Eastern Conference Predictions:

Atlantic Division:

  1. Boston Celtics x
  2. Philadelphia 76ers x
  3. Toronto Raptors x
  4. New York Knicks
  5. New jersey Nets

Central Division:

  1. Cleveland Cavaliers x
  2. Detroit Pistons x
  3. Chicago Bulls x
  4. Indiana Pacers
  5. Milwaukee Bucks

Southeast Division

  1. Orlando Magic x
  2. Miami Heat x
  3. Charlotte Bobcats
  4. Atlanta Hawks
  5. Washington Wizards

Breakdowns:

Atlantic Division

Boston Celtics:

  The Celtics have to be the favorites in the East again this year, right?  I don’t think the loss of Posey hurts them that much.  There are a lot of guys out there just like Posey, but he was on a great team so he stood out.  This team is all about KG, Paul Pearce and to a lesser extent Ray Allen.  If those three are playing well the Celtics will be hard to beat.  The guy who actually may be the third best player on the team this year is Rajon Rondo.  He’s already a great defender, distributor and driver; if his shot develops at all he can be an all star.  Look for improvements from Tony Allen, Big Baby Davis and Leon Powe.  Look for Patrick O’Bryant to be released or sent down to the Developmental League.  I think O’Bryant is the one guy in the league that I can beat up.  Is there anyone softer than him?  I don’t just mean in the NBA, I mean like anyone in the world, period.  The Darius Miles signing is interesting, but that dude has proved to be just a notch below worthless.  His injury was pretty bad, but there was a time when he had a ton of potential.  If he got his head screwed on straight during his time off – maybe he can fulfill some of it.  I doubt it, but the guy needs a job so maybe he’ll work a little harder.

Arizona Wildcat Watch:

  Nothing

Philadelphia 76ers:

  This is the team that probably improved the most in the off season.  Adding Elton Brand makes them legit contenders.  I still think they’re a year away from being title contenders; but their time is coming.  Andre Miller can’t be described as anything but solid.  He’s the perfect point guard for a team that doesn’t need him to be a huge scoring threat.  Andre Iguodlala is on the verge on being an all star, and I think he makes the team this year.  They have two breakout candidates.  Thaddeus Young was one of the better rookies last year and Lou Williams is a great scoring threat off the bench.  He’s got a little Monta in his game.  Outside shooting is a bit of an issue, but they added Donyell Marshall who is sort of this generation’s version of Sam Perkins.  He’s not nearly as cool, but I think he’s just as stoned.

Arizona Wildcat Watch:

  Andre Iguodlala is just sick.  He’s a triple double threat and one of the best dunkers in the league.  He got screwed in the dunk contest a few years ago when he lost to Nate Robinson.  With Arenas hurt, he could be the best Wildcat in the league right now.

Toronto Raptors:

  If Jermaine O’Neal is healthy and plays like he cares a little, this team could surprise a lot of people.  With him and Bosh down low they’ll be one of the best rebounding and shot blocking teams in the league.  Bosh is an MVP candidate.  He looked great in the Olympics, looks a little like Snoop Dogg, and is a hilarious self promoter.  Jose Calderon is extremely steady, shoots at a high percentage and doesn’t turn the ball over.  He was good enough to get TJ Ford shipped out of town.  The rest of the team is solid, but nothing special.  Except for Andrea Bargnani, he really sucks.  There are some really good European players, but many of the big men who get drafted high turn out to be huge busts.  They took this scrub at number one when they could have had LaMarcus Aldridge, Brandon Roy or Rudy gay just to name a few.

Arizona Wildcat Watch:

  It looks like Hassan Adams found an NBA team to sign him.  I am really happy for him.  Hot Sauce is a very exciting player and I think should get an opportunity to participate in the dunk contest.  When we had him and Iguodlala running on the wings, there wasn’t a more exciting team in college hoops.  I really hope he gets some minutes, because I think he can be a very good defender in the NBA and is a great rebounder at his size.  He is more of an athlete than skilled basketball player, but there is a place in the league for those guys.  I’m looking forward to seeing Calderon toss him some ally-oops. 

New York Knicks:

  It’s starting to get better for the Knicks.  With Isaiah Thomas out and Donnie Walsh and Mike D’Antoni in; the Knicks now have some real leadership.  These guys are proven winners and should be able to get some kind of improvement out of the team.  The one issue here is that there still aren’t too many good players on the squad.  Zach Randolph puts up pretty big numbers, but is fat and slow.  The amazing thing is there is someone fatter and slower than him on the same team, Eddie Curry.  These two can score in the low post, but couldn’t defend a sandwich.  Hopefully for the Knicks, they can trade one of those guys and get as many minutes as possible for David Lee, who will average a double double if he can get 30 minutes a night.  The backcourt is nothing special.  Jamaal Crawford can score in bunches, but can be really streaky.  Chris Duhon is really more of a backup point guard than a starter.  It’ll be interesting to see what they do with crazy Stephon Marbury.  I still think Steph has some game left in him if he can quit doing whatever it is that he’s doing and concentrate on playing again.  I didn’t really like the draft pick of Danilo Gallinari, but everything that I read says that he can score.  Defense is the big issue on this team – but they have a coach who likes to run and score more than slow down and play D.  Can Randolph and Curry keep up?  Not likely.

