Guest The REAL STL10 Posted October 18, 2010 Report Share Posted October 18, 2010 (edited) Due to the NBA season starting very soon, I figured it was time for predictions. Also, I will give a brief explanation as to why a team will win the Conference Championship Series, NBA, and any major award. If you have any disagreement, question, or outrage leave a comment in a well thought out and appropriate manner then I will directly address it. Without further ado... Eastern Conference 1.Miami Heat 62-20 2.Orlando Magic 57-25 3.Boston Celtics 52-30 4.Milwaukee Bucks 50-32 5.Atlanta Hawks 47-35 6.Chicago Bulls 42-40 7.Charlotte Bobcats 41-41 8.Indiana Pacers 38-44 9.New York Knicks 35-47 10.Washington Wizards 32-50 11.Cleveland Cavaliers 30-52 12.Philadelphia 76ers 29-53 13.Detroit Pistons 26-56 14.New Jersey Nets 20-62 15.Toronto Raptors 17-65 Eastern Conference Finals Heat defeat Celtics in 6 games Reason:The Heat's big three will be too much for an aging Celtics defense. Dwyane Wade and LeBron James' superior perimeter defense will shut down the scoring threats of Ray Allen and Paul Pierce. Also, Mario Chalmers underrated defensive skills will minimize Rajon Rondo's phenomenal playmaking abilities. Western Conference 1.Los Angeles Lakers 60-22 2.Dallas Mavericks 57-25 3.Oklahoma City Thunder 56-26 4.Utah Jazz 55-27 5.San Antonio Spurs 55-27 6.Phoenix Suns 54-28 7.Denver Nuggets 51-31 8.Portland Trail Blazers 50-32 9.Houston Rockets 47-35 10.Memphis Grizzlies 41-41 11.Los Angeles Clippers 38-44 12.New Orleans Hornets 27-55 13.Golden State Warriors 23-59 14.Sacramento Kings 22-60 15.Minnesota Timberwolves 15-67 Western Conference Finals Lakers defeat Thunder in 6 games Reason:No reason to believe Kevin Durant can beat the Lakers with a slimmed down Ron Artest and a healthy Kobe Bryant. The Thunder are a great team, but lets us not forget that they are playing the Lakers. The same team that added Steve Blake and Matt Barnes in the off season to further deepen their team. NBA Finals Lakers defeat Heat in 5 games Reason:These two teams will square off in the NBA Finals this year with the Lakers winning a Game 5 in Los Angeles, securing their 17th World Championship.The Lakers size and experience will be too much for the talented Miami team. The Heat will collect their share of NBA Championships, but Kobe Bryant will get the better of Miami's 'Big Three' this year. Awards MVP: Kevin Durant Reason: Kevin Durant has been called the 2nd best player in the NBA, and the most valuable to his team. He will prove those player and coaches who have said this all NBA off season. Durant will average 30+ points a game this season, and will up his assists in another MVP caliber season. Finals MVP: Kobe Bryant Reason: Kobe Bryant is reason enough for this award. Rookie of the Year: John Wall Reason:John Wall will put together a rookie season for the ages as he averages 20 points, 5 assists, and 5 rebounds per game with the Washington Wizards.Blake Griffin will also put up great numbers, but Wall will accomplish a feat that only 4 others have achieved with the 20/5/5 season. Defensive Player of the Year: Dwight Howard Reason: Howard is the best shot blocker since a prime Dikembe Mutumbo, and plays excellent post defense to go with this as he wins his 3rd straight DPOTY. NBA Coach of the Year: Alvin Gentry Reason: Being a playoff team after losing Amar'e Stoudemire in the off season will justify this award. All-NBA First Team: G Deron Williams, G Kobe Bryant, F LeBron James, F Kevin Durant, and C Dwight Howard Reason: With their team's in the playoffs and a long line of success to show. These players will be locks for All-NBA First Team. Edited December 12, 2010 by STL10 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The REAL STL10 Posted October 18, 2010 Report Share Posted October 18, 2010 Bring on the hatehttp://www.otrbasketball.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/default/wub.gif Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owner Real Deal Posted October 18, 2010 Owner Report Share Posted October 18, 2010 Bulls will get more than 42 wins, unless Boozer's hand injury keeps him on the shelf for the entire season. And even then, I still think they'll win more than 42. Jazz, Suns, Nuggets, Thunder...all way too many wins. Utah lost a lot of ammo, and a good perimeter defender. Phoenix is missing Amare, and Nash and Hill keep aging. Denver will lose Melo by February, which will increase the Knicks or Nets' win total. The Thunder won't win 56 games if there are going to be eight 50-win teams in the West alone. Kings won't be a 20-win team. Evans and the crew won 25 without Cousins last season. Miami or Boston will win the East. You say Miami, I say both because I can't decide. Boston's old defense nearly got the job done four months ago, against the defending champs, so I can't say they'll be that much worse, and with the amount of big men Boston is loaded with (Garnett, Perk, Shaq, Jermaine, Davis and Erden), they are looking forward to the match-up with Miami. LA will make the Finals...and maybe they do beat the Thunder in the WCF. Not a bad prediction. Maybe it's Portland, and Houston also has a shot if Yao is healthy and playing 30+ minutes by playoff time. I've got LA beating Miami in the Finals in six games, or beating Boston in six. MVP will be Kobe if the Lakers win 65+ games, LeBron or Wade if the Heat win 67+ games, Durant if neither of those happen and the Thunder win 55 or more. ROY will be Griffin or Wall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish7718 