2008-2009 NBA Preseason

[Guest]

CanadianChris does a twenty questions thing in the NHL Preseason Thread, so you know what, I'm going to steal them and make a few adjustments.

 

1. Who will win the MVP?

 

2. Who will win the Rookie of the Year?

 

3. Who will be the Coach of the Year?

 

4. Who will be named to the All-NBA First Team?

 

5. Who will be the NBA's Most Improved Player?

 

6. What team had the best offseason?

 

7. What team had the worst offseason?

 

8. Which team will be the most improved over last year?

 

9. Which team will be the biggest disappointment?

 

10. What was the best offseason move?

 

11. What was the worst offseason move?

 

12. Who will make the playoffs that didn't last year?

 

13. Who will not make the playoffs that did last year?

 

14. Who are the best five players in the league, position aside (weak-sauce question, I know)?

 

15. Who will be the division winners?

 

16. Eastern Conference Final:

 

17. Western Conference Final:

 

18. Who will win the NBA Title, and who will they beat?:

 

19. Who will be the #1 pick in next year's draft?

 

20. Make one bold prediction.

 

I'll make my picks in a bit.

[JaMarcus Russell's #1 Caucasian Fan 0]

1. Who will win the MVP?

 

LeBron James will claim his first of many MVP trophies

 

2. Who will win the Rookie of the Year?

 

Derrick Rose

 

3. Who will be the Coach of the Year?

 

Larry Brown will win COY for guiding the Bobacats to their best record in history.

 

4. Who will be named to the All-NBA First Team?

C:Dwight Howard

PF:Tim Duncan

SF: LeBron James

SG: Kobe Bryant

PG: Steve Nash

 

5. Who will be the NBA's Most Improved Player?

 

A bold prediction: Lamar Odom

 

6. What team had the best offseason?

 

New Orleans Hornets, following by the LA Lakers for just bringing everyone back healthy

 

7. What team had the worst offseason?

 

Golden State Warriors

 

8. Which team will be the most improved over last year?

 

Miami Heat

 

9. Which team will be the biggest disappointment?

 

Out on a limb: Philadelphia 76ers

 

10. What was the best offseason move?

 

Posey to New Orleans

 

11. What was the worst offseason move?

 

Clippers signing Baron Davis, only to lose Elton Brand

 

12. Who will make the playoffs that didn't last year?

 

Miami Heat

 

13. Who will not make the playoffs that did last year?

 

Atlanta Hawks

 

14. Who are the best five players in the league, position aside (weak-sauce question, I know)?

 

Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, DeWayne Wade, Paul Pierce, Chris Paul

 

15. Who will be the division winners?

 

Pacific: Los Angeles Lakers, Northwest: Portland TrailBlazers, Southwest: New Orleans Hornets

Central: Clevland Cavs, Atlantic: Boston Celtics, Southeastern: Miami Heat

 

16. Eastern Conference Final:

 

Celtics v. Cavs

 

17. Western Conference Final:

 

Lakers v. Blazers

 

18. Who will win the NBA Title, and who will they beat?:

 

Los Angeles Lakers will take the title and will beat Boston in six

 

19. Who will be the #1 pick in next year's draft?

 

Don't know

 

20. Make one bold prediction.

 

The Phoenix Suns will not make the playoffs this year.

 

 

[naiwf 0]

1. Who will win the MVP? Chris Paul will edge out LeBron and Kobe since the MVP awards seem to be a year behind where they should have gone in recent years.

 

2. Who will win the Rookie of the Year? Greg Oden if he stays healthy. Beasley if he can't.

 

3. Who will be the Coach of the Year? Mike D'Antonio. Seriously though I'm going with Phil Jackson since the Lakers should win the most games in the league.

 

4. Who will be named to the All-NBA First Team? Dwight Howard, Amare, LeBron, Kobe, CP3

 

5. Who will be the NBA's Most Improved Player? Vujacic? I can't really think of anyone.

 

6. What team had the best offseason? Miami. They picked up Beasley, kept Marion and Wade lost the weight he gained last year.

 

7. What team had the worst offseason? The Clippers or Warriors because of the shenanigans involving Brand and B. Diddy

 

8. Which team will be the most improved over last year? The Bobcats although Miami will have the best win differential after tanking last season.

 

9. Which team will be the biggest disappointment? The Spurs. Manu's hurt and I see them slipping to a lower half seed and losing early in the playoffs.

 

10. What was the best offseason move? Brand to the 76ers. It should give them a chance in the East.

 

11. What was the worst offseason move? The Clippers letting Brand hustle them.

 

12. Who will make the playoffs that didn't last year? Miami

 

13. Who will not make the playoffs that did last year? Denver

 

14. Who are the best five players in the league, position aside (weak-sauce question, I know)? Kobe, CP3, LeBron, the soon to be corpse of Tim Duncan and Deron Williams unless Wade is back to what he once was.

