racm
07-22-2012, 09:10 AM
Sons let's be honest here's how I think each division will pan out.
Atlantic
Boston (6th consecutive division title)
Brooklyn (slight edge over)
New York
Philadelphia (too close to call?)
Toronto
This division will be a dogfight, even moreso than the Southwest. Boston looks like a contender again, with an old hobbled Ray Allen being the only loss. The Nets have a starting five who can mesh well together, even if the Knicks' starters are more talented overall. The Sixers still have Iggy and an effective if controlling coach in Doug Collins, but turning Lou Williams and Elton Brand into Nick Young and Kwame Brown will make your team the butt of jokes. The Raptors look decent and could end up winning games against division rivals, but only because of Lowry and Valancunias.
Central
Indiana
Chicago
Milwaukee
Cleveland
Detroit
The Central is Indiana's to lose, as the Bulls gutted their roster in the assumption that Derrick Rose will be out until the All-Star Break at the least. However Thibodeau is a defensive guy who pushes his guys to compete until the final buzzer, and he still has Luol Deng to run into the ground. The Bucks may make some noise, but are as likely to fall short of the playoffs. The Cavs have a good, promising youth movement but aren't taking the leap to contender... yet. The Pistons are a mess, even with 9th pick Andre Drummond.
Southeast
Miami
Atlanta
Orlando (could be interchanged with Washington)
Washington
Charlotte
The division is the defending champions' to lose. Ray Allen will help, and so will Rashard Lewis to a lesser extent. LeBron still has a lot in the tank, and even if Wade remains relatively hobbled they still have most of the championship core. The Hawks have lost Joe Johnson but have compensated for it with Lou Williams and Kyle Korver. While they aren't gonna contend any moment yet they will win games. Orlando is a mess, regardless of where Dwight Howard ends up. Letting their second best player in Ryan Anderson walk is a good idea, but Rob Hennigan is sending mixed signals. Washington and Charlotte have had good draft picks, and the former has a solid veteran frontcourt and could contend for the 8th seed. The latter will win more games, but that's easy to do when you win only 7 games :lol.
Northwest
Oklahoma City
Denver
Minnesota
Utah
Portland
The Thunder have a good young core and look poised to win a ring before James Harden's and Serge Ibaka's extensions enter Sam Presti's mind. The Nuggets have a roster that goes three deep at every position, but their serious hopes for contention will have to rely on their young core taking the next step. The Wolves hope a backcourt with one good knee between them will help them get to the playoffs - though it must be said Ricky Rubio's game has never been too reliant on athleticism, and anytime you can turn starting Wes Johnson and Michael Beasley into Brandon Roy and Chase Budinger you can only improve. The Jazz could make the playoffs, but they only did so because Portland decided to blow it up, Rubio tore his knee, and the Rockets and Suns faltered down the stretch. The Blazers are in full-on rebuilding mode - starting at least one rookie for practically the entire season signals that, unless you're the Spurs or a truly contending team.
Pacific
LA Lakers
LA Clippers
Golden State
Phoenix
Sacramento
The Lakers and Clippers will be in a dogfight for the division, but ultimately the Lakers' Big Four of Nash/Bryant/Gasol/Bynum(or even Howard, if the trade goes off) will triumph over the deep roster led by CP3 and Blake "monkeyballer" Griffin. The Warriors will likely finish around .500 as they have their starting five in place (although :lol Jefferson will likely start at season start). If Bogut and Curry hold up for a good chunk of the season they could even sneak into the playoffs. The Suns will sorely miss Steve Nash, and although the return of Goran Dragic and the additions of Luis Scola and Michael Beasley will help compensate, I doubt they will make serious noise. The Kings are a mess - a logjam in the backcourt and having off-the-court problems in Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins. It's like Washington East!
Southwest
San Antonio
Memphis (can be exchanged with Dallas)
Dallas
New Orleans (could be exchanged with Houston)
Houston
:flag: As the Suns prove, a high powered offense will give you a very good regular season record. The Spurs have led the Western Conference two years in a row, and barring major injury they look to finish no worse than top 3. The Grizzlies ironically helped a divisional rival by letting OJ Mayo walk to the Mavericks, and although the core of Gay/Randolph/Gasol/Conley is one that plays tough, physical D, they are still conflicted on how to run an offense, what with Randolph preferring to play in the paint and Gay being an isolation perimeter specialist. The Mavericks lost out on Deron Williams, but have added youth with the acquisitions of Mayo and Darren Collison. They also have the most German frontcourt in the league with Dirk and Chris Kaman. The Hornets have added the No 1 pick in Anthony Davis, retained Eric Gordon (much to BR's chagrin of course) and added Ryan Anderson. Likewise, the Rockets have a young roster all due to Daryl Morey's tinkering (of their 10-man rotation, only Kevin Martin and Chandler Parsons are left) and are led by Jeremy "turnover machine/Asian Savior" Lin.
