i'll be putting some predictions here for the top 9 west teams as well as boston, cleveland, and orlando.
The western conference
1. Lakers (42-10) - these guys have been fake all season long. I don't know what it is, but this team just doesn't have it but continues to win games due to the officiating, much like the 2006-2007 mavs who won 67. I think much of the league is suffering from a pre-concieved notion that they can't compete with the lakers, so when the game time comes, they simply don't try. It won't last much longer. They are not that good defensively, they are 20th in the league in points allowed per game. The reason they are winning games is because they are 1st in the league in points scored per game. But what happens if some of those shots don't go down? With exactly 30 games to go, i would expect about a 15-15 record the rest of way, leaving them at 57-25, same record as last year. Again, if teams would actually show up and stop playing mickey mouse basketball against the lakers, these clowns wouldn't be 42-10. No team with pau gasol and andrew bynum as their 2nd and 3rd leading scorers will ever win a championship.
2. Spurs (35-16) - we are 2 games ahead of where we were at this same point in our last championship season...we were 33-18 in 2007 and everyone here said we were done and look what happened. If any other team were 35-16 people would be crowning them the next nba champions. But for the spurs to be 35-16, we are just doing what we're supposed to do, fly under the radar all year while other teams run up the score to get 60 wins, and injure their starting center over a layup vs. The grizzlies. 31 games to go, 25-6 the rest of the way, 60-22 final record.
3. Denver (36-17) - here's where irrelevance starts to kick in as far as the west playoff picture goes. I have a hard time seeing why this denver team should finish with anything better than a 49-33 record. That means 13-16 the rest of the way. I think having to be carmelo anthony's teammate is the worst thing that could have happened to chauncey billups' career. This team had 2 all-star starters in 2008 and the defensive player of the year and look where all that got them. I don't really care for this team as this is about as irrelevant as any 3rd place team in pro sports history can get.
4. Portland (32-20) - first of all, brandon roy being selected an all-star is a big indicator that the league lacks depth and talent. If this were the 90's nba, no way brandon roy would be an all-star. He wouldn't even be a player or a bench player. Brandon roy would have been lucky to even be a water boy if today's nba was like the 90's. Greg oden? Enough said. Lamarcus aldridge wants to talk about not being soft, then goes out and averages 9 points and 5 rebounds a game. How about joel pryzbilla....this guy tries to stand up to tyson chandler, then has his grandma write a letter to the league because chandler was bullying him. I thought a scrub like rajon rondo shoving kobe as if he's actually a significant player was the league's low point until i remembered this. 30 games to go, 16-14 the rest of the way, 48-34 finish.
5. Houston (32-21) - i don't know which team is in worse shape, these guys or phoenix. Why don't they just dissolve this franchise, and let the league absorb the players into their rosters? In the process, t-mac should be banned from the nba. That guy is a disgrace to professional basketball. And to think this team actually won 22 straight last year. Biggest fluke in the history of mankind. I don't care where this team finishes, they could lose the rest of the regular season and i wouldn't be surprised. A 7'6" center who can probably get any shot he wanted, yet you have mcgrady, artest, and rafer alston, shooting percentages of 38.8%, 38.8% and 37.1%, playing more minutes per game than yao. Not the worst team in the nba but probably the stupidest.
6. New orleans (30-20) - i'm sure everyone, as well as myself, had high expectations for this team at the beginning of the year. But then they went out and played 50 games and showed everyone that last year was a fluke. These guys are a full 5 games behind where they were last year (35-15). They'd have to go 26-6 just to tie last year's record. It's not happening. 21-12 the rest of the way, 51-31 final record. Not much else to say other than this team was indeed a fluke.
7. Dallas (31-21) - i still can't see how this team got to the finals in 2006 and won 67 games the next year. Dirk, howard, terry, and dampier are the same core from those years...another team quickly heading down the drain. Why they haven't tried to move dirk is beyond me. This isn't 2007 and he's not the mvp anymore. And he'll never lead this dallas team to a championship. Just because he got a couple of shots to go down from 2005-2007, doesn't mean he's untouchable. They can trade him for perhaps another all-star caliber player and make a playoff run. Oh well, i guess cuban wants another 50-32 year. How about a first round playoff matchup with the spurs, just for entertainment?
8. Utah (30-23) - without all the injuries, this is a 42-11 team. Not much else to say other than this is one team that i can see that isn't afraid of the lakers. They'll be in the playoffs, and l.a. Better hope they don't run into these guys in the first round. 49-33 final record only because of the slow start.
9. Phoenix (28-23) - it's sad to see what has happened to this franchise as a whole. But i think the disappointment comes from unrealistic expectations. There's no way that this franchise was ever capable of winning a championship, except for 2006 when they faced a soft dallas team in the wcf's. Unfortunately for them, amare was out that year. From 2004-2008, this was a fun team to watch, but i don't know what the people were thinking when saying that this team could ever win a championship. It simply was never going to happen. They could still have d'antoni as coach, and the lineup of joe johnson, shawn marion, raja bell, and boris diaw, and they still wouldn't have won a championship. This team suffers from what dallas suffered from: Hitting a couple of shots at the right times, therefore thinking they could actually win a championship. Oh well. They need to trade nash and amare, rebuild the franchise and tank out the rest of the season, come back in about five years for another shot. As for this year, don't be shocked if they finish below .500.
The eastern conference
1. Boston celtics (44-11) - these guys had it all. A 66-16 season the year before, the nba championship, and a 27-2 start to this season. Then they went out and played basketball for the lakers and it's pretty much been over since then. 17-9 since starting 27-2? I don't know about these guys anymore. As solid as a team can be in the nba but the fact that they let a scrub laker team beat them twice raises some su ion about whether or not their 2008 championship was indeed a fluke. You let pau gasol average 22 points a game in two meetings and you have no business being called elite anymore. Sorry boston. Will finish 61-21 only because of a fast start to the season.
2. Cleveland (40-11) - again, another team that shouldn't be referred to as elite. This is probably the worst 40-11 team in nba history. Someone tell me why lebron is an mvp candidate, because i just don't see it. He has repeatedly had brickfests against the teams that matter. 5-for-20 from the floor against the last game against the lakers. Mo williams an all-star? Please. It took two all-stars getting injured in order for him to make it. 17.6 ppg, but only on 47% shooting...he's not balanced enough: 3.3 rebounds and 4.1 assists...not all-star numbers. In fact, his all-star selection and 17.6 points are flukes. Why was getting selected to the asg so important for him anyways? It's not like anyone knows who he is. I'll mention it here since there's no where else to mention it, but why was danny granger an all-star this year? Why waste time with him? He played 10 minutes in the asg and took one shot and scored 2 points. Further evidence that the league is in need of more talent. Cleveland's final record: 55-27
3. Orlando (38-13) - these guys wanted to go around acting like they are badasses, and then jameer nelson ends his season over trying to grab a rebound away from erick dampier. Fail. 54-28 final record. As for dwight howard, what happened to winning the dunk contest?
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