<div class="quote_poster">Quoting txuonline:</div><div class="quote_post">no one has mentioned the Raptors...they had a helluva lot of injuries last season. also, i dont think the lakers will "improve" that much. "improve" means to get better. the lakers were already REALLY good last season so they cannot get that much better. twolves will also improve. so will the bulls, denver, and cleveland.</div> I think the Raps will be the most improved in the east and the T-Wolves will be the most improved in the west....
The obvious choice is the Lakers, assuming Kobe plays. They had a disappointing season last year and were not even a top 4 seed in the West. They only managed to win 50 games, but they are definately capable of improving by 15-20 games this year with Malone and Payton aboard. The team I see improving a lot will be the Bulls. They only had 30 wins last year. Playing in the Central division will help, because Atlanta and Milwaukee are worse off than last season. The Bulls finally have a great veteran leader with Pippen, and both Curry and Chandler are ready to make an impact in the league. They have a great shot at making the playoffs this year and I can see them winning 12 to 15 more games than last year.
Raptors will improve this year, but they need a quality big man before we see any real turn around. Nuggets are going to struggle, even with Melo. They'll add some wins this year, but they'll be shopping at the lottery again because the west is so strong. I think the T-Wolves will be good in the playoffs, but they won 51 last year ... that might be tough to significantly improve on. The Cavs only won 17 last year and they're my pick for most improved. I don't say this simply to jump on the Lebron bandwagon; i have my doubts. Ilgauskas will be a solid big man again, the backcourt of James and Wagner will make mistakes but put up points, and Miles and Boozer should improve this year. I'm not saying the Cavs are going to the playoffs or anything, but they'll finish ahead of Miami, Chicago, Atlanta, New York, and Washington.