Atlantic
Boston (6th consecutive division title)
Brooklyn (slight edge over)
New York
Philadelphia (too close to call?)
Toronto
This division will be a dogfight, even moreso than the Southwest. Boston looks like a contender again, with an old hobbled Ray Allen being the only loss. The Nets have a starting five who can mesh well together, even if the Knicks' starters are more talented overall. The Sixers still have Iggy and an effective if controlling coach in Doug Collins, but turning Lou Williams and Elton Brand into Nick Young and Kwame Brown will make your team the butt of jokes. The Raptors look decent and could end up winning games against division rivals, but only because of Lowry and Valancunias.
Central
Indiana
Chicago
Milwaukee
Cleveland
Detroit
The Central is Indiana's to lose, as the Bulls gutted their roster in the assumption that Derrick Rose will be out until the All-Star Break at the least. However Thibodeau is a defensive guy who pushes his guys to compete until the final buzzer, and he still has Luol Deng to run into the ground. The Bucks may make some noise, but are as likely to fall short of the playoffs. The Cavs have a good, promising youth movement but aren't taking the leap to contender... yet. The Pistons are a mess, even with 9th pick Andre Drummond.
Southeast
Miami
Atlanta
Orlando (could be interchanged with Washington)
Washington
Charlotte
The division is the defending champions' to lose. Ray Allen will help, and so will Rashard Lewis to a lesser extent. LeBron still has a lot in the tank, and even if Wade remains relatively hobbled they still have most of the championship core. The Hawks have lost Joe Johnson but have compensated for it with Lou Williams and Kyle Korver. While they aren't gonna contend any moment yet they will win games. Orlando is a mess, regardless of where Dwight Howard ends up. Letting their second best player in Ryan Anderson walk is a good idea, but Rob Hennigan is sending mixed signals. Washington and Charlotte have had good draft picks, and the former has a solid veteran frontcourt and could contend for the 8th seed. The latter will win more games, but that's easy to do when you win only 7 games :lol.
Northwest
Oklahoma City
Denver
Minnesota
Utah
Portland
The Thunder have a good young core and look poised to win a ring before James Harden's and Serge Ibaka's extensions enter Sam Presti's mind. The Nuggets have a roster that goes three deep at every position, but their serious hopes for contention will have to rely on their young core taking the next step. The Wolves hope a backcourt with one good knee between them will help them get to the playoffs - though it must be said Ricky Rubio's game has never been too reliant on athleticism, and anytime you can turn starting Wes Johnson and Michael Beasley into Brandon Roy and Chase Budinger you can only improve. The Jazz could make the playoffs, but they only did so because Portland decided to blow it up, Rubio tore his knee, and the Rockets and Suns faltered down the stretch. The Blazers are in full-on rebuilding mode - starting at least one rookie for practically the entire season signals that, unless you're the Spurs or a truly contending team.
Pacific
LA Lakers
LA Clippers
Golden State
Phoenix
Sacramento
The Lakers and Clippers will be in a dogfight for the division, but ultimately the Lakers' Big Four of Nash/Bryant/Gasol/Bynum(or even Howard, if the trade goes off) will triumph over the deep roster led by CP3 and Blake "monkeyballer" Griffin. The Warriors will likely finish around .500 as they have their starting five in place (although :lol Jefferson will likely start at season start). If Bogut and Curry hold up for a good chunk of the season they could even sneak into the playoffs. The Suns will sorely miss Steve Nash, and although the return of Goran Dragic and the additions of Luis Scola and Michael Beasley will help compensate, I doubt they will make serious noise. The Kings are a mess - a logjam in the backcourt and having off-the-court problems in Tyreke Evans and DeMarcus Cousins. It's like Washington East!
Southwest
San Antonio
Memphis (can be exchanged with Dallas)
Dallas
New Orleans (could be exchanged with Houston)
Houston
:flag: As the Suns prove, a high powered offense will give you a very good regular season record. The Spurs have led the Western Conference two years in a row, and barring major injury they look to finish no worse than top 3. The Grizzlies ironically helped a divisional rival by letting OJ Mayo walk to the Mavericks, and although the core of Gay/Randolph/Gasol/Conley is one that plays tough, physical D, they are still conflicted on how to run an offense, what with Randolph preferring to play in the paint and Gay being an isolation perimeter specialist. The Mavericks lost out on Deron Williams, but have added youth with the acquisitions of Mayo and Darren Collison. They also have the most German frontcourt in the league with Dirk and Chris Kaman. The Hornets have added the No 1 pick in Anthony Davis, retained Eric Gordon (much to BR's chagrin of course) and added Ryan Anderson. Likewise, the Rockets have a young roster all due to Daryl Morey's tinkering (of their 10-man rotation, only Kevin Martin and Chandler Parsons are left) and are led by Jeremy "turnover machine/Asian Savior" Lin.