NBA Predictions

So long for going to bed early. How can I go to bed with EJ, Kenny, Charles and C-Webb every Thursday night? So yeah its a little late on the predictions, but take my word for it. These were my thoughts during the offseason.

The elite teams in the East are as follows: Boston,Clevland,Orlando.
Orlando lost the finals, but the loss of Hedo hurts them a ton. I love Vince, but he doesn't fit their style as well, and doens't create the mismatch problems Hedo and Rashard Lewis do. Look for Lewis' numbers to decline as a result. I still see last year as kinda fluky for them, even though Superman is still tough.

Cleveland added Shaq and Anthony Parker, but I still dont think they did enough to improve their team. They lost twice to the Lakers int he regular season, and really struggled against Orlando. As similar as the scripts for LBJ and MJ with their early struggles against tough teams, the script breaks here, and LBJ loses in the conf. finals, and goes to NY/NJ next year.

Boston is the team to beat. KG was hurt last year, and they added Sheed. Rondo is a player who can go off and carry a team (See last year against the Bulls). As long as they are healthy, they are the pick to win the East, but they will need to add depth to the bench (not that Marbury was any good though)

The Lakers are still tops in the West with the Spurs challenging. I still think the Spurs are just a little too old, and you can depend on Manu for 82 games, so their road to the postseason will always be tough.

I like the Lakers to repeat, simply beacuse of the addition of Artest will give them the fire to not let up. He is a winner, despite his past antics. He plays the game hard and wants to win.

My Bobcats, ahh my beloved Bobcats. It's really hard to see them doing well this year. Without Raja Bell for 4 months, they will really struggle on guarding elite 2 guards. I think they regress this year, Augustin takes over for Felton, They trade Wallace for youth, and start all over under Brown. I'll say 30-34 wins.

Teams on the Rise: Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Philadelphia, Phoenix (playoffs for sure)
Teams on decline: Orlando, New Orleans Golden State, Indiana, Miami