ESPN - Western Conference Predictions

[#41 Shoot Em Up]

+1,000

[BRHornet45]

Look BR no knocking what Cp3 did a 3 YEARS ago ...
Taking THAT team to a #2 seed was amazing as was his PER 22 and 10 etc ...Paul had an amazing season ...

But Dirk has won an MVP and taking his team to a Finals and the best record in the NBA
Howard has been to the Finals ...
DWill and Melo have led their team to the WCF ...

None of the above is coming off a major injury ...in some ways all are coming off career years ...(Dirk hit more Game winners even though his numbers were down)

are you really that ignorant? really??? ... son Paul has dropped 20 and 10 for the last 3 years. Not JUST 3 years ago ... wake up.

Dirk took his team to the finals and performed the biggest choke job in the history of professional sports

Howard went to the finals and won 1 game and halfass contributed

DWill has yet to learn how to put up 20 points per game. The dude turns the ball over more than any "legit" star should. There is a good reason why the NBA has only chosen him for one all star appearance and he has never made the all NBA 1st team. the dude is so overrated simply because of "grassroots/trendy" internet movements. Its "cool" to say Williams is the best. Paul owns him in nearly every single stat category, but hey its cool to say Williams is the best.

son Wade received the exact type of treatment whenever he got injured a couple years back. Ignorant/bandwagon fans immediately started counting him out, claiming that Shaq won his ring, etc. .... go look at that stats and the facts before spewing ignorant nonsense.

[redzero]

Top 5 I like Paul but ...

1. Lebron
2. Kobe
3. Wade (in some order)
4. Durant
5. Howard
6. Dirk
7. Dwill
8. Melo (in some order)

Who is Paul DEFINITIVELY better than? Especially coming off injury?

If we are talking about a healthy Chris Paul, I'd take him over Melo, Williams, Dirk, Durant and Howard, easily.

I still don't get why people think Williams is better than Paul when he's clearly not.

[BRHornet45]

I still don't get why people think Williams is better than Paul when he's clearly not.

because its just a cool thing to say. people think they are being different and unique by saying Williams is better. ignoring the facts and stats and rooting for the underdog is very popular in America.

[crc21209]

1. Lakers (60 wins)
8. Spurs (48 wins)

4. Thunder (53 wins)
5. Blazers (52 wins)

3. Hornets (55 wins)
6. Jazz (51 wins)

2. Nuggets (56 wins)
7. Rockets (49 wins)

The Rockets, Jazz, and Blazers jumping the Spurs? Wow...

[BRHornet45]

The Rockets, Jazz, and Blazers jumping the Spurs? Wow...

son I'm not trying to hate, just speaking facts ... the Spurs have been steadily declining every year and they BARELY won 50 games last season. They haven't improved at all this off season and Duncan is aging. I would be shocked if they win more than 45 games next season, but out of respect for their past I gave them 48 wins.

[crc21209]

If I had to guess:

LA
UTAH
OKC
DAL
POR
NO
DEN
SA

You are overrating NO and POR. Portland, no matter what year it is or what the situation is, always gets bit by the injury bug. New Orleans wont jump the Spurs either. Denver I can see totally imploding this year as well...

[crc21209]

son I'm not trying to hate, just speaking facts ... the Spurs have been steadily declining every year and they BARELY won 50 games last season. They haven't improved at all this off season and Duncan is aging. I would be shocked if they win more than 45 games next season, but out of respect for their past I gave them 48 wins.

Uh huh...so with the Spurs adding a pretty damn good quality big in Splitter (something they didnt have last year), they're going to be worse? Wow...OK. Because if you ask me a front-line of TD, Splitter, Blair, Dice, and Bonner as your 5th big looks pretty good to me. Adding 2 guys like Anderson and Neal > Bogans and Mason should be better as well. The Rockets, while OK...will miss Ariza this year and Yao just wont be the same anymore. And even though I think the Jazz got a better player in Jefferson, I think Boozer fit that Utah system more than Al Jefferson can. And Portland, again...with a injury prone Roy and Oden...you just never know with that team....can't trust them.