 

15. Who will be the division winners? In the East - Boston, Detroit & Miami. In the West - Lakers, New Orleans & Utah.

 

16. Eastern Conference Final: Boston def. Miami in 6

 

17. Western Conference Final: Lakers def. New Orleans in 7

 

18. Who will win the NBA Title, and who will they beat?: Kobe gets # 4 in 7 because LA gets homecourt.

 

19. Who will be the #1 pick in next year's draft? Ricky Rubio, PG from Spain if he decides to come over or Blake Griffin, PF from Oklahoma

 

20. Make one bold prediction. Kobe Bryant will win the trifecta of MVP awards (regular season, Finals and AS Game) It doesn't match my MVP pick since I think the voters have been wrong for the last 4 or 5 years.

[Guest Vitamin X]

17. Western Conference Final:

 

Lakers v. Blazers

 

Wow, that's a pretty bold prediction.

[JaMarcus Russell's #1 Caucasian Fan 0]

Yikes, I meant the Hornets, but I think the Blazers are going to be deadly this year, so I guess I'll stick with my mistake.

[Guest Vitamin X]

If Greg Oden can actually stay healthy, yeah. I'm looking forward to it.

[alfdogg 0]

1. Who will win the MVP? If the Cavs win the Central Division, it'll be LeBron James. Otherwise, Chris Paul.

 

2. Who will win the Rookie of the Year? I'll go with naiwf's answer of Oden if he's healthy, Beasley otherwise.

 

3. Who will be the Coach of the Year? Maurice Cheeks, Philadelphia

 

4. Who will be named to the All-NBA First Team? Kobe, Paul, Amare, Garnett, LeBron.

 

5. Who will be the NBA's Most Improved Player? Marcus Williams, Golden State. He's the only guy that really springs to mind at the moment.

 

6. What team had the best offseason? Philadelphia.

 

7. What team had the worst offseason? Golden State.

 

8. Which team will be the most improved over last year? Philadelphia. The acquisition of Brand, IMO, makes them a top 5 team in the East.

 

9. Which team will be the biggest disappointment? Houston. Every year we hear the "darkhorse to win it all" talk, and every year they fall in the first round, because McGrady is a loser. And I guess Miami, since everyone thinks they're going to be so great for some reason.

 

10. What was the best offseason move? I like the Hornets signing James Posey. One of the biggest criticisms of the Hornets was their lack of depth, and this is a solid answer.

 

11. What was the worst offseason move? James Dolan vetoing the release of Stephon Marbury. But that shouldn't shock anyone.

 

12. Who will make the playoffs that didn't last year? Portland, Indiana (yeah yeah, I know, homer.)

 

13. Who will not make the playoffs that did last year? Denver, Atlanta

 

14. Who are the best five players in the league, position aside (weak-sauce question, I know)? In no particular order: Kobe, Paul, James, Iverson, Garnett.

 

15. Who will be the division winners? Boston, Detroit, Orlando, Utah, New Orleans, LA Lakers

 

16. Eastern Conference Final: Boston over Detroit

 

17. Western Conference Final: New Orleans over LA Lakers

 

18. Who will win the NBA Title, and who will they beat?: Boston over New Orleans

 

19. Who will be the #1 pick in next year's draft? I don't know.

 

20. Make one bold prediction. I just made 19 of them!

[The Niggardly King 0]

1. Dwayne Wade or Chris Paul

 

2. Oden

 

3. Del Negro

 

4. Yao Ming C

Chris Bosh PF

LeBron James SF

Dwayne Wayde SG

Chris Paul PG

 

5. Mo Williams, Rajan Rondo, or Ronnie Brewer.

 

6. Philly

 

7. Golden State

 

8. Chicago

 

9. The Spurs... the gang is getting older and this year will begin their slip into mediocrity.

 

10. Davis to the Clip Show

 

11. Clip Show losing Elton Brand

 

12. Portland, Chicago

 

13. Denver, Atlanta

 

14. Bron, CP3, Kobe, Garnett, Josh Smith

 

15. Boston, Cleveland, Orlando, Portland, CLIPPERS, Houston

 

16. Cavs over Boston in 7

 

17. Clippers over Houston in 6

 

18. Clippers over Cavs in 7

 

19. I'll know in December

 

20. I already made 'em. Look at answers 15-18.

[CanadianChris 0]

That's funny, because I stole them from someone in a way-too-early NBA preseason thread a couple of years ago. People just kept asking me to bring them back every year.

 

1. Who will win the MVP?

 

Chris Paul, in a squeaker over Lebron and Kobe

 

2. Who will win the Rookie of the Year?

 

Derrick Rose - I don't think Oden will stay healthy all season. And see my answer to 20.

 

3. Who will be the Coach of the Year?

 

Jerry Sloan

 

4. Who will be named to the All-NBA First Team?

 

Kobe, Lebron, CP3, KG, Yao

 

5. Who will be the NBA's Most Improved Player?

 

Not a clue, so I'll just say Rip Hamilton.

