NBA training Camp is 1 week away! Time to start thinking about basketball again I just recently wrote this in my blog on Myspace, I took a lot of time thinking about it as well, and these are my predictions as for the awards so far... Coach Of The Year: 1. Stan Van Gundy 2. Nate McMillan 3. Rick Adleman honorable mention: Jerry Sloan, Rick Carlisle, Terry Porter MVP: 1. LeBron James 2. Amare Stoudemire 3. Chris Paul honorable mention: Dirk Nowitzki, Kobe Bryant Rookie Of The Year: 1. Michael Beasley 2. Greg Oden 3. Kevin Love honorable mention: Danilo Gallinari, OJ Mayo Most Improved Player Of The Year: 1. Danny Granger 2. Jose Calderon 3. Chris Kaman honorable mention: Chris Duhon, Mike Conley Jr. Defensive Player Of The Year: 1. Josh Smith 2. Gerald Wallace (if he can stay healthy all year) 3. Caron Butler honorable mention: Dwight Howard, Marcus Camby, Kevin Garnett Sixth Man Of The Year: 1. David Lee 2. Al Thornton 3. Jr Smith (if stays as the 6th man) have no idea, one of these^ in no particular order honorable mention: Trevor Ariza, Leonardo Barbosa Eastern Conference: 1. Boston Celtics 2. Orlando Magic 3. Cleveland Cavaliers 4. Philadelphia 76ers 5. Detroit Pistons 6. Toronto Raptors 7. Miami Heat 8. Washington Wizards 9. Atlanta Hawks First Round: cooming soon Second Round: coming soon Eastern Conference Finals: coming soon Western Conference: I was stuck on this one for like, an hour, West is just so deep, you have Houston now with the addition of Artest, how will that play out? I really think they can win 60 games, and then on the other side I think they can win just about 47+ (if injuries are a concern). & then you have the Hornets, was last year a fluke? Or will they be in contention again? I'm pretty sure it's the second one, but I think a lot of teams in the West got stronger, and will be able to compete with their fast pace, run-n-gun style, & I also think teams have been watching tapes of the Hornets and studied them enough to keep up with them... I like the Phoenix Suns a lot this year, now they have a full year with Shaq, I believe he'll make the team a lot better (yes, I know he's old, but still) and especially Amare Stoudemire a lot more better, if they can get a top 4, or the 3rd seed in the Western Conference I think he'll be MVP consideration. Now, the Mavericks, who I also like, and now they get Kidd for a full year to play with, and I like Carlisle a lot as a coach, and think he'll get Dallas on the right track. What about the Spurs though?, who are having problems with Manu's heath (ankle) and also I dunno if their age will be able to catch up with the younger teams, could this be the year the Spurs don't make the playoffs? I think they'll make it, but I have a feeling that it'll be a low seed, maybe 6th, or 7th, around there. I like the Jazz a lot, I think they'll win their division and be the 3rd seed in the Western Conference, & I/or wouldn't/don't be surprised if they go deep into the playoffs. _______________________________________________________________________________ what I had at first, but I'm just going to take my team, and rethink these, and do them another time. Eastern Conference: 1. Boston Celtics 2. Orlando Magic 3. Cleveland Cavaliers 4. Philadelphia 76ers 5. Detroit Pistons 6. Toronto Raptors 7. Miami Heat 8. Washington Wizards 9. Atlanta Hawks First Round: Washington Wizards vs Boston Celtics (Celtics in 6) Miami Heat vs Orlando Magic (Magic in 5) Toronto Raptors vs Cleveland Cavaliers (Cavaliers in 6) Detroit Pistons vs Philadelphia 76ers (76ers in 7) Second Round: Cleveland Cavaliers vs Boston Celtics (Celtics in 7) Philadelphia 76ers vs Orlando Magic (Magic in 6) Eastern Conference Finals: Orlando Magic vs Boston Celtics (Magic in 6) Western Conference: 1. Houston Rockets (smh, I know) 2. Los Angeles Lakers 3. Utah Jazz 4. Phoenix Suns 5. New Orleans Hornets 6. Dallas Mavericks 7. San Antonio Spurs (I think with Manu's health concerns, and their age catching up on them, I think their going to slip) 8. Los Angeles Clippers 9. Portland Trailblazers (I like them, but I still think they're too young, give them a year to play with eachother, and know eachother, and I think they'll be around the 6th or maybe even 5th seed next year) First Round: Los Angeles Clippers vs Houston Rockets (Rockets in 4) San Antonio Spurs vs Los Angeles Lakers (Lakers in 5) Dallas Mavericks vs Utah Jazz (Jazz in 6) New Orleans Hornets vs Phoenix Suns (Suns in 7) Second Round: Phoenix Suns vs Houston Rockets (Suns in 7) Utah Jazz vs Los Angeles Lakers (Lakers in 6) Western Conference Finals: Phoenix Suns vs Los Angeles Lakers (Suns in 7) NBA Finals: Orlando Magic vs Phoenix Suns (Suns in 5) Finals MVP: Amare Stoudemire ^^my first prediction, but like I said, I'm going to rethink it, these seem like what are more likely to happen in a video game lol. But feel free to post yours, you don't have to be as fully detailed as I was
Gallinari isn't a rookie. He's a sophomore. EDIT: Gallinari is a rookie, and I'm a dumbass. I'll post mine tomorrow or the day after, nice predictions.
