Final Thoughts on 2008-09 NBA Season

And now, the final post-season prediction numbers from the NBA playoffs:

David Thorpe, ESPN: 13-2 (3)
Ball Don't Lie, Yahoo!: 13-2 (3)
Jalen Rose, ESPN: 13-2 (3)
Chris Sheridan, ESPN: 12-3 (7)

John Hollinger, ESPN: 12-3 (4)

Ken Berger, CBS Sports: 12-3 (3)
Nunzio Ingrassia, CBS Sports: 12-3 (3)
J.A. Adande, ESPN: 12-3 (2)
Sergio Gonzalez, CBS Sports: 12-3 (2)
Kenny Smith, Yahoo!: 12-3 (2)
Chris Broussard, ESPN: 11-4 (5)
Chad Ford, ESPN: 11-4 (5)
Lyle Crouse, CBS Sports: 11-4 (3)
Jamey Eisenberg, CBS Sports: 11-4 (3)
Marc Stein, ESPN: 11-4 (3)
Henry Abbott, ESPN: 10-5 (4)
Tim Legler, ESPN: 10-5 (4)
YOURS TRULY: 8-7 (4)

So there you go, folks. A ridiculously poor showing this year for myself in NBA prognosticating, but not really all that great a year for the league playoffs in general.

While the opening round series between the Celtics and the Bulls certainly created a lot of excitement to open the playoffs, even in that series and in many series throughout the post-season, officiating was sloppy and inconsistent. And just as many of us thought, when that Bulls-Celtics series ended, it was assuredly the best series of any in the playoffs.

While one could reasonably argue that the Los Angeles Lakers were in fact the favorite to win the entire thing all season long, I'm still not sure that anybody is going to be remembering this as a season in which the franchise overcame an opponent that will make this title win worth remembering. While it assuredly does cement Kobe Bryant among the legends of the game and makes Phil Jackson stand alone with 10 career NBA Championships, the Lakers didn't have to get by Tim Duncan and the Spurs that also won four titles in a decade because they were without Manu Ginobli. And L.A. didn't need to worry about avenging last year's loss by overcoming the defending champions because the Celtics were without Kevin Garnett.

Now, of course the Lakers are only guilty of beating whomever got in their way. It's not their fault so many of the perennial favorites ended up getting dealt some shitty late-season cards.

But I am of course upset only because I hate the Lakers and they didn't end up blowing it like it can be fun to watch them (or anyone you really hate for no particular reason) do sometimes. This year, they actually got the job done because, well, the Orlando Magic beat themselves.

Oh, c'mon—you know the Magic could have just easily been up three games to one, provided a last-second layup went in and Dwight Howard sinks either one of the two free throws he both missed. And there I am at the end of the NBA season this year, clinging to notions of what could've been.

I am left with the final feeling for my Chicago Bulls being something of still modest concern: Vinny Del Negro likely gave himself a little more wiggle room by getting the team to push the defending champions to the limit in a series they were expected to be bounced from far more routinely. That doesn't necessarily mean the guy's a great coach (as some of his decisions and non-adjustments in that Boston series proved) but I know he's going to survive the early-season calls for his head on the radio next year.

And I (still) want to lose Ben Gordon. Derrick Rose becomes a better player and the Bulls become a better team without Gordon around, and you tried making that jackass an offer (twice, I believe) only to have him strut away like everybody else will be jeopardizing their chances in the LeBron sweepstakes for some 6'3'' guard with wildly hot and cold shooting streaks to complement his inability to pass. Let somebody else have Ben Gordon, I say. Sure, he can become the top scorer on a different team and they can get knocked out each year in the first round. Have fun with that. Me, I want another Larry O'Brien Trophy to be brought into Grant Park.

Anywhere but Los Angeles next year, please.

2009 NBA Finals

I guess the first thing I would point out about how we all did last round is that not a single person had both conference final series correct. So while all three other possible NBA Finals scenarios were all predicted one way or another (Lakers-Cavs was, quite obviously, the most popular pick, predicted by 12 of the 18 experts listed below), it ends up being Orlando against La-La Land and nobody scored better than one-for-two, bringing everybody to these totals:

David Thorpe, ESPN: 12-2 (3)
Ball Don't Lie, Yahoo!: 12-2 (3)
Jalen Rose, ESPN: 12-2 (3)
Chris Sheridan, ESPN: 11-3 (7)

John Hollinger, ESPN: 11-3 (4)