 

6. What team had the best offseason?

 

Obviously Philadelphia.

 

7. What team had the worst offseason?

 

Toss up between the Clippers and Golden State. Probably the Warriors, since they had further to fall. The Nets were also notably bad.

 

8. Which team will be the most improved over last year?

 

Philadelphia

 

9. Which team will be the biggest disappointment?

 

Miami

 

10. What was the best offseason move?

 

76ers landing Elton Brand.

 

11. What was the worst offseason move?

 

Knicks keeping Starbury.

 

12. Who will make the playoffs that didn't last year?

 

Portland, Chicago

 

13. Who will not make the playoffs that did last year?

 

Denver, Atlanta

 

14. Who are the best five players in the league, position aside (weak-sauce question, I know)?

Kobe, Lebron, CP3, KG, Wade

 

15. Who will be the division winners?

 

Celtics, Pistons, Magic, Hornets, Jazz, Lakers

 

16. Eastern Conference Final:

 

Celtics over Cavaliers

 

17. Western Conference Final:

 

Lakers over Hornets

 

18. Who will win the NBA Title, and who will they beat?:

 

Lakers over Celtics

 

19. Who will be the #1 pick in next year's draft?

 

Ask me in 6 months.

 

20. Make one bold prediction.

 

Michael Beasley will be a flat-out bust.

[Adam 0]

1. Who will win the MVP?

I don't think there's any doubting here. LeBron James will finally (I say finally like he's been chasing it ten years) be voted MVP.

 

2. Who will win the Rookie of the Year?

OJ Mayo. You may laugh, but hey, now's the time for outlandish.

 

3. Who will be the Coach of the Year?

Phil Jackson

 

4. Who will be named to the All-NBA First Team?

Dwight Howard, Amare Stoudemire, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul

 

5. Who will be the NBA's Most Improved Player?

Mickael Pietrus

 

6. What team had the best offseason?

Portland

 

7. What team had the worst offseason?

Golden State

 

8. Which team will be the most improved over last year?

Portland

 

9. Which team will be the biggest disappointment?

Phoenix

 

10. What was the best offseason move?

TIE: Elton Brand's signing to the 76ers/Mo Williams trade to Cleveland

 

11. What was the worst offseason move?

Nuggets trading Camby for nothing

 

12. Who will make the playoffs that didn't last year?

Portland

 

13. Who will not make the playoffs that did last year?

Atlanta

 

14. Who are the best five players in the league, position aside (weak-sauce question, I know)?

Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul and Amare Stoudemire

 

15. Who will be the division winners?

Celtics, Cavaliers, Magic, Lakers, Rockets, and Jazz

 

16. Eastern Conference Final:

Cavaliers over Celtics

 

17. Western Conference Final:

Lakers over Rockets

 

18. Who will win the NBA Title, and who will they beat?:

Lakers over Cavaliers

 

19. Who will be the #1 pick in next year's draft?

Blake Griffin, apparently...

 

20. Make one bold prediction.

Yao and T-Mac will only miss a combined 15 games this year, and the Rockets will win a playoff series.

[Steviekick 0]

1. Who will win the MVP?

Chris Paul

 

2. Who will win the Rookie of the Year?

Beasley

 

3. Who will be the Coach of the Year?

One of the following: Mo Cheeks, is Philly has an impressive year. Jerry Sloan, in a lifetime achievement kind of way. Scott Skiles, if the Bucks make the playoffs.

 

4. Who will be named to the All-NBA First Team?

PG: Chris Paul

SG: Kobe

SF: Lebron

PF: Tim Duncan

C: Dwight Howard

 

5. Who will be the NBA's Most Improved Player?

Not sure. Probably someone playing for a new contract.

 

6. What team had the best offseason?

Sixers

 

7. What team had the worst offseason?

The Warriors. At first, I assumed the Nets, but that was much more of an intentional dismantling of a team. The Warriors flat messed up.

 

8. Which team will be the most improved over last year?

Sixers

 

9. Which team will be the biggest disappointment?

Either the Mavericks or Spurs. Expectations are low in the East, but those two teams aren't getting any younger.

 

10. What was the best offseason move?

Philly getting Brand

 

11. What was the worst offseason move?

ATL losing Childress. Yeah, I know he's a key reserve/sixth man, but they are a young team and I don't see them making a return to the playoffs this year.

 

12. Who will make the playoffs that didn't last year?

Portland

 

13. Who will not make the playoffs that did last year?

Denver

 

14. Who are the best five players in the league, position aside (weak-sauce question, I know)?

To me, Lebron, Deron Williams, Dwight Howard, Kevin Garnett, Kobe

 

15. Who will be the division winners?

Boston (just eeking out Philly), Washington, Cleveland, Utah, Lakers, Hornets

 

16. Eastern Conference Final:

Celtics over Sixers in 6, with the Celtics veteran's prevailing

 

17. Western Conference Final:

Lakers over Jazz in 7, with the Jazz's over physical, foul prone style of play coming to haunt them.

