2009 NBA Predictions (playoff teams/final seedings/award winners/champs/Pistons)

[Laxation]

East: Cavs
West: Lakers/Nuggets

DPOY: Howard
6th man: Ginobili
MIP: No idea
MVP: LeCrab

Finals: Spurs beat Celtics (or Cavs if Garnett doesn't come back good)

[shags]

A couple of quick Piston predictions:

Pistons don't make the playoffs. The big problem is they can't play their best 5 players (Stuckey, Gordon, Hamilton, Prince, and Villaneuva) at the same time. I see some potential chemistry issues as to who gets on the floor in crunch time. I couldn't stop thinking about it when they played Milwaukee in the last preseason game.

Dumars trades Rip for about 50 to 75 cents for a dollar deal that will give the Pistons financial flexibility for next year and beyond. Something like Rip to Minnesota for Cardinal, Brewer, and Utah's #1.

[shags]

And for the rest of the NBA, there are only 5 teams that matter this year (at least as far as championship contention goes): Boston, Cleveland, Lakers, Orlando, and San Antonio. I'll tackle these teams one by one.

Cleveland: I don't like the Shaq deal. He couldn't defend Glan and Tahoe in the pick and roll at this point. I think he only plays 55 to 60 games (remember, the Phoenix trainers are the best in the league, to the point Hill and Nash re-signed there in part because of them) and never adequately accepts playing 2nd fiddle to LeBron. I see them losing in the 2nd round.

Lakers: I think Artest will submarine them. We can't forget he's completely insane, and there are countless examples of this. And now he's in L.A. This is not a good thing. I see this being much more difficult for Phil Jackson than Rodman. No repeat.

Boston: Really like them. Much deeper than last year. Their biggest weakness is they can't go small, like they did so effectively in their championship season. However, I don't think KG will ever be the same. Which means that the Celtics will have to rely on Sheed. And we Piston fans have seen how that turns out. I can't wait for Celtic fans to watch playoff games praying for Sheed not to get a T, knowing that once he hits 7 it's a suspension. Good times!!!

Which leaves us with the Orlando and San Antonio. Now, I think San Antonio is the smartest organization in sports. My theory is that their owner, GM, and coach know that the odds are outstanding that their is going to be an extended lockout in 2 years, and the season may even be cancelled. So they said, "Screw it, we'll spend money now, go over the luxury tax, go all out for the title before Duncan retires, and make our money back in 2 years when we don't have to pay the players." Hence, the Jefferson trade and the McDyess signing.

And I also think Orlando stumbled onto this theory as well, which explains why they would match the full MLE offer for Gortat when he will only play 12 minutes a game, even after they traded for Vince and signed Bass. Which means that I believe that Orlando will use the trade exception from the Turkoglu trade to add another piece. Maybe something like the rights to Fran Vazquez and a first round pick to a struggling Houston team for Battier. And I think whoever they add will put them over the top.

So my Finals prediction: Orlando over the Spurs. In 6.

(And I reserve the right to change my mind).

[Laxation]

I forgot about Artest on Lakers...
Apparently he was a fucking mess in Houston, but they did a great job of hiding a lot of his antics.

Good luck doing that in LA...

[Uncle Mxy]

And for the rest of the NBA, there are only 5 teams that matter this year (at least as far as championship contention goes): Boston, Cleveland, Lakers, Orlando, and San Antonio.

You don't think Portland has a shot at a 'ship? Dallas could also do something huge with their expiring Dumpier deal and Cuban's willingness to spend.Even with the mess in New Orleans and Houston, I jsut don't see the West as a two-team race yet.

[Kstat]

East:

1. Boston
2. Cleveland
3. Orlando
4. Atlanta
5. Washington
6. Detroit
7. Indiana
8. Miami

West:

1. LA Lakers
2. San Antonio
3. Dallas
4. Utah
5. New Orleans
6. Denver
7. Phoenix
8. LA Clippers

Playoffs

EAST PLAYOFFS

Boston over Miami
Cleveland over Indiana
Orlando over Detroit
Washington over Atlanta

Boston over Washington
Cleveland over Orlando

Boston over Cleveland

WEST PLAYOFFS

LA Lakers over LA Clippers
San Antonio over Phoenix
Denver over Dallas
New Orleans over Utah

LA Lakers over New Orleans
San Antonio over Denver

San Antonio over LA Lakers

NBA FINALS

Boston over San Antonio

[Kstat]

Awards

MIP: Will Bynum
DPOY: Dwight Howard
6th man: Jason Terry
ROY: Blake Griffin
COY: Mike Dunleavy
MVP: Kobe Bryant

All NBA 1st team:

C: Dwight Howard
F: Tim Duncan
F: LeBron James
G: Kobe Bryant
G: Chris Paul

All NBA 2nd team:
C: Amare Stoudemire
F: Kevin Garnett
F: Danny Granger
G: Dwayne Wade
G: Deron Williams

All NBA 3rd team:

C: Al Jefferson
F: Dirk Nowitzki
F: Kevin Durant
G: Vince Carter
G: Tony Parker

All NBA defense 1st team:

C: Dwight Howard
F: Kevin Garnett
F: Ron Artest
G: Rajon Rondo
G: Kobe Bryant

All NBA defense 2nd team:

C: Ben Wallace
F: LeBron James
F: Josh Smith
G: Trevor Ariza
G: Chris Paul

All Rookie 1st team:

C: Hasheem Thabeet
F: Blake Griffin
F: Dejuan Blair
G: James Hardin
G: Johnny Flynn

All Rookie 2nd team:

F: Jordan Hill
F: Austin Daye
F: Tyler Hansbrough
G: Tyreke Evans
G: Brandon Jennings

[Cross]

mip: Oden or Bynum
mvp: lebron

lakers champs

[Laxation]

COY: Mike Dunleavy

I hope so, just to hear Simmons bitch on about it.

[shags]

You don't think Portland has a shot at a 'ship? Dallas could also do something huge with their expiring Dumpier deal and Cuban's willingness to spend.Even with the mess in New Orleans and Houston, I jsut don't see the West as a two-team race yet.

I like Dallas. I think they're the third best team out west. And you made a good point about Cuban. Let's say Philly's struggling around midseason (a distinct possibility). I could see Cuban offering up Dampier and Beaubois for Brand, and Philly accepting due to their financial situation (it'd save them almost $30 million next year counting luxury tax). I still don't think they'd be on the level of the Spurs or Lakers, but they'd be interesting.

Portland doesn't have the experience. Have any of their rotation guys gotten past the first round? Plus signing Miller and not starting him (behind Steve Blake of all people) is not going to work. The chemistry isn't what it was last year, which I think will hurt them.