Ken Berger, CBS Sports: 11-3 (3)
Nunzio Ingrassia, CBS Sports: 11-3 (3)
J.A. Adande, ESPN: 11-3 (2)
Sergio Gonzalez, CBS Sports: 11-3 (2)
Kenny Smith, Yahoo!: 11-3 (2)
Chris Broussard, ESPN: 10-4 (5)
Chad Ford, ESPN: 10-4 (5)
Henry Abbott, ESPN: 10-4 (4)
Lyle Crouse, CBS Sports: 10-4 (3)
Jamey Eisenberg, CBS Sports: 10-4 (3)
Marc Stein, ESPN: 10-4 (3)
Tim Legler, ESPN: 9-5 (4)
YOURS TRULY: 8-6 (4)

Yeah, those numbers suck for a variety of reasons—and it's not just the knowing that Jalen fucking Rose, of all people is tied for the best marks, although that does make it sting a little more than I want to admit.

But what really kind of irks me is Yahoo! didn't bother putting up picks for two of their supposed "experts" from previous rounds, so the guy that was softening the cellar for me a little bit had to be excluded from these standings, seeing as I had no idea what he picked. Who knows, maybe he was the guy that actually had the vision to call a Magic-Lakers Finals, but I really doubt it.

Guess we'll never know, but let's just get this out of the way and see if I manage to catch Tim Legler (!) or if I finish one measly game over .500 for the entire playoffs:

Orlando Magic over Los Angeles Lakers in six games

Oh sure, I know what you're thinking (read: B. Doggy), and if you think I'm only making this prediction because this is more what I want than what I genuinely think will happen, well, I guess I would just point out that if my pick was what I wanted, then I would have had the Magic in four games.

And I was even tempted by the idea of thinking Orlando could concievably use the Games Three/Four/Five all at home argument to suggest that a split in L.A. could just be the springboard to three successive wins in Florida to win the thing there, kind of like, oh, I don't know, um ... oh yeah! Five years ago. Yeah, like that.

But, really, my forecast goes like this: split in L.A. and Orlando takes two of three at home before emphatically taking the Lakers down in Game Six. Dwight Howard will be your MVP.

And I won't have to hear about Kobe Bryant for at least four months.

NBA Playoffs, Conference Finals

It seemed for a brief while that I might get all four series right on the nose there last round, but then the Magic went and routed the Celtics in Boston and it ended up taking the Lakers seven games to get rid of those pesky Rockets—despite Houston playing without two of its biggest stars. And my record ends up being pretty awful by comparison to the rest of the experts I'm tracking here:

John Hollinger, ESPN: 11-1 (4)
David Thorpe, ESPN: 11-1 (3)
Ball Don't Lie, Yahoo!: 11-1 (2)
Jalen Rose, ESPN: 11-1 (2)
Chris Sheridan, ESPN: 10-2 (7)
Henry Abbott, ESPN: 10-2 (4)
Ken Berger, CBS Sports: 10-2 (3)
Lyle Crouse, CBS Sports: 10-2 (3)
Nunzio Ingrassia, CBS Sports: 10-2 (3)
J.A. Adande, ESPN: 10-2 (2)
Johnny Ludden, Yahoo!: 10-2 (2)
Sergio Gonzalez, CBS Sports: 10-2 (1)
Kenny Smith, Yahoo!: 10-2 (1)
Chris Broussard, ESPN: 9-3 (5)
Chad Ford, ESPN: 9-3 (5)
Tim Legler, ESPN: 9-3 (4)
Jamey Eisenberg, CBS Sports: 9-3 (3)
Marc Stein, ESPN: 9-3 (3)
YOURS TRULY: 8-4 (4)

Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo!: 8-4 (3)

You'll notice that I added the experts from CBS Sports this round, mostly just so I could have somebody who actually picked Orlando to get to the NBA Finals. I would've added their hockey experts for the NHL predictions, but their staff's picks don't include the number of games they expect the series to go, so it doesn't strike me as having much point to it (although three of their four experts have Carolina beating Pittsburgh, so I could have had some company, seeing as everybody at both ESPN and Yahoo! has the Penguins).

There's also the matter of scoring, which CBS is doing a little differently than I (two points for correct team and an additional point if the number of games is correct), but I'm still sticking with the actual number of correct picks as being of greater importance—even though the CBS model would have Chris Sheridan and his seven exactas in first place.