[Killakobe81]

because its just a cool thing to say. people think they are being different and unique by saying Williams is better. ignoring the facts and stats and rooting for the underdog is very popular in America.

The game is more than stats ...
DWill took his team to the 2nd round of the playoffs despite a host of injuries late ...
Last time paul was in the playoffs he was getting locked down by Dontay Jones ...

Sorry but that is the lasting image plus I have seena few head to head matchups that have told me DWill is better.

If Paul makes Ariza an all-star or Hornets approach 50+ wins I will give Paul the le back ...

[024]

it's going to be:

1. lakers
2. mavs
3. thunder
4. portland
5. rockets
6. spurs
7. nuggets
8. jazz

mavs will still do their regular season dominance, then choke in the playoffs. nuggets are pretty much done. melo is not improving and billups is getting exponentially worse. al jefferson, at best will replace boozer, which, at best, makes the jazz the same team. blazers will finally have a healthy year but still won't have a superstar like kevin durant, so they will finish a seed below the thunder. rockets, i kind of just threw them into the middle. they have very good defense and yao back would help drastically, even for part of the season. i think they have brad miller too if yao goes down. lastly, the spurs will suffer injuries here and there but manage to win 50+ games once again, good enough for the 6th seed.

[#41 Shoot Em Up]

The game is more than stats ...
DWill took his team to the 2nd round of the playoffs despite a host of injuries late ...
Last time paul was in the playoffs he was getting locked down by Dontay Jones ...

Sorry but that is the lasting image plus I have seena few head to head matchups that have told me DWill is better.

If Paul makes Ariza an all-star or Hornets approach 50+ wins I will give Paul the le back ...

Pretty safe bet my man, considering we both know that aint happenning.

[Venti Quattro]

I think the Lakers can win 60-63 but will still lose to Miami in the overall HCA race. Miami will win in the 66-69 range. They can do more, but I don't think Miami will be shooting for 70 or more.

[Killakobe81]

If we are talking about a healthy Chris Paul, I'd take him over Melo, Williams, Dirk, Durant and Howard, easily.

I still don't get why people think Williams is better than Paul when he's clearly not.

I said definitively ...how is Paul coming off an injury ddefinitively better than thse guys?

Ok so based on 2008 ...

Kobe is better than Lebron
KG is better than Pau
CP3 better than Dwill
Yao is better than Howard
Pierce is better than Melo ... All definitively ...

Hornets fans living in 2008 ... then he was better than Dwill

Past 2 seasons Dwill has been healthier, his teams have gone further and he is the better player. Deal with it.
Paul does the things BR is hyping then Paul will take his le back ...

[#41 Shoot Em Up]

I think the Lakers can win 60-63 but will still lose to Miami in the overall HCA race. Miami will win in the 66-69 range. They can do more, but I don't think Miami will be shooting for 70 or more.

Tell Bill I said hi. Miami will get overall best record. Mainly cause I believe the Lakers dont need it if they get to the finals, they've proven that.

[#41 Shoot Em Up]

D Will > Paul

[redzero]

The game is more than stats ...

Of course, if the stats show that one player is clearly superior even when missing half the season, you'll say they don't matter.

DWill took his team to the 2nd round of the playoffs despite a host of injuries late ...

Deron Williams had a far better supporting cast, with or without injury. All Chris Paul had was David West who had a bad back and a sore ankle.

Last time paul was in the playoffs he was getting locked down by Dontay Jones ...

If you think Paul wasn't double teamed, you're kidding yourself.

Sorry but that is the lasting image plus I have seena few head to head matchups that have told me DWill is better.

For the last time, head-to-head matches mean absolutely nothing. There are more teams than the Hornets and the Jazz.

If Paul makes Ariza an all-star or Hornets approach 50+ wins I will give Paul the le back ...

