Preseason Predictions

[Detroit Pistons]

So, ratings are out, lets get some predictions in.

Eastern Conference
1. Detroit Pistons - Still the team to beat in the East, and only got better this offseason, without losing anyone from their championship roster.
2. Chicago Bulls - Huge offseason for the Bulls lands them at number 2 for me. This team improved greatly, and with Iverson, JJ, and Josh Howard, this team is great defensivly.
3. Orlando Magic - The Magic finally got what they lacked last year, a scorer. However, the Pistons and Bulls got much better while the Magic only slightly improved.
4. Miami Heat - The Heat added size and athleticism to their roster, and improved significantly on both sides of the floor. The backcourt of Billups and Ginobili should be able to outrun the league, and the frontcourt lead by Chris Bosh adds depth and size to this Miami franchise.
5. Cleveland Cavaliers - They got rid of Shaq, Prince, and Parker, and brought in Ridnour, Rasheed Wallace, Mehmet Okur, Caron Butler, and others. What probably hurt their title chances last year, lack of depth, is now their strong point. A complete revamp happened, and it was for the better.
6. New Jersey Nets - They did little to nothing to improve their roster and sat back and watched everyone else get better. An aging Kidd and Payton make up their point guard rotation, and they lack depth. Their starting 5 is the same, but they just fell behind the power curve of the East.
7. Atlanta Hawks - The Hawks went from one of the worst teams last year into a playoff contending team this year. With former Nets teammates Kenyon Martin and Richard Jefferson, young guard/forward Loul Deng, and upcoming center Nene Hilario, this team is young, athletic, and promising. I imagine this team to have more highlight plays then wins, but still a playoff team.
8. Indiana Pacers - Shaq adds huge depth to the frontcourt, but lack of depth and perhaps internal problems in the organization have them barely making the playoffs. They were 8th seed last year despite having Jason Richardson, Shawn Marion, Mehmet Okur and others, hardly what you could call a good season. They sent out Marion and Okur, and I dont believe they are any better then they were last season.

Western Conference
1. San Antonio Spurs - LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Tim Duncan, and Jason Terry lead this team, and with this amount of talent and amazing depth, this team is at the top of the charts and should easily win the West.
2. Phoenix Suns - This team is pretty good. Amare Stoudemire, Gilbert Arenas, Rashard Lewis, Jermaine O'Neil, and Ben Gordon complete the starting 5. They have decent depth with Channing Frye, Chris Duhon, and Brandon Roy, but nothing else. They didnt do much this offseason except switch point guards and lose depth, so I dont see much of an improvement.
3. Dallas Mavericks - Still really deep, but now with an experienced leader, better Brand, and a younger bench. JR Smith and Rudy Gay lead the bench, and a tall front court, along with Summer League MVP Lamar Odom, keep this team in contention all year long.
4. Portland Trailblazers - Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming are back to dominate the West. This team is very deep, and really talented. They can shoot, run, and defend. A late season surge put them in the playoffs last season, and as long as everyone stays healthy, this team will be a top team in this league.
5. Los Angeles Clippers - Tony Parker and Andres Nocioni join this team this year to partner up with Dirk Nowitzki, Sam Cassell, and Eddy Curry. I believe this team did improve over the summer, however, they lack the depth to keep up with the best teams of the West. I still believe they can contend though.
6. Golden State Warriors - Deron Williams gets his first chance to start for the Warriors this year, and he is helped in the backcourt by Andre Iguodala. Corey Maggette, Tyson Chandler, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas round out the starting 5. This team has greatly improved over the summer, and I believe they are one of the best in the West.
7. Los Angeles Lakers - Baron Davis and Larry Hughes were added to the backcourt. Getting rid of Rasheed will hurt them though, and the lack of depth will hurt them as well. However, I still feel they will fight for the playoffs.
8. Denver Nuggets - Shawn Marion and Carmello Anthony lead this talented young group of players. My beef is Piawtowski at SG, and the lack of depth on the team. Jason Williams is still counted on to lead these guys, and Piawtowski literally is the only SG on this team. An undersized frontcourt of Marion (PF) and Wilcox (C) will hurt them as well. They were better last year.