Anyway, it's late, I've got my second-to-last day of community service in the morning and the next round begins tomorrow, so here's who I've got going to the NBA Finals this year:

Cleveland Cavaliers over Orlando Magic in six games

I read a few times about what great defense the Magic play and am still sort of snickering to myself about how I said they were going to be a team that would surprise people in the playoffs, only to go with Boston in the last round. Joke's on me, I suppose. But here's the mighty Cavs and their last hurdle for LeBron's return to the NBA Finals. Oh, and did you see King James' Player Efficiency Ranking so far this post-season? It stands at 37.9, more than seven points higher than what Dwight Howard's been putting out. And according to the Wikipedia definition, that PER is classified as a "Year For the Ages." Indeed.

Denver Nuggets over Los Angeles Lakers in six games

More than likely, this is more wishful thinking than objective analysis on my part—but the guy on top of that current leaderboard made his case for picking the Nuggets in six as well, sharing the same thought Ken Berger began his series preview with regarding which player is likely to have the biggest influence in Los Angeles' success or failure:

Anyone who expresses a high degree of confidence in predicting this series is lying or deceiving themselves. This is one of the toughest playoff series to predict in recent memory, and the reason is the Nuggets might be facing two different opponents: The Lakers with an effective, productive Andrew Bynum and the Lakers without that. Completely different teams, which suggests two completely different and equally plausible outcomes in this series based on Bynum's effectiveness.

At this point, I've been blown away by how good Denver's defense has proven to be as well as how much they can run up the score. Carmelo Anthony has been playing phenomenally—perhaps the best we've seen him play since coming into the NBA. And that leads me to my absurd sort of backwards logic about how the NBA might actually embrace a Cleveland-Denver Finals, which sounds like a marketing nightmare at first.

But when you consider that six years ago, Nuggets fans were keeping their fingers crossed that the lottery balls would bounce their way and they would get LeBron, they instead ended up with 'Melo. And wouldn't that be a nice little trip down memory lane for the title, determining if maybe Denver lucked out by in fact landing Anthony or if they really are just doomed with unfortunate luck.

It could be worse, I say. After all, it was Detroit who pulled the Sam Bowie that year and passed on Carmelo for Darko Milicic. Just to make it really sting for Pistons fans, Toronto and Miami, picking fourth and fifth, seemed to find a couple of pretty decent players as well.

So, for fans who believe the NBA isn't going to allow the Lakers to NOT get to the NBA Finals (conspiracy theories have always been in quite the abundance for professional basketball, helped none by, oh, one bad apple) for fear of television ratings hell, I'm going to respectfully disagree—mostly because I don't think even the league could stop the Nuggets if they wanted to.

Party like it's 2003, I say.

NBA Playoffs, Round Two

Update forthcoming with experts' scores from the first round and the usual additional thoughts, but in the interest of getting predictions up before any game actually begins, here's how I'm seeing the Western Conference semifinals that are locked in so far (I'll get to the East later):

Yeah, so my finish atop the NHL predictions (admittedly only because of the "correct winner and number of games" bonus) didn't carry over to the NBA, where my opening round was tied for the lowest score among the experts I'm tracking:

Chris Sheridan, ESPN: 7-1 (5)
John Hollinger, ESPN: 7-1 (4)
Marc Stein, ESPN: 7-1 (3)
David Thorpe, ESPN: 7-1 (3)
Ball Don't Lie, Yahoo!: 7-1 (2)
Jalen Rose, ESPN: 7-1 (2)
Kenny Smith, Yahoo!: 7-1 (1)
Chris Broussard, ESPN: 6-2 (5)
Henry Abbott, ESPN: 6-2 (3)
Chad Ford, ESPN: 6-2 (3)
Tim Legler, ESPN: 6-2 (3)
J.A. Adande, ESPN: 6-2 (2)
Johnny Ludden, Yahoo!: 6-2 (2)
Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo!: 5-3 (2)
YOURS TRULY: 5-3 (2)

As you can see, a bit stronger showing here among the group as a whole as opposed to the NHL, but big ups are in order for ESPN's Chris Sheridan for hitting five of his seven correct picks on the nose. And that guy also is the only one of the bunch actually picking the Rockets to get to the Western Conference Finals. Marc Stein and Kenny Smith are the only two going with Dallas to to advance over Denver, nobody's got Atlanta winning more than a pair of their games against Cleveland, and of the 15 guys I've got listed there, we've got 60 percent in favor of the Magic and the other 40 percent with the Celtics for at least one series that doesn't seem like a forgone conclusion.

As for where my picks fall, well, nothing too shocking this round (in my humble opinion):

Cleveland Cavaliers over Atlanta Hawks in four games

LeBron and the boys have been resting while Atlanta had to wait all the way until a seventh game to decide whether they wanted to kick somebody's ass or have their own ass thoroughly kicked.

