I posted my NFL Preview 3 weeks before Week 1, I'm typing this just over 24 hours before tip-off tomorrow night. It took me a whole 3 weeks to finish going back and forth between who was going to the playoffs or not, but 3 days ago I finally got my answer so let's get going.
WESTERN CONFERENCE PREVIEW
I think it's fair to say the Western Conference got better this offseason. The obvious move was Dwight Howard joining James Harden in Houston. We must not forget Andre Iguodala surprising us all and taking his talents to the Bay Area to join the Splash Brothers. Doc Rivers on the Clippers sideline was the biggest coaching move this offseason, and quite honestly a Nate Robinson-Ty Lawson backcourt in the Mile High City could be dangerous. When Russell Westbrook gets back to 100%, OKC will do OKC things, I think last year proved how important he is. The Spurs still have Parker, Duncan, and Ginobili; who only seem to get more experienced every year instead of older. There's also this guy who goes by "Pop" that's still coaching that San Antonio team and this isn't the year I'm about to start doubting him. The West has alot of potential this year, so it should be interesting to watch.
WESTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFF TEAMS
EASTERN CONFERENCE PREVIEW
Where to start in the National Basketball Association's Eastern Conference? We know about Miami, oh and they added Michael Beasley and Greg Oden. Indiana gets Danny Granger back and until he is traded, he's still there, can we talk about their improved bench depth too please? Derrick Rose is actually gonna play this year, and the improvement of Cleveland and Detroit had better not be ignored. I think the Brooklyn Nets are the most interesting project in the league maybe since the Big 3 in Miami and you really can't help but root for those old guys. In my intro I said it took me until last Friday to decide my playoff teams, in reality, I had 15/16 teams locked and decided 3 weeks ago. And that leads me to my team, my Washington Wizards. It took me until the Marcin Gortat trade to confidently put my Wizards over the Toronto Raptors and into the playoffs. While I would have like to have seen Washington keep the Shannon Brown piece of that trade, I think John Wall is on a mission this year that won't be stopped. The East is easily the superior conference in the league this season and if the pieces align correctly in the years to come, the Miami Heat/Indiana Pacers playoff rivalry has the potential to be in the conversation of rivalries like the Los Angeles Lakers/Sacramento Kings in the early 2000's.
EASTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFF TEAMS
TEAMS FROM LAST POSTSEASON THAT WON'T MAKE IT THIS SEASON
Atlanta Hawks- This is one of those teams that week look at every April and say "how did they pull off a playoff berth," and they always validate our question with a first round exit. Well this time around they don't have a Josh Smith to quietly do work in the regular season and I don't think anyone has Al Horford leading an Atlanta team to the playoff that's the deepest it has been in over a decade.
Boston Celtics- Instead of asking who Boston left last year, let's just skip to who's actually left for the Celtics. We know the Big 3 is fully gone, The Jet was shipped out after one season, oh and that Doc Rivers guy is coaching this team in L.A. now. And how could I forget, Rajon Rondo is rehabbing a torn ACL, and is showing signs that he might take a page out of Derrick Rose's book and sit the whole season. To provide a bright side for Celtics fans, chew on this food for thought: Rondo sits all season, calls up the almost guaranteed free agent Carmelo Anthony next summer, and Melo is wearing green this time next year.......just simmer on that.
Los Angeles Lakers- Dwight is gone, Steve Nash is one year older, Mike D'Antoni is still the coach, and I don't even know if Kobe knows when he's coming back from his achilles tear. Don't get me wrong, I expect Kobe to do work when he gets back, he's obviously got some doubters to take care of, but it simply won't be enough to make the Lakers the 8th best team in the West.
Memphis Grizzlies- First of all Mike Conley Jr, Z-Bo, and Marc Gasol deserve to be respected as a Big 3. So why don't I have them in the playoffs? Simple, for one, this is their first full season without Rudy Gay, they'll realize they lost that trade very quickly this season. Secondly, and more importantly, the front office of Memphis severely underestimated Lionel Hollins as their head coach and with him out, they will be out of the playoffs.
Milwaukee Bucks- We all couldn't help but laugh at the Heat/Bucks first round series last year. It was even funnier that Brandon Jennings said the Bucks would win in 6. Well Jennings is in Detroit now and Monta Ellis is in Dallas. I rest my case. I mean they did acquire OJ Mayo, Brandon Knight and a couple other solid pieces, but let's be serious about this, they only reason Milwaukee got to call themselves a playoff team is because the NBA said the East had to put in 8 teams and the rest of the conference was that bad.
REGULAR SEASON MVP
Lebron James- The MVP continues to go to the best player in the league instead of the player that is the "most valuable" to his team. Therefore until someone proves to be better than Lebron, it's hard to argue against him winning his 5th MVP award. If the Lakers prove me wrong and make the playoffs, expect Kobe to win the award for the 2nd time in his career, hey it's not like I've never been wrong before.
NBA FINALS PREDICTION
Miami Heat over San Antonio Spurs
I could have shed tears typing that because of how much I love Pop as a coach, but I predicted Wade to retire after this season and after winning another ring, which means Miami would have to complete the 3-peat. Why over the Spurs, Pop knows how to rest his older guys and his genius can't be denied. I really want to see KD come out of the West but I think next year is more likely as opposed to this season.