 

18. Who will win the NBA Title, and who will they beat?:

Given the previous predictions, it'll be Lakers

 

19. Who will be the #1 pick in next year's draft?

Not sure. I'm not up on college players.

 

20. Make one bold prediction.

By season's end, Detroit will begin a reconstruction project.

 

[Guest]

1. Who will win the MVP? LeBron

 

2. Who will win the Rookie of the Year? OJ Mayo. May not have been great in college, but his game translates to this level very well.

 

3. Who will be the Coach of the Year? Phil Jackson

 

4. Who will be named to the All-NBA First Team? Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Tim Duncan, and Dwight Howard

 

5. Who will be the NBA's Most Improved Player? Marcus Williams. A few come to mind, but he'll win the award.

 

6. What team had the best offseason? Houston. Trading for Artest will give them good cover when one of T-Mac or Yao hits the deck.

 

7. What team had the worst offseason? Golden State are horrible.

 

8. Which team will be the most improved over last year? Milwaukee. Richard Jefferson is a really big addition to a 26 win team. Good fit. Their record should jump at least 15 games.

 

9. Which team will be the biggest disappointment? Miami. Too young.

 

10. What was the best offseason move? Brand to the Sixers.

 

11. What was the worst offseason move? Sonics to Oklahoma.

 

12. Who will make the playoffs that didn't last year? Portland, Milwaukee

 

13. Who will not make the playoffs that did last year? Denver, Washington

 

14. Who are the best five players in the league, position aside (weak-sauce question, I know)? Kobe, Wade, LeBron, Chris Paul, and Tim Duncan

 

15. Who will be the division winners? Los Angeles, Houston, Utah, Boston, Detroit, Orlando

 

16. Eastern Conference Final: Detroit over Boston

 

17. Western Conference Final: Los Angeles over San Antonio

 

18. Who will win the NBA Title, and who will they beat?: Lakers will beat Detroit in 6.

 

19. Who will be the #1 pick in next year's draft? Ricky Rubio

 

20. Make one bold prediction. Memphis have a brush with that last playoff spot in the West, but Phoenix steals it on the last day.

 

I want to add a 21st question...who is the worst team in the league? I'd say Minnesota.

[Steviekick 0]

To me, OKC will be the worst team this season.

[USC Wuz Robbed! 0]

1. Who will win the MVP? Kobe Bryant

 

2. Who will win the Rookie of the Year? OJ Mayo

 

3. Who will be the Coach of the Year? Maurice Cheeks

 

4. Who will be named to the All-NBA First Team? G Chris Paul, G Kobe Bryant, F Lebron James, F Tim Duncan, C Dwight Howard

 

5. Who will be the NBA's Most Improved Player? Kirk Hinrich

 

6. What team had the best offseason? Philadelphia or Portland

 

7. What team had the worst offseason? Golden State or Oklahoma City

 

8. Which team will be the most improved over last year? Chicago

 

9. Which team will be the biggest disappointment? Miami, considering many expect improvement

 

10. What was the best offseason move? Brand to Philadelphia

 

11. What was the worst offseason move? The whole OKC thing

 

12. Who will make the playoffs that didn't last year? Chicago

 

13. Who will not make the playoffs that did last year? Phoenix

 

14. Who are the best five players in the league, position aside (weak-sauce question, I know)? Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki and Steve Nash

 

15. Who will be the division winners? Boston, Chicago, Orlando, Los Angeles Lakers, New Orleans, Portland

 

16. Eastern Conference Final: Philadelphia over Boston

 

17. Western Conference Final: Los Angeles Lakers over San Antonio

 

18. Who will win the NBA Title, and who will they beat?: Lakers over Sixers

 

19. Who will be the #1 pick in next year's draft? Ricky Rubio

 

20. Make one bold prediction.- Dallas and Phoenix will not be playoff teams

[Guest Vitamin X]

1. Who will win the MVP? It really depends on who has the best record in the league, as that always seems to go to the best player on that team. Of course, I would love it if Brandon Roy has his big breakout year this year, but I think it'll probably go to Chris Paul for the same reason naiwf had. (Although I did think Kobe deserved it last year)

 

2. Who will win the Rookie of the Year? Jerryd Bayless. Beasley will be in the running for this too, but I think Mayo and Love are both going to bust, the latter especially hard.

 

3. Who will be the Coach of the Year? It should've gone to him already, maybe even last year for that winning streak, but I think it'll be Rick Adelman or hell even Nate McMillan if Portland comes out REALLY big by the All-star break.