They won't be afforded the same luxury against Cleveland, who will likely give the young Hawks a rude welcome to the conference semifinals in Ohio and then promptly take the air out of the arena in Georgia before any series can ever really begin.

Denver Nuggets over Dallas Mavericks in five games

Do you remember that turd of a Nuggets team you saw last year? You know, the one that more or less couldn't have been bothered to play defense against the Lakers in their opening round series? Yeah, well, this Denver team is not that Denver team. And beyond the widely accepted idea that the Nuggets clearly got the better of the trade with the Pistons that brought Chauncey Billups to the Rocky Mountains, Denver made quick work of the Hornets because this year's squad actually complements its versatile scoring threat with some pretty solid D. If Chris-freaking-Paul can't jump-start a pick-and-roll against these guys, do you really think the Mavericks are going to fare any better?

I'm not ready to say that fans in La-La Land should be shaking in their boots, but Billups was on that Detroit squad that stunned a heavily favored Lakers team in a five-game NBA Finals just a few years ago (I was thinking of that squad when I picked the Mavericks to win the NBA Championship in seven games a couple of years ago). Might want to take the guys this dude rolls with pretty seriously is all I'm sayin'.

Los Angeles Lakers over Houston Rockets in six games

Fans in Houston feel overly accomplished this season, having finally made it out of the first round in something like seven tries. Whew, that was fun. Now you get the Lakers. Yep, that sure was a fun, accomplished season of Houston Rockets basketball.

In all seriousness, I'm admittedly the fool for underestimating how well the Rockets have played without T. Mac. After McGrady went down, the Rockets went 22-8 and now they polished off a Blazers squad with only a few irritations. And since Ron Artest is actually providing more on-court presence than off-court drama, who's to say where Houston's limits are?

Well, if we're to judge by how the Rockets played L.A. this season, then the supposedly tougher defenders Houston was to blanket Kobe with didn't do all that much to slow him or the Lakers down: L.A. won all four meetings and outscored the Rockets by an average of 15 points in the second halves of those games.

Boston Celtics over Orlando Magic in seven games

The epic battle to see which team gets to be the last one from the East stepped on as King James nears the throne. That said, after that batshit crazy opening round the Celtics just had, who's to say what the champs—or what's left of them—can or can't do?

And while Orlando was a team that I spent most of the regular season warning about stealing a series just like this one we are about to have, I am actually going to go with the team that has the home court here to advance. The Magic really didn't impress me against the Sixers as I had expected them to do, and while I think they've certainly got the talent on paper to still take this series, I still feel that it's just going to take a team at one level higher to finally end the Boston reign.

NBA Playoffs, Round One

I should have mentioned that for the sake of comparison, I'll be referring to the picks of "experts" from Yahoo! and ESPN in both the NBA and NHL Playoffs. So, let's see where I end up.

Forgive me for not being more excited about the NBA this year. For one, my luck in the pool at work was fucking terrible. Secondly, the Bulls got in and now get to perhaps lose by a somewhat smaller margin in their inevitable first-round exit. And lastly, I might have to watch the Lakers win another NBA Championship. Not what I want.

As far as my predictions from the beginning of the season go, my Finals pick is technically still alive (but far from likely). I got six of the eight Eastern Conference playoff teams right, while I was seven of eight in the West.

Here's how I see Round One, in the usual descending level of confidence:

Cleveland Cavaliers over Detroit Pistons in four games

I actually debated about picking the Cavs to get that top spot in the East, and of course played it safe instead. But the environment in Cleveland from what I've seen on television all year is pretty impressive and even if it is indeed a case of the fans overly whooping it up to try and keep LeBron in town, it's going to really make that home court advantage a killer. Beyond that, I'm guessing LeBron is going to want to send a message and will pick it up where ever any of his teammates let him down.

Los Angeles Lakers over Utah Jazz in five games

Yuck. I'd love to see Deron Williams have a great series and pull off a spectacular upset, but let's get real. Everything's coming up roses for L.A. these days, whether it's the prospect of having Bynum around for this year's run or the news that KG won't be around if there's a Finals rematch (and, no, there probably won't be). And in Utah, the Lakers get a first-round opponent who sort of had a freefall into the eighth spot, perhaps the result of a clubhouse coming apart as uncertainty abounds with the team's free-agent forwards. The Jazz win Game Four to save a little face, but then get prompty shellacked and hit the golf course after Game Five.