WESTERN CONFERENCE PREVIEW
I think it's fair to say the Western Conference got better this offseason. The obvious move was Dwight Howard joining James Harden in Houston. We must not forget Andre Iguodala surprising us all and taking his talents to the Bay Area to join the Splash Brothers. Doc Rivers on the Clippers sideline was the biggest coaching move this offseason, and quite honestly a Nate Robinson-Ty Lawson backcourt in the Mile High City could be dangerous. When Russell Westbrook gets back to 100%, OKC will do OKC things, I think last year proved how important he is. The Spurs still have Parker, Duncan, and Ginobili; who only seem to get more experienced every year instead of older. There's also this guy who goes by "Pop" that's still coaching that San Antonio team and this isn't the year I'm about to start doubting him. The West has alot of potential this year, so it should be interesting to watch.
WESTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFF TEAMS
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- San Antonio Spurs
- Golden State Warriors
- Houston Rockets
- Los Angeles Clippers
- Denver Nuggets
- Minnesota Timberwolves
- Dallas Mavericks
EASTERN CONFERENCE PREVIEW
Where to start in the National Basketball Association's Eastern Conference? We know about Miami, oh and they added Michael Beasley and Greg Oden. Indiana gets Danny Granger back and until he is traded, he's still there, can we talk about their improved bench depth too please? Derrick Rose is actually gonna play this year, and the improvement of Cleveland and Detroit had better not be ignored. I think the Brooklyn Nets are the most interesting project in the league maybe since the Big 3 in Miami and you really can't help but root for those old guys. In my intro I said it took me until last Friday to decide my playoff teams, in reality, I had 15/16 teams locked and decided 3 weeks ago. And that leads me to my team, my Washington Wizards. It took me until the Marcin Gortat trade to confidently put my Wizards over the Toronto Raptors and into the playoffs. While I would have like to have seen Washington keep the Shannon Brown piece of that trade, I think John Wall is on a mission this year that won't be stopped. The East is easily the superior conference in the league this season and if the pieces align correctly in the years to come, the Miami Heat/Indiana Pacers playoff rivalry has the potential to be in the conversation of rivalries like the Los Angeles Lakers/Sacramento Kings in the early 2000's.
EASTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFF TEAMS
- Miami Heat
- Indiana Pacers
- Chicago Bulls
- Brooklyn Nets
- New York Knicks
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Detroit Pistons
- Washington Wizards
TEAMS FROM LAST POSTSEASON THAT WON'T MAKE IT THIS SEASON
Atlanta Hawks- This is one of those teams that week look at every April and say "how did they pull off a playoff berth," and they always validate our question with a first round exit. Well this time around they don't have a Josh Smith to quietly do work in the regular season and I don't think anyone has Al Horford leading an Atlanta team to the playoff that's the deepest it has been in over a decade.
Boston Celtics- Instead of asking who Boston left last year, let's just skip to who's actually left for the Celtics. We know the Big 3 is fully gone, The Jet was shipped out after one season, oh and that Doc Rivers guy is coaching this team in L.A. now. And how could I forget, Rajon Rondo is rehabbing a torn ACL, and is showing signs that he might take a page out of Derrick Rose's book and sit the whole season. To provide a bright side for Celtics fans, chew on this food for thought: Rondo sits all season, calls up the almost guaranteed free agent Carmelo Anthony next summer, and Melo is wearing green this time next year.......just simmer on that.
Los Angeles Lakers- Dwight is gone, Steve Nash is one year older, Mike D'Antoni is still the coach, and I don't even know if Kobe knows when he's coming back from his achilles tear. Don't get me wrong, I expect Kobe to do work when he gets back, he's obviously got some doubters to take care of, but it simply won't be enough to make the Lakers the 8th best team in the West.
Memphis Grizzlies- First of all Mike Conley Jr, Z-Bo, and Marc Gasol deserve to be respected as a Big 3. So why don't I have them in the playoffs? Simple, for one, this is their first full season without Rudy Gay, they'll realize they lost that trade very quickly this season. Secondly, and more importantly, the front office of Memphis severely underestimated Lionel Hollins as their head coach and with him out, they will be out of the playoffs.
Milwaukee Bucks- We all couldn't help but laugh at the Heat/Bucks first round series last year. It was even funnier that Brandon Jennings said the Bucks would win in 6. Well Jennings is in Detroit now and Monta Ellis is in Dallas. I rest my case. I mean they did acquire OJ Mayo, Brandon Knight and a couple other solid pieces, but let's be serious about this, they only reason Milwaukee got to call themselves a playoff team is because the NBA said the East had to put in 8 teams and the rest of the conference was that bad.
REGULAR SEASON MVP
Lebron James- The MVP continues to go to the best player in the league instead of the player that is the "most valuable" to his team. Therefore until someone proves to be better than Lebron, it's hard to argue against him winning his 5th MVP award. If the Lakers prove me wrong and make the playoffs, expect Kobe to win the award for the 2nd time in his career, hey it's not like I've never been wrong before.
NBA FINALS PREDICTION
Miami Heat over San Antonio Spurs
I could have shed tears typing that because of how much I love Pop as a coach, but I predicted Wade to retire after this season and after winning another ring, which means Miami would have to complete the 3-peat. Why over the Spurs, Pop knows how to rest his older guys and his genius can't be denied. I really want to see KD come out of the West but I think next year is more likely as opposed to this season.