 

4. Who will be named to the All-NBA First Team? The usuals. Kobe, Chris Paul, KG, Lebron, and Howard.

 

5. Who will be the NBA's Most Improved Player? Marcus Williams, since I think he'll be the reason Golden State won't suck as hard as people think.

6. What team had the best offseason? Portland, obviously, like we do every year. Landing Bayless and Rudy Fernandez is making this team even deeper than it already was.

 

7. What team had the worst offseason? Seattle/OKC. And not just because of the move, either. Atlanta and Golden State did pretty bad.

8. Which team will be the most improved over last year? Philly. They made a hell of a run towards the end of the season, so I think they'll have a better record next year. The rest of the division didn't seem to get much better, either. Plus, they have Elton Brand now.

9. Which team will be the biggest disappointment? Phoenix.

 

10. What was the best offseason move? As I already mentioned, Elton Brand to the Sixers will make an improved team that much better.

11. What was the worst offseason move? Seattle to OKC. Also, Baron Davis signing with the Clippers.

12. Who will make the playoffs that didn't last year? Portland, Sacramento, New York, Chicago, Indiana (I'm thinking this will be a changing of the guard year), Miami

13. Who will not make the playoffs that did last year? Phoenix, Denver, Toronto, Atlanta, Detroit, Washington

 

14. Who are the best five players in the league, position aside (weak-sauce question, I know)? Weak-sauce question, weak-sauce answer.

 

15. Who will be the division winners? Boston, Cleveland, Orlando, Lakers, Houston, and (bold prediction and homerism warning) Portland!

 

16. Eastern Conference Final: Sixers-Cavs

 

17. Western Conference Final: Lakers-Rockets. I almost want to say Portland in here, but I don't want to be too optimistic yet.

18. Who will win the NBA Title, and who will they beat?: West over East. So, let's go with Lakers over Cavs, something boring and unsatisfying like that.

 

19. Who will be the #1 pick in next year's draft? Ricky Rubio, unless he dies or gets his leg amputated or something.

 

20. Make one bold prediction. A lot of the teams we've seen successful in recent years- Detroit, Phoenix, maybe even San Antonio- will start rebuilding at the end of the year.

[jwpeer 0]

1. Who will win the MVP?

Chris Paul

 

2. Who will win the Rookie of the Year?

Jerryd Bayless

 

3. Who will be the Coach of the Year?

Popovich

 

4. Who will be named to the All-NBA First Team?

C. Paul, Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Chris Bosh, Tim Duncan

 

5. Who will be the NBA's Most Improved Player?

Linas Kleiza (And I predict a contender will steal him away and instantly become a huge favorite)

 

6. What team had the best offseason?

Portland: So many talented players they're adding.

 

7. What team had the worst offseason?

Spurs: Ginobili's ankle being f'ed is not good news.

 

8. Which team will be the most improved over last year?

Portland

 

9. Which team will be the biggest disappointment?

Philadelphia

 

10. What was the best offseason move?

Artest to Houston...now they just have to get out to a quick lead in the standings so they can rest TMac's back/Yao's feet for the playoffs.

 

11. What was the worst offseason move?

Chicago not getting D'Antoni.

 

12. Who will make the playoffs that didn't last year?

Portland

 

13. Who will not make the playoffs that did last year?

Denver

 

14. Who are the best five players in the league, position aside (weak-sauce question, I know)?

Duncan, Lebron, Kobe, Paul, D.Williams

 

15. Who will be the division winners?

Utah, Houston, Lakers / Toronto, Cleveland, Orlando

 

16. Eastern Conference Final:

Toronto v. Cleveland

 

17. Western Conference Final:

Utah v. Houston

 

18. Who will win the NBA Title, and who will they beat?:

Cavaliers beat the Rockets. Lebron steps up in the finals.

 

19. Who will be the #1 pick in next year's draft?

Rubio. He looked way too good out there competing agains the best in the world not to be taken first.

 

20. Make one bold prediction.

A lot of my predictions are fairly bold, but...Hornets will be knocked out in the first round

 

 

 

EDIT: Vitamin X stole my Bayless prediction by 1 minute. That's BS...I call tie?? ;P

[naiwf 0]

2. Who will win the Rookie of the Year? I'll go with VX's answer of Oden if he's healthy, Beasley otherwise.

 

You steal my answer and then give another guy credit? A pox on your Pacers in '08-'09!

[Guest Vitamin X]

I didn't realize Oden would still be eligible to win ROTY. In that case, yeah him if not, then it'll be Bayless or Beasley.

[Cuban Linx 0]

1. Who will win the MVP?

Chris Paul

 

2. Who will win the Rookie of the Year?

Greg Oden

 

3. Who will be the Coach of the Year?

Phil Jackson

 

4. Who will be named to the All-NBA First Team?

Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dirk Nowitzki, Dwight Howard

 

5. Who will be the NBA's Most Improved Player?

Rodney Stuckey

 

6. What team had the best offseason?

Philly or Portland

 

7. What team had the worst offseason?

Golden State

 

8. Which team will be the most improved over last year?

Philadelphia

 

9. Which team will be the biggest disappointment?

Houston, improved but yet again won't get out of the first round. And Miami will still suck.