Arizona Wildcat Watch:

  Nothing

New Jersey Nets:

  The Nets are all about managing their finances these days.  They will be moving to Brooklyn soon and all indications are that they are trying to make contract room for LeBron when his contract is up in 2010.   They do have some good players though.  Even though he is heartless and one of the biggest wimps and most selfish players in the league, Vince Carter can still play and will get his points.  I don’t know if that will help the Nets win many games, but it is what it is.  I wouldn’t be shocked if they try to trade him at the deadline.  Devon Harris is probably the best player on the team.  He’s fast, he can score and he can defend.  They drafted Robin’s twin sister Brook Lopez out of Stanford.  He has some good moves down low and can shoot ok for a big man, but I think he’ll end up as average at best.  The jury is out on Yi Jianlian but he showed some flashes last year.  This team doesn’t have much to offer.

Arizona Wildcat Watch:

  They traded Richard Jefferson to the Bucks.

Central Division

Cleveland Cavaliers:

  They have LeBron, so they have a chance.  He’s just the best all around player in the league and can win games by himself.  I liked the pickup of Mo Williams.  He’s probably the best teammate LeBron has had in his entire career.  He’s more of a scoring point guard which actually works because LeBron does so much of the ball handling.  Ben Wallace is on the decline, but can still pull down some rebounds and knock people around.  Szczerbiak can still hit shots and Delonte West is more than just a serviceable backup.  It all comes down to LeBron though, and when he wants to takeover a game, it’s usually a win for the Cavs. 

Arizona Wildcat Watch:

  Michael Dickerson has been working out with the Cavs and may make the team.  He hasn’t played since the 2002-2003 season due to a really bad hernia, so this would be quite a comeback.  You have to root for this guy.  He was always likeable and was a great player for the Wildcats.  I had a class with him my sophomore year.  He was at class more than me and very approachable.  I hope it works out.

Detroit Pistons:

  I was expecting the Pistons to make some moves over the summer as it is sort of clear to me that while they’re still one of the better teams in the league; they aren’t title contenders anymore.  The guy that I think still could go at some point is Chauncey Billups.  They really like their first round pick from last year, Rodney Stuckey and if they can get something good in return for Billups; Stuckey will be the guy going forward.  The only major change in the starting lineup this year so far is Amir Johnson will probably be their guy at power forward.  Aside from that, things will look pretty similar to the last few years with Rasheed, Tayshaun and Rip.  How stupid of a nickname is Rip by way?  I always thought that was so lame.

Arizona Wildcat Watch:

  Will Bynum is their third string point guard and will probably get about 10 minutes a night.  He started out at Arizona and then transferred to Georgia Tech.  It is sort of funny that he is in the NBA now and the guy that was probably the reason for his transfer, Mustafa Shakur got cut by the Kings and is now in Europe somewhere. 

Chicago Bulls:

  For whatever reason, I am expecting an improvement out of the Bulls this year.  Their team is young and deep.  They got the top pick in the draft, Derrick Rose.  I don’t know if he’ll begin the season starting at point guard, but I would assume he’ll be their guy in the not so distant future.  They are loaded with guards, and I would expect one of them to be traded by the deadline.  Kirk Hinrich sucked last year, but he’s still a good player and I expect him to pick it back up.  Ben Gordon just signed a one year deal, so he’s going to be playing his ass off for big money next season.  I think Cleveland was a bad fit for Larry Hughes.  He’ll be better on the Bulls.  They have an active and athletic frontcourt with Joakim Noah and Tyrus Thomas.  I expect Drew Gooden to come off the bench.  Hopefully that stupid patch of hair that he has comes off the back of his head.  The star of the team is still Luol Deng.  He’s far from exciting, but he’s a good scorer and capable at everything else.  It’ll be interesting how first year coach Vinny Del Negro does.  I once heard someone call him the poor man’s Jeff Hornacek.  That always cracks me up.