Why? Who has Williams made into an All Star?

The Williams supporters say the same exact thing over and over again. Yeah, Chris Paul lost by 58 points. So what? He was never swept.

[024]

Tell Bill I said hi. Miami will get overall best record. Mainly cause I believe the Lakers dont need it if they get to the finals, they've proven that.

when did they prove that?

[BRHornet45]

I said definitively ...how is Paul coming off an injury ddefinitively better than thse guys?

Ok so based on 2008 ...

Kobe is better than Lebron
KG is better than Pau
CP3 better than Dwill
Yao is better than Howard
Pierce is better than Melo ... All definitively ...

Hornets fans living in 2008 ... then he was better than Dwill

Past 2 seasons Dwill has been healthier, his teams have gone further and he is the better player. Deal with it.
Paul does the things BR is hyping then Paul will take his le back ...

son ever since they both came into the NBA Paul has done damn near EVERYTHING better than Williams .... Williams has struggled tremendously at turning the ball over and has proven that he isn't a clutch player at all (lol at him single handedly losing the all star game for the West and Dirk barking at him like a ) .... Williams isn't even a star scorer ... solid yes, but it takes an act of God for Williams to put up more than 18 points per game. Williams has never once led the NBA in ANYTHING, yet Paul has led the NBA in assist, steals, double doubles, numerous years. but hey ... stats aren't everything right? .... put Paul on the stacked Utah teams that Williams was blessed with and they would have already won a championship by now. Paul has had to deal with DAVID WEST being his best scoring option for s sake ... oh and Paul turned him into an all star.

[redzero]

I said definitively ...how is Paul coming off an injury ddefinitively better than thse guys?

Ok so based on 2008 ...

Kobe is better than Lebron
KG is better than Pau
CP3 better than Dwill
Yao is better than Howard
Pierce is better than Melo ... All definitively ...

Hornets fans living in 2008 ... then he was better than Dwill

Past 2 seasons Dwill has been healthier, his teams have gone further and he is the better player. Deal with it.
Paul does the things BR is hyping then Paul will take his le back ...

Why do you keep bringing up 2008? Chris Paul's 2008-2009 season was better than his 2007-2008 season. , any season Chris Paul played is better than Deron William's best, from a statistical point of view. You act as if there is this huge drop off and you have written him off before you even know how he'll play.

[21_Blessings]

I've heard that about him but tbh i've seen more of his statlines than highlights (byproduct of playing for the T-Wolves i guess)...is his D really THAT bad?

Yes his D really is that bad. And that was before his ACL surgery and DUI.

Minnesota basically salary dumped him for a reason. It's not like a Darko/Love front court strikes fear into the rest of the league.

[#41 Shoot Em Up]

when did they prove that?

You believe the Lakers can't win on the road in the Finals? They have proven they can.

[024]

You believe the Lakers can't win on the road in the Finals? They have proven they can.

they had HCA against the celtics and still had to play a seventh game. when they didn't have HCA, they were murdered by the celtics.

[BRHornet45]

You believe the Lakers can't win on the road in the Finals? They have proven they can.

son the Lakers can win at a dildo factory if they want to. as long as the league is on their side they will win.

[Chucho]

1. LA
2. Utah
3. S.A
4. Dallas
5. OKC
6. Portland
7. Denver - just looks like a mess waiting to happen. Melo possibly leaving, a bad KMart trade could possibly be made at the deadline as a salary dump if the Melo mess gets out of hand, possible injuries, Karl's health, Al Harrington
8. Houston

9. Phoenix- could be close.
10. Nawlins - that bench is not good enough to back them up if any starter gets bitten by the injury bug.

[#41 Shoot Em Up]

1. LA
2. Dallas
3. OKC
4. Denver
5. Utah
6. Portland
7. SA
8. Houston

9. Phoenix- could be close.
10. Nawlins - that bench is not good enough to back them up if any starter gets bitten by the injury bug.

Fixed