2014-15 NBA Season

[junodog4]

It starts tonight... I know basketball trails behind baseball, football (soccer) and maybe even hockey on BEA, but I also know there's a few NBA fans here (not counting Romanelli, who's a closeted NBA fan. He especially loves the tattooed thug era of 1995-2005).

So... I thought I'd lob out my predictions for the season and see if I get a hit.

East:

1. Cleveland - Even better than the Heat were.
2. Chicago - Gasol was a great pickup. If Rose stays healthy, they're a title threat.
3. Toronto - That's right, Toronto. A very balanced and deep team.
4. Washington - Have built a really exciting team.
5. Atlanta - Quietly have retooled very well.
6. Miami - No James, but still have quality.
7. NYK - Team dysfunction will squeak in. A testimony to the weakness of the East.
8. Charlotte - Jefferson + a decent defensive team.

9. Brooklyn - Too old.
10. Detroit - All their quality is in the post.
11. Indiana - No George = huge problem.
12. Milwaukee - I don't get this team's direction.
13. Orlando - Rebuilding. Could be good next year.
14. Boston - Rebuilding. Could be good next year.
15. Philly - Tankadelphia. COuld be really good in a couple of years.

West:

1. San Antonio - Ugh. So sick of these guys and their perfect team basketball success.
2. LA Clippers - May knock off team boring.
3. Dallas - Another team that has retooled well.
4. Portland - Will win NW with OKC hurting.
5. Golden State - So entertaining to watch, but Lee is a liability on D.
6. OKC - Still loads of quality without Durant for half a season.
7. Houston - No depth, but great starting 5.
8. Phoenix - My favourite team to watch in the West.

9. Memphis - Randolph is overrated.
10. Minnesota - So much youth, will surprise.
11. New Orleans - Davis is close to being MVP caliber.
12. Sacramento - These guys might make the playoffs in the East.
13. Denver - No thugs or tattoos here. No real stars either.
14. Utah - Too young, without the sheer talent of Minnesota.
15. LA Lakers - This season is going to be a hard one for Kobe.

Playoffs (Massively early, but who cares):

East:
Cleveland over Charlotte
Chicago over NYK
Toronto over Miami
Washington over Atlanta

Cleveland over Washington
Toronto over Chicago

Cleveland over Chicago

West:
SA over Phoenix (barely)
LAC over Houston
OKC over Dallas
Portland over GS

OKC over SA
Portland over LAC

OKC over Portland

Final:

Cleveland over OKC
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Finnegan was super bad-ass.

[Romanelli]

[RockyRaccoon]

WASHINGTON WIZARDS BELIEVE THE HYPE

BEST BACKCOURT IN THE NBA Y'ALL.

Provided everyone can stay healthy.

Even if we don't win this year (which I doubt we will), I hope we have a great year so we can start up the #comehomeKD campaign with a level of seriousness
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2023 Chart

Early Psychedelic Rock

Electronic Chart

[Silver]

Be back with more thoughts after game.

Goooooo Mavs!

Edit: Agggggghhhhhhhhhhhhh. Well, it was a fun game regardless, and can't be too upset losing by one to the Spurs at home. Besides, I got Warriors tomorrow and that's the most important thing to me.

Anyways, here are some predictions

West:
1. San Antonio - Is any explanation really needed? They're the Spurs.
2. LA Clippers - I hate them but they're talented as hell. There's no denying that CP3 and Blake are top ten players in the league, they've got tons of depth, and one of the best coaches in the league. I can't help but feeling they won't make it to the WCF, but the team itself is fantastic.
3. Golden State - They're going to possibly be a top five offensive and defensive team this year, that smells like title contention to me. As for Lee being a liability on D, that's true, but I don't see how you can put Dallas or Portland above GS in that case, who both have much bigger sieves on their team without the rest of the team compensating. I have high hopes for Golden State
4. Dallas - As previously stated, they've got their problems defensively and will for the rest of the season, although it's definitely better than last year's. With all the new offensive toys and Carlisle's genius basketball brain they're gonna be playing with fire every night.
5. Oklahoma - I have faith in the rest of the team to at least do this well before Durant gets back. Westbrook is going to be looking amazing the first half of the season. Of course, there are bench concerns and all, but they're gonna be dangerous come playoff time.
6. Memphis - With a fully healthy team, more depth, and a bit more firepower, they're gonna come back full force. Don't doubt Gasol.
7. Portland - Like Dallas but with no bench. The second half of the season last year exposed them as not quite the team we thought they were, but they're still a playoff bunch for sure.
8. Phoenix - There are certainly problems with this team, and it may be a bit hasty to put them above Houston, but they're going to be going berserk on people every night. They don't have the defense to make them anything more than a fun first round hopeful, but they're gonna be good this year.