Posted October 18, 2010 Report Share Posted October 18, 2010 Knicks only 35 wins? Pacers > Knicks? explain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owner Real Deal Posted October 18, 2010 Owner Report Share Posted October 18, 2010 Knicks only 35 wins? Pacers > Knicks? explainI think the Knicks can win 40+ games, but I don't think it's too wild of a prediction to say the Pacers can be a better team. They won 32 last season with Granger missing 20 games. Darren Collison is looking really good out there, and that's going to turn Granger into a really big threat. Indiana has yet to put a player of Collison's caliber next to Granger. Hibbert also improved. Won't say much about George yet because he's looking like a wasted pick. Pacers could win 40+ as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lone Wolf Posted October 18, 2010 Report Share Posted October 18, 2010 The Timberwolves are going to finish the same record as last year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChosenOne Posted October 18, 2010 Report Share Posted October 18, 2010 Rockets are going to miss the playoffs is a bad enough prediction but on top of that you are going to have us be 7 games behind the Amare less Suns? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Check my Stats Posted October 18, 2010 Report Share Posted October 18, 2010 (edited) Bucks won't win 50, Hawks will definitely win more than them.Bulls will probably win 50 depending on this Boozer [expletive].Pistons will lose more games than the Raptors. Thunder won't win 56 games, neither will Spurs unless Duncan somehow is able to play 38 minutes again.Suns probably won't even win 50, let alone 54.How on earth will Nuggets win 50? No one there cares about the team anymore. Durant isn't even the 3rd best player in the league, let alone 2nd. I think Dwight will (should) win MVP this year, but Kobe has a great shot, Durant does too, but I don't see Thunder winning near the number of games as Orlando/LA. CP3 will be all-league first team if he is healthy. Why do Hawks win less this year? Amare and Felton only help the Knicks by 6 games? I'm not an Amare fan by any means, but really? Hornets win 10 LESS games with Trevor Ariza and CP3 this year? Lolwut? These predictions seem like you haven't been paying attention to this past off-season. Edited October 18, 2010 by travesy3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Penny Posted October 20, 2010 Report Share Posted October 20, 2010 i want an explanation as to why the Thunder are better than Dallas, Portland, Utah, Denver and Houston... because i don't see how a team can go from 8th seed + 1st round exit, do very little during the offseason, and all of a sudden become the 3rd seed + WC runners up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish7718 Posted October 20, 2010 Report Share Posted October 20, 2010 i want an explanation as to why the Thunder are better than Dallas, Portland, Utah, Denver and Houston... because i don't see how a team can go from 8th seed + 1st round exit, do very little during the offseason, and all of a sudden become the 3rd seed + WC runners up.The Thunder got better simply from Westbrook Green Ibaka and Harden starting to come in their own. Simple progression explains how they could get so good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Penny Posted October 20, 2010 Report Share Posted October 20, 2010 (edited) The Thunder got better simply from Westbrook Green Ibaka and Harden starting to come in their own. Simple progression explains how they could get so good.so, westbrook is gonna average 20/10, Ibaka is gonna be a 14/10 and Harden will averaged 15 PPG? of course they are going to progress, but unless somethin crazy like that happens i would put money on them not progressing to a 3rd in the West, WCF team. LOL also you mention progression, yet how can Portland have dropped to 8th? Edited October 20, 2010 by Lil' Penny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish7718 Posted October 20, 2010 Report Share Posted October 20, 2010 so, westbrook is gonna average 20/10, Ibaka is gonna be a 14/10 and Harden will averaged 15 PPG? of course they are going to progress, but unless somethin crazy like that happens i would put money on them not progressing to a 3rd in the West, WCF team. LOL also you mention progression, yet how can Portland have dropped to 8th?First of all, I didn't write this article, I don't think OKC will be a 3 seed and I don't think Portland will be an 8 seed. I'm just explaining that through progression I can def see Westbrook becoming a top young scoring guard, harden and sefolosha being a good combo at the 2, we know we got Durant at the 3, Green has already had a couple successful seasons at PF, C is their only weakness. So I can see them getting the 3 seed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren2ThaG Posted October 20, 2010 Report Share Posted October 20, 2010 You took too many risks wow, lmao. Suns will be battling with a .500 record btw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owner Real Deal Posted October 21, 2010 Owner Report Share Posted October 21, 2010 i want an explanation as to why the Thunder are better than Dallas, Portland, Utah, Denver and Houston... because i don't see how a team can go from 8th seed + 1st round exit, do very little during the offseason, and all of a sudden become the 3rd seed + WC runners up.Not going to answer for him, but I would rank the Thunder as possibly the second or third best team in the conference, if