 

10. What was the best offseason move?

Baron Davis to the Clippers

 

11. What was the worst offseason move?

The Clippers losing Elton Brand. Also the OKC Thunder mess and everything Golden State did.

 

12. Who will make the playoffs that didn't last year?

Indiana, Chicago, Portland

 

13. Who will not make the playoffs that did last year?

Washington, Atlanta, Denver

 

14. Who are the best five players in the league, position aside (weak-sauce question, I know)?

Same as my NBA First team pick, with maybe Deron or Wade in place of Howard

 

15. Who will be the division winners?

Boston, Cleveland, Orlando, New Orleans, Utah, LA Lakers

 

16. Eastern Conference Final:

Philadelphia over Orlando

 

17. Western Conference Final:

Lakers over New Orleans

 

18. Who will win the NBA Title, and who will they beat?:

Lakers over Philadelphia

 

19. Who will be the #1 pick in next year's draft?

Rubio i guess

[alfdogg 0]

2. Who will win the Rookie of the Year? I'll go with VX's answer of Oden if he's healthy, Beasley otherwise.

 

You steal my answer and then give another guy credit? A pox on your Pacers in '08-'09!

I have no idea what you're talking about, sir.

[Damaramu 0]

Sure are a lot of people high on the Lakers.....it makes me sick but I guess it's understandable. I still think they lose to Boston again though. IF they make it that far.

[Guest]

Speaking of how high people are on the Lakers, John Hollinger gave some retarded explanation on how the Jazz are a better team and will do better this season. Basically it is, if everything goes bad for the Lakers and everything goes right for the Jazz, the Jazz will do better than the Lakers. NO SHIT. I expect that journalism from someone like Skip Bayless.

 

Outlook

The Lakers have the highest ceiling of any team in basketball. If Bynum comes back healthy and plays like he did last season, if the frontcourt meshes and stays out of each other's way, and if Bryant can put together another MVP-caliber season, the sky is the limit. In that sense, the Lakers have to be considered the favorite to win the West -- if everything goes right, there's no way anyone will beat them.

So you might be surprised to learn I'm not picking them to win. When I projected this team statistically, enough minor concerns came up that it added up to a one-game advantage for the Jazz. I realize this seems a bit odd since L.A. beat Utah fairly convincingly in the playoffs last year, and did it without Bynum, so let's try to walk through it:

 

(1) Bynum's health and production are not guaranteed. I project him playing 30 minutes a game, even with time out for injuries, and that still might have been rosy on my part.

 

(2) The frontcourt players are likely to negatively impact each other. Not hugely -- not as badly as Zach Randolph and Eddy Curry last season, for instance -- but enough that in the absence of other effects it would be a noticeable. I project both Gasol and Odom losing 1.5 points of PER to this.

 

(3) Kobe. It's become passe to say he's the best player in the league; certainly he's been on the short list for the past half-decade. He's also 30 and has more mileage on his legs than any other 30-year-old in history, which might not be a concern except that his numbers have dropped fairly sharply each of the past two seasons. The fact that he's trying to play out the entire season with a wounded finger makes me think this isn't the year he breaks the streak. My projection system has his PER at 23.83 -- that's without putting my thumb on the scale for the factors mentioned above -- and while that's still awesome, it also would continue the downward trend (28.11, 26.13, 24.31) since age 27.

 

(4) The guards. Vujacic, Fisher and Farmar all played far better than their established norms last season. While this seems believable enough in Farmar's case, the other two had several years of data indicating they weren't as good as they showed last season. It's possible they've bucked the trend; it's also not the way to bet. Chances are at least two of the three will play worse this year.

 

If the points above sounded too pessimistic, let me bring up four optimistic indicators, too: The Lakers have Gasol and Bynum for a full season instead of half, Farmar could excel and take over at the point, Bynum could be unbelievably good, and Ariza is potentially a major upgrade on Radmanovic and Walton.

 

All that gives the Lakers a better best-case scenario than anyone in the league. But they have to answer a lot of question marks in order to pull that off. And when I look at what's probable, rather than merely what's possible, L.A. comes out second in an airtight three-way race for the West's top record.

 

Prediction: 57-25, 1st in Pacific Division, 2nd in Western Conference

 

Douche. The Lakers shoveled shit in Utah's face last postseason. He could have said New Orleans, and you know what, I wouldn't have argued. That's a team which can give us problems. Same for Houston when healthy.

 

I think Boston won't make it that far because they lost James Posey. But if they had kept him, I'd be worried about them. Too big a hole, and they did not plug it.