Orlando Magic over Philadelphia 76ers in five games

I still think of how the Times' Jonathan Abrams put it back in January:

The Magic’s opponents are victims of doomed-if-they-do, doomed-if-they-don’t when Orlando has the ball. If Howard is surrounded near the basket, Nelson, Lewis and Hedo Turkoglu are usually isolated for easy jump shots. If Howard is not swarmed, he possesses all the requisite skills to score against any defender.

And Philly provides little in the middle to stop Howard from beginning a march toward the conference finals.

Boston Celtics over Chicago Bulls in five games

If you're actually reading this shit, then I'll let you in on a little something I did today that was probably pretty shameful. But when I was at work today, I saw the news today on the bottom of the screen on ESPN about Danny Ainge's heart attack one day after the news about their star possibly being gone for the entire post-season and just busted out laughing. I mean, the guy didn't die, so it wasn't that tasteless.

Anyway, the Celtics have beaten teams like the Bulls without KG, and I'm sure they get by just fine.

Denver Nuggets over New Orleans Hornets in seven games

I do like the possibility of CP3 making another strong playoff run, but the Nuggets are the one team I didn't see in the post-season when my making my picks at the beginning of the year (my eighth team from the West was—yikes—the Clippers) and I can buy into your suggestion of Chauncey Billups for MVP. I'm guessing the home team wins every game here and the Hornets are just too banged up for the long haul.

Portland Trailblazers over Houston Rockets in seven games

Hmmm ... Here's a Portland bunch I was never really crazy about but now have come to love since a second round date with L.A. would mean the Lakers have to play in a place they haven't won in the past four or so seasons. The problem is that in order for that to happen, the Blazers have to first get by a Rockets bunch that desperately wants to get out of the first round. There's a tremendous stigma for Yao Ming to shake, even if T-Mac can only watch. Still, I'm thinking Portland attacks and gets the calls at home necessary to keep fans in Houston frustrated about another one-and-done end to the year.

San Antonio Spurs over Dallas Mavericks in seven games

Sports Illustrated had the Spurs beating the Celtics, if I recall correctly, and how terribly that worked out for them since, like Boston, San Antonio enters the playoffs with one crucial element of their past success certainly out for the entire post-season (Manu Ginobli) and their star (Tim Duncan) ailing. But the Spurs beat this same Mavericks team without either of those guys back in February. Even if the Mavs can steal one in San Antonio, I still think the Spurs are crafty enough and deep enough to win in Big D and make a bid to get to the conference finals.

Miami Heat over Atlanta Hawks in seven games

What's the best way to show respect for the two teams I didn't have making the playoffs in the Eastern Conference if they're playing one another? Miami I had as a nine, so I knew they'd be around, but I seem to recall thinking a mid-season move with Mike Bibby was going to be the story in Atlanta. So much for that.

But the story in the end here, of course, is D-Wade. My guess is that whatever impressive showings you might get from the Hawks, Wade finds himself at the line as often as he needs to be and Miami enjoys one round of victory.

Here, there, everywhere

See, there's going to be a day when I actually get to sit down and organize all these silly little things I feel I'm somewhat obligated to update every single time I sit down at the computer. But these days, I'm once again in my "job first" mentality. I know, I know ... "But D. Rock, looking for a bigger job seems like something you've always been doing and always will be doing for the rest of your life. Thanks for finally coming to that realization and welcome to the club."

So anywho, I'm taking about five minutes out here before I go back to craigslist and where ever else it is that my whimsy fances tonight. Wish me luck, but in the meantime, here's a few short thoughts ... let me know what to elaborate on:

