AFC East:
Patriots -- 12-4
Jets -- 11-5*
Bills -- 7-9
Dolphins -- 6-10
AFC North:
Ravens -- 12-4
Steelers -- 10-6
Browns -- 9-7
Bengals -- 4-12
AFC South:
Titans -- 9-7
Jaguars -- 9-7
Texans -- 8-8
Colts -- 5-11
AFC West:
Broncos -- 10-6
Chargers -- 10-6*
Chiefs -- 7-9
Raiders -- 3-13
Jets over Titans / Chargers over Broncos
Ravens over Jets / Patriots over Chargers
Patriots over Ravens
NFC East:
Eagles -- 10-6
Giants -- 9-7*
Cowboys -- 9-7
Redskins -- 6-10
NFC North:
Packers -- 11-5
Bears -- 8-8
Vikings -- 7-9
Lions -- 7-9
NFC South:
Saints -- 11-5
Falcons -- 10-6*
Panthers -- 8-8
Bucs -- 6-10
NFC West:
Cardinals -- 9-7
Rams -- 8-8
Seahawks -- 6-10
49ers -- 5-11
Falcons over Cardinals / Eagles over Giants
Packers over Falcons / Eagles over Saints
Eagles over Packers
Patriots defeat the Eagles in the Super Bowl.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
C.C. Sabathia will opt out!!...
....Or at least that's my opinion. It's just a feeling but I think he will.
My guess, CC goes to San Fran. He joins a very good rotation and makes it great. They would be able to rival the Phillies. Biggest problem would still be offense but it would be a very good team. Plus, they just won the world series. And CC is from California.
So, it's just my guess, but I say in 2012, CC Sabathia is a Giant. I'm not sure he goes to SF, but I'm sure he opts out. Baseball will begin to follow basketball where friends are joining up to make super groups of players and leave via free agency more often to play somewhere they want to live.
My guess, CC goes to San Fran. He joins a very good rotation and makes it great. They would be able to rival the Phillies. Biggest problem would still be offense but it would be a very good team. Plus, they just won the world series. And CC is from California.
So, it's just my guess, but I say in 2012, CC Sabathia is a Giant. I'm not sure he goes to SF, but I'm sure he opts out. Baseball will begin to follow basketball where friends are joining up to make super groups of players and leave via free agency more often to play somewhere they want to live.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
What the Bulls should do this off-season.
I wrote back in early November that LeBron should go to Chicago...and then everyone started agreeing with me in the media. This is true.
So, if the Bulls get LeBron, they're fine. We don't need to talk about that. Let's talk about plan B....
FIRST...3-way trade: Luol Deng to the Knicks, Rip Hamilton to Chicago, and Eddy Curry to Detroit. Detroit is eager to shed cap space and are more than willing to trade Hamilton. The Knicks do not need cap space next year (because in the second year of max deals, the numbers go up 10%, so NY would only get about $7 million under the cap) so why not talk them into taking Deng to be the sixth man on the team? Finally, for Chicago, it gives them a good shooter to play with D-Rose. It's a better match for Rose than what Deng is because Deng needs the ball in his hands.
SECOND...sign either JJ Redick or Kyle Korver. Either one will work. They need a spot up shooter from the outside to help stretch the floor. Plus, both guys can come for relatively cheap.
THIRD...sign either Dirk to a 3-year max deal or Rudy Gay to a 3-year deal for less than the max (but more than what Memphis would match). Dirk is the better option but Rudy is young. Both guys have shown they can play within a system and can be a good player off the ball. If the Bulls go with Dirk, then they need to sign probably both Korvery and Redick and start one of them. If they go with Rudy, they'll have more money for other players. They'll need a big man and possible solutions are: Brendan Haywood, Craig Smith (underrated worker), Udonis Haslem (can probably offer more than Miami can), David Lee (same situation as Haslem), or Carlos Boozer (who'd probably mean that they couldn't sign JJ or Kyle).
FOURTH...sign a veteran free agent PG for the minimum. Without Kirk, they'll need one. How about Steve Blake? He's good for 8-15 minutes a night.
So, let's look at these two rosters:
PG - D-Rose
SG - Rip Hamilton
SF - Korver
PF - Dirk
C - Noah
6th - J.J. Redick
7th - Taj Gibson
8th - Steve Blake
Or
So, if the Bulls get LeBron, they're fine. We don't need to talk about that. Let's talk about plan B....
FIRST...3-way trade: Luol Deng to the Knicks, Rip Hamilton to Chicago, and Eddy Curry to Detroit. Detroit is eager to shed cap space and are more than willing to trade Hamilton. The Knicks do not need cap space next year (because in the second year of max deals, the numbers go up 10%, so NY would only get about $7 million under the cap) so why not talk them into taking Deng to be the sixth man on the team? Finally, for Chicago, it gives them a good shooter to play with D-Rose. It's a better match for Rose than what Deng is because Deng needs the ball in his hands.
SECOND...sign either JJ Redick or Kyle Korver. Either one will work. They need a spot up shooter from the outside to help stretch the floor. Plus, both guys can come for relatively cheap.
THIRD...sign either Dirk to a 3-year max deal or Rudy Gay to a 3-year deal for less than the max (but more than what Memphis would match). Dirk is the better option but Rudy is young. Both guys have shown they can play within a system and can be a good player off the ball. If the Bulls go with Dirk, then they need to sign probably both Korvery and Redick and start one of them. If they go with Rudy, they'll have more money for other players. They'll need a big man and possible solutions are: Brendan Haywood, Craig Smith (underrated worker), Udonis Haslem (can probably offer more than Miami can), David Lee (same situation as Haslem), or Carlos Boozer (who'd probably mean that they couldn't sign JJ or Kyle).
FOURTH...sign a veteran free agent PG for the minimum. Without Kirk, they'll need one. How about Steve Blake? He's good for 8-15 minutes a night.
So, let's look at these two rosters:
PG - D-Rose
SG - Rip Hamilton
SF - Korver
PF - Dirk
C - Noah
6th - J.J. Redick
7th - Taj Gibson
8th - Steve Blake
Or
PG - D-Rose
SG - Rip Hamilton
SF - Rudy Gay
PF - Brendan Haywood / David Lee / Udonis Haslem
C - Noah
6th - J.J. Redick
7th - Taj Gibson
8th - Steve Blake
9th - Korver
Both look pretty good, huh? And, in case you're wondering, this is all completely feasible.
Friday, June 11, 2010
World Cup Preview
Here are my picks for the World Cup on ESPN.
I picked this about 3 weeks ago but I'm still very happy with it. So, I have Germany winning it all. This bracket was chosen before Ballack went out but I will still go with the Germans. I know that going forward they are a bit suspect. However, they are still solid along the back line and in midfield.
I like England in the final 4 only because of their lack of competition in the knockout stages. Argentina are very suspect in the back and their coach is a disaster. Those reasons are why I chose Greece to win the group. It's a competitive group that has 3 top-notch countries and Greece is the only one that knows what type of team they are. They're very defensive and play a lot of 5-3-2 formation. But, this is the same coach that won with Greece in Euro 2004 and performed well in qualifying (only losing to the Swiss, twice).
Other surprises are Ivory Coast over Portugal. This one is easy for me. Portugal barely made the World Cup. In their qualification playoff, Portugal got to play Bosnia and only won 2-0 on aggregate. The Ivory Coast is better even without Drogba.
My dark horse in this tournament is the Netherlands. I don't like them having to face Brazil in the final 8 but they dominated in qualification getting max points. They can score with the best of them.
In the end, I feel Brazil will struggle to score against Germany and their organization in the back. In my bracket, the first team with a good back line that Brazil will face is Germany in the final. Brazil may lack creativity but not skill. However, creativity is what helps a side beat a team like Germany.
My Golden Boot winner: David Villa, Spain. Approximately 5 goals.
I picked this about 3 weeks ago but I'm still very happy with it. So, I have Germany winning it all. This bracket was chosen before Ballack went out but I will still go with the Germans. I know that going forward they are a bit suspect. However, they are still solid along the back line and in midfield.
I like England in the final 4 only because of their lack of competition in the knockout stages. Argentina are very suspect in the back and their coach is a disaster. Those reasons are why I chose Greece to win the group. It's a competitive group that has 3 top-notch countries and Greece is the only one that knows what type of team they are. They're very defensive and play a lot of 5-3-2 formation. But, this is the same coach that won with Greece in Euro 2004 and performed well in qualifying (only losing to the Swiss, twice).
Other surprises are Ivory Coast over Portugal. This one is easy for me. Portugal barely made the World Cup. In their qualification playoff, Portugal got to play Bosnia and only won 2-0 on aggregate. The Ivory Coast is better even without Drogba.
My dark horse in this tournament is the Netherlands. I don't like them having to face Brazil in the final 8 but they dominated in qualification getting max points. They can score with the best of them.
In the end, I feel Brazil will struggle to score against Germany and their organization in the back. In my bracket, the first team with a good back line that Brazil will face is Germany in the final. Brazil may lack creativity but not skill. However, creativity is what helps a side beat a team like Germany.
My Golden Boot winner: David Villa, Spain. Approximately 5 goals.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Fandom
Many people over the years have asked me how I became a fan of the teams I’m a fan of. Well, many of the stories are complex and I have (finally) decided to chronicle everything for all you wondering minds.
FOOTBALL
New England Patriots – I became a Pats fan from a very young age. I don’t remember exactly when it started but I was a fan before they played the Packers in the 1996 Super Bowl. I remember when Ty Law and Terry Glenn were rookies. I remember when Vincent Brisby was our #1 receiver. Here is a picture of me from 3rd grade to prove my point.
Chicago Bears – I’m more of a pessimist than a fan. I more follow them than root for them. I do enjoy watching them, as I watched many of their games with my brother and father. However, I wouldn’t ever call myself a Bear fan, but they are my #2 team.
University of Texas – This one is a bit strange. In the summer of 1997, before 4th grade, my Aunt Linda gave me a “Texas Longhorns” shirt. This is how I became a fan. Stupid, I know. The funny thing is, she gave my brother a “Texas A&M” shirt. That could have changed a lot of things. Here is a picture of me with Ricky Williams’ Heisman year jersey that I got from Laura Scott for Christmas during 5th grade.
University of Nevada – I go to Nevada and it will become my Alma Mater. But, Texas will always be my #1.
Northern Illinois University – My aunt was the AD and I went to a ton of games. I will always be a fan, but without Joe Novak coaching, it seems a little too weird for me.
BASKETBALL
Shane Battier – He is my favorite player. I used to love Duke but they drifted from me during the past couple of years but I still love Battier. So, currently, I love watching the Rockets and have become attached to a few of the players (Chuck Hayes, Aaron Brooks, etc). If Shane moves on, I will move on with him. When Shane was on the Grizzlies, I watched as many of their games as possible.
Chicago Bulls – I grew up in Illinois in the 1990’s. What else would you expect? I became disenfranchised with them for about 5 or so years after Jordan left because it felt like they gave up and didn’t care and came to work every day hoping Michael would come back. I’ve followed them all my life and will continue to do so. This is not a Chicago Bears situation because I would call myself a fan. With that said, right now I’m more engaged with Houston because of Battier.
Duke – R.I.P. to my Dukie fandom. It lived from 1997 until 2005. I don’t even follow them anymore. The biggest reason for that is this…
University of Nevada – My #1 team. My school. I go to as many games as possible. I love this basketball program. I go to the press conferences to get a better feel of the players. I know the former coach. I know the current coach. This is my team.
BASEBALL
Chicago White Sox – The only baseball team I care about. I’ve been an avid fan since 2000. I was a fan before but never really got into baseball but I really like Big Frank and Robin Ventura. I had pictures of The Big Hurt in my room growing up. I remember being little and sitting in the upper deck watching the games.
HOCKEY
Buffalo Sabres – This was a bandwagon choice of mine way back during the 1999 playoffs. I hated the Blackhawks and still kind of do. They blacked out all home games. How was a 11 year old kid supposed to be a fan when I could only see a couple games a year? (Remember, they play in the Western Conference so a lot of games start at 9 pm Chicago time) So, I like Dominick Hasek a lot and started watching the playoffs and adopted the Sabres as my team. I’ve been a fan ever since. So I started off as a bandwagon fan but have stuck with them through thick and thin, since. (Mostly thin)
EUROPEAN SOCCER
Everton – I became a fan almost solely because of U.S. goalie Tim Howard. I started following Everton in the spring of 2007 and really got into full swing with the team in the spring of 2008. I am a big time fan, but it’s still early, so I don’t know much history of the club.
MMA
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Where LeBron should go this summer
Ok, so LeBron wants 2 things:
1 – A Championship ring
2 – Become a global icon (aka large market)
So when taking these into consideration, we can eliminate many teams. Obviously, with LeBron on your team, you are a championship contender, so let us go to number 2 and figure out what teams and markets can make him a global icon. Here’s my list: LA Lakers, LA Clippers, Houston, Miami, New York, New Jersey, Chicago, and Dallas. Let’s examine these and then talk about Cleveland as well. (In parentheses are the chances it could happen that LeBron goes to that team)
Lakers: There is relatively no chance LeBron goes to the Lakers. They are 30 million over the cap next year; so good luck getting LeBron to take a mid-level exception or veteran minimum salary when the Clippers can give him a max deal. (1 out of 10)
Houston: Interesting here because this only makes sense if T-Mac leaves and Yao doesn’t opt out. As long as Yao can come back healthy, he can help make LeBron huge in China, as he did with T-Mac. If that doesn’t happen, then this point is mute. (3 out of 10)
Dallas: Dallas has an owner who would make him huge, plus they already have a star from Europe that could help LeBron build his Euro image. This only happens if they trade Dampier and Marion and then let Howard go. Not too likely but there is a chance. (Interesting to note, Dirk has a player option for next year and if he walked, would LeBron sign with relatively the same group Dirk had?) (4 out of 10)
New York: This is what has been prophesized for over a year. -- “LeBron and Friends” directed by Mike D’Antoni and Produced by Donnie Walsh. -- Well, I don’t know if that’s going to happen. The Knicks have a coach and a stadium and a city to offer LeBron…and that’s it. The biggest obstacle is Eddy Curry. He has a player option for $11.2 million for the 2011 season. If he picks it up (why wouldn’t he?) then the Knicks have $27 million in the books and can sign LeBron plus one other really good player. The problem is they are coming to a team with no help at all. Here are the players under contract next year with the Knicks: Eddy Curry ($11.2), Jared Jefferies ($6.9 [player option]), Danilo Gallinari ($3.3), Jordan Hill ($2.7), Wilson Chandler ($2.1) and Toney Douglas ($1.1). Yep…not much there, huh? Now, if Jefferies and Curry are stupid enough to decline their options and walk, the Knicks are in business. That would leave the Knicks with only $9 million in salaries. You can do a lot with that amount of room. Hell, they could almost sign Wade, LeBron and Bosh, all to max contracts. That won’t happen and LeBron will not go there (most likely). (5 out of 10)
Miami: Have a lot of cap room but this only happens if Wade stays and they can resign at least Haslem. Right now, only 5 guys are under contract and none of them are PFs or Cs. However, this does have some chance of happening because Beasley is there and so is Chalmers. Also, after signing LeBron, Miami would still have about $14 million in open cap space. Combine that with a mid-level guy and South Beach, you could have a real winner. (6 out of 10)
New Jersey: So this just got interesting with this new Russian owner. He has a lot of money and can single-handedly make the move to Brooklyn happen. Jay-Z remains a minority investor and good friends with LeBron. Maybe the most recognizable city in the world; everything is in New York. This transition would make him huge. The Nets will lose no good players (Harris-Lee-Lopez are signed through at least 2001) and they have Yi who could help gain LeBron exposure in China. (The most watched NBA game ever was in Yi’s rookie year with Milwaukee and it was a regular season game against Houston; 200+ million viewers.) This scenario has legs and could go somewhere but Jay-Z would have to make a big sell because they really aren’t that good of a team even with LeBron. (7 out of 10)
Chicago: On the books for $38 mill next year. However, if they’re able to trade Deng for an expiring contract, they’d only have $26 mill on the books for next year, meaning they could have a legit shot at LeBron and another good player. If they salary cap goes to $55 million, which some believe it will, that gives Chicago $29 million in cap room. LeBron will take about $16 million from any team (other than Cleveland) and that would leave approximately $13 million. I think you could see a guy like Wade sign for a little less for 3 years at 13-14-15 mill and then go for a max contract with the Bulls. He grew up in Chicago and he could play on a great team. They could sign LeBron and Bosh. Even if they keep Deng, LeBron could still come in under cap because he can only sign for $13.5 million in year one with any team other than Cleveland. (8 out of 10)
Clippers: A lot of people like this, including myself. They could have a six man rotation of Griffin-LeBron-Baron-Gordon-Kaman-Thornton. Pretty good rotation plus it’s a large market that can help his stature grow. I could see LeBron loving the idea of taking a team with talent and winning with them, all the while, shooting TV cameos and making movies in LA. We all saw the ESPYs; we know he wants fame of all types. He would be all over TMZ and would love it. That’s the biggest reason for him to go to LA. And if it seems like the team would struggle because of lack of depth, they still have their draft pick from this year (probably lottery) and will have a mid-level exception to use on a vet. (9 out of 10)
Cleveland: The Cavs have a chance at keeping LeBron. However, they have a lot of cap space used up and even if LeBron only picks up his player option (leaving him a free agent in the summer of 2011), they still would have only $3 million in open cap space. Shaq and Big Z are the only guys not under contract. So, if he was to stay, say one more year, and they could bring in a good big man on the mid-level this makes sense. I don’t see how that happens. If anything, he signs a max deal and then Cleveland either resigns Shaq or Z to a mid-level for a year or trades a few guys for another big. They have Mo Williams at $9 mill a year average and Varejao at $8 million a year average. Not much of an enticing combo. He’s spent his whole life in the greater Cleveland area. He wants to be global and Cleveland (the city) only has about 450,000 people living there. Now, the metro area of Cleveland is about 3 million but still, it’s a small city in comparison to a Chicago (2.8 city, 9.8 metro), LA (3.8 city, 12.9 metro) or NY (8.4 city, 18.2 metro). So, he’s going to want to move, it’s in the cards. We can all tell. (Chances he stays in Cleveland 5 out of 10)
To sum up, I say if LeBron only cares about the global icon thing, you’ll see him in one of 3 spots: Knicks, Nets or Clippers. If Cares about winning Championships, Chicago is the place to go (don’t forget, MJ was a pretty big global celeb pre-internet and satellite TV, all in Chicago). I’m biased, but I say go to Chicago. It’s a great fit. They can resign a lot of the young guys when the time comes and they will be a really good team when it’s all said and done (especially with LeBron)
1 – A Championship ring
2 – Become a global icon (aka large market)
So when taking these into consideration, we can eliminate many teams. Obviously, with LeBron on your team, you are a championship contender, so let us go to number 2 and figure out what teams and markets can make him a global icon. Here’s my list: LA Lakers, LA Clippers, Houston, Miami, New York, New Jersey, Chicago, and Dallas. Let’s examine these and then talk about Cleveland as well. (In parentheses are the chances it could happen that LeBron goes to that team)
Lakers: There is relatively no chance LeBron goes to the Lakers. They are 30 million over the cap next year; so good luck getting LeBron to take a mid-level exception or veteran minimum salary when the Clippers can give him a max deal. (1 out of 10)
Houston: Interesting here because this only makes sense if T-Mac leaves and Yao doesn’t opt out. As long as Yao can come back healthy, he can help make LeBron huge in China, as he did with T-Mac. If that doesn’t happen, then this point is mute. (3 out of 10)
Dallas: Dallas has an owner who would make him huge, plus they already have a star from Europe that could help LeBron build his Euro image. This only happens if they trade Dampier and Marion and then let Howard go. Not too likely but there is a chance. (Interesting to note, Dirk has a player option for next year and if he walked, would LeBron sign with relatively the same group Dirk had?) (4 out of 10)
New York: This is what has been prophesized for over a year. -- “LeBron and Friends” directed by Mike D’Antoni and Produced by Donnie Walsh. -- Well, I don’t know if that’s going to happen. The Knicks have a coach and a stadium and a city to offer LeBron…and that’s it. The biggest obstacle is Eddy Curry. He has a player option for $11.2 million for the 2011 season. If he picks it up (why wouldn’t he?) then the Knicks have $27 million in the books and can sign LeBron plus one other really good player. The problem is they are coming to a team with no help at all. Here are the players under contract next year with the Knicks: Eddy Curry ($11.2), Jared Jefferies ($6.9 [player option]), Danilo Gallinari ($3.3), Jordan Hill ($2.7), Wilson Chandler ($2.1) and Toney Douglas ($1.1). Yep…not much there, huh? Now, if Jefferies and Curry are stupid enough to decline their options and walk, the Knicks are in business. That would leave the Knicks with only $9 million in salaries. You can do a lot with that amount of room. Hell, they could almost sign Wade, LeBron and Bosh, all to max contracts. That won’t happen and LeBron will not go there (most likely). (5 out of 10)
Miami: Have a lot of cap room but this only happens if Wade stays and they can resign at least Haslem. Right now, only 5 guys are under contract and none of them are PFs or Cs. However, this does have some chance of happening because Beasley is there and so is Chalmers. Also, after signing LeBron, Miami would still have about $14 million in open cap space. Combine that with a mid-level guy and South Beach, you could have a real winner. (6 out of 10)
New Jersey: So this just got interesting with this new Russian owner. He has a lot of money and can single-handedly make the move to Brooklyn happen. Jay-Z remains a minority investor and good friends with LeBron. Maybe the most recognizable city in the world; everything is in New York. This transition would make him huge. The Nets will lose no good players (Harris-Lee-Lopez are signed through at least 2001) and they have Yi who could help gain LeBron exposure in China. (The most watched NBA game ever was in Yi’s rookie year with Milwaukee and it was a regular season game against Houston; 200+ million viewers.) This scenario has legs and could go somewhere but Jay-Z would have to make a big sell because they really aren’t that good of a team even with LeBron. (7 out of 10)
Chicago: On the books for $38 mill next year. However, if they’re able to trade Deng for an expiring contract, they’d only have $26 mill on the books for next year, meaning they could have a legit shot at LeBron and another good player. If they salary cap goes to $55 million, which some believe it will, that gives Chicago $29 million in cap room. LeBron will take about $16 million from any team (other than Cleveland) and that would leave approximately $13 million. I think you could see a guy like Wade sign for a little less for 3 years at 13-14-15 mill and then go for a max contract with the Bulls. He grew up in Chicago and he could play on a great team. They could sign LeBron and Bosh. Even if they keep Deng, LeBron could still come in under cap because he can only sign for $13.5 million in year one with any team other than Cleveland. (8 out of 10)
Clippers: A lot of people like this, including myself. They could have a six man rotation of Griffin-LeBron-Baron-Gordon-Kaman-Thornton. Pretty good rotation plus it’s a large market that can help his stature grow. I could see LeBron loving the idea of taking a team with talent and winning with them, all the while, shooting TV cameos and making movies in LA. We all saw the ESPYs; we know he wants fame of all types. He would be all over TMZ and would love it. That’s the biggest reason for him to go to LA. And if it seems like the team would struggle because of lack of depth, they still have their draft pick from this year (probably lottery) and will have a mid-level exception to use on a vet. (9 out of 10)
Cleveland: The Cavs have a chance at keeping LeBron. However, they have a lot of cap space used up and even if LeBron only picks up his player option (leaving him a free agent in the summer of 2011), they still would have only $3 million in open cap space. Shaq and Big Z are the only guys not under contract. So, if he was to stay, say one more year, and they could bring in a good big man on the mid-level this makes sense. I don’t see how that happens. If anything, he signs a max deal and then Cleveland either resigns Shaq or Z to a mid-level for a year or trades a few guys for another big. They have Mo Williams at $9 mill a year average and Varejao at $8 million a year average. Not much of an enticing combo. He’s spent his whole life in the greater Cleveland area. He wants to be global and Cleveland (the city) only has about 450,000 people living there. Now, the metro area of Cleveland is about 3 million but still, it’s a small city in comparison to a Chicago (2.8 city, 9.8 metro), LA (3.8 city, 12.9 metro) or NY (8.4 city, 18.2 metro). So, he’s going to want to move, it’s in the cards. We can all tell. (Chances he stays in Cleveland 5 out of 10)
To sum up, I say if LeBron only cares about the global icon thing, you’ll see him in one of 3 spots: Knicks, Nets or Clippers. If Cares about winning Championships, Chicago is the place to go (don’t forget, MJ was a pretty big global celeb pre-internet and satellite TV, all in Chicago). I’m biased, but I say go to Chicago. It’s a great fit. They can resign a lot of the young guys when the time comes and they will be a really good team when it’s all said and done (especially with LeBron)
Friday, October 30, 2009
NBA Preview
Predictions
Wizards – My darkhorse team. They’re pretty deep at guard and have a good starting front court. 2 things are important for the Wizards: Health and the development of a 3rd frontcourt player. I think the latter can be filled by Andray Blatche. If they stay healthy, they could win the East. Arenas is very good and Butler and Jamison have really played well the last couple of years.
Power Distance – The West and the East will have a large power distance. I think the Bulls and Heat will finish 5-6 in the East and yet I don’t see either team approaching 50 wins, while I think the Wiz, Celts, Cavs, and Magic will all have 50+. In the West, the record might not separate the Spurs and the Lakers from the pack too much but, it will be evident that talent wise, those two are the best.
Hornets – I think the Hornets miss the playoffs. They struggled last year and I think the Okafor is not the type of player for their offense (FYI – Tyson Chandler was and still is that type of player). I think they try to trade some of their players like Peja and Posey. Right now, the Hornets are on the books for $73 million this year and next year. Unless they are playing great, they will not want to keep this team around for a second straight year.
Warriors – The Warriors will make the playoffs. It will be a close race for the bottom of the West and I think the Rockets and Warriors will emerge above the Suns, Clippers, Hornets, and Thunder. The Warriors have a pretty good team and a good offense. Don’t expect them to win 50, maybe a little closer to .500 like 42 wins.
McGrady – I think McGrady will come back at the end of December and will be traded before the end of the year. This is completely dependent upon McGrady coming back. If he doesn’t, then the Rockets will use his open salary number this summer to go after a free agent. I think they’d rather trade him though and bring in someone because they are going to have to pay Scola a lot.
Heat – The Heat are only on the books for 25 million next year and that includes 17 million of a player option for Dwayne Wade. So, they have two choices, one, trade an expiring contract or two for some big time players and try to win or two, keep the expiring deals and go after Lebron. I think they’ll stay pat and most likely lose Wade.
Cavs – The Cavs will struggle on defense. Big Z and Shaq are liabilities against teams that can spread the floor and do a lot of pick n rolls. Think if KG and Rasheed as the 4-5, you have to bench Shaq and Z right?
Thunder - They’ll take a big step forward. Won’t make the playoffs but will do well enough to push for .500. (Don’t forget they only won 23 last year)
Bulls – They’ll have a really good year….at home. They are going to struggle on the road (just like last year) but at home, they may win 34 games.
Raptors – I think the Raptors are the only team that will challenge for a playoff spot but I don’t see them being that good of a team this year. They still lack a good bench and if they struggle, they might trade Bosh if they can get a first and 1-2 good players in return.
Spurs – They will win it all because they have depth and have a finishing 5 (Parker – Ginobili – Jefferson – McDyess – Duncan) that cannot be matched by anybody. Plus, their bench is really, really good.
Spurs over Lakers in the West Finals. Celtics over Wizards in East Finals. Spurs over Celtics in Finals.
East Playoffs (In Order)
Cavs – Celtics – Magic – Wiz – Bulls – Heat – Hawks – Pistons
West Playoffs (In Order)
Lakers – Spurs – Mavs– Nuggets – Jazz – Blazers – Rockets – Warriors
Wizards – My darkhorse team. They’re pretty deep at guard and have a good starting front court. 2 things are important for the Wizards: Health and the development of a 3rd frontcourt player. I think the latter can be filled by Andray Blatche. If they stay healthy, they could win the East. Arenas is very good and Butler and Jamison have really played well the last couple of years.
Power Distance – The West and the East will have a large power distance. I think the Bulls and Heat will finish 5-6 in the East and yet I don’t see either team approaching 50 wins, while I think the Wiz, Celts, Cavs, and Magic will all have 50+. In the West, the record might not separate the Spurs and the Lakers from the pack too much but, it will be evident that talent wise, those two are the best.
Hornets – I think the Hornets miss the playoffs. They struggled last year and I think the Okafor is not the type of player for their offense (FYI – Tyson Chandler was and still is that type of player). I think they try to trade some of their players like Peja and Posey. Right now, the Hornets are on the books for $73 million this year and next year. Unless they are playing great, they will not want to keep this team around for a second straight year.
Warriors – The Warriors will make the playoffs. It will be a close race for the bottom of the West and I think the Rockets and Warriors will emerge above the Suns, Clippers, Hornets, and Thunder. The Warriors have a pretty good team and a good offense. Don’t expect them to win 50, maybe a little closer to .500 like 42 wins.
McGrady – I think McGrady will come back at the end of December and will be traded before the end of the year. This is completely dependent upon McGrady coming back. If he doesn’t, then the Rockets will use his open salary number this summer to go after a free agent. I think they’d rather trade him though and bring in someone because they are going to have to pay Scola a lot.
Heat – The Heat are only on the books for 25 million next year and that includes 17 million of a player option for Dwayne Wade. So, they have two choices, one, trade an expiring contract or two for some big time players and try to win or two, keep the expiring deals and go after Lebron. I think they’ll stay pat and most likely lose Wade.
Cavs – The Cavs will struggle on defense. Big Z and Shaq are liabilities against teams that can spread the floor and do a lot of pick n rolls. Think if KG and Rasheed as the 4-5, you have to bench Shaq and Z right?
Thunder - They’ll take a big step forward. Won’t make the playoffs but will do well enough to push for .500. (Don’t forget they only won 23 last year)
Bulls – They’ll have a really good year….at home. They are going to struggle on the road (just like last year) but at home, they may win 34 games.
Raptors – I think the Raptors are the only team that will challenge for a playoff spot but I don’t see them being that good of a team this year. They still lack a good bench and if they struggle, they might trade Bosh if they can get a first and 1-2 good players in return.
Spurs – They will win it all because they have depth and have a finishing 5 (Parker – Ginobili – Jefferson – McDyess – Duncan) that cannot be matched by anybody. Plus, their bench is really, really good.
Spurs over Lakers in the West Finals. Celtics over Wizards in East Finals. Spurs over Celtics in Finals.
East Playoffs (In Order)
Cavs – Celtics – Magic – Wiz – Bulls – Heat – Hawks – Pistons
West Playoffs (In Order)
Lakers – Spurs – Mavs– Nuggets – Jazz – Blazers – Rockets – Warriors
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