all teams were fully healthy. However, we already know Yao's status (limiting him to one half a game). Denver will more than likely send Melo off to the east coast before February. Utah? After losing Boozer, Korver, Matthews and Brewer, I don't see them being better than OKC, even if they did bring in Jefferson. I can argue why the Thunder would be better than Portland, but I won't go too deep into it. Miller and Camby are aging, Oden is (once again) a big question mark and will already miss games, and Fernandez is being a [expletive]. Dallas will win more games and will most likely grab the second seed, but I wouldn't bet any money on them beating a Thunder team in the playoffs. How did the Thunder improve? Durant's defense is much better, especially his on-ball defense. They brought in Morris Peterson, who is EASILY playing the best he has ever played in a preseason (and shooting 57%, which is much, much better than anything else in his career)...not saying he'll be a starter and amazing, but he'll provide a lift for them off the bench, which they desperately needed. They also drafted Cole Aldrich, who is a true defensive center (Ibaka is a power forward). Also, the young (which is most of the team) has more experience under their belt. The Thunder was possibly the healthiest team last season, also. Four of their starters (Durant, Westbrook, Green and Thabo) played in all 82 games, and Krstic played in 76. Six combined missed games for the five starters, in one season? That's pretty impressive. Many forget that the Thunder started off rocky, trying to develop chemistry. They were 13-14 in their first 27 games. In February, they completed a nine-game winning streak with five of those games on the road, and beating Denver, Atlanta, Portland and Dallas. They also raked in wins against the Lakers, Rockets, Jazz, Celtics, Spurs, Suns and Magic (beat Utah three times, actually). After the 13-14 start, they finished the season 37-18. Oklahoma City was going to beat every other team they faced in the West. Had they not faced us in the first round, they were on their way to the WCF, and if they stay healthy, I can't expect anything less from them this season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Penny Posted October 22, 2010 Report Share Posted October 22, 2010 Not going to answer for him, but I would rank the Thunder as possibly the second or third best team in the league, if all teams were fully healthy. However, we already know Yao's status (limiting him to one half a game). Denver will more than likely send Melo off to the east coast before February. Utah? After losing Boozer, Korver, Matthews and Brewer, I don't see them being better than OKC, even if they did bring in Jefferson. I can argue why the Thunder would be better than Portland, but I won't go too deep into it. Miller and Camby are aging, Oden is (once again) a big question mark and will already miss games, and Fernandez is being a [expletive]. Dallas will win more games and will most likely grab the second seed, but I wouldn't bet any money on them beating a Thunder team in the playoffs. How did the Thunder improve? Durant's defense is much better, especially his on-ball defense. They brought in Morris Peterson, who is EASILY playing the best he has ever played in a preseason (and shooting 57%, which is much, much better than anything else in his career)...not saying he'll be a starter and amazing, but he'll provide a lift for them off the bench, which they desperately needed. They also drafted Cole Aldrich, who is a true defensive center (Ibaka is a power forward). Also, the young (which is most of the team) has more experience under their belt. The Thunder was possibly the healthiest team last season, also. Four of their starters (Durant, Westbrook, Green and Thabo) played in all 82 games, and Krstic played in 76. Six combined missed games for the five starters, in one season? That's pretty impressive. Many forget that the Thunder started off rocky, trying to develop chemistry. They were 13-14 in their first 27 games. In February, they completed a nine-game winning streak with five of those games on the road, and beating Denver, Atlanta, Portland and Dallas. They also raked in wins against the Lakers, Rockets, Jazz, Celtics, Spurs, Suns and Magic (beat Utah three times, actually). After the 13-14 start, they finished the season 37-18. Oklahoma City was going to beat every other team they faced in the West. Had they not faced us in the first round, they were on their way to the WCF, and if they stay healthy, I can't expect anything less from them this season.second or best team in the whole league? wow.... why not? they also added Bell and Haywood, plus Al is better than Booz when both are fully healthy. Denver will suck if they trade Melo, but that hasn't happened yet, so season ranking should take into account Melo is still a Nugget and isn't going anywhere in the immediate future unless something crazy out of the blue pops up. Houston were over .500 last year with NO Yao Ming and half a Kevin Martin... now with half a Yao Ming and a full Kevin Martin, plus a couple of other changes and their young players (they have a fairly young core) given time to develop and learn chemistry, i see no reason why the can't beat out the Thunder. Houston are actually the team that scares me the most from a Laker fan standpoint. they still have Brandon Roy who is a stud, and Lamarcus Alridge who has been training a lot this offseason. Portland were absolutely killed by injuries and still finished higher seeded