[New Orleans Hornets]

nice

[Portland Trail Blazers]

well said..

[Dallas Mavericks]

West-

1- San Antonio
2- Dallas
3- Pheonix
4- Portland
5- Golden State
6- Clippers
7- Nuggets
8- Lakers

i think that my team is better than SA...i built my team this offseason to stop LeBron and Tim Duncan (the two best players on their team)...but they are still the team to beat because they won the west last year...there will be some fun games between the two of us.

as for Detroit...i think that your team is gunna take a huge hit with Diaw starting at center...when he goes up against a true center like Ming, Shaq, Miller, Duncan and o on, he will get dominated. but because of a lack of really good teams in the east detroit will be the favorite...they are by far the best team in the east...Chicago is second...the rest is a toss up.

[Portland Trail Blazers]

I really think i can surpass Phoenix this year after losing to them in the 2nd round of the playoffs. Now I may be wrong, but I thought losing Nash really hurt the team. I also felt that a pass first pg in Nash is better suited for their team in which nearly sweeped my team last year because of him. It will be surprising how teams will do with all the new changes they've made.

[Detroit Pistons]

I think that San Antonio is way better than Dallas. No way can Dallas compete. No offense, but LeBron, Wade, Duncan, and Terry might be too much. Now, as for my team, I personally believe Diaw will be good to play center, and if not, Garnett will. Diaw will probably be a PF in the game though. The top 8 teams in the East are better than the top 8 teams in the West, so I dont know where you get the "lack of good teams in the East" from. If I had to do NBA rankings now, it would look like:

1) San Antonio Spurs
2) Detroit Pistons
3) Chicago Bulls
4) Orlando Magic
5) Phoenix Suns

[Dallas Mavericks]

pistons521 said:

I think that San Antonio is way better than Dallas. No way can Dallas compete. No offense, but LeBron, Wade, Duncan, and Terry might be too much. Now, as for my team, I personally believe Diaw will be good to play center, and if not, Garnett will. Diaw will probably be a PF in the game though. The top 8 teams in the East are better than the top 8 teams in the West, so I dont know where you get the "lack of good teams in the East" from. If I had to do NBA rankings now, it would look like:

1) San Antonio Spurs
2) Detroit Pistons
3) Chicago Bulls
4) Orlando Magic
5) Phoenix Suns

someone is a little pissy. if you dont think that i can compete with SA then you arnt exactly the smartest person here...i like my chances with him if you look at the match ups...the only match up that i dont like is francis and wade...

i love how you think that your team is un beatable...trust me...if you play Diaw at center your're gunna get burned by real centers...

[Atlanta Hawks]

like nene, hahhaha

[Atlanta Hawks]

dallas, i honestly think that SA will beat you every time, just compare

terry>bibby--i think that bibby is better, but the ratings say other wise, so i think
wade>francis-- obvious
lebron>odom--also obvious
boozer<brand-- domination by brand
duncan>miller-- duncan is just better

sa bench>dallas bench-- sa has a killer bench, its almost scary

[Detroit Pistons]

titlebound1 said:

pistons521 said:

I think that San Antonio is way better than Dallas. No way can Dallas compete. No offense, but LeBron, Wade, Duncan, and Terry might be too much. Now, as for my team, I personally believe Diaw will be good to play center, and if not, Garnett will. Diaw will probably be a PF in the game though. The top 8 teams in the East are better than the top 8 teams in the West, so I dont know where you get the "lack of good teams in the East" from. If I had to do NBA rankings now, it would look like:

1) San Antonio Spurs
2) Detroit Pistons
3) Chicago Bulls
4) Orlando Magic
5) Phoenix Suns

someone is a little pissy. if you dont think that i can compete with SA then you arnt exactly the smartest person here...i like my chances with him if you look at the match ups...the only match up that i dont like is francis and wade...

i love how you think that your team is un beatable...trust me...if you play Diaw at center your're gunna get burned by real centers...