Arizona Wildcat Watch:

  Nothing

Indiana Pacer:

  What a boring team.  Danny Granger is very good though and has a good chance to be an all star this year.  They also now have TJ Ford running the point instead of perennial cancer, Jamaal Tinsley.  Mike (Big Head) Dunleavy had the first useful season of his career.  He was so bad on the Warriors.  There weren’t too many Warrior players of the past that made me as angry as he did.  He came out of college and was drafted a year after having the game of his life in the 2001 NCAA Tournament final game against Arizona.  It was a horribly officiated game by the way.  The Warriors thought that he would end up a better player than Caron Butler or Amare Stoudemire so they drafted him 3rd overall.  What a mistake.  Anyway, the have a solid team but will probably just miss the playoffs.

Arizona Wildcat Watch:

  Nothing

Milwaukee Bucks:

  The Brewers were fun to watch this year.

Arizona Wildcat Watch:

  I feel bad for Richard Jefferson.  He’s a good player that got traded to a hapless team.  They aren’t going to be any good for a while either.  Jefferson came back last year from a bad injury and had maybe his best year in the NBA.  Then, the Nets traded him the clear cap space for the future.  Jefferson is still a high flyer and great Wildcat.  He donated $3.5 million to the new Arizona practice center that is being built.

Central Division

Orlando Magic:

  This isn’t a great team, but they are good.  They’re good enough to win this less than impressive division.  The strength is obviously the frontcourt.  Dwight Howard is an absolute beast.  He is one of the best in the league on the boards and blocking shots.  I think he had more dunks than anyone last year.  He’s still miserable at the foul line.  Aside from him, Turkoglu had a career year last season and Rashard Lewis is one of the better scorers in the league.  The backcourt is so so.  They signed Pietrus (who I will not miss) away from the Warriors and I assume he’ll start at the 2.  He’s a good defender, makes some corner 3’s and is a good athlete.  He’s also pretty stupid on the court.  He fouls a lot, takes bad shots and does some really weird things that sometimes leaves you scratching your head.  Jameer Nelson is a capable point guard, but should probably be a back up.  It’ll be interesting to see what Redick does this year.  I have never heard so much talk about such a worthless player.  He can shoot, but that’s about it.  I bet he gets traded.  I think his services could be used on a good team that needs someone who can come in and hit some 3’s.  The 76ers would be a good fit. 

Arizona Wildcat Watch:

  Nothing

Miami Heat:

  I really may be overvaluing the Heat this year.  Most things that I have read don’t have them finishing this high.  It makes sense, they were terrible last year.  I have a feeling they are going to have a huge turnaround though.  This is my reasoning.  Dwyane Wade was hurt most of last year and appears to be 100% healthy now.  Did anyone see him in the Olympics?  He looked like the best player in the world.  This year they will have Shawn Marion for the entire season rather than just a couple months.  They don’t have a broken down Shaq on their team for any part of this season and they added a top rookie of the year candidate in Michael Beasley.  If Beasley has a similar type year that Durant had last year and Wade and Marion are on the top of their respective games, this has to be one of the best “big 3s” in the league.  The issue is they are weak just about everywhere else.  Haslem is a good player, but he becomes somewhat obsolete with Marion and Beasley.  They should really try to package him for a point guard.  While Wade can run the point, he is best suited at 2.  The Heat have options at point, but none of them are very good.  Mario Chalmers is a rookie; Chris Quinn brings almost nothing to the table and who knows if Shaun Livingston will be able to come back to full strength after that horrendous knee injury.  A lot of things need to go right here, but if they do I think the Heat will sneak up on a lot of teams.

Arizona Wildcat Watch:

  Nothing.

Charlotte Bobcats:

  Why can’t Michael Jordan just go away and enjoy his money?  Or, why can’t he just own a team and keep his nose out of basketball operations?  He was the greatest player ever, but he has no business trying to build a team.  He’s just not good at it.  With that said, this may be the best team he has ever put together.  That’s sort of sad considering they are likely going to be in the lottery again.  He signed on Larry Brown to coach.  Brown should be able to get these guys to play some defense which was an issue last year.  Hopefully he can also help give this team some kind of identity which they have been badly lacking since they’ve come in to the league.  Here’s the good.  The starting lineup is impressive.  I don’t know who will eventually be starting at point guard, Raymond Felton or D.J. Augustine; but I would guess its Felton at least to start.  He’s a good playmaker and very fast.  His problem is he can’t shoot worth a lick and turns the ball over some.  I think eventually Augustine will be the guy here and Felton will be dealt.  You have got to love them on the wings.  Jason Richardson is one of my favorite players and leaves everything on the court.  I miss him with the Warriors.  Gerald Wallace is an explosive triple double threat at the 3.  These two guys play above the rim and not too many teams can match the athleticism.  There are question marks at power forward.  Sean May is the guy they have penciled in, but he hasn’t been able to stay healthy.  If he’s hurt, Brown will have to get creative and either run a very small or very big lineup.  Emeka Okafor should be better than he is, but he’s still a good defensive player at center.  Sort of a poor man’s version of what Ben Wallace used to be.  He needs to learn to be more consistent.  Here’s the bad.  Despite the point guard depth, they are thin everywhere else.  I guess you can say Nazr Mohammed is a capable back up at center, but there is nothing at the 2 or 4.  Adam Morrison has obviously been a disappointment.  They hope that he can make some sort of comeback this year, but a comeback to what?  He was terrible as a rookie.  The one breakout candidate is Jared Dudley.  He’s a hard nosed player and very good rebounder for his size.  They can plug him in at any of three positions to create match up problems.  But by breakout, I don’t mean anything more than 25 minutes a night in his case.  All and all, I think they make a run at the playoffs and fall just short.