[JaMarcus Russell's #1 Caucasian Fan 0]

Why wouldn't people be high on the Lakers? The Lakers returned pretty much all the key components of their Finals run plus a healthy Andrew Bynum, who didn't play in Finals (I think the result may have been a little different if he played). I mean, barring injury (and I hope the injury bug doesn't bite us real hard this year), the Lakers are pretty deep and verastile at every position I look at the West and honestly the only team that scares me is New Orleans. San Antonio, Dallas and Phoenix look to be on the downside of their runs, Houston, in my mind, will always be overrated by everyone, Portland is a little too wet under the ears right now, and Utah will be good, but won't have the size and speed to beat the Lakers in a 7 game series.

 

I look at the East, and I see the Cavs, Philly, Miami and Detriot as threats to the Celtics. Plus I think Boston is going to miss James Posey big time in the playoffs.

[Guest Vitamin X]

Portland is a little too wet

 

Hohoho a Portland rain joke in disguise!

[Damaramu 0]

After reading 909's comments in the baseball thread it appears the Lakers should've been the NBA champs last season too. Damn those sneaky Celtics.

[alfdogg 0]

There's a rumor floating around of Jammal Tinsley to Denver for Chucky Atkins and Steven Hunter. I suppose if having to support Chucky Atkins means ridding us of Tinsley, I can accept that. But holy shit, we're not going to be short on centers this season...Murphy, Foster, Rasho, Hibbert, and now possibly Steven Hunter?

 

Also, Austin Croshere is back on a non-guaranteed contract, and I'd like to see him make it back onto the team. But this trade would likely decrease those chances.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

1. Who will win the MVP? It's really hard to predict the MVP, as it rarely goes to the best player. Writers just latch on to the hottest player or the biggest name on the best team. I'll say Lebron, just for the fact that he has to win one eventually.

 

2. Who will win the Rookie of the Year? Greg Oden will have the spotlight and the opportunity to look like a star. I could see one of the guys who'll be asked to do a lot (Beasley, Mayo) having an outside chance as well.

 

3. Who will be the Coach of the Year? If the Rockets are able to incorporate Artest and become title contenders, it'll go to Rick Adelman.

 

4. Who will be named to the All-NBA First Team? Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Amare Stoudemire, Dwight Howard

 

5. Who will be the NBA's Most Improved Player? Hmmm... Marcus Williams

 

6. What team had the best offseason? I could go the easy route and say Philly, but I'll go off the board and say Toronto. They solved their point guard problem by shipping Ford out and picked up an All-Star big man in the process. Not really confident that O'Neal can stay healthy, but any sort of contribution would make this team better.

 

7. What team had the worst offseason? Golden State. They lost their point guard and then threw a bunch of good money after bad players (Maggette, Turiaf, etc.). Then their only hope for a decent season (Ellis) goes down in a moped crash.

 

8. Which team will be the most improved over last year? Probably Miami, just for the simple fact they were putrid last year and they should at least be in the playoff mix this season.

 

9. Which team will be the biggest disappointment? As much as I love the team and organization, I'm going Portland. The expectations are just too high. They overperformed a bit last year and are now going to try to work three rookies into the rotation. It's going to be a growth year but they might still sneek into the playoffs.

 

10. What was the best offseason move? Philly signing Elton Brand

 

11. What was the worst offseason move? OKC Thunder

 

12. Who will make the playoffs that didn't last year? Portland, Miami

 

13. Who will not make the playoffs that did last year? Denver, Atlanta

 

14. Who are the best five players in the league, position aside (weak-sauce question, I know)? Kobe, Paul, Williams, Lebron, Howard

 

15. Who will be the division winners? LA Lakers, Houston, Utah, Orlando, Cleveland, Boston

 

16. Eastern Conference Final: Boston over Cleveland

 

17. Western Conference Final: LA Lakers over Houston

 

18. Who will win the NBA Title, and who will they beat?: Lakers defeating Boston

 

19. Who will be the #1 pick in next year's draft? I have no clue.

 

20. Make one bold prediction. Phoenix will see major declines from Nash, Hill and Shaq. The team is forced to rebuild at the end of the season.

 

Also, one year after having nine teams flirt with 50 wins, the Western Conference will only have six teams that finish more than a game above .500 (LA, Utah, Houston, NO, Dallas, San Antonio)

[Guest Vitamin X]

9. Which team will be the biggest disappointment? As much as I love the team and organization, I'm going Portland. The expectations are just too high. They overperformed a bit last year and are now going to try to work three rookies into the rotation. It's going to be a growth year but they might still sneek into the playoffs.

 

Well, they've pretty much retained all of their players from last year and they've certainly only gotten better, not worse with the rookie talent they got, and dumping Jarrett Jack as well, especially for Ike Diogu. Fernandez is barely a real rookie, considering how well and for how long he's played internationally against pros from around the world, and Bayless will probably get worked into the rotation in a similar fashion to how, say, Vujacic or Farmar were in L.A. That is, minimal exposure at first, then stepping it up if Blake underperforms or if he can handle it. I'm expecting Bayless to be kind of like Lou Williams was for the Sixers last year.