9. Houston - Again, maybe it's just my latent dislike for them that makes me put them in this spot, but I honestly don't see much going for this team. They've got Harden and Howard, sure, and Ariza will be good (but not as good as analysts are giving him credit for), but they've got no depth, a bad coach, and two arrogant, self-important leaders. I just don't see them building the consistency or continuity to get them back to the playoffs
10. New Orleans - They've got a strong if slightly incongruent starting line-up, and Anthony Davis is amazing, but their depth is minimal and I still think they need more time to grow.
11. Denver - Lots of talent on this team but none truly transcendent, plus not much in the way of defensive. They'll get their fair share but never going to be a serious playoff threat.
12. Sacramento - This team is an absolute mess, but Cousins is all-star level and they've got a good deal of talent, it just will never come together like they want it to.
13. Minnesota - Loads of young talent but still far too raw all around to be anything really more than fun to watch. To put things in perspective: Rubio is their best player.
14. Utah - Will be good in 2 or 3 years, not now.
15. LA Lakers - hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

East:
1. Chicago - Amazingly talented and deep, with great new additions and the continuity, experience, and coach to make them truly dangerous. Still skeptical on Rose, but this team is going to be great.
2. Cleveland - As talented as they are, I just can't see a team that spent the last few years toiling in the east's cellar being a #1 seed. They're a lock, obviously, any team with Lebron is, but most of the roster is still woefully inexperienced, there's no continuity, and to be honest I wasn't a fan of most of their non-superstar offseason acquisitions (let's be honest, Jones and Miller are just there to appease Lebron, and as a Mavs fan Marion is hardly dangerous any more).
3. Washington - They just have more talent than Atlanta, Toronto, or Charlotte. Wall and Beal are going to kill, their other young players are all looking like they're developing well, and Pierce is going to bring a veteran presence and leadership that'll really steer this team that looked so lost in the postseason last year. May even sneak into the ECF.
4. Toronto - Toronto are a sneaky good team, they really do everything pretty well. Even though they don't have a truly transcendent talent, they've got the all around balance that makes them a threat (unlike Denver for example), plus it helps being in the East.
5. Charlotte - They've quietly developed into one of the most well-rounded teams in the league. Stephenson and Jefferson are both going to have near all-star years, and Kemba and MKG (who's going to break out this year) won't be too far behind. I'm tempted to put them above Toronto, but I'm not sure how much faith I have in their coaching staff or bench.
6. Atlanta - Horford is great, Teague is great, Millsap is great, and provided they stay healthy they'll be a strong team this year. They've got a sneaky amount of depth and Budenholzer does a convincing Popovich-lite.
7. Miami - AND SO THE GREAT EASTERN CRAPSHOOT BEGINS! But yeah, at this point the East becomes really unpredictable because no one else is really that good. Miami gets the pass for retooling semi-well in the wake of Lebron (although that Bosh contract screams desperation) and having good coaching, but really they're going to flounder a lot with decrepit Wade and lead man Bosh.
8. Detroit - See Sacremento, replace Cousins with Drummond, add in one of the best five coaches in the league, and put them in the East. Viola, you're in the playoffs!

9. New York - I mean, they got worse really. Fisher is going to struggle with the transition to coach, their defense is non-existent, and this is just going to be another year of Melo doing everything. Calderon is talented, but ineptitude on defense will negate his offense. And it's important to remember, Jackson isn't coaching, and his presence alone won't turn them into a playoff team.
10. Brooklyn - Lopez being back will help, but Johnson and Williams really don't have much left in the tank, and this team really doesn't have much talent at all. They may sneak in if things turn out well, but I have intense doubts.
11. Indiana - May be lower depending on if they trade West or Hibbert. They should just pull a mid 90s Spurs and try and pick up their own Tim Duncan (or at least someone half as good).
12. Orlando - Lots of young talent and some bizarre offseason acquisitions for a rebuilding team (why Frye?) will make them entertaining, but we're still a couple years away.
13. Milwaukee - They've got their key to the future in Giannis and Parker, and they've got some other solid assets, but they need a couple more years.
14. Boston - They have no real direction, Rondo doesn't want to be there, and there just isn't much good to say about this team. They've got a handful of good players and a good coach, so they might pull something out, but they really should just give this year up and try again later.
15. Philadelphia - It's Philadelphia.

Not gonna bother with anything other than hypothetical seeds because it really is too early in the season for it to have any point. Thoughts? Do I just have bias against Houston? Will Eastern conference basketball not be quite as vomit inducing this year? Only time will tell.

[sp4cetiger]

Holy fucking Anthony Davis...

[Silver]

[meccalecca]

[RockyRaccoon]

I would actually like to see the Washington/Cleveland rivalry reignited in the playoffs. Seeing them go at would bring back memories of Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison going up against young Lebron.
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2023 Chart

Early Psychedelic Rock

Electronic Chart

[meccalecca]

[RockyRaccoon]