the West, LA retains their top spot, and Dallas remains strong like always(look for them to make a move a the deadline). OKC only wins 3 more games so this isn’t a big step, just improvement of their youth. The rest looks very similar, with denver distracted and pheonix challenging for the last spot but just missing to houston IF Yao returns to 75% or better. Memphis remains at about .500, Sacramento improves about 10 games to 35 wins, NOH has a minor improvement to near .500, and the clippers win around 30-35 again, slightly improving with Griffin coming in.
In the playoffs, Boston and Miami have an epic semi-conf battle with Miami barely winning by waring down and aging celtic team. Orlando then takes down Miami because of Howard dominating down low and a lack of continuity between the 3 SuperFriends. Next year will be theirs, however, and the beginning of a dynasty. In the west, OKC’s youth matures enouth to make it to the finals, just losing in a rematch to LA.
In the finals, another Lakers-Magic matchup, with LA 3-peating because Bynum will finally be healthy and will play like an All Star against Howard.

[dwat4444Participant]

so you have houston and portland winning 53+ games? u do realize someone has to drop off in order for that to happen right? do u see utah dropping off, SA, Dallas, pheonix falling big time? Some people on here don’t seem to take into account not everyone can improve…

[PlatypusParticipant]

How are the Cavs not the worst team in the east?

there depth is

Williams – Sessions – Gibson
Parker – Gibson – Eyenga
Moon – Graham – Green
Jamison – Hickson – Powe
Varejao – Hollins

besides Jamison, Williams, and Sessions, whos gonna score?

[ChrischiParticipant]

yeah, but look at New Jersey and Toronto, who do they have to score? Bargnani, Brook Lopez and Devin Harris don’t look to superior to Mo-Will and Jamison

And atleast the Cavs have a good center who rebounds and plays defense in Varejao.

The Wiz have Blatche and Wall to score. McGee has talent we all know that, but he’s not proven like Varejao, although he has the potential to surpass him by far.

The Pistons have a good team, how can you rate them so low? RIP and Prince were injured for many games last season, if they keep them, I think they have a shot at winning 40+ games

[inasilentway68Participant]

Cleveland Cavaliers wins 60+ games two seasons consecutively with LeBron receiving only help from a bunch of role players, and you don’t think a team fielding LeBron, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Udonis Haslem, and Mike Miller won’t win over 52 wins? Now that’s just living in denial. LeBron is in Miami, get over it already.

[stanford hoops]

????..you dont need to win 53 games to be 2nd and third in the west. i dont recall a rule saying thats how many games you have to win. you just have to win more games then the other team. houston with a healthy yao is better then they were last year. portland with a healthy oden,priz, and all the other guys who were injuried during the season is better then last years team. they are both better then okc when healthy

you obviously are not taking all those injuries into account and seem to think only okc can improve but no one else can

[inasilentway68Participant]

Eastern Conference:
1) Miami Heat – 60 – 65 wins
2) Chicago Bulls – 55 – 60 wins
3) Orlando Magic – 55 – 60 wins
4) Boston Celtics – 50 – 55 wins
5) Milwuakee Bucks – 50 – 55 wins
6) Atlanta Hawks – 50 – 55 wins
7) Charlotte Bobcats – 40 – 45 wins
8) New York Knicks – 40 – 45 wins
9) Cleveland Cavaliers – 30 – 35 wins
10) Philadelphia 76ers – 30 – 35 wins
11) Washington Wizards – 25 – 30 wins
12) Detroit Pistons – 20 – 25 wins
13) New Jersey Nets – 20 – 25 wins
14) Toronto Raptors – 20 – 25 wins
15) Indiana Pacers – 15 – 20 wins

Western Conference:
1) Los Angeles Lakers – 55 – 60 wins
2) Oklahoma City Thunder – 55 – 60 wins
3) Houston Rockets – 50 – 55 wins
4) San Antonio Spurs – 50 – 55 wins
5) Dallas Mavericks – 50 55 wins
6) Phoenix Suns – 50 – 55 wins
7) Portland Trailblazers – 50 – 55 wins
8) Denver Nuggets – 50 – 55 wins
9) Utah Jazz – 45 – 50 wins
10) Memphis Grizzlies – 45 – 50 wins
11) Los Angeles Clippers – 40 – 45 wins
12) New Orleans Hornets – 30 – 35 wins
13) Sacramento Kings – 30 – 35 wins
14) Golden State Warriors – 30 – 35 wins
15) Minnesota Timberwolves – 15 – 20 wins

[Cusemen727Participant]

i agree with inasilentway here, I cant stand LeBron and the heat, but if you people honestly think that they will lose 30 games, you’re absolutely nuts, they will hands down be the number 1 seed in the east IMO, what happens in the playoffs is a different story, but that team will not lose anymore then 20 games, and thats even a little high.

[Author]

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