Arizona Wildcat Watch:

  Nothing

Atlanta Hawks:

  The starting lineup for the Hawks is probably from top to bottom at least one of the ten best in the league.  The problem here is their bench is one of the five worst.  If all the starters are able to stay healthy, they have a legit shot at getting back in to the playoffs.  If there are any major injuries, the Hawks are back watching ping pong balls.  At the point, Bibby isn’t what he used to be and isn’t a great distributor, but he’s still in the top half of starting point guards in the league.  The fact that Joe Johnson is such a great playmaker at the 2 offsets Bibby’s shortcomings.  Johnson is one of the all around better players in the league.  Talk about all around players.  If Josh Smith gets his head out of his ass, he could be one of the best players in the league.  He is solid from behind the arc and can dunk on anyone.  Inch per inch he’s the best shot blocker in the league and gets in the middle of passing lanes.  He can pull down rebounds and will dish out an assist when someone’s open.  He just can’t help doing dumb things sometimes and it’s really frustrating.  I’m not sure he wanted to stay on the Hawks, but they were able to pay him the most.  We’ll see how it plays out.  Marvin Williams continues to get better but at the same time infuriates Hawks fans that he was picked ahead of Chris Paul and Deron Willaims.  Hawks fans should be excited about Al Horford, he’ll be an all star one day soon and I think Acie Law becomes a pretty good back up point guard.  This has been one of the worst run franchises of the last decade, maybe longer.  It really went downhill after Dominique Wilkins was traded for Danny Manning back in the mid 90’s and has been puttering along ever since.

Arizona Wildcat Watch:

  Mike Bibby was the highest pick Arizona has ever had when the Vancouver Grizzlies took him 2nd behind Michael Olawhatever the hell his name is.  While Bibby has never reached that star potential that was expected of him, he’s been very good for a long time.  I have heard a few basketball people say he’s the best current player to never be an all star.  Unfortunately it looks like that will continue as his best years are probably behind him.  It’s too bad considering he helped lead Arizona to their only NCAA Championship in 1997.  I think he still has some good years ahead of him, but it looks like they’ll be lost amongst the shuffle playing for a mediocre team in Atlanta.

Washington Wizards:

  On the surface this division looks relatively week, but that’s misleading because there is no obvious title contender.  From top to bottom it’s actually fairly competitive.  These bottom half teams all have a shot at the playoffs.  A couple years ago it looked like the Wizards were on their way to being one of the league’s top teams, but things have changed.  Their biggest issue is their best player can’t stay healthy.  Two years ago, Gilbert Arenas was an all league player and as entertaining as anyone playing.  He injured his knee late that season and has been trying to recover ever since.  He’s going to be out at least a couple of months to start out this season and who knows when and if he gets his explosiveness back.  With him gone Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison are going to have to carry the load.  The problem is Butler has had a hard time staying on the floor himself and Jamison may be heading out of his prime.  They really don’t have much else to be excited about.  The backcourt is way below par.  The hope is that Nick Young can improve on a modest rookie season and that Andray Blatche can mature a bit on and off the court.  If Butler stays healthy, Jamison plays like he did last year and Gilbert comes back to have a nice second half they could get in to the playoffs.  I’m just not confident that all three of those will happen. 

Arizona Wildcat Watch:

  Gilbert Arenas is probably my all time favorite Wildcat.  The fact that I got to watch him play for a short time with the Warriors was a huge bonus.  I really wish I had a more positive outlook on his future though.  He just had his third knee surgery in as many years and this just after signing a huge extension with Washington.  I was hoping before that the Warriors could lure him away, but now I am glad they couldn’t.  It is getting scary close to looking like he is never going to be the same guy that he was in 2006 and before.  I have heard a few different time tables for his return this year.  It sounds like he’ll miss at least two months.  Let’s hope that this surgery is what they say it is and something that he’ll be able to fully recover from.  It would be a huge shame if the NBA has seen the last of Agent 0 at the top of his game.  Off the court he’s as funny a character as the league has. Check out his blog.   But his antics are a lot more entertaining when they are coming along with 50 point nights.