• The Oscars are next Sunday. I still have not seen any of the five films nominated for Best Picture, and what's more, I have no real rooting interest in the show. The best film I saw last year was Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and I'm pretty sure that's not up for anything. That said, I didn't even request the evening off work and I typically close on Sunday nights, so I'm guessing that I'm just going to be hoping that people put the best clips from the actual show online. I don't hear about anybody doing any pools this year either, so it's not sounding like too many friends are planning on a party this year (which actually has seemingly been the story ever since the show got moved up a month). All in all, I'll throw up my predictions, for whatever they're worth, just to say I did, but in all honesty, really haven't had less interest in the broadcast in as long as I can remember. Perhaps if they raise Heth Ledger from the dead to accept his Best Supporting Actor award ...
• I believe my final score for playoff predictions with my technically correct pick of the Steelers ("I'm sorry, you said something about somebody getting 'killed,' did you?"), I went 6-5, which is acceptable and somewhat amazingly only one game worse than last year's record. I didn't have time to go back yet and see what I wrote about Pittsburgh all year, but I'm planning on looking over what I'd been writing every week this season when football previews start coming out in anticipation of next season. I haven't adjusted yet to not having football, but I usually tend to get swept up in March Madness before fully engulfing my fascination with the NBA and NHL Playoffs going into the summer. This year should prove no different, although I promised myself I'd be writing more about my boys in the U.C., and, well ...
• As far as the Blackhawks go, I've been feeling pretty good about the team most of the year and I've caught far, far more of their games this year than I did at this point last season. I feel fairly confident that they will indeed make the playoffs and beyond that, have the talent to defeat their first-round opponent. And while it feels good to be boasting about having such a legitimitely good young core that lives up to what's been hyped, there's just no denying that the veteran squads, the more playoff-experienced teams, will probably capitalize on Blackhawks mistakes—errors, I'm guessing, that will get attributed to their youth.
• The Bulls, on the other hand, have been something of a chore to watch. With the trade deadline approaching, I don't see how you don't say every guy's on the table—except Derrick Rose. And I really don't know how long Vinny truly gets to stick around if something doesn't get accomplished before then. But the newest Bulls trade rumor (these are the types of things we Bulls fans get to constantly participate in and fantasize over ever since the Jordan era ended) involves acquiring Amare Stoudemire from the Phoenix Suns. Needless to say, this move gets an enthusiastic "Hell, Yes!" vote from me (the Bulls would have to part with Drew Gooden, Tyrus Thomas, Thabo Sefolosha, maybe a draft pick or two, possibly Joakim Noah, some guy named Cedric Simmons that I don't even recall ever seeing printed on a Bulls roster this year and probably some money too). Look, the Bulls can probably get in the playoffs this year, but even with a fun, little quick fix like Stoudemire playing with Rose, this team's a million miles from contending for anything. It's still stunning that we were talking about winning the Eastern Conference here a few seasons back, because it hasn't felt like a winning team any time I've turned the Bulls on this season. It's actually kind of heartbreaking.
• And speaking of heartbreak, let me end on this final thought about the only thing that will always, most surely be the one thing more fucked up than my job satisfaction: The lady didn't take too kindly to me having lunch with XgF—or whatever the hell I called her. It was nothing too dramatic, of course, unless you count the fact that that girl even talked to me again. It certainly was fucked up, I tried to explain to the current lady—the one I still only see once a week and seemingly talk about breaking up with every other week or so—that the ex and I hadn't really spoken in a couple of years. And considering all that happened in just the past year alone, well, that's the kind of stuff that, yeah, I guess I could e-mail her about. Or maybe point to a few blog post or something, had I actually typed up some of the trouble I had gotten in, but for the most part I was too scared shitless to even type up how scared I was at the time. But that time's gone now and everything's better ... or getting better, I guess. Still getting organized, cleaning things up.
• OK, lots to do tomorrow.
  

2008-09 NBA Predictions

I worked a double today, have a class at ten tomorrow and then need to rush home to meet up with the lady for the evening, so much like my NHL picks, you're just going to have to wait for words about these teams (I swear I'll do it with the next season I predict).

Besides, these are all mildly educated guesses only referenced on the chance that I'm right so I can say "I told you so!" We all knew that, right?

Anyway ...:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

1. Boston Celtics
2. Cleveland Cavaliers
3. Detroit Pistons
4. Toronto Raptors
5. Orlando Magic
6. Philadelphia 76ers
7. Washington Wizards
8. Chicago Bulls
9. Miami Heat
10. Indiana Pacers
11. Atlanta Hawks
12. Milwaukee Bucks
13. Charlotte Bobcats
14. New York Knicks
15. New Jersey Nets

WESTERN CONFERENCE

1. Los Angeles Lakers
2. Houston Rockets
3. New Orleans Hornets
4. San Antonio Spurs
5. Utah Jazz
6. Portland Trail Blazers
7. Dallas Mavericks
8. Los Angeles Clippers
9. Phoenix Suns
10. Denver Nuggets
11. Golden State Warriors
12. Sacramento Kings
13. Minnesota Timberwolves
14. Oklahoma City Thunder
15. Memphis Grizzlies

NBA FINALS
Boston Celtics
over
Los Angeles Lakers in seven games

And I end on that "shocking" prediction ... I did toy with the idea of a Spurs-Pistons rematch, but Boston's defense blew me away last season. I haven't forgotten that.