Where did you get the idea that I think my team is unbeatable? I am trying Diaw at center like the real Suns did. Its just an experiment. If he cant stay there, fine, I will find someone who can.

I personally believe San Antonio's team is the best in the league. He has incredible depth (Harpring 76?, Granger 77, Raja Bell 76, Haslem 72, and others) off the bench, and of course the dangerous combination of LeBron James and Dwayne Wade. To be honest, I dont know if I can repeat, especially if I faced San Antonio. Will that make me quit trying? No. Do I think I have one of the best teams in the league? Of course. Can I win now? You betcha. Will my frontcourt work? Who knows, it may or it may not. I like my chances though, and I love Diaw. If it doesnt work out, oh well, I will move on and try to find someone who can work for me. I still have Ratliff and Dwayne Jones on my bench, as well as Mcdyess, to play, and I have depth if needed to pull off a trade

[San Antonio Spurs]

I like my team a lot, but I still feel like my front court needs a lot of work, and a little tinkering in the backcourt. I love the Wade / Lebron combo, I was a little worried because neither of them is a good 3 point shooter, but both were given good outside shot ratings. Terry can pass and shoot really well, so that works out for me. Everyone on my team is a good passer and had good teamwork, so I think they will work well together too.

I can't be happier with my SF and SG rotations of Lebron / Granger and then Wade / Harpring / Bell. I'd like a better backup point guard for Terry, but Blake is still good off the bench for me, plus Wade can always play a little point.

I would like to find a better frontcourt parter for Duncan, I don't know how much Boozer will cut it, I've been trying to pair him with people like Granger, Bell, Harpring, Haslem, etc to trade up for a better player, but nobody seems interested at all. Still, he is my worst starter but I am deep in that position with Duncan being able to play PF/C, Haslem, Horry, and Oberto off the bench. I'd also like to get another true center like Mohammed to come off the bench for me.

My team has it's flaws, outside shooting seems to be a problem, so people clogging the lane to prevent Boozer and Duncan from getting easy baskets and stopping Lebron and Wade from driving (easier said than done) could prove to hurt me a lot.

I like how Detroit matches up with me. He would most likely put Garnett on Duncan, which would favor him in this game. Diaw has a better rating than Boozer, but I think Boozer would be able to handle him down low. Ron Artest can certainly slow down James, but I don't think enough to make a huge difference. Kobe and Wade favors him slightly, and Terry vs Hinrich is another close call, Terry has better offense and Hinrich has better defense.

[San Antonio Spurs]

Dallas has Jackson, Smith, Gay, and Randolph off the bench, that's obviously a deep team. I like my Wade vs Francis match up with him though, both undersize SG's with similar games, but Wade is obviously better. Bibby and Terry are similar players. LeBron vs Odom is interesting, but I like my chances. I'd switch Duncan on to Brand if it was a playoff match, so neither will dominate the game. Miller and Boozer have the same ratings if I recall correctly, but are totally different players, so it depends on who can control the tempo of the game.

[Detroit Pistons]

On our teams combined we own the top rated players. 1) LeBron James 97, 2) Kobe Bryant 96 and then Wade and Garnett both in the 90s. I think the top 4 highest rated players on our teams

[Dallas Mavericks]

pistons521 said:

titlebound1 said:

someone is a little pissy. if you dont think that i can compete with SA then you arnt exactly the smartest person here...i like my chances with him if you look at the match ups...the only match up that i dont like is francis and wade...

i love how you think that your team is un beatable...trust me...if you play Diaw at center your're gunna get burned by real centers...

Where did you get the idea that I think my team is unbeatable?


thats always the way you sound when you post...you may not notice it...but many people have talked to me about it...

sorry if i was pissed ealier...i had a horrible day and i was pissed when you said there is no way that i can compete...you have to admit that is a really stupid thing to say...i really like my match ups with SA...we are the two best teams in the west and it will be a really interesting season.

