Official Predictions: East and West Standings

[JYD]

We are a few days away from Opening Day. With most of the rosters set (for the most part) it's time to make the Predictions for the year. The west is harder for me to do as I am not nearly as familiar with these teams.*Sorry if thread has already been created.*

 

EAST:

1. Miami Heat

2. Chicago Bulls

3. Boston Celtics

4. New York Knicks

5. Orlando Magic

6. Indiana Pacers

7. Atlanta Hawks

8. Philadelphia Sixers

 

WEST:

1. Dallas Mavericks

2. OKC Thunder

3. San Antonio Spurs

4. La Lakers

5. La Clippers

6. Denver Nuggets

7. Memphis Grizzles

8. Golden St Warriors

[Flash]

East:

1. Miami Heat

2. New York

3. Chicago

4. Philly

5. Boston

6. Atlanta

7. Indy

8. Orlando

 

West:

1. Oklahoma City

2. Dallas

3. Clippers

4. Lakers

5. Memphis

6. San Antonio

7. Denver

8. Sacramento

[Blazed49]

Wow. No Portland in either rankings huh? Interesting. Not trying to like start an argument or something but can I ask why?

[Sħãlïq™]

EAST:

1. Miami Heat

2. Chicago Bulls

3. New York Knicks

4. Orlando Magic

5. Atlanta Hawks

6. Boston Celtics

7. Indiana Pacers

8. Philadelphia Sixers

 

WEST:

1. Lakers

2. Oklahoma City

3. Dallas

4. Clippers

5. Memphis

6. Golden State

7. San Antonio

8. Sacramento/Portland

Edited December 21, 2011 by Šhãłïq

[Dr. Feelgood]

Hahahaha! Wow. Laughing at the fact that people think the Nuggets, Warriors, Grizzlies, and Kings will have a better year than Portland. You guys have got to be kidding me! Please, enlighten me as to why you think the Blazers will not make the playoffs? Because of no Brandon Roy? He didn't play much last season and we made the post season easily.

[Dr. Feelgood]

The top 8 in the West will likely be, in no particular order...

 

1. Mavericks

2. Lakers

3. Clippers

4. Thunder

5. Blazers

6. Spurs

7. Grizzlies

8. Nuggets

 

There is absolutely NO chance the Blazers DON'T make the playoffs. They'll be top 5 in the West hands down.

[htownborn]

Western Conference

Oklahoma City Thunder (I got Durant winning MVP this year and if Harden can really turn it on I think they will win the West)

 

Dallas Mavericks (They lost Chandler which will hurt along with Barea and Butler but they added Carter, Odom, and West which are great additions to this team so they will still be a top seed)

 

Los Angeles Lakers (The Lakers won't be as good as they have been the last 4 seasons but I still think they are good enough to be a top 4 seed in the West even without Odom)

 

Los Angeles Clippers (The addition of CP3 makes them an automatic top seed in the West)

 

San Antonio Spurs (Their getting old but their always relivent)

 

Memphis Grizzles (The Griz will be better than they were last year but since the West is so tough I see them maybe getting the 6th seed)

 

Portland Trailblazers (I would have them higher but since Portland always seem to have injury problems I expect them to be between the 5th and 7th seed)

 

Denver Nuggets or Houston Rockets (Denver's team is deep but so are the Rockets and if we can some how get a Center I think our team will be just as good if not better than Denver's. The Warriors are another team I see who could possibly sneak the 8th seed)

 

Eastern Confernece

Miami Heat (If LeBron has his mind straight the Heat should win the East and possibly win it all)

 

Chicago Bulls (The Bulls will be a much better team with the addition of Rip but I don't see them winning the East this year)

 

New York Knicks (They will be much improved with adding Chandler and I think Shumpert was a steal for the Knicks they could surprise alot of people)

 

Boston Celtics (Like the Spurs and Lakers their getting older but their still relivent and I expect them to still be a top seed in the East)

 

Orlando Magic (If Dwight Howard stays the whole season with the Magic which I doubt i see them being no more than maybe the 4th or 5th seed, too much is happening with this team right now if you ask me for them to actually compete)

 

Atlanta Hawks (I really don't see the Hawks doing much worse or better than what they did last year)

 

Indiana Pacers (Getting David west can possibly help Indy move up a spot in the East)

 

Philidelphia 76ers (Pretty much the same team so I expect about the same as last year but with an improved record)

Edited December 21, 2011 by htownborn

[JYD]

Hahahaha! Wow. Laughing at the fact that people think the Nuggets, Warriors, Grizzlies, and Kings will have a better year than Portland. You guys have got to be kidding me! Please, enlighten me as to why you think the Blazers will not make the playoffs? Because of no Brandon Roy? He didn't play much last season and we made the post season easily.