you got me confused, you sure Gallinari isn't a rookie? I'm pretty sure he is, and I just checked the Knicks website, and several others, and they all have him listed as a R [Rookie]. Correct me if I'm wrong though and alright that's cool, can't wait to see.
Oh geez, my bad lol. I got confused with Bargnani. And that's coming from a so-called International Basketball mod...that's the last time I'm posting half-awake after studying for math+history at 11:30 pm...
Not gonna lie, this definitely just gave me a good laugh. As for mine...it's 2am...and I'm definitely too tired to post them right now. I'll post mine in the coming days though.
you have amare over kobe in mvp, but lakers way over the suns in the standings. wahts up with that? no way is amare goin to be an mvp if kobe is higher placed, and kobe is the favourite to win it obviously. just dont see amare getting it with nash and shaq there as well. plus they wont win the pacific, theres no way lakers are gonna lose it with bynum back. also suns making it to the finals is just hilarious, you really think they will make it over, the spurs, lakers, houston, hornets? come on really those teams showed how good they still are, come playoff time, those teams are goin to be as good as last year, if not better, so how are the suns gonna do it this time? i just think its literally impossible what your suggesting, and under-estimating how good the lakers and rockets are going to be is bit too bold.
Bargnani's not a sophomore. This will be his third season. Strike two, dude. I was about to complain about the Raptors being ranked 6th after all they did this summer, but then I looked again at the Eastern standings. After the Celtics, spots 2 through 6 really are incredibly competitive and difficult to predict. I can see all of those teams challenging the Celtics or fighting off the Wizards, Hawks, etc.
(1) I think the Suns will win a close amount of games as the Lakers will, Lakers will win the pacific but not by a huge margin IMO, maybe by like 5-7 games. And I think Amare will have a huge year, when Shaq first got there, Amare's stats raised up a lot, especially pts and rebounds, and I think he'll be the main reason for the Suns success, so that's why I think he'll be MVP consideration. (2) I like Terry Porter, and I think he'll have the Suns be a more defensive team this year, and with that being said I think they'll be able to compete against teams like the Spurs, Lakers, & Houston. & its also all about match up, do you really believe that Gasol can guard Amare? or Duncan can guard either Shaq or Amare? do you remember a few years back when Amare was averaging almost 37+ 10+ on Duncan in the playoffs? Do you think West or Chandler can guard Amare? or Yao? Cmon, its all about match up, and their bench is deep, they have players that come in and contribute... (3) as for the Rockets, they deal with a major injury concerns almost every year, and who knows how Artest will play out there, it's really a toss up, he can be on his good behavior, and help the team out a lot, or he can be on his bad behavior, and bring the teams morale down... also, you would've found it hilarious in the beginning of last year if I told you that Chris Paul will be MVP right? _________________________________________________________________________ RE: JFizzleRaider Blazers are nice man, I like them a lot, people that know me, know that I'm a fan of the young teams, like your Blazers, Wolves, Hornets, Sixers last year without Brand, the Hawks...I think the Blazers will be good, but I just don't think they'll make the playoffs this year because of their inexperience
I agree with you on the Blazers point that they are great and young, but I DO believe they make the playoffs. THey may be inexperienced, but I see them beating out Denver (last years 8th seed), Golden State (They lost Baron and gained Corey, Baron did more for them, and Monta is out for a bit), and the Clippers (Just adding Baron and Camby wont get them to that level, I love the new look Clippers though, don't get me wrong). I think they get the 8th or the 7th seed depending on whether Dallas shapes up.
Brandon Roy has more poise than most veterans in the league. I don't think experience will be as big of a problem as people say, especially when you have talent on your side.
Definitely agree on that one. JON is done. Bargnani sucks, Parker is getting older, and they don't have there PG depth this upcoming season