and (if i;'m not mistaken) with the same record as OKC. can't be bothered to check the records. Dallas are chokers we know that, but in the regular season they will most liely the 2nd. i wouldn't be too suprised to see them get 1st, given LA's tendency to coast. Alrich is yet to play an NBA game, he was taken with the 14th pick so i doubt he will come in and make a huge impact right away. pre season stats mean very little, last i checked Shannon was shooting 40% from deep... i'm not going to bet on him shooting the lights out this season. of course they will improve, but in this very touhg West i don't see them getting higher than 6th this year.... barring major breakdowns from other teams. bieng the healthiest team last season was great last season, however injuries are part of the game, and i doubt they will be able to repeat that feat. i would love to see them do so, i hate seeing players getting injured, but it happens. of course. i'm not denying they're a good team who can win games. but i'm just saying they aren't as good as people are making them out to be. Charlotte have always had the Lakers' number, how has that turned out? you have no proof they would have beaten every other team in the West... and i just don't see it. if they could really have beaten every other team in the West then they would have won the 2nd seed surely... Oklahoma are going to be good next season, and if they stay together could win titles in a few years down the road. some of you seem to think i'm saying "Oklahoma sucks and will miss the playoffs". i'm not saying that, i'm just saying they aren't good enough to be considered a 3rd seed/WC runner up. maybe the year after this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owner Real Deal Posted October 22, 2010 Owner Report Share Posted October 22, 2010 second or best team in the whole league? wow....My bad...I meant to say in the west. 1) Lakers2) Celtics3) Heat4) Magic5) Thunder or Bulls Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Penny Posted October 22, 2010 Report Share Posted October 22, 2010 My bad...I meant to say in the west. 1) Lakers2) Celtics3) Heat4) Magic5) Thunder or Bullsah right.... i guess i can forgive you then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owner Real Deal Posted October 22, 2010 Owner Report Share Posted October 22, 2010 By the way, last season was just that...last season. Houston has a healthier Yao and Martin? Playing an injured Yao could be a problem. Losing Ariza (who was putting up excellent defensive numbers for over half the season) may not change anything offensively, but defensively? For sure. Jefferson has yet to prove to me he's better than Boozer. CB has better shot mechanics, better post, better on the glass, much more efficient (should be Jefferson, but it's not), and is a better defender, even though they both can't play it. Raja Bell just got lit up by an injured Kobe. Haywood? If you're talking about Hayward, I'm pretty sure he won't mean much to the team for a while. He's scared to even shoot the ball against the more athletic, larger pros so far. Like I said, the Thunder were slow to take off last year. They had issues with who they were going to start at the four and five, who they were bringing off the bench and what five-man units they were using. They stuck with their starters most of the year, but they took 25-30 games just experimenting with their bench, and it cost them. They won 50 games last season, and they can win 55 this year if they all stay healthy. In the West, 55 games is a top 2-4 seed, and by the way Dallas plays, the Thunder could probably drop them out of the playoffs. People thought the same thing about Phoenix last season, but they ran up and down the court on their way to a WCF berth. you have no proof they would have beaten every other team in the West... and i just don't see it. if they could really have beaten every other team in the West then they would have won the 2nd seed surely...Is that why Boston snagged the 4th seed in the playoffs, because they couldn't beat every team in the East? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest STL10 Posted December 12, 2010 Report Share Posted December 12, 2010 My predictions are decent so far. Really missed on the Bulls and Hornets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest STL10 Posted December 12, 2010 Report Share Posted December 12, 2010 so, westbrook is gonna average 20/10, Ibaka is gonna be a 14/10 and Harden will averaged 15 PPG? of course they are going to progress, but unless somethin crazy like that happens i would put money on them not progressing to a 3rd in the West, WCF team. LOL also you mention progression, yet how can Portland have dropped to 8th? 1/3 ain't bad so far http://www.otrbasketball.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Swish* Posted December 12, 2010 Report Share Posted December 12, 2010 You also missed on the Bulls and Bucks. I think the Bulls should be higher and the bucks should be close to last Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fish7718 Posted December 12, 2010 Report Share Posted December 12, 2010 My predictions are decent so far. Really missed on the Bulls and Hornets.and Knicks...35-47? we are on pace for 50+ wins Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
headliner Posted December 16, 2010 Report Share Posted December 16, 2010 Knicks and Bulls are much better than you gave them credit for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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