 

Then again, it is the West so it's going to be hard to get in regardless. They just are going to have a hell of a time with their division, seeing as how Portland is at least 765 miles and a time zone away from the closest team in their division (Utah), and it's especially tough because the teams they'll most likely have to beat out to make it are there as well.

[Matt Young 0]

I know the preseason schedule started off on Sunday, but it kicks off here with Jazz "at" Lakers in Anaheim. More importantly, the Bulls play Dallas on Thursday, but even if there was any chance we'd be getting that game (there wasn't), the Lakers and Clippers play each other that night. Oh, and the Oklahoma City THUNDER~! make their debut tomorrow night.

 

We also have some games scheduled internationally, as well as local games against international teams. They are listed as follows (all times Eastern):

 

Thursday, Oct. 9

New Jersey vs. Miami at Paris, 2 p.m.

 

Friday, Oct. 10

CSKA Moscow at Orlando, 7 p.m.

 

Sunday, Oct. 12

Miami vs. New Jersey at London, 2 p.m.

 

Tuesday, Oct. 14

Washington vs. New Orleans at Berlin, 2 p.m.

CSKA Moscow at Toronto, 7 p.m.

 

Wednesday, Oct. 15

Golden State vs. Milwaukee at Guangzhou, China, 8 a.m.

 

Friday, Oct. 17

New Orleans vs. Washington at Barcelona, Spain, 3:30 p.m.

Milwaukee vs. Golden State at Beijing, 11:30 p.m.

 

Saturday, Oct. 18

FC Barcelona at L.A. Lakers, 10:30 p.m.

 

Sunday, Oct. 19

Toronto or L.A. Clippers vs. FC Barcelona at Los Angeles, 7:30 p.m.

 

Tuesday, Oct. 21

Lietuvos Rytas at Golden State, 10:30 p.m.

 

Now for the 20 questions:

 

1. Who will win the MVP?

Chris Paul. As much as I love Kobe, Paul should have won it last year.

 

2. Who will win the Rookie of the Year?

I may be biased, but I say Derrick Rose. He's already playing for what should be a 50 win team (barring a disaster like last season) and he has the tools around him to work with.

 

3. Who will be the Coach of the Year?

Maurice Cheeks, Philadelphia

 

4. Who will be named to the All-NBA First Team?

PG: Chris Paul

SG: Kobe Bryant

C: Dwight Howard

SF: Lebron James

PF: Kevin Garnett

 

5. Who will be the NBA's Most Improved Player?

Kirk Hinrich

 

6. What team had the best offseason?

76ers

 

7. What team had the worst offseason?

Warriors

 

8. Which team will be the most improved over last year?

Miami. Philly will better their record, Chicago even more so. But Miami was so far down that they will improve most.

 

9. Which team will be the biggest disappointment?

Spurs. They looked like they were slipping last year, and I think they'll fall to a lower seed this year. The Suns should drop off as well.

 

10. What was the best offseason move?

Philly signing Elton Brand.

 

11. What was the worst offseason move?

The Clippers losing Brand.

 

12. Who will make the playoffs that didn't last year?

Chicago, Portland, Miami

 

13. Who will not make the playoffs that did last year?

Atlanta, Denver, Washington

 

14. Who are the best five players in the league, position aside (weak-sauce question, I know)?

Kobe, Lebron, Chris Paul, Garnett, Tim Duncan

 

15. Who will be the division winners?

Boston, Chicago, Orlando, Utah, Lakers, New Orleans

 

16. Eastern Conference Final:

Boston vs. Detroit. The Pistons always seem to find their way in, and I think Philly and my Bulls are a year away from the conference finals.

 

17. Western Conference Final:

Lakers vs. Jazz. The Rockets are a tempting choice, but recent history suggests they won't make it this far.

 

18. Who will win the NBA Title, and who will they beat?:

I hope this isn't just wishful thinking, but Lakers over Boston in a rematch from last year.

 

19. Who will be the #1 pick in next year's draft?

I have no idea, since I don't follow college basketball much outside of Illinois and the occasional UCLA game.

 

20. Make one bold prediction:

The Spurs will be eliminated in the first round.

[Cheech Tremendous 0]

Can't believe that no one mentioned that Elgin Baylor is out as VP of Basketball Operations for the Los Angeles Clippers. Isiah Thomas, Matt Millen, Elgin Baylor... not a good time to be a bad GM.

 

Check out these team stats racked up over 22 seasons under Baylor's watch:

 

- Two seasons with a record over .500

- Twelve seasons with less than 30 wins

- Eleven seasons finishing in last place

- Five seasons with 17 wins or less (That means once every 4 years or so during Baylor’s march to glory, the Clippers got crazy and won at the very most, 17 games.)