[Phoenix Suns]

we are the two best teams in the west and it will be a really interesting season.

I hate talking about my team because I hate when people are conceited, but I can't let this one get by. My team is certainly up there, at least in the conversation, with you and San Antonio. Honestly, I think my team is better than yours. You clearly have the advantage in depth, but I don't see a single weakness in my team.

Arenas is not a pass first PG like Nash was, but Nash was getting older and I felt by dealing him now, I could get the most value out of him. Arenas has the same rating as Nash this year though, and because of his age I can only see him improving over time, while Nash will decline sooner rather than later. Ben Gordon is a combo guard who can score and adds range to my lineup. Lewis is also a great scorer who has plenty of range and can grab a lotta rebounds due to his 6'10 frame. At PF I have Jermaine O'Neal, one of the best low post scorers in all the league, and a physical player down low who can grab plenty of boards as well. Amare is another highly athletic big man who can play physical defense, swat shots, score down low and from mid-range, and grab boards.

Off the bench, I have Brandon Roy, who is everything Ben Gordon isn't at the 2 guard. He can score, defend 3 positions, grab some boards (quite well for a guard), and even run the point. He's unselfish and can do everything on the floor that needs to be done. Channing Frye is another excellent mid-range scorer, solid rebounder, and a good weak side defender. As with Roy, Frye will continue to develop as he's just in his 2nd year. Dikembe can come off the bench strictly for defensive purposes to contain guys like Timmy D from SA. Chris Duhon is a very solid backup PG and is a good floor general. Penny Hardaway can add some experience to a somewhat inexperienced backcourt. Malik Rose and Brian Grant are both bangers who can great boards and defend guys at the 3 or 4, and smaller centers as well. Lastly, James Singleton brings a big, athletic body who can run the floor well and throw down some explosive dunks, as well as grab a bunch of boards due to his aggresive style and intensity.

Not only do I feel I have a talented enough team to compare with San Antonio and Dallas, my team has young talent that will continue to develop to the point where I can keep my team's core as it is for years to come, and contend year in and year out.

[Portland Trail Blazers]

Are these predictions based on after the season is done?..or does this include playoffs aswell?..cause thats a big different.

There are always teams that have an amazing season and end up getting sweeped first round..

[Orlando Magic]

pistons521 said:

3. Orlando Magic - The Magic finally got what they lacked last year, a scorer. However, the Pistons and Bulls got much better while the Magic only slightly improved.

only slightly improved? i had a huge offseason, it was just early on. my team improved incredibly. my offseason was in a nutshell:

SUBTRACTIONS:
Eddie Jones, Andre Miller, Brandon Hunter, Linton Johnson, Ruben Patterson

ADDITIONS:
Ray Allen, Bobby Simmons, Maurice Williams, Trevor Ariza, JJ Redick, David Lee

RESULT:
+147 in ratings, based on additions - subtractions, not people who are still on the team whose ratings improved

[Denver Nuggets]

I like your opinions and I agree my team definitely lacks depth but you seem to think most teams have got worse!

But Piatowski was awsome for Washington

[Detroit Pistons]

Not true really. I only did the top 8 of each conference. If a team gets better somewhere, a team must end up getting worse somewhere else right? I think what happened was the gap between 5-10 in each conference just got closed, and each conference got deeper, whereas last year we had our definite playoffs teams. Alot of teams got better like Chicago, Golden State, etc., but teams that did nothing or got worse, and their players ratings got worse, decreased in my opinion

[Detroit Pistons]

Of course this is just my opinion.

And Piawtowski did good for Washington because Washington had no one else. With players like Marion, Mello, Wilcox, and Williams, Piawtowski is going to be garbage. Washington even had Kevin Willis (rated 59 i think) getting double doubles and such. Take our summer league teams for example. Dwayne Jones averaged 16 PPG and about 13 RPG. That was because he was one of the best players on my team, but for the regular season who wont even probably get but 1 PPG.