The 2007-08 NBA season starts tonight and for some reason, I couldn't be happier. I don't really care all that much for the NBA as I much prefer college basketball, which I believe is generally a superior product. However, this season is looking like it can be a good one and hopefully has a more exciting NBA Finals than last year's Spurs/Cavs snoozefest. The best teams are still out West and especially in the State of Texas. The Mavs, Rockets and Spurs are among the favorites to represent the West in the NBA Finals, along with Phoenix. In the East, the big news is in Boston where Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen join Paul Pierce to make a solid three-man core and a favorite in the East. The Pistons, Heat, Bulls and Cavs join the Celts as favorites in the East. However, there are upstarts and surprises to expect this season. If their core remains healthy, keep an eye towards D.C. and fearless leader Gilbert Arenas, aka Agent Zero aka Hibachi. [Side note - If you have never read his blog, go check it out on nba.com - always a good read and keep an eye out in your city for the Gil II Zeros - 20 different shoes all set to be worn by Hibachi himself]. The other team to be on the lookout for back East is Orlando, with budding superstar Dwight Howard and expensive free agent Rashard Lewis. The two teams out West that may surprise some people are Denver and Memphis. The Nuggets have now had an entire offseason with Carmelo and AI playing together (assuming AI has learned the value of practice) and they both appear to be healthy. Also, the Grizz appear to be healthy as well and they have a solid young core of Rudy Gay, Hakim Warrick, Kyle Lowry, Mike Conley Jr. and Pau Gasol to keep them in check.
Of course, one big story to follow will be in LA and whether the Lakers will trade Kobe and if so, where he will end up. Will this effect their chemistry? Will it even matter considering how good the rest of the West is. The other plotline for the season is just how well Kevin Durant does in Seattle and whether he will truly change the game like Bill Simmons believes he will.
Tonight kicks off with Portland @ San Antonio, Utah @ Golden State and Houston @ Los Angeles Lakers.
Judz' Predictions (playoff teams ranked from 1-8 based on playoff ranking system and not necessarily regular season record):
West: 1. Phoenix 2. San Antonio 3. Denver 4. Dallas 5. Utah 6. Houston 7. Golden State 8. Memphis
East: 1. Detroit 2. Boston 3. Chicago 4. Washington 5. Orlando 6. Cleveland 7. Miami 8. New York
Western Conference Finals: Phoenix over Houston
Eastern Conference Finals: Washington over Chicago
NBA Finals: Phoenix over Washington
Brownie's Predictions (playoff teams ranked from 1-8 based on playoff ranking system and not necessarily regular season record):
East: 1. Boston 2. Chicago 3. Cleveland 4. Orlando 5. Detroit 6. Washington 7. Miami 8. New Jersey
West: 1. Phoenix 2. Dallas 3. Denver 4. San Antonio 5. Houston 6. Utah 7. Golden State 8. Seattle
Eastern Conference Finals: Boston over Cleveland
Western Conference Finals: Phoenix over Denver
NBA Finals Phoenix over Boston
Drillo's Predictions:
West: 1. Phoenix 2. San Antonio 3. Houston 4. Utah 5. Dallas 6. Denver 7. LA Lakers 8. New Orleans
East: 1. Boston 2. Chicago 3. Miami 4. Cleveland 5. Detroit 6. Orlando 7. New Jersey 8. Toronto
Western Conference Finals: San Antonio over Phoenix
Eastern Conference Finals: Chicago over Boston
NBA Finals: San Antonio over Chicago
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