Grizzles & Nuggets are better than Portland IMO. But the Kings and Warriors, probably not. Warriors were kind of my sleeper pick to sneak in there at the last spot, I think that last spot could easily be Portland though.

[Dr. Feelgood]

Grizzles & Nuggets are better than Portland IMO. But the Kings and Warriors, probably not. Warriors were kind of my sleeper pick to sneak in there at the last spot, I think that last spot could easily be Portland though.

 

I do not agree with that at all. Aldridge is going to have another all star year (was snubbed last year). With a starting lineup of Felton, Matthews, Wallace, Aldridge, and Camby with Batum, JCraw, Nolan, and EWill coming off the bench looks much better. The Nuggets don't have a star player at all. The Blazers will at the very least be the 5th seed this year.

[Blazed49]

Grizzles & Nuggets are better than Portland IMO. But the Kings and Warriors, probably not. Warriors were kind of my sleeper pick to sneak in there at the last spot, I think that last spot could easily be Portland though.

I can kinda see Memphis with gay coming back. They're gonna be a solid team but I don't think the nuggets will be better than Portland. I just think we have more depth and we're gonna run quite a bit more this year.

[Newman]

EAST:

1. Miami Heat

2. Chicago Bulls

3. New York Knicks

4. Boston Celtics

5. Atlanta Hawks

6. Philadelphia Sixers

7. Orlando Magic

8. Indiana Pacers

 

WEST:

 

1. OKC Thunder

2. Dallas Mavericks

3. La Clippers

4. La Lakers

5. Portland Trailblazers

6. Memphis Grizzlies

7. Denver Nuggets

8. San Antonio Spurs

[Blazed49]

I also personally think we're a better team than san antonio as well. Especially with their age and us with younger guys. Than again injuries usually happen with us (hopefully not) so it can really swing either way.

[htownborn]

Grizzles & Nuggets are better than Portland IMO. But the Kings and Warriors, probably not. Warriors were kind of my sleeper pick to sneak in there at the last spot, I think that last spot could easily be Portland though.

 

I agree that the Grizzlies may be better the Portland but honestly I don't think that the Nuggets are that much better than the Rockets, give us a quality center and were about even and lets not forget the Nuggets will possibly be without Wilson Chandler, J.R Smith, and Kenyon Martin for most of the season which were big parts of their team last season. Portland's a pretty damn good team if they can stay healthy I just doubt that they will happen.

Edited December 21, 2011 by htownborn

[SRT Spidey]

1. Miami

2 New York

3. Chicago

4. Celtics

5. Hawks

6. Nets

7 Pacers

8. Magic

 

1. Mavs

2. OKC

3 . LAL

4. LAC

5 spurs

6 blazers

7 nuggz

8 grizz

[Flash]

Wow. No Portland in either rankings huh? Interesting. Not trying to like start an argument or something but can I ask why?

 

Injury bug won't do them any favors with a short season coming.

[Flash]

Teams like the Kings and Sixers filled with young players have a real shot to make the post season this year. Portland isn't a particularly young team and they're always injured it never fails. There's going to be back to back to backs this year and I just don't see them holding up through such a grind.

[Blazed49]

Teams like the Kings and Sixers filled with young players have a real shot to make the post season this year. Portland isn't a particularly young team and they're always injured it never fails. There's going to be back to back to backs this year and I just don't see them holding up through such a grind.

They're also not an old team though. Do you really think old ass Duncan, parker, and ginobili can hold up better than Portland? The only real injury prone guys we have are camby and oden(who we don't expect much from anyway). We have some younger guys in wes and elliot williams (who looked really good against the jazz, granted it was preseason). We have guys ready to run in felton, batum, and crash. I see us no higher than a 4 seed but I don't think we'll go lower than a 7 seed.

[deestillballin]

EAST:

1. Chicago Bulls

2. Miami Heat

3. New York Knicks

4. Orlando Magic

5. Boston Celtics

6. Atlanta Hawks

7. Indiana Pacers

8. Philadelphia Sixers

 

WEST:

1. Oklahoma City

2. LA Lakers/Dallas

3. Dallas/LA Lakers

4. San Antonio

5. Memphis

6. LA Clippers

7. Golden State

8.Portland

 

EDIT: I dont see how some people have Dallas being the #1 Seed

Edited December 21, 2011 by deestillballin

[Dr. Feelgood]

They're also not an old team though. Do you really think old ass Duncan, parker, and ginobili can hold up better than Portland? The only real injury prone guys we have are camby and oden(who we don't expect much from anyway). We have some younger guys in wes and elliot williams (who looked really good against the jazz, granted it was preseason). We have guys ready to run in felton, batum, and crash. I see us no higher than a 4 seed but I don't think we'll go lower than a 7 seed.

 

Quoted for truth. +1

[Warren2ThaG]

East:

1. Miami

2. Chicago

3. New York

4. Boston

5. Atlanta

6. Indiana

7. Philadelphia

8. Orlando

 

West:

1. Oklahoma City

2. Dallas

3. Clippers

4. Portland

5. Lakers

6. San Antonio

7. Memphis

8. Denver

[JYD]

WOW I completely apologize forgot the Nugs don't have Chandler, J.r Smith and Kenyon Martin LOL...Blazers are definitely better without those guys.

[Warren2ThaG]

WOW I completely apologize forgot the Nugs don't have Chandler, J.r Smith and Kenyon Martin LOL...Blazers are definitely better without those guys.

 

Portland might be lethal and a threat with all that depth they got.

[AboveLegit]

East:

1. Miami

2. Chicago

3. Boston

4. New York

5. Philly

6. Indiana

7. Orlando

8. Atlanta

 

I don't trust New York's depth right now so I'm skeptical of putting them over Boston right now. Celtics are known for starting the season off strong, with a shortened season and a veteran team, I think their record will be fine. I also have faith that Rondo will have a monster season. I really like the Sixers coming into the season, they have 2 starter worthy players coming off the bench (Thad Young and Evan Turner) and one of the better scorers off the bench in the league in Lou Williams. They are a young, disciplined team that plays great defense. I like Indiana as well, but not they're not as well rounded as Philly is. Orlando is an interesting story, I fully believe Dwight will be traded by the deadline, so they should maintain a solid record that takes them to the playoffs. Atlanta is probably the team I could see falling out of the playoff, but they do have quality depth and some solid stars still on the roster.

 

West:

1. Oklahoma City

2. Memphis

3. Dallas

4. Clippers

5. Lakers

6. Portland

7. Denver

8. San Antonio

 

Clips should look good this season, but their defense is still relatively suspect. I don't trust Chauncey as a 2 guard, he's not quick enough to guard opposing SG's, nor is he capable of playing the position to the level he did when he first came into the league. Dallas, Memphis, and OKC are the three elite teams in this division, they have quality depth, and established starting lineup, and great coaching. I may be underrating the Lakers, I predict Bynum to have a great year, but outside of him, there's a lot of question marks. Pau's state of mind will be in doubt up until the trade deadline, Kobe's health is already taking a hit, and their depth is garbage for the most part. A huge problem last year for Portland when I watched them was that when LMA went out of the game, the offense suffered massive scoring droughts because they couldn't run the offense through anyone else. I think with the addition of Jamal Crawford, they will be much stronger in that regard. However, you gotta fear the depth they have at the center position. Denver is very deep, and I expect Lawson to continue to improve, but they still lack that go to scorer. And lastly, the Spurs, who are only getting older, still lack a good wing player, I just do not trust them coming into the season. The schedule contains multiple back to backs, as well as emphasizing conference play. The West is stacked, San Antonio is not built for this rigorous season.

[Dash]

East

1. Miami Heat

2. Chicago Bulls

3. Boston Celtics

4. New York Knicks

5. Indiana Pacers

6. Atlanta Hawks

7. New Jersey Nets

8. Orlando Magic

 

West

1. Dallas Mavericks

2. Oklahoma City Thunder

3. Los Angeles Clippers

4. Memphis Grizzlies

5. Los Angeles Lakers

6. San Antonio Spurs

7. Portland Trailblazers

8. Houston Rockets

 

I would prefer if the Rockets would just rebuild but I can definitely see Houston making the playoffs this year, teams with depth have a huge advantage going into the season and the Rockets have a ton of it.

 

Not sure why so many people have Denver making it, Martin/Chandler/Smith won't be back with the team till March.

[NomarFachix]

Nets > Sixers?