2011/12 NBA Preview

[NJTank]

http://sportsecyclopedia.com/tank/nba2012/nba2012.html

Comments, thoughts and your picks.

[C's]

East

1. Heat

2. Bulls

3. Knicks

4. Hawks

5. Magic

6. Celtics

7. 76ers

8. Bucks

West

1. Clippers

2. Mavericks

3. Lakers

4. Thunder

5. Spurs

6. Grizzlies

7. Blazers

8. Warriors

I agree that the Wolves will make some headway but I don't know about the playoffs just yet.

[dfwabel]

I think you have the top teams with too many wins. Three games in three nights and four games in five nights will be a reason why coaches of top teams will not really care about winning every game and for lesser teams to be more worried about making the tournament or about seeding like to avoid CHI or MIA in the first round.

Record wise, I will paraphrase Bill Simmons (in italics) and his podcast from 12/21/11 as you have over shot team wins.

In 1999, the two best records were UTA and SAS at 37-13, which was a .740 winning percentage. A team which was 35-15 was .700. Last year best record was CHI at 62-20, which was .731. If a team finishes 48-18, that equates to a 60-win team.

MIA was not a 64 win team in a full season as Mike Miller had wrist surgery, Battier is limited on the floor, and no center is there. That's a lot of minutes for a quickly played regular season for Bosh/James/Wade.

CHI getting Hamilton for now is not a solution over what Keith Bogans gave them. It is adding offense while losing defense, and CHI is a defense first team.

I like both Indiana and Portland to be better than you pick as both very deep; ten guys deep. If David West and Psycho-T play the same number of minutes and both average 12/8, they will be fine. The Bucks are still relying on Bogut and I really can think that Stack Jack can still be a team leader. DEN is also very deep too even without Kenyon Martin and JR Smith.

To make 'Lights Out' upset, I am unsure who a Clipper team who last year was not even .500 will go to become a division winner with the addition of Chris Paul and Billups, at the loss of Kaman, Gordon and Aminu. They should make the tournament, but not that a$$-kicking.

[ninersdd]

Gotta admit, the West ain't what it used to be. It appears to me that this is the Heats' title to lose.

Hopefully the Kings can be like the Coyotes and pull wins out of their a$$es and make the playoffs.

[aci]

EAST

1. Chicago Bulls

2. Miami Heat

3. Atlanta Hawks

4. Boston Celtics

5. New York Knicks

6. Orlando Magic

7. New Jersey Nets

8. Toronto Raptors

WEST

1. Oklahoma City Thunder

2. Dallas Mavericks

3. Los Angeles Clippers

4. Memphis Grizzlies

5. San Antonio Spurs

6. Los Angeles Lakers

7. Golden State Warriors

8. Houston Rockets

I'll also throw in a trade prediction: Steve Nash gets sent to the Toronto Raptors sometime during the season and pushes them into the 8th seed.

[DPV713]

EAST

1. Miami

2. Chicago

3. Boston

4. NY Knicks

5. Orlando

6. Indiana

7. Atlanta

8. Philadelphia

West

1. Dallas

2. Oklahoma City

3. LA Lakers

4. LA Clippers

5. Denver

6. San Antonio

7. Memphis

8. Portland

Round 1

Miami over Philadelphia

Chicago over Atlanta

Boston over Indiana

NY Knicks over Orlando

Dallas over Portland

Oklahoma City over Memphis

San Antonio over LA Lakers

LA Clippers over Denver

Conference Semifinals

Miami over NY Knicks

Boston over Chicago

LA Clippers over Dallas

Oklahoma City over San Antonio

Conference Finals

Miami over Boston

Oklahoma City over LA Clippers

NBA Finals

Miami Heat 4

Oklahoma City Thunder 1

[Seadragon76]

My turn.

Eastern Conference

1. Heat (Win or else... that has to be on their minds every day)

2. Bulls (Derrick Rose might be the best young player in the East)

3. Celtics (A year older now. Let's see if those old legs can handle the shorter schedule)

4. Knicks (Melo and Amare gives NYC a reason to cheer)

5. Magic (The trade talk about Howard will be the proverbial vulture circling around their heads)

6. Hawks (Decent team that wishes they weren't in the Southeast with Miami and Orlando)

7. Pacers (Good young team in Indiana. Could surprise a few people)

8. Bucks (Like Indiana, they are a good young team)

Western Conference

1. Lakers (It's still Kobe's team...)

2. Thunder (Best collection of young talent in the NBA bar none)

3. Mavericks (The defending champs will not go down without a fight)

4. Spurs (The Western Conference version of the Celtics)

5. Clippers (Nice upgrade, Clips... Let's see you guys NOT screw up this chance, OK?)

6. Grizzlies (How to fit in Rudy Gay after that nice run... Hm?)

7. Warriors (One of the better backcourts in the West, which is good enough to get in at the bottom of the pile)

8. Timberwolves (There's always one team that shocks you... It seems like Minnesota has the pieces to do so)

[AnythingChicago]

Eastern Conference

1. Chicago Bulls (Call me a homer, but the Bulls have the defense and the scoring to be the best team in the East once again)

2. Miami Heat (They'll be a little more consistent this year)

3. Orlando Magic (Just because they almost unleashed Howard, it doesn't mean that he'll be any less productive)

4. Boston Celtics (Celtics keep it up for yet another year)

5. Atlanta Hawks (The Southeast has 3 of the 5 top Eastern teams)

6. New York Knicks (The Knicks will disappoint once again this year)

7. Philadelphia 76ers (This team has more pure talent than Milwaukee or Indy

8. Milwaukee Bucks (The Bucks will squeeze by Indiana for the final spot in the East)

Last team out (9). Indiana Pacers (The loss of McRoberts will hurt the Pacers in the long run)

Western Conference

1. Dallas Mavericks (The defending champs keep it going)

2. Oklahoma City Thunder (Durant and Westbrook form a championship caliber team in OKC)

3. San Antonio Spurs (A defensively based, experienced Spurs team slips by the Clippers for the number 3 seed)

4. Los Angeles Clippers (This year's version of the Heat, but toned down a bit. This team will be up and down all season, but with more ups than downs)

5. Los Angeles Lakers (A beaten up Kobe deprived of his resources will not have home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs for the first time in a koon's age)

6. Memphis Grizzlies (Memphis will play solid basketball all season long)

7. Golden State Warriors (Good young team; this version of last year's Grizzlies)

8. Denver Nuggets (Forget Minnesota. Denver will keep up their winning ways and etch a spot in the playoffs)

Last team out (9). Portland Trail Blazers (Hey, they did it without Roy most of last year. The Blazers will be in the playoff hunt until the end)

Eastern Conference Playoffs

(1)Chicago Bulls vs. (8)Milwaukee Bucks. CHI 4-0.

(4)Boston Celtics vs. (5)Atlanta Hawks. ATL 4-3.

(3)Orlando Magic vs. (6)New York Knicks. NYK 4-2.

(2)Miami Heat vs. (7)Philadelphia 76ers. MIA 4-1.

(1)Chicago Bulls vs. (5)Atlanta Hawks. CHI 4-2.

(2)Miami Heat vs. (6)New York Knicks. MIA 4-0.

(1)Chicago Bulls vs. (2)Miami Heat. CHI 4-3.

Western Conference Playoffs

(1)Dallas Mavericks vs. (8)Denver Nuggets. DAL 4-1.

(4)Los Angeles Clippers vs. (5)Los Angeles Lakers. LAL 4-3.

(3)San Antonio Spurs vs. (6)Memphis Grizzlies. MEM 4-3.

(2)Oklahoma City Thunder vs. (7)Golden State Warriors. OKC 4-2.

(1)Dallas Mavericks vs. (5)Los Angeles Lakers. DAL 4-1.

(2)Oklahoma City Thunder vs. (6)Memphis Grizzlies. OKC 4-0.

(1)Dallas Mavericks vs. (2)Oklahoma City Thunder. OKC 4-2.

The Finals

(1)Chicago Bulls vs. (2)Oklahoma City Thunder. CHI 4-2.

The Clippers lack of playoff experience will hurt them against a very playoff-weathered Lakers team. The Knicks will upset the Magic in the first round, then get blown away by Miami, further proving their inconsistent nature. Memphis will upset San Antonio again, and my two favorite teams will square off in the Finals, with my overwhelming favorite of the two prevailing.

[NEW.ERA]

Eastern Conference

1. Chicago

2. Miami

3. Boston

4. New York

5. Orlando

6. Atlanta

7. Milwaukee

8. New Jersey

Western Conference

1. Oklahoma City

2. LA Clippers

3. Dallas

4. San Antonio

5. Memphis

6. LA Lakers

7. Golden State

8. Denver

Eastern Quarterfinals

Chicago over New Jersey in 4

New York over Orlando in 7

Boston over Atlanta in 6

Miami over Milwaukee in 4

Eastern Semi Finals

Chicago over New York in 6

Miami over Boston in 5

Eastern Final

Chicago over Miami in 7

Western Quarterfinals

Oklahoma City over Denver in 5

San Antonio over Memphis in 6

LA Lakers over Dallas in 7

LA Clippers over Golden State in 6

Western Semi Finals

Oklahoma City over San Antonio in 5

LA Clippers over LA Lakers in 7

Western Final

Oklahoma City over LA Clippers in 6

NBA Finals

Oklahoma City over Chicago in 7 - Finals MVP Kevin Durant

[Rockstar Matt]

West:

1. Thunder

2. Mavericks

3. Lakers

4. Grizzlies

5. Spurs

6. Nuggets

7. Clippers

8. Blazers

East:

1. Bulls

2. Heat

3. Knicks

4. Magic

5. Hawks

6. Celtics

7. Pacers

8. Nets

First Round:

Thunder 4, Blazers 1 (OKC will dominate the series)

Spurs 4, Grizzlies 3 (Spurs get revenge)

Lakers 4, Nuggets 1 (Lakers easily handle Denver)

Clippers 4, Mavericks 3 (Clippers will do something the Lakers couldn't do, beat the Mavericks)

Bulls 4, Nets 2 (Deron makes it interesting, but Rose is too much)

Magic 4, Hawks 3 (D12 gets his last playoff-series win with the Magic)

Knicks 4, Celtics 2 (Knicks enact revenge of last years loss to the C's)

Heat 4, Pacers 0 (Heat destroy the Pacers)

Second-Round:

Thunder 4, Spurs 0 (OKC's youth is too much for the Spurs to handle)

Lakers 4, Clippers 2 (The Lakers will put the Clippers in their place, while getting another victory by getting CP3 to leave the Clips and join the Lakers in the off-season)

Bulls 4, Magic 1 (The Bulls will send another Magic star center from the city of Orlando, again)

Heat 4, Knicks 3 (The Knicks will make the series competitive, but LeBron and Wade will be too much)

Conference Championship:

Thunder 4, Lakers 2 (The Thunder are simply better, and more hungry)

Heat 4, Bulls 3 (The Heat just want it more)

NBA Finals:

Thunder 4, Heat 3 (OKC will win the series, denying the Big 3 their first title together, while playing great team basketball.)

[Lights Out]

(The Lakers will put the Clippers in their place, while getting another victory by getting CP3 to leave the Clips and join the Lakers in the off-season)

Wow, bitter much?

[the_fan]

There's one, maybe two posts in this thread not screaming with homerism.

[NEW.ERA]

Well when your league has maybe 4 or 5 decent teams that have a chance at the Championship, and most of those teams have the most fans. You're going to see some homerism.

[FamousAtticus]

EAST

1. Miami

2. Chicago

3. Boston

4. New York

5. Orlando

6. Atlanta

7. Indiana

8. Milwaukee

West

1. Dallas

2. Oklahoma City

3. LA Lakers

4. San Antonio

5. LA Clippers

6. Memphis

7. Golden State

8. Minnesota (credit the shortened season)

Round 1

1) Miami over 8) Milwaukee

2) Chicago over 7) Indiana

3) Boston over 6) Atlanta

5) Orlando over 4) New York

1) Dallas over 8)Minnesota

2) Oklahoma City over 7) Golden State

3) LA Lakers over 6) Memphis (this series goes 7 games...Gasol vs. Gasol)

4) San Antonio over 5) LA Clippers

Conference Semifinals

Miami over Orlando

Boston over Chicago

Dallas over San Antonio

Oklahoma City over LA Lakers

Conference Finals

Miami over Boston

Oklahoma City over Dallas

NBA Finals

Miami Heat 4

Oklahoma City Thunder 2

Finals MVP: Dwyane Wade

[cshookemHORNS]

Any reason why D'Antoni is fired but the Knicks are 3rd in the east?

[NJTank]

Any reason why D'Antoni is fired but the Knicks are 3rd in the east?

Playoff disappointment and the Knicks make a run at Phil.

Also D'Antoni is despised by a majority of Knicks fans.

[cshookemHORNS]

Any reason why D'Antoni is fired but the Knicks are 3rd in the east?

Playoff disappointment and the Knicks make a run at Phil.

Also D'Antoni is despised by a majority of Knicks fans.

Phil?

[Gary]

Any reason why D'Antoni is fired but the Knicks are 3rd in the east?

Playoff disappointment and the Knicks make a run at Phil.

Also D'Antoni is despised by a majority of Knicks fans.

Phil?

I assume he means Phil Jackson.

[IceCap]

(The Lakers will put the Clippers in their place, while getting another victory by getting CP3 to leave the Clips and join the Lakers in the off-season)

Wow, bitter much?

Usually I pull for the Jazz or Suns (Steve Nash! woohoo!) when it comes to the West, but I'd really like to see the Clippers not only do better then the Lakers but find post-season success as well.

Why? Delusional and jealous Lakers fans, mostly.

[Saintsfan]

Any reason why D'Antoni is fired but the Knicks are 3rd in the east?

Playoff disappointment and the Knicks make a run at Phil.

Also D'Antoni is despised by a majority of Knicks fans.

I think for this year, getting into the playoffs would be enough for most Knicks fans, I think the concept of 'playoff dissapointment' is unlikely for Knicks fans.

My predictions- Bulls to play the Lakers in the NBA finals, and Rose